Topic: James Bond Marathon

[richierich]

On Her Majesty's Secret Service



When his usual intelligence sources fail, James Bond (Agent 007) enlists the aid of crime boss Draco to track down Ernst Stavro Blofeld, head of the evil SPECTRE organization. The trail leads to the mountains of Switzerland, where Bond goes undercover in Blofeld''s hi-tech headquarters. He encounters a bevy of seductive women, but none more beautiful than Draco''s daughter, Tracy, who wins 007 over with her fervent independence, caustic wit and love of adventure. Bond pledges his eternal devotion to her, but there are more immediate concerns: Blofeld is poised to unleash horrific germ warfare weaponry that will endanger every living thing on earth. Bond''s adventures hurl him through artillery-laden ski pursuits, and a dramatic avalanche drive

Unlike a stereotypical Bond, this was very close to the book, Lazenby was a bit one-dimensional but in a film with a gritty plot, actual spy work, emotions and vulnerability, it worked ok. Perhaps Georges downfall for his future as 007 was simply he isn't hard enough, he lacks a certain edge when it comes to physicality and presence.
Kojak is not Blofeld, I much preferred Donald Pleasance in that role. Diana Rigg a passable Bond girl.
This was back to basics with Bond having to save the world with wit, charm and intelligence, and very few gadgets to assist, which is in line with Flemings original book. The music is one of the better offerings in the whole series, and the stunts and effects do not suffer overly from dating. The dark ending I thought could have been worked better, and as we know we now have the next offering with Connerys return to avenge Blofeld.
 

[Najemikon]

My Dad's hobby was hi-fi. Used to build his own speakers, etc, so I always trusted his opinion. He had the vinyl soundtrack for OHMSS and regarded it as one of the finest recordings he had. Always used it as a test of any equipment because of the range.

And to be honest, I've had a couple of CDs with the track on. The response is shit compared to that record! That could blow holes in your walls if you had it too loud...

[richierich]

Diamonds are Forever



Superspy James Bond (Sean Connery) gets tangled up in the wild world of international diamond smuggling. But hold on--the mission is not quite so simple as it seems; his chase of the jewel thieves leads him to conspirators with plans for unleashing a nuclear armageddon on an unsuspecting planet. The majority of the action takes place on the gaudy, glittering streets of Las Vegas, as Bond negotiates the grotesque terrain with his customary aplomb and fancy mechanical gadgets. As always, he manages to dally with several sexy bombshells along the way, including the wonderful Lana Wood as Plenty O'Toole. Connery is as suave and entertaining as ever, taking on the menacing Charles Gray, who is trying his hand at playing Bond's archenemy, Blofeld. Look for the car chase down a narrow alley.

One of the weaker Bonds, ending up with such scenes as farcical moon buggy chases. Connery should have stayed in 007 retirement, but big bucks apparently lured him back. The car chases were badly edited, and the special effects seem to have gone backwards from earlier films.
On the positive, I thought the gay assassin team was a riot, the Vegas scenes generally worked ok, and some of the one-liners went down well.
Clumsy effort overall and disappointing
 

[Tom]

Title: Diamonds Are Forever
Year: 1971
Director: Guy Hamilton
Rating: FSK-16
Length: 115 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35
Audio: German: Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono, English: Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles: Danish, English, Finnish, German, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

Stars:
Sean Connery
Jill St. John
Charles Gray
Lana Wood
Jimmy Dean

Extras:
Commentary
Deleted Scenes
Featurettes
Scene Access
Trailers

My Thoughts:

Rather boring. Seemed more like a parody and in parts felt more like an amateur movie. Sean Connery obviously didn't want to be there.
And why do they have to change Blofeld's character and looks in each movie? This time I did expect him to break into song anytime ("It's just a jump to the left... And then a step to the ri-ight!... Put your hands on your hip...").


Rating:

[richierich]

Live and Let Die



Roger Moore makes his first appearance as "Bond...James Bond" in 1973's Live and Let Die. Bond is dispatched to the States to stem the activities of Mr. Big (Yaphet Kotto), who plans to take over the Western Hemisphere by converting everyone into heroin addicts. The woman in the case is Solitaire (Jane Seymour in her movie debut), an enigmatic interpreter of tarot cards. The obligatory destructive-chase sequence occurs at the film's midpoint, with Bond being chased in a motorboat by Mr. Big's henchmen, slashing his way through the marshlands and smashing up a wedding party. Clifton James makes the first of several Bond appearances as redneck sheriff Pepper, while Geoffrey Holder is an enthusiastic secondary villain. The title song, written by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney, provides the frosting on this 007 confection


Top notch film, a young Roger Moore plays Bond as more of a dirty dog, bedding a multitude of women, suave, sophisticated and full of witty one-liners. His apprenticeship as Simon Templar helped carve his character, and it was a breath of fresh air following the last 2 007 movies.
So many memorable scenes and aspects in one movie, alligator hopping, speedboat chase, voodoo ceremony, Louisiana sherriff who is a riot, a curvy Jane Seymour, the train fight with claw handed man.
Connery would do Moore in a scrap, and that is the only negative I have with the eyebrow aching Moore taking the role - he isn't quite hard enough.
But for a film, it is one of my favourite 007 releases despite its straying from Flemings book in so many ways.
 

[Achim]

Top notch film, a young Roger Moore [...]

You are, however, aware that Roger Moore was/is three years older than Connery? Probably the only time they replaced Bond with an older actor

[richierich]

Top notch film, a young Roger Moore [...]

You are, however, aware that Roger Moore was/is three years older than Connery? Probably the only time they replaced Bond with an older actor

Yes I phrased that badly, I meant a young Roger Moore as opposed to an old Roger Moore who played Bond when he was too old in later films

[Achim]

Oh no, you phrased that quite alright, actually. I did understand what you meant. I just wanted to add some trivia.

[Dragonfire]

A fortune in stolen diamonds thrusts James Bond into action in this thrilling adventure! Sean Connery returns as Agent 007 and teams up with the beautiful Tiffany Case (Jill St John) to prevent his nemesis Blofeld (Charles Gray) from using the diamonds in a deadly laser satellite.

My Thoughts

I did get this watched last Saturday, so it was still during the week for this movie.  I'm just really behind writing about it.  And I do still need to watch all the extras. 

Anyway, the movie was ok, but not that great.  Connery wasn't as good in the part as he was in the first few movies.  He really wasn't in shape for the part anymore either, which made it less believable that he was still effective as a spy with the fights he got in.  The plot did seem a bit more silly.  I didn't mind that yet another actor played Blofeld.  I just didn't think everything with the character was handled as well as it could have been.  The pace was slower at times and I just wasn't as interested in what was going on.  It also didn't make sense to me that Tracey wasn't even mentioned with how important she became to James in the last movie.  The movie was just ok for me. 

  - I hope that is the right emote.

I am working on a draft of a longer review to post on Epinions.

[Tom]

Title: Live and Let Die
Year: 1973
Director: Guy Hamilton
Rating: FSK-16
Length: 116 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78
Audio: German: Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono, English: Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: Danish, English, Finnish, German, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

Stars:
Roger Moore
Yaphet Kotto
Jane Seymour
Clifton James
Julius Harris

Extras:
Commentary
Featurettes
Music Videos
Production Notes
Scene Access
Trailers

My Thoughts:

This movie didn't really keep my interest. It was rather boring and a bit too silly for me. Roger Moore is a good Bond though.

Rating:

[Dragonfire]

This one is ok, but it isn't great.  I seem to remember liking it more than I did when I watched it this time.  I did like Roger Moore as Bond - even though he was extremely manipulative with Solitaire - and I liked Jayne Seymour.  The plot was all right, but nothing great.  I could have done without the snakes.  There was some decent action, though several scenes did seem to drag on too long.  That sheriff that turned up late in the movie was a buffoon and added absolutely nothing to what was going on.  The music was good and I was glad that the movie didn't use the one piece of music during the action scenes that has been used in so many of the previous movies - I got tired of hearing it all the time. 

Overall, I thought the movie was entertaining, but it was just average.

 

I still have to watch the extras on my DVD and then I'll work on a longer review to post at Epinions.

[Tom]

Title: The Man with the Golden Gun
Year: 1974
Director: Guy Hamilton
Rating: FSK-16
Length: 120 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78
Audio: German: Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono, English: Dolby Digital Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: Danish, English, Finnish, German, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

Stars:
Roger Moore
Christopher Lee
Britt Ekland
Maud Adams
Hervé Villechaize

Extras:
Commentary
Featurettes
Photo Gallery
Scene Access
Trailers

My Thoughts:

Not as bad as it reputation is, but not good enough to keep my full attention. Everytime Nick Nack appeared on screen, I expected him to say "Ze plane! Ze plane!".
Even if it is only his second Bond, Moore already looks too old for the part. And to think, he will continue for another ten years!
And Bond was really inpolite in this one. First he doesn't take of his shoes, when taking part in the martial arts fight. Then he attacks without reciprocating the bow before the fight. And later he promised a kid money but then simply kicked him off the boat!

Rating:

[Dragonfire]

James Bond has been marked for death, and he'll need all his lethal instincts and seductive charm to survive in this action-packed adventure! Roger Moore returns as Agent 007 and faces off in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with assassin Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee). Featuring a wild automobile chase though Bangkok and Bond's stunning confrontation with an entire martial-arts school. 'The Man With the Golden Gun' delivers nonstop excitement!

My Thoughts

This one is entertaining, though a few things didn't work as well for me.  That annoying Sheriff turning up on vacation and going along on the one chase with James didn't work at all for me.  I didn't like the guy in Live and Let Die either.  The character were ok, though none really stood out that much to me.  I agree about expecting Nick Nack to start going on about the plane.  I'm not sure why, but he just didn't seem that ...effective as bad guy to me.  The action was fine and did keep things interesting.  Once again, a beautiful woman ended up running around in a bikini during the final climax.  At least Scaramanga did say he made her wear that to make sure she didn't have any hidden weapons..but still it was a bit stupid.

I still need to watch all the extras.  I'll get to that before I post a longer review on Epinions.

Overall it was an entertaining movie.

 

[Tom]

Title: The Spy Who Loved Me
Year: 1977
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Rating: FSK-12
Length: 120 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35
Audio: German: Dolby Digital Mono, Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono, English: Dolby Digital 5.1, Commentary: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: Danish, English, Finnish, German, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish

Stars:
Roger Moore
Barbara Bach
Curd Jurgens
Richard Kiel
Caroline Munro


Extras:
Commentary
Featurettes
Photo Gallery
Production Notes
Scene Access
Trailers

My Thoughts:

One of the first Bonds I have ever seen. Certainly the first one with Moore. It's one of my favorite Bond movies and my favorite Moore Bond.
I started watching Bond movies very late and as such gadgets is what I always associated with a good Bond movie. I really like the Lotus in this one.

I forgot that the walking through the desert scene parodied in Spaceballs comes from this movie.

Rating:

[richierich]

The Man With The Golden Gun



James Bond (Roger Moore) may have met his match in Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee), a world-renowned assassin whose weapon of choice is a distinctive gold pistol.  When Scaramanga seizes the priceless Solex Agitator energy converter, Agent 007 must recover the device and confront the trained killer in a heart-stopping duel to the death!

Really enjoyed watching this one again, it had been some time since my last viewing.
For me this is possibly Moores 2nd best film, I thought Lee as Scaramanga, with sidekick Nick-Nack, were excellent villains, and who could not enjoy seeing Britt Ekland wandering round in a bikini or babydoll nightie? (despite her bad acting skills)
The story is not as per Flemings last book, but I think works well and is still relevant today. Moore is particularly suave and witty, which suited the films at this time. Some of the stunts were awesome, the spiralling jump over the collapsed bridge only spoilt by a bloody penny-whistle noise (listen to the commentary track to see how much they regretted that). The gadgets are balanced well in quantity and not too ridiculous, the jokes are delivered well, the Far-Eastern locations ideal, and the acting solid in most areas.
On the negatives, the soundtrack was poor, a couple of the fight scenes were limp, and the pointless return of Clifton James as the racist 'Southern' sheriff.
A 007 classic and definately one of Moore's better films. Full of humour and an engaging storyline, I rate it higher than others.