Rank the Guy Hamiton Bonds films (Poll added)

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  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited June 2019 Posts: 17,727
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    My ranking:
    1. Goldfinger
    2. The Man with the Golden Gun
    3. Live and Let Die
    4. Diamonds Are Forever

    That was my old ranking in this thread from back in 2013. I would now actually change that to:

    1. Goldfinger
    2. Live and Let Die
    3. The Man with the Golden Gun
    4. Diamonds Are Forever

    The reason for my change is that I've really gone off TMWTGG as a Bond film in the interim and rate LALD much higher than it now. That said, I really love the 1965 source novel and wish we'd seen more of that on the big screen instead of what we ended up with.
  • edited June 2019 Posts: 3,333
    1. Goldfinger - Classic. Nothing more to be said.
    2. Diamonds Are Forever - It's nowhere near as good as its predecessor, OHMSS, but it still has Connery, which alone elevates it above a Moore movie. The story is principally Cubby's. Not sure what Saltzman did on this movie, but it lacks his classy, creative touch.
    3. Live and Let Die - This is more of Saltzman's movie and it's a step-up from DAF story-wise, but it lacks a convincing Bond performance from Moore.
    4. The Man With the Golden Gun - This movie is mostly down to Hamilton. Tom Mankiewicz walked off the project due to creative clashes with Hamilton and Cubby backed his director. Saltzman took a backseat and it shows again. What's left is a few good ideas floating in a pool of effluence. Only thing I know is Saltzman didn't get his way with the title song. He wanted Elton John, who was then signed to his music publishing company. We got Lulu instead. Thanks Cubby.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    This is how they were ranked in the ranking tournament thread, for those who didn t follow that:

    1 GOLDFINGER
    2 LIVE AND LET DIE
    3 THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
    4 DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    Shardlake wrote: »
    1.GF
    2.LALD
    3.MWTGG
    4.DAF

    GF aside I don't get all the fuss, Young is in a different league.

    Agreed on the list. Agreed on Young, far far superior to Hamilton.
  • R1s1ngs0nR1s1ngs0n France
    Posts: 2,002
    GF
    LALD
    TMWTGG
    DAF
  • edited June 2020 Posts: 12,242
    As of now:

    1. Goldfinger - The quintessential Bond film. It's the one to show anyone who hasn't seen Bond to give them the whole experience. Connery in his prime, amazing villains, great Bond girls, great soundtrack, great action, etc. etc. It simply has it all.
    2. The Man with the Golden Gun - Recently just barely overtook LALD for me. Scramanga is such a brilliant villain, and Moore does a really great job in this one. I love the funhouse and the climax. I like the small-scale setting too. Though GF is the only Hamilton film that's in my Top 10, I enjoy TMWTGG and LALD a lot still. I think they are among the most fun and unique entries in the series.
    3. Live and Let Die - Roughly tied with TMWTGG in my enjoyment level. It's pretty solid all around and has the series' funniest moments.
    4. Diamonds Are Forever - A distant last. I liked DAF a lot as a kid, but for years it has languished near the very bottom of the pile for me. It's just hard to get into. There are good things like Wint & Kidd and the elevator fight, but not enough to make it come close to the other ones here.

  • marcmarc Universal Exports
    Posts: 2,608
    1. LALD
    2. GF
    3. TMWTGG
    4. DAF
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 7,999
    1. Goldfinger
    2. Diamonds Are Forever
    3. Live and Let Die
    4. The Man with the Golden Gun


    Clearly for me Hamilton’s contributions came with diminishing returns. I can only imagine how vastly different TSWLM would have been if he came back with that as his fifth film.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    I can’t believe the lack of love for LALD on here. It’s my favourite Moore performance and the best Bond film of the 70’s.
  • R1s1ngs0nR1s1ngs0n France
    Posts: 2,002
    suavejmf wrote: »
    I can’t believe the lack of love for LALD on here. It’s my favourite Moore performance and the best Bond film of the 70’s.

    Agree 100%
    Awesome trio of villains as well.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 7,999
    LALD doesn’t really do it for me. It feels cheap and is not nearly as witty as DAF. It has stuff I like, but not enough that it would rank among “the best”.
  • marcmarc Universal Exports
    Posts: 2,608
    Clearly for me Hamilton’s contributions came with diminishing returns.
    Referring to the Connery Era and the Moore Era, I agree
    GF --> DAF
    LALD --> TMWTGG
    :--)

    LALD probably has the best music score IMO, great locations, very good chase sequences, a beautiful underground lair, espionage, TeeHee is my favourite henchman, Kananga/Adam/the funeral leader/Strutter are also really good. Apart from the voodoo things that I don't like it's one of the best Bonds for me.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 7,999
    The music is too overbearing for me at times. The chase sequences don’t have enough urgency because it focuses so much on a bumbling sheriff. I do like the henchmen though.
  • Posts: 7,500
    1. Goldfinger
    2. Live and Let Die
    3. The Man with the Golden Gun
    4. Diamonds are Forever
  • LFSLFS
    edited June 2020 Posts: 40
    Guy Hamilton is the ultimate camp director. After Terence Young's incredibly stylish vibe of excitement, elegance and eroticism, Hamilton brought a completely different direction to James Bond: His films are loud, colourful and, most of all, funny. Hamilton can't do action; it's always played for the laughs, but unlike with some other directors, you actually laugh.

    Hamilton said he "couldn't take Bond seriously", hence the nondramatic, comical way he tells the story and treats Bond's character. He lacks interest in the deeper, psychological aspect of the protagonist, but there's great self-awareness in his work. I don't know how his lighthearted flamboyance would have fared with a character-driven story like Casino Royale, though.

    Hamilton also said something interesting to screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz: "Never forget, Tom, in a Bond movie, if you want to start a fire, first you call the fire department. Everything works backward." That gives great insight into his approach; the polar opposite of Terence Young - but it makes Hamilton's humour work.


    1. Goldfinger

    Jill Masterson is covered in gold paint! The Aston Martin DB5! Oddjob! The "Do-you-want-me-to-talk"-scene! Pussy! Fort Knox! Goldfinger just bursts of iconic images that have not only let the film be an immense success at the box office but also helped establishing James Bond as an essential part of Great Britain's cultural post-war identity. The film manages something that would prove to be an impossible task for most future Bond films: It is both true to Fleming and also over-the-top fantasy. Hamilton's best work.

    2. Live and Let Die

    Blaxploitation, Paul McCartney and bright colours: Roger Moore's premiere is a stylistic milestone of the early 70s. Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz has changed the tone and the tempo of the series; he gets the best out of Roger Moore without making him a full-time clown.
    As with most of Hamilton's Bond films, the second half is weaker (one chase scene after another...), but it doesn't take away from the fact that this is one of the most entertaining, consistent Bond adaptions.

    3. Diamonds Are Forever

    It's criminal how this one gets misunderstood. Never before and never after has Bond been parodied so perfectly. Connery is dry and self-deprecating in perfection while walking through a Roger-Moore-scenery (this is Moore's favourite Bond film, by the way).
    Although the plot is originally quite complex (it adds a third party to the diamond smuggling in the source material), most of that is forgotten halfway through, because: what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!; what's left of any seriousness is thrown overboard together with Mr. Wint's genitals.
    Diamonds Are Forever never takes itself seriously and unlike Moonraker or Die Another Day never slips down into trash.

    4. The Man with the Golden Gun

    What a wasted opportunity this picture is... strangely, this is one of the few similarities this film shares with the book. Bond meets Scaramanga, the evil side of himself. Both kill for money, one of the government, one for the highest bidder.
    Instead of telling this story (as originally planned), the script decides to drag out a boring and uninteresting side plot about the energy crisis ("Solex agitator"!) while keeping Bond and Scaramange away from each other for as long as possible.
    Tonally, the film is a mess. It wants to be light and dark at the same time and in the wrong places. Neither the brilliant and underserved Christopher Lee nor Britt Ekland's body (not to speak of her role: since when does Bond like girls that call themselves "weak"?) can save this terrible Bond film.


    Overall, I like Guy Hamilton. He's my third favourite director after Terence Young and John Glen.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    LFS wrote: »
    Guy Hamilton is the ultimate camp director. His films are loud, colourful and, most of all, funny. Hamilton can't do action, it's always played for the laughs, but unlike with some other directors, you actually laugh.

    Hamilton said he "couldn't take Bond seriously", hence the nondramatic, comical way he tells the story and treats Bond's character. He lacks interest in the deeper, psychological aspect of the protagonist, but there's great self-awareness in his work.

    He also said something interesting to screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz: "Never forget, Tom, in a Bond movie, if you want to start a fire, first you call the fire department. Everything works backward." That gives great insight into his approach; the polar opposite to Terence Young - but it makes Hamilton's humour work.


    1. Goldfinger

    Jill Masterson is covered in gold paint! The Aston Martin DB5! Oddjob! The "Do-you-want-me-to-talk"-scene! Pussy! Fort Knox! Goldfinger just bursts of iconic images that have not only let the film be an immense success at the box office but also helped establishing James Bond as an essential part of Great Britain's cultural post-war identity. The film manages something that would prove to be an impossible task for most future Bond films: It is both true to Fleming and also over-the-top fantasy. Hamilton's best work.

    2. Live and Let Die

    Blaxploitation, Paul McCartney and bright colours: Roger Moore's premiere is a stylistic milestone of the early 70s. Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz has changed the tone and the tempo of the series; he gets the best out of Roger Moore without making him a full-time clown.
    As with most of Hamilton's Bond films, the second half is weaker (one chase scene after another...), but it doesn't take away from the fact that this is one of the most entertaining, consistent Bond adaptions.

    3. Diamonds Are Forever

    It's criminal how this one gets misunderstood. Never before and never after has Bond been parodied so perfectly. Connery is dry and self-deprecating in perfection while walking through a Roger-Moore-scenery (this is Moore's favourite Bond film, by the way).
    Although the plot is originally quite complex (it adds a third party to the diamond smuggling in the source material), most of that is forgotten halfway through, because: what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!; what's left of any seriousness is thrown overboard together with Mr. Wint's genitals.
    Diamonds Are Forever never takes itself seriously and unlike Moonraker or Die Another Day never slips down into trash.

    4. The Man with the Golden Gun

    What a wasted opportunity this picture is... strangely, this is one of the few similarities this film shares with the book. Bond meets Scaramanga, the evil side of himself. Both kill for money, one of the government, one for the highest bidder.
    Instead of telling this story (as originally planned), the script decides to drag out a boring and uninteresting side plot about the energy crisis ("Solex agitator"!) while keeping Bond and Scaramange away from each other as long as possible.
    Tonally, the film is a mess. It wants to be light and dark at the same time and in the wrong places. Neither the brilliant and underserved Christopher Lee nor Britt Ekland's body (not to speak of her role: since when does Bond like girls that call themselves "weak"?) can save this terrible Bond film.


    Overall, I like Guy Hamilton. He's my third favourite director after Terence Young and John Glen.

    Good post. I agree with your rankings.
  • marcmarc Universal Exports
    Posts: 2,608
    For me, the LALD score always steals the scene when it kicks in; many times when I watch a Bond movie scene I think, now there should be the LALD score.
    I like GF and Goldfinger's plot, but the climax is only average (or slightly low average) for the franchise, IMO.
    In TMWTGG, I actually like the Solex plot, but yes, Scaramanga should have had at least one earlier encounter with Bond.
  • ProfJoeButcherProfJoeButcher Bless your heart
    Posts: 1,664
    LALD
    TMWTGG
    DAF
    GF
  • Posts: 7,500
    LALD
    TMWTGG
    DAF
    GF

    That's unusual.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 7,999
    Where is the poll anyway?
  • goldenswissroyalegoldenswissroyale Switzerland
    Posts: 4,378
    marc wrote: »
    1. LALD
    2. GF
    3. TMWTGG
    4. DAF

    Same here.
  • marcmarc Universal Exports
    Posts: 2,608
    LALD
    TMWTGG
    DAF
    GF
    Is this ranking copy-pasted from Roger Moore's? :--)

    It's certainly controversial, but if I turn a blind eye to some silly jokes/characters I'm able to relate to this ranking.
  • ProfJoeButcherProfJoeButcher Bless your heart
    edited July 2020 Posts: 1,664
    I just love the absolute weirdness of Guy's latter films. Wish he'd done a couple more. Every couple of minutes there's some new strange thing that entertains me. Characters like Kananga, Tee Hee, Baron Samedi, Gray's Blofeld, Win't and Kidd, and Nick Nack are also among my favorites.

    I'm also just not much of a fan of GF. Once they reach America there's nothing I really enjoy. After the PTS and golf scene it's a bit of a struggle for me to watch the whole thing.

  • marcmarc Universal Exports
    Posts: 2,608
    Gray's Blofeld is one of my favourite villains, and I probably have the advantage of not knowing him from 'Rocky Horror'. The Two Blofelds scene is great, and the satellite/oil rig and Bond Island sequences are among my favourites of the franchise (controversial opinion). I just like the high-tech and the big villain schemes.
  • Goldfinger
    Diamonds Are Forever
    Live and Let Die
    The Man With The Golden Gun
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,417
    1. Goldfinger

    then all of the rest are much of a muchness to be honest.

    But for the chemistry and banter between Connery and Gray

    2. Diamonds Are Forever
    3. The Man With The Golden Gun
    4. Live and Let Die
  • marcmarc Universal Exports
    Posts: 2,608
    Nice banter indeed:

    "Making mud pies, 007?"
    "Your pitiful little island hasn't even been threatened"
    "Nice to see you haven't lost that fine mental edge, 007"
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 7,999
    Mankiewicz dialogue is like 75% of why I like DAF.
  • marcmarc Universal Exports
    Posts: 2,608
    "I didn't know there was a pool down there."
    "I have a friend named Felix who can fix anything."
    "Well, if we destroy Kansas, the world may not hear about it for years."

    😄
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