40 replies to this topic

[DamnCoffee]

I'm currently watching Tomorrow Never Dies and I think that Vincent Schiavelli was one of the highlights of the movie, I really do think that his character, Dr. Kaufman is very underrated as a character and a Henchman. He is utterly brilliant and Sadistic, more of a cross between Red Grant and Loque. What's your opinion on this brilliant guy?

[sharpshooter]

I liked him, very enjoyable to watch.

[AngryPolarBear]

Yeah, great henchman and I like the encounter between him and Bond. Too bad he had so little screentime.

[bond 16.05.72]

Definitely one of the best henchmen from the Brosnan era squandered on a godawful entry, after being plesantly surprised with my recent viewing of Goldeneye I don't see my mind changing about TND.

It's a cheesy Moore flick without Rog and the lame ending is a poor mans SWLM. I admire Price as an actor but his Eliott Carver is more hammy than Hopkins is in both Hannibal & Red Dragon put together. Also Stamper is an obvious attempt to create another henchman on the standard of Red Grant and failing spectacularly

Vincent Schiavelli although was definetly an interesting actor to use, he was in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest I believe and has popped up in many roles since then.

Edited by bond 16.05.72, 24 August 2008 - 12:52 PM.

[the villain's architect]

The scene with him was very good as a joke and he played it very well: The big braggart who could be duped easily.
But more screentime for him? Please not.
And Stamper's hint that he was like a father to him was a little implausible and damaged the role of Stamper for me.

[sharpshooter]

and has popped up in many roles since then.

He sadly passed away on December 26, 2005.

[Turn]

He was used in just the right way so that we still remember the character, one of the more memorable of the Brosnan era.

I don't see any threads for other secondary villains such as Mr. Janni, Whisper, Sandor or Braun and Perez, which accounts for some of the character's worth. Kaufman seems like just some goofball from the crowd, but comes across as rather deadly, whereas a Stamper is all muscles an scowling and ends up less memorable.

[jaguar007]

I think the Dr. Kauffman scene in TND is one of the best scenes in the Brosnan era.

[zencat]

I think the Dr. Kauffman scene in TND is one of the best scenes in the Brosnan era.

I agree.

[broadshoulder]

Possibly one of the few scenes of the Brosnan era that really works. In all the others there seemed to be a directing, script or casting blip but the Dr Kaufman scene, short though it is, is well scripted, tense and well acted.

One of the few scenes between 1995 and 2002 that could have fitted into the pre-1989 era. Its that quality.

[DaveBond21]

Yes, love his character and even though I sometimes wish he had more screentime, maybe the reason he is so popular is that he was only there for a couple of minutes and didn't have the chance to lose his effectiveness.

He gets a nice mention later on as Stamper's role model. Plus I like the look on Stamper's face when he sees Bond leaving the Hamburg hotel room, and he realises that means that his father-figure is dead.

[jgw007]

Well I have to disagree, it was the casting that killed it for me - does anyone remember seeing this guy before? I mean, he was the Teacher Dr. Vargas in Fast Times at Ridgemont High - the one who pulls out the heart! I cant help watching this scene and thinking of Spicolloi saying -- DUDE NARLEY!

[Mister E]

I'm currently watching Tomorrow Never Dies and I think that Vincent Schiavelli was one of the highlights of the movie, I really do think that his character, Dr. Kaufman is very underrated as a character and a Henchman. He is utterly brilliant and Sadistic, more of a cross between Red Grant and Loque. What's your opinion on this brilliant guy?

A massively wasted opprtunity to make a great character. He did nothing more then getting killed. He was all talk and no show just like Stamper. Vincent Schiavelli was one of the greatest character actors in modern times and was given nothing to do.

Edited by Mister E, 25 August 2008 - 02:57 AM.

[Qwerty]

Certainly not underrated since, as this thread shows, many fans clearly like the character and the performance.

The quirkiness never becomes too much since the scene is perfectly paced.

[Double-Oh Agent]

I don't think Kaufman is overrated or underrated. He is regarded pretty much just as he should be--a very successful Bond henchman. He may not have much screen time, but he makes every second count and is very memorable--one of the best second-tier henchmen in the entire series.

[mrsbonds_ppk]

I did like Dr. Kaufman. He was a great addition to the film.

[Scottlee]

Yeah I liked him, and I don't think he was under-used at all. That scene was a nice attache case homage only without any kind of physical tussle once Bond had regained the advantage. Kaufman was amusing and yet at the same time quite creepy, especially when it is later revealed he wasn't joking about the torture.

[Mister E]

Yeah I liked him, and I don't think he was under-used at all.

Don't you think he could have actually done something besides talk ?

[DaveBond21]

Yeah I liked him, and I don't think he was under-used at all.

Don't you think he could have actually done something besides talk ?

Are you ever happy, Mister E?

[Mister E]

Yeah I liked him, and I don't think he was under-used at all.

Don't you think he could have actually done something besides talk ?

Are you ever happy, Mister E?

If all what Red Grant did was talk in FRWL, I doubt he would be very memorable at all. Kaufman simply stated what he could do and so did Grant but you didn't see them do anything. Hell, at least Vargas had a quiet yet spooky demeanor that made him memorable.

Edited by Mister E, 26 August 2008 - 04:31 AM.

[MajorB]

I thought he was great, and the interplay between him and Bond was very funny. But I thought the comic nature of the scene was jarring right after Paris's death. Supposedly this was one of the great loves of Bond's life, and to cap her death with essentially a satirical scene struck me as off-key. (They wouldn't have had a comical policeman show up at the end of OHMSS, after all.) And one might have expected more blind fury once Bond had the upper hand over Dr. K.--smashing him around a bit before shooting him. But I thought Brosnan played it just right given the way it was written--a very tought scene, and he nailed it. So for me more of a miss than a hit because I didn't like the context.

[SecretAgentFan]

Ah, Paris wasn´t Vesper or Tracy. Also, this harsh change of tone was always very interesting to me. Love Kaufman. Love this part of TND.

[Aris007]

Like him a lot! He could have easily taken the part of Cleese as Q if his English were slightly beter!

[Mr. Blofeld]

Anyone else think Kaufman should have been introduced a little earlier into the film, so we know who he is and what he's capable of as he expounds to Brozza-Bond? Somehow, I think that would have made it more effective, like Red Grant garrotting everybody to death in FRWL.

[Mister E]

Anyone else think Kaufman should have been introduced a little earlier into the film, so we know who he is and what he's capable of as he expounds to Brozza-Bond? Somehow, I think that would have made it more effective, like Red Grant garrotting everybody to death in FRWL.

I agree.

[Judo chop]

Lots of love here for this guy. I guess he's alright. A little too kooky to be taken totally seriously.

[Scottlee]

Yeah I liked him, and I don't think he was under-used at all.

Don't you think he could have actually done something besides talk ?

The only extended Kaufman version of TND I could envisage is where he appears in two scenes....

1) As written in the hotel, perhaps even with more humour. Bond knocks him out instead of shooting him though.

2) HE is the one, and not Stamper, standing over the torture tools in Vietnam. It would have been cool to discover that the ridiculously incompetent assassin from the hotel in Hamburg is actually one of the world's most insanely vicious torturers. Bond kills him incidentally by throwing one of the instruments into his neck (or something).

This idea is probably not interesting enough to have bothered with, but you begged the question and I've given it my best shot. What else would you have Kaufman do, aside from actually toture? He could hardly fight Bond like Red Grant did. I'm stuck for ideas on this one. The role is more or less fine as it is.

[Mister E]

This idea is probably not interesting enough to have bothered with, but you begged the question and I've given it my best shot. What else would you have Kaufman do, aside from actually toture?

Everything he say he could do. He claimed he was a forensic scientist so you can have him murder someone, or someones, and leave Bond confused as to who did it and why. That could have given the film a good thriller aspect but unfortunately, the only thing it made room for was for explosions.

Edited by Mister E, 26 August 2008 - 09:19 PM.

[Mr. Blofeld]

I think it would have been great if, earlier in the film, we had seen Kaufman killing off the head of a subsidiary company who refused to give in to Carver's overreaching megalomania. We don't yet know who Kaufman works for, so seeing this fellow be force-fed pills, then die as Kaufman strips him of his clothes, dumps him in the bathtub, arranges the knocked-over bottle of pills to be just-so, etc., would be really disorienting and creepy.

After that, we might next see him at the media party, where he heads up the squad of goons who beat Bond up; after a few minutes of bashing, Kaufman might signal, step forward, pull out a needle, and ever-so-gently run it over Bond's neck, then jam it into the small of the back, making 007 cry out in unbearable pain.

[Scottlee]

I'm not so sure about the needle thing but having Kaufman at least at the party might have beefed up the role yet without overstretching it.