Tell us all about your BONDATHON

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  • WalecsWalecs On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    Posts: 3,157
    Walecs wrote: »
    For Your Eyes Only, a favourite of mine.

    Always great to see another FYEO fan.

    And nice ranking so far.

    Thank you :D If I were to quote Silva, "what's yours?" :)
    Are you doing a Bondathon as well?

  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    FYEO is Moores best film alongside LALD.
  • MayDayDiVicenzoMayDayDiVicenzo Here and there
    edited July 2015 Posts: 5,080
    Walecs wrote: »
    Walecs wrote: »
    For Your Eyes Only, a favourite of mine.

    Always great to see another FYEO fan.

    And nice ranking so far.

    Thank you :D If I were to quote Silva, "what's yours?" :)
    Are you doing a Bondathon as well?

    I sort of started a Bondathon earlier in the year, and stopped at Licence to Kill and didn't really pick it up again, unfortunately.

    But from what I gathered from those viewings, my ranking (up until LTK) would be something like this-

    1. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (I think this will always be in this position)
    2. For Your Eyes Only
    3. The Spy Who Loved Me
    4. From Russia With Love
    5. Octopussy
    6. Live And Let Die
    7. Licence to Kill
    8. A View to a Kill (guilty pleasure)
    9. The Living Daylights
    10. Goldfinger
    11. Thunderball
    12. The Man With the Golden Gun
    13. Diamonds Are Forever
    14. Moonraker
    15. You Only Live Twice
    16. Dr. No (my anomalous entry)

    However, Dr. No's position is very transient. And I've still got some stinkers to go.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    I am speachless that DN is so low....it's always in my top 5.
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    Posts: 8,087
    Walecs wrote: »
    Walecs wrote: »
    For Your Eyes Only, a favourite of mine.

    Always great to see another FYEO fan.

    And nice ranking so far.

    Thank you :D If I were to quote Silva, "what's yours?" :)
    Are you doing a Bondathon as well?

    I sort of started a Bondathon earlier in the year, and stopped at Licence to Kill and didn't really pick it up again, unfortunately.

    But from what I gathered from those viewings, my ranking (up until LTK) would be something like this-

    1. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (I think this will always be in this position)
    2. For Your Eyes Only
    3. The Spy Who Loved Me
    4. From Russia With Love
    5. Octopussy
    6. Live And Let Die
    7. Licence to Kill
    8. A View to a Kill (guilty pleasure)
    9. The Living Daylights
    10. Goldfinger
    11. Thunderball
    12. The Man With the Golden Gun
    13. Diamonds Are Forever
    14. Moonraker
    15. You Only Live Twice
    16. Dr. No (my anomalous entry)

    However, Dr. No's position is very transient. And I've still got some stinkers to go.

    Woah! Now hold on a minute. What is the matter with Dr No, exactly?
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    I know. Close to Flemings book, one of the best storys, bond girl, villan. Some of the best locations. Contains two of the most famous scenes in the series and in film history!
  • MayDayDiVicenzoMayDayDiVicenzo Here and there
    Posts: 5,080
    Walecs wrote: »
    Walecs wrote: »
    For Your Eyes Only, a favourite of mine.

    Always great to see another FYEO fan.

    And nice ranking so far.

    Thank you :D If I were to quote Silva, "what's yours?" :)
    Are you doing a Bondathon as well?

    I sort of started a Bondathon earlier in the year, and stopped at Licence to Kill and didn't really pick it up again, unfortunately.

    But from what I gathered from those viewings, my ranking (up until LTK) would be something like this-

    1. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (I think this will always be in this position)
    2. For Your Eyes Only
    3. The Spy Who Loved Me
    4. From Russia With Love
    5. Octopussy
    6. Live And Let Die
    7. Licence to Kill
    8. A View to a Kill (guilty pleasure)
    9. The Living Daylights
    10. Goldfinger
    11. Thunderball
    12. The Man With the Golden Gun
    13. Diamonds Are Forever
    14. Moonraker
    15. You Only Live Twice
    16. Dr. No (my anomalous entry)

    However, Dr. No's position is very transient. And I've still got some stinkers to go.

    Woah! Now hold on a minute. What is the matter with Dr No, exactly?

    My thoughts on the film have been covered in the "Last Bond Movie You Watched" thread, where my review of the film can also be found.

    But to summarise the points, my issues stem primarily from its pacing (uneven at best- only really starts to pick up once Bond and Honey are captured)- other issues include the horrendous score (regardless of DN being the first film, Norman's score is pretty poor even for the times), jumps cuts that take me out of the film (I respect Peter Hunt enormously, but his justification for using jump cuts in the DN making of documentary just doesn't wash with me. I think they are particularly more noticeable in this release than those later on, except maybe Thunderball) and the car chase amongst other things.

    Regardless, I very much enjoy Dr. No like all Bond films, but it does come of as a little bit of a chore, and it's not a film I would chose if I were not doing a Bondathon. I know I'm in the minority when it comes to DN, but I suppose "it's just not for me".


    @suavejmf I respect that you judge films on the basis of their similarity to their novel counterpart, but , as I have explained before, I never judge cinematic James Bond on their faithfulness to the source material. They are two different breeds, and always have been, imo.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    edited July 2015 Posts: 5,131
    Ignoring the novel I beleive Dr No to be a top 5 Bond. A taut stylish thriller with Bond as an agent (relying on his wits) rather than just an action film (e.g. DAD that has action scences with a poor script/ surrounding a poor, boring, rehash story).
  • Mendes4LyfeMendes4Lyfe The long road ahead
    Posts: 8,087
    suavejmf wrote: »
    Ignoring the novel I beleive Dr No to be a top 5 Bond. A taut stylish thriller with Bond as an agent (relying on his wits) rather than just an action film (e.g. DAD that has action scences with a poor script/ surrounding a poor, boring, rehash story).

    What do you mean, ignoring the novel?
  • Posts: 11,189
    suavejmf wrote: »
    Ignoring the novel I beleive Dr No to be a top 5 Bond. A taut stylish thriller with Bond as an agent (relying on his wits) rather than just an action film (e.g. DAD that has action scences with a poor script/ surrounding a poor, boring, rehash story).

    What do you mean, ignoring the novel?

    I think he means judging it solely as a film in its own right rather than comparing it to the novel on which it is based.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,330
    I've broken through the stratosphere onward to the 80's with FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. Watching this film has been a really fun experience. I've always had mixed views on the film, but this time it's been a great ride. This is an all you can enjoy Bond buffet. There are nice homages and nods to OHMSS, FRWL and the LALD novel. I enjoyed the Pre title sequence. I've always felt Blofeld deserved a good death, and in my opinion, he got one. You get a reference to Tracy and Blofeld's neck injury and his end is all nicely wrapped up in a pretty bow. I also love Moore's expression when he has him on the helicopter's safety rail. Those sadistic grins just sell the idea that Bond is finally going to get his revenge setting us up for a nice FRWL style thriller. A great way to kickoff the 80's. Next I'll cap off Moore's run with a double feature of Octopussy and A View to a Kill. stay tuned.

    MURDOCK'S BONDATHON RANKING.
    For Your Eyes Only.
    The Spy Who Loved Me.
    On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
    Thunderball.
    Dr. No.
    Live and Let Die.
    From Russia With Love.
    Moonraker.
    Goldfinger.
    Diamonds Are Forever.
    The Man With The Golden Gun.
    You Only Live Twice.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    BAIN123 wrote: »
    suavejmf wrote: »
    Ignoring the novel I beleive Dr No to be a top 5 Bond. A taut stylish thriller with Bond as an agent (relying on his wits) rather than just an action film (e.g. DAD that has action scences with a poor script/ surrounding a poor, boring, rehash story).

    What do you mean, ignoring the novel?

    I think he means judging it solely as a film in its own right rather than comparing it to the novel on which it is based.

    Yes I did, exactly.
  • MayDayDiVicenzoMayDayDiVicenzo Here and there
    Posts: 5,080
    Murdock wrote: »
    I've broken through the stratosphere onward to the 80's with FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. Watching this film has been a really fun experience. I've always had mixed views on the film, but this time it's been a great ride. This is an all you can enjoy Bond buffet. There are nice homages and nods to OHMSS, FRWL and the LALD novel. I enjoyed the Pre title sequence. I've always felt Blofeld deserved a good death, and in my opinion, he got one. You get a reference to Tracy and Blofeld's neck injury and his end is all nicely wrapped up in a pretty bow. I also love Moore's expression when he has him on the helicopter's safety rail. Those sadistic grins just sell the idea that Bond is finally going to get his revenge setting us up for a nice FRWL style thriller. A great way to kickoff the 80's. Next I'll cap off Moore's run with a double feature of Octopussy and A View to a Kill. stay tuned.

    MURDOCK'S BONDATHON RANKING.
    For Your Eyes Only.
    The Spy Who Loved Me.
    On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
    Thunderball.
    Dr. No.
    Live and Let Die.
    From Russia With Love.
    Moonraker.
    Goldfinger.
    Diamonds Are Forever.
    The Man With The Golden Gun.
    You Only Live Twice.

    Great to see that you loved FYEO this time around! It's my second favourite, second only to OHMSS.
  • WalecsWalecs On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    edited July 2015 Posts: 3,157
    It was FYEO's turn for me as well. Definitely my favourite of Moore's era. I love the darker approach compared to previous entries, I adore how they adapted Fleming's material and I'm a big fan of the music (except for the Runaway track, which despite sounding good it feels completely out of place during the ski chase, whereas something more dramatic would have suited it better, IMO).

    Next week, Octopussy. To be honest, Moore's last two entries are among my least favourite Bond movies... but, who knows, perhaps that'll change now. It's been three years since the last time I've watched them.

    Ranking:
    01. OHMSS
    02. FRWL
    03. DN
    04. FYEO
    05. TMWTGG
    06. TSWLM
    07. GF
    08. MR
    09. DAF
    10. TB
    11. LALD
    12. CR '54
    13. YOLT
    14. CR '67
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,330
    I've just finished OCTOPUSSY.A great thriller and spy film. I think this is the most suspenseful James Bond film to date. That bomb countdown at the circus is one of the most suspenseful edge of your seat moments in the entire franchise. I can't think of any other movies that make me that tense. It's an enjoyable film. Next I'll finish off A View To A Kill and start fresh with Dalton's double feature at a later date. Until next time.

    MURDOCK'S BONDATHON RANKING.
    For Your Eyes Only.
    The Spy Who Loved Me.
    On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
    Thunderball.
    Dr. No.
    Live and Let Die.
    From Russia With Love.
    Moonraker.
    Octopussy.
    Goldfinger.
    Diamonds Are Forever.
    The Man With The Golden Gun.
    You Only Live Twice.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,330
    Just finished up Moore's era with A VIEW TO A KILL.I've never disliked this film. I've usually found it a bit average. The music good and most of the performances hold up pretty well. It gets a bit silly come San Francisco, but it could be worse I suppose. I've broken the halfway point and shall continue on with the Dalton era.


    MURDOCK'S BONDATHON RANKING.
    For Your Eyes Only.
    The Spy Who Loved Me.
    On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
    Thunderball.
    Dr. No.
    Live and Let Die.
    From Russia With Love.
    Moonraker.
    Octopussy.
    Goldfinger.
    Diamonds Are Forever.
    A View To A Kill.
    The Man With The Golden Gun.
    You Only Live Twice.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    Your about to experience a significant increase in quality as you hit the Dalton era, before the low point of the series with Brosnan.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,330
    suavejmf wrote: »
    Your about to experience a significant increase in quality as you hit the Dalton era, before the low point of the series with Brosnan.
    Luckily for me, I've never considered Brosnan's era a "Low Point." Brosnan's films always delivered for me, but I'm curious to see how my latest viewings of them will hold up in my new ranking. We'll just have to see. ;)
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,691
    Murdock wrote: »
    suavejmf wrote: »
    Your about to experience a significant increase in quality as you hit the Dalton era, before the low point of the series with Brosnan.
    Luckily for me, I've never considered Brosnan's era a "Low Point." Brosnan's films always delivered for me, but I'm curious to see how my latest viewings of them will hold up in my new ranking. We'll just have to see. ;)

    1987 - 1999 is gold to me.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,691
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I personally hope that the Brosnan era stays crisp and exciting for you, young @Murdock . We each need to cherish what brought us into this whole thing.
    DAF is to blame for that in MY case. ACME Pollution Inspection my arse.... :))
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,330
    Oh I'm sure it will be. Even if Bros's films aren't the greatest, I still love them. :)
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,691
    Murdock wrote: »
    Oh I'm sure it will be. Even if Bros's films aren't the greatest, I still love them. :)
    You're only saying that because he's a great Bond.
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    Posts: 16,330
    chrisisall wrote: »
    Murdock wrote: »
    Oh I'm sure it will be. Even if Bros's films aren't the greatest, I still love them. :)
    You're only saying that because he's a great Bond.
    He's the Best Bond. ;)
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,691
    Murdock wrote: »
    chrisisall wrote: »
    Murdock wrote: »
    Oh I'm sure it will be. Even if Bros's films aren't the greatest, I still love them. :)
    You're only saying that because he's a great Bond.
    He's the Best Bond. ;)
    I would not presume to debate you.
  • edited July 2015 Posts: 11,189
    Birdleson wrote: »
    chrisisall wrote: »
    Birdleson wrote: »
    I personally hope that the Brosnan era stays crisp and exciting for you, young @Murdock . We each need to cherish what brought us into this whole thing.
    DAF is to blame for that in MY case. ACME Pollution Inspection my arse.... :))

    I was lucky, mine was GOLDFINGER at the age of 3, a decade before Bond films were being shown on ABC. Still my favorite, the magic has not faded.

    Funnily enough I do vaguely remember watching a bit of Goldfinger on tv when I was about 7 (or there abouts). It was the scene with Bond and Jill/her death and I remember Jill's smile when Connery playfully pushes her back on to the bed as well as THAT image. It wasn't until Goldeneye though that I REALLY got into Bond.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited July 2015 Posts: 15,690
    I'm the same as @BAIN123, watching GE from start to finish was when I really got into Bond.

    If I look deep, very deep in my memories, I believe the first ever James Bond related thing I saw, even before playing GE 007 on the N64, was the PTS of Octopussy on TV. It wasn't until I bought the DVD almost a decade later that I found out it was from the same film series as GE.
  • eddychaputeddychaput Montreal, Canada
    Posts: 364
    I just watched TB. The last week has been revelatory and odd. Last weekend the Bond marathon continued with GF, which was a first watch in quite some time. I had always liked GF a lot, but last week, I don't know what happened, everything just fell into place. It was amazing. As much as I had fun with TB this evening, that GF experience has an effect on TB. Instead of loving TB and liking GF a lot, I now love GF and like TB a lot.

    Claudine Auger is still, to my eyes, the most beautiful Bond girl. Oh. My. Goodness.

    Connery is definitely having a lot of fun here, but his lines are not as sharp as those in FRWL and GF.

    I personally love the underwater scenes, which seems to be the exact element that brings the film down a notch for a lot of people. They look awesome to be. For 1960s filmmaking, they're doing some amazing things underwater.

    I think what brought TB down a point or two is Largo. He's fine, but after Dr. No, Rosa Klebb, Red Grant, Oddjob and Auric Goldfinger, Largo feels a little tame, a little bland.

    1-FRWL
    2-GF
    3-TB
    4-DN
  • BennyBenny In the shadowsAdministrator, Moderator
    Posts: 14,875
    Because of my enjoyment of this thread...
    http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/12149/then-and-now-this-week-you-only-live-twice-and-twice-is-the-only-way-to-live#latest
    I've started a new Bondathon. It's never a chore to sit down and pop a Bond film into the blu-ray. But the older I get, the more I notice how much I really enjoy the original films. Especially the first five Connery movies.
    I won't add too much as I've been over the films many, many times over the years, and I don't want to bore anyone too much.

    Rankings so far...

    1. From Russia With Love - Near perfect film
    2. Doctor No - A stunning debut for OO7.
    3. Thunderball - Visually beautiful, and Connery was COOL.
    4. Goldfinger - Re-found my appreciation for this classic
    5. You Only Live Twice - A new found enjoyment for this OTT film. Better than I thought
  • MurdockMurdock The minus world
    edited July 2015 Posts: 16,330
    I've just finished THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS and I must say I wasn't feeling it this time. The film, while a decent thriller just doesn't have all the elements. The villains (aside from Necros) were just lame. Koskov is an annoying buffoon and Whitaker was just uninteresting. They didn't have any menace to them. Kara is too naive but redeems herself after she's realized Koskov duped her. Like the film before it, The Living Daylights is fine, but rather average. Well that's all I think. I'm off to rewatch my currently #2 favorite Bond film LICENCE TO KILL to see how it holds up.


    MURDOCK'S BONDATHON RANKING.
    For Your Eyes Only.
    The Spy Who Loved Me.
    On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
    Thunderball.
    Dr. No.
    Live and Let Die.
    From Russia With Love.
    Moonraker.
    Octopussy.
    Goldfinger.
    Diamonds Are Forever.
    The Living Daylights.
    A View To A Kill.
    The Man With The Golden Gun.
    You Only Live Twice.
  • NicNacNicNac Administrator, Moderator
    Posts: 7,570
    In viewing order..

    The World Is Not Enough
    The Spy Who Loved Me
    Dr No
    Octopussy
    You Only Live Twice
    Casino Royale
    Moonraker
    The Living Daylights
    Die Another Day
    From Russia With Love
    For Your Eyes Only
    Diamonds Are Forever
    A View To A Kill
    Quantum Of Solace
    Thunderball
    GoldenEye
    The Man With The Golden Gun
    Goldfinger
    On Her Majesty's Secret Service
    Live And Let Die
    Licence To Kill
    Tomorrow Never Dies
    _______________________________________________________________________

    Second film in a row where the original title was better than the eventual title. Tomorrow Never Lies as everyone agrees is a great film for one hour. Brosnan as well moves on from his up and down performance in GE (and before he decided to go all method on us in TWINE), and gives a decent performance. He looks great here as well.

    The second hour gets a bit dull as we are asked to admire some fine stunts and watch endless extras being mowed down by machine gun fire. The film seems to lose the ability to breathe. Relax. Such a shame - Yeo being a big star in the Far East has to have a completely unnecessary fight sequence of her own.

    I love having the return of a big, mad villain with his eyes set on world domination. Can't understand what he was doing prior to his actions in the South China Seas because no one was paying him any attention yet he must have been causing mayhem for years!

    Last up - Skyfall.


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