285 replies to this topic

[00Twelve]

Mentioned it before, but I can't stop loving the framing of Bond v. Greene & entourage in the Bregenz lobby while the cymbals crash and the timpanis rumble and the brass sings.

Such a lovely Hitchcockian, Kubrickian feel there. Wonderful contrast from the more intimate Bond/Le Chiffre faceoff across the baize in the last film.

[DaveBond21]

I have always liked this one from the much-maligned TWINE.

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[DaveBond21]

Love the shot of Bond and M in Scotland. If they linger on it, it could join this list, but ADHD sometimes dictates otherwise.

[Ren]

My favourite scenes (of many) are in LTK, when

a) Della throws her blue garter to Bond on his departue: Timothy Dalton's look/expression is fantastic

after the final exploding of the truck Timothy Dalton's close up

Edited by Ren, 30 May 2012 - 12:12 PM.

[DaveBond21]

Love the shot in Dr No, of Bond in the car from the airport looking back at Leiter's car.

 

In Skyfall there are so many to choose from, including:-

 

- Bond's entrance to the casino on the boat

 

- tracking shot of Severine and Bond on the boat to Silva's island

 

- Bond and M in Scotland

 

- rooftop scene with Moneypenny

 

- the classic view of M's office

[hilly]

I'm sure it has been mentioned already, but the aerial long shot in OHMSS of Blofeld's men on skis chasing Bond and Tracy is just beautiful

[agentbug]

None in particular jump out as my absolute favourite, however here are some of my picks:

Yes, definitely the aerial pan following Bond and Mollaka at the beginning of CR, Bond on
the rooftops, descending, Mollaka on the ground.

Also in CR, the top-down shot of the explosion at the construction site.

QoS – the opening shot across Lake Garda. Also the close up of Bond's eyes in the car.

DAD – I’m usually against sped-up shots, however the one used during the car chase on ice does add a certain something. In fact there are several shots from that sequence that stand out, such as the Jag going into its spin, and the aerial pan that follows the cars from one side of a giant iceberg through to the other side of it... really captures the spectacle of the location.

Edited by agentbug, 10 January 2015 - 12:15 AM.

[Vauxhall]

The arrival into Venice in CASINO ROYALE is fantastic, particularly coupled with Arnold's "City of Lovers". Having said that, Venice always looks great. 

 

Plenty of options in SKYFALL, thanks to Roger Deakins - the Shanghai skyscraper fight, the DB5 driving through the Scottish glen, Silva silhouetted against the Skyfall fire, Bond looking across the Westminster rooftops. Definitely the best looking Bond film, but I'm excited to see what Hoyte van Hoytema can do with SPECTRE.

[Blofeld's Cat]

 

The shot from above Bond bungee-jumping off the dam wall at the start of Goldeneye is a great one too.

Agreed. That entire sequence has great camera work.

 

I'm going for the opposite end of that sequence when Bond fires his gun at the bottom of the jump. He is in dark shadow with dam above him in the light. Quite surreal in look.

[Pierceuhhh]

Brosnan drawing his gun as he walks past the revolving mirrors in DAD as the music builds.

Brosnan's stuntman rolling under the closing garage door in TND.

One of the guys getting himself electrocuted in the background after a THIRD attempt at opening Bond's BMW in TND.

Spottiswoode brings a little flair to the proceedings if nothing else!

[AMC Hornet]

GF: The aerial pan into the Fountainbleu, accompanied by Barry's brassy 'Into Miami'.

 

TB: The aerial shots of the Bahamian waters while Bond and Felix search for the Vulcan; the Disco Volante jettisoning its cocoon.

 

YOLT: Dawn over Matsu island (just how Fleming described it); the first pan down into the crater (no wonder Dr. Evil wanted one of his own!).

 

OHMSS: Sir Hilary's 'Journey to Blofeld's Hideaway'; The avalanche fanning up over the rock promontory; one of Draco's men tumbling down the slope at Piz Gloria as a helicopter hoves into view overhead.

 

DAF: The first shot of the Whyte House (you can thank Albert Whitlock for half of that); Bond 'mountaineering about' outside the same.

 

LALD: That boat jump; crocs' eyes surfacing in the muddy water.

 

TMWTGG: Scaramanga apparently drawing a bead on Bond's back outside the Bottoms Up Club; the traditional Thai dancers performing while Bond & Goodnight enjoy some '74 Phuyuck .

 

TSWLM: that first shot of Bond's ski tips, accompanied by Hamlisch's 'Bond 77' and the dive though that ice arch; when the lights come on inside the Liparus.

 

MR: The two squads of astronauts deploying towards each other (define 'audacious').

 

OP: The Shivnivas Hotel poolside lit up with fairy lights for the meeting between Bond & Magda.

 

NSNA: Bond revealing Q's motor-bike toy, swinging around with his helmet on and blasting out of the garage; the warhead sled churning around in circles while Bond & Largo grapple beneath it.

 

TLD: The Harrier rising out of the tower in Vienna (how did it get there unnoticed? never mind...); Bond and Necros falling out of the Hercules on the cargo net.

 

DAD: 'Iced, Inc.'.

 

CR: Bond and Molloka jumping from one crane to another; Bond admiring his new dinner jacket; Bond smirking as Carlos flashes into non-existence off-camera.

 

SF: Aerial approach to Shanghai, Macau, & Hashima Island.

 

Is that enough for now?

[DaveBond21]

Fantastic list AMC.

[AMC Hornet]

Additional concept:

 

That portrait shot of a character that says everything about him/her, such as:

 

Sanchez, when he reminds Hector Lopez "You're only president...for life." That smug, triumphant grin says a lot about why he clawed his way up to the top of the drug-peddling heap.

 

Nick Nack's sly smile after Bond walks into the plate glass in the fun house. Devious bastard.

 

I could go on, but I'll let others do instead.

[DaveBond21]

From FRWL:-

 

- the very first shot we get of Istanbul

 

- the other one I love is the shot of people running, at ground level after the explosion in the Soviet consulate

[glidrose]

A cursory glance at this thread confirms something I've believed for decades. Most of the Bond films are badly shot.

Bond & film historian Adrian Turner also holds this view. Let me quote him: "Sad about that - however, I might argue that none of the original Bond films (everything up to the Brosnan era) had more than routine-looking photography. Thunderball is especially ugly, in my view. Considering the money they lavished on the sets and locations, most of them looked fairly ordinary. Even You Only Live Twice, shot by Freddie Young, looks ho-hum and could have been shot by any old journeyman."

I wouldn't go that far. I think Goldfinger has some startling visuals, as do some of the other films. But by and large the films are not well shot. Just looking at some reference book on the Bond films full of pictures, I was struck by how truly ugly a film Live and Let Die is. The colors, the lighting, even the framing of the shots. Just awful. I flipped to the end of the book and was amazed how startling the imagery in QoS is by comparison.

[DaveBond21]

Some from SPECTRE:-

 

The opening shot of the Day of the Dead festival

 

The SPECTRE meeting

 

Welcome to Tangiers

[Professor Pi]

That lake shot in Altuisse as Bond goes to visit Mr. White.

[glidrose]

Bloferhauser's face almost superimposed on the glass against Bond's inside the old MI6 building.

Those lovely shots of the helicopter flying around Mexico's skyscrapers at the end of the PTS.

Those snowy ominous mountains when Bond walks to White's villa.

And of course the stunning 4 minute steadicam opening section.

[The Shark]

"Even You Only Live Twice, shot by Freddie Young, looks ho-hum and could have been shot by any old journeyman."

 

Strongly disagree with Turner there. There are some stunning shots in YOLT,

 

[SecretAgentFan]

 

"Even You Only Live Twice, shot by Freddie Young, looks ho-hum and could have been shot by any old journeyman."

 

Strongly disagree with Turner there. There are some stunning shots in YOLT,

 

 

 

Definitely!  Young shot YOLT in the most attractive and inventive way.

 

One of my favorite shots in YOLT, by the way, is the camera flying over the Kobe dock while Bond makes his escape over the roofs, knocking down the bad guys, while Barry´s wonderful rendition of the main theme is playing on the soundtrack. 

 

That´s also one of my all-time favorite shots which define what Bond is all about (for me).

[hilly]

The aerial shot of Blofeld's men chasing Bond and Tracy in OHMSS has always been a favourite of mine.

The final shot of Baron Samedi sitting on the front of the train in Live and Let Die

The ski jump from TWSLM

 

I've only seen it the once, but the opening tracking shot of Spectre has been justifiably praised. Can't wait for the dvd!

[Professor Pi]

The Moonraker DVD talks about the reveal of the space station.  It was a miniature too.  Really beautiful lighting revealing it.

[trevanian]

Okay if I cheat and take two?

Top choice without doubt: the bathroom scene after Bond's poisoning. The lighting, the angle of the shot captured his panic and delerium to perfection.
 

Amazes me this gets such love. I always point to this as an example of how to wreck a movie shot on film by doing digital post work with the DI that screams 'this effect is done electronically, not with light' ... I think it looks absolutely godawful and undercuts the performance rather than highlighting it (though to be fair, I really despise nearly all of CR and that goes for Craig as well as the script, so I'm not predisposed to cut ANY of the movie slack -- it is still the only Bond movie outside of TND that I cannot sit through in a single viewing without fastforwarding, and the only Bond movie outside of SKYFALL I haven't been able to bring myself to see more than twice.)

 

I remember the first time I saw these kinds of 'done in post' overexposures on STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION, where they would also drop in the impression of smoke on a set sometimes in post, and it always seemed applied and had the feel of a hand on a dial controlling it rather than an in-camera solution.  I suppose you can claim 'space/sci-fi' as a defense there if you're desperate, but Bond, especially CR with its allegedly more believable storytelling, can't make that a defense.

 

Just to show that I'm not out to get this director and DP, I'd say that the long shot of Bros in the cemetary of statues in GE is one of my fave shots in any Bond movie. Atmospheric as hell and reminds me somehow of the FRWL palette. For a 2nd unit shot, I'd say Draco's copters in formation in OHMSS is just [Piz] glorious looking.

[trevanian]

Also love a lot of Schaefer's work in QOS, the military baddies waitinga round in the hotel looking out at nothing before Bond and villain show up is great, as is the pre=kitchen squareoff between Bond and all the other tuxeodos.

[sharpshooter]

One of my favorite shots in YOLT, by the way, is the camera flying over the Kobe dock while Bond makes his escape over the roofs, knocking down the bad guys, while Barry´s wonderful rendition of the main theme is playing on the soundtrack. 

That's my favourite shot in the series. The music makes it feel so nostalgic and adventurous. It doesn't get much better than this, IMO.

[tdalton]

Also love a lot of Schaefer's work in QOS, the military baddies waitinga round in the hotel looking out at nothing before Bond and villain show up is great, as is the pre=kitchen squareoff between Bond and all the other tuxeodos.

I thought that those were great moments as well.

As for the best camera shot in the entire franchise? That's a very difficult question to answer. There are just so many great moments in the franchise to really single out one thing.

I think that if we're just talking about the camera shot and the visual it provides rather than within the context of anything with regards to the film's story, the shot I'd nominate would be the one of Silva walking along the outside of Skyfall with the searchlight on the helicopter trailing him. Either that one or the one of Silva walking in silhouette against the explosion of Skyfall behind him. Regardless of my opinions about Skyfall as a film, the cinematography was phenomenal.

[casinoroyale75]

Daniel Craig's Bond, James Bond at the end of Casino. Absolute perfection for me.

 

Black and white introduction of Casino Royale...wow, you knew this was going to be different. Fabulous.

 

Standing in front of the mountains, fog, and the atmosphere with M during Skyfall. The visuals, breathtaking.

 

Also love the CR martini close-up.

[Odd Jobbies]

I'm keen on the shot in SPECTRE in which an out of focus Bond shoots two assassins before they shoot Monica Bellucci, then strolls to her side, still out of focus for several seconds. Reminded me of the Bond pose in the old posters:

 

Also, the opera music works wonderfully with the photography and the unfolding scene.

[Pierceuhhh]

The only SPECTRE shot that stood out to me was al the shadowy figures in Blofeld's control room suddenly spinning around and standing in the background - quite a creepy effect!

Otherwise I found SPECTRE's photography ILL-CONCEIVED and was appalled that Hoytemanseemed to give up on even using a tripod at about the two-thirds mark. It felt sloppy and rushed.

[tdalton]

Favorite shot of SPECTRE, and one of my favorites of the entire franchise, was the one where Swann mimes a gunshot at Bond through the curtain on the bed before she goes to sleep after rejecting his advances.