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FRWL
B) From Russia With Love
Didn't know that! That's another interesting connection.
Nice cards @RichardTheBruce.
FRWL for the WIN...
Don't get me wrong, I love the Mr.Solo scene from GF, but it's just a little overlong. I guess you have Felix and Ambush (who came up with that name?) following the homer. But as gruesome and horrible the car crusher are, I feel the tycoon's fate in AVTAK is quick, brutally horrifying and the pay off line is as cheesy as they come. But Walken delivers it so well I don't care.
As for the second pairing, it's almost a coin toss as to which one is better.
But I think From Russia With Love just edges ahead for the win.
Could go either way though.
Another good and thought provoking round.
:-bd
TSWLM
And for no particular reason ‘From Russia With Love’
True, everyone needs such a collapsing staircase in his airship. ;)
The second is tough, but I am giving it to TSWLM. It rolls better off the tongue if nothing else.
Others will disagree, but the scene is part of a larger set of issues I have with the stud farm section of the film. First off, why not just off Solo with the rest of the gangsters by Goldfinger saying, okay, I'll make the arrangements and leaving him in the room. Why go to the trouble of not just pretending to take him to the airport, even load gold, just to off him in the car? It's a lot to give false hope to Bond thinking the homer will alert Felix for help and there's no real suspense to it.
The car crushing thing was probably a cool thing to see back in '64, but now not so much. Lastly, why the hell wouldn't Oddjob take the gold out of the trunk before crushing the car? "I have to go separate my gold from the late Mr. Solo" is an amusing line, but if it leads me to wonder why instead of being wowed by it and that makes it a flaw.
The AVTAK scene is fine. But again like the hoods convention, wouldn't somebody from the Asian guy's organization be looking for him and put more suspicion onto Zorin? You know he had to have powerful connections. Maybe they just wanted an excuse to use that guy falling from great heights yell into the film, a signature moment along with Glen's surprise bird jump scare of the films of the era.
For the second question, easily From Russia With Love. Sorry, The Spy Who Loved Me sounds like it could fit one of those cheap romance novels that overpopulate bookstores. Not to mention it gave excuses for terrible titles for terrible projects like The Spy Who Dumped Me. Although The Spy Who Jumped Me could work for an adult film.
One of many items I love about the scene is how happy Goldfinger is when his gold returns to him. His attraction to it even extends to his hand on the Ford Ranchero and moving with the vehicle like it's become attached. He has no doubt about the gold being returned to him from that mass of metal.
I never thought to try to explain it until now: with all the CIA crawling around the area, what better way to drive around with a dead body and a fortune in gold than to encase it in a crushed automobile. (Though in reality I guess the concern would be the human remains giving away what's up.)
I can understand everyone who votes for Mr. Solo. It's a scene sticking in mind after the first watch and it is definitely impressive the first time. BUT: It doesn't make sense, not even for Bond standard. @BT3366 's point are exactly the reason why I'm not a big fan of this GF scene.
And again BT3366 who nails it for me:
I never gave the TSWLM title much thought. The title works plotwise and it is a Fleming title. BUT : Is TSWLM the worst Fleming title? I think so, right now.
FRWL sounds somehow better, can't really explain why (?). Maybe it is because "Russia" and "Love" are used together (at a time where Russia was generally Bond's enemy) and we, like Bond, should be sceptic: Is this a trap?
Exactly, I was thinking the same things. TWSLM is a very generic title that could go with anything, not just Bond. Of course, the story is told from Viviene Michele's point of view, but the everyday person on the street wouldn't necessarily know that. Even in the film, is it Bond referring to Anya or vice versa? Actually, you could use that title for From Russia With Love.
From Russia With Love is even worked nicely into the film version with writing it on the photo. They never work the title into the film version of TSWLM.
2. From Russia with Love
I'll agree that From Russia With Love sounds a bit more exotic than the somewhat generic The Spy Who Loved Me.
Elimination of Mr. Solo gets one vote more than Taiwanese tycoon (AVTAK): 7: 6
FRWL is clearly preferred to TSWLM as movie title: 11 : 2
Round 30:
Some henchmen didn't show good fighting skills but they are remembered because of other characterisitcs, for example their evil laughter or evil grin…
Which henchman do you prefer? Baron Samedi vs. Dario
The second question is a bit different this time: Derek Meddings worked as miniature model creator and was responsible for visual effects. He worked on four Moore films and returned for GE before he died the same year. His work on MR was defintiely outstanding but there is much more great model work.
Which of Derek Meddings' (miniature) models do you prefer? Liparus (all scenes of the ship including its destruction) vs. fighter jet's crash into the Severnaya GoldenEye ground control
If you are interested:
https://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/articles/biography_derek_meddings.php3
Both Baron Samedi and Dario are great and memorable henchman with a laugh or grin.
As tough a choice as it is, I'll go with Baron Samedi as he has slightly more screen time. And Geoffrey Holder is so over the top and dramatic in the role.
For the second part of the poll, Derek Medding's model work in all the Bond films was nothing short of outstanding. Though I have to say even though the near perfect work on GE was amazing, the Liparus in TSWLM is perfect.
According to the making of documentary on TSWLM, the captain of the ship on which the Liparus was modelled didn't realise they hadn't used footage of his ship, and all the shots of the ship in the film are a model. That is some perfect model work.
Difficult one, I'm going with Severnaya.
The second is also kind of easy, even though none of the scenes or sets do anything for me. Liparus wins as it does look real, and not like something out of a kid show on tv.
And definitely the Liparus for me, can’t quite put my finger on it but there’s something about the Goldeneye clip that never looked quite right to me.
The space part in GE doesn't look good but I believe this is only cgi and had nothing to do with Meddings. The rest looks great imo. However, the ship is fantastic work, too.
I will have to go with Baron Samedi-- He could be over the top in costume, but sly, quiet and sinister (like when he's playing the flute).
I'll also go with Liparus for the second, please.
As for best laugh, Geoffrey Holder has one of the best laughs in movie history for me, not just the Bond series, so it's Baron Samedi. Although he's a noted dancer and choreographer, his laugh and voice have given him another side career. He was a 7-Up pitchman in the '70s. I remember my mom saying to me "That's the guy from Live and Let Die" and his catchphrase "Marvellous" followed by the laugh. I actually looked a couple of those commercials up on YouTube recently.
On the second question, I'd personally go for Meddings' Oscar-nominated work on MR. As that is not an option, I will go with Liparus. GE is not one of my go-to films, so I had to watch the clip to refresh my memory. I do recall criticisms of Meddings' effects in GE. I thought they looked fine; maybe people became too attached to CGI by this time.
I am still amazed at the Liparus scenes being models and not actual tankers and subs. Meddings would've easily earned an Oscar had it not been for Star Wars, which even Close Encounters couldn't compete with. If both of those weren't released in '77 TSWLM would've won.
You could argue that Dario isn't more than a usual thug, but he has some very evil moments and he gets a very violent death (which is satisfying). He kills Della (!) and his line about the honeymoon is very dark and sticks in mind like his nasty grin.
He disappears in the middle of the movie and when he is almost forgotten, he Returns in a very unfavourable moment (for Bond).
The Liparus looks very real. It's a great model. Nevertheless, I prefer the Severnaya scene: It is fascinating that Meddings even created the snowy landscape as a model and it looks absoultuely real to me. I remember that I thought (as a teenager) how crazy it is to film real jets crashing in satellites. I had no idea that it was done with models.