53 replies to this topic

[Qwerty]

No problem Xen, it's ok, I know sometimes the polls get a little odd on here.

It says I already voted, but it's fine, I guess it really doesn't matter much that it is included in the poll.

[SPECTRE ASSASSIN]

You got that right. I thought YOLT got 4 votes?

[Xenobia]

I guess when I added Thunderball, votes got lost, I have no idea how.

Sorry.

-- Xen

[SPECTRE ASSASSIN]

No apolgies needed, Xenobia.

[DamnCoffee]

Which Ken Adam set do you like the most - my favorites are Liparus and Altlantis out of TSWLM, DAFs White House and Fort Knox of Goodfinger

[Jericho_One]

Liparus and Atlantis...

Do I really have to choose?

[Qwerty]

Topics merged.

[dee-bee-five]

A Bond film without Ken Adam's contribution isn't really a proper Bond film.

From Russia With Love not a proper Bond film...?

Seriously, the volcano in You Only Live Twice for me. It hadn't been done before. It hasn't been bettered since.

[Kingdom Come]

For me Moonraker knocks all of the others out of the running.

[pgram]

Like John Barry, Ken Adam made an enduring contribution much greater than the sum of its parts to the Bond series. While Barry defined how a Bond film should sound, Adam defined how a Bond film should look.

Adam arguably made a huge impact on popular culture, giving birth to the notion of supervillains sitting around in elaborate, ultramodern lairs (often in odd locations such as volcanoes or beneath the sea) boasting the most improbably gorgeous interior design. Just look at an AUSTIN POWERS film to spot Adam's lasting influence.

I completely agree with the first statement.

There had to be the best of the best to create the biggest cinematic legend (Brocolli, Saltzman, Young, Adam, Barry, Connery, Bassey, Hunt, etc.). We take it for granted now, but it must have been one of those rare occassions that everything seemed to be exactly as they should be.

He didn't actually give birth to this notion you are referring to, but he did make it hugely popular, so, in principle I agree with the second statement as well.

Although I don' want to sound obsessed with the idea, repeating it over and over again, Ken Adam was German, and he was deeply influenced by the movement of expressionism; hence the slanted surfaces (you can see this type of supervillains in films of the 20s and 30s). He was influenced and he influenced a lot of other architects, like the one whose name I can't remember right now, and who designed the house of Whyte in DAF.

BTW, I voted for Fort Knox

[dunmall]

Frank Loyd Wright desgined the desert house that Whyte is kept in, God I want that place it's so cool in a 60's playboy pad kinda way...

[Double-Oh Agent]

There's too many good and worthy choices--from the empty room in Dr. No to Fort Knox in Goldfinger, from the SPECTRE room in Thunderball to the volcano lair in You Only Live Twice, and from the Liparus and/or Atlantis in The Spy Who Loved Me to the space station in Moonraker. How can you pick just one? All are fabulous. Ken Adam was definitely the master.

But if you put a gun to my head, I will say that the best set was the volcano lair in YOLT with the best overall production design being in TSWLM.

I was going to say something similar to pgram above about how fortunate the Bond series was in having such great and talented people working on the films from the get go, people who influenced the series--and cinema--for years to come (and still are). Just look at the roster:

Producers: Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman
Director: Terence Young
Screenwriter: Richard Maibaum
Production Designer: Ken Adam
Cinematography/Director Of Photography: Ted Moore
Music: John Barry
Main Titles: Maurice Binder
Special Effects: John Stears
Stunts: Bob Simmons
Star: Sean Connery

How EON got all these talented people together all at one time is mind-boggling--and they were in most or virtually all of the 1960s Bond films. Is it any wonder the films succeeded? Interestingly, and perhaps not coincidentally, all those mentioned above were only all together for one film--Thunderball--the biggest and, adjusted for inflation, highest grossing 007 film of all time.

[pgram]

Frank Loyd Wright desgined the desert house that Whyte is kept in, God I want that place it's so cool in a 60's playboy pad kinda way...

No, it wasn't FLW. Sorry, I still can't remember the name. But he belonged to same architecture movement with FLW.

I completely agree about its coolness.

[Agent 76]

Thunderball all the way.

[the villain's architect]

Hello Cbn (my first post)!

The house where W. Whyte was held captive is the Elrod house by John Lautner.

I once read in a book about Adam that the moment where DN stops to be an average spy flick and starts to show Bond's world as a world of its own could exactly be determined: The 34th minute where Prof. Dent enters the "spider room".
Of course, as said above, nobody can ignore that there were several other ingredients that formed the cinematic Bond myth (Connery, Young, Barry,

[Qwerty]

Welcome to the CBn forums, villain's architect.

[PrinceKamalKhan]

All of Ken Adam's work is great. However, after rewatching YOLT a lot lately, I gotta go with the hollowed out volcano. Honorable mention to Drax's space station and Brazilian launchsite in MR.

[capungo]

While my single favorite Adam set remains Ft. Knox, as a whole body of work, I'd say You Only Live Twice had the best sampling of Adam's sets. Aside from the obvious volcano lair, I loved the way that he mixed traditional asian stylings with his trademark sleek modernism. A couple of good examples of this design would be Tanaka's train and his bath house. All around exceptional work from a brilliant set designer.

[MarkA]

I saw YOLT when it first came out. It was also my first Bond. So Ken Adam's set design is always a big part of my initial love of Bond.
Believe me to a 7 year old the Volcano set was simply mind-blowing. As someone else said all of YOLT is visually stunning. Every room Bond walks into is huge. Osato's office being another great set. It may not be all round the best Bond, but it is certainly the best looking. What with Adam's sets and Freddie Young's cinematography (the man who shot LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, the best looking film ever!) it has sheen and a beauty no Bond has ever come close to. Genius was at work on those early Bond's.

Edited by MarkA, 13 March 2007 - 06:39 AM.

[ACE]

The work of a production designer on a movie is more than just designing and overseeing the construction of sets. A designer is often involved at the inception of a project as it is their work that will shape the schedule and budget of a production. Sets inform the audience about character and how the frame is composed in all three dimensions. Sets must allow for both the movement of actors through the space as well the movement of the crew and the rigging of lighting. Where real locations are used, the set must sometimes be dressed and altered. A designer must look at how costumes and props relate to the set in terms of colour and form. The designer is in charge of the total physical appearance of the production. Adam was a prot

[MarkA]

[quote]The work of a production designer on a movie is more than just designing and overseeing the construction of sets. A designer is often involved at the inception of a project as it is their work that will shape the schedule and budget of a production. Sets inform the audience about character and how the frame is composed in all three dimensions. Sets must allow for both the movement of actors through the space as well the movement of the crew and the rigging of lighting. Where real locations are used, the set must sometimes be dressed and altered. A designer must look at how costumes and props relate to the set in terms of colour and form. The designer is in charge of the total physical appearance of the production. Adam was a prot

Edited by MarkA, 13 March 2007 - 02:07 PM.

[ACE]

Point taken, but I'm not sure Ken Adam had such total control. Remember first and foremost Bond movies are producers movies. Also William Cameron Menzies storyboarded Gone With The Wind. Adam as far as I know never did, on any film he worked on. Remember William Cameron Menzies was also a director.

Totally agree

I was just pointing out the work of a production designer is more than just building and designing sets. I don't think anyone on any film has total control - film-making is such a collaborative artform.

[Mr_Wint]

I agree that YOLT was amazing (the production design and the cinematography is the best part of that film). But TSWLM still has to be Ken Adam's best work, IMO.

[Agent 0015]

My vote to Moonraker, the temple and inside the ship are my absolute favorites. You Only Live Twice comes to a close second with the volcano set.