James Bond: The Ultimate Collection (1962-2012) + Volume Collections

[imsounoriginal]

Originally Posted by Dreamliner330

I know, but the series sets are by actor.

Perhaps. I really wish it had a tighter edit.

I tend not to always go with the flow (Example, I despised Birdman last year, I had the misfortune of listening to critics and having to suffer through it in theater...at the expense of missing out on Nightcrawler! I also think Interstellar is the greatest film ever made. I cried in different spots each one of the 4 times I saw it in 70mm IMAX and once in Digital IMAX, no lie). I will say though, in a lot of ways, Goldfinger really stands out so far, so I tend to agree with many people in regards to the reverence of Goldfinger.

Quick side note, was it super super common to redub everone back in the 60's? So many of the actors in Bond had their dialog redubbed to someone else...lol.

But honestly, even though I grew up with Brosnan, nothing holds a candle to Craig. I do think that if Brosnan did Casino Royale, it would have turned out just as well. It had the same director as GoldenEye and I really do like Brosnan. I was really disappointed in November Man. I was hoping for a 007-esk film/series again with Brosnan.

I couldn't stop thinking of bits from Austin Powers while watching these. I'll definitely have to pick up the Austin Powers trilogy once I've finish all these Bonds.

I'm doing about 2 bond films per day. With the bonus features (even playing at 1.5x) it's taking quite a bit of time to get through each disc.

Goldfinger is my favorite movie, James Bond or otherwise. Not saying it's the best movie ever made, but for me, the most enjoyable and watchable at just about any time. It basically set the formula for what the Bond movies would be for the next 40ish years til Craig came along, minus a couple of them. Makes sense that you'd think it's the best of the older ones so far. Curious to hear your thoughts on OHMSS and TSWLM if/when you get to them. (And yes, the dubbing was very common; a lot of the foreign actors, especially Bond girls, spoke very little or no English, especially in YOLT.)

[Grifter02]

Originally Posted by BNex99

Obviously, you can go in whatever order you want, but you know OHMSS came before Diamonds Are Forever, right?

Originally Posted by Dreamliner330

I know, but the series sets are by actor.

But this is one of the only times in the franchise where it actually matters, because DAF picks up immediately after OHMSS. That opening scene must have made no sense to you without knowing how OHMSS ends.

Having said that, DAF is just a bad movie, regardless. So maybe it doesn't really matter.

[dvdmike]

Originally Posted by Nada

There it is. I don't think you like James Bond. Craig's movies, aside from Casino Royale, are mostly for people that think they're above a Bond movie, that a Bond movie shouldn't be campy or colorful or fun. I think that's the kind of viewer you are.

Pure rubbish sorry, campy? Have you read Flemming? Or just stuck in a late Connery and total Moore time warp?
Dalton was the closest to Bond, and the Craig films are not fully serious.
The Brosnan films that were written for him are garbage mostly, but as a Bond fan I enjoy them in parts, and they have the most camp of any Bond films

[Dunemoon]

Originally Posted by Nada

There it is. I don't think you like James Bond. Craig's movies, aside from Casino Royale, are mostly for people that think they're above a Bond movie, that a Bond movie shouldn't be campy or colorful or fun. I think that's the kind of viewer you are.

Nail on the head

Spectre will just be another pretentious art-house film devoid of heart and soul. LTK (1989) was the last decent one.

[Dreamliner330]

Originally Posted by Grifter02

But this is one of the only times in the franchise where it actually matters, because DAF picks up immediately after OHMSS. That opening scene must have made no sense to you without knowing how OHMSS ends.

Having said that, DAF is just a bad movie, regardless. So maybe it doesn't really matter.

Yeah, I was a little confused. I probably should have realized but for the most part none of the other films really had anything to do with each other, it figures I would pick the one to watch out of order that shouldn't have been.

[Nada]

Originally Posted by dvdmike

Pure rubbish sorry, campy? Have you read Flemming? Or just stuck in a late Connery and total Moore time warp?
Dalton was the closest to Bond, and the Craig films are not fully serious.
The Brosnan films that were written for him are garbage mostly, but as a Bond fan I enjoy them in parts, and they have the most camp of any Bond films

The novels are very pulpy. Perhaps not outright camp in the vein of Moonraker or Diamonds are Forever, but not dour or downbeat that often. Dalton is my favorite Bond, by the way. His films were serious, but still had moments of levity and a heightened sense of reality. Quantum and Skyfall have swung too far in the "serious" side and have kind of forgotten to be fun and humorous. And no, making jokes about how they don't have real gadgets does not constitute humor.

[dvdmike]

Originally Posted by Nada

The novels are very pulpy. Perhaps not outright camp in the vein of Moonraker or Diamonds are Forever, but not dour or downbeat that often. Dalton is my favorite Bond, by the way. His films were serious, but still had moments of levity and a heightened sense of reality. Quantum and Skyfall have swung too far in the "serious" side and have kind of forgotten to be fun and humorous. And no, making jokes about how they don't have real gadgets does not constitute humor.

I laughed in them

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by Grifter02

But this is one of the only times in the franchise where it actually matters, because DAF picks up immediately after OHMSS. That opening scene must have made no sense to you without knowing how OHMSS ends.

Having said that, DAF is just a bad movie, regardless. So maybe it doesn't really matter.

Originally Posted by Dreamliner330

Yeah, I was a little confused. I probably should have realized but for the most part none of the other films really had anything to do with each other, it figures I would pick the one to watch out of order that shouldn't have been.

Huh, what? Diamonds are Forever doesn't pick up where OHMSS ends off. Hardly. If anything, it marks the return of Connery by picking up where YOLT left off and ignores OHMSS entirely. The first shot of DAF is in Japan, where YOLT left off. The pre-title sequence has Bond searching the world for Blofeld, something he was already doing prior to OHMSS. In fact, it could be Bond searching for Blofeld after he gave him the slip at the end of YOLT. Even if it didn't ignore OHMSS, it's not like there's dialogue referring to OHMSS like Bond angrily saying to Blofeld that he's going to kill him for murdering his wife, in fact throughout the movie Bond and Blofeld have that typical gentlemanly cordiality Bond always has with the villains, hardly someone out for personal revenge. So for a first time viewer who skips over OHMSS, I don't really see how there could be much, if any, confusion.

[Scarface32]

My favorite is License to Kill staring Timothy Dalton.

[MattO]

Originally Posted by Nada

There it is. I don't think you like James Bond. Craig's movies, aside from Casino Royale, are mostly for people that think they're above a Bond movie, that a Bond movie shouldn't be campy or colorful or fun. I think that's the kind of viewer you are.

I'm not sure that's true, after his stating that he really enjoyed Goldfinger. Think Oddjob and his hat, the guard shack granny (I'd forgotten about her - she's awesome) and a character named ***** Galore. I'm think he's more open minded than you're allowing.

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by MattO

I'm not sure that's true, after his stating that he really enjoyed Goldfinger. Think Oddjob and his hat, the guard shack granny (I'd forgotten about her - she's awesome) and a character named ***** Galore. I'm think he's more open minded than you're allowing.

I dunno, this guy's all over the place. He says he doesn't like cheese, yet Goldfinger is arguably full of it. And I give up on anyone who actually uses the sentence "Dude, the music is totally wack" without a hint of irony.

[lkmg]

Seems like not that many people listed Skyfall as their favorite JB movie, I wonder why....

[italy12]

Originally Posted by Dreamliner330

Oh man. Thunderball was horrible. Hokey acting, bad dialog, forgettable Bond girl and dumb villain. It also felt a good 30 minutes too long. Dragged on forever.

Dr No was okay (The Jamaican music made the movie feel really old) but good otherwise. From Russia With Love was better, Goldfinger was better still (even if the score was overused). Thunderball was just felt like an enormous step down and makes me even more nervous going forward. (I've only seen Brosnan and Craig before).

I am going to assume that you're pretty young by my standards (I'm 38), and I kind of enjoy seeing/hearing what people who have not experienced the Connery/Moore films first have to say about them since they (you) have only seen the newer, more flashier, action packed Bond films made using today's technology.

While I love these new films and love the direction in which the series is going, I feel it could not have gotten there if it weren't for the 1960's-era Bond films. Yes, they are very different by today's standards, even as far as acting goes (let's not even compare special effects), but those films paved the way for what today's generation gets to enjoy.

The Bond films after Thunderball are kind of a mixed bag. There are certainly many guilty pleasures, as I find some of the films that are universally not liked pretty awesome, but that's part of the nostalgia for me. I grew up, not seeing these upon release, but watching these with my father and slightly older brother on VHS tapes. I remember owning my very own VHS Bond collection when Goldeneye came out.

Keep us posted on your thoughts about You Only Live Twice and On Her Majesty's Secret Service (my personal favorite out of all Bond films) if you are watching them in order.

[Grifter02]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

Huh, what? Diamonds are Forever doesn't pick up where OHMSS ends off. Hardly. If anything, it marks the return of Connery by picking up where YOLT left off and ignores OHMSS entirely. The first shot of DAF is in Japan, where YOLT left off. The pre-title sequence has Bond searching the world for Blofeld, something he was already doing prior to OHMSS. In fact, it could be Bond searching for Blofeld after he gave him the slip at the end of YOLT. Even if it didn't ignore OHMSS, it's not like there's dialogue referring to OHMSS like Bond angrily saying to Blofeld that he's going to kill him for murdering his wife, in fact throughout the movie Bond and Blofeld have that typical gentlemanly cordiality Bond always has with the villains, hardly someone out for personal revenge. So for a first time viewer who skips over OHMSS, I don't really see how there could be much, if any, confusion.

It seemed like a personal vendetta to me. Especially since he was outright looking to kill him.

According to the information I can find, they originally intended for

[Show spoiler]Tracy to die

in the opening of DAF, but after Lazenby quit they opted to move that scene to the end of OHMSS and just have Bond going after Blofeld in the opening of DAF.

You're right they don't actually say why he's chasing Blofeld, but it was the original intention that he was looking for vengeance.

[Nada]

Originally Posted by lkmg

Seems like not that many people listed Skyfall as their favorite JB movie, I wonder why....

Because it's not their favorite Bond movie.

[Nada]

Originally Posted by Grifter02

It seemed like a personal vendetta to me. Especially since he was outright looking to kill him.

According to the information I can find, they originally intended for

[Show spoiler]Tracy to die

in the opening of DAF, but after Lazenby quit they opted to move that scene to the end of OHMSS and just have Bond going after Blofeld in the opening of DAF.

You're right they don't actually say why he's chasing Blofeld, but it was the original intention that he was looking for vengeance.

Yeah, I always took it that he was looking for Blofeld for revenge for Tracy's murder, though you could take it either way, which was likely intentional.

[balthazar_bee]

Originally Posted by Nada

There it is. I don't think you like James Bond. Craig's movies, aside from Casino Royale, are mostly for people that think they're above a Bond movie, that a Bond movie shouldn't be campy or colorful or fun. I think that's the kind of viewer you are.

There are also viewers like me, who love the books and the movies (even the poor ones), but still recognize the importance of the Craig era in restoring no small measure of dignity to the franchise.

I mean, I remember growing up and having to "mine" the films for things I liked.

Yes, Connery is always terrific to watch, but movies like You Only Live Twice and Diamonds are Forever are so ludicrous that any sense of danger is negligible.

OHMSS is a terrific film, but you can't help but wonder, what if...?

Yes, Roger Moore seems like a decent guy, and is perfectly watchable as Bond, but half-baked scripts and set piece mentality and very little authentic drama are things you have to accept in just about all of his entries.

The point is, it was always a trade-off. Aside from For Your Eyes Only and the Dalton era, there really hadn't been a straight-faced Bond adventure since OHMSS. And that is what this kind of Bond fan wanted more than anything.

With Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall (or its first half, anyway), it's like the idealized adolescent fantasy of what should be a James Bond movie has finally come to fruition.

I'm a bit concerned they're going to use Spectre to build on Skyfall's unfortunate decision to delve into Bond's youth in a most overwrought manner -- something they had no business doing -- but I remain hopeful.

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by Grifter02

It seemed like a personal vendetta to me. Especially since he was outright looking to kill him.

According to the information I can find, they originally intended for

[Show spoiler]Tracy to die

in the opening of DAF, but after Lazenby quit they opted to move that scene to the end of OHMSS and just have Bond going after Blofeld in the opening of DAF.

You're right they don't actually say why he's chasing Blofeld, but it was the original intention that he was looking for vengeance.

It was an idea they toyed with at the early scripting stage along with the idea of having Bond undergo plastic surgery to account for the change in appearance. It's not like they shot the ending as the beginning of the next film and decided "Oh, we don't have Lazenby anymore, let's tack this on to the end of this one now." OHMSS was a disappointment at the time for Eon, its box office earnings were comparatively poor and there was the debacle over Lazenby's departure. With "the real guy" back in Diamonds Are Forever, they just wanted to forget that ever happened. Yes, Bond is out to kill Blofeld at the beginning of Diamonds Are Forever, and you can interpret that as a search for personal revenge if you want, but like I said if you ignore OHMSS it still plays because Blofeld is the biggest threat to the world, the Osama bin Laden of his time, so of course Bond wants to find and kill him.

[Scarface32]

Originally Posted by 4EverJohnnyBoy

...it seems the only addition to these 6 sets are the UV redemption codes.

Why you do this MGM, only UV, why you do this?

[Dreamliner330]

OHMSS was excellent.

I was incredibly impressed at how realistic Lazenby played Bond. Everything for the most part seemed practical.

The music was awesome and that 25 minute chase sequence starting at the top and ending with the Avalanche was incredible.

That end though, sheesh. You can't make box office records doing that. Lol.

For me, OHMSS is the best I've seen yet.

I'm not necessarily disappointed Lazenby quit. Perhaps it was wise. An actor is only as good as the script. Diamonds are Forever was bad. I haven't even seen the Moore films, but no way will they be this good. It seems like the scripts/directing went south quick. I somehow doubt Lazenby could have saved Diamonds.