19 replies to this topic

[JSDude1]

I have noticed that most bond films (sometimes from different Bond eras/actors) seem to have another movie which will pair with it for certain elements/styles in both, and reoccurring actors as both villains or allies).

 

These are what I pair up:  From Russia With Love and Goldfinger (classic JB with the same style of acting, and feel)

 

Thunderball and Never Say Never Again (for obvious reasons)

 

Live and Let Die and The Man With The Golden Gun (wacky sidekicks) and the idiot Sherriff, car/boat chase, etc..

 

The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker (Jaws, over the top villains bent on all of humanities' destruction), classic Roger Moore.

 

For Your Eyes Only and On Her Majesty's Secret Service.  James Bond in Love and a break from the camp/an attempt to bring JB back to a realistic story.  The inclusion of Blofeld and Tracy (memorial to her).

 

The Living Daylights and License to Kill.   Timothy D's take on a more hardcore/realistic bond.  The styles are just so 80's.

 

Die Another Day and Diamonds are Forever.   Diamonds-Space Weapon Satellites.  Over the Top in many ways..

 

Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace: direct sequel, Quantum, Felix Lighter, etc..

 

There are probably more as well as different pairings, but this is what I could think of.

[Walecs]

The World is Not Enough and Skyfall?

[tdalton]

Licence to Kill and Quantum of Solace.  Both feature Bond with some level of vengeance on his mind.  Both feature locations from a similar part of the world (Central & South America).  Both feature crooked American operatives (Killifer, Beam).  Both feature Bond effectively losing his "licence to kill", and both films are generally more gritty and violent that the majority of the other entries.  I'm sure there are other similarities in addition to these.

[WhatMeWorry?]

From Russia With Love and For Your Eyes Only (Similar plots and relatively serious tone)

 

Goldfinger with Octopussy (Similar plots and more over-the-top)

[Double-Oh Agent]

You Only Live Twice and The Spy Who Loved Me (similar plots with villains' ships swallowing up American and Soviet ships)

 

Moonraker and Die Another Day (taking Bond to the over the top limits)

[Guy Haines]

Goldfinger and A View To a Kill.

 

(1) Wealthy villain with unusual "hench-person".

(2) Bond takes an interest in him because of one crime (Gold smuggling/leaking hi-tech stuff to Russians) but villain planning something much bigger.

(3) Villain cheats at his chosen sport (Golf/Horse racing)

(4) Villain wants to increase his wealth by destroying something important to US & West (Fort Knox/Silicon Valley)

(5) Reveals plan to others, complete with scale map of target

(6) One of his "business partners" doesn't go along with the plan, and drops out - literally in case of AVTAK.

(7) Hench-person unusually strong....

(8) ..... although unlike May Day, Oddjobb doesn't feel inclined to take up sleeping with 007 as a "random task" for his master!

(9) Plot moves from Europe to North America

(10) Having foiled villain's plot,  Bond has final confrontation with adversary above the ground.

 

That's it, I think.

[Major Tallon]

One more, Guy Haines.  Note the similarities in the code names for the villain's plot -- Grand Slam and Main Strike.

[Double Naught spy]

And other one - the "climax" of both GF and AVTAK occur in the USA. And by "climax", I mean the very last scene of each film.

Edited by Double Naught spy, 04 January 2014 - 01:27 PM.

[Professor Pi]

Octopussy and A View to a Kill:  Both feature General Gogol dealing with rogue Russian elements (General Orlov and former KGB Max Zorin.)

 

GoldenEye and The World Is Not Enough: Both have Zukovsky as a major character, both are Fleming inspired titles, both have plots about betrayal, both are set in Europe.  Michael Kitchen's Bill Tanner is in both (but not in DAD)

 

Tomorrow Never Dies and Die Another Day:  Asian settings (in early script drafts, Jinx was Wai Lin character), villainous schemes involving satellites, Charles Robinson character appears in both films (but not in GE.)

 

DN and FRWL: Sylvia Trench, intro to SPECTRE

GF and TB:  DB5 car

YOLT and DAF pair well together better than either with OHMSS (because Connery is in both and Bond doesn't seem vengeful enough in DAF post OHMSS, even though Charles Grey cast as Henderson then Blofeld kind of messes this up despite the plastic surgery!)

OHMSS and FYEO for reasons mentioned above (ditto LALD/TMWTGG and TSWLM/MR.)

Also, Spy and FYEO for similar settings (snow, underwater), non-Barry soundtracks, Russian adversaries, mentions to Tracy, plus "James Bond will return in ... "

 

I've mentioned in other threads that NSNA follows Skyfall quite nicely (new M, Bond's age and fitness a theme.) 

 

Also Casino Royale '67 and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (ok not Bond, but still Fleming)

Edited by Professor Pi, 04 January 2014 - 06:43 PM.

[Guy Haines]

After I posted about GF & AVTAK, it suddenly occurred to me - "Grand Slam" & "Main Strike". Absolutely right, Major Tallon.

[plankattack]

I'm going to pair up FRWL and TLD. Both have Cold War backgrounds, both have (in typically EON-neutral fashion), third parties involving themselves; a couple of great punch-ups, and a lead female character essential to the plot unfolding. And while I'm thinking about, someone getting their drink spiked……!

[freemo]

LIVE AND LET DIE and THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN are the obvious pair. Both have Bond shoving a minor conquest into a closet when duty calls, both have -anga villains who are cooler than Bond, and both are mostly just a succession of car/boat chases strung together. Also, both try to establish a new Bond with new habits (cigars instead of cigarettes, borbon instead of vodka), and it's a slightly more edgier MooreBond (Bond pointing a gun at Rosie, Bond near breaking Andrea's arm) than the one that would eventuate from THE SPY WHO LOVED ME onwards. Plus "Bond does Blaxsplotaion / Bond does Kung Fu" is a pretty awesome double feature. If that was playing at a drive-in I'd buy a car just to go see it.

[S K Y F A L L]

DN & LALD

 

TWINE & SF

[Hansen]

Good topic

TSWLM & QoS -> importance of water in both stories - the explosions in the hotel remind me of the ones on the Liparus - and Bond is using the same alias in both : Robert Sterling

 

More obvious:

FRWL & FYEO -> start together with an 'F' ;-) and similar plot -> the McGuffin is a coding machine and Kriegler looks very much like Grant

[Hansen]

DN & LALD -> two 'first' Bond - Jamaïca - Quarrel

[AMC Hornet]

I see the similarities that are being pointed out in many of these pairings, and have noticed them myself:

 

Dr. No & LALD: introducing a new Bond, set in the Caribbean;

FRWL & FYEO: chasing after a similar MacGuffin;

GF & AVTAK: Destroying one source of wealth in order to increase the value of one's foreign holdings;

TB and NSNA: the same story, 18 years apart;

YOLT, TSWLM & TND: pitting the superpowers against each other over the disappearance of their respective hardware;

OHMSS & FYEO: Ski action and a charismatic criminal partner;

DAF & DAD: using diamonds (in different ways) to construct a space laser (+ MR for 'OTT' elements) ;

LALD & TMWTGG: same director & alleged 'made for TV' low budget look;

LTK & QoS: revenge in Central/South America;

TWINE & SF: personal revenge against M and MI6.

 

However...

 

I watched Thunderball and NSNA back-to-back once, but I'd never do it again with those or any other qualifying 'pairings'.

 

Why watch two films with so many similarities, when it's probably going to highlight these similarities and leave you regarding one of them as 'inferior'?

 

And it doesn't matter whether you perceive the second one as better or worse. I prefer to base my double-features on how they work for me chronologically or emotionally.

 

Thank God CR 54 survived, so we can see the two seminal (fnar) Bond stories back-to-back, especially since it means I can watch FRWL with GF and TB with YOLT, without trying to fit CR 67 in anywhere. OHMSS may not work with DAF for most others, but it does for me as they were both December releases. LALD & TMWTGG I can watch together, for all the reasons mentioned above, or I can watch GG with DAF as it is also a December release.

TSWLM works with MR as they are both Lewis Gilbert/Christopher Wood collaborations, while FYEO & OP are both Glen and (primarily) Maibaum efforts. Alternately I could watch OP with NSNA, as they were the contestants in 1983's 'battle of the Bonds' (either way OP wins), or I could watch NSNA with AVTAK, in which case NSNA wins.

TLD and LTK go together for reasons already stated, while Pierce Brosnan only got two double-features, which also work perfectly well in chronological order.

 

Agreed, CR and QoS make one (unnecessary) story arc, and I can't wait to see what sort of pairing SF will make with B24 (no hopeful title suggestion to be inserted here). They will already have the advantage of having the same director, and therefore probably a lot of the same production crew.

 

It's early 2014. Bond will be back in late 2015. Roll on!

 

(ps: Professor Pi: thank you for remembering Blofeld's plastic surgery and not 'cloning'.)

[Professor Pi]

(ps: Professor Pi: thank you for remembering Blofeld's plastic surgery and not 'cloning'.)

 

"Volunteers were, understandably, rather scarce."

[Palmyra Shark 2]

I also enjoy OHMSS with FYEO, but afterwards I have to follow up with DAF so Bond can have his revenge by slamming

Blofeld inside the capsule at the end.

 

The TWINE and Skyfall pairing is perfect and they both even share the elk (correct animal?) motif.

 

TLD with GE...for a reason I can no longer recall

 

TMWTGG followed up by YOLT. Variety in the same general region. seemed like a convenient and realistic succession

[Professor Pi]

TLD with GE...for a reason I can no longer recall

 

 

Because each Bond actor is in a script written for the other?

[plankattack]

TLD with GE...for a reason I can no longer recall

 
Because each Bond actor is in a script written for the other?

Brilliant!!