I just watched You Only Live Twice a few hours ago, and the only ‘odd’ variation in it is Bond’s marriage. He has to become ‘Japanese’ in-order to fit-in with local villagers for a few weeks so, in a ‘traditional’ ceremony, he marries one of Tiger’s agents. I saw it in its original theater-run (I only missed Dr. No’s theater-run, because my parents didn’t discover the OO7-series till From Russia With Love), so I remember thinking that the marriage wasn’t a distraction. It still isn’t. The beginning was more of a shock, because he was machine-gunned in-bed, with blood… which Roald Dahl’s script doesn’t elaborate on. Forgivable…
In the theater-run, the film’s centerpiece was the helicopter dog-fight over the volcano-range. The scene still holds-up pretty well editing-wise, as does the film as a whole. It was the first time I was ever made aware of ninja’s, or ninjitsu commandos, etc. -So watching ‘old style edited’ ninja-scenes is lightyears different than ‘modern stunt-aware’ ninja-scenes. The gun-battle in the volcano launching-pad is superbly presented. I wish that Dahl would’ve written/adapted more scripts.
And speaking of fashion again, if OHMSS is one of the most tasteless Bonds fashion wise, then Thunderball is definitely one of the most tasteful and classic
Spectacular pics and vid, Lindberg. I used-to own several James Bond cards, by Topps bubblegum, in the early 60’s but I can’t recall which year. The one I remember most vividly was Quarrel, from Dr. No, but I never saw that film till network-TV broadcast it in '66 or '67. -Also, we Americans generally never learned about the Russian space-dogs and George (Yuri) Gagarin till weeks after their triumphs.
Interesting, and if you were a kid in America in the 1960s you experienced the times when Bond-mania was at it’s height
Thunderball was a staggering success in 1965-66, it premiered in America 21st of december 1965, and theaters in New York showed the film around the clock during the christmas holidays ;D
I think the bubble gum trading cards were released along with all the other James Bond toys in 1965
There were countless Bond toys from Gilbert, Multiple Toy Makers, and other toy companies
Lindberg, you’re killing me.
Between my brothers and I, we had the Road Race, the Action Figure, and the Attache Case, and maybe some of the trading cards.
I know I’m supposed to be grown up and all, but I wish I still had those toys.
[quote=“Lindberg, post:407, topic:544”]Interesting, and if you were a kid in America in the 1960s you experienced the times when Bond-mania was at it’s height
Thunderball was a staggering success in 1965-66, it premiered in America 21st of december 1965, and theaters in New York showed the film around the clock during the christmas holidays ;D[/quote]
Yeah… I was 11 when Goldfinger was released, which really set-the-stage for Thunderball. -Before the so-called ‘sexual revolution’, GF featuring a scene of a nude female sheathed in gold, was an audience-shocker. That scene was a perpetual hot-button topic among my-friends-and-I for months. Secondly, the film brought America into-the-series, by using its most-revered institution; The U.S. Gold Reserves at Fort Knox, as a backdrop for the final gun-action and showdown with Oddjob. Oh, having a female-character named; Pussy Galore… astonishingly taboo! So when TB was released, it steamrolled across America like a ball of thunder. I was totally blown-away by the Aston-Martin, rather than the girls, lol… That 1-2-film-punch permanently endeared the 007-series to US-audiences to-this-day.
As far as toys, I owned a briefcase w/gun, but the case’s handle was also a detachable one-shot gun. -Plus the case itself fired a plastic-bullet, so it was a 3-guns-in-1 package. I can’t remember if it was an official James Bond toy. We weren’t allowed to dress-up in suits-and-ties, then go outside and play however… too expensive. Our ‘spy thriller’ play-scenarios were mostly capture the flag rituals, involving garage-infiltrations and tree-climbing.
Never was a special favorite of mine among the Bonds, and hasn’t become one, but it was better than I remembered. It’s definitely better than the remake Never say never again. Connery is in very good condition and form here, the opening scene with the jetpack is a wow, and the first half of the movie is over before you know it. The story is the same old nonsense as ever, but you don’t watch the Bonds for their clever scripts. It’s all about the girls, the toys, the noise and the voice: Bond. Mister Bond. Shaken. Not Stirred (Wait untill you catch a glimpse of Fiona Volpe).
Unfortunately it slows down once Bond arrives in the Bahamas because of an excess of under water (and on a yacht) scenes. Some of them are quite good, the under water shootout was a great idea, but they go on too long (even this shootout). The same goes for the movie as such: two hours and ten minutes is simply too long, after some 90 minutes I started watching the time code on my player (‘come on guys, make it quick’), always a bad sign.
It was n° 1 when I drew a list of favorite Bonds a while ago. Don’t know if it’ll still be there when I make up a new list
Basically it’s a two men show, Dalton (as a mean, lean Bond) versus Davi (the leanest and meanest of all Bond villains). They get some support from Carey Lowell (as Bond’s sexy assistant) and Benicio del Toro (as Davi’s sadistic henchman), but, as said, it’s about the two muy macho maniacs. Bond is an avenging angel here, after a drug kingpin has crippled his best friend, and he means business.
By far the most violent Bond, with some truly sadistic moments.
Foreshadows in some ways the Daniel Craig Bonds. For most part there’s no real Bond feeling. Only during the final half hour (with a remarkably active Q) there’s some typical 007 fun.
Dalton finally got the role of 007. They had him in mind (along with Josh Brolin) for Octopussy, but then they had opted for one more movie with Moore (because the movie had to compete with Connery’s Never say never again and they thought a new Bond would be no match for the original one). One More Moore became Two More and it looked like Dalton wouldn’t ever be 007, not even in The Living Daylights. Pierce Brosnan was first choice for the part, but he had obligations elsewhere, so they finally went for Dalton.
Dalton is pretty good in this tough spy adventure, but Jeroen Krabbé and Joe Don Baker steal the film from him as a lovely couple of crooks, respectively a double-double-crossing Russian defector (or no defector) and an exuberant American arms dealer. If some of the later Moores (Eyes, Octopussy) were in fact Moore Bonds with some Dalton aspects in them, this first Dalton Bond still has traces of the Moore movies, especially during the chase scenes (but things never get as silly as they used to be)
Some tremendous stunts, good storytelling, but the part set in Afghanistan (the muhjahedeen as good guys) is a bit painful to watch.
[quote=“scherpschutter, post:412, topic:544”]Some tremendous stunts, good storytelling, but the part set in Afghanistan (the muhjahedeen as good guys) is a bit painful to watch.
7-[/quote]
Painful indeed. In fact, while I like Timothy Dalton as Bond, the film itself I don’t care for and I find pretty dated. The opening pre-credits part is good though.
It’s a cold war movie, and in that aspect it’s indeed dated. I wonder how much time it’ll take us to develop the idea that cold war movies are historic movies, movies set in a specific time in the past, just like movies set in WWII, the Mexican Revolution or the 19th Century. Often we still have the idea that a movie is dated because it’s set in the days of the Cold War. I watched the movie for what it is: a tough but fairly light-hearted action movie, and found it quite enjoyable. Not great, a runner-up in the series.
The part set in Afghanistan is awkward, but otherwise I think the film has aged rather well. Those silly jokes are typical for the period in which the movie was made, the eighties, but then again they’re not as silly here as they used to be in the Moore days. Makes you wonder if anybody thougt in the 80s that these jokes actually were funny.
Film makers probably became aware in the 80s of what they were doing, and that’s not always a good thing. They weren’t the first so-called post-modern directors, but they were familiar with the term now (they had read articles written by the Scherpschutters or Austin Fishers of the time), and deliberately added postmodern aspects to their movies. The postmodern ‘ironic approach’ to film making initially was experienced as fresh, as innovative, but soon became tiresome, way too deliberate.
Are you sure there are less silly joke then in the Moore Bonds?
Dalton is very good as bond, but in this one is still too much Moore stuff (maybe it was still written with Moore in the mind) and I often saw Moore with my inner eyes by hearing some of the dialogues.
This stuff wasn’t good in the Moore Bonds and it still ain’t no good here. Unfortunately the Brosnan Bonds also included this low quality humour. And luckily Craig doesn’t.
An ok Bond which was improved by the star.
I don’t mind the Afghanistan parts. In these days the Taliban were fighting for freedom, later they were as brutish as their predecessors. Unfortunately it mostly goes that way.
[quote=“Stanton, post:417, topic:544”]Are you sure there are less silly joke then in the Moore Bonds?
Dalton is very good as bond, but in this one is still too much Moore stuff (maybe it was still written with Moore in the mind) and I often saw Moore with my inner eyes by hearing some of the dialogues.
This stuff wasn’t good in the Moore Bonds and it still ain’t no good here. Unfortunately the Brosnan Bonds also included this low quality humour. And luckily Craig doesn’t.
An ok Bond which was improved by the star.
I don’t mind the Afghanistan parts. In these days the Taliban were fighting for freedom, later they were as brutish as their predecessors. Unfortunately it mostly goes that way.[/quote]
I’m pretty sure the jokes are less prominent (and less silly) here than in most Bonds. You’re right that there’s still a ‘Moore factor’ in this movie. I wrote that, by the way, in my mini review. Luckily the series seems to have grown over those stupid jokes. On the other hand I don’t think Craig will make as many Bonds as Moore or Connery, and you never know who will be his successor. Wouldn’t surprise me if they went for a less macho Bond after Craig. After all there are a lot of complaints about Bond becoming to much a Jason Bourne type of hero.
[/URL] [size=12pt]DIE ANOTHER DAY[/size] (2002, Lee Tamahori)
Before Craig became Jason Bourne, Brosnan became xXx in this cartoonish Bond adventure, the twentieth in the long-running series, released 40 years after the first entry, Dr. No. For this reason, there are references to virtually all Bond movies, the most eye-catching one of course Halle Berry rising from the depths of the ocean wearing Ursula’s bikini. I quickly said a Hail Berry.
Not the most popular Bond among visitors of this forum, so I noticed. It’s not one of my favorites either, but the first hour isn’t bad and it’s a well-cast movie. I never really fancied Halle Berry, but she’s very sexy here and does well during the action scenes; the other Bond girl, Rosamund Pike, is deliciously wicked and Tobey Stephens is a surprisingly different, but very effective Bond villain, one who’s really acting in a couple of scenes. And then there are a few enjoyable scenes in relation to virtual reality. One involving Miss Moneypenny is very funny.
But okay, it cannot be denied that the movie goes way over the top in the second half, with DNA restructuring to change people’s faces, an orbital mirror satellite channeling solar energy and god forgives I don’t an invisible car, the Aston Martin Vanquish. However, what struck me most, was the fact that some of the SFX were really hopeless: there’s one scene with Bond surfing away from a landslide that looked like a commercial break (it really reminded me of a commercial, for - if I’m not mistaken - toothpaste).
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