17 replies to this topic

[Krilencu]

When we see Drax playing the piano in his first scene in MR, is it a poor attempt from Michael Lonsdale to pretend he is playing the piano or is it the trait of Drax's character - was it one of those self playing pianos (you can see one in Rocky III) that he used to impress Bond?
I personally like to think the latter is true for I can't bring myself to say a bad thing about a Bond Movie, but who knows? What do you think?

Edited by Krilencu, 19 January 2005 - 06:40 AM.

[Jaws0178]

To be honest, Krilencu, I wondered the exact same thing myself

[Jim]

I've always thought it was meant to be fake, to display to the audience that this man is a complete stinker.

[Krilencu]

Yeah, that also corresponds to Fleming's Drax from the book who cheated at cards.

Edited by Krilencu, 19 January 2005 - 08:51 AM.

[BONDFINESSE 007]

I've always thought it was meant to be fake, to display to the audience that this man is a complete stinker.

Jim, that's what i thought as well

[ComplimentsOfSharky]

Yeah, that also corresponds to Fleming's Drax from the book who cheated at cards.

Quite so, my first instinct was always that it was a player piano.

[Lady Templar]

I always thought he was really playing piano maybe because M. Lonsdale is himself a piano player

[stromberg]

I don't think that it was meant to be a self playing piano. In this case, they would have shown it more obvious. Lonsdale did his best to pretend he's playing. He may be a piano player. I'm not (so this is a bit of guesswork), but I don't have the impression that the movement of his fingers does match to what we hear.

Oh, and BTW: the joke with the self playing piano was already done in CR.

[freemo]

If I seen something I think is shoddy in a Bond film, particularly a Roger Moore Bond film, I assume that it was intentional.

[Moonraker]

I think he was faking it. I would have been funny if after Bond had left the piano still kept playing.

[Double-Oh-Zero]

I've always assumed the piano-playing to be for real. Just for the sake of Drax blatantly showing off to Bond.

If it was a self-playing piano, then it wasn't very obvious.

[Triton]

I don't believe that Hugo Drax was really playing the piano. I believe that the scene was meant to portray Hugo Drax as arrogant and dishonest.

[DLibrasnow]

I always thought he was really playing piano maybe because M. Lonsdale is himself a piano player 

I agree with you, I think Drax was playing the piano. I also think it was Drax just showing off.

[Qwerty]

I believe it was Drax playing the piano.

[Bondian]

Sorry to put the 'spanner in the works', but I just think it's a show of poor bluffing.

The piano he's using is a 'Pianola' but without the 'sheet' and 'drum in view of the camera.

Also I think the notes do not even move. I'll have to watch Moonraker again now.

It's just another scene whereby an actor has to fake it, but the production time and money didn't allow for more rehearsal.

As you're probably aware, the piece he's faking is "Raindrop Prelude" opus 28, number 15 in D flat Major by Fr

[BONDFINESSE 007]

that damn drax...he was a scamp

[Qwerty]

that damn drax...he was a scamp

...but elegant and polite at first.

[Bon-san]

I have always interpreted that scene as revealing Drax's arrogance and narcissism, which are underlaid in this instance with impotence and/or weakness. Very Flemingesque that.

Which is to say, he's faking playing the piano. As Bond doesn't have same excellent vantage point of we in the audience, Drax doesn't need to perfectly mimic the playing to achieve his desired effect--i.e., of being a masterful piano player.

My take, anyway.