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Watching all the James Bond movies (SPOILERS) (1 Viewer)

JimmyO

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There have been several books about the Bond movies over the years, but I actually think this is one of the better ones—even if it is rather unusual. It doesn't have an overarching narrative from the authors, but instead has lengthy quotes in each chapter from directors, composers, actors, producers, critics, etc. It's available as an audiobook, and I've been listening to it slowly over the past week or so.

View attachment 116474
That looks interesting. How well does this format do on audio? I like stuff like this.

Shame about the cover. Seems they just grabbed whatever gun they could, when PPK replicas are available readily and cheap. You don't realize how sleek and spy-like the PPK is until you compare it to a gun like this one.

And those cufflinks - lol
 

benbess

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Yeah, the cover isn't very good. The audio book seems to be made with care, but it's weird. They have different people doing different voices. And so they have a British woman doing Barbara Broccoli, a man who doesn't much sound like Sean Connery doing him, and so on. It can be a little distracting, but the different voices are also useful in keeping track that someone else is giving their point of view on whatever movie is being talked about. There are lengthy chapters on each movie. I've just finished From Russia With Love, although I also skipped to the end and listened to most of the chapters on Casino Royale, Quantum, Skyfall, and Spectre.

There are some good insights into how Daniel Craig was chosen way back in 2005. Barbara Broccoli was the main one championing him, even as others, such as CR's director Martin Campbell, really resisted choosing Craig for months. Campbell said more or less that Craig was clearly a good actor, but just didn't "look the part." They'd actually had a lot of financial success with the Brosnan Bonds, but for the fifth movie he was apparently making astronomical salary demands, plus they thought that his gadget-laden and sometimes absurd kind of Bond had run its course, and they decided they needed to go another direction.

I've got a membership in Audible, and so for me the cost of getting the audiobook was about $12 or so, which seemed worth it.
 
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benbess

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Theo James is another name that has been mentioned as a possibility for the next James Bond. He was good in the Jane Austen miniseries Sanditon.

 
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benbess

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This coffee table book is newly available, and seems to be getting good reader reviews so far, but I'm held back by the $50 list price.

nttd book.jpeg
 

Osato

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There have been several books about the Bond movies over the years, but I actually think this is one of the better ones—even if it is rather unusual. It doesn't have an overarching narrative from the authors, but instead has lengthy quotes in each chapter from directors, composers, actors, producers, critics, etc. It's available as an audiobook, and I've been listening to it slowly over the past week or so.

View attachment 116474

I bought a copy on eBay a few weeks ago. It’s a good book so far. I’m on dr no right now.
 

Osato

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This coffee table book is newly available, and seems to be getting good reader reviews so far, but I'm held back by the $50 list price.

View attachment 116479

Agreed. Some of the books are so expensive.

It does appear this one has a bit more text than the recent “on set” series of books which were mostly
Just photos.
 
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benbess

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I decided to get that new NTTD making-of book. My birthday is coming up, and I figured what the heck—and I did also find a good review of it that said it was more that just a fluff book with nice pix.

Anyway, another question that's come up in addition to who might play the next Bond, is speculation about who might be good to direct the next Bond. Below is an article from Screen Rant with the suggestion of Denis Villeneuve.

My thought would be to stick with Cary Fukunaga if he's interested, since I think he did such a great job with NTTD.

Steven Spielberg expressed an interest in directing a Bond movie about 40 years ago, but then as now I think his price tag gets in the way. I think he typically gets 20% of first dollar gross, which I don't think is a figure that works for EON. But Spielberg's ability to do something with a lighter and more fun touch might be good after five serious Bond movies, and Spielberg can obviously also do serious scenes. But I haven't heard him express an interest in this idea for many years, and the fact that he gave up directing the next Indiana Jones movie may indicate that this kind of movie is not something he's that interested in at this point.

Who do you think might be a good director for a future Bond movie?


"....While his films have spanned genres, budgets, and languages, Villeneuve’s best movies present many recurring themes. The director likes to explore the aftermath of brutal violence and the scars - literal and figurative - left behind. His films have also tackled misogyny (both violent and more systemic), environmentalism, toxic, destructive masculinity, and notions of identity and the individual opposed to institutions.

All of those would perfectly apply to James Bond 26: a man who must kill or be killed, who has committed countless acts of violence; a franchise that has long been marred by its poor treatment of women (something the Craig era did attempt to address); Bond’s place in not only MI6, but also a changing world where the biggest threat is much greater than any one villain, but where that can be weaponized against him (an area Quantum of Solace tried and sadly failed to delve into, but that could be great in the right hands). Indeed, it’s not hard to think Villeneuve would’ve been an ideal director for Craig’s Bond. But if he were to direct James Bond 26, then he’d have the ingredients to make one of the most cerebral, challenging, and unique 007 films in the franchise’s history."
 
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Worth

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I'm a big fan of Villeneuve, but I don't think he's right for Bond. I can only see him making it darker and more serious than it is now, which I don't think is the direction in which it should be heading. Years ago, I would have loved to see what George Miller and Paul Verhoeven would have done with Bond, but that moment has passed. The only contemporary filmmaker I'd like to see take a shot at it is Edgar Wright, who can handle both actors and action very well. with a lightness of touch.
 

Osato

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I'm a big fan of Villeneuve, but I don't think he's right for Bond. I can only see him making it darker and more serious than it is now, which I don't think is the direction in which it should be heading. Years ago, I would have loved to see what George Miller and Paul Verhoeven would have done with Bond, but that moment has passed. The only contemporary filmmaker I'd like to see take a shot at it is Edgar Wright, who can handle both actors and action very well. with a lightness of touch.

I think James Bond and Batman are two examples of film series that could benefit from going with a lighter tone.
 

Keith Cobby

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I think James Bond and Batman are two examples of film series that could benefit from going with a lighter tone.

I agree, but I don't think The Batman producers have heard you. I watched the Joker on Prime, fortunately it was 'included', there's no way I would have wanted to pay separately to see it. People can get their fill of doom and gloom from the news, I want to be entertained.
 

ScottRE

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In case someone didn't stick around to the very end credits of NTTD, here there are, including: "JAMES BOND WILL RETURN." I do think another thing EON needs to work on is the frequency of their movies. The pandemic, of course, was part of the reason, but it has been six years since SPECTRE was released. In the early to mid-1960s there was a new Bond movie every year. By the late 1960s they'd moved to every other year. And by the 21st century the average was about four years. How frequently do you think Bond movies should come out?


I waited specifically for those four words and they really eased my mind,

Remember when the settled into "every two years" for Bond films? They stuck with that all the way to 1989 (with a couple of burps here and there). Bond films were an event you looked forward to and could count on to happen on schedule. We even know which film was up next! Unless something changed their minds.

I was watching Octopussy last night and I couldn't help but remember that the lead actors had to fit in other roles between Bond gigs, not the other way around. And the supporting cast almost literally had nothing else to do but wait for Eon to call.
 

ScottRE

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I think James Bond and Batman are two examples of film series that could benefit from going with a lighter tone.
I certainly wouldn't want to go back to the pigeons doing double takes or to the really obvious double entendre puns, but something along the lines of The Living Daylights or the smooth enjoyment of Goldfinger (only with Bond actually contributing more than just being awesome) would be nice. I don't think a similar exploration into Bond's psyche is necessary. I think the Craig films were a natural progression to that with the Brosnan's hinting at something deeper below the surface, but there's something to be said for Bond's major life tragedy being Tracey's murder minutes after their wedding. I hate when serious adventures become comedy films, but a devil-may-care attitude would be nice to have back, but with a serious edge where appropriate.

Actually, I'd argue the last truly traditional Bond film was GoldenEye. Considering that was Cubby's last film, it doesn't come as a shock. It's also a great film and shows the character can be updated without breaking too far from tradition. Brosnan was perfect and deserved a better run overall.
 

TravisR

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The only contemporary filmmaker I'd like to see take a shot at it is Edgar Wright, who can handle both actors and action very well. with a lightness of touch.
That's an excellent idea. I don't know that he'd be interested in franchise movies after getting the boot from Ant-Man but I have no doubt that he could deliver a fun action movie.
 

Sam Favate

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Judging by the trailer, the new Batman is going to make Nolan's take look like Blake Edwards by comparison.
Nolan's Batman was essentially James Bond; there wasn't much detective work, and the movies took place on a large international canvas. Reeves' Batman is said to be a neo-noir detective thriller, although it sure looks like another grim and gritty dystopia, a la TV's Gotham.
 

Worth

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Nolan's Batman was essentially James Bond; there wasn't much detective work, and the movies took place on a large international canvas. Reeves' Batman is said to be a neo-noir detective thriller, although it sure looks like another grim and gritty dystopia, a la TV's Gotham.
It looks like Batman dropped into Seven.
 

ScottRE

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Gotham used to be a regular city with crime ridden neighborhoods as well as upscale. Before that, it was just a city with outsized villains.

The 60's series made it a sunshiny city with colorful villains.

Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher made it into an architectural nightmare with a high crime rate.

Now, it's a festering sh*thole. It doesn't bother me, let Metropolis be the paradise. I do love what they're doing with the Penguin, though.
 

ScottRE

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Back to Bond....

As I reflect on the experience that was No Time To Die, I find I'm in no hurry to see it again. Usually when I love a film, especially one like a Bond flick, I cannot wait to see it again. This one, thanks to the ending, is something I'm in no hurry to revisit. I mean, there are two and a half hours of 007 goodness that I just lapped up. But the climax is too depressing and hopeless at the moment.

Maybe after it settles in and we're hearing reports of the next 007, I'll feel like revisiting it.
 

benbess

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Going back from NTTD, the previous Bond movie was SPECTRE. I watched this one for the first time the day before I saw NTTD, and I've now watched most of it again. From my pov Spectre is a very strong Bond movie, and one of my favorites. Beautiful images by Swiss cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, who also filmed Tenet and Dunkirk for Christopher Nolan. The pacing in Spectre is maybe sometimes a bit off, and there are a few weird elements, including the revelation that Bond and Blofeld knew each other when they were young. Apparently after Bond was orphaned Blofeld's family adopted Bond for a time. Some Bond fans call this the "Brofeld" twist, and don't like it at all, with a few even putting Spectre dead last on their list of Bond movies largely because of this. To me that seems like an overreaction, but obviously everyone gets to pick their favorites and least favorites.

Spectre actually rises in my estimation because of how well it sets up NTTD. Austrian actor Christopher Walz, who I think is fine in Spectre, is hauntingly better in NTTD from my pov.

The opening Day of the Dead stuff in Spectre is spectacular, and has given rise to the question of whether some helicopters can roll upside down. Apparently it is possible for very short periods of time:

"The helicopter barrel roll is the most spectacular thing in the new Spectre trailer, and an aviation expert has confirmed it is perfectly possible. Mike Buckley, a helicopter pilot and spokesman for the British Airline Pilots Association, identified the helicopter as a BO105. “It is possible to fly a helicopter upside down for a short period of time,” Buckley said.



Anyone else have any thoughts on SPECTRE?

13136_6_large.jpeg
 

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