49 replies to this topic

[Aris007]

Just put the bloody traditional non-gimmicky gunbarrel back in it's right place for Bond 23 please EON.

Seconded Couldn't agree more!

Thirded. And please slow down Craig a bit! He's running like Bolt!

My best, OHMSS. The music is great and the walking and shooting is by far the best. Second the one from GE. Possibly the best piece of music Serra composed in the film.

You and I have something in common again, my friend! Yes, I've always tought: "Hey, Dan looks like he's got a pee. He might have told the producers: 'Let's done this gunbarrel thing quickly and let me go to the bathroom!' "

And yes, I love the GoldenEye barrel! The cuartel-like mettalic sound works great! I admit being a Serra defender. Not everything he's done was OK, and he's very far away from Barry and Arnold, but I liked many of his music!

True! Craig's gunbarrel should have been slower. It had great potential being in the end of the film. It could have given a nice taste to viewers. And instead, it seems like the producers had ran out of time or film to make it proper. Even the music is fast! "You don't think it gave me any pleasure, do you?"

I just hope his second gunbarrel will be good enough.

[Double-Oh Agent]

Best: For Your Eyes Only -- Great music. Truly a classic.

Worst: Quantum Of Solace -- Three reasons why: 1) It's located at the end of the film, 2) Daniel Craig walks way too fast, and 3) Craig walks away after he shoots. The music is the only thing that works in the sequence. The rest of it is a huge misfire.

[Attempting Re-entry]

I actually quite liked the Quantum of Solace one, though he does look like he's in a rush. "Crawl End Crawl" by Four Tet sfter the Bond theme as the credits roll seals the deal for me. Great ending.

[Mr. Blofeld]

I actually quite liked the Quantum of Solace one, though he does look like he's in a rush. "Crawl End Crawl" by Four Tet after the Bond theme as the credits roll seals the deal for me. Great ending.

I liked it, too; one of my favs, and so forceful.

[elizabeth]

Best: FRWL. Love the flashback to 40s film noir.

I can't remember enough to pick a worst.

[Colombo]

Daniels CR was pitch perfect in my opinion. Short. Sharp. Shock. The fact that the gun barrel itself had too many (unfeasible)rifles & the the music was far removed from the originals didn't bother me too much because the way i saw it was that, all the other gubarrels were re-enactments of this real-life classic start to his career.

However, although the QOS stance was similar, the walk on (and walk off?!) which we didn't see in CR was too rushed...but that could be said of the whole film ; )

The first Bond I saw was DAF and I still love it. The Bob Simmonds Bowler hat and little jump at the end didn't work for me.

Moore as much agreed had the best music. Preferred the Original LALD & TMWTGG though. The subsequent ones always annoyed me because the light seems to overexpose the right upper leg, giving Rog an abnormally atrophic quadriceps ; P

Pierce's seem a tad too 'Strike a pose on the catwalk' but were servicable. Was let down by the music...non-existant in GE and That Awful DAD cg bullet.

Daltons was scrappy & imo keeping in line with the tone of his films. Love the alternate music stanza from LTK...started this rogue bond with and epic quality...if only this film reached such heights.

Lazenby's was just wrong, and unnecessarily trying to stand (or rather kneel) apart.

On a side note, I remember reading Desmond Llewelyn mentioning Rogers clowning around during the shooting of his gunbarrels. Even turning and dropping his pants for one...what I wouldn't give to see that footage : )

[sharpshooter]

Favourite from each Bond:

YOLT
OHMSS
LALD
LTK
GE
CR

[Mr. Blofeld]

The first Bond I saw was DAF and I still love it. The Bob Simmonds Bowler hat and little jump at the end didn't work for me.

Bob Simmons didn't do that gunbarrel; it was Sean Connery (converted to black-and-white and reused from Thunderball, and the hat is called a trilby, my dear Colombo.

[Colombo]

The first Bond I saw was DAF and I still love it. The Bob Simmonds Bowler hat and little jump at the end didn't work for me.

Bob Simmons didn't do that gunbarrel; it was Sean Connery (converted to black-and-white and reused from Thunderball, and the hat is called a trilby, my dear Colombo.

I did know that The DAF Gunbarrel was Connery, I mentioned Bob Simmonds in the same breath as he did the first half of the SC Bonds (which I didn't much care for). My bad on the trilby though : )

[AMC Hornet]

The only difference between the first 3 gunbarrels was the music. IMCO, Goldfinger's worked the best, being just a little more exciting and upbeat (James Bond back in action!).

TB, YOLT and DAF are also the same (reshot in Panavision), but DAF wins for being the first I ever saw.

LALD and TMWTGG are also the same (super 35 mm). Of Moore's Panavision intros, I like TSWLM for skipping the brass fanfare and FYEO for being more agressive ("I have a fever - and the only prescription..."). Any time John Barry used violins instead of the Vic Flick guitar riff was a mistake.

LTK is memorable for sounding wrong (are all the theatre's speakers turned on?) but it grows on you.

And now:

Goldeneye's gunbarrel was a welcome treat after the six-year hiatus. The reflections in the barrel I thought were reminiscent of Dr. No and DAF (until I went back and found that Dr. No didn't actually have that, and DAF was just a dubbed-in swirling effect). My brother-in-law (a percussionist) loved the timpani work, but thought Pierce looked a little stiff. I felt PB's no-nonsense pose and demeanor said "got you, you bastard!"

David Arnold likewise skipping the brass fanfare in TND and TWINE again worked for me.

That said, I shall now be the lone voice in the wilderness....

Having heard that Die Another Day would be a tribute to the forty-year series, I LOVED the bullet zinging into the barrel. That told me, right from the outset, "sure, this is the twentieth film, but we're still going to be throwing a few surprises your way." I was not disapppointed. The not-so subtle change to the traditional opening shook up a lot of people, apparently pissing off most of those posting to this thread, but I accepted it in the spirit intended.

That said, I was not so happy with CR. The least they could have done was let the white dots roll and lead directly into the PTS. Same with QoS. Why should Daniel Craig have to 'earn' his gunbarrel's place at the beginning of the film?

Bring it on for 23, even if it's the same footage used at the end of QoS. Just put it where it belongs.

[PrinceKamalKhan]

Best: <!-- film-start --><span class="film" id="FILM">The Man with the Golden Gun</span><!-- film-end -->. I really like Barry's rendition for his first Moore film and the way the barrel bounces back and forth in time to it.

Worst: <!-- film-start --><span class="film" id="FILM">Quantum of Solace</span><!-- film-end -->. I have no problem with the idea of placing it at the end of the film but it felt too rushed for me.

Here's my full rankings of all 22 of them:

001) The Man with the Golden Gun
002) You Only Live Twice
003) Thunderball
004) From Russia With Love
005) Goldfinger
006) On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
007) Die Another Day
008) The Living Daylights
009) Live and Let Die
0010) Diamonds Are Forever
0011) Licence to Kill
0012) Tomorrow Never Dies
0013) Casino Royale
0014) Dr. No
0015) Moonraker
0016) A View to a Kill
0017) The Spy Who Loved Me
0018) Octopussy
0019) For Your Eyes Only
0020) The World is not Enough
0021) GoldenEye
0022) Quantum of Solace

[00 Brosnan]

Best: Pierce Brosnan
Why: The way he walks is smooth, calm, and cool w/ a determined & confident swagger. He turns quick and shoots straight up. Everyone else kneels down and/or wobbles, just doesn't look as cool. Plus Brosnan has the CGI gun barrel which I think adds some pop to the sequence.

In my opinion, either GoldenEye or Tomorrow Never Dies is the best gunbarrel. TND has a classic Bond tune and GE has a unique techno opening that turns into a smooth take on classic Bond tunes.

Worst: Daniel Craig
Why: I'm not a fan of the gunbarrel used in Casino Royale at all, it goes against tradition. As for Quantum of Solace, I prefer the classic barrel to the new one and Craig walks super fast. It just looks odd, like it's being fast-forwarded or something. Not cool.

Edited by 00 Brosnan, 01 January 2011 - 07:43 PM.

[Revelator]

I've always thought that Lazenby's gunbarrel was by far the absolute best. The cold, slithering synth, the propulsive beat, Lazenby's inexorable stride, and the limber, lightning fast-fall to the knee, demonstrating that this is a man who can turn on the violence in an instant and strike fast as a snake. Next to that Connery's wobble is funny, Moore looks lethargic, Dalton gentlemanly, Brosnan and Craig rushed.

[JimmyBond]

Time to stick up for the little guy.

I really love the QoS gunbarrel. I like the fast walk, why? After five actors it's something new. I didn't think Craig would be able to do anything different in his gunbarrel that would differentiate his from the rest...but he did. And for that I applaud him. If they do put the gunbarrel at the start of the next one, I hope they use that one. In my eyes it's perfect.

That said though I really enjoy Dalton's gunbarrels, while they both are identical, I do like Kamen's score for the LTK one. While I'm not saying he's better than Barry (that would be sacrilege) I do really like the way the music is telling you to expect something different with the film.

Worst? I'm not a fan of the Moore ones from TSWLM on, his turn is just too slow. Had an assassin really been gunning for him, Bond would be dead before he fully turned.

[SPECTRE ASSASSIN]

Just add Timothy Dalton's smooth walking and the music of David Arnold's gunbarrel sequence from "Tomorrow Never Dies" and you'll get the perfect gunbarrel opening for a Bond movie.

OHMSS's gunbarrel only misfired from being the perfect one because of Lazenby's walk. To each its own, but Lazenby looks like he's taking his sweet time walking.

[mttvolcano]

Just add Timothy Dalton's smooth walking and the music of David Arnold's gunbarrel sequence from "Tomorrow Never Dies" and you'll get the perfect gunbarrel opening for a Bond movie.

OHMSS's gunbarrel only misfired from being the perfect one because of Lazenby's walk. To each its own, but Lazenby looks like he's taking his sweet time walking.

I agree!
Roger and Timothy Dalton had the smoothest walks. I would have liked the Quantum of Solace Gunbarrel to be slower and it would be good. I like Craig but he seems kinda stiff in movements...

[plankattack]

I must confess, I never thought I'd ever end up in discussions evaluating Bond-actors styles of walk, but the greatest thing about CBn is that we're all game for pretty much anything!!!

I know somewhere earlier in the thread there was a SC-Bob Simmons "which was which breakdown", but I can't be bothered to go back and double-check so......

SC's are memorable because when it's Simmons it's clearly not SC (never could understand why SC's double was apparently about seven inches shorter!!). On the positive side I do have a soft spot for the DAF sheen and Barry's twanging theme.

Hats off (ta-dum - his hat does seem so much bigger than SC's - maybe Laz had a small head?) to Laz for the kneel down and he really does swagger, though I'm always thrown by the pause for Harry and Cubby's name to plastered across the screen (understand why, but it does take away from the dramatic effect of intro).

Sir Rog always seemed vaguely unconvincing in his gun-barrels, but so would I if lumbered with trousers flared to about a foot at the bottom.

Agree with those that like the smoothness of TD, and those that find that LTK's musical accompaniment always leaves them checking the sound system.

Brozza's are, across one tenure, consistently the best, though the CGI bullet is one of the most heinous things ever foisted onto the franchise (along with invisible cars and codename theories, it's amazing how much damage one director seemed determined to wreak - did Tamahori know anything about the series he was joining?). Kleinmann made something memorable out of what was really just a white dot, and Serra and Arnold both played their part. As always though, you are left with the feeling that Brozza was trying, oooh, just a bit too hard.

DC's CR is quick, efficient, dramatic and a refreshing change, but it also seems a just a tad cheap and colourless (though that could be down to too many Youtube viewings on my part...), and the QoS gunbarrel just doesn't fit. Too sudden, too quick, DC looks too short and while being at the end isn't an issue with me, I feel it never quite flows with the ending that it follows. Not bad - just not quite apt.

Edited by plankattack, 05 January 2011 - 08:25 PM.

[Mr. Blofeld]

1.) On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
2.) Quantum of Solace
3.) From Russia With Love
4.) Casino Royale
5.) Dr. No
6.) Live and Let Die
7.) For Your Eyes Only
8.) Licence to Kill
9.) The Spy Who Loved Me
10.) The Living Daylights
11.) Thunderball
12.) Octopussy
13.) Goldfinger
14.) Tomorrow Never Dies
15.) The World is Not Enough
16.) GoldenEye
17.) The Man with the Golden Gun
18.) Diamonds Are Forever
19.) You Only Live Twice
20.) Die Another Day
21.) Moonraker
22.) A View to a Kill

[O.H.M.S.S.]

1.) On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
2.) The Living Daylights
3.) Diamonds Are Forever
4.) GoldenEye
5.) Goldfinger
6.) Licence to Kill
7.) For Your Eyes Only
8.) You Only Live Twice
9.) The Man with the Golden Gun
10.) From Russia with Love
11.) Thunderball
12.) Moonraker
13.) Dr. No
14.) The World Is Not Enough
15.) A View to a Kill
16.) Tomorrow Never Dies
17.) Live and Let Die
18.) Die Another Day
19.) The Spy Who Loved Me
20.) Quantum of Solace
21.) Casino Royale
22.) Octopussy

[Nicolas Suszczyk]

Best: Pierce Brosnan
Why: The way he walks is smooth, calm, and cool w/ a determined & confident swagger. He turns quick and shoots straight up.

Indeed
He walks with a lot of style! And I like the music effect in GoldenEye: that cuartel-like metallic sound when Pierce walks adds more suspense and when I first saw it I tought: "Yay! Bond's coming!"