It all started when I found out that a friend of my housemate had a collection of all 20 movies on DVD and I convinced my housemate to borrow them so that I’d finally be able to say I have watched all the Bond movies.
I have been a Bond fan
since that day when my old man came home with our first VCR and with it Live and Let Die. From then on the debonair spy would become one of my favourite movie characters of all time.I started with the 3 I hadn’t watched before Thunderball, Goldfinger and Licence to Kill and as I made my through them I started realising some things I had never taken note of before, mostly because I watched my first 13 Bond movies between 1985 and 1989. Back then I was easily impressed and things like plot, dialogue and elements of cinematography were not of much interest to me.
But over the weekend I kept wondering why most Bond fans think Sean Connery is the best Bond ever (I prefer Rodger Moore). I also realised that the Bond franchise needed the changes it underwent in the six year hiatus between Licence to Kill and GoldenEye. For one the portrayal of the Bond girls in the earlier movies of the 60s and 70s just wouldn’t fly today. For starters all of them fall for the guy as soon as they lay eyes on him, they might turn on him and attempt to put a steel blade through his ribcage later but he will have had his way with them by then.
I remembered a grimy and unshaven Pierce Brosnan leaving the North Korean Prison in Die Another Day and I compared him to the first two bonds who never had a hair out of place even at the worst of times (in Diamonds are Forever Sean Connery’s bond barely survives cremation by a matter of seconds, but gets out of the confine unfazed and with hair and crease line neatly in place.
I should be done by Friday and I want to make my own “Best of” series, while I wait for Casino Royale latter this year.
Right now though, I am trying to figure out which theme song I like more Sheena Easton’s For Your Eyes Only, Gladys Knight’s Licence to Kill
11 comments:
I'll go for License to kill by Gladys Knight.
I never really liked 007 flicks because (a) they took their fan base 4 granted (b) they were really mean't to ignite each soul's inner fire against the soviet block!
Now that's indeed a a James Bond marathon.
Have fun.
@Jkb, if you follow the evolution of the Bond films you will see that they tended to move with the themes of the day and change according to what they expected their fans to enjoy. I dont think there was any agenda against the soviets per se. When Ian Fleming was writting the novels it was the beginning of the cold war with genuine fears on both sides (this can't fail to be reflected in the fiction of the time. Besides James Bonds Villians were hardly ever presidents, governments and such but crazy megalomaniacs with crazier plans of world domination.
These movies, especially watched now, are deliciously cheesy. That's why my favourite theme song is "Goldfinger" by Shirley Bassey. I think it's the way she over-enunciates: "Gold.FINGAH." Have fun!
my greatest sorrow right now is that everytime i go to my video lib, i look at 9-in-1 of Bond films and everytime there's another dvd i have to go home with that day. i wish someone could lend me some like lucky you so i can finally decide what all the fuss was about.
i remember watching the saint which had roger moore on some tv back in the day and i always found roger moore a sauve and interesting actor, he certainly was better in the saint than that other series the man from U.N.C.L.E which was on the same tv. which tv was that by the way? was it ctv or what? help me out, someone!
PS: I don't mean Roger Moore was in the man from U.N.C.L.E. too, i mean as series, the saint was the much better series for me. somehow the saint never got as stale as U.N.C.L.E got after sometime.
A word of advice: Stay away from Austin Powers! That fool ruined James Bond for me. Now I just can't take 007 seriously.
A View To A Kill and The Spy Who Loved Me. Those are the two biggest Bond flicks for me. and i try to watch every 007 flick that comes out just as i shall watch Supes and Batman anytime.
And i think the soviet bashing was there and it was inevitable coz of Flemming's background in the spy biz.
I too, am a James Bond fan; Sean Connery is not only my James Bond favorite but an overall favorite star too; 'Dr. No' comes first for me and well - I can never forget Shirley Bassey's 'Goldfinger'! Bassey's voice is great! Always!
fini up with that james bond marathon and post again.
I was having this conversation earlier today about movie titles that just sound...wrong...most of the James Bond flicks came up...hmm,came up...Yeah, Gladys Knight for me.
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