98 replies to this topic

[Manticore]

And how a shot/dying Zukovsky can steady his hand enough to shoot off the lock on the torture device to free Bond is as farfetched as anything in the Moore era.

In this film, all sequences with Valentin are great. This one is the part I like best. His smile when he shoot...We can feel his friendship for his "best enemy".

[007½]

I hate Doctor No. I quite like the villian, but the film is just way too slow. Plus the title sequence is one of the worst ever, IMO.

Part of the Dalton films are naff as well, but other sequences make up for it.

And that's my humble opinion over and done with. Thanks for giving it a cursory glance.

[Col. Sun]

I hate Doctor No. I quite like the villian, but the film is just way too slow. Plus the title sequence is one of the worst ever, IMO.

I love Dr. No -- the first 3 Bond films are, IMO and many others, classics.

What you might consider is that in 1962 no one had made a film like Dr. No - North By Northwest is probably the closest in terms of the style, tone, humour, action set pieces.

Maurice Binder's titles were unique and his graphics, the use of the dots, the inspired gun-barrel, the silhouettes and bold blocks of colour were very fresh and established iconic images that are still being re-worked to this day, just look at the moving dots in the QOS titles.

The pace may seem slow to some by today's standards, but in '62 Dr. No was considered a very fast moving picture - Peter Hunt's razor sharp, bold editing was way ahead of its time. Some critics even thought the film was too fast.

Bond's introduction in the casino is wonderful. Connery is terrific; and would only get better in the next 3 films. The film is beautifully photographed, has tremendous atmosphere and is very well cast. Great set design by Ken Adam which is unlike any other film at that point in time.

In '62 Dr. No was pretty ground breaking stuff and it made a huge impact on the action/thriller genre. I know people who saw it back then in the first weeks of its release and they were simply blown away by it.

It can be argued that we can only judge a film (or any art, book, stage play, music etc.) by how we see or experience it NOW, but I strongly disagree. IMO, everything must be seen in context; the history/the past mustn't be ignored otherwise all those great classics will be lost on the next generations and that would be a terrible shame.

[Fan]

Die Another Day
But I'm not sure if it counts as a 'Bond film' as I don't know if Bond was the main character. A 'Jinx film,' (ugh, that just sounds bad) maybe?

Also, as clothes go, I absolutely hate "Euro Bond" - the gaudy continental outfits distracted from the films.

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

Die Another Day
But I'm not sure if it counts as a 'Bond film' as I don't know if Bond was the main character. A 'Jinx film,' (ugh, that just sounds bad) maybe?

Also, as clothes go, I absolutely hate "Euro Bond" - the gaudy continental outfits distracted from the films.

What do you mean with "Euro Bond"? I never heard of this term. Please enlighten me.

[Fan]

What do you mean with "Euro Bond"? I never heard of this term. Please enlighten me.

When Brozza became the new Bond for the Europhilic era, Lindy Hemming wanted to Europeanise and de-Anglify Bond's look. As a result, she decided to put him in clothes that are far more European than English. Mind you, I am not just referring to Brioni as maker, although that as well is part of it. They can make traditional styles; however the particular clothes he was put in were not particularly English in style; they were way too flashy and gaudy most of the time.

They decided that English bespoke was worth less to the franchise than ridiculous and easily forgettable action scenes that required multiple suits for each scene. Furthermore, they put Bond almost constantly in a suit, even when that made him incredibly conspicuous; this does not mesh well with the reasoning behind the traditional well-dressed Englishman's choice of clothing (to fit in, rather than to stand out)

Examples: Brozza Bond's awfully gaudy ties with loud geometrics, his ridiculously loud cufflinks in the PTS for TWINE, wearing a belt with a three piece suit.

[Judo chop]

And how a shot/dying Zukovsky can steady his hand enough to shoot off the lock on the torture device to free Bond is as farfetched as anything in the Moore era.

Yes its extremely awkward, and silly as a plot device. I suspect they had written themselves into a corner and didn't know how to get Bond out of the chair, and this is the best they could come up with.

And made all the more shameful considering that they missed out on a great opportunity looking them right in the face.

Imagine if Valentine, knowing full well that Bond can take care of himself, had instead decided to shoot Bond in the knee as a bit of playful revenge!

Zukovsky, in his dying breath: “At least… I missed… the rest… of you…”

<wink>… DEATH.

Elektra stands there looking amused and as ostentatious as ever, and makes some breathy remark about how all of Bond’s friends turn to enemies. But what she doesn’t realize is that Bond’s blood, which now behaves like a metal corroding acid thanks to a special pill given to him by Q earlier (in lieu of that inflatable vest which, believe it or not, is actually a worse idea), has run down his leg from the bullet wound and weakened the leg latch. With a grunt of pain, Bond frees his leg and kicks a surprised Elektra out the tower window.

M comes in and unlatches Bond, who then says, “I got a leg up on her.”

It turns out that Elektra has managed to get a hold of the window sill and is dangling against the outer wall of the tower, hanging on by mere fingertips. Bond walks over to the window and looks down at her with an icy expression. Elektra says something thespian but ridiculously inane and irrelevant like, “James… wasn’t the world enough to feel alive?”, to which Bond replies, “Time to do the Elektra slide” and pushes her hands away.

The “I never miss” line and sequence, which are far too valuable to be wasted on such garbage as TWINE and the Bond-Elektra ‘relationship’, are reserved for the Craig era.

[Fan]

Ridiculous as that is, it would probably fit into the Brozza films without missing a beat.

[S.P.E.C.T.R.E_Agent_44]

For Me, I'd Have To Say My Least Favorite is
"For Your Eyes Only". Maybe Earning A 4/10.

I Just Find It Too Bland, Although I'd Still Watch It Here And There....