61 replies to this topic

[Qwerty]

With the 30th anniversary of Moonraker coming up at the end of this month in the UK and US, I'm back asking CBn members what it was like to see this outer space 007 adventure for the very first time.

Where was it? Were you at the premiere? Was it your first Bond film? ...are just some of the questions to consider. If you can't remember your very first time in seeing the film, then perhaps your most memorable experience instead.

Members are encouraged to write a few paragraphs describing the event and your thoughts.

Off we go.

-----

'Moonraker' Celebrates 30 Years

Where all the other Bonds end... this one begins! (Part I)

'Moonraker' Celebrates 30 Years

Outer space now belongs to 007 (Part II)

[DamnCoffee]

Well, this was the third Bond film I saw.
The Spy Who Loved Me and The Man with the Golden Gun coming first.

It was a very fun movie, I remember watching the VHS I got on Christmas Day. I specifically asked for this because my grandmother told me that "Jaws is in another one." This was at the time I was obsessed with the character.

I watched it, and I loved it. It was a very fun film at the time. It still is really. I just wish I had a TARDIS, so I could go back to 1979 and see it on the big screen.

[zencat]

Oh, this is an easy one for me.

Tragically, I never saw Moonraker on the big screen. I was very partisan towards Frank Langella's Dracula in the summer of 79 and resented Moonraker's success (I was a Bond fan, but not yet a fanatic). But I came to love Moonraker and have always wanted to see it projected with an audience.

So for my 40th birthday, Athena007 (with help from Bryce003) rented out the club Cinespace in Hollywood and threw me a surprise party where, yes, we screened Moonraker! All my friends and family where there. Great food. Cake. Open bar. By the end of the movie we were all in outer space. A truly incredible Moonraker experience.

Life has pretty much been downhill since then.

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[Matt_13]

That's so cool zencat!

I've always enjoyed Moonraker, as it doesn't take itself seriously and is happy being what it is. A very fun adventure with some lovely locales. It was one of the first DVD's I ever owned.

[Mr. Somerset]

MR was the very first one I saw and it was on the big screen in 1979. Being only four, I remember the shot of Kiel "Well, here's to us." I believe TSWLM aired on HBO shortly afterwards, making that me 2nd Bond film. I'd love to see MR again on the big screen.

[BoogieBond]

It was my first Bond movie and I was 5 years old. My parents took my brother and I to the local cinema. The most memorable moment was the freefall PTS, that effectively sealed the Bond deal for me inside 5 minutes. I remember liking the Amazon boat chase and the cable car fight as well. Then I persuaded my parents to take me to see The Spy Who Loved Me the following week. Great times

[sthgilyadgnivileht]

I remember watching MR on TV as a young kid, in fact it may have been the TV premiere. Would have been '83-84 time. It was a big powerful exciting film to me (and my friends) at the time, and was Bond on top form. We all laughed at Jaws and were well into the space thing along with Star Wars at that time.

[singleentendre]

I have to say my most memorable experience is when I popped in the Blu-Ray. What a gorgeous gorgeous film. So under appreciated.

For the life of me, I can't remember the first time I saw it.

[HildebrandRarity]

The mighty globe-trotting epic that is Moonraker was the first Big Screen James Bond movie I saw without my parents.

It was a magnificent experience for a kid who had grown up watching YOLT, DAF and Thunderball (on both big screen (incuding re-releases) and on tv).

I remember making the Moonraker rocket out of silly putty when I got back home...and, my love for hot, sexy girls began right then, I believe, as I was on the cusp of puberty!

[jrcjohnny99]

I remember I was around 9, obssessed with Star Wars but hadnt quite caught the Bond bug yet...went to London on a family trip and the huge posters were all over the underground stations...
eventually it came to the small crappy cinema in Chorley (no idea why I saw it there as Bolton Odeon was closer to where we lived??) and my dad took me;
just aodred it.
fell in love with Bond right then and there; Goldfinger showed on ITV the following Xmas day and I've never looked back.....
Now live in LA but miss the vibe you used to get in England every summer when a Bond movie came out....

Zencat; very cool story...hopefully we'll get to see it at the Cinematheque soon (ideally as a double bill with Spy!)

[Dekard77]

It was my first Bond movie ever. I saw it on VHS. One of my fav 007 films. Because it is a Bond movie from start to the end. I look at it with great admiration.
Roger Moore is superb in this movie. There are moments where he really makes you believe he is a secret agent man.
The fights a cool, love the cable car fight between Bond and Jaws along with Barry's score. I really like the way Lois Chiles responds to Moore's comments. She looks dreamy.
The sets are the last of what we will see in Bond world. Peter Lamont takes over and feeds the gutter side of Bond. Mission Control room and the shuttle blast off/meeting room is brilliant. You can watch this movie any day of the week.
Another thing going for this movie locations. I remember seeing places like Rio or Italy and wondering what it would be like to visit these places.
To this day the reason why I started watching Bond movies is greatly indebted to Moonraker. Quite a title song as well. Near perfect Bond movie.
I still hum the score from that movie more than any other score I have ever heard.

[the doctor]

Twas 1998, back when i was...8. i had just seen "Tomorrow Never Dies" On VHS i think the day before. My parents had some bussiness meeting to be at so i was staying with my Grandparents and they wisely decided to rent some movies. after being entertained by TND i went looking for Bond films at 'Blockbuster'. Suddenly i found 'Moonraker' which nearly made my little 8-yr-old mind explode. BOND IN SPACE! AWESOME! so I rented it and watched it. I was loving it, waiting with eagerness for 007 to go into orbit, just as Bond and Goodhead get on the shuttle my parents arrived to pick me up...i never saw Bond go into space.

However it started my obsession, I didnt get to see the end of MR untill i bought the Special Edition VHS in...what like 2000? 2001? and I fell in love with it.

Moonraker and TND are pretty much why I'm a Bond fan. that and the Action Man Bond dolls...

[staveoffzombies]

My first time seeing it was sometime around when I first starting seeing Bond films on the TV. I really only remember the big space battle and how crazy it looked.

But I guess I'd say it was one of the films that got me started on Bond, though YOLT and MWTGG were more influential in that regard.

Edited by staveoffzombies, 07 June 2009 - 11:31 PM.

[Tybre]

I don't remember much, because I was seven years old. I remember I was sleeping over at my cousin's and we had watched Octopussy on VHS the night before, the first time I had seen a Bond film. I loved it so much I talked my cousin into going to my uncle's collection, which consisted of only Roger Moore films, and he just grabbed one at random. Wound up being Moonraker. I remember thinking it was awesome, but I preferred Octopussy (still do). Don't really remember much else about it.

[danslittlefinger]

Well I didn't see it in the cinema, I saw it on TV (probably a few years after it was released I guess) and my Dad had got a fish and chip takeaway and we all sat around and watched it.

I remember being astonished at the shuttle, being able to take off and land, still amazed at that thing.

It was one of the moments I will cherish. It was a fun evening.
Riveting stuff eh?

[right idea, wrong pussy]

For some reason this was the one Roger More Bond my parents didn't have on video when I was young, so I first saw it about the time GE came out (I would have been about 14 or so) on TBS. I think it was during one of those silly "Dinner and a movie" presentations they used to have on Fridays where during some of the commercial breaks, two rather daft hosts would tell you recipes.

[scaramunga]

I can't recall when my first viewing was of Moonraker. The first Bond film I saw was in the theater was Octopussy in 1983. I believe it was in the mid to late 80's though. I was 12 or 13 I think. Anyway, Moonraker has always had me from the first viewing. I really enjoy Moore in the part in this one. Great locations too! Rio and Venice are always great. Probably my favorite soundtrack too. I really wish it could get an expanded release for the soundtrack.

I would also agree with a comment made earlier in this post. It would be wonderful to see limited releases of the older Bond films in US theaters as they are doing in the UK.

Zencat! That is such a cool birthday idea! Very envious of your Moonraker birthday viewing!!

[David_M]

I saw "Moonraker" at the age of 14, which in my opinion is pretty much THE age to experience Bond in general. To say I was blown away would be the understatement of the century; I thought it was the greatest film ever made, forget those fancy pants critics and their "Citizen Kane" crap.

I lived in the sticks back then and it was a good drive to Richmond to do just about anything, including see a movie. My 12-year-old brother and I got in late (thanks to my parents...I still haven't forgiven them :-) ), just as Roger was getting shoved out of the plane. We tried to find seats while keeping our eyes on the screen and I remember some guy yelling "Hey!" because my brother had sat in his lap!

We finally did find two seats together, and enjoyed the heck out of the film, which had everything; action, comedy, spectacle, sex, great music, spaceships and Roger Moore, who for me was the coolest guy alive. The only downside was a guy in the row behind us who'd seen the movie before and spoiled a couple of moments. When Bond and Holly are lying on the ground after their close shave with the cable car, the ambulance crew shows up and Bond says, "Thanks, but we're in great shape" and the guy behind us said, "Not for long!" before the bad guy on screen konked Bond on the head.

I remember the other film in the theater that day was "The Muppet Movie." Not sure why that's stuck with me; maybe the folks presented it to me as another option in the vain hope of keeping me from the dark side.

That year probably wasn't as big a marketing blitz as '77, but there was lots of Bond stuff to go around. I collected the bubblegum cards, bought the soundtrack and the Warren magazine devoted to the film (a handy checklist in the front of that mag helped me memorize the Bond film titles in proper order), and years later acquired the "advance" poster (the one with Roger alone in orbit), which remains one of my most treasured Bond possessions and favorite Bond image.

That October I went with my folks to see "Meteor" with Sean Connery and thought, "Wow, THAT guy used to be James Bond? They're lucky they dropped him when they did!" LOL

[Simon]

I organised a trip for a few friends to take the bus into the nearest town to see this. I was 13 and this was a minor treat, such independence.

Superb stuff, beginning to end.

Couldn't have imagined anything better in life.

[Loomis]

I have to say my most memorable experience is when I popped in the Blu-Ray.

Same here.

Although I do remember watching MOONRAKER on TV with friends during a family holiday in Cornwall in the early 1980s. It would have been a dreadful pan-and-scan copy on a flickering old set, but, still, I do recall that it held me spellbound. Good times.

[zencat]

Wonderful story, David_M.

I think this is my new favorite CBn thread of all time.

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

We got the whole collection on VCR somewhere in the nineties. And we were trying to see them in the right order. However, I missed out On her Majesty's Sercet Service somehow. And we had just watched The Spy Who Loved Me. My brother and I were struggling which one was next, OHMSS or Moonraker. It became Moonraker, my brother is three years older and was much stronger in those days. But now we both agree that OHMSS is one of the best and MR somewhat disappointing at moments; although the soundtrack, cinematography and Michael Lonsdale are great.

Edited by O.H.M.S.S., 10 June 2009 - 05:47 PM.

[DamnCoffee]

I saw "Moonraker" at the age of 14, which in my opinion is pretty much THE age to experience Bond in general. To say I was blown away would be the understatement of the century; I thought it was the greatest film ever made, forget those fancy pants critics and their "Citizen Kane" crap.

I lived in the sticks back then and it was a good drive to Richmond to do just about anything, including see a movie. My 12-year-old brother and I got in late (thanks to my parents...I still haven't forgiven them :-) ), just as Roger was getting shoved out of the plane. We tried to find seats while keeping our eyes on the screen and I remember some guy yelling "Hey!" because my brother had sat in his lap!

We finally did find two seats together, and enjoyed the heck out of the film, which had everything; action, comedy, spectacle, sex, great music, spaceships and Roger Moore, who for me was the coolest guy alive. The only downside was a guy in the row behind us who'd seen the movie before and spoiled a couple of moments. When Bond and Holly are lying on the ground after their close shave with the cable car, the ambulance crew shows up and Bond says, "Thanks, but we're in great shape" and the guy behind us said, "Not for long!" before the bad guy on screen konked Bond on the head.

I remember the other film in the theater that day was "The Muppet Movie." Not sure why that's stuck with me; maybe the folks presented it to me as another option in the vain hope of keeping me from the dark side.

That year probably wasn't as big a marketing blitz as '77, but there was lots of Bond stuff to go around. I collected the bubblegum cards, bought the soundtrack and the Warren magazine devoted to the film (a handy checklist in the front of that mag helped me memorize the Bond film titles in proper order), and years later acquired the "advance" poster (the one with Roger alone in orbit), which remains one of my most treasured Bond possessions and favorite Bond image.

That October I went with my folks to see "Meteor" with Sean Connery and thought, "Wow, THAT guy used to be James Bond? They're lucky they dropped him when they did!" LOL

Wonderful!

[jrcjohnny99]

I can't recall when my first viewing was of Moonraker. The first Bond film I saw was in the theater was Octopussy in 1983. I believe it was in the mid to late 80's though. I was 12 or 13 I think. Anyway, Moonraker has always had me from the first viewing. I really enjoy Moore in the part in this one. Great locations too! Rio and Venice are always great. Probably my favorite soundtrack too. I really wish it could get an expanded release for the soundtrack.

I would also agree with a comment made earlier in this post. It would be wonderful to see limited releases of the older Bond films in US theaters as they are doing in the UK.

Zencat! That is such a cool birthday idea! Very envious of your Moonraker birthday viewing!!

apparently the original tapes were damaged hence why the remastered soundtrack was not expanded; a crying shame.

I saw "Moonraker" at the age of 14, which in my opinion is pretty much THE age to experience Bond in general. To say I was blown away would be the understatement of the century; I thought it was the greatest film ever made, forget those fancy pants critics and their "Citizen Kane" crap.

I lived in the sticks back then and it was a good drive to Richmond to do just about anything, including see a movie. My 12-year-old brother and I got in late (thanks to my parents...I still haven't forgiven them :-) ), just as Roger was getting shoved out of the plane. We tried to find seats while keeping our eyes on the screen and I remember some guy yelling "Hey!" because my brother had sat in his lap!

We finally did find two seats together, and enjoyed the heck out of the film, which had everything; action, comedy, spectacle, sex, great music, spaceships and Roger Moore, who for me was the coolest guy alive. The only downside was a guy in the row behind us who'd seen the movie before and spoiled a couple of moments. When Bond and Holly are lying on the ground after their close shave with the cable car, the ambulance crew shows up and Bond says, "Thanks, but we're in great shape" and the guy behind us said, "Not for long!" before the bad guy on screen konked Bond on the head.

I remember the other film in the theater that day was "The Muppet Movie." Not sure why that's stuck with me; maybe the folks presented it to me as another option in the vain hope of keeping me from the dark side.

That year probably wasn't as big a marketing blitz as '77, but there was lots of Bond stuff to go around. I collected the bubblegum cards, bought the soundtrack and the Warren magazine devoted to the film (a handy checklist in the front of that mag helped me memorize the Bond film titles in proper order), and years later acquired the "advance" poster (the one with Roger alone in orbit), which remains one of my most treasured Bond possessions and favorite Bond image.

That October I went with my folks to see "Meteor" with Sean Connery and thought, "Wow, THAT guy used to be James Bond? They're lucky they dropped him when they did!" LOL

Great, great post!

[The Ghost Who Walks]

My first Bond film, seen first at the age of seven. Due to my love for Star Wars, my mom taped MR for me from TV and allowed me to see it (she'd later allow me to watch all the Moore films, since she felt they were much better suited for kids than the Connery movies). Watched it with my best buddy and my younger brother, and was completely enthralled by the sheer spectacle of it. The whole pre-credit sequence was the coolest thing I had seen since Luke finally defeated Vader in Return of the Jedi.

In short, it made me a Bond fan for life, so feel I owe it a lot.

[Nicolas Suszczyk]

How did I first get in touch with Moonraker.

It was in 1999, after august, so I was nine years old.

I wanted to see the Bond film with featured Jaws, since I knew him from the GoldenEye for N64. I've just seen GoldenEye, The Man with the Golden Gun and Live and Let Die.

So my dad bought me the film in a place where you can buy second handed VHS. I've watched it and I liked it very much, and has became one of my favourite films because it's directly connected with my childhood. Obviously, it's not a film you have to take very seriously but, besides that, I've loved it.

[Robinson]

This was the first Bond film I ever saw and the first I saw in the theater. I was 9 at the time and heavily into Star Wars, space exploration and Battlestar Galactica. I think I saw the poster of Moore in his spacesuit and I knew I had to see this flick.

Anyway, I think I stayed in the theater and watched it twice. I had a vague idea of who James Bond was by all my friends who kept talking about TSWLM and "his car that goes underwater." So, I sit down and watch.

All of the sexual innuendo went right over my head but I definitely could follow the story. I had no idea Jaws was a recurring character and I desperately wanted that boat Bond used to travel down the Amazon. My eyes nearly popped out of my skull when Drax's space station was revealed.

Flash forward to November of 1979, I'm at my cousin's and Goldfinger comes on HBO. I'm at a loss as to why James Bond looks so different. My cousin explains to me that this is a series of films and Connery was the first to play the role- and that they always have naked women floating around during the credits.

I'll still watch Moonraker to this day because it's a well crafted film. Barry's score still resonates and Lonsdale makes a great villian. Granted the space battle is absurd but the film is still entertaining.

[DaveBond21]

Before I had even seen the movie, my grandparents bought me two of the official toys that came out in 1979 - a Drax space shuttle and Corinne's helicopter. I remember playing with them a lot.

I finally saw Moonraker on ITV when I was 10 years old in 1985. It was shown after the Queen on Christmas Day that year.

I always remember loving the fact that Jaws was back in this one, and was looking forward to the stunts, the special effects and the baddies. Hugo Drax didn't let me down with his sinister voice and great lines ("Make sure some harm comes to him").

This has got to be one of the most fun 007 adventures and there are so many great locations - California, Venice, Rio, the Amazon rainforest and space! There are probably more action scenes in this entry than any other Bond film. The free-fall opening, the centrifuge, the hover gondola chase, the fight with Chang, the cable car fight with Jaws, falling out the back of an ambulance (an often forgotten scene), a fight with a python and a space battle. What more could you ask for as a 9 year old watching a movie?!

It's still fun to watch today, 30 years on.

[JimmyBond]

My first viewing didnt go well. I felt the film was slow and incredibly silly. At the time I felt it was incredibly unBondish. I didnt even finish the whole thing, I don't recall what happend I just shut it off and did something else. That was my first time.

Now for my most memorable experience. That would probably have to be yesterday. Watching Moonraker for the first time on my widescreen tv was a blast (I've had the tv for a while, just havent gotten around to watching the Bond films on it yet). It hit all the right notes for me and I now consider it Moore's best, and just shake my head when people say it's too silly. Sure it's silly, but it knows it, and relishes in it.

[Qwerty]

Keep the remembrances coming, everyone!