Most Recommended Bond Films

[zen]

The list to be discussed here is not necessarily about our favorite Bond films but the ones that we would recommend the most considering a certain bandwidth in general taste especially in 2020. The Bond franchise has been catering to its ardent followers since 1960s of which many still hold on to their charm, while some have faded away waiting to be rediscovered at an appropriate point in time. I say an appropriate point in time because over the years I have seen films that were criticized at some point to be referred to as classics later on and vice versa. Today, we have 24 official films and Never Say Never Again. 

 

When it comes to my favorites list, my choices would have a variety, which is required as over the years Bond films have operated in various spectrums. At one end, you could have the Lewis Gilbert directed You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me, and Moonraker. In a way, all three films are similar with key difference being the final act being carried out on land, in water, and in the space, and of course other differences would include the locations, the score, and other such aspects. At the other end, you have what I call "weird and/or wild" Bond films such as Live And Let Die and Octopussy. These films have their own charm and are different from the super villain films. Somewhere in between you have relatively different films such From Russia With Love, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Licence to Kill, and Casino Royale. There is a space where classic Bond films such as Goldfinger and Thunderball are present too. My favorite list would include a selection from this broad spectrum. While my recommended list would be limited to the ones that provides a Bond experience that is commonly perceived.

 

With that out of the way, below is my recommended five, which have aged well and/or are relevant in 2020:

 

• Terence Young directed films. Terence Young directed three of the first four big films. Needless to say he is the director that has made the biggest impact on the franchise. He is said to have taken Sean Connery under his wings, therefore his influence on how the character is played can be observed. As a director who understands what Bond films are about, you would find the best use of locations and background score, along with elegance. Two of his films are shot in the Caribbeans, a location that works best for Bond films, and one in Istanbul and Venice. Therefore, my first recommendation is a couple of his films From Russia With Love and Thunderball. From Russia With Love is one of the two pre "Bond formula" days films and can feel "Hitchcockian", while Thunderball perfects the Bond formula.   
• Among the first big four classic films is Goldfinger, which established what is referred to as the Bond formula. And the one to check out. 
• We talked about the three Lewis Gilbert films earlier - watching one of those would capture the spirit of the three for most parts. Among Gilbert directed films, I would recommend The Spy Who Loved Me. It is also the film that introduced big stunts to the franchise. 
• With the classics out of the way, I will jump straight to the latest Bond films and recommend Casino Royale. It is one of the films that is enjoyed by even those who are not big Bond film fans. 
• As a bonus, if you want more, I would also suggest watching these two films as a group. Though these were released more than ten years apart, the ending of one can be related to the beginning of the other, therefore it can feel as if the story continues even though two different actors play Bond. The tone of the films is also similar. The two films to be watched in conjunction with each other are On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) and For Your Eyes Only (1981). You would start with the 1969 one and end with the 1981 one. 

 

Edited April 21, 2020 by zen

[diga]

whats this obsession with Bond films? Are you writing a book on them?

[zen]

Just now, diga said:

whats this obsession with Bond films? Are you writing a book on them?

Have not considered that but I could

[zen]

I see the following as Bond fans to varying degrees as they post on Bond related threads w/ passion - @coffee_rules @velu @Jimmy Cliff @Ankit_sharma03 @sandeep @Turning_track and the others

 

In lieu of NTTD (postponed), I was wondering if we can do an exercise where we watch one of these every week, and discuss in the respective week 

 

To discuss: 

• How it holds up in 2020?
• Favorite part?
• Least favorite part?
• Rating out of 10
• And so on 

 

Schedule with week beginning on Friday:

 

• FRWL - Week of April 24th
• TB - Week of May 1st 
• GF - Week of May 8th
• TSWLM - Week of May 15th
• CR - Week of May 22nd 
• OHMSS and FYEO - Week of May 31st 

 

Let me know your thoughts on the mini Bond film festival! 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 21, 2020 by zen

[zen]

Pinging @maniac too to for the “festival” as I think he likes classic Bond
 

Edited April 21, 2020 by zen

[coffee_rules]

5 hours ago, zen said:

I see the following as Bond fans to varying degrees as they post on Bond related threads w/ passion - @coffee_rules @velu @Jimmy Cliff @Ankit_sharma03 @sandeep @Turning_track and the others

 

In lieu of NTTD (postponed), I was wondering if we can do an exercise where we watch one of these every week, and discuss in the respective week 

 

To discuss: 

• How it holds up in 2020?
• Favorite part?
• Least favorite part?
• Rating out of 10
• And so on 

 

Schedule with week beginning on Friday:

 

• FRWL - Week of April 24th
• TB - Week of May 1st 
• GF - Week of May 8th
• TSWLM - Week of May 15th
• CR - Week of May 22nd 
• OHMSS and FYEO - Week of May 31st 

 

Let me know your thoughts on the mini Bond film festival! 

 

 

 

 

Am up for it. Nice exercise. Can you give a streaming service that has these movies? I thought I saw FRWL on Amazon 

 

yes it is on Amazon 4K UHD

Edited April 22, 2020 by coffee_rules

[zen]

3 minutes ago, coffee_rules said:

Am up for it. Nice exercise. Can you give a streaming service that has these movies? I thought I saw FRWL on Amazon 

 

yes it is on Amazon 4K UHD

Great! .... Yeah, they should be available on Amazon, Netflix, Epix, Hulu, Vudu, Google Play, and so on. Many channels would even have them for free (subscription), while some will have free trial as well .... If people do not have access to these, on iTunes, the 4K version is available for rent for less than $1 right now. 

 

I have all these on blu-rays, and the Connery ones also on 4K iTunes. 

[maniac]

23 hours ago, zen said:

Pinging @maniac too to for the “festival” as I think he likes classic Bond
 

I like the Brosnan era Bond the best.
 

Over the top and fun and for our  generation especially  Brosnan will always be the favorite  James Bond.  James Bond movies are always supposed to be like that and Brosnan bond movies are super entertaining like a masala Indian movie.
 

I think Craig is probably the best actor to play Bond. Brosnan and Connery are stars but not exactly all round actors.

 

However the new bond is trying to be too hard to be gritty but we already saw that with Bourne which was a great alternative to Bond but I think James Bond franchise is losing its identity and trying to become Jason Bourne .

 

On the other hand the MI series has taken over the over the top stunts and storylines, hot women, memorable villains associated with Bond movies.

 

I can remember all the recent MI movies thanks to their ridiculous stunts you associate with Bond Movies like the chase sequence in the new one, the water tank sequence, the Burj Khalifa stunts or Mi2 a movie that has been ripped off for its stunts by every masala South Indian and Bollywood movie.

 

So I am looking forward to the next phase of Bond after Craig.

 

However overall I am a fan of the franchise

Edited April 22, 2020 by maniac

[zen]

Noticed that many of the Bond films available on subscription based streaming services such as Amazon, Epix, Netflix, etc., would be leaving on April 30th - May 1st 

 

 

[zen]

23 hours ago, maniac said:

I like the Brosnan era Bond the best.

 

However overall I am a fan of the franchise

At the end of the day, can't go wrong with 007!

[zen]

The festival started for me 1 day early. Watched FRWL

 

• How it holds up in 2020: Perfectly. If you were a Bond novels fan and wanted to see a period Bond film, this is it! Has all the old fashioned spy stuff including quirky gadgets. Not just as a Bond film, but also as a spy thriller, this is among the best. 
• Favorite part: Too many including 007's entry in to Istanbul and the drama on the train. The frequent use of the Bond theme. Locations: Istanbul is fabulously captured, along w/ the spirit of that time. 
• Least favorite part: Not much but if I have to list may be the laid back truck and boat chase after the intense drama on the train. 
• Rating out of 10: This is my 9-10/10 Bond film. Will give it 10/10 this time! 

[zen]

Jumped the que to watch CR as I wanted to watch it in 4K Dolby Vision so I rented it impulsively to compare it with the HD version.  

 

• How it holds up in 2020: Watching it after FRWL, makes you feel that this is Craig's FRWL. Both are relatively different films in Bond's arsenal. Venice too is one of the locations. Bahamas and Montenegro (shot in Czech Republic) add character to the story. 
• Favorite part: The Bahamas segment. The chase in Madagascar. Bond’s handling of the torture and poisoning. The beautifully shot locations of Nassau, Montenegro (Czech) and Venice.
• Least favorite part: Certain segments like the one after Le Chiffre's death can slow the film down. The background score works for the film but you can miss the Bond theme which makes its entry at the end, when it is implied that Bond becomes "Bond, James Bond." 
• Rating out of 10:  Usually, this is my 8-9/10 Bond film. Will give it 9.5/10 on this occasion. Brilliant! 

Edited April 25, 2020 by zen

[zen]

I was wondering if anyone noticed Richard Branson going through the security at Miami Airport in CR? 

[coffee_rules]

FRWL still holds up to this time, proves Bond is still relevant. It has old school spy tricks, quirks, one-liners and suave action. Some of the action scenes seem dated, but the plot, direction must have been beyond it's time in 1963. Must have set the trend for later bond movies, as Dr. No is quite old and dated. The fast paced action, suspense, cool hero. girls, gadgets and finally sexist one-liners from Bond. No wonder feminists have a bone to pick about Bond and have complained about Bond's objectifying of women. Ian Fleming kept it apolitical without picking any sides. SMERSH was not totally evil, but SPECTRE is supposed to be playing narada between West and Russia. trying to get them to fight wars. Russians were easily played by defections from SMERSH to SPECTRE without them having a facking clue. 

 

Fav part: Istanbul parts , outdoors. It was so european and unIslamic. People dressed in western attire and looked european. The gypsy part was unreal and made for movies. I didn't think there was no such culture in and around Turkey, but Bulgarians fighting a turf war with Turks , Russians behind them was all very well executed.  I think the raw action in the end, is similar to Craig's Bond. We never see earlier Bond getting dirty, the fights were more suave and cool. Here. for a change, we get to see Sean COnnery play dirty although it was just one scene. I wish they had stuck to playing Bond that way.

 

[SPOILERS}

Least fav part: Grant had so much time to kill Bond, it is comical that he falls into his trap. I feel like saying the lines from Good, Bad and Ugly when Eli Wallach says, "if you have come to shoot, shoot, don't talk!". As soon has he got the leKtor, he could have shot Bond, but sits him down and tells the entire plot of SPECTRE to him.  For a guy who was trained specifically to kill Bond, he is stupid!

 

Rating 7.5/10. 

Edited April 26, 2020 by coffee_rules

[zen]

27 minutes ago, coffee_rules said:

The gypsy part was unreal and made for movies

Gypsies are mentioned in the book too. 

 

27 minutes ago, coffee_rules said:

As soon has he got the leKtor, he could have shot Bond, but sits him down and tells the entire plot of SPECTRE to him.

Bond villains usually use elaborate plans to kill Bond. And of course, Bond is expected to survive somehow, being the central character of the series. If he is just shot then the book/film ends abruptly 

[coffee_rules]

2 hours ago, zen said:

Gypsies are mentioned in the book too. 

Clearly, the cat fight too, was in the book? 

2 hours ago, zen said:

Bond villains usually use elaborate plans to kill Bond. And of course, Bond is expected to survive somehow, being the central character of the series. If he is just shot then the book/film ends abruptly 

 I know, after a long time, I realize such things in movies are made up as an escape route. Am an Alistair MaClean fan, even he had such sill plotholes,

[zen]

1 hour ago, coffee_rules said:

Clearly, the cat fight too, was in the book? 

Yeah! 

 

"  Again it was the big girl, Zora, who made the first move with a sudden forward leap and arms held out like a wrestler’s. But Vida stood her ground. Her right foot lashed out in a furious coup de savate that made a slap like a pistol shot. The big girl gave a wounded cry and clutched at herself. At once Vida’s other foot kicked up to the stomach and she threw herself in after it.

 

There was a low growl from the crowd as Zora went down on her knees. Her hands went up to protect her face, but it was too late. The smaller girl was astride her, and her hands grasped Zora’s wrists as she bore down on her with all her weight and bent her to the ground, her bared white teeth reaching towards the offered neck.

 

‘BOOM!’

 

The explosion cracked the tension like a nut. A flash of flame lit the darkness behind the dance floor and a chunk of masonry sang past Bond’s ear. Suddenly the orchard was full of running men and the head gipsy was slinking forward across the stone with his curved dagger held out in front of him. Kerim was going after him, a gun in his hand. As the gipsy passed the two girls, now standing wild-eyed and trembling, he shouted a word at them and they took to their heels and disappeared among the trees where the last of the women and children were already vanishing among the shadows.

 

Bond, the Beretta held uncertainly in his hand, followed slowly in the wake of Kerim towards the wide breach that had been blown out of the garden wall, and wondered what the hell was going on.

 

The stretch of grass between the hole in the wall and the dance floor was a turmoil of fighting, running figures. It was only as Bond came up with the fight that he distinguished the squat, conventionally dressed Bulgars from the swirling finery of the gipsies. There seemed to be more of the Faceless Ones than of the gipsies, almost two to one. As Bond peered into the struggling mass, a gipsy youth was ejected from it, clutching his stomach. He groped towards Bond, coughing terribly. Two small dark men came after him, their knives held low.

 

Instinctively Bond stepped to one side so that the crowd was not behind the two men. He aimed at their legs above the knees and the gun in his hand cracked twice. The two men fell, soundlessly, face downwards in the grass.

 

Two bullets gone. Only six left. Bond edged closer to the fight. "

 

 

 

 

The 60s films, YOLT relatively less so, along with FYEO, TLD (builds upon the short story) and CR, have a lot in common with the books of the same names. 

 

 

Quote

 I know, after a long time, I realize such things in movies are made up as an escape route. Am an Alistair MaClean fan, even he had such sill plotholes,

 

Also an opportunity for exposition or recap for audiences  .... Talking about the villains using various methods to kill Bond: 

 

https://youtu.be/kmH0PP_zAKo?t=106

Edited April 27, 2020 by zen

[Vilander]

Skyfall.

 

Its the best, not even a competition.

[zen]

On to TB! 

• How it holds up in 2020: Sports the mega plot of Bond saves the world. It is sleek and stylish, much like what many Bond fans expect Bond films to be. Perfects the Bond formula. The film is also unique as it has a lot of underwater sequences, an USP in its time. The plane hijacking reminded me of the disappearance of MH370. 
• Favorite part: The SPECTRE meeting in Paris, which is what big Bond villains are about. Bond's detective work at Shrublands. The underwater meeting with Domino. The to and fro b/w Bond and SPECTRE. Luciana Paluzzi's performance as Fiona. The background score works well for the film. And most of the film is shot at Bond's favorite location - Caribbeans (Bahamas in this one) w/ lots of water. 
• Least favorite part: The underwater fights during the finale could be have been shorter. 
• Rating out of 10: This is my 8-9/10 Bond film. I gave FRWL 10 and CR 9.5. This one is right up there with the best Bond films if not better so will give it 9.5/10! 

[zen]

GF .... at this rate, I could finish rewatching all the films 

 

• How it holds up in 2020: This is a laid back Bond film focused relatively more on drama. This is also one of the rare instances where the film improves upon the book in almost every department. The film sets the Bond formula including the meeting with Q in his department. Overall, it does hold up apart from some sections which can appear old school, however, luckily, those do not distract. 
• Favorite part: Bond's encounter with Goldfinger in Miami. The golf match. Bond in Switzerland, which is among the best segments of the franchise. Goldfinger as a cool villain. Oddjob makes his presence felt as the key henchman. Bond gets introduced to his Aston Martin. Background score w/ an oriental touch. 
• Least favorite part: The Fort Knox spraying part. The execution of this particular segment does look old school. 
• Rating out of 10: This is my 8-9/10 Bond film. I will stick with 8.5/10. This will continue to hold the classic status for elements such as Goldfinger as villain, Bond in Switzerland segment, the background score and theme song, along with the iconic image of the the girl painted in gold. 

Edited April 30, 2020 by zen