Enya Nod
2006-02-05, 11:28 AM
James Bond
I've watched 19 of the 20 Bond films on DVD. Oddly, my Blockbuster does not have Octopussy!
I have seen all of these films before numerous times- either in theatres (the later ones) or hacked up on TV (the earlier ones)- but it was terrific to see them in their widescreen entirety, including the commentaries and making-ofs. You could really see the evolution of the series and how the movies reflected the times in which they were made, including themes, music and costumes.
One aspect I noticed was how much influence the directors had on the story and action sequences. They were not simply hired to film the script.
Examples:
John Glen directed all the films from For Your Eyes Only to Licence to Kill. Every one of these involves vertigo-inducing heights. For Your Eyes Only features a rock climb to a Greek monastery. Octopussy's climax involves hot air baloons and ultimately a struggle on the back of an airplane. A View to a Kill involves a leap off the Eiffel Tour, a hot air balloon, and a finale on top the Golden Gate Bridge. The Living Daylights again involves a climatic struggle out the back of an airplane, and Licence to Kill begins that way, including a parachute jump. The ending involves trucks rolling over cliffs.
So obviously, Glen has a thing about heights!
Guy Hamilton's trademark seems to be having 007 battle the minor-villain in addition to the main villain - one always as an afterthought. For example - in Goldfinger he battles Oddjob, and when you think everything is over and done with, he encounters Goldfinger on the plane. In Diamonds Are Forever Bond deals with Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint on the cruise ship after it appears the danger is over. At the end of Live and Let Die he's about to get busy on the train with Solitaire when Tee Hee and his mechanical arm bursts in the cabin. And in The Man With the Golden Gun, James is getting cosy with Goodnight when he has to take care of Nick Nack.
So Hamilton's trademark is that one extra usually comical action scene just when you think Bond is out of danger.
Terrence Young had a thing for water. Dr. No took place on an island and finds Commander Bond jumping into a boat at the end and floating away with Honey Ryder. From Russia With Love's climax takes place on the water and the final shot is Bond in a Venetian gondola with the girl. And of course Thunderball is all about water - above and below.
Lewis Gilbert directed three bonds - You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me, and Moonraker. The main commonality here is the concept of a major piece of hardware being stolen (spaceship, submarine, space shuttle) and 007 and sidekicks needing to infiltrate a major installation (Blofeld's complex beneath the Japanese lake, Stromberg's tanker, and Drax's space station). Of course, there are major shootouts and Bond has to prevent a catastrophe.
I'm sure there are many more trademarks each director stamps on their films. But it's obvious that they were all very involved in the writing process and were almost locked in to certain styles, concepts and plot directions.
Now I have to find Octopussy or I will feel incomplete.
I've watched 19 of the 20 Bond films on DVD. Oddly, my Blockbuster does not have Octopussy!
I have seen all of these films before numerous times- either in theatres (the later ones) or hacked up on TV (the earlier ones)- but it was terrific to see them in their widescreen entirety, including the commentaries and making-ofs. You could really see the evolution of the series and how the movies reflected the times in which they were made, including themes, music and costumes.
One aspect I noticed was how much influence the directors had on the story and action sequences. They were not simply hired to film the script.
Examples:
John Glen directed all the films from For Your Eyes Only to Licence to Kill. Every one of these involves vertigo-inducing heights. For Your Eyes Only features a rock climb to a Greek monastery. Octopussy's climax involves hot air baloons and ultimately a struggle on the back of an airplane. A View to a Kill involves a leap off the Eiffel Tour, a hot air balloon, and a finale on top the Golden Gate Bridge. The Living Daylights again involves a climatic struggle out the back of an airplane, and Licence to Kill begins that way, including a parachute jump. The ending involves trucks rolling over cliffs.
So obviously, Glen has a thing about heights!
Guy Hamilton's trademark seems to be having 007 battle the minor-villain in addition to the main villain - one always as an afterthought. For example - in Goldfinger he battles Oddjob, and when you think everything is over and done with, he encounters Goldfinger on the plane. In Diamonds Are Forever Bond deals with Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint on the cruise ship after it appears the danger is over. At the end of Live and Let Die he's about to get busy on the train with Solitaire when Tee Hee and his mechanical arm bursts in the cabin. And in The Man With the Golden Gun, James is getting cosy with Goodnight when he has to take care of Nick Nack.
So Hamilton's trademark is that one extra usually comical action scene just when you think Bond is out of danger.
Terrence Young had a thing for water. Dr. No took place on an island and finds Commander Bond jumping into a boat at the end and floating away with Honey Ryder. From Russia With Love's climax takes place on the water and the final shot is Bond in a Venetian gondola with the girl. And of course Thunderball is all about water - above and below.
Lewis Gilbert directed three bonds - You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me, and Moonraker. The main commonality here is the concept of a major piece of hardware being stolen (spaceship, submarine, space shuttle) and 007 and sidekicks needing to infiltrate a major installation (Blofeld's complex beneath the Japanese lake, Stromberg's tanker, and Drax's space station). Of course, there are major shootouts and Bond has to prevent a catastrophe.
I'm sure there are many more trademarks each director stamps on their films. But it's obvious that they were all very involved in the writing process and were almost locked in to certain styles, concepts and plot directions.
Now I have to find Octopussy or I will feel incomplete.