26 replies to this topic

[DamnCoffee]

I've heard some talk of a scene involving M in a meeting, with Mallory and many other government officials. In which, M tells the officials that she knows about the talk surrounding her, saying that how unneccessary and old she's became of late, and she mentions that her late husband was a great lover of poetry, and there was a poem that sunk in despite her not wanting it to.


We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.


After some research, I found this... "The strains of discontent and weakness in old age remain throughout the poem, but Tennyson finally leaves Ulysses "To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield", recalling the Dantesque damnable desire for knowledge beyond all bounds. The words of Dante's character as he exhorts his men to the journey find parallel in those of Tennyson's Ulysses, who calls his men to join him on one last voyage."

Now, I'm not a massive fan of poetry, but this poem does have an awful sense of finality about it. Especially the part about 'one last voyage', and there's probably a much deeper meaning to the poem, which could very well relate to M's story. I wonder though, could this be referring to...

Spoiler

M's death.

[Vauxhall]

Yes, she apparently quotes this during the inquiry hearing into MI6's conduct. It seems she's becoming increasingly reflective upon her own life, career and mortality - perhaps a harbinger of the closing stages of the film.

[Marketto007]

Heard something similar somewhere.

xxx

[TCK]

Where did you find/learn that ?!

[Nicolas Suszczyk]

I love that poem!

[The Shark]

You didn't get this form IMDb, did you?

[DamnCoffee]

You didn't get this form IMDb, did you?

I did not. I can confirm my information is genuine.

[TheSilhouette]

Yes this is 100% correct.

[thecasinoroyale]

That's nice. Very suitable, very M...and very classic Bond too.

Nice thought Mharkin.

[Dustin]

Good work there, MHarkin. It could be indeed

Spoiler

an epitaph or obituary. It would round out the story if M wrote Bond's and in the end got her own.

[Jim]

It does all sound a tiny bit pretentious. Would be funnier if she read something out of a Hallmark. "So, you have passed your driving test. So go and drive and be the best." That would be about the right level.

Where's Robert Brown getting pissed with the head of the KGB when you need him?

[univex]

It does all sound a tiny bit pretentious. Would be funnier if she read something out of a Hallmark. "So, you have passed your driving test. So go and drive and be the best." That would be about the right level.

Where's Robert Brown getting pissed with the head of the KGB when you need him?

Well, she compensates by saying "hell" and "bloody" whenever she can. Makes it for the unwarranted stature that barely compensates for her inferiority complex

[JimmyBond]

I know people down Dench a lot lately because she is a big part of the films now. But I actually like M more in the Craig films than I ever did in the Brosnan films. It seems like she's written more as a no nonsense woman then she ever was in the Brosnan films. For instance, I couldn't imagine the M of the Craig films putting herself in harms way because the daughter of an old friend asked her too.

Edited by JimmyBond, 02 August 2012 - 12:36 AM.

[univex]

I know people down Dench a lot lately because she is a big part of the films now. But I actually like M more in the Craig films than I ever did in the Brosnan films. It seems like she's written more as a no nonsense woman then she ever was in the Brosnan films. For instance, I couldn't imagine the M of the Craig films putting herself in harms way because the daughter of an old friend asked her too.

And she´s less of an economical/statistic ice queen as well. Oh, and she drinks less. Remember the bourbon?

I quite like this "I miss the cold war", "just take the bloody shot", "These bastards want your head", M.

[DamnCoffee]

I totally agree. I love Dench as M. I think she's fantastic.

I thought she was brilliantly written in GoldenEye, but in the last three Brosnan Bonds she really lost her nerve I think, and her characterisation was awful. I absoloutely adore Dench as an actress though, and I've grown to care alot for her in Craigs films. It's as if she's mothered the audience as well as Bond. I'm really looking forward to her role in Skyfall, and I have a feeling that she might just steal the show.

I think the poem is a nice addition as well. It would be great if the poem was recited with total silence, intercut with...

Spoiler

Silva coming to get her.

[Clements]

Oh, and she drinks less. Remember the bourbon?

True, although she has it out again for inspiration as she writes Bond's obituary.

[Pussfeller]

She has a bottle of something. Presumably bourbon. But perhaps her tastes have been rebooted, and now she only drinks cinnamon schnapps.

[The Shark]

Glad how well this turned out.

[bill007]

C'mon folks, get with it. Sam Mendes, a true Brit, is using the Tennyson poem to equate 007 to Arthur..... Strengthening the "James Bond Will Return" as "He (Arthur) will return."

The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, British Empire, and lately, the American Empire. The circle of life, eh?

[ggl]

Best scene of the film.

Actually, M is talking also about the Secret Services and about the 00 Section. Really fantastic.

[RJJB]

M was simply saying that even though things have gone a bit wrong, there is no desire to resign. She intended to remain strong to continue in her role , to face the challenge that exists before her and to correct the mistakes.

Coincidentally, this same poem was recite in the series finale of Frasier. No death or King Arthur references.

[Dustin]

I wasn't sure about this when I first heard about it. But it turned out to work splendidly, restrained and not at all on-the-nose as these things tend to in films.

[DamnCoffee]

My favourite scene of the entire movie. Beautiful editing. Thomas Newman's music worked very well with Bond running heroically through the streets. Get goosebumps every time.

Edited by DamnCoffee, 11 November 2012 - 04:56 PM.

[Peckinpah1976]

Really it's just a lift from OHMSS; a doomed woman reading a poem while an attack builds in the background.

[sharpshooter]

Really it's just a lift from OHMSS; a doomed woman reading a poem while an attack builds in the background.

I actually never thought of that connection until now. Good catch.

 

The Tennyson poem is a real highlight in Skyfall. It could have been pretentious, but it didn’t come off that way to me. The speech itself and the intercutting of Silva approaching and Bond coming to the rescue are great, but I think Newman really elevates it. Hearing the cue in isolation brings all those goose bumps back.

[Iceskater101]

I mean when I was first watching this, I didn't really think of the symbolism, but I think that the poem really does mean something, I mean why was it added? Everything that is added like that means something otherwise it wouldn't have been put in the script or the film itself.

[Vauxhall]

Really it's just a lift from OHMSS; a doomed woman reading a poem while an attack builds in the background.

I actually never thought of that connection until now. Good catch.

The Tennyson poem is a real highlight in Skyfall. It could have been pretentious, but it didn’t come off that way to me. The speech itself and the intercutting of Silva approaching and Bond coming to the rescue are great, but I think Newman really elevates it. Hearing the cue in isolation brings all those goose bumps back.

Exactly the same here. For those very reasons, Tennyson is my most played track on the soundtrack. It's tied irrevocably to that sequence in my mind now.