The definitive James Bond film ?

Just in general for the non-Fleming books which are mainly made up of the Gardner novels.

I haven't read the non-Flemings so what film did they use it in?

 

He also never asks for a Vodka Martini in his films

 

FRWL gets my vote.

Coincidently, I spent the last two weeks watching all the Bond films in consecutive order. It’s really amazing how poor the later Moore outings are. I blame it on direction. This, all while my favorite Bond film remains Live and Let Die, which I find to be greatly entertaining.

 

As a kid Thunderball was the Bond film that captured my imagination. I think it was mostly about the really cool gadgets and vehicles in the film- the jetpack the separating hydrofoil yacht, etc. and the underwater battle. Now I realize it was not a particularly good film- Goldfinger, Dr. No and Russia are far better, but Thunderball is still the movie I think of when the subject of Bond comes up.

 

Ah some more dislike for John Glen it seems.

This is generally in the running for my favorite with Thunderball. I tend to go between them quite often.

 

Yes! The jetpack..so cool.

 

☀️

Die Another Day

 

enjoy past ones because apparently the 'new' James will be ordering triple soy lattes sensitively shaken and using locally sourced and recyclable bullets but will first try to engage the bad guys in a community discussion about how their micro-macro agresssions are hurting people feelings. Oh yeah, and the bad guy has moved on from weaponizing nuclear weapons or biotoxins to..... algae. Seriously. Algae

 

Colonel Sun is an excellent cover novel. Of all the cover novels it's the most like
Fleming, capturing his language and style. It's also a superb thriller. I like the
scale of it, down-to-earth, realistic, and personal, with Bond's thought process
at the forefront as he figures things out, observes, and steels himself for one
ordeal after another. If it weren't a Bond novel it would still be a superb thriller.

I almost wish it had followed OHMSS to the big screen. But by that time EON
had entrusted the series to Guy Hamilton and Tom Mankiewicz and they would
have screwed it up, turning it into a slapstick comedy.

For the record, I think Colonel Sun and the recent cover novels would make
better Bond films than anything we've seen since License to Kill. These include
Solo by William Boyd, Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks, and the two by
Anthony Horowitz Trigger Mortis (a follow up to Goldfinger with P. Galore)
and Forever And a Day (prequel to Casino Royale). All are in the right spirit,
faithful to both Fleming and the early films. The literacy level is normal placing
them way over EON's head. The latter would make a fine reboot to the film
franchise with a new, young actor as Bond.

 

Informative, thx!!!!

 

Avoid the cover novels by Jeffrey Deaver and Raymond Benson.

 

I always felt that Roger Moore was better in The Saint (at its best) than in most of his Bond films. He ought to have been, and nearly was, really great in the role, but was let down at times by the writing and/or direction. Just my opinion, of course!!

 

Agreed. Here is how I would express the same thought:

I always felt that Roger Moore was better in The Saint (at its best) than in
his Bond films. He ought to have been, and nearly was, really great in the
role, but was let down every time by the writing and direction. And perhaps
by his own inclinations. He didn't want to do any gritty unpleasantness.

Moore's first two films -- Live and Let Die and The Man With the Golden Gun --
seemed more like The Saint brought to the big screen than a James Bond film. I like
the smaller scale of them; the latter has much to recommend it. But ultimately it fails
under the weight of ridiculous action ideas and bad comedy. The opening sequence in
the funhouse should have been a grueling fight at an outdoor target range.

 

I LOVE "OHMSS" and the soundtrack first rate, but yeah,
George was in an impossible place.

 

Diamonds Are Forever did not even seem like a real James Bond Movie to me.

 

Although I think Goldfinger is the definitive James Bond movie, hands down, I liked all of the earlier ones. Thunderball and Diamonds Are Forever were never my favorites.

Yes it was.

I did like You Only Live Twice. Score was excellent and it was more of a Bond movie to me than either Thunderball and Diamonds Are Forever.

 

It was like a sitcom disguised as an action/adventure film. Just awful. Connery admitted several times in interviews that he did the film because they paid him a million bucks and he was able to give a large contribution to charity because of it.

It's a matter of taste. What I can say is that at least all the Bond films were done from the original camera negative, so the sharpness and detail are there. I don't agree with all the color decisions (made by the MGM execs): as an example, I think quite a few night scenes are too bright, and the color matching in You Only Live Twice bounces around too much for me. But all in all, the Blu-rays look very good to me.

 

Yeah, I’d go with “Goldfinger” as well.

 

A poll would have helped here. Like a lot a lot.

 

Goldfinger. No competition.

 

John Barry was firing on all cylinders when he composed the music for
You Only Live Twice, OHMSS and Diamonds Are Forever. Of course all
his scores are sensational, but he found his stride with three in a row.
For me these are the definitive James Bond scores.

 

Regarding Colonel Sun and the recent cover novels, I'd like to modify what I
said before. I should have said Colonel Sun would make the best Bond film
since OHMSS in 1969. And I should have said the other recent cover novels
would make a better Bond film than we've seen since For Your Eyes Only
in 1981.

 

Die Another Day

Colonel Sun character involvement.

 

Wrong. Bond signaled the helicopters on the boat en route to Silva's island.

Disagree. In fistfights alone Bond stacked up an impressive body count by the time we got around to Skyfall. Also, the larger point isn't always about Bond being stronger than his adversary - but smarter and more determined.

(QUOTE="Richard--W, post: 22530632, member: 53121"]This is a sickening perversion of the James Bond
concept. I think poorly of Dench and Clueless for lending themselves to Barbara
Broccoli's agenda. Some actors -- like Jeremy Brett in Sherlock Holmes -- stick
up for the author and demand fidelity to the spirit and intent of the writing.
Dench and Clueless just throw it under the bus.[/QUOTE]

Seriously? The Bond movies have always veered from the "spirit and intent of the writing" - with varying results - why would they stop now? As for Bond's relationship with M, it isn't entirely that different from his relationship with the M of the books, who was often cold, angry, autocratic, condescending and paternal. Damn right the M of the books often treated Bond like he was the hired help - because MI6 is still a military operation, not a registered charity. Chain of command matters, even more so when you're sending assassins out for another trip to the boneyard under the pretense of protecting Queen and Country.

In the Freudian slip department, Judi Dench was closer to Ian Fleming's original concept of M than even the author could have imagined as the character of the novels was originally based upon his mother, a cold, often demanding woman who Fleming grew up calling M.

Lastly, it's all a matter of opinion, but I think Daniel Craig is very much Ian Fleming's James Bond - although more like the 007 of later books like You Only Live Twice and On Her Majesty's Secret Service...where Bond struggles with his vices and a fair amount of self doubt and cynicism about his work, much like Fleming did at the time. Only difference is Fleming died...and Bond didn't.

 

I'd add Barry's atmospheric and unusually understated score for Thunderball to this list. Lush and gorgeous, it's pure 1960's Bond - right down to Tom Jones' man crush title song...