Did LTK borrow from Fleming's TMWTGG?
#1
Posted 13 February 2011 - 08:35 PM
Bond approaches Sanchez as a mercenary for hire of sorts, and Sanchez, the series' first villain of Hispanic heritage, like Scaramanga, brings him into his organization, in similar fashion to Scaramanga in the novel.
Sanchez has meetings with Asian businessmen/gangsters/investors over expanding his drugs empire; in the novel, Scaramanga and a group of hoods are looking to control the sugar empire (hey, they're both white powders!). It is also mentioned briefly that Scaramanga and his cronies are in the drugs and casino business.
Sanchez shows a certain "affection" or closeness to Bond, and though it doesn't quite have the homoerotic undertones of TMWTGG, it's definitely the chummiest Bond/villain relationship in the series. Sanchez is physically affectionate and touchy with Dario, though this can probably be interpreted as them just being "latino" - like Scaramanga! (Though has anyone wondered who exactly undressed Bond and put him in pajamas in Sanchez's home after he was rescued by Heller and his men? Did old Franz insist on doing that job himself?)
In TWMTGG, a KGB agent in Scaramanga's group identifies Bond. In LTK, an undercover Hong Kong narcotic officer in Sanchez's group identifies Bond.
Bond gets exposed as a traitor while on a tour of Sanchez's drug labs with the investors, and in TMWTGG he is unmasked while on a train with Scaramanga showing the gangsters around.
Finally, the names FRANZ SANCHEZ and FRANCISCO SCARAMANGA. Not a million miles apart?
So these are all some superficial observations, some or all can probably be shrugged off as coincidence, but do you think there's an idea or two here to suggest that Wilson or Maibaum flipped through the novel while penning LTK?
#2
Posted 13 February 2011 - 08:54 PM
#3
Posted 13 February 2011 - 10:07 PM
#4
Posted 13 February 2011 - 10:36 PM
Davi himself claimed that Fleming never wrote a character like Sanchez, but I beg to differ. His treatment of suspected enemies and fondness for his micro-Uzi are certainly reminiscent of the chairman of the Group. Perhaps Davi never read TMWTGG? He went on to say that "If Shakespeare were alive today, Sanchez is the kind of character he would be writing about." Davi must have read Othello. I certainly recognized that Bond was playing an heroic Iago, using Sanchez' paranoia and value of loyalty against him.
Sanchez will never be a favorite villain of mine, however - he's too realistic (let's face it, in the real world his kind are a dime a dozen). I much prefer Mr. Lee's take, and the kind of arrogance that proved to be his fatal Achille's heel.
#5
Posted 14 February 2011 - 07:49 PM
#6
Posted 16 February 2011 - 07:50 PM
- in "The man with the golden gun", Scaramanga has a kind of "advantage" on Bond. MI6 has any picture of him.
- in "Licence to kill", Bond must infiltrate himself in Sanchez's operation, and he must join him to kill him. We could say that Sanchez is probably stronger than Bond.
#7
Posted 16 February 2011 - 08:34 PM
#8
Posted 16 February 2011 - 09:00 PM
There are some very good points made here by dino and AMC. Very interesting.
#9
Posted 14 March 2011 - 08:47 PM
#10
Posted 23 April 2011 - 04:12 PM
We all know that Licence to Kill borrowed unused plot elements from Fleming's LALD novel, like Felix being maimed by a shark and the shootout amongst the fish tanks, etc, but was TMWTGG also used in shaping this film? Consider these plot points :
Bond approaches Sanchez as a mercenary for hire of sorts, and Sanchez, the series' first villain of Hispanic heritage, like Scaramanga, brings him into his organization, in similar fashion to Scaramanga in the novel.
Sanchez has meetings with Asian businessmen/gangsters/investors over expanding his drugs empire; in the novel, Scaramanga and a group of hoods are looking to control the sugar empire (hey, they're both white powders!). It is also mentioned briefly that Scaramanga and his cronies are in the drugs and casino business.
Sanchez shows a certain "affection" or closeness to Bond, and though it doesn't quite have the homoerotic undertones of TMWTGG, it's definitely the chummiest Bond/villain relationship in the series. Sanchez is physically affectionate and touchy with Dario, though this can probably be interpreted as them just being "latino" - like Scaramanga! (Though has anyone wondered who exactly undressed Bond and put him in pajamas in Sanchez's home after he was rescued by Heller and his men? Did old Franz insist on doing that job himself?)
In TWMTGG, a KGB agent in Scaramanga's group identifies Bond. In LTK, an undercover Hong Kong narcotic officer in Sanchez's group identifies Bond.
Bond gets exposed as a traitor while on a tour of Sanchez's drug labs with the investors, and in TMWTGG he is unmasked while on a train with Scaramanga showing the gangsters around.
Finally, the names FRANZ SANCHEZ and FRANCISCO SCARAMANGA. Not a million miles apart?
So these are all some superficial observations, some or all can probably be shrugged off as coincidence, but do you think there's an idea or two here to suggest that Wilson or Maibaum flipped through the novel while penning LTK?
I agree with post 100%. Also the physical description of Robert Davi matches the general appearance in the novel of Scaramanga.
#11
Posted 24 April 2011 - 08:11 AM
But did the screenwriters appreciate this at the time, or were they simply focused on creating a Bond-v-Colombians story? I wonder?