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Tori 
"I don't get it...."
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 Posted - 04/06/2013 : 03:55:25
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| So, I play a Bond game every day on the Wii but I actually have never seen a Bond movie! They have all been added to Amazon Prime though for the month, which ones are the best? |
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Sean 
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
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Posted - 04/06/2013 : 06:01:16
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OMG!  
OK, so I'm gonna be lazy, here's a list of Bond movies rated from highest IMDb score to lowest. It's actually not bad, the classic/best ones are near the top, and the ordinary ones are lower down.
It would probably make sense (given you've never seen one ) to watch one of the early ones ("Dr No." or "Goldfinger") first then perhaps jump ahead to the 2006 version of "Casino Royale". You'll need to watch a Roger Moore one at some stage too. |
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Chris C 
"Four words, never backwards."
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Posted - 04/06/2013 : 08:02:52
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Tori, what have been doing with your life not to have seen a single Bond film?????
I agree with Sean, it's a pretty good list. It's nice to see OHMSS so high up the list, even though so many people are unkind about George Lazenby. View to a Kill should be at the bottom of the list - truly awful film, and I think Thunderball is overrated. But that's only what I think.
With any series of movies there's going to be good and bad. There just happens to be more choice with Bond. |
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randall 
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 04/06/2013 : 11:52:03
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| That's a pretty good list all in all, but I'd put SKYFALL at the very top. I'm also among those who think MOONRAKER is underrated [it's not "realistic," but which Bonds actually are?] and THUNDERBALL is overrated. I'm not a Moore-hater and thought he actually brought panache to the role, just as Connery had. |
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benj clews 
"...."
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Posted - 04/06/2013 : 12:52:39
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It depends on your feelings towards older films. I know a lot of people who I'd never dream of introducing to Bond via the old classics because they'd be put off by the slower pace and simpler cinematography style.
If you're not put off by such things then the suggestions above are great, otherwise Goldeneye or Casino Royale (the Craig one) are the logical jumping on points, the latter especially so as it was effectively a reboot even if the makers say it wasn't.
Have to say Randall, I see Moonraker as the absolute nadir of the series (unless you choose to include the non-canon Never Say Never Again). It was an absolute stinker and no mistake- just a blatant "Let's jump on the Star Wars bandwagon". I don't have issues with its non-realism, just the cartoony nature of the whole thing. And don't get me started on the formerly monstrous Jaws falling in love...
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randall
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 04/06/2013 : 21:22:05
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quote:
Originally posted by benj clews
It depends on your feelings towards older films. I know a lot of people who I'd never dream of introducing to Bond via the old classics because they'd be put off by the slower pace and simpler cinematography style.
If you're not put off by such things then the suggestions above are great, otherwise Goldeneye or Casino Royale (the Craig one) are the logical jumping on points, the latter especially so as it was effectively a reboot even if the makers say it wasn't.
Have to say Randall, I see Moonraker as the absolute nadir of the series (unless you choose to include the non-canon Never Say Never Again). It was an absolute stinker and no mistake- just a blatant "Let's jump on the Star Wars bandwagon". I don't have issues with its non-realism, just the cartoony nature of the whole thing. And don't get me started on the formerly monstrous Jaws falling in love...
I hear you loud and clear, benj, and you're probably the millionth person who has spat on me in a critical sense b/c of my one Bond guilty pleasure. Almost all Bond fans agree with you, but I happen to enjoy RAKER, Jaws, Moore, etc., every time I see it. I'm not tryin to convince anyone else, only to say Bond in space was OK with me [and if there are any other closet RAKER fans out there, now's the time to come out and help me with Fearless Leader!].
However, for a REAL reboot we have to turn to SKYFALL, since it becomes obvious fairly soon that SPOILER COMIN IN INVISO the story actually takes place before DR. NO!, so it was such a wonderful celebration of Bond at 50 that I almost cried, and Bonds only do that to me with tears of laughter. I agree with you about visual sophistication, etc., but this one had so much heart that I walked out of the theater and told Linda, "that was the best Bond ever!" I still feel that way -- but unlike all the rest, I've only seen it once! |
Edited by - randall on 04/06/2013 21:27:42 |
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benj clews
"...."
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Posted - 04/06/2013 : 21:44:17
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quote:
Originally posted by randall
I hear you loud and clear, benj, and you're probably the millionth person who has spat on me in a critical sense b/c of my one Bond guilty pleasure. Almost all Bond fans agree with you, but I happen to enjoy RAKER, Jaws, Moore, etc., every time I see it. I'm not tryin to convince anyone else, only to say Bond in space was OK with me [and if there are any other closet RAKER fans out there, now's the time to come out and help me with Fearless Leader!].
That's fair enough (I find you can justify the existence of any film if you simply put it down as a guilty pleasure  ). Also, it climaxes (ahem) with quite possibly the finest sexual innuendo of any Bond film ever.
Also, looking at that IMDB list, I'd definitely put OHMSS considerably higher- just such a great story and, man, that ending... In fact, if they were to remake it now with Craig without messing around with the plot, I dare say it'd be my number one Bond film. |
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Sean
"Necrosphenisciform anthropophagist."
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Posted - 04/06/2013 : 21:53:48
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quote:
Originally posted by randall
...but I happen to enjoy RAKER, Jaws, Moore, etc., every time I see it. I'm not tryin to convince anyone else, only to say Bond in space was OK with me [and if there are any other closet RAKER fans out there, now's the time to come out and help me with Fearless Leader!].
I've scored the Bonds from 6 to 8/10. I've scored "Moonraker" 7. There!
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randall
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 04/06/2013 : 22:35:59
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I had the opportunity to economically acquire the entire "official" [i.e., Saltzman/Broccoli] Bond ouevre in Blu-Ray a few months ago, and I've been watching them in order since then. [I just watched LIVE AND LET DIE THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, so that's where I am in the canon.]
I cannot tell you how instructive this chronological trip has instructed me regarding storytelling, technology, etc. The next time I go through these films straight through will be virtual. But for now, I'm living in the Roger Moore world.
P.S. I'm amazed as I run through the films in order and watch both visuals and dialogue become slightly more racy [I believe you can see underwater pubes in one GOLDEN GUN shot, and they started to mouth, then speak, curses one or two pictures back], how innocent the Bonds really are. They're the Playboy fantasy idea of what a swinging bachelor is like, minus the actual nudity. Naughty but not obscene, except for Bond's double entendres, which are so charming you just let 'em go. Also a march through the history of mens' fashion and product placement. I don't think I could "binge" through them; in the Connery/Moore era, they're really too much alike. But as a months-long project, they're very instructive re popular culture. |
Edited by - randall on 04/08/2013 20:13:52 |
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ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"
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Posted - 04/09/2013 : 09:10:50
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I'm sorry, but any list that has Casino Royale rated higher than Skyfall and Goldfinger is bogus in my humble opinion.
Tori - watch them in order. That's the best way. Then you can rate them yourself.
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randall
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 04/14/2013 : 22:42:38
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benj, that clownish aspect you're alluding to: MOONRAKER wasn't its nadir. For me, it actually appears in OCTOPUSSY, when they play the Tarzan yodel over Bond swinging from jungle trees, and then almost shuts the franchise down in A VIEW TO A KILL, when Bond is forced to "surf" instead of ski, and the background music is the cosmically inappropriate frickin Beach Boys! [We may never know the backstage machinations that made that happen, b/c I saw in the end credits that the official soundtrack was on Capitol Records, the Beach Boys' label!]
All that meant I didn't want to watch any more Bond films for a little while, and I'm talking about this week. This phenomenon amongst the general population is why Eon had to call a Bond time-out and refocus, but IMO MOONRAKER simply isn't the silliest Bond, because it didn't bend down and pander to the lowest common denominator. |
Edited by - randall on 04/14/2013 23:35:44 |
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demonic
"Cinemaniac"
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Posted - 04/15/2013 : 16:31:43
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I've definitely got a soft spot for "Moonraker" too Randall - I love the soundtrack, and Michael Lonsdale is excellent as Drax, Lois Chiles is a lovely Bond girl and was perfectly happy to see Bond do the sci-fi schtick as a boy. I think "Octopussy" and "A View To A Kill" are worse. In fact I think "Quantum of Solace" is worse too.
My personal favourites are, in no particular order but as they come to me - "The Spy Who Loved Me", "Live and Let Die", "You Only Live Twice", "Goldfinger", "Thunderball", "OHMSS", "Casino Royale" (a very good modern action movie, but perhaps a so-so Bond movie - not convinced at all by Daniel Craig). Shout out for poor Timothy Dalton as well - perfect casting, but saddled with the audience expectations of the Moore era, and some weak plots. The world wasn't ready for a darker Bond, a real shame.
Looking forward to rewatching all of them in order sometime soon, also finishing reading the Fleming books. I'm about halfway through. |
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randall
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 04/15/2013 : 20:10:56
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| I'm with you, demmy, re the Moore era, of which THE SPY WHO LOVED ME is *by far* the best. Also agree that Dalton suffered from being the guy who played Bond when Bond had to become less playful. I also had a hard time with Daniel Craig in the role until I saw SKYFALL: it's so loving and respectful [BESIDES being a great action thriller], and encapsulates the last fifty years of Bond so tear-jerkingly well that it went directly to #1 on my hit list. I don't think it can be topped for action PLUS emotion. |
Edited by - randall on 04/15/2013 20:13:00 |
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benj clews
"...."
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Posted - 04/15/2013 : 21:24:02
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quote:
Originally posted by randall
benj, that clownish aspect you're alluding to: MOONRAKER wasn't its nadir. For me, it actually appears in OCTOPUSSY, when they play the Tarzan yodel over Bond swinging from jungle trees, and then almost shuts the franchise down in A VIEW TO A KILL, when Bond is forced to "surf" instead of ski, and the background music is the cosmically inappropriate frickin Beach Boys
That's true. I guess there was that whole period where Bond films became almost cartoony in places, but I think Moonraker was one of the worst offenders (let us not forget the hovercraft gondola and cringe-inducing pigeon double take). But my problem isn't with these odd little wacky moments (a similar argument could be made against The Man With The Golden Gun for the unforgivable soundtrack addition of a penny whistle over the top of the greatest car stunt ever performed (the barrel roll across the collapsed bridge))... it's ruining the legacy of a great Bond villain.
Yes- I'm *still* yammering on about Jaws falling in love. Questionable comic moments in the series come and go and are easily forgotten, but to shit on the memory of such a great established villain by hooking him up with some Swiss chick with pony tails... |
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benj clews
"...."
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Posted - 04/16/2013 : 13:07:10
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quote:
Originally posted by demonic
I've definitely got a soft spot for "Moonraker" too Randall - I love the soundtrack, and Michael Lonsdale is excellent as Drax, Lois Chiles is a lovely Bond girl and was perfectly happy to see Bond do the sci-fi schtick as a boy.
I used to be the same. I remembered Moonraker as one of my favourite Bonds as a kid. Then I saw it in 1999 when they all came out on DVD and couldn't believe how bad I found it.
Each to their own of course but for me Moonraker has registered as such a low point in the Bond series that I've come to refer to bad franchise installments as being "the Moonraker of the series". Now I'm starting to wonder if anyone else understands what I mean when I say that...  |
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demonic
"Cinemaniac"
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Posted - 04/16/2013 : 14:40:29
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Fair to say on a rewatch of the whole series my opinions may shift dramatically.  |
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Bond Films?
