It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
^ Back to Top
The MI6 Community is unofficial and in no way associated or linked with EON Productions, MGM, Sony Pictures, Activision or Ian Fleming Publications. Any views expressed on this website are of the individual members and do not necessarily reflect those of the Community owners. Any video or images displayed in topics on MI6 Community are embedded by users from third party sites and as such MI6 Community and its owners take no responsibility for this material.
James Bond News • James Bond Articles • James Bond Magazine
Comments
Agreed. They should think about going to Gardner for the *second* film for Bond #7, when they're rushing to capitalize on (I hope) the success of the first. That way, they could maybe avoid the "rush" mistakes of TMWTGG, TND, and QoS.
Still, I think a lot of the Gardners have serious weak points in plotting (not unlike Fleming!), for example, Icebreaker starts strong and has great locations and a title and torture scene but devolves into I don't know what blah blah neo-Nazis, For Special Services reads as a parody, etc.
Nobody Lives Forever is perhaps the most filmic of the Gardner novels. Bond being chased is an underappreciated element in the film series. Think of the Junkanoo in TB or of course OHMSS.
Bond is always a smart and cunning man. He is seen using his wits to out smart his enemies. There is one move in YOTL that has always got me thinking.
Bond frees the astronauts from captivity. He then decides he is going to be the astronaut and takes over for some of the SPECTRE astronauts.
What was his plan if he successfully got inside the rocket? It would appear that the rocket had very little autonomy and he wasn't trained to be in space anyway.
What is your theory on what or why Bond thought it was a good choice to be one of the astronauts in the rocket?
Perhaps blow it up from the inside. He'd die but prevented ww3
Perhaps he was stalling for time or perhaps he figured that he could somehow disrupt the flight from the inside.
PS. How convenient that there are separate changing rooms for the SPECTRE astronauts (IIRC). ;)
I've also always wondered what became of the astronauts who helped Bond after he was discovered by Blofeld. Did they get picked up in the astronaut prep room or had they found the volcano exit or just become casualties after Blofeld threw the switch?
Astronaut "Hey yeah sorry to do this but I am not feeling the greatest."
SPECTRE Agent "Oh wow, you know the launch to start WWIII is today?"
Astronaut "I know the timing sucks I was looking forward to cutting some cords today. But nah, I am just not feeling myself."
SPECTRE Agent "Well Number 1 isn't going to be happy about this. Let me put you on hold. You will need to tell him yourself."
Astronaut "Can't you just tell me, the last guy who called in sick got fed to the pariah's."
Yes I suppose Bond was just making it up as he went along. I had always thought that they replaced both SPECTRE astronauts. In other words that the US astronaut and Bond were going to fly the rocket. Then during a watch I realized that Bond and team only replaced one astronaut.
I am talking about OP. A wonderful sequence involves a hunt for Bond. Literally Bond is hunted by Kamal and his troops in the jungles of India. Although the sequence is undermined by some humour, it does stand out for some suspense and a rather unique setting for a foot chase.
But that leads me to my question. It appears that Kamal et al were fully aware and intending for this to be a hunt for Bond.
Kamal even proclaims "Good. Let the sport commence," when Bond runs into the jungle.
But how would he know that Bond hid in the meat locker? Kamal may have pieced together Bond escaping from his room, the melted bars on the window would be a dead giveaway but how would he know that Bond was about to become the prey to his hunting expedition.
Gobinda is seen doing a look around the meat locker before shutting the door and locking the door. Did he catch a glimpse of Bond? If so why leave him there, why not rouse him out and deal with the escape then and there?
What is your theory on the hunt in the jungle of Bond? Did Kamal know Bond was to be the prey?
His plan was to do a space walk as in the PTS and be rescued by the camera crew spacecraft.
He was actually preparing for a tiger hunt. You can see it when we get a shot of the preparations before his henchmen are ready to 'dump' Bond next to the carcasses. Kamal is actually checking a map before he sees Bond and says 'let the sport commence'. We also have a glimpse of the tiger (1.34) before Bond encounters it.
Tiger hunts are part of folklore in that part of India ( I bought a tiger-hunt painting there).
Yeah I think that's the one. Or they actually were planning on hunting Bond after his escape anyway, it kind of works.
I actually think it's a really great idea for a set piece, perhaps not very well-served by the treatment it gets here; but I'd even say it's something one can imagine in a Fleming Bond novel quite easily. It's got that sort of macabre, sadistic and yet exotic flavour to it. It's kind of a shame Octopussy didn't get the novelisation treatment like Spy and Moon did as there's a really good story there. Fredrick Forsyth seemed to think so anyway, if The Fourth Protocol is anything to go by! :D
And although he's not massively ruffled, Roger does get to display a bit more desperation and fear here than Connery's Bond really ever does. It's hard to imagine Sean's ever-cool-under-pressure 007 desperately dashing for the help of a passing load of tourists.
He even had a Bond film out the same year, and yet I can't think of any moment in NSNA where SeanBond expresses any concern about his situation, really.
As for NSNA, I would say that they did lean into Bond aging, which OP and AVTAK both avoided dealing with. In AVTAK it was not a good idea to avoid it.
They are indeed different: hence me pointing out one of their differences, as made evident in the scene under discussion.
Personally I like that Roger's Bond got to show a bit more humanity here and there than Sean's did.
That's because Connery's toupee was quite heavy in that film though ;)
Nah, the toupee looks lighter than usual. :D
In fact, it's the most realistic thing about that toupee. The lack of hair.
True I guess! Weird hairpiece though. Worst of his Bond films. They're trying to make him look a bit grey but it still looks like a bit of a comb over. DAF's hairpiece was genuinely better (I know people mock the sunburns and Connery gaining weight, but it legitimately looks like he has hair).
I don't disagree. Honestly, for a 40+ year old man (especially in the late 60s/early 70s) he looks fine. Not his fighting weight as it were, and probably with better days ahead of him, but I think he was so tall and burly any weight through indulgence just kind of went into his frame. I know even Young told him to suck in his stomach by his second film (with the adage that 'Sean likes to eat') and he was 31 then! Like, for a 6'2 guy and an ex body builder anything below 90 kilos is unnoticeable anyway. Under 95 kilos it's a minor weight gain optically which is where I suspect Connery was at.
Haha, yeah, it makes a difference!
I vaguely remember Michael Gambon doing an interview where he claimed he was approached for Bond. He said he was too fat and going bald even in his late 20s. The producers said that was fine as Sir Sean had a hairpiece (rather famously, I don't think he hid it necessarily) and often had ice packs put onto his stomach before love scenes past his second film!
Nowadays we expect the actor to get in shape I suppose. It's not unreasonable for a man in the 28-45 range to do so. Always horrible when you get into the steroids or dehydration point though.
If you listen to those banned Criteron commentaries, Terence Young is quoted as saying Connery had his best physique as Bond in Dr. No, and beginning with From Russia with Love they had a bit of difficulty because in Young’s words - “Sean loves to eat!”
I never really noticed any issues regarding his physique until YOLT I’d say.
That's it! I've only listened to those 'Banned' collections once over but they were great (available on YouTube for any interested listeners - so not quite banned. Some sketchy stuff in there from commentators, but very interesting and a great little time capsule for an hour or two. Gives you such a great idea of how the first two Bond movies were made anyway).
Connery had a great physique, and as I said his weight kind of melted into a burly 6'2 frame. He probably could eat a lot and I don't blame him for indulging. I can imagine him getting annoyed with Young/Producers at that time (especially considering how little he was paid and how much was expected of him).