The Bond Project: The End?

The Bond Project Wrap-Up

by Jay Maronde

                Well Dearest readers, as we’ve come to the end of a very long road, I would personally like to offer my extreme thanks to the entire Broccoli Family and the EON productions team, and also to the original spymaster himself Ian Fleming, for without this cadre of genii  none of this could have ever been possible. I, however, would most of all like to thank my fantastic editor Mr. Jack Knorps because again without his tremendous encouragement and editing none of this could also be possible.  Now having considered all this, my tremendous, gracious, and wonderfully understanding editor Mr. Knorps has asked me to write this wrap up. To wit: how could I refuse such a wonderfully respectful request from such a dear friend?

              Now, I initially thought that this wrap up would be much easier as we had earlier discussed a formal interview sort of context. During the course of our interviews it quickly became apparent that the big question most of all would be a ranking, a full and complete ranking of all the films. This is extremely difficult for me, like asking a parent to choose their favorite out of 23 children, and then rank the rest, so there was simply no way I could complete this task just off the top of my head. I assured my dear editor that I would sleep on this scenario and do my best to rank them. 

              I also want to note that my initial idea for this article was more of a “best of” type compilation, so please continue to read even after you reach the final end of the ranking because I think some of my favorite gems may come later on, but without further ado…

#1 Quantum of Solace

                If you read my reviews it was probably most apparent that this was my favorite. Director Marc Forster set out with a very specific goal of making a tight, hard-hitting action film that was “like a bullet.” Forster’s vision for this shorter, hard-hitting Bond is perfect for what is the only direct sequel in the entire franchise. Further, his allusions to other great films (including the demise of the lovely Strawberry Fields) comprise some of the finest filmmaking  in the entire Canon. (Less charitable review here)

#2  Skyfall

                Bond 23, the movie whose formerly impending release inspired this entire series of reviews, was more than worth the wait. The actors are fabulous. Dench and Bardem are the biggest snubs of this season’s awards shows' nominations. If the film were only slightly shorter I would have probably made it #1--it's really a personal preference (and a strong one) that I feel all films should be short so as to force the director to really tell his story concisely. But Skyfall is nonetheless amazing, I saw it in the theaters numerous times, and I will probably wait in line to purchase the Blu-Ray on release day. It was the first Bond to be filmed in large format, and if you still have the chance I would highly suggest viewing it in IMAX as it’s totally worth the extra cost. Bond simply cannot ever be big enough, and Skyfall Is a huge film that such an epic Canon deserves. (Slightly less charitable review here)

#3 Casino Royale

                I know, I know, I know, “How could I put all three Daniel Craig Bonds right at the top of the list?” No, I'm not just obsessed with the newest things.  Daniel Craig’s portrayal of Bond is beyond reproach! He is fantastic, and in this film during a discussion with M, Bond asks, “So you want me to be half monk, half hitman?” For me this statement is at the crux of why Daniel Craig is so fantastic in this role: he’s so fucking cold I want to offer him a cup of tea.  Like geez--warm up a just little bit!  He's so cold and so perfect that it makes you ask yourself: what you would be like if you killed people every day for your job?  I feel like Craig asks himself this question every morning before filming Bond. This film could have easily been number one on the list except for the fact that if you are to watch it without watching Quantum immediately afterwards you are left feeling almost a little empty inside.  (Equally charitable review here)

# 4 Goldfinger

                The man with the Midas touch! This could easily be Sean Connery’s finest Bond.  It’s the first time we see the DB5.  It has Oddjob and Pussy Galore. It has Jill Masterson covered in gold in a scene which was so iconic that it’s been referenced by other films in the series. The Shirley Bassey theme is delightful and unforgettable, and I think what really makes me choose this of all the Connery Bonds is that he seems so comfortable in the role, he’s smacking asses and really playing the role as a classic cad, in way that all other Bond’s up till Daniel Craig have tried to emulate.

#5 From Russia with Love

                Classic early Bond. Watching this film you can easily realize why the franchise has become so successful. Connery is young and lithe, and the scenery and sets are fantastical in a way that the franchise is still seeking to emulate.

#6 Thunderball

                The Tom Jones epic theme song is outstanding--it's honestly the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of this movie--but a close second is that this is the only Bond film ever to be completely remade. The remake, NeverSay Never Again, could be the worst thing ever to happen to the James Bond franchise and if I were forced to include that tripe in my evaluation it would easily be the very last film on this list, as the essentially-bribed-Sean Connery was sooooo old in the remake that the Health Clinic should have been a convalescent's home*. The original film was very good though, and for the time the special effects were beyond reproach: the underwater sequences are still a blueprint for those making underwater films.

#7 Dr No

                The original Bond. Sean Connery & Ursula Andress. Nuff said.

#8  A View To a Kill

                This could be the most under-appreciated Bond, and as such I wanted to rank it highly. The movie suffers from one glaring flaw: it was the very end of the Roger Moore era, and Moore is beyond geriatric.  Not even all the best plastic surgeons in the world could make him look any younger. That being said, Christopher Walken not only is fantastic but completely redeems all of the film's other flaws.  He’s so perfect, and he's so evil in a way that only Walken could be. Further, the sets and locations are remarkable and very memorable.

#9  Moonraker

                Again, I hate to rank the Roger Moore Films so highly, but the fact that the producers brought Jaws back, coupled with the outstanding scenery, sets and plot (Bond & Jaws save the world while in outerspace) really does it for me. Also many many people I know always say Moonraker is their favorite, as it in some ways is one of the more "approachable" Bonds.

#10  Diamonds areForever

                The sets, scenery, and characters are exquisite. Plenty O’Toole is a super classic Bond girl name. The reason I put it here is Connery was a little bit past his prime and the “camp” value is a little too high for me.

#11 You Only Live Twice

                I like Connery, I really do, But the only notable parts of this film are Ken Adam’s ridiculously amazing volcano set, and Bond’s Adventures one the mini chopper “Little Nellie.” The Volcano makes up for a lot though, and without a doubt a critical entry in the Canon.

#12 On Her Majesty’s Secret Service

                Telly Savalas is downright fantastic and easily the best of the Blofelds. Everyone hates George Lazenby, but I personally think he's great as Bond: his athleticism, youth, and enthusiasm shine through.  The problematic and singular reason why this very important film ranks so low on my list is Diana Rigg’s distaste for Lazenby.  It is so palpable throughout the whole film that it's almost like someone wrote “I was promised Sean Connery” across her face.

#13 GoldenEye

                Pierce Brosnan’s first entry into the World of Bond was a fantastic restart for the series. He was my initial Bond, and GoldenEye was the first Bond I ever saw. The women of the film are utterly perfect in their roles, the plot was ahead of its time as Republican presidential candidates were still discussing EMP’s during this past election cycle. And while I don’t necessarily like Bond in a BMW, the use of the Z3 is still considered the world’s most successful cross promotion ever.

#14 Live and Let Die

                Blaxploitation Bond!  Everyone loves Jane Seymour but me; I just don’t feel as though she's dynamic enough to be a Bond Girl. However, as much as I hate Moore I feel this movie is critically important to history as it’s a very British take on the entire Blaxploitation genre and provides an important historical perspective from an outside viewpoint.

#15 Octopussy

                I really liked this movie, and if Brosnan been able to take the role, it would have been much higher on this list. Again, Moore’s aged-ness is completely distracting. Q has an amazing role, and the India scenes are wonderful. And let’s be honest, Bond diffuses a nuclear bomb in the middle of a circus while wearing a clown suit.

#16  The Living Daylights

                I like this film, I even like Timmy Dalton (a great deal actually).  I like the plot, I like the girl (she always brings back very strong feelings of the epic Daniela Bianchi in From Russia with Love), but unfortunately, the villains are like some sort of bad joke, and not even all the great “sledding in a Stradivarius Cello case” scenes can make up for villains that can barely even make you laugh.

#17 The Spy Who Loved Me

                I feel like the initial Jaws film should have been a little higher on this list, but I completely loathe the plot and the Bond girl. Roger Moore is hard pressed to get any love from me.

#18 Licence to Kill

                I wish I could rank this movie higher on the list as Carey Lowell is easily one of my favorite actresses ever, and the opening scene where Bond sky-hooks Sanchez’s plane is epic to the point that Christopher Nolan borrowed it for his new Batman trilogy. Benicio Del Toro alone makes the film worth watching, but the concept of having Bond quit, (almost exclusively so Bond can pursue a villain the British would have no jurisdiction over) is too contrived for me.

#19 The World is Not Enough

                I really like this film also. I really wish I could put it higher on this list. Brosnan makes it look way too easy, Denise Richards (while a gorgeous Bond girl) is a horrible actress, and a villain who is not dead even with a bullet in his brain, but is a complete sucker for love,  is just too much for me to swallow.

#20 Die Another Day

                AKA BUY ANOTHER DAY. Everyone hates the Vanish, but I think for Bond to have an invisible car is cool. My problems are essentially that we have already seen the space laser plot, that there is too much early CG looking very bad, and the rampant cross promotion really detracts from the film. I’m also told the Korean being spoken is atrocious.

#21   For Your Eyes Only

                I  hated this movie. I Loathe Roger Moore. I don’t think that this film makes much sense at all.

#22  Tomorrow NeverDies

                You Only Live Twice part 2.

#23  The Man with the Golden Gun

                I hated this film. A lot. I really, really, really, hate the way Roger Moore beats up women to increase his macho factor in this movie.  The only redemption is Hervé Villechaize.

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*I have idea what Mr. Maronde is getting at by this statement but I felt the need to include it.  -JK

Quantum of Solace - Dir. Marc Forster (The Bond Project #22 - JM)

Quantum of Solace (2008)

Dir: Marc Forster

“Like a Bullet”
by
Jay Maronde

                Director Marc Forster scored a major Bond triumph with the 22nd official Eon James Bond film. Quantum of Solace, while not as long or initially as highly-rated as its predecessor Casino Royale, is an amazingly beautiful film which simultaneously features some of the best acting, directing, writing, and action of the entire Bond Canon. Much of this is due to the times surrounding the production of the film, but I believe Forster’s guidance was not only essential, but the true reason why this Bond is so fantastic.

                Marc Forster is the first non-British-Empire-born Bond director EVER. He is of Swiss-German descent, which he maintained gave him some insight into Bond’s character, as Bond’s mother was supposedly Swiss. But if it weren’t for Daniel Craig very strongly recommending him to the producers, he probably would never have gotten the job. For what it’s worth, Forster has repeatedly stated in interviews that he would never have taken the reins had he not previously viewed Casino Royale and really liked the new character development of Bond and the much colder realism. Regardless of the reason Forster was chosen, it was an excellent decision as the Bond he produced is so very little like any other Bond and yet an utterly stunning marvel of a film.

Forster’s influence is very strong throughout the film as the rough draft of the script for Quantum was finished only hours before the Writers’ Strike. Forster and Craig essentially re-wrote large sections of the film themselves, reworking dialogue and even huge plot sections daily while filming. The result of this “automatic director’s cut” is a film which is not only remarkably visually stunning but also has very little dialogue, which is again evidence of Forster’s skill as a director.

Numerous scenes require zero dialogue and the film shows with its images what happens—much in the way that silent films of yore had to tell their stories with expressive acting and well-placed camera angles. The entire pre-credits sequence only features five words of English. The remainder of the film’s opening is probably the most fantastic car chase ever put on film. Moreover, when Forster requires dialogue it is almost always short, pithy, and perfectly Bond. One of my favorite James Bond lines ever occurs in Bolivia when Bond and Strawberry Fields (which by the way is an amazing Bond name, but we will get to her later) arrive at the hotel, and as Bond peruses his luxurious hotel suite, he turns from the bedroom, looks at Fields, and says in a way that only James Bond could: “I can’t find the, um,… the stationery… could you come and help me look?”   Clearly Bond isn’t looking for paper. But Forster manages to maintain the cold reality of James Bond the assassin while at the same time having Daniel Craig completely out-suave all the Roger Moore movies combined. Forster also manages to reference all four major elements and pay homage to numerous Bond and non-Bond classics including Goldfinger, DR. No, North by Northwest, and Citizen Kane. This movie is shorter—quite possibly the shortest of all the Bonds—clocking in at far less than two hours. Forster commented that he wanted to the film to be that way: “Quick and hard hitting, like a bullet.” This fast-paced style of film works incredibly well for a Bond film. There are no gaps in the action, the movie doesn’t drag, the story is central, and much of the ancillary nonsense common amongst Bond movies has been completely removed to keep this rapid pace. In the end this provides for a delightful film that provides more and more enjoyment with each and every viewing.

                Part of what Forster wanted in his “bullet-like” film was to have intense, realistic action. To this end the film features some of the best action sequences in the Canon. First off, the movie starts with a riveting car chase that I feel is easily the best I’ve ever seen, and I have seen plenty of car chases. I will gladly grant the haters that the sequence is short, but the action is so remarkable, the driving is so incredible, and the scenery and cinematography is so thrilling that the sequence easily stands next to the great car chases in film history. They certainly paid for it, as the production team destroyed six $300,000+ Aston Martins during the filming—one of which had already been purchased by a well-funded Bond aficionado—even though it was completely destroyed and Daniel Craig never even sat in it. Shortly after the car chase, Bond is propelled into a remarkable foot chase which pays a great reference to Citizen Kane when Bond and the henchman fall from the roof thru a glass ceiling and into an atrium with the camera steadily following in perfect Welles-ian fashion. Later Bond engages in a dramatic boat chase scene, ostensibly so Forster can achieve the water element of the story. But while the scene is great and Bond obviously kicks serious ass, the beauty is that Bond is driving a boat with the same name as Quarrel’s boat from Dr. No. After some more of the movie plays out, Bond flies an old DC-3 in an epic plane chase sequence that not only references the air element but also pays tremendous homage to North by Northwest. The scene ends with the Bond Classic “jump from an airplane with no parachute and solve that problem on the way down!” Here again Forster shines—as rather than hiring numerous stuntmen to perform and ending up with a lot unbelievable (not in the good way) distance shots of stunt doubles falling, he had the stars Craig and Kurylenko actually perform the scene themselves with the assistance of an indoor sky dive facility. Quantum of Solace is the only Bond film to feature a car chase, a foot chase, a boat chase and a plane chase. All of these action scenes serve not only to advance the plot, but also to keep the audience on the edge of their seats.

                All of Forster’s great direction would have been completely moot had he not had amazing actors to work with. There are few unnecessary characters and all the actors have obviously been pushed to the peak of their performances by Forster who is known for filming constantly even during rehearsals and sometimes even using the rehearsal shots in the film cut. Daniel Craig is back as the coldest, most real Bond ever. He not only is doing a lot of his own stunts but you almost feel like Craig stayed in character between films to be able to really understand the coldness of the soul brought to a man who professionally kills people. Craig literally suffered for the making of this movie, requiring eight stiches and plastic surgery to his face after a mis-choreographed fight sequence gone wrong. He also lost the tip of a finger (which had to be surgically re-attached) in another “too real” scene. Craig has commented that he felt Casino Royale physically was a walk in the park comparatively even though his training was far more extensive for Quantum.

Craig isn’t the only star however, as he is backed up by a fantastic cast who all purposefully aid Forster’s vision.  To not mention Dame Judi Dench would be completely remiss, as she plays one of her larger roles in the Franchise to date, and she is excellent as the MI:6 chief torn between trusting  her best agent and a whole world who is against her and Bond. Her scene with Bond in Bolivia is another excellent example of Forster’s well-thought filmmaking style, as when Bond is “removed from duty”( in classic Bond franchise fashion) Dench is dressed all in white as Craig is dressed in black so as to symbolize their opposing sides of good and evil.

Another very famous and very important woman in the film is Olga Kurylenko as the resplendent undercover Bolivian Agent Camille Montes. Numerous times in the history of the Bond franchise there have been co-stars next to Bond who are supposed to be the “female equivalent of Bond,” some sort of tough female agent who is supposed to be Bond’s equal (be they allies or enemies)—but compared to Kurylenko, they all fall drastically short. This film, for the first time in the Canon, really features a lady agent who can stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Bond. The two never make love—there is only a fleeting kiss as they part ways—but more importantly she is just as personally troubled as Bond and is more than willing to use her sex to achieve her mission objectives (exactly as Bond always does). This is further evidence of Forster’s well-planned directorial style.

                Another delightful cast member (so delightful she deserves her own paragraph) is the Lovely Strawberry Fields, played masterfully by the utterly gorgeous Gemma Arterton. Miss Arterton was chosen from over 1400 applicants for the role and while her performance is fleeting, she is radiant, first as the paper pusher sent to intercept Bond, and later in the greatest self-referencing homage in any film franchise ever, when she is covered in oil and left dead in Bond’s hotel a la Goldfinger. Arterton (who, yes was born a polydactyl (6 fingers and toes on each hand and foot)) and her strawberry hair were already a physical homage to all the remarkable red-headed Bond ladies throughout the Franchise, but the oil scene in which she really suffered through being painted completely black was such a fantastic homage that die hard Bond fans still gasp every time they see her lifeless black body.  It’s also worth noting that the viewer never learns her name is Strawberry Fields until the end credits roll, as no matter how many times Bond asks her name, she always responds, “Just Fields.”

                Any Bond movie would be lacking without a strong villain and Quantum of Solace surely took note of this fact with numerous villains and henchmen throughout the film. First off there is the special type of old illuminati evil that is Mr. White (once again played by the resilient Jesper Christensen, reprising his role from Casino Royale). While Mr. White is once again devilishly good, the real star on Team Bad Guys is one Dominic Greene (played by the French actor Mathieu Amalric). Mr. Greene is one of the few Bond villains in the Franchise and who has no outward physical deformities, but he is still a really, really, creepy looking villain. Amalric, who has publicly stated numerous times that this was the role of a lifetime and that he felt unable to refuse the honor as there was no way his future self could have ever explained to his children that he turned down the role of a Bond villain, apparently asked Forster several times to include some form of prop or effect or something to make his character more villain-ish, but Forster staunchly refused, citing his realistic vision of the film. While it may not seem like a compliment, I personally think that Amalric is more than freaky enough as a Bond villain. The scene where he arrives in Austria and hops into his waiting limo as CIA agents look on always reminds me of a snake who has dislocated its jaw to enable to consumption of overly large prey, and his fight with Bond at the end of the film is just as dramatic and far more gripping than any other final battle that Bond has with any of the other villains in the entire franchise. His scene with Bond and Camille at the party is another point where the film’s writing and directing are beyond reproach, as when Bond and Greene meet, Greene says to Bond, “My friends call me Dom-min-nic,” and Bond retorts, “I’m sure that they do.”

Amalric’s slick non-American sounding way of saying Dom-MIN-nic is first off evil in just the particular way that you would expect a super villain to be evil. Bond’s retort is priceless, perfectly pithy, perfectly-Bond, and the look that Amalric shoots back in response is a special kind of evil. In interviews Amalric has stated that he tried to base the character of Greene on a cross between Tony Blair and Nicholas Sarkozy (who he claims is the worst villain the French people have ever known) but whatever his methods, he isn’t just creepy or weird, he is downright evil in a way that is rarely expressed so well on film.

While on the topic of villains, this review would be completely remiss without mentioning the stunning performance of Joaquin Casio as General Medrano. Casio was absolutely the perfect casting for the coup leading serial rapist General Medrano. He looks the part, he sounds the part, and his impressive physical size next to Kurylenko and his other attempted rape victim make him a great casting decision—but he almost didn’t get the role, as during pre-production none other than AL PACINO expressed interest in the role.  Negotiations betwixt Pacino’s people and the Eon productions team were rather extensive, and it never came to fruition, but as a big Pacino fan myself I can only imagine what might have been.

                While this film relies heavily upon fantastic action, writing, and acting to get its points across, I feel that the music department at Eon certainly deserves a mention for its outstanding work in this film. First and foremost the title song “Another Way to Die,” performed by Jack White and Alicia Keys, is exquisite. The song is not only very Bond-ish, but also a very good pop rock song easily worthy of a place on the Billboard charts. This song was actually the second choice of the producers, as Amy Winehouse and Mark Ronson did record a demo for the song but the producers felt that they needed to pass, as due to Winehouse’s “personal issues,” they couldn’t be assured of a timely delivery of the song. Someday that demo tape is going to go up for auction and it’s going to be worth a lot of money. But the music doesn’t just play a role in this singular part of the film as it does in many Bond movies. The score throughout this whole film is absolutely critical as it enhances every scene from the very first moment as the film opens with low strings and a long pan to the car chase, all the way through the very last moment when the iconic James Bond theme plays.

Also of note is the delightful opera scene which was really shot during an actual performance of Tosca at the real floating opera which is really in Bregenz, Austria. The opera scene is a gorgeous piece of cinematography, and it was a matter of outstanding luck that the real Bregenz Opera was actually performing during the time of filming. Tosca, with its own convoluted plot line of revenge, is perfect as a backdrop, and the uber-postmodern opera house with its giant eyeball sets fit perfectly into the James Bond Mythos. The music team also scored Bond’s escape from said opera house perfectly using the music from Tosca to provide an amazing backdrop for another essentially silent segment of the film. At all points in the film the music seems to carry the viewer seamlessly from one segment to another much the way an organ player would have in a classic silent film of yore.

                I’m going come right out and say it: Quantum of Solace is the best of the Bonds. The film is easily the best-planned and executed Bond film in a very long time—but more importantly to me the film’s brevity is really at the heart of what makes it so special. Forster wastes not a frame with uselessness. The film is really as he desired and described: like a bullet. Many have complained about the fact that this is the only direct sequel in the franchise, but honestly the film only really deals with leftover issues from Casino Royale at the very beginning and very end, leaving the rest of the movie as a monument to epic filmmaking, and evidence of what a wonderful director can do with a very large budget.

               

               

The Man with the Golden Gun - Dir. Guy Hamilton (The Bond Project #9)

The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

Dir: Guy Hamilton

What Happened?

By Jay Maronde

                Let me start this review by admitting this: film critics love to be critical of movies. I personally try to write about the good parts, and I also happen to really like James Bond (which I why I signed up for this task). But every once in a while you need to get a little crazy and go on and on about how wrong things really are. This being said, I do mean to keep it relatively short, because to be honest, you know a movie is pretty effin bad when the midget is the best part about it.

                Let’s start right there. The midget is the best part about this film.  Herve Villechaize is usually pretty awesome in whatever he appears in, but here, Guy Hamilton cast him perfectly as “the midget Oddjob”, referring to Harold Sakata’s role in Hamilton’s earliest Bond Film, the 1964 Blockbuster Goldfinger. “Nick Nack,” as he’s credited, has some of the most memorable roles in the film* and is the first Bond henchman to be captured. Another great casting in this film is Sir Christopher Lee as Francisco Scaramanga, the super villain million-dollar-a-hit assassin who is Bond’s arch-nemesis in the film. Scaramanga is almost always referred to as one of the best-acted Bond Villains and indeed Lee was asked to reprise the role and do the voicing for Scaramanga in the James Bond video game Rouge Agent. The rest of this film seems to spoil itself.

                Britt Ekland stars as James Bond’s personal assistant Mary Goodnight, and is possibly the dopiest secret agent ever. Ekland had wanted to be a Bond girl since she saw Dr. No, and personally I think that the producers should have cast her about a decade earlier, and then maybe she wouldn’t look so past her prime. Roger Moore is obviously also past his prime, but there’s a lot of stuntman fights to attempt to convince the public otherwise. Worse yet, the production team added parts where Bond throws a child off a boat and threatens to break Maud Adams’s arm in a very weird attempt to make Roger Moore seem like a more “rough-and-tumble” Bond. Moore claims to have hated filming these parts of the movie because he didn’t like what those actions implied upon the character of Bond and would have preferred to charm the woman instead. Maud Adams is more than delightful in this film but drastically under-cast; so under-cast, in fact, that she stars in the later James Bond film Octopussy as Octopussy herself. The only other women in the film are two hideous kung-fu-fighting sisters who save the elderly Bond during a Kung Fu Fighting scene (added in a poor attempt to capitalize on the Kung Fu movie craze at the time) and another actress playing a belly dancer who I also believe was “cast elderly” in an attempt to make Moore look younger.

                The stunt sequences were another good thing that was ruined by supposedly “genius” ideas. This film features the famous car barrel roll jump, preformed in one take only by the famous stunt man “Bumps” Willard. The stunt was also the first film stunt ever to be calculated by computer, as it had been designed at Cornell University years before as a calculation problem for a vehicle physics simulator. The stunt had been being performed for years as part of the American Motors Corporation traveling Thrill Show, but the producers went on to copyright and patent the trick so that it could never appear in another film. Now, this seems like it would be awesome right?  A James Bond car chase with a Barrel Roll, right? Well, you’d be wrong—because the music department decided to add a ridiculous whistle sound during the barrel roll, and the production team put Sheriff J.W. Pepper (who was actually an extremely popular part of Live and Let Die) in the passenger seat with James Bond for comic relief.  Even the title song is goofy as shit, a real toe-tapper, but has been described as “one long stream of smut.” The producers had originally spoken with Alice Cooper about a rock song to have the same title, and in fact his version appears on his “Muscle of Love” album, but the producers chose to use the slightly more “upbeat” version featured here and performed by LuLu.

                The real problem with this movie is the plot. James Bond is removed from duty and asked to resign because a super villain wants to kill him. Why should James Bond worry about a super villain, even if he is the world’s most expensive hitman? Bond deals with villains all the time, that’s his job—he’s James Bond. And this super villain—why, if you are the world’s best paid super villain, with your own private island, and the answer to the worlds energy crisis (this is actually the last Bond Film until Quantum Of Solace to deal with an environmental plot), and a midget to attend to your every need, why would you pay other hit men to attempt to assassinate you?

                The Production of The Man with the Golden Gun was rushed to the market to capitalize on numerous factors present in the era when it was produced: the energy crisis, the rising popularity of Kung Fu, and the popularity of the other films in the franchise. As a result, the film seems like a mish-mash of garbage strung together without much forethought. This resulted in poor ticket sales and almost a three year production delay until the next James Bond film, along with director Guy Hamilton’s dismissal from the franchise. Furthermore, the resulting financial crisis caused longtime producer Harry Saltzman to be forced to sell his half of the James Bond Franchise to United Artists pictures.

*It is unclear to me whether “Nick Nack” plays many roles or one, and so I have left the original language unedited.  - JK

Live and Let Die - Dir. Guy Hamilton (The Bond Project #8)

Live and Let Die (1973)

Dir: Guy Hamilton

Blaxploitation Bond

by

Jay Maronde

As 1973’s Live and Let Die opens we see British agents being murdered all over the world: one in New York right in the middle of the UN, one in New Orleans while watching a funeral parade, and one in the middle of a crazy voodoo ceremony on the Caribbean island of San Monique (really Jamaica, but renamed to avoid repetition of Dr. NO). After that we cut to a fantastic set of titles accompanied by the first real rock song in the James Bond franchise. “Live and Let Die” (the song) was written by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by Wings. It is a great song, it’s featured prominently throughout the film, and it was the first Bond song to win major success on the Billboard charts, reaching #2 for several weeks. I would like to note that I hate Sir Paul, and extra-hate Wings, so for me to note the quality of this song--it’s definitely very good. It’s also worth noting that the producers spent so much money on McCartney that the only person who would take the gig to score the film was Sir George Martin, so this whole film certainly has a Beatles kinda feel to it, which is amusing considering that only a few films ago, during Goldfinger (also directed by Guy Hamilton), James Bond made a joke about how he can’t listen to The Beatles without earmuffs. Anyways, about three quarters of the way through this great song, one starts to realize that we have watched almost 20 minutes of film and we haven’t seen the main character yet. There’s a very very good reason for that
Live and Let Die is the first film to star Roger Moore as James Bond. It was big deal to have Roger Moore, as he was an incredibly successful film star, and a skilled, well-practiced actor. In fact Moore was the oldest Bond, being 45 when he first debuted. Now, let me also get this out of the way right now: Roger Moore is definitely not my favorite Bond. He’s too old. His only qualification as Bond is his Sauvé. Watching this and the other Moore films, the viewer clearly gets the gist that Bond’s best asset is his mojo, which is always impressive, and clearly critical to the role. But Moore at no point seems like the type of guy who would fist fight it out (at the very least you wouldn’t want him on your side in a fist fight, even though you would love to have him as your wingman at the bar).

The producers were very conscience of this new Bond issue. They again tried to get Sean Connery. I personally find it shocking that Connery refused, considering they offered him over 5.5 million dollars* (which would be over $100 million in today’s money), but he did refuse and again the producers were in the pickle of having to not only find a new Bond, but again transition the franchise. Many actors were considered, and among them again were Adam West and Burt Reynolds, but also Paul Newman and Robert Redford and Clint Eastwood. Eventually the decision to have a British Bond was made and Moore was cast. Sean Connery was quoted in the press as having approved the new casting and Moore announced that he would be playing his own type of Bond. Both of these things greatly helped to assuage the raucous British Press. Moore’s new Bond would drink bourbon and smoke cigars, and he would be introduced after the title sequence by perennial favorites Moneypenny and M. Q is noticeably absent in this film for the only time before the death of Desmond Llewelyn, which resulted in a calamitous uproar by fans. This led to a constant reprisal of the role by Llewelyn, which gave him the record for appearing in more films in the franchise than any other actor.

 Instead of Q giving Bond his new toys, M and Moneypenny make the delivery in an early morning visit to Bond’s home. This is the second and final time we ever see inside of Bond’s home, and as M arrives, Bond is in bed with easily one of the most beautiful Bond girls ever: the lovely Italian  Agent Caruso, radiantly played by the darling, young, shapely, doe-eyed Madeline Smith.  Miss Smith is famous for those gorgeous eyes and curves--and a longtime favorite from her appearances in horror movies around the world--but she steals the film as well as anyone could with a three-minute role.  After Moneypenny helps conceal the scantily-clad Italian agent (which made Smith uncomfortable--she noted that Moore’s overly jealous wife was always on set and “making comments”), Bond is dispatched to NYC and the Blaxploitation begins.

While New York doesn’t feature all that prominently in this film, it is definitely “James Bond does NYC.” It’s here we meet the Prime Minister of San Monique, Dr Kanaga (played famously by none other than Yophet Kotto fresh off his success from Across 110th Street) and his lovely virgin fortune-telling personal secretary Solitaire (acted--plus dubbed) by a very young and nubile Jane Seymour. This was Seymour’s first big role and the opening credits give her an “introducing” line. Again personally I think Madeline Smith is a way better Bond girl, even though Seymour was voted #10 on several lists of “10 Best Bond Girls.” In any case Bond meets up with his old pal Felix Leiter (played jovially by David Hedison, who is actually the only actor ever before Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace’s Jeffrey Wright to appear twice playing the role of Felix Leiter), but not before having a pretty sweet car scene on the FDR expressway, and then having an extensive old-time grimy Harlem adventure where he meets the films other villain, a highly pimped out crime boss named Mr. Big. All these scenes were really filmed in NYC and the mood of 1970’s NYC really shines through. Apparently while the crew was shooting in Harlem, they had to pay “protection” to a local street gang, and when the cash ran out they were “encouraged” to leave. It’s here in NYC that the Blaxploitation is most prominent, many social commentators have complained that this is in bad taste. But from a historical perspective I feel that it enriches the entire Bond franchise because it shows how adaptable the stories really are. Shortly after the Harlem scene Bond jets off to San Monique.
It’s in San Monique where we meet the franchise’s first African-American Bond Girl that Bond fornicates with, the lithe Rosie Carver (delightfully cast with Gloria Hendry, another classic Blaxploitation star) and the film’s first major allusion to the other films in the franchise with Quarrel Jr. (Quarrel Sr was Bond’s boat operator in Dr. No) After Carver turns out to be a double agent and has to die,  Bond seduces and couples with the beautiful Solitaire (causing her to lose her fortune-telling powers) by using a stacked deck of tarot cards where every card is “The Lovers” (there was also a “Bond Brand Tarot Deck” and instruction book released as part of the film’s merchandising). The two escape, and explore Kanaga’s personal “voodoo land” where he discovers what this film is all about: dope (like most almost all Blaxploitation films). There’s a helicopter chase and Bond escapes to New Orleans. In New Orleans we discover that Mr. Big and Dr. Kanaga are the same person, and that the plan is to give away two tons of heroin, grown in San Monique, for the dual purpose of driving the Mafia out of business and doubling the number of American junkies. Bond escapes a crazy alligator farm where the dope is being processed, and leads the villains on a high speed boat chase throughout the outskirts of New Orleans which happens to include a Guinness World Record setting boat jump over and into a sheriff’s car (the boat chase was made possible by a corporate sponsorship/ product placement deal between EON productions and Glastron Boats, who supplied 26 boats for the film, 17 of which were completely destroyed).
The movie speeds to an incredible conclusion as Bond travels back to San Monique, shuts down the whole operation, kills the villain (which happens to be “Film Bond’s” first political assassination), and saves Solitaire. As the movie closes Bond and Solitaire are traveling via train and in a final allusion to From Russia with Love, Bond is forced to vanquish another henchman by throwing him from a moving train window.
This movie is classic and even smooth old Roger Moore can’t bring down the fantastic sets, locations, effects, music, castings, and direction supplied by Guy Hamilton’s team. The fact that this was Hamilton’s 3rd Bond film really seems to show, as while the film is certainly no cinematic masterwork like On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, it certainly is a very fun to watch--an entry which has its ups-and-downs and sticks to the Bond “formula” well, all the while dealing with integrating yet another actor into the role.
*I am not sure whether this figure is meant to be pounds or dollars -JK

James Bond 007: Goldfinger - Dir. Guy Hamilton

James Bond 007: Goldfinger (1964)

Bond Goes Blockbuster

by Jay Maronde

The third cinema installment of the 007 franchise takes Bond to a fantastic new level, a level which manages to raise the bar for the films of the franchise in so many new ways that its initial release not only changed the world of Bond, but the whole world’s perception on not only the secret agent film genre but the entire concept of James Bond. That’s right, I said it, Goldfinger redefines not only the world of “Bond” but redefines and elucidates the essence of Bond to the world. Pray tell how one film could do so much?..... Well that’s what this article is about! 

First and Foremost let us start with the “firsts.” Goldfinger is the first film in which Commander Bond steps foot in America. It’s also the first film with a completely tangential opening scene, in which Bond uses a fantastic duck snorkel to perform some unplanned demolition of a drug lab.  Now, obviously after your favorite secret agent blows up a South American cartel headquarters, he’s going to need to get out of town, pretty quickly, and obviously he’ll need to go to Fontainebleau* in Miami Beach for some well-deserved R&R.  Before Bond gets to MIA however, the movies cuts away to its fantastic opening sequence complete with the first Shirley Bassey theme song of the series. Bassey would go on to record several more uber-classic theme songs for the franchise, but “Goldfinger” (the song) was the first, and I’ve had its classic hook stuck in my head for more than a few days now.  While the music plays, the title credits roll and scenes from the film are shown projected on gold painted body parts of a beautiful woman.

 This is where the story really begins after the opening credits: Here we find our AMERICAN friend Felix Leiter, tracking down Bond to give him a new assignment, and as Bond and Leiter meet for the first time, the fantastic misogyny begins to ooze, and the metamorphosis of  Bond’s pop cultural definition as the ultimate ladies’ man begins.  Don’t get me wrong, the first two movies contain numerous references to Bond’s proclivities as a lush, but here in this first Miami scene he quickly dispatches his (second (in the film)) lady friend with a smack on the ass and the comment that he and his friend need to have “man talk.” Now personally I love misogynistic Bond. He’s the man, and he’s acting like it in a way that would make a Barnard girl’s skin crawl.  This attitude/swagger/charisma/skew is what makes Bond EPIC, but it does come with its pitfalls: if Bond is more extreme in his character then certainly much more extreme things must happen. And they do. As such the now long-standing Bond tradition of “Sex for dinner, death for breakfast” begins in earnest. Bond’s first move in Miami Beach (after donning an enviable post swimming baby blue terry-cloth onesie) is to not only steal the main villain’s “girlfriend” but to cause Mr. Auric Goldfinger to lose a $15,000 game of cards. (That’s 1960’s money remember, gold is roughly $30/oz in the film, and current prices are well over $1500/oz, you can do the math if you are stickler type**.) Clearly the Villain is displeased, and Jill Masterson (who bears a striking resemblance to one of my favorite bartenders) has to die. Her death scene is not only one of the most referenced Bond lady deaths, but also has inspired its own “Mythbusters” episode, was highlighted with a huge spread in LIFE magazine, and was even referenced in JB007:#22 Quantum Of Solace by way of Strawberry Fields's death. Sadly for the fictional Masterson parents, Jill’s sister also dies in a 007 exploit later in the film.

Another area of "firsts" comes from Q branch. Having realized the popularity of the Quartermaster Corps and the average film-goers fascination with Bond’s gadgets, the producers chose to include a full scene where Bond travels to the Q-branch offices. Herein Bond gets his now standard tour of the new “tools” in development, and is assigned his new car: The Aston Martin DB5. Bond’s car might be the only thing more famous than himself (possibly because its non-fictional) and in an ironic footnote of history, the Aston Martin Company almost didn’t go for it. I’m certainly sure that now they are quite glad they did as Bond’s Classic DB5 is one of the most recognizable cars in global popular culture, and now as they are currently in production as of BOND23, Bond is once again driving an Aston. Further, the producers licensed an “official” JB:DB5 toy car, which later became the bestselling toy of 1964. All these "firsts" are dwarfed in comparison to the big first: THE MONEY.

The Guinness Book Of World Records lists Goldfinger as the fastest grossing movie EVER. In fact, Goldfinger was produced with a budget of the two other Bond films combined. That three milllion dollars of 1964 money (approx. $22M in 2012) yielded a movie that would become the first blockbuster in the franchise. Goldfinger’s producers’ recouped their money in roughly a week, the movie then went on  to gross over $124 million dollars (again, 1964 money, inflation calculators figure that amount would be roughly equal to $850 million in today dollars) in fact the movie was so popular that some cinemas were compelled to stay open 24 hours a day and continuously show Goldfinger just to keep up with popular demand.     

Shockingly, the box office figures only comprised a fraction of the film franchise's profits in other arenas. The producers also “struck Gold,” as it were, by licensing everything they could think of--from lunch boxes, to menswear, to albums. This remarkable amount of money directly correlates to how Goldfinger changed the game even for Bond. Director Guy Hamilton’s new "Uber-Bond" was such a smashing success that spy movies became so popular that in 1965 came the release of no less than 20 other Spy Genre films. The whole world had gone Bonkers for Bond.

The new James Bond of Goldfinger is amazing, in no small part due to the man playing him. This film was Sean Connery’s third appearance as Bond, and the actor seems to fill out the role like never before. Maybe it was just the standard cultural misogyny of the 1960’s or what have you, (I couldn’t tell you, I’m too young to remember) but Connery seems even more perfect as Bond as soon as the first well-gaffed ass smack comes during the scene in Miami. He then proceeds to evoke even more Bond perfection as the movie goes on. During the course of this film, James Bond not only talks his way out of a laser death machine (and by the way, lasers weren’t even invented yet, making that another Bond First), but winks his way out of jail cell, and literally saves the world with his “Mojo.” In all of these scenarios Sean Connery’s gratuitous personal swag comes across the silver screen as clear as an azure summer afternoon and completely “sells” each scene. Only an actor reprising a role which he has already worked extensively on could possibly exude such confidence of character***. Connery and Bond merge forever into the pop culture collective. Connery was great and he knew it; but this led to some very interesting complications, most of which had to do with money. 

As the movie was being filmed and the popularity was growing, Connery realized he should get more money. As such, and due to an injury he suffered during filming, Connery negotiated a 5% cut from the take of all the Bond Films he would star in. (Again, in case math isn’t your forte: 5% of $850 million, is $42.5 Million.) Connery had redefined Bond and movie stardom as a whole.               

All these fantastic gizmos, and lasers, and Gold would be for naught if Connery had been cast beside losers, or nobodies, or even just plain crap actors, so I personally feel that one of Director Guy Hamilton’s most outstanding contributions to whole world of Bond, was to be able to cast wonderful, memorable, important actors to the other roles. The real standout in history is the casting of Honor Blackman as “Pussy Galore,” Goldfinger’s personal pilot, and boss of her very own “Flying Circus.”  First off let us note that this is another Bond Film "first": the blatant hyper-sexualizing of a female name. This (one of my favorite) Bond traditions, has been “flirted” with many times throughout the course of the rest of the franchise, but I really don’t think anything can come close to “Pussy Galore.” Blackman was already famous from “The Avengers” and this played no small part in her being cast. In fact, part of the script was re-written to highlight her judo skills. Further, Pussy’s role as the leader of an all-female cadre of pilots has served to highlight the middle century views of women’s empowerment, and establish Pussy as a feminist foil to Bond’s rampant misogyny. Without the yin there can be no yang, so inasmuch as Bond needed a feminist to offset his sexism, Connery also needed exquisite actors to star as his villains, and here Hamilton shines again.

Many, Many actors were considered and auditioned for the role of Auric Goldfinger. It was the title character of the next film in an already incredibly successful cinematic franchise. Eventually, with Orson Welles demanding an outrageous amount of money, the producers chose the German actor Gert Fröbe. The title character is wonderful. He acts exactly like one would imagine a super villain would: he cheats at everything, pays beautiful women to stay in his company, and always seems to have yet another killing machine for disposing of his enemies. He even has a golden gun! The super-secret about Fröbe was that (much like Ursula Andress in Dr. No) his English was atrocious. Hamilton had him phonetically deliver all his lines (at double speed, so his face looks right in the film) and then dubbed him using the voice of American actor Michael Collins.  Fröbe does such a fantastic job with the acting, and Hamilton with the editing that I never even would have guessed, had I not read it in Wikipedia.

If you were the world’s biggest super villain, clearly you are much too cool and important and busy to do your own bidding, plus you obviously need security. In Auric Goldfinger’s case, you already have a small army of Asian goonies at your beck and call, so your number one assistant obviously should be a Korean Manservant. And here, for our viewing pleasure, we come upon one of most famous cinematic villains ever in Oddjob. Hamilton’s casting skills were beyond reproach again as he cast the Olympic silver medal winning weight lifter Harold Sakata. Previous to GoldFinger Mr. Sakata had been a television wrestler. Hamilton saw him and immediately knew he had his villain. The fact that Mr. Sakata could also barely speak English was also no problem as the role had no words, merely a few well-placed grunts. It’s a tribute to both Sakata and Hamilton that the character of Oddjob still shines throughout all this, and to this day is referenced in many different areas of popular culture.

When the viewer considers the multiplicity of Bond "firsts," it is apparent that Goldfinger, like Dr. No and From Russia, With Love before it, made great strides**** in honing the "Bond formula" that has allowed it to stand the test of time and remain a viable franchise for 50 years.  No other character can lay claim to such a feat.  

 *The Fontainebleau Hotel was embroiled in litigation before Goldfinger was made.  This case (decided in 1959) has not been referenced on Flying Houses before, but was one of the more memorable topics in Property.  The Fontainebleau's owner did not like the neighboring hotel's owner, so he decided to construct an addition which would block the sunlight from the other hotel's pool and tanning area.  The court referenced the "ancient lights" doctrine and noted that it had been universally repudiated in the United States, even though it had been recognized in England (perhaps the producers of Goldfinger were enraged by such a notion, and used the location as a political statement--but it is highly doubtful).  The court ruled that the addition could be constructed, even though it was quite clear that the idea arose out of a personal dispute.  I could not stop writing about this case on my Property exam because I felt it had been so badly decided.  Of course, the neighboring hotel will suffer economic loss because people are not going to Miami Beach to tan in the shade.  -JK

**By my math, Goldfinger would have lost $750,000 in 2012 dollars.-JK

***Which leads me to wonder what Batman Forever would have been like had Michael Keaton retained the role.-JK

****One hopes that the writer of these reviews will be able to deliver a ranking of all Bond films after Skyfall is released.  It is difficult to tell whether he prefers Goldfinger to From Russia, With Love, though it seems clear that while he has great admiration for Dr. No, he does not consider it as strong a film as its two immediate sequels.-JK

James Bond 007: From Russia, With Love - Dir. Terence Young

The Best Bond?
by Jay Maronde

James Bond wasn’t born--he’s a fictional character.  In fact, as I’ve already discussed in previous articles, he didn’t even originally appear in films, he was a character of literature, and From Russia With Love wasn’t even his first appearance; but for many people, From Russia, With Love defines the epitome of Bond. FRWL is consistently rated by both professional and amateur interweb critics as the “Best Bond” or “Highest Rated Bond” or “The ‘classic’ Bond” for numerous reasons: not necessarily for the plot (convoluted), nor the actors (because one of the female leads was (hopefully) cast for her atrocious hideousness), but instead for its classic Bond conventions (which weren’t the classic Bond ‘things’ when the movie was released, merely new directions the burgeoning franchise had chosen to take).  However, the rosy goggled 20/20 vision of hindsight has since made those producers in 1963 seem like geniuses with some sort of super-secret Q branch future vision machine.

            Speaking of Q branch: let us start right there. From Russia With Love was the first movie to have real James Bond Gadgets, and the first appearance of one Desmond Llewelyn (who still holds the record for most appearances in Bond Films, appearing in every film until Bond19 (The World is Not Enough)).  Credited only as Boothroyd, (in later films referred to only as Q), Bond and "Q" meet early in the film for their equipment briefing, a scene which becomes standard in all Bond films up through Bond20 (Die Another Day) and Q presents Bond with a rather interesting piece of luggage. While the briefcase is certainly no x-ray specs or invisible Aston Martin it definitely is a very cool package that not only packs quite the wallop, but also foreshadows many of Bond’s exciting exploits ahead.  The movie also contains a scene with a helicopter; making this the first Bond Film to include a helicopter, even though every Bond movie since has included at least one scene with a helicopter, and I believe this particular scene inspired one Steven Spielberg in his filming of Sean Connery disabling the plane in Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade.

              Bond’s Quartermaster briefing isn’t the only convention defined and typified by this film--so much of “classic” Bond franchise originates with this film. First-off we notice that there is now a scene before the opening credits. This opening pre-credits scene at the time was a new concept, and while now we almost take this idea for granted, it was groundbreaking at the time. Further, From Russia With Love was the first Bond film to have a theme song made just for the film. Again it seems obvious to us now that a movie needs a theme song, but in 1963 these producers were breaking new ground. Also while this seems like a rather obvious idea now, FRWL was one of the first films ever to include a stylized opening credits sequence.

              Another huge Bond convention that started with From Russia With Love was Bond's proclivity to jet-set to numerous exotic locales during the course of his mission (or the course of the film).  Bond begins the movie in Britain, as almost always, but during the course of the film, jaunts first to Istanbul, where the Cold War isn’t so cold, and the work of a spy involves an amazing and gorgeous scene of canoeing through the underground reservoir of the Emperor Constantine, followed by peering into the Russian Consulate with a re-purposed Submarine Periscope. After a brief stay at a Gypsy camp, (with a tremendous girl fight/ belly dancing / gun battle scene that could easily be a defining moment in any movie) Bond really gets to business. He seduces / manipulates / cavorts with a Russian file clerk, and later escapes from Turkey with her, and a stolen Russian Lektor Decoding machine, via the Orient Express. Eluding the Russians to make it on to the train, and then cleverly dealing with a SPECTRE agent who poses as an ally but exposes his true criminal nature by “ordering red wine with Fish,” Bond escapes with the girl from the train, and then from the helicopter, and then from a regatta of enemy boats, all while making his way towards safe territory in Venice. After watching this film one definitely gets the feeling like they have gone on a mini European vacation, a sensation that audiences have always loved, and as such the producers have always kept Agent 007 moving through as many exotic locations in the films as possible.

                Perhaps the most compelling plot facet established by FRWL is the fictional James Bond’s place in the very non-fictional Cold War. It has become so ingrained in our collective unconscious that Bond has always been a crusader for “our side” that without serious thought the average viewer could easily assume that the “bad guys” are the Commies in almost any or all of the early Bond films. In reality, (or Bond’s reality anyways) the “bad guy” is almost always SPECTRE. However at the time when the film was made you have to look at history to grasp the full gravity of what the film meant to the free world. The year was 1963, Dr. No had been a smashing success, and the producers had been green-lighted to begin work on the sophomore film in an extremely popular franchise. JFK was in office and he had been a huge fan of the first film, so when the producers began to debate which novel they should bring to life next for the silver screen, the fact the President’s favorite Bond novel was From Russia With Love, the decision became very easy. Tragically, From Russia With Love would be the last film that JFK screened in the White House theatre before leaving for Dallas. 

                From Russia With Love is without a doubt an outstanding Bond Classic, with so many memorable scenes one could easily dub it the “Citizen Kane” of the James Bond franchise. Director Terence Young easily outdoes his original film. Daniela Bianchi while not the most gorgeous in the long litany of Bond Girls (certainly no comparison to Ursula Andress) portrays an extremely believable Tatiana as the lead female and Sean Connery seems to grow into his Bond tuxedo almost perfectly. In the very last moments of the film, the final James Bond convention which we have all grown to know and love, is introduced, and so much like this series of reviews: “James Bond will return in Goldfinger.”