31 replies to this topic

[ChandlerBing]

A few years ago it was rumored there would be a new cut of Never Say Never Again on laser disc. I remember reading it in one of the Connery Bond books I have on my coffee table. Supposedly, the score would be replaced (Yay!), more scenes would be thrown in (Blofeld had a death scene!) and the film itself would not suck nearly as much. What does everyone think of this? I don't think it's going to happen now that MGM has the rights to it and don't really give a rat's *** about it. Seeing what they did to it on its initial DVD release was bad enough.

[zencat]

Sounds too good to be true.

My friends and I once played the OHMSS theme over the NSNA "pre-titles" sequence and it worked beautifully! A new score would do wonders for that film. Try it.

[Roebuck]

There's a lot I like about NSNA.
The cast for instance. And the opening sequence was a nice change of pace from the official series pre-title sequence (where they always seem to waste the films best stunt in the first ten minutes of it's running time).
I always wondered why EON never put Bond on a Q branch motorcycle.
Seems to me someone was bound to have suggested it before NSNA.

If there was a 'Special Edition' DVD I'd definitely be up for it.

[rafterman]

maybe they can go back and make the film better

[ChandlerBing]

Doing more reading about Never Say Never Again last night and I kept hearing about how Kirshner and his indecisiveness made the budget go over by quite a bit. He'd change his mind quite a bit and he really screwed the pooch quite badly. Also, did a lot of you know that Connery did NOT want James Horner as the composer as everyone else wanted. That is how we got LeGrand for the score.

[rafterman]

Connery must have no taste in music....Horner would have been good for the film...

[ChandlerBing]

Listening to the Beatles without earmuffs would have been better than what they had for the music.

[Double-Oh-Zero]

Maybe this'll give them a chance to make Connery look younger. Actually, it's been awhile since I've seen this one again. I thought Rowan Atkinson was quite funny in it. He was one of the few things that made the film okay. Still, I wouldn't mind checking it out if it ever did happen.

[ChandlerBing]

If they can make Hopkins look younger for Red Dragon, why not go for the 1964 era Bond for Never Say...?

[1q2w3e4r]

I wish you could do that... How good would it be, Bogart would be making films still, and Grant, Gable.... It'd be a lot of fun...

[Tanger]

I read about the deleted death scene of Blofeld.
His cat supposedly had poisoned claws and when Blofeld lifted it awkwardly it pricked him and he had a slow painful death scene.

I think the main reason it was cut was:
a) How do you give a cat poisoned claws. The only way I can think of is use the poison like nail varnish

If it was poisoned why would he hold it? And why had he not died many years previously?


A new NSNA would be sweet! The score sucks major ***** and definitely needs a revamp.
I believe that at one time, Conti and Barry were bothe approached to do it originally.

It'd be great if they could give it a gun-barrel, Bond score and the all the things the official ones have. That'd make it a fully official film!

[rafterman]

the music sounds like it should be in a pørno film...

[ThomasCrown76]

If Kim Basinger or Barbara Carrera were in a pørno film with that score....oh, sorry, my mind was elsewhere.

[WC]

Apparently there was meant to be a pre-title sequence at some medieval event with knights and jousting and one of the knights being Bond. Then there was supposed to be a chase across a car park on horses. That might've been interesting.

What did the DVD do to NSNA? How did it butcher it?

If the credits were removed from over the training sequence at the start of NSNA and allowed to play as normal until Bond gets stabbed, that could be a pre-title sequence. At the point when he gets the knife, a new title sequence with the song could be inserted in.

[JimmyBond]

Originally posted by Welshcat
.

What did the DVD do to NSNA? How did it butcher it?

Well, its since been recalled and the problem was corrected, so theres little chance of finding one of those "butchered" discs now. Anways, the scene where Bond uses his famous introduction "Bond, James Bond" at the arcade was cut, people joked that it was MGM just being s, though thats not too hard to imagine

[Tanger]

Was that just on Region 1 or on all regions?

I haven't really watched my NSNA DVD properly (I just bought it to complete my collection) so I haven't really noticed whether the Bond. James Bond line is in there or not. As far as I can recall, I don't even remember it being in the TV versions.

[WC]

I seem to remember him saying "my name is Bond, James Bond" in the arcade, on the tv version. I even remember that it is one of the first lines they use when they've had previews of the film on ITV a few days before it's due to play.

[JimmyBond]

Well, if you just recently bought the DVD, then chances are, you have the corrected DVD. The bad discs were all recalled rather quickly.

[cool guy]

I bought the NSNA DVD recently and didn't bother to check the security sticker to see if it's the butchered one, becasue it's been a while and wouldn't think it would still be around, but it ended up to be the butchered!:mad:

[OHMSS]

A simple answer as to whether or not a special edition or director's cut version will ever see the light of day is a big fat NO.

The reason for this is simple. The movie is not very good and the only reason MGM put it on DVD is to appease completists who buy bad movies. They did a pretty bare bones transfer, no special features, unless you count the trailer (whoop dee doo!). The movie is out there so MGM doesn't have to field questions about its availability.

No Director's Cut will ever surface because MGM secretly want Never Say Never Again stricken for the Bond record. As far as they are concerned, if not for Sean Connery, this movie would have ZERO marketability. After years of legal battles to stop a competing franchise of Bond movies, MGM snapped up the rights to NSNA and flushed it down the toilet as a token of gratitude. That is why the packaging bears no resemblence to any of the other movies.

I must say that I was really disappointed to see that the Region 1 DVDs are just being reissued as-is without any new touches. Save a few deleted scenes on a couple of the DVDs, there are hours upon hours of deleted scenes, gag reels, screen tests, you name it. What I wouldn't give for a few days alone in the MGM vaults. Maybe some day that stuff will see the light of day.

[BondNumber7]

Originally posted by rafterman
Connery must have no taste in music....Horner would have been good for the film...

Didn't Connery see The Wrath of Khan? If he did he would have known how good James Horner really is.

[IrishCrown]

I still like the comment earlier about the score sounding like a pørn movie. The only time I drag out the soundtrack is to play the bit where Connery massages Basinger. It's worked countless times over the years as a great icebreaker for a few willing women.

[Kingdom Come]

I never liked NSNA. I have it on dvd though. I think its score is good and a fresh take on the usual scores. To remake Thunderball was never a good idea!

[ChandlerBing]

To remake The Man With The Golden Gun and
Moonraker...actually a very good idea! And Goldfinger? Wait, they already did that with A View To A Kill.

[bonded56]

I saw a PM MAGAZINE segment on TV when NSNA was released. They showed a segment of the chase with Bond on the motorcyccle and had the James Bond theme playing in the background.

[Loomis]

I actually like NSNA, but since it's not part of the hallowed EON series I wouldn't care if I never saw it again. Connery IS fantastic, though.

In fact, I think he's far, far better in NSNA than he was in either YOLT or DAF.

[ChandlerBing]

I used to watch that movie 2-3 times a day in the summer back in the 80s when I had a huge crush on Kim Basinger. Now it's kind of dated, and really sucks actually. I like Connery in it better than he likes himself in it, I'm sure. Ugly production, so-so movie.

[DLibrasnow]

I love "Never Say Never Again" -- it's probably easily in my top 5 of Bond movies!

[Scottlee]

When you think about it, there's never really been a great many deleted scenes to see that weren't in the original Bond movies. I remember seeing three or four in the DAF DVD, but I can't think of any instances where I've seen them anywhere else. I suppose it's the old "Put every penny up on screen" motto shining through.

Oh, and I don't really care about seeing a new version of NSNA. It's a naff film with that's only worth watching when there's nothing else on because of Connery.

Oh, and I've never seen the big attraction in Kim Basinger.

[DLibrasnow]

Originally posted by Scottlee

Oh, and I don't really care about seeing a new version of NSNA. It's a naff film with that's only worth watching when there's nothing else on because of Connery.  

Oh, and I've never seen the big attraction in Kim Basinger.

Are you blind?? Seriously, she was a lot more interesting back in 1983, but I have to disagree with your assessment of NSNA, it's certainly better than the great majority of EON Bond films.