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Posted by Jonathan Worthing (Member # 803) on 01-05-2004, 06:52 AM:
 
Out of the 21 Bond films which is (in your own opinion) the best.

I ask as I have now After Christmas got them all on DVD.

My Girlfriend who hates 007 films, has to admit that she can sit through Die Another day.

So there is hope
 
Posted by Bob Maar (Member # 763) on 01-05-2004, 07:00 AM:
 
My vote would be for "Goldfinger" with Sean Connery, who I believe was the real James Bond. Just ask Q.

All the other James Bond's are distant seconds.
 
Posted by Jeff Taylor (Member # 443) on 01-05-2004, 08:37 AM:
 
My vote would be From Russia With Love. Less gadgets and truer to the novels.
 
Posted by Michael Barry (Member # 237) on 01-05-2004, 09:01 AM:
 
I'll second 'From Russia With Love'. It's a class act all the way.

Of the more recent (relatively speaking) Bonds, I think 'The Living Daylights' is perhaps the best.
 
Posted by Thomas Hauerslev (Member # 566) on 01-05-2004, 10:28 AM:
 
"OHMSS", great women, good Bond, fantastic cinematography, great locations, good acting and the best 007 score yet.
 
Posted by Hillary Charles (Member # 769) on 01-05-2004, 11:14 AM:
 
I second the vote for "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." Quite faithful to the book, with a great John Barry score, strong Bond woman in Diana Rigg, great photography, and few gadgets. I love Bond on skis!

A close second (for me) is the ersatz sequel, "For Your Eyes Only." Much of the same applies, although John Barry could have helped.
 
Posted by Paul Cassidy (Member # 951) on 01-05-2004, 11:25 AM:
 
"Living Daylights " for me , a real romance and action film and he is not bed hopping in this one [beer]
 
Posted by Brian D. Whitish (Member # 825) on 01-05-2004, 02:59 PM:
 
Ill third the vote fo On Her Majesties Secret Service. Im planning my next vacation to end up in Murren, Switzerland so I con take the ride up to Piz Gloria.
 
Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 01-05-2004, 03:50 PM:
 
On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Connery IS the definitive James Bond but IF George Lazenby didn't quit I think he COULD HAVE BEEN one of the top Bond actors! Maybe not as good as Sir Sean but a close second.

I like Telly Savalas as Blofeld too. I think he was a better bad guy than Charles Gray (Diamonds are Forever) or Donald Pleasance. (You Only Live Twice)

What I really like about this movie is that it sets into motion the whole psychological motivation of the James Bond character and begins the relationship between Bond and Blofeld that last for many of the rest of the Bond movies. Blofeld tries to kill Bond and ends up machine-gunning Bond's new wife, pretty much in cold blood. From that moment on, Bond vows to never love another woman as much as he loved Tracy. (Diana Rigg) It sets him on the path to being the "great lover" we all know him to be in later movies. James devotes his life to work for "Queen and Country" and he vows to get revenge against his arch enemy, Earnst Stavros Blofeld.

Though it's not the first James Bond movie it is the movie that begins the whole James Bond story. Even if On Her Majesty's Secret Service is not your favorite 007 movie I still say it's "required reading" for any James Bond fan!
 
Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 01-05-2004, 04:12 PM:
 
Did Lazenby quit or was it decided to bring Connery back because I understand the movie wasn`t a big success at the time?
I am undecided between "Goldfinger" and "Thunderball".
 
Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 01-05-2004, 04:24 PM:
 
The way I remember it, Connery coudln't be Bond again due to prior obligations and Lazenby was tapped. Sean actually told George to do at LEAST two Bond films. When the next movie was scheduled, George Lazenby was out of the counrty (or something) and couldn't (wouldn't) return in time to make the film. Connery was called in to take over again and the rest is history.
 
Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 01-05-2004, 04:28 PM:
 
Out of the country? Didn`t they already have telephones in the 60s? Was IHMSS a success at the time? Would Lazenby have had the option to continue?
 
Posted by Christian Appelt (Member # 1067) on 01-05-2004, 04:37 PM:
 
1. Goldfinger
2. You Only Live Twice
3. Thunderball
4. Moonraker
 
Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 01-05-2004, 05:06 PM:
 
On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the tops with You only live twice second and Diamonds as the third and Dr No 4th
 
Posted by Hillary Charles (Member # 769) on 01-05-2004, 05:50 PM:
 
Apparently Lazenby was getting other more lucrative offers WHILE he was shooting OHMSS. He admits to getting a swelled head and becoming a primadonna. The offers, coupled with his belief that the end of the 1960's meant the end of the Bond era, prompted his announcement that OHMSS would be his only Bond film.

The original plan was to end the film with James and Tracy driving away as newlyweds (remember that crane shot near the end?). Diamonds Are Forever was to have begun with Tracy's death and Bond's search for revenge. Knowing that they wouldn't have Lazenby again, the story was kept intact in the film.

It's the official Christmas movie in this house, and I drive John nuts singing "Do You Know How Christmas Trees Are Grown?" [uhoh]
 
Posted by Ken Layton (Member # 133) on 01-05-2004, 06:04 PM:
 
I would also agree on OHMSS, but I also enjoyed Goldfinger (Pussy Galore!).
 
Posted by David Stambaugh (Member # 1102) on 01-05-2004, 06:39 PM:
 
Goldfinger. Great movie, and the way Shirley Bassey belts out the theme song is totally cool. [thumbsup] [thumbsup]
 
Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 01-05-2004, 07:08 PM:
 
Wow, so many OHMSS fans! It's my favorite too, along with Diamonds (even if only because it was shot here).

"He had a lot of guts."
 
Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 01-05-2004, 07:56 PM:
 
From Russia With Love

No doubt about it
 
Posted by Will Kutler (Member # 770) on 01-05-2004, 08:41 PM:
 
OCTPUSSY [Big Grin] [Razz] [sex] [beer] [thumbsup]
 
Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 01-05-2004, 10:37 PM:
 
Here is some interesting background from imdb:

Lazenby was working in Paris, France as the top male super-model on the Paris runways at the time Connery made his announcement. Since Lazenby was out of England at the time, and did not speak French, he had no idea Connery had even quit. George did not learn that his idol would no longer be Bond until he returned to London two weeks later.

Meanwhile, Cubby Broccoli remembered a man he’d seen at a hairdresser 3 years previously. At the time he’d thought what a good Bond he might make, had discovered he was a model and had made a note of his name. Now he called him in for a screen test. Lazenby performed excellently during a fight sequence, impressed both producers and United Artists and was duly signed for the role. During filming, he became increasingly difficult to work with and alienated the crew. Broccoli and Saltzman became upset with their star's ego and attitude. On five separate occasions during filming, Broccoli approached Lazenby with a seven Bond movie/five non-Bond movie deal and Lazenby declined each time. This wore very thin on Broccoli's patience.

On December 18th, 1969, On Her Majesty's Secret Service premiered. Finally, the world saw the second James Bond. Lazenby showed up at the premiere with long hair and a beard, which greatly angered Broccoli. Then Lazenby's publicist announced at the premiere that George would not make another Bond film, making Secret Service his only Bond movie. When Broccoli and Saltzman heard this, Lazenby was released from his contract which still had another year on it.

Lazenby then took off on a trip to sail around the world for a year on his newly purchased yacht. Lazenby's agent told him there would be dozens of movie offers waiting for him on his desk when he got back. During the year Lazenby was gone, On Her Majesty's Secret Service became the second lowest grossing of the six Bond films to date, and Cubby Broccoli allegedly told just about every producer in The United Kingdom and United States that he was absolutely impossible to deal with.

He returned to London in early 1971 and found zero movie offers on his agent's desk. He also found that he could not get a role or even an interview as seemingly no one wanted to work with him. UA had meanwhile black-listed Lazenby in a public relations effort to make the public believe Secret Service had a lower Bond movie gross because of George. The public was making an outcry for Sean Connery to return as Bond, and George had spent nearly all of his money on his year long trip.
 
Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 01-05-2004, 11:48 PM:
 
The best Bond movie ever is: Whatever one we happen to be playing. :wink:

Seriously, I have enjoyed all the Brosnan movies. I like the higher-tech look of them, I guess.
 
Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 01-06-2004, 12:18 AM:
 
Casino Royale
 
Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 01-06-2004, 02:52 AM:
 
I actually liked "Never Say Never Again" quite a bit.

How many of the Bond movies have scenes in The Bahamas?
 
Posted by Jonathan Worthing (Member # 803) on 01-06-2004, 03:14 AM:
 
quote:
Casino Royale
I forgot about this one.

I have to get this one. Although I am not a great fan of this film . Perhaps that is why only counted 21 & Not 22 films.

So much for the Bond Box-set It was already looking a bit roppy with "Never Say Never Again" in the middle. Spliting the second 0 in the 007 picture on the back of the DVD boxes.
 
Posted by Thomas Hauerslev (Member # 566) on 01-06-2004, 05:14 AM:
 
OHMSS = Link to Piz Gloria in the Alpes. See live images and text in English
 
Posted by Jeff Stricker (Member # 224) on 01-06-2004, 05:58 AM:
 
GOLDFINGER!! [Wink] I remember seeing this with my high school buddies when it was first released.
 
Posted by Hillary Charles (Member # 769) on 01-06-2004, 08:21 AM:
 
Love the link to Piz Gloria! When I worked in the photo lab, everyone in the store heard me yelp when a customer's roll of prints came out of the drier. They were there! When the customer saw how excited I was about it, they allowed me to make a couple duplicates for my "collection." It's cool the name "Piz Gloria" was retained.

I really enjoy all the Bond movies. Even the non-official ones, "Casino Royale" and "Never Say Never Again" have much to offer. I amazed John the week between Christmas and New Year when Spike TV ran the Bonds. I told him that if he flips on to that channel, I WILL NAME THE TITLE OF THE MOVIE WITHIN TWO SECONDS. Any shot, any scene, anywhere in the movie. I was able to do it 100% of the time, usually within one second. He said it would be nice if I could turn that ability into money. Had I known "Beat the Geeks" would have had a Bond Geek, I would have tried out to challenge him.

Oh yeah, I've got the OHMSS one-sheet hanging up as part of our holiday decorations. Groovy!
 
Posted by Per Hauberg (Member # 529) on 01-06-2004, 11:54 AM:
 
For Best film:
1) OHMSS
2) From Russia
3) Goldfinger

Todays bond films are just avarage big budget action-films, totally lacking what Ian Fleming did.

Best 007 definitely Connery, but with Lazenby a very close nr 2
As far as I know, the succes went a bit to much to the head of our australian friend, who went primadonna and therefore sacked.
If he had behaved, we would really have been saved some baddies.

Oh God, what would those avalance scenes at Piz Gloria have been on a 65 neg...

p.
 
Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 01-06-2004, 12:00 PM:
 
Although my favorite bond is Connery, my two favorite bond films are Roger Moore.

Live and Let Die and For Your Eyes Only.

My favorite Connery film is Goldfinger of course.
 
Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 01-06-2004, 06:34 PM:
 
"Goldfinger" is the quintessential Bond movie.
 
Posted by Charles Everett (Member # 889) on 01-07-2004, 11:41 AM:
 
A happy coincidence for our US Film-Techers! AMC (the TV channel) is running "008 Days of 007" starting tonight. They'll run 6 with Sean Connery and 2 with Roger Moore.

Favorite 007: Sean Connery. Favorite Bond movie: Goldfinger. Best themes: "Goldfinger" (Shirley Bassey) and "Thunderball" (Tom Jones) -- both were huge hits on 77 WABC!
 
Posted by Lionel Fouillen (Member # 1475) on 01-07-2004, 01:19 PM:
 
'Goldfinger'! Gert Froebe rocked as one of the greatest Bond villains.

I loved Moonraker and For Your Eyes Only as well, and always thought 'Never Say Never Again' was a cheap remake...
 
Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 01-07-2004, 07:31 PM:
 
A little trivia
According to the "Making Of" in the extras section of the DVD, Gert Fröbe spoke not a word of english when he arrived on the set of Goldfinger. His lines were dubbed
 
Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 01-07-2004, 07:50 PM:
 
I heard that too. It is interesting because the voice in the movie is his voice and he also has a very noticeable accent. There is even a line in the movie where sombody says "Goldfinger is English, even if it`s hard to believe" or something like that. So did he deliver his lines in German and then later dubbed himself? That wouldn`t make sense. Froebe also acted in English in a number of other movies, such as "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" or "Those Magnificient Men...", though he played German characters in those movies and his accent was more "adequate".
 
Posted by Christian Appelt (Member # 1067) on 01-08-2004, 12:03 PM:
 
I think he spoke his lines in English to make postsynchronizing easier. It was quite a surprise for me to hear another voice when I saw GOLDFINGER in English for the first time, because in the German language version Froebe dubbed himself. But the English voice is very close to his own, if I remember it correctly.
 
Posted by William Leland III (Member # 1400) on 01-08-2004, 12:21 PM:
 
i always liked Dr.No alittle more than the others. "From Russia with Love and "Goldfinger" finish out my top 2 and 3.

i wish Timothy Dalton did more Bonds, i thought he brought more of and "darker" Bond to the series.
 
Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 01-08-2004, 02:05 PM:
 
The voice in the English version of Goldfinger is Froebe`s voice. If they had dubbed him with a similar English voice, why would they have imitated his accent when the character is supposed to be English? That doesn`t make sense. Anyway, it is his voice and he also has the same accent as in his other English movie appearances.
 
Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 01-09-2004, 01:30 PM:
 
That must be one of those rumors that got started on the Internet or something. I find it hard to believe that Froebe's voice is dubbed, especially in the location scenes where overdubbing in those days was particularly evident.
 
Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 01-09-2004, 04:14 PM:
 
I think it is also mentioned in the making of section of the DVD like Greg said. Now it made me really curious. I will have to rent the DVD again and check.
 
Posted by Greg Mueller (Member # 17) on 01-09-2004, 04:23 PM:
 
I don't believe they said who did the actual dubbing on the DVD, but I could have missed it. They did say that they had him speak his lines quite quickly so his mouth didn't move a lot
 
Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 01-09-2004, 11:02 PM:
 
I did a little research on the net. Several sources say Froebe was dubbed by Michael Collins. That is an interesting detail, however, I still find it hard to believe as the voice sounds so much like Froebe (which could be good voice casting, of course) and Goldfinger has this very strong accent. Why would they dub him with an English actor doing a German accent when the character is supposed to be English?
 
Posted by Serge Bosschaerts (Member # 298) on 01-10-2004, 10:40 AM:
 
OHMSS for me also followed by Goldfinger and The Spy Who Love Me
 
Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 01-10-2004, 10:47 AM:
 
Thanks, Michael. That's a puzzler, for sure. Was Froebe so recognized as a German actor, maybe, that an English accent wouldn't "sell" on the screen? Just trying to account for the logic...

[Frown]
 
Posted by Christian Appelt (Member # 1067) on 01-10-2004, 11:59 AM:
 
Michael, there is another reason to believe that it is not Froebe's own voice: No matter what language he spoke, you always could hear a very remains accent of his Saxonia (Sachsen) dialect, a dialect spoken in some parts of eastern Germany. This "singing" quality could be heard as well when Froebe spoke English, like in CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG.

The Goldfinger voice in the English version does not display such traces of dialect.

BTW, Greg used the "umlaut" in one of his posts, so it`s Gert Fröbe instead of Froebe. Does the letter "ö" appear on your US screen fonts correctly?
 
Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 01-12-2004, 01:25 AM:
 
quote:
Does the letter "ö" appear on your US screen fonts correctly?
Yes. Since heavy metal music became widespread in the US decades ago, all font sets are umlaut-agile.
 
Posted by William Leland III (Member # 1400) on 01-13-2004, 09:56 AM:
 
to hopfully add some light on the "Goldfinger" Froebe myth. i have the vhs extra making of "Goldfinger" and the director says, "i remember seeing Froebe on tape and he's wonderful for the part of Goldfinger," he say's and i quote," does he speak english." someone tells the director yes.

well when the director meets Froebe he says and i quote," he doesn't speak a word of english."

Froebe voice was dubbed. it comes from the director's mouth.

since i soleved this myth what do i win??? [Big Grin]
 
Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 01-13-2004, 10:30 AM:
 
Nothing! Unless it was D-VHS it's not a perfect answer.
 
Posted by Bill Gabel (Member # 1105) on 01-20-2004, 02:33 PM:
 
My favorite Bond is "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", I got to see it in IB Tech at the Academy Theatre in Beverly Hills along with "From Russia With Love". [thumbsup]

Here is the run down of the voted Bonds.

*=not part of the regular Bond series.
 
Posted by Hillary Charles (Member # 769) on 01-21-2004, 05:35 PM:
 
A collector I know had a beautiful IB print of OHMSS. It was one of the sharpest prints I've ever seen, and the color...!

Not too long ago, he told me he traded it away. [Eek!]

I was hoping to have been able to afford to buy it from him someday, but I thought I had all the time in the world. [Wink]
 
Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 01-21-2004, 10:40 PM:
 
I finally found some time to rewatch "Goldfinger". The making of mentioned by Mr Leland III is also on the DVD.
There is of course no reason to doubt what the director says, but I wanted to see (hear) for myself, as there were still some open questions.
Anyway, most of Froebe`s role is indeed dubbed - but not all of it. The dubbing is done very well and the voice of Michael Collins is very close to Froebe`s. But if you listen very carefully, you can hear the difference:
In the first scene (chapter 5) when Goldfinger comes into the pool area to play cards, Froebe speaks himself ("Could I have my usual seat?"). In the golf scene (chapter 12), he is dubbed, indeed it appears he is dubbed in most of the scenes I sampled. But I had no time to watch the whole movie. Froebe`s voice is a little more guttural, throaty than Collins`. Also, Collins rolls the r in classic British fashion.
Apparently they came up with this solution because Froebe had problems delivering his more complex lines clearly. But at the same time, Collins seems to have tried very hard (and successfully) not to give Goldfinger a typical British sound, but to copy Froebe`s way of speaking to maintain the strange undertone of the character.
A little bit of trivia here for you fans of film history: Guy Hamilton tells us that he saw Froebe playing a child molestor in an unnamed German movie and decided he was the right Goldfinger. That movie was Es geschah am hellichten Tag (It Happened in Broad Daylight) , a very daring movie for 1958. It was remade with Jack Nicholson in 2001: The Pledge.
 




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