Oh, and yes, the Dalton films are amazing. Planning to watch TLD tonight, actually.
On this VERY important point we agree 100%!
A hearty welcome to ya! -{
Thank you for the warm welcome. I've been re-watching all of the Bond movies in preparation for Spectre, and watching them gave me the urge to discuss them online.
Just finished TLD, and it's even better than I remember. The brilliance of Dalton is inspiring, he can evoke an entire mood with just his eyes. Classically trained British actors really are something else.
There is always something interesting in a Bond film. However, since there are 24 films, fans have a choice .... If I had to choose, I would probably skip (or watch them relatively less) many of Brosnan and Craig films. On the other hand, Connery, Moore, Lazenby, and Dalton's films continue to impress me.
I'll watch any Bond and get something out of it but the ones I enjoyed in the Cinema and have nosedived since are LTK and TND. Both movies that I thought were amongst the best but have become less appealing since. LTK for just being tooo 'angry' and un-Bondlike and TND for being a bit of a noisy mess. Still don't mind watching them though.
The ones I never liked from the moment I watched them in the Cinema are DAD and QOS..although strangely QOS has grown on me a bit and now I enjoy it a lot more.
Of the older films (my first at the CInema was Moonraker)..TMWTGG sticks out as the one that I thought was great as a kid and now I can see its flaws and enjoy it a lot less.
There is no Bond film that I truly dislike. In trying to be as objective as I possibly can, the lowest I have given to a Bond film is 7/10. While the highest is 10/10. 7/10 is respectable .... However, relatively speaking there are a few Bond films that have gone down while some have come up
I spent most of the 80s and early 90s in the boarding school so mostly saw Bond films on video during vacations (the collection at home included YOLT, TMWTGG, etc.) or when shown in school on weekend movie night (AVTAK to LTK). That makes GE the first Bond film that I saw in cinemas .... Like most of you, I have all the Bond films in my personal collection now
Currently, below are the films that have moved a lot in the ranking:
UP
* DN, FRWL and OHMSS - All of them are in my top 3. They are different Bond films (or slightly different than the regular ones) and may be that could be one of the reasons why I love them more
* LALD and OP - Subjectively, they can be in my top 5. Objectively in top 10. Both of these films are very good after multiple repeated viewings. Earlier I used to be a little critical of elements (or laughable concepts) such as voodoo, Bond in gorilla/clown/etc suit, Tarzan yell, etc. but now they don't bother me .... In fact, I like the voodoo elements in LALD which gives the film an unique feel. The score in both these films is memorable as well and so are the villains as a group. The films have that adventure feel to them as well
* DAF - Rated it low esp. due to the 2nd half. Always liked the first half. After watching SP, I realized that so many films have taken elements from DAF including the rat scene, moon buggy sequence redone in the PTS of AVTAK, the pipe sequence in TWINE, The Ford Mustang stunt in OP and LTK, the influence of the film on how Bond was played in the 70s, etc. I also enjoy SC's unique performance. In the PTS, when you hear "Where is he", you know you are in for an exciting ride. And the score is just brilliant
* TWINE - Usually found it boring. However recently I decided to give it a look again. And I liked it. In fact, it is one of those Bond films that you have to been in the right mood to watch
DOWN
* GE - First film that I watched in the cinemas. In 2016, looks cartoonist and extremely silly. And dull. From may be a top 10 film, this one is now my lowest ranked film. I can probably write essays on how bad this film appears now
* SF - Again was a top 10 but now in the bottom 10
In fact, the recent releases could be temporarily high due to the new factor. But after multiple viewing, they could go down. Which again strengthens the power to keep holding your attention of the older films .... Other films are more or less where I expect them to be
My 9/10 and higher films include - DN, FRWL, GF, TB, OHMSS, LALD, TSWLM, OP and TLD. The last 9/10 or higher film is TLD so I am still waiting for a Bond film of that level
Even though I still like GE, it has grown off me a bit.
"Hostile takeovers. Shall we?"
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
I used ti love ThunderBall. Of course, not as much as a lot of other Bond films, but it was always in at least the top 5. After many recent viewings.. It's only gone down the list, and I expect it to only drop more. Little sad really, Connery does some fantastic acting, and has some good lines and quips, but the underwater action and other boring scenes... and.. some awkward ones.. Really drag it down from being so much better.
Goldfinger was the first Bond movie I saw, and I loved it. But.. it has really dropped, Bond doesn't really do much at all in the movie till the end, and so many other films just do things so much better. No doubt the iconic scenes are great and Connery does one of his few good acted performances.
GoldenEye was another one I really thought was the best one, and could never be topped. It still remains near the top, but I've really noticed it wasn't as good as I had believed.
The Spy Who Loved Me. I wouldn't say I dislike it, but my admiration for it has dipped a bit. The script is pretty generic and is a copy of You Only Live Twice. The first act is slow and a lot of superfluity could have been cut. And the bulk of the movie is pretty much just one vehicle chase after the other in place of actual things going on.
Yes, it has a strong female lead, a great performance from Roger Moore, some of the most amazing moments in the series, an amazing henchman, but that's a bunch of great moments stored inside of a weak DNA.
BIG TAMWrexham, North Wales, UK.Posts: 773MI6 Agent
When very young YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE was my favourite Bond film. When I got older I didn't like it as much - I went through a faze where it was very low down on my list. Now I love it again! Perhaps I'm going through a second childhood.
I don't really have an answer to this question, but one Bond movie I really hate (the worst of the series) and will never change no matter how much time passes by is Diamonds Are Forever.
Moonraker was my first Bond film, and for a long time it was my favourite. Now I would rank it far lower, although I still have a sizeable soft spot for it.
The first time I saw The Man With The Golden Gun I really loved it and thought I'd rank it among the top 5 Bond films. Now, I would undoubtedly place it in the bottom 5!
Ultimately though, there is no Bond film that I dislike. Even DAD which sits at the bottom of the list has much that I enjoy in it.
I don't really have an answer to this question, but one Bond movie I really hate (the worst of the series) and will never change no matter how much time passes by is Diamonds Are Forever.
Yes, DAD and DAF are in my bottom two as well.
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
YOLT is pretty heavy going and Connery now looks noticeably overweight, as well as bored, he has a kind of languid John Wayne thing going on. He does perk up for some good scenes - the briefing with M, talking to Charles Grey and Karin Dor, but also the overt sexism with the bathing scenes feel horrid and the plot has this awful grinding one foot in front of the other routine feel to it, though at the time it was a definite step up in terms of scale.
Jokes about a woman with a face like a pig also irk.
YOLT is pretty heavy going and Connery now looks noticeably overweight, as well as bored, he has a kind of languid John Wayne thing going on. He does perk up for some good scenes - the briefing with M, talking to Charles Grey and Karin Dor, but also the overt sexism with the bathing scenes feel horrid and the plot has this awful grinding one foot in front of the other routine feel to it, though at the time it was a definite step up in terms of scale.
Jokes about a woman with a face like a pig also irk.
I do enjoy it in parts of course, still.
I agree. YOLT has many impressive elements, like the look/feel of the film, Barry's EPIC score - but it falls apart in the non-superficial areas - I find that YOLT lacks a bit of soul.
I have a real soft spot for it. As a youngster it turned me onto Martial Arts which became a lifelong passion and to Buddhism which I no longer practice, but which has had a huge impact. Also minimal modernism. The whole 'I'm turning Japanese' shtick is lamentable and always was. It's a bit of a guilty pleasure like a lot of Bond films. The novel however is amongst the best.
Of that of which we cannot speak we must pass over in silence- Ludwig Wittgenstein.
I'm leaning towards disliking the Living Daylights. I love the first half, but I'm not comfortable with Bond helping out the Mujahideen in the second half.
Not only the film drastically shift tonally from a wintery, Cold War europe to a blazing hot western, but Bond crosses a line politically that I don't think should have been crossed. As far as I know, the Mujahideen is basically the same as the Taliban and thus has not "aged well" in light of recent events.
My current 10 favorite:
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
I'm leaning towards disliking the Living Daylights. I love the first half, but I'm not comfortable with Bond helping out the Mujahideen in the second half.
Not only the film drastically shift tonally from a wintery, Cold War europe to a blazing hot western, but Bond crosses a line politically that I don't think should have been crossed. As far as I know, the Mujahideen is basically the same as the Taliban and thus has not "aged well" in light of recent events.
It goes to rexplain how the world has chanhed, The Mujahadeen was not quite the Taliban. And any hero going against "those wicked Soviets" was applaudible.
Of course as the war progressed we know thats what the Mujahadeen became the Taliban. Financed by the Americans who created their own monster
1. For Your Eyes Only 2. The Living Daylights 3 From Russia with Love 4. Casino Royale 5. OHMSS 6. Skyfall
I agree with the point about TLD. Romanticising the Mujahideen dates the film hopelessly. Dalton is excellent in the East European scenes, though... the last in the series before the Berlin Wall came down.
But my choice in this category is TSWLM. When I was fourteen and TSWLM opened, I didn't need much persuading that "It's the biggest. It's the best. It's Bond... and beyond!" From the ski jump onwards, it seemed to deliver action on a scale that trumped the other Bond films which I'd seen on their first release in the cinema (DAF, LLD and TMWTGG). My logic at the time was... Bond films are the best films ever, no question... so if TSWLM is "the best" Bond picture then it must also be the greatest movie ever made! It's not that I don't enjoy watching TSWLM now - I still do - but in some respects it doesn't age as well as some of the others, and it's no longer among my favourites.
Critics and material I don't need. I haven't changed my act in 53 years.
Comments
+1. Love 'em all.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Just finished TLD, and it's even better than I remember. The brilliance of Dalton is inspiring, he can evoke an entire mood with just his eyes. Classically trained British actors really are something else.
Bond: Pierce Brosnan Villain: Hugo Drax Girl: Pam Bouvier
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
The ones I never liked from the moment I watched them in the Cinema are DAD and QOS..although strangely QOS has grown on me a bit and now I enjoy it a lot more.
Of the older films (my first at the CInema was Moonraker)..TMWTGG sticks out as the one that I thought was great as a kid and now I can see its flaws and enjoy it a lot less.
"Better make that two."
I spent most of the 80s and early 90s in the boarding school so mostly saw Bond films on video during vacations (the collection at home included YOLT, TMWTGG, etc.) or when shown in school on weekend movie night (AVTAK to LTK). That makes GE the first Bond film that I saw in cinemas .... Like most of you, I have all the Bond films in my personal collection now
Currently, below are the films that have moved a lot in the ranking:
UP
* DN, FRWL and OHMSS - All of them are in my top 3. They are different Bond films (or slightly different than the regular ones) and may be that could be one of the reasons why I love them more
* LALD and OP - Subjectively, they can be in my top 5. Objectively in top 10. Both of these films are very good after multiple repeated viewings. Earlier I used to be a little critical of elements (or laughable concepts) such as voodoo, Bond in gorilla/clown/etc suit, Tarzan yell, etc. but now they don't bother me .... In fact, I like the voodoo elements in LALD which gives the film an unique feel. The score in both these films is memorable as well and so are the villains as a group. The films have that adventure feel to them as well
* DAF - Rated it low esp. due to the 2nd half. Always liked the first half. After watching SP, I realized that so many films have taken elements from DAF including the rat scene, moon buggy sequence redone in the PTS of AVTAK, the pipe sequence in TWINE, The Ford Mustang stunt in OP and LTK, the influence of the film on how Bond was played in the 70s, etc. I also enjoy SC's unique performance. In the PTS, when you hear "Where is he", you know you are in for an exciting ride. And the score is just brilliant
* TWINE - Usually found it boring. However recently I decided to give it a look again. And I liked it. In fact, it is one of those Bond films that you have to been in the right mood to watch
DOWN
* GE - First film that I watched in the cinemas. In 2016, looks cartoonist and extremely silly. And dull. From may be a top 10 film, this one is now my lowest ranked film. I can probably write essays on how bad this film appears now
* SF - Again was a top 10 but now in the bottom 10
In fact, the recent releases could be temporarily high due to the new factor. But after multiple viewing, they could go down. Which again strengthens the power to keep holding your attention of the older films .... Other films are more or less where I expect them to be
My 9/10 and higher films include - DN, FRWL, GF, TB, OHMSS, LALD, TSWLM, OP and TLD. The last 9/10 or higher film is TLD so I am still waiting for a Bond film of that level
New 2020 ranking (for now DAF and FYEO keep their previous placements)
1. TLD 2. TND 3. GF 4. TSWLM 5. TWINE 6. OHMSS 7. LtK 8. TMWTGG 9. L&LD 10. YOLT 11. DAD 12. QoS 13. DN 14. GE 15. SF 16. OP 17. MR 18. AVTAK 19. TB 20. FRWL 21. CR 22. FYEO 23. DAF (SP to be included later)
Bond actors to be re-ranked later
Goldfinger was the first Bond movie I saw, and I loved it. But.. it has really dropped, Bond doesn't really do much at all in the movie till the end, and so many other films just do things so much better. No doubt the iconic scenes are great and Connery does one of his few good acted performances.
GoldenEye was another one I really thought was the best one, and could never be topped. It still remains near the top, but I've really noticed it wasn't as good as I had believed.
1. Roger 2. Timmy 3. Connery 4. Craig 5. George 6. Pierce
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Yes, it has a strong female lead, a great performance from Roger Moore, some of the most amazing moments in the series, an amazing henchman, but that's a bunch of great moments stored inside of a weak DNA.
DAF Which I used to like not as much now
1. Dalton 2. Moore 3. Connery 4. Craig 5. Lazenby 6. Brosnan
Its incompetence on every level.
The first time I saw The Man With The Golden Gun I really loved it and thought I'd rank it among the top 5 Bond films. Now, I would undoubtedly place it in the bottom 5!
Ultimately though, there is no Bond film that I dislike. Even DAD which sits at the bottom of the list has much that I enjoy in it.
{[] {[] +1.
Yes, DAD and DAF are in my bottom two as well.
Jokes about a woman with a face like a pig also irk.
I do enjoy it in parts of course, still.
Roger Moore 1927-2017
I agree. YOLT has many impressive elements, like the look/feel of the film, Barry's EPIC score - but it falls apart in the non-superficial areas - I find that YOLT lacks a bit of soul.
"Better make that two."
Not only the film drastically shift tonally from a wintery, Cold War europe to a blazing hot western, but Bond crosses a line politically that I don't think should have been crossed. As far as I know, the Mujahideen is basically the same as the Taliban and thus has not "aged well" in light of recent events.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
It goes to rexplain how the world has chanhed, The Mujahadeen was not quite the Taliban. And any hero going against "those wicked Soviets" was applaudible.
Of course as the war progressed we know thats what the Mujahadeen became the Taliban. Financed by the Americans who created their own monster
But my choice in this category is TSWLM. When I was fourteen and TSWLM opened, I didn't need much persuading that "It's the biggest. It's the best. It's Bond... and beyond!" From the ski jump onwards, it seemed to deliver action on a scale that trumped the other Bond films which I'd seen on their first release in the cinema (DAF, LLD and TMWTGG). My logic at the time was... Bond films are the best films ever, no question... so if TSWLM is "the best" Bond picture then it must also be the greatest movie ever made! It's not that I don't enjoy watching TSWLM now - I still do - but in some respects it doesn't age as well as some of the others, and it's no longer among my favourites.