Amph James Bond: Now Disc. "Skyfall" Video Blog by Sam Mendes

Great discussion here, guys. I can't address everything you guys have said since I was in here last, but let me just say a couple of things.

First of all: Kieran! Awesome! That chronological Bond thing is fantastic. I love it.

Second of all: Merlin's criticisms of Goldfinger simply cannot stand. Particularly, this problem Merlin has that Bond is an emasculated figure in Goldfinger (well, he also turns a lesbian, but I guess that's not exactly what Merlin's talking about). Allow me to posit that this is part of the reason I love the movie; this is Bond before he becomes a superhero, as he begins to in the Moore years and also in the Brosnan period.

Consider, for instance, the scene with the laser, one of the most iconic scenes in the entire franchise. Of course, Bond escapes death at the laser's edge, but do you recall how? Not with some spectacular gadget, not with some incredible feat of physical strength, not even by seducing a female assistant into freeing him. He escapes by the absolute skin of his teeth, by blurting out a codename that he's overheard but knows nothing about. He takes a long gamble, bluffs Goldfinger into believing that he knows all about this operation and that MI6 does too, when nothing could be further from the truth. It's a compelling moment of Bond being both in a complete corner and yet escaping doom with his intellect. It's far more satisfying than if he'd had an exploding wristwatch or something and it's a moment that is only allowed to happen because Bond is first put in that desperate situation where he seems to have no way out.

Then think about the climax when the bomb is ticking down. Bond has dispatched Oddjob and he rips into the bomb, but he doesn't know which wire to pull. He dithers, in the face of doom; Bond, James Bond, is, get this, unsure of what to do next. He's at sea and it's only one of his allies arriving and reaching over his shoulder that saves the day. Is this an emasculated Bond or is it just a *gasp* human one, a Bond who actually doesn't know everything, that actually isn't always one hundred percent poised or Johnny on the spot. It's a Bond that is capable of failure; I suppose you might say this weakens the character or emasculates him; I say victory is only compelling when failure is an option. And that's why Goldfinger, despite its over the top sections, still makes it high on my list of classics - because I'm always pursuing the truly human Bond and Goldfinger has that in spades.

And, oh, yeah, Thunderball? Not good, dude; sorry. Well, except for Bond's "Queen and Country" speech and the admittedly fabulous way he actually makes lines like "He got the point" and "She's just dead" actually sound decent. It wasn't that Connery didn't get some awful lines, just like Moore did. It's that Connery actually made them seem kind of badass, something no other Bond has really been able to do.

As to QoS, I do need to see it, at least before Skyfall comes out (like Merlin, I'm really looking forward to Skyfall; if they screw this up, I will be absolutely desolate).

 

Honestly, is it possible to screw up Skyfall? A Bond movie with Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem, Albert Finney, and Ralph Fiennes?!?!

Hell, the movie poster alone will be better than three-quarters of the Bond flicks.

 

I completely agree with Rogue about the human/vulnerable/fallible Bond being more interesting than the pure wish-fulfillment super-hero version we get later. One of the few sequences I really rate in OHMSS is when Lazenby's Bond is hiding at the ice-rink - he's scared, really scared, in fact he's gone full-ostrich - not daring to look up for the bad-guys in case they see him - and that's great, because it's very, very, human. I think everyone can identify with that type of thinking, it goes back to when you're young and feel powerless. When he sees a pair of skates stop in front of him and he looks up to find a friendly face in his hour of need, it's pretty wonderful - he gets rescued by the Bond-girl, and in a totally believable, non-Xena-action-chick-style way.

 

Yep, that's one of the great moments of the Bond films. In fact, it's just a great film moment regardless, in terms of editing, composition, whatnot.

But it doesn't ever get brought up, since it's from a Bond film - the one that starred Lazenby, no less! Outrageous!

 

Absolutely, I've really enjoyed reading so many varying opinions.

 

I've enjoyed it, too, which is why I'm willing at this point to let my anti-GF/pro-TB comments stand as they are, alongside those of my opponents. I fear that any more argumentation would spoil the fun for me. We've all had our say, and we appear to stand unshaken (or unstirred) from our respective positions. Bond fans are nothing if not stubborn!

 

It's the reason we stay Bond fans, even when we all seem to have a substantial number of Bond films that we absolutely loathe! We're too stubborn to give up on the franchise!

 

The Bond films certainly have one of the best fan bases in all of pop culture. That's why it's been able to stay alive (though struggling at times) for 50 years.

Ian Fleming would be proud.

 

I think all the Bond movies are on Netflix streaming right now.

It's weird, even the bad Moore films (aka the six that aren't FYEO) have a certain kitschy, campy charm to them. His straight-man exasperation driving around with Pepper in TMWTGG almost redeems that sequence, for example.

As opposed to the Brosnan films, which are just plain dumb. I'm even finding my love for GoldenEye to be rooted more in nostalgia, Bean-worship, and love for the video game than anything else.

Yep, my rankings have changed again (from best to worst):

Timothy Dalton
Daniel Craig
Sean Connery
George Lazenby
Roger Moore
Pierce Brosnan

 

Daniel Craig gives a good interview in Time Out here. He starts off talking about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but carries on to talk about Bond, the problems with Quantum of Solace, and his hopes for Skyfall.

 

Fantastic interview! Craig is so down-to-earth, he comes across as a regular bloke who just happens to have the moves and the physicality to play James Bond. It's also apparent from his answers that he cares deeply about the 007 franchise and is intent on co-creating the highest-quality films he can in concert with the writers, producers, directors, etc.

My excitement and expectations for Skyfall have increased exponentially.

 

http://hardcorenerdity.com/2011/12/1...ies-for-craig/

Speaking of increasing exponentially, the news is that producer Wilson wants Craig for a total of 8 Bond films!

"Filming has gone very well so far and I?d love Daniel to surpass Roger?s record and do eight pictures."

Now I adore Craig in the role, but at age 43 I think he's already starting to push the unspoken limits on how old an actor can convincingly portray 007. At 52 Connery was playing an intentionally aged Bond in 1983's non-official NSNA. Roger Moore hit 50 in late 1977, before Moonraker was filmed... and he still had 4 films to go before his run was over! And ya know what... it shows, especially in AVTAK, but there's glimpses of saggy features in both FYEO and OP.

Me, I'm just happy that Craig got to do Dalton one better and deliver a trilogy. To my mind both Connery and Moore only made three good 007 pictures each, and if you add Brosnan's single winning effort to Dalton's, you get a solid third trilogy. (Hunt's brilliant single film with Lazenby stands on its own.) Now the Craig trilogy will complete the awesomeness! If he makes more films, so much the better... so long as they don't descend into overwrought camp, and as long as Craig looks like he can handle himself without a walker.

More delightful tidbits (from an article linked in the linked article above):

And Wilson revealed that longtime fans will be more than pleased to learn that "Sam Mendes and Daniel are taking it back to a '60s feel?more Sean."

"I think that's what the fans wanted. There's a magical Goldfinger feel surrounding it all. It's all very excited," he said.

As part of the commemorations, producers are putting together several special events including a celebration they hope will officially bring together all six men who have played Bond: Connery, George Lazenby, Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Craig.

Read more: http://www.eonline.com/news/james_bo...#ixzz1h25amGt6

 

Five more films with Craig after Skyfall. I doubt that. I'd love to see them do one with him as a purposely aging Bond, but I don't know how that would play.

 

I like Craig, but the sooner we get Fassbender, the better.

 

Yeah, that scene in First Class where he kills the Nazis in the pub . . . that was totally his audition tape for James Bond.

 

I'm pretty sure Vaughn did those scenes with Fassbender as Bond very much in mind.

Personally, I've thought he'd make a perfect Bond since seeing Inglorious Basterds, and apparently a lot of other people thought the same.

Tom Hardy is someone else who would work, but he's just way too short.

 

Hardy is, supposedly, 5' 10" - the same height as Daniel Craig.

Not that I'm saying Hardy should be Bond over Fassbender, mind you. Or, for that matter, that I want Craig gone. I'm just hoping the next Bond film will have a bit of flair in the writing department.

 

I could see keeping Craig around if Bond got a promotion and wasn't out actively working anymore; he could stop being "James Bond" and become M or Q.


I like the idea of Magneto-dude becoming Bond. His face is pretty ruthless-seeming, and ruthlessness is a key Bond quality, IMO.

 

I find Tom Hardy overrated. I don't think he'd make a good Bond.

 

Personally, I'd say that Hardy is one of the few actors of his generation that is just an absolute natural screen presence. He even looks good in that This Means War junk.

 

I still have a grudge against Hardy for Star Trek, where he played a young Picard with no resemblance to Patrick Stewart other than being a bald white guy (granted, NO ONE came out of that movie looking good, but still).

On the other hand, he was one of the handful of genuinely interesting aspects of Inception to keep me from writing off the entire film.

We'll see which way Bane tips the scales - hopefully when the movie comes out I'll be able to understand what he's saying.

 

http://www.mi6-hq.com/news/index.php?itemid=9922&catid=107&t=mi6&s=news

Reports that Thomas Newman will be scoring Skyfall. Which makes sense, since he's scored all but one of Mendes' films.

I'm overjoyed by this if true. Not because I'm a fan of Newman, but because I just can't stand David Arnold's work.

 

[image=http://www.tomrichmond.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/secretagentman.jpg]

Is that Mort Drucker? Looks like him:

[image=http://lambiek.net/artists/d/drucker_m/drucker_madmovie.jpg]

 

Ha! What a great image. Instant desktop background.

And yeah, it certainly looks like Drucker.