94 replies to this topic

[DaveBond21]

Now on the CBn main page...

John Barry Not Bonding With The Modern 007

'I haven't been a Bond fan in a long time...'

New Bonds fail to strike a chord with John Barry

October 3rd, International Express. Article by Chris Goodman
John Barry talks about why he has so little faith in the modern 007.



“I haven’t been a Bond fan in a long time” he tells us in his soft Yorkshire brogue. “I gave up after Living Daylights in 1987. I had exhausted all my ideas, rung all the changes that were possible. It was a formula that had run its course. The best had been done as far as I was concerned..

Barry identifies co-producer Harry Saltzman’s sale of his share of the franchise to United Artists in 1975 as the turning point. “There used to be one solid school of people. When that broke down, I didn’t know who was running the show anymore. That’s why when you see them on television, you don’t say “Oh no, it’s an old Bond”, you say “Wow, it’s an old Bond, that’s great””.

“You see one of the newer films on and you think “Forget it, I’ll watch something else””.

He is still friends with Barbara Broccoli, current Bond producer and daughter of original Bond co-producer Cubby, but Barry will not be rushing out to see the new film (Casino Royale).

Barry sees Bond soundtracks as a clumsy excuse to advertise pop songs, inserted into action with little thought. As a result he does not even visit cinemas now, let alone work on soundtracks.

Barry also talks about his problems with Saltzman, who had told the composer that he hated the song Goldfinger, before it became a massive international hit. The song only made it into the film because it was too late to take it out.

The success of the Bond movies, Barry maintains, was a result of everyone working at the top of their game in a very special period. It is difficult to imagine that anyone involved in Casino Royale will have such a unique set of influences to draw on as did Barry. Maybe the golden age of Bond really is over?

Chris Goodman, International Express.

[RevolveR]

Weak.

[JimmyBond]

He's never been shy about slamming the Brosnan outings. I doubt he's purposely picking on Casino Royale, he probably hasnt been following it and doesnt know it's going to be a different kind of Bond film.

Perhaps Casino Royale will cause Barry to take notice and come back for the next one?

[DaveBond21]

Perhaps Casino Royale will cause Barry to take notice and come back for the next one?

I was hoping he would at least make some reference to David Arnold. Arnold has always said he is a big John Barry fan, and certainly some of Barry's style has rubbed off on him.

[JimmyBond]

He's never mentioned the other composers in the series, I see no reason for him to mention Arnold.

[Turn]

I give him credit for being honest. He could be a money grubber and turn in sub-par work for big bucks, but decided not to. Nothing wrong with that.

[DaltonCraig]

Barry was to score "Licence to Kill," but had heart heart trouble at the time and didn't recover until "Dances With Wolves" in 1990. I've heard he suggested Michael Kamen for LTK.

By the time the series returned in 1995 the producers had changed the films stylistically so much, I'm sure Barry felt pretty disconnected from the series.

Let's face it, Barry probably didn't approve of the Eric Serra score, and David Arnold just hasn't knocked it out of the park with his scores. I still feel Arnold's best was "Tomorrow Never Dies," which is really a great score, particularly when scoring the Bond theme. But after that, I think Arnold has been pushing the techno vibe to the extreme, while still trying to utilize Barry's style and it just doesn't always work. Arnold needs to find his own approach and be more confident with his own contributions, which I hope he'll do so with "Casino Royale." He has the talent and ability...

[DaveBond21]

I give him credit for being honest

Yes, it seems a few people got disgruntled with the Bond series after leaving it.

[blueman]

Agree about Arnold, DC. I think he's not let himself go, just kick out the jams, so to speak. Not sure if he has it in him, but I'd still give him a try I guess. CR looks to be "different," hope he takes his cue from that.

[DaveBond21]

I remember when David Arnold was on a British kids TV show called "Live & Kicking", talking about how he wrote the jaunty theme tune for the show!! And he had a hit with Bjork - "Play Dead".

Even then he sounded Barry-esque. But Barry seems to think that the Bond scores are just wrapped around pop songs.

[deth]

interesting, considering he was on the verge of coming back for TND....

[DaveBond21]

interesting, considering he was on the verge of coming back for TND....

Really? I didn't know that...

[RazorBlade]

It's not unusual for an ex-eployee of any film or TV series to be down on the projects that came after them. Doesn't happen ever time but not out of the ordinary.

[Santa]

In the article, it says Barry won't be rushing out to see Casino Royale, which is a bit different to giving it a miss altogether. It's a fairly poor article. If all said is true, I think Barry needs to climb down off his high horse. My father is similar - everything when he was young and everything he did were far better than anything now, oh yes, the music was better, the women were more attractive, the weather was better . That's simply not the case, every era has its good and its bad points.

[DaveBond21]

every era has its good and its bad points

Yes, exactly. I thought the mid-90s were fantastic (and the women were attractive too!), but I also love 2006 - it's great!!!

[K1Bond007]

Well I think there are many truths to what he says.

He's always been pretty vocal too especially about the Brosnan era though to my knowledge he's never specifically stated what he thought of Serra or Arnold (I've heard some accounts that he suggested Arnold, but I don't know if that's true).

[DaveBond21]

Yes I would like to hear his comments on David Arnold if he has any and whether they are positive comments or not.

[dee-bee-five]

A classic case of an old man throwing his toys out of the pram (if that isn't too mixed an metaphor).

Sadly, I'm finding as I get into my 40s that the temptation to imagine things were better when one was younger is compelling and Mr. Barry appears to have fallen prey to this.

No-one can deny his contribution to the series and he is still my favourite movie composer bar none. But he's had his shot and there's a new generation working now. Whether one finds them better or worse is purely subjective. If Mr. Barry has nothing constructive to say about the Bond films post-1987, perhaps he's best advised to say nothing at all.

Edited by dee-bee-five, 03 October 2006 - 07:03 AM.

[erniecureo]

This just kills me...

My father is similar - everything when he was young and everything he did were far better than anything now, oh yes, the music was better, the women were more attractive, the weather was better.

Oh my God, I think I'm Santajosep's father!

In the Marines, we have the "Old Corps" and the "New Corps." The old is always better, the new is always worse. And the old Corps always seems to end the day the storyteller got out of boot camp.

Still, it's a bit of a letdown to hear John Barry's comments. A leftover of of the old, "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything," philosophy, I guess.

But if I have to name one guy out there who is dynamite at scoring a film, I'd give the nod to Danny Elfman. Anyone know if he was ever approached?

[Santa]

Dad! How are you?

[Scottlee]

So that's Connery, Brosnan, and now Barry signed up for Celebrity "We hate Bond" Big Brother.

We just need another 7-9 contestants. What a show it would be!

[SecretAgentFan]

I love Barry

[Brock Samson]

But if I have to name one guy out there who is dynamite at scoring a film, I'd give the nod to Danny Elfman. Anyone know if he was ever approached?

I think Elfman's good but I just can't put him together with Bond. His scores tend to veer towards the jaunty. It seems to me that the biggest stumbling block for any new Bond composer, especially after the 'reboot', is to keep the score Bond-like without it veering into parody.
I'm still annoyed they didn't use 'Surrender' as the main title song for TND, especially as it was referenced all the way through the film.

[marktmurphy]

It seems to me that the biggest stumbling block for any new Bond composer, especially after the 'reboot', is to keep the score Bond-like without it veering into parody.
I'm still annoyed they didn't use 'Surrender' as the main title song for TND, especially as it was referenced all the way through the film.

But 'Surrender' is a parody Bond song! It would veered straight into parody with that one (although I'm not sure I'm entirely against parody for Bond).

[Brock Samson]

But 'Surrender' is a parody Bond song! It would veered straight into parody with that one (although I'm not sure I'm entirely against parody for Bond).

I did wonder about that. I really only threw that into the post as an aside as it irks me so much.
It's a fine line though. Austin Powers has a lot to answer for.

[deth]

how is Surrender a Parody song?

[Thunderfinger]

You could easily put it in a parody. It would fit.

[Mister Asterix]

He's never mentioned the other composers in the series, I see no reason for him to mention Arnold.

[mra]I heard it second hand, but I understood that Barry very highly praised Arnold

[DaveBond21]

If Mr. Barry has nothing constructive to say about the Bond films post-1987, perhaps he's best advised to say nothing at all.

That is fair enough. Although, from the article, and the photo of him, I got the impression that the Express sought him out for an interview rather than him making the comments and then the paper reporting them.

[Bond Bombshell]

Mr.Barry has made such an amazing contribution to the Bond legend and to cinema as a whole, that whenever he has an opinion I'm inclined to listen and respect it, even though I may not always agree.

As for whether life was better in the past, I for one am grateful that I grew up in a Britain free from health and safety facism, never-ending school tests, and yob infested streets. In short, I was allowed to be a kid. Today's kids may get blown up by terrorists or knifed by a gang, but at least we have saved them from the evils of conkers and turkey twizzlers.

Bah! Who said I was a grumpy old man?