Twang welcomes Eddie G, Neela, and Chris F to the pod to discuss James Bond. Martinis in hand (shaken not stirred), clad in immaculate white tux, they cover the films, the books, the actors, the baddies, music….many opinions are aired and we agree Connery was best.
The Afterword #96: The Bondcasht
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#96, shurely?
Clean your glasses. And don’t call me Shirley.
Enjoyed this podcast very much and thought I’d add my own two pennies worth.
I can’t remember the first Bond movie I saw – possibly Dr No on the telly in the mid 70s. The one I really remember was Goldfinger. In retrospect it’s the first in the series where all the Bond elements really came together (car, gadgets, locations, ‘Bond girl,’ cracking theme song, the villain and his enforcer). After seeing the film I got the silver Aston Martin toy and it took pride of place in the collection – alongside the batmobile.
First Bond at the cinema was the Spy who loved me. I still have a soft for it and for Roger Moore (although I do find most of his Bond films unwatchable).
I think I stopped bothering with them at about the time Octopussy was released, and I don’t think I watched another until Golden Eye. Although the quality of the Brosnan films dipped, I did watch them all – albeit on DVD or when shown on the telly.
Was lured back to the pictures when Craig took over the role. Casino Royale is a cracking movie and I may be one of the few people who enjoyed Quantum of Solace. I think Skyfall races along nicely right up until the moment that the baddie drops a tube train on Bond’s head. And Spectre is dreck. Overlong dreck at that.
I have read a few of the novels, Goldfinger, Casino Royale and Live and Let Die are excellent Moonraker much less so.
As for other novelists’ take on Bond, Carte Blanche brings Bond into the 21st century. It’s an interesting idea, but despite the iPhone apps and updated Bentley, the character is better suited to the 50s and 60s.
William Boyd’s Solo is much more effective. We find his Bond at the fag end of the 60s, celebrating his 45th birthday and a bit more introspective than usual. Despite that he’s still cold and cruel. Boyd did a mock interview with the character as part of the book’s publicity. Well work seeking out (probably still in the Guardian archives).
Before casting Craig, I heard that the producers were toying with the idea of hiring a younger actor and setting the films in the 50s. Now that Craig’s time in the role seems over (after the next film) I’d quite like to see a period specific Bond.
Enjoyed the cast, thanks.
I think the first I saw at the cinema was Goldfinger – I would have been 14. It is still my favourite, although I like all of the Connery films – From Russia With Love is a bit of an oddity as it doesn’t have a super baddie trying to take over the world, and is all the better for that, and Dr. No was so groundbreaking at the time in terms of scale and glamour. I’m not sure when I would have seen those as they used to take years to get on TV – it may have been as a double bill later on as sometimes films would get a re-release..? I also read all the books as a teen. Mention was made of the comic strip in the Express – I thought that was as a result of the films, but a quick Google tells me it started in 1958 – my parents were Express readers, so I did read those too.
It is hard ot overstate the cultural impact these films had….it led to a myriad of TV shows at the time – The Man From Uncle, Danger Man, Get Smart, Mission Impossible, Callan, The Avengers, Department S, Man In A Suitcase, The Prisoner, all come to mind, and we lapped them up. Of course, the films had to get bigger and bigger, to compete with tv, and that’s when things started to go awry – the gadgets got more ridiculous, the films get too long, the baddies less scary. I think I stopped seeing them at the cinema later during the Roger Moore period when they became very formulaic. I thought things were improving with Pierce Brosnan, but they got a bit silly too. I find the Craig films very watchable – as seems to be the consensus, Casino Royale is a terrific movie and I really did think we were getting somewhere, but Quantum is a bit weird, and Skyfall curiously overrated and rather spoiled by the episode in Scotland….the part of the old retainer part was so obviously written for Connery and would have somehow made more sense if he had appeared. I actually prefer Spectre, which I know won’t be a popular opinion!
So which are the best Fleming books?
Try earlier ones – Casino Royale, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, OHMSS, Dr. No for starters. But I like all of them. I’ve even got the short stories and the travel books.
Good! Think I have most of them and read some of them in my late teens (I think). Not sure which ones though.
I agree – those ones and Live And Let Die.
Enjoyed that, thanks.
I’m a Bond nut, right down to having nearly 300 autographs of the actors, directors and one or two other people from the making of the films. The first one I saw at the cinema, like Twang, was at a holiday camp. A View To A Kill, not the best one to see on the big screen first. I’d seen plenty on TV by then though, but couldn’t remember which was first.
I couldn’t say I have a favourite Bond though, cos I like them all. Okay, perhaps Lazenby is the weak link, but the one film he’s in is excellent. But if I had to list my favourite half dozen or so Bond films, a film from each Bond would be included. Similarly, if I had to list my least favourite half dozen they’d probably all get a mention too, cos I don’t think any, except Lazenby, got away without making a poor one. I think that’s why Craig is making another one, because all the other Bonds ended with a poor film, so he doesn’t want to go the same way, what with SPECTRE being a bit rubbish. They somehow managed to get a great actor like Christoph Waltz to play the most iconic Bond villain, only to put in the most insipid performance of any Bond villain in the entire series.
A question I have often pondered, and yet I don’t recall ever seeing it anywhere, is which of the other Bonds’ films would have suited each Bond? I don’t think I’ve worded that very well, but if I give you my choices you’ll get what I mean! I’ll leave Lazenby out of this one though.
Sean Connery – Skyfall (who better to take M to the Highlands?)
Roger Moore – Diamonds Are Forever (a ridiculous film would be better with the most ridiculous Bond!)
Timothy Dalton – Goldeneye (Brosnan was excellent in it, of course, but I think Dalton, surely the most underrated Bond, would have been equally as good in this one)
Pierce Brosnan – A View To A Kill (the weak aspect of this film is how daft Moore and Patrick MacNee look, each appearing at least 20 years too old for their roles, particularly in the fight scenes, but also the love scene with Mayday. I think Brosnan would have made the film much more watchable)
Daniel Craig – From Russia With Love (the grittiest of Connery’s films for the grittiest Bond. Again, Connery was ace in it, but Craig would have been equally good, particularly in the brawl with Red Grant on the train)
The other question, of course, is who would have done a great Bond theme. For years I always thought Marc Almond would be a perfect fit, so it was funny to hear his version of You Only Live Twice as a bonus track when I got round to buying The Last Night…In Sodom CD, as well as Soft Cell’s crack at the 007 Theme.
Incidentally, I have all the soundtrack CDs, some being far better than others, but hands down my favourite Bond soundtrack, and one of my favourite albums full stop, is Casino Royale. Not the Daniel Craig one, which is very good in its own right, but the one from the David Niven spoof, with music from Burt Bacharach and Herb Alpert, with the killer contribution from Dusty Springfield. It’s terrific, and by far the best thing about the film.
I wish we’d had you on Paul.
Never seen the Niven spoof. Any good?
Noooooooooooo. It needs a dr.
(I’ll be here all week, etc.)
Not really. It was a very troubled production and went through several directors. Peter Sellers then messed them about and left the film before he’d finished his part, so it’s a bit of a mess. Bits of it are quite fun though, like the Woody Allen bits, but the soundtrack is way, way better than the film.
Amazing cast list though – David Niven, Peter Sellers, Ursula Andrew’s, Woody Allen, Orson Welles, Deborah Kerr, John Huston, William Holden, George Raft, Jacqueline Bassett…Derek Nimmo, Bernard Cribbins and Ronnie Corbett! Plus many others in blink and you’ll miss them cameos, including Peter O’Toole.
Twenty years ago two work colleagues had a James Bond themed wedding at Allerton Castle.
Tables were film themed, we were on Casino Royale with miniature roulette wheel.
The original best man dropped out when he was told he’d have to abseil from the helicopter with the groom.
Great fun just like the films.
Somewhere I worked had a Bond themed Christmas do. Very odd concept I thought!
We have a free streaming service called Pluto TV over here and they recently launched Channel 007. Back to back (to back to back, ad infinitum) Bond movies. All of ’em. Even ‘Never Say Never Again.’
Watching Pluto right now! (Anthony Bourdain). Have noted the 007 channel, but I would imagine unwatchable with the commercials thrown in haphazard every 10 minutes. Although in many cases the commercials are probably better than the movies. Nearly all of which, in my opinion, are distinctly mediocre.
Not a big Bond fan but that was an enjoyable and very knowledgeable ramble. Connery undoubtedly the best but strangely my 2 favourites might be Live and Let Die (probably in the main because at the time I was utterly besotted with Jane Seymour) and OHMSS (which has the best Bond song).
OHMSS definitely the best (that I’ve seen), a proper film.
I´ve watched Never Say Never Again again. It´s at least 40 minutes too long. I´ll probably never watch Never Say Never Again again.
Never say never. What would you cut?
It´s only been a week since I watched it, but to be honest I can´t remember that much. Cuttingwise I´d start with the scene, towards the end, when Basinger and Connery are caught and tied up before they manage to escape. Then the movie just seems to pick up where it left before they were caught. Also the last scene in the water cave could be shorter. A lot of it could be shorter, which would make the whole thing snappier.
Maybe 40 minutes is too much to cut out, but 20 wouldn´t be a problem. Just for the pacing if nothing else. The video game scene? Perhaps it was cutting edge in the early eighties, though.
At least the scene where Connery go to get into shape now makes sense. In Thunderball it didn´t. If ’65 Connery is what a guy out of shape looks like, I wish I was out of shape too. Well, I quess I am.
I must rewatch it. I’ve always enjoyed it though.
How long has it been since you last watched it?
A few years now.
OK so I’ve rewatched it. I agree the stupid game scene is too long, and horribly dates. But Connery is great playing the older but still rock hard Bond, as you say a great baddie and Kim Basinger fantastic of course as a Bond girl. The action is good, love the motorbike chase, Barbara Carrera magnificently eating the scenery as the mad baddie woman – I don’t really get why it has such a poor rep. Those dire wink wink Moore films with Bond in a fucking safari suit are far worse.
Ah, you’re right in that Connery didn’t look in bad shape at all, but in the books he overindulged on the booze and fags, smoking 60 per day and drinking like a fish, hence M sending him to dry out, as much as anything.
Have you read the “official” Bond biography by John Pearson @paul-wad? I think you’d like it.
James Bond: The Authorised Biography https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0099502925/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_AaX2DbP96N1V8
No, it’s on the shelf, but I haven’t got round to it yet*. Ironically, my book reading slowed pretty much to a stop when I stopped working in the office in Leeds. Prior to that I read 3-4 hours each day on the train (although most of the time seemed to be spent waiting for the train). I have all this free time on my hands, but I struggle to read through the day, as I just fall asleep. It is something I am trying to work on though, so I’ll bump it up the queue.
*I would ask that you take around 500 other books into consideration. Although I’ve slowed down reading them, I haven’t slowed down buying them – another thing I am trying to work on. On the ‘percentage of books read’ front, however, I think the James Bond shelf is some way ahead of the others.
Crikey, where would you start! The last time I watched it I cringed most of the way through it. Even the theme song was dreadful. Connery looked past it in Diamonds Are Forever (at least you couldn’t accuse him of doing that one for the money, as he donated his fee to the Scottish National Trust) but parts of this one played like a parody. And the wink at the end?! Octopussy isn’t one of Moore’s best (the clown scene was the low point of the entire series until Die Another Day…shudder), but it’s the better of the two. And this despite the script having been touched up by two of the best screenwriters we’ve produced, in Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais.
It doesn’t help that it’s pretty much a remake of one of my least favourite of Connery’s official Bond films though (what would I cut out of that? the first 70 minutes of the underwater fight scene…well it felt like it went on that long!). As McClory was determined to make his film, it’s a shame he didn’t get to make it in 1964 when he wanted, partly because I think a lot of NSNA’s problems are down to when it was made, when mainstream films had a tendency to look a bit cheesy at the side of snappier comedy-thrillers like Beverley Hills Cop, but also because his preferred casting had Richard Burton as Bond, Trevor Howard as M and Orson Welles as Blofeld, 3 years before he played Le Chiffre in Casino Royale. I also don’t think it helped that Connery had to look like ‘Bond’, as he somehow seemed to appear older in the wig for NSNA than he did over a decade later with the grey hair and beard in films like The Rock. So whilst he appeared past it in NSNA it was great to see that he had plenty of good roles left in him. It would have looked a bit daft, what with him having played Bond 7 times, but he would have made a great villain for Dalton or Brosnan.
But…being a Bond fan, I’ve bought the Blu Ray and have it on my pile of films to watch. Maybe it looking better will make me appreciate it more, as the last time I saw it, several years ago, was on one of those channels that make every film look like the Soft focus TV movie of the week.
Sixties Bond has aged considerably better than seventies and eighties Bond (except perhaps The Living Daylight). I don’t know if it’s because I have a thing for the sixties though.
We should have talked more about Smershpod (one episode per film). It’s what made me rediscover Bond, watching them all in chronological order. Some of them (Moore and Dalton) I hadn’t seen for twenty years. Some of them only once.
The next season will do all of them again. Season two did Michael Caine, season three eighties action.
Don’t think anyone mentioned this, but wasn’t the original choice for Bond going to be Cary Grant? He would have been too old to do more than maybe 1 film, but for me he would have been perfect, unsurpassable. Behind the debonair, humorous exteria could be a hard man as indicated by his performances in Hitchcock’s Suspicion and (particularly) Notorious. Also North by Northwest could almost be a Bond film (and the best ever).
As for Bond having to be English, he has been played by a Scot, a Welshman, an Irishman and an Australian!
Bond is English regardless!
In the books. Is Sean Connery supposed to be English in the films? However to be fair he has played Irishmen (The Untouchables) and Russians (The Hunt for Red October) who happened to have Scottish accents.
… and where is he supposed to be from in Zardoz?
24 Blu-rays for 35 quid!
Revisited Quantum Of Solace, expecting a terrible movie. Hadn’t seen it in a long time, if at all since it first came out. It is a step down from the heights of Casino Royale, but it’s not THAT bad. Still on my upper half of Bond-movies. End of important message.