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Post by Gambit on Oct 12, 2008 8:09:14 GMT -5
This comparison is quite interesting. Shows how Craig has changed since CR where even he admitted he went over the top with the bodybuilding & weights. I wouldn't claim to be an expert on Ian Fleming but I'd hazard a guess that his Bond didn't spend 36 hours a week in a gym.
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Post by Gambit on Oct 11, 2008 6:43:24 GMT -5
www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2008/10/11/bomoo111.xmlReview: Roger Moore: My Word Is My Bond Far from his dashing on-screen image, Roger Moore is a cheery, down-to-earth and surprisingly skilful actor, says Sinclair McKay Sir Roger Moore has been a national treasure since the 1970s, the decade with which most people still associate him. His personation of James Bond - the slick quips, the flapping flares and casual sexism - now for many stands as a synecdoche of that decade. But this consistently self-deprecating actor - in fact, he is a skilled light comedian, as you will find if you watch his Bond or Simon Templar now - has been around for longer than that. Indeed, the first surprising thing about his memoirs is learning exactly how long. advertisementMoore is the south-London-born son of a policeman. An otherwise tranquil childhood in Stockwell was interrupted first by the Blitz, then by some strange medical emergencies, such as the time a friend shot him with an air pistol and young Moore remained unaware of the pellet embedded in his knee joint until he could no longer walk; and by occasional outbreaks of surrealism, such as the time his family adopted a monkey that eventually became so unmanageable it had to be given to Chessington Zoo. Moore was an only child; his family was warm, affectionate and close. It's a refreshing change from misery memoirs. His first love was animation but, owing to youthful muddle-headedness, he was given the boot from the film company where he started work. He then attended Rada (with Lois Maxwell, Miss Moneypenny-to-be), and soon went into rep, touring provincial theatres and staying in frowsy boarding houses with floral chamber-pots. Occasionally, the comely young Moore attracted the predatory attention of theatrical Uncle Montys such as Binkie Beaumont, but the actor skates over such incidents as though this was something that happened to everyone. Television beckoned with Ivanhoe; then a spell in 1950s Hollywood followed. While hotshots such as James Dean may have been taking drugs and having weird sex, Moore was leading a comparatively quiet life, despite having married the obviously bonkers singer Dorothy Squires. In one passage, he recalls an occasion when Squires heckled Lenny Bruce and then got into a foul-mouthed screaming match with the comedian. Incidentally, a few years later, on the set of the kitschy thriller series The Persuaders!, Moore was witness to further foul language when Tony Curtis lost his rag with guest star Joan Collins and called her a ****. In outrage, Collins went around, shrilly repeating the offending term. Only Moore could calm everyone down. The 1960s brought Moore true international fame in The Saint, which purported to be set in exotic locations all over the world but was in fact filmed solely at Elstree Studios. While everyone else was swinging away, between 1962 and 1969 Moore's world largely consisted of pretending that a Hertfordshire studio set was Venice or Paris. His name was touted for Bond many times. The gig finally became his in 1972. Those hoping for accounts of blazing rows on set won't get them; the Bonds were notoriously happy films to work on. His seven-film tenure goes by in an enjoyable whirl of villains with bad breath, socks kept on for bed scenes, director Lewis Gilbert addressing him as "dear", kidney stones, and Bernard "M" Lee disappearing off to get drunk. Moore's only real complaint seems to be that the producer Cubby Broccoli hinted in a book that he was given the push from the role at the age of 57, rather than leaving of his own volition. The cast of characters wandering through these pages is amusingly diverse, from Hylda Baker to Audrey Hepburn and David Niven and old chums such as Sir Michael Caine. Little, if any, dirt is dished; Moore is clearly a very nice man who prefers to nurse resentments privately. And if, on the one hand this makes his memoirs a little short of drama - even his marriage break-ups are presented with high decorum, and we are told of Gstaad evenings spent watching old Dad's Army videos and eating beans on toast - what we do get is the amused voice of an endlessly cheering actor who was always very much better than either he or his critics ever thought.
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Post by Gambit on Oct 11, 2008 6:33:58 GMT -5
Another one:
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Post by Gambit on Oct 10, 2008 16:27:33 GMT -5
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Post by Gambit on Oct 6, 2008 12:25:49 GMT -5
Connery's book has bombed and is being greatly outsold by Roger's memoirs. Probably because Roger doesn't take himself so seriously and is more happy to talk about James Bond.
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Post by Gambit on Oct 6, 2008 12:22:59 GMT -5
www.dailymail.co.uk/moslive/article-1064849/The-Bond-tangled-web.htmlThe Bond Tangled WebAs Quantum Of Solace opens, Bond and M are interrogating White, who reveals that the organisation that ‘turned’ Vesper is called Quantum, with agents in both the CIA and the British Government At the end of Casino Royale, Bond’s lover Vesper Lynd gave his multimillion-pound poker winnings to the shadowy villain Mr White, dying before she could explain the reason why. Bond tracked Mr White to a lakeside villa in Italy, and shot him in the leg. As Quantum Of Solace opens, Bond and M are interrogating White, who reveals that the organisation that ‘turned’ Vesper is called Quantum, with agents in both the CIA and the British Government. In Siena, Bond corners one of these rogue spies, who is linked to a bank in Haiti. The action moves to South America, where Bond meets (and sleeps with) Agent Fields. Together, they attend a fundraiser for Greene Planet, a supposedly eco-friendly corporation headed by the charming Dominic Greene. There, Bond encounters Russian-Bolivian spy Camille, who has her own personal vendetta against Greene. Bond rescues Camille from a kidnapping, wildly overstepping his mission parameters and angering the Foreign Office. This is not just ‘licence revoked’: M puts him on the secret service’s capture-or-kill list. Judi Dench: ‘M isn’t sure about Bond, isn’t sure she can totally trust him.’ Illicitly following Greene to Austria, Bond learns more about his plan – Greene will finance a bloody coup by an exiled Bolivian general in exchange for a seemingly worthless plot of land in the desert. As Bond and Camille team up to stop Greene, they must evade MI6, the CIA, Quantum and the Bolivian police – but for Bond, it’s personal. He wants Greene for information about Lynd’s betrayal. This is a new, merciless Bond. In the words of Simon Kassianides (Yusef, Lynd’s former boyfriend), ‘This film decides what Bond will be from this point on.’
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Post by Gambit on Oct 6, 2008 12:20:10 GMT -5
The most alarming thing about that newspaper wasn't the spoiler, which was surely Eon's fault as they gave them the scoop deliberately, but Forster's assertion that Bond has never been to the desert. Hasn't he seen TSWLM? Obviously not.
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Post by Gambit on Oct 5, 2008 10:00:21 GMT -5
It must have endured the test of time better as a film.
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Post by Gambit on Oct 5, 2008 9:58:49 GMT -5
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Post by Gambit on Oct 4, 2008 12:28:46 GMT -5
Roger's book is out now.
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Post by Gambit on Oct 4, 2008 12:27:38 GMT -5
People tend to be kinder to something when it's new and then find faults as time goes on.
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Post by Gambit on Oct 4, 2008 12:25:14 GMT -5
I went to the movies tonight and saw the QOS Coke commercial. Adding insult to injury, it was followed by a trailer for a new Clive Owen film. Ironically, it's a conspiracy thriller with Owen determined to take down a powerful corporation- and realizing he has to go outside the law to do it. The final shot has him confronting the villain on a rooftop, and telling the guy, "Who said anything about arresting you?" I believe the film was called "The International", but they might as well have called it, "Look, here's a guy who would've actually been a perfect fit to star in Quantum of Solace!" Sadly, perhaps the biggest insult was yet to come. I then had to suffer through the trailer for Craig's new film, "Defiance". I know we joke about how old/haggard/terrible Craig looks around here, but...my God. It's truly shocking to see how badly this man has aged in just the past two years. Both of these films sound interesting from what I've read. It's funny that Clive apparently turned down 007 but keeps doing Bondish parts.
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Post by Gambit on Oct 2, 2008 12:13:25 GMT -5
We'll see in a few weeks what Eon have conjured up this time around.
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Post by Gambit on Oct 2, 2008 12:10:57 GMT -5
Nice to see a Bond who is taller than the women posing with him. ;D
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Post by Gambit on Oct 2, 2008 12:08:55 GMT -5
The best films according to a newspaper article I found. Casino Royale is brilliant of course and has the 'edge' of Connery and the 'humor' of Moore. www.examiner.com/x-939-DC-Film-Examiner~y2008m10d1-The-Best-Bond-filmsThe Best Bond films October 1 by Matthew Razak, D.C. Film Examiner The best franchise ever. Can you feel that anticipation? We're only two weeks away from being one month away from the next James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. Fine, so maybe others don't get quite as excited as I do (literally squeeling with joy when the trailer comes on in theaters) over Bond films, but that doesn't mean I can't start celebreating the return of the greatest cinematic hero ever as early as possible. So I've decided to break down the greatest Bond films, a subject tackled many times, but worth revisiting often.
You may ask why I've only put eight? Well, considering there are 21 Bond films in total, ten would lead us to covering about half the films and while all Bond films are great I can't in good concious put half of them on a "best list." Plus, with a month and half to go before the new Bond film these are the eight that you just have to see to get ready for the film to come out, so get to the list and then get your Netflix cued up because time is running out.
8. The Spy Who Loved Me
If you're going to make Bond into an over-the-top superhero then this is how you do it. The Spy Who Loved Me is the quintesential Bond film full of giant enemy bases, whitty one liners, a plethora of women and gadgets galore. Most of the time when Bond is taken in this direction it makes for some great action but a serious lack of depth. TSWLM has both, not to mention a strong female counterpoint to Bond in Agent XXX. Jaws is also introduced in this film making it feature on of the most beloved (for better or worse) Bond villians. The movie is also home to the best opening sequence and credit song (Nobody Does It Better) in the series.
7. For Your Eyes Only
I hate to have both the greatest Moore films out of the way off the bat since he was Bond for too so long but I think we can all understand why it is this way. For Your Eyes Only is probably the biggest suprise for most people reading this list as it's the most underrated Bond film released and few truly remember it. After going into space in Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only firmly plants Bond back on earth in what is Moore's most realistic and serious Bond. Not only is the tounge-in-cheek humor that came to epitomize Moore's Bond films happily in check, but the crule, hard edged Bond that had steadily been dissapering since Diamonds Are Forever returns in full force and Moore nails it suprisingly well. Also of note is a rare opening sequence that ties into previous films by not only featuring Blofeld but also Bond's dead wife.
6. Dr. No
Dr. No didn't define what Bond became, that was left up to Goldfinger, but it did introduce the world to Bond in film. A perfectly executed villian, Sean Connery at his silkiest and iconic scenes that would define action cinema for years to come all make up the film. Ursula Andress coming out of the water is one of the sexiest moments in film and still stands up today, despite the fact that her bikini is rather robust by today's standards. Sounds like it should be at the top of any list, but as far as the best of the best goes Dr. No is lacking in some of the more interesting departments like depth and action. It's an amazing starting point, but in the world of great Bond films it's not the best.
5. GoldenEye
I'm not going to argue that the Brosnan years weren't incredible, but of his four Bond films GoldenEye easily takes the cake. Not simply content with bringing Bond back, the film also updated him for the 90's and made the character of Bond far more human. Alex Trevelyan is one of the best foils to Bond's character since he is Bond gone wrong and Xenia Onatopp has to be one of the greatest female villians in the history of the series. Of course the addition of a female M (Judi Dench) was also a great counterpoint to the playboy spy. Not to mention that the tank chase through St. Petersburg is one of the best action set pieces to ever be placed in a film, Bond or not. I just wish the score wasn't so awkward.
4. Goldfinger
I'm sure their are many raised eyebrows at seeing this film not at number one since many consider it to be Connery's finest outing. Goldfinger basically established who and what James Bond was in films. It has one of the greatest Bond villians in Auric Goldfinger (who also delivers the greatest Bond villian line ever) and one of the greatest Bond heroines in Pussy Galore. It created the opening action sequence that is now a staple of the films and also pretty much every other Bond stereotype you can think of. In short the film is Bond, and as I type this I wonder why it's this high up myself. But it's because of these exact same reasons that I've put it here. The creation of the Bond mythos in Goldfinger led to all those Bond movies that weren't so great. Yes, Goldfinger simultanously saved and destroyed the Bond franchise. It's hard to complain about this film though.
3. Casino Royale
Is it bad luck to place the most recent Bond film so highly on this list? Shouldn't seniority come into account? Well maybe, but Casino Royale is just that good. Daniel Craig brought back an edge to Bond that hadn't been seen since Connery so effortlessly played the role. The film seems to blend every aspect that has made Bond so great over the years while simultanously giving him a clean slate. It doesn't lose the humor of Moore, it keeps the edge of Connery, it delivers the serious tone Dalton strived for and it opens up Bond as a person like Brosnan did. Not only this, but the movie keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish, despite taking place at a poker table for a good chunk of it. Brilliant.
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
OHMSS did everything that I just said Casino Royale did but 37 years earlier. Although overly long and totally loyal to the book the movie is basically the perfect Bond situation. Bond goes undercover to investigate Blofeld and is basically sequestered high up in the alps with a plethora of beutiful women and Blofeld himself (played to perfection by Telly Savalas). Surrounding this is the story of Bond actually falling in love and getting married. The story delivers so well that you have to overlook the films glaring flaw: George Lazenby. Lazenby has the looks and build of Bond but he just can't deliver the perfomance. I find it best to simply imagine a young Connery in the role and doing so easily catapults this into being one of the greatest Bond films ever made. Also of note is the fact that the film featurs Louis Armstrong's last recording in the form of "We Have All The Time in the World."
1. From Russia With Love
Nothing will ever top From Russis With Love. The plot is clever and twisted, the villians are plentiful and all iconic (Rosa Klebb, Blofeld, Red Grant) and the Bond woman, Tatiana Romonaova, is beautfiul and alluring. It's also one of the most interesting films Bond wise, as the character hadn't become a characterture of himself yet. Connery delivers a performance that's silky smooth but with an underlying cruelty and viciouness that is absent from many of the other Bond films. The fight between Bond and Grant in the train car is still one of the best close quarted fights on film, despite some clunky coreophgraphy. In short FRWL proves why most people consider Connery to be the best Bond.
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