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Really? I honestly find some of Connery's work in TB, YOLT and DAF near unwatchable, he's that bored and stiff. That's one of the reasons why I got the sense Moore was seen as such a breath of fresh air when he first appeared in LALD - he was relaxed, confident and embodied Bond. I mean, even when Moore did some very questionable movies (The Curse of The Pink Panther, North Sea Hijiack) he always puts in his all and comes out with some surprisingly interesting performances.
I'd also say while Connery could deliver a dry line (Moore could do all that too incidentally), performing comedy is a different thing, whether you're the straight man or the joker. Marlon Brando wasn't good at comedy either so it's no slight against Connery, it's just that I feel Moore had more of a natural ability to perform in that genre, again both as a straight man and an out and out comedian.
Connery got better film roles and worked with better directors, true, and certainly a lot were very dramatic ones too. I'm not sure if that means much as plenty of very talented actors perform in very bad films and not so good actors often get very good roles for whatever reason. And for what it's worth Connery was a very good actor with a lot of screen presence intensity. I just don't necessarily think he was necessarily the better actor between him and Moore.
I wouldn't dismiss accents as 'flashy' either: the voice of a character is often the first thing that great actors work on when preparing for a role. They'll go through tone, accent, intonation, apply their ability to mimic etc. It's not some flashy parlour trick but a vital part of creating a character.
I'd say it's better than his performances in TB and YOLT but that spark he had in his first three just wasn't there anymore.
But Moore is very stiff in LALD and TMWTGG--he didn't relax as Bond until TSWLM. In contrast, by the end of Connery's tenure he so comfortable as Bond that he could coast through the role.
North Sea Hijack is one of Moore's best performances and one of his best films. It's also as far out of his range as he could go. Moore could easily give his all because he was limited as an actor, as he was the first to admit. There's no way he would have been half as convincing or intense in The Offence as Connery was, playing a burnt-out cop overwhelmed by his own demons.
Knowing how to deliver a dry comedic line is performing comedy. You can't do it without a sense of irony. And when Connery played a more explicitly comic part, like Indiana's Jones's dad, he was wonderful.
It's also the least important part, because it's ultimately mimicry rather than acting. Some actors are confident enough in their acting to not always bother with accents. And let's not forget that Roger's accents weren't great--his Irish brogue in Gold of the Seven Saints is far from Oscar material.
Hmm, I feel there's going to be a lot of 'I say you say different' here so there's not much to add and there's probably an element of subjectiveness here. I just don't see Moore being 'stiff' in LALD and TMWTGG as you say. Like I said, I personally find Connery's performances in TB and YOLT painful to watch at points, he seems so bored and stiff, and while he seems to be trying hard in DAF it's really not the same. It's actually rather sad to watch for me as he was such a great Bond in his first three.
I get what you mean about Connery in Indiana Jones but I think he was ultimately playing the straight man there. Moore displayed talent at slapstick, irony/dry humour and broad humour in addition to playing the straight man. My point is there are many different aspects of performing comedy and many different types of comedy too. I just think Moore had a wider comedic range and set of abilities than Connery in this area.
Connery had a lot of intensity as I said and he played some great parts in some great films. I think he got better roles than Moore did, and I get the sense Roger didn't mind being typecast as much as Connery did. I would say, however, movies like The Hill and The Offence are very much 'actor's films' you got at the time. I always got the sense watching Connery in those films that I could 'see him acting' if that makes sense. It's perhaps a personal preference, but I would say that I'm more drawn to performances like Moore's in The Man Who Haunted Himself. He technically plays two different characters in that film in a sense, and his acting is very subtle. It's fascinating to watch. I don't think his range ended at his performance in North Sea Highjack and beyond Moore's performance I find that film a little uninspired if I'm honest. Anyway, that's just me.
Nah, I'm pretty sure Connery just couldn't do accents and he was too famous and iconic for people to care. It's fine, I wouldn't want to change him for anyone else in films like The Untouchables or Hunt For The Red October. The fact is, however, creating the voice of a character is very important for a lot of actors (the likes of Daniel Day Lewis and Gary Oldman would attest to this). It's not just about mimicry - although finding little ticks, speech patterns and indeed accents in others and moulding them into a performance takes a lot of patience and skill. I haven't seen the film you mentioned so can't comment on that.
Fair enough. I just always thought there was something a bit off about his performance in that film. Not bored per say, just lacklustre in some strange way. I dunno, again there's probably a certain amount of subjectiveness here.
Fully agreed. I seem to love almost every non-Bond score I've heard of his but he's my least favorite composer in the series by far.
He might be for me, too. I'd probably rate Conti's FYEO score lower than either of Newman's, but not by much, and it's the fact that Newman bombed TWICE for me that really sets him at the bottom.
Actually, no, NORMAN is the worst Bond composer for me. Easily.
As long as he can be a great actor and Bond, he can portray the role properly, and his films are great.
Whereas Casino Royale and NTTD are much more enjoyable to rewatch. Thanks to the more dynamic and adventurous direction by their respective helmers.
And for a controversial opinion of my own, I like Another Way to Die, with the exception of the bridge.
After the piss poor shakycam and editing of QOS, SF felt like a godsend.
For those whose saying that it's only until Craig that Bond bleeds, it's just a myth!
Roger Moore's Bond bleeds many times in his films, first was in LALD when Kananga cuts a knife through his arm, it bleeds, in TMWTGG, he bleeds too while fighting those bad guys in Beirut after seducing Saida, then in FYEO.
His clothes not being able to get ruffled? His suits had been ruffled, put by a dirt so many times, even scratched!
He even felt scared, you really see the fear in Moore Bond's face when facing dangerous or deadly situations, whereas Craig's Bond was still able to show confidence, I don't see any fear or scare in the Craig Bond's face, just purely style and confidence.
Also he's also humanized in the Moonraker Centrifuge scene.
To those saying that the classic Bond are a Superhero and the Craig Bond is human, please stop it!
Actually Craig Bond had been acting more like a superhero than the Classic Bond mainly because of the unrealistic action scenes, like the beginning of CR in the embassy, that Parkour Chase, the Haiti Hotel scenes in QoS, and it makes him more of a superhero in the last three entries (SF, SP and NTTD - dodging the bullets, anyone?).
Add to that of him (Craig Bond) being just a one man army, and yes his muscular look that really showed him as a really tough guy compared that to the lean bodies of the Previous Bonds that you couldn't imagine them being in a fight but they could!
So the claims about Craig Bond being this most humanized Bond, it's false, the classic Bonds were more human than him.
Roger Moore bond films might be a camp and comedy at times, but his Bond wasn't.
Y'know, I've said before that Craig's Bond did become noticeably more 'superhuman', at least in terms of fight scenes, as his films went on. I agree with the examples you noted from CR - NTTD. I think much of it has to do with the more stylised fight choreography and grand scale you get in a lot of big action films nowadays (this is why I really enjoyed the opening fight scene in The Batman - it didn't feel staged and looked real with the main character taking a lot of punches).
I suppose when people say that Craig's Bond felt more 'human' it isn't necessarily because he gets hurt physically, but because of what the character goes through in his films. I do think that he feels distinctly more 'human' in SF compared to Moore's Bond in, say, TMWTGG because of the way the character is written. In SF, you have a man out of step with his own time, physically not at his peak anymore, a man reliant on pills and drink, who simultaneously is cynical about his profession and yet can't seem to do anything else with his life. That's not to mention the tragedy he's experienced before that. Again, it feels more relatable and human, despite the fact that in that film his Bond survives being shot twice and falling from a bridge.
That's not to say Moore's Bond wasn't human though. Far from it. In TSWLM you have that scene where Anya references Tracy and the look Bond gives her/his response says so much. Same for when he admits that he killed her lover at the start of the film. It actually says much about Moore's talent as an actor that he could play these scenes so effectively. There are several of these moments throughout his tenure as Bond, and while I don't always think they worked (FYEO and Bond's bizarre sprouting of Chinese philosophy being an example) they are there.
Yes, I agree. Even in something like OP with its 'sillier' moments I think you can find examples of Moore's Bond feeling more human. You really get a sense of his urgency, his fear even when he's in the clown make-up and rushing to get to the bomb during the climax. I also felt it pretty distinctly when Bond confronts Orlov in the train too.
Considering Arnold only got in his stride from CR onwards, I tend to agree
The score for QOS was much better. Whatever Forster did to get that out of him, good job.
Listening to the Spectre soundtrack in isolation halped me appreciate him more. His music has some commonalities with music I'd listen to anyway, and in the context of the films, it really feels organic to what you're watching, which I suppose fits with his apparent philosophy of thinking the music shouldn't actually stand out all that much....
Instead of creating something original, he copied some scores from other films, it's just seemed lazy for me.
I really love Newman's work in SP, it fits the film, there's an air of mystery but somehow there's tense that added tension to the film scenes, I really liked the Safe House Track and the Blindfold.
And of course, Arnold, he really had great scores, especially in the Brosnan Era.
I’m happy that we got both of them. I think that TND and CR are Arnold’s best work in the series. My two favorite music tracks are All in a Day's Work from TND and City of Lovers from CR. I can take them or leave them for the next Bond film though.
Here’s a possible controversial opinion: the following Bond media should have gotten novelizations: Roald Dahl writing a YOLT book, someone from EA for NightFire, Bruce Feirstein or Raymond Benson for Everything or Nothing, and John Logan for Skyfall. These Bond adventures deserved to be in print as well. They would have worked well as books.
Novelizing the games would be cool and interesting. I can see it now:
Q's rappel launcher showed no signs of stress as Bond fired it over a ledge for the umpteenth time. Perhaps the whirring sound of the inner winch had become a tad louder, but otherwise still a sturdy little convenience. A topless woman looked on in disbelief as he scaled the wall beside her window. She attempted to cover her ample bosoms, without much success. There was little reaction exhibited from Bond - certainly not like that of a teenage boy who just had to indulge in a second glance, mouth agape. Bond simply nodded, straightening his yellow diamond necktie with his free hand as he continued to ascend the building. It was as if one had experienced such a moment countless times before. Par for the course. Perks of the job, you could say.