Scenes in the James Bond Films that make you squeamish?

Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,690MI6 Agent
edited March 2016 in The James Bond Films
Are there any scenes in the James Bond films that are difficult for you to watch due to your being squeamish? Do they make you wince every time you watch them?

I used to be very squeamish when I was younger and a mention of AIDS or even blood in Biology or Geography class would have blanched my skin white and brought me out in a cold sweat though thankfully I never actually fainted! I'm a lot better at dealing with my squeamishness now though. Perhaps studying Criminal Law and reading True Crime has toughened me up somewhat.

Scenes from the Bond films that make me a bit squeamish and that are hard to watch are the following:

Dr Kananga cutting Bond's arm with a knife in LALD
The stabbing of Mr Slate by Bond in QoS


Strangely the Krest head explosion scene in LTK never really bothered me despite all of the blood. Neither did Dario falling into the cocaine grinder.

There may be others but those are the two worst in my opinion and the QoS one is really difficult for me to watch as it is one of the more brutal scenes in a Bond film. I've more or less come to terms with the knife cutting Bond's arm in LALD and it was a real comfort to know that the blood ran out of the knife through a hole in the blade. That made it easier for me to watch.

So which scenes from the Bond films make you squeamish? I'd love to hear from you.

So which scenes from the Bond films make you squeamish? I'd love to hear from you.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
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Comments

  • LoeffelholzLoeffelholz The United States, With LovePosts: 8,990Quartermasters
    It's an interesting question...I generally feel more squeamish when I watch a medical drama on TV like Grey's Anatomy ;%

    The drill into Bond's skull in SP is pretty tough, as is (of course) the torture bit in CR. I do like the SPECTRE henchman flying into the snow blower in OHMSS...and Dario descending feet-first into the cocaine-grinder in LTK...
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  • Golrush007Golrush007 South AfricaPosts: 3,420Quartermasters
    The drill in SPECTRE is probably the only one that I can genuinely say has made me feel squeamish.

    To a lesser degree, Kananga cutting Bond's arm in LALD and the cocaine grinder in LTK.
  • Xfire2k15Xfire2k15 Posts: 31MI6 Agent
    When Krest's head blows up in LTK! Eeeeeeek :o :o
  • IanTIanT Posts: 573MI6 Agent
    I don't think I've felt squeamish as such by anything in the Bond films. Even the torture scene in CR wasn't quite as brutal as it could have been. I'm sure if my plums had been battered with a Turkish knot I wouldn't have time to joke about itchy nads.

    The Spectre drill sequence is probably the most painful to watch as I think we've all been there at the dentist with the anticipation of the drill, the buzzing close to our ear and the certain knowledge that this is going to hurt and there's nothing we can do to stop it.
  • heartbroken_mr_draxheartbroken_mr_drax New Zealand Posts: 2,073MI6 Agent
    SC and Pussy Galore in the barn.
    1. TWINE 2. FYEO 3. MR 4. TLD 5. TSWLM 6. OHMSS 7. DN 8. OP 9. AVTAK 10. TMWTGG 11. QoS 12. GE 13. CR 14. TB 15. FRWL 16. TND 17. LTK 18. GF 19. SF 20. LaLD 21. YOLT 22. NTTD 23. DAD 24. DAF. 25. SP

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  • hehadlotsofgutshehadlotsofguts Durham England Posts: 2,107MI6 Agent
    Zorin throwing that KGB agent down the oil pump.
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  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,690MI6 Agent
    edited March 2016
    SC and Pussy Galore in the barn.

    Seriously? Certainly an interesting choice there. :)
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • Matt SMatt S Oh Cult Voodoo ShopPosts: 6,596MI6 Agent
    SC and Pussy Galore in the barn.

    Seriously? Certainly an interesting choice there. :)

    Rape can make people squeamish.
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  • Miles MesservyMiles Messervy Posts: 1,759MI6 Agent
    Matt S wrote:
    SC and Pussy Galore in the barn.

    Seriously? Certainly an interesting choice there. :)

    Rape can make people squeamish.

    Agreed. When viewed with a modern eye, that is actually one of the low points of the series.

    As for squeamish, the drill in SPECTRE was pretty unpleasant to watch.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,061MI6 Agent
    Leiter being fed to the shark was probably the worst thing I can think of... :#
    Dalton & Connery rule. Brozz was cool.
    #1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    I agree the image of Leiter's stump from below, is gruesome. I also hate the
    Drilling torture scene.
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  • JellyfishJellyfish EnglandPosts: 465MI6 Agent
    I saw a bit of Moonraker on TV the other day, and Bond ends up on a settee in a hotel room in Rio de Janeiro with a woman. She sits next to him and he unbelts her dress/robe and says something like "how to kill five hours in Rio if you don't samba?" The fact that she had not really shown any sign that she wanted to do anything, and Bond just seeming that she was up for it, gave me a whole creepy BBC-in-the-seventies vibe. That seemed a bit dodgy, unless there's something prior to it I missed that gives it some context.
  • Matt SMatt S Oh Cult Voodoo ShopPosts: 6,596MI6 Agent
    Jellyfish wrote:
    I saw a bit of Moonraker on TV the other day, and Bond ends up on a settee in a hotel room in Rio de Janeiro with a woman. She sits next to him and he unbelts her dress/robe and says something like "how to kill five hours in Rio if you don't samba?" The fact that she had not really shown any sign that she wanted to do anything, and Bond just seeming that she was up for it, gave me a whole creepy BBC-in-the-seventies vibe. That seemed a bit dodgy, unless there's something prior to it I missed that gives it some context.

    Did you miss the way she sat down on the sofa and the look she gave Bond? She was clearly inviting Bond to sit down with her and suggesting something. I was in a similar situation recently...
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  • JellyfishJellyfish EnglandPosts: 465MI6 Agent
    Matt S wrote:
    I was in a similar situation recently...

    Roger Moore came on to you? :))

    I did only see a bit of it, and I wasn't properly paying attention (Moonraker has never been one of my favourites), so I might have just missed something that would make it a bit less *eww*.
  • Matt SMatt S Oh Cult Voodoo ShopPosts: 6,596MI6 Agent
    Jellyfish wrote:
    Matt S wrote:
    I was in a similar situation recently...

    Roger Moore came on to you? :))

    No, Manuela sat on my sofa! -{
    Visit my blog, Bond Suits
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,690MI6 Agent
    Matt S wrote:
    SC and Pussy Galore in the barn.

    Seriously? Certainly an interesting choice there. :)

    Rape can make people squeamish.

    We yes, certainly. I of course meant no offence by my remark there. I was just a little surprise as when I created this thread I had violence as the source of squeamishness in mind. I guess I never looked at it that way though I'm the first person be be against sexual crimes of any nature.

    Anyway, Goldfinger is not one of my favourites in the series despite its glowing reputation, nor has it ever been. For one thing, it's vastly overrated. I do love the laser scene though and how Bond talks his way out of death!
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • chrisisallchrisisall Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,061MI6 Agent
    NO no NO! It was NOT a rape!! OMG does it HAVE to be spelled out every year??
    Their fight was the foreplay, she was impressed enough for a roll in the hay after a moment of doubt. A single "GUARDS!" would have ended it if she wanted.
    And let us remember she was kind of a bad girl? A player?
    It's a completely unusual situation. One cannot apply the usual moral or ethical standards to it. 8-)
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  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    She didn't seem to resist too much to me. ;) ended up surrendering, to Bond's charm.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,317Chief of Staff
    chrisisall wrote:
    OMG does it HAVE to be spelled out every year??

    Welcome to my world, Chris!
  • chrisisallchrisisall Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,061MI6 Agent
    Barbel wrote:
    chrisisall wrote:
    OMG does it HAVE to be spelled out every year??

    Welcome to my world, Chris!
    Also, if the same movie was made in TODAY'S moral climate, she would have pulled away after the kiss, smiled wickedly, and pulled him back for more, and no one would have a thing to say on the matter!
    Dalton & Connery rule. Brozz was cool.
    #1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
  • heartbroken_mr_draxheartbroken_mr_drax New Zealand Posts: 2,073MI6 Agent
    chrisisall wrote:
    Barbel wrote:
    chrisisall wrote:
    OMG does it HAVE to be spelled out every year??

    Welcome to my world, Chris!
    Also, if the same movie was made in TODAY'S moral climate, she would have pulled away after the kiss, smiled wickedly, and pulled him back for more, and no one would have a thing to say on the matter!

    That's right. I just think that the way it's intended is that she's all for it - and it isn't rape. But the way it's played/written, her resistance, which is quite strong, is enough to suggest that Bond is asking too much.
    1. TWINE 2. FYEO 3. MR 4. TLD 5. TSWLM 6. OHMSS 7. DN 8. OP 9. AVTAK 10. TMWTGG 11. QoS 12. GE 13. CR 14. TB 15. FRWL 16. TND 17. LTK 18. GF 19. SF 20. LaLD 21. YOLT 22. NTTD 23. DAD 24. DAF. 25. SP

    "Better make that two."
  • MarcAngeDracoMarcAngeDraco Piz GloriaPosts: 564MI6 Agent
    Of course, the usual suspects:

    Milton Krest's death.
    Harpoon Gun stabbed in Goon's eye (TB underwater battle)
    Torture scene in CR (but then a crass joke came into it and cheapened the whole sequence)
    SP torture sequence
    Silva feeling up Bond
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  • Sir Hillary BraySir Hillary Bray College of ArmsPosts: 2,174MI6 Agent
    The Spectre drill was the worst for me. The sound of the drill was bad enough, but Craig's bloodcurdling scream took it up another level.
    Hilly...you old devil!
  • Miles MesservyMiles Messervy Posts: 1,759MI6 Agent
    chrisisall wrote:
    NO no NO! It was NOT a rape!! OMG does it HAVE to be spelled out every year?

    Just because she submitted to Bond doesn't change what happened prior to that point. Perhaps you have to keep "spelling it out" because your view on the matter is unsettling to some. If you want to view this as something other than rape, go right ahead. But please don't feign outrage when others disagree.
  • Matt SMatt S Oh Cult Voodoo ShopPosts: 6,596MI6 Agent
    chrisisall wrote:
    NO no NO! It was NOT a rape!! OMG does it HAVE to be spelled out every year?

    Just because she submitted to Bond doesn't change what happened prior to that point. Perhaps you have to keep "spelling it out" because your view on the matter is unsettling to some. If you want to view this as something other than rape, go right ahead. But please don't feign outrage when others disagree.

    It's not so cut-and-dry and can be interpreted in different ways. It's not clear whether or not Pussy wants it or not. If you want to accuse Connery of raping someone in a role, he undoubtedly commits rape in Marnie.
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  • Gassy ManGassy Man USAPosts: 2,972MI6 Agent
    Matt S wrote:

    Seriously? Certainly an interesting choice there. :)

    Rape can make people squeamish.

    Agreed. When viewed with a modern eye, that is actually one of the low points of the series.

    As for squeamish, the drill in SPECTRE was pretty unpleasant to watch.
    Viewing with a modern -- and therefore simplistic and myopically politicized eye -- means missing the whole point of the scene. Bond does not rape Pussy. Like it or not, she yields to him because she wants to. The entire context of their relationship, culminating in her later betraying Goldfinger and helping Bond, is constructed around the idea that she is drawn to him even though she doesn't want to admit it. The same trope is applied with Pat Fearing in Thunderball.

    Human relationships are complex. So is attraction. So is seduction. The scene, as written and played out, takes that into consideration. In the age we live in, such relationships are reduced to the simplest of binaries. But not in the 60s.
  • Gassy ManGassy Man USAPosts: 2,972MI6 Agent
    chrisisall wrote:
    NO no NO! It was NOT a rape!! OMG does it HAVE to be spelled out every year?

    Just because she submitted to Bond doesn't change what happened prior to that point. Perhaps you have to keep "spelling it out" because your view on the matter is unsettling to some. If you want to view this as something other than rape, go right ahead. But please don't feign outrage when others disagree.
    I don't think he's feigning outrage. I think he's banging his head against the desk at how obtuse the modern interpretations are, ignoring everything else in the film that contextualizes that moment and only looking at it to draw a conclusion unsupported by the narrative.
  • Gassy ManGassy Man USAPosts: 2,972MI6 Agent
    In answer to the original question, by the way, it would be when Bond and Mayday "make love" in A View to a Kill. I was actually fearful for Bond's wellbeing.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Western Mass, USAPosts: 9,061MI6 Agent
    chrisisall wrote:
    NO no NO! It was NOT a rape!! OMG does it HAVE to be spelled out every year?

    Just because she submitted to Bond doesn't change what happened prior to that point. Perhaps you have to keep "spelling it out" because your view on the matter is unsettling to some. If you want to view this as something other than rape, go right ahead. But please don't feign outrage when others disagree.
    I'm not feigning s**t! I'm really sorry if you have a personal stake in this view somehow (a friend of mine in college was date raped just to tell you), but Pussy was a high stakes borderline adrenaline junkie that knew what she was getting into when she made the first violent physical move.
    PLEASE!
    This is NOT real life. 8-)
    Dalton & Connery rule. Brozz was cool.
    #1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
  • Revs1972Revs1972 Posts: 78MI6 Agent
    I don't find the drill scene too bad, but Hinx pushing in matey boys eyeballs made my toes curl up a touch
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