Bond, James Bond

[RedRiver]

Could Diana Rigg have been the successor to Vivien Leigh?

ALMOST the most beautiful woman I've ever seen! Not just physically. Beauty through and through. The charm, the twinkle, the playful demeanor. Yes, there's Audrey. There's Grace. There's Garbo. But very few can compare to this leather clad Avenger! No wonder our hero married her. Even James Bond will never do better!

[charliechaplinfan]

Nobody does it better is my second best Bond theme although I'm quite partial to the Shirley Bassey ones too, they seem to encapsulate Bond. My favourite one is We have all the love in the world by Louis Armstrong.

My hubby would agree about Diana Rigg, especially in her Avenger suit.

[Rita Hayworth]

I wished Sean Connery did On Her Majesty's Secret Service instead of George Lazenby ... I have nothing against George ... but seeing Connery & Rigg together would been dynamite!

I often think about this!

[CineMaven]

ALMOST the most beautiful woman I've ever seen! Not just physically. Beauty through and through. The charm, the twinkle, the playful demeanor. Yes, there's Audrey. There's Grace. There's Garbo. But very few can compare to this leather clad Avenger! No wonder our hero married her. Even James Bond will never do better!

Wow! You put her in that high a regard Red? ( She reminds me of Prince William's wife, Kate. )

My hubby would agree about Diana Rigg, especially in her Avenger suit.

He wouldn't be alone. In fact, I have a very vague memory of going into the kitchen as a teenager to get something and my father and his friend were talking in the dining room and STOPPED when I walked in. But as I was going down the hall to the kitchen I could hear my father's friend say "Maaaaan, you haven't seen Emma Peel in that leather-----" He clammed up when I walked in.



Left to find out about the birds and the bees on my own, I s'pose. I did see Diana Rigg on Broadway in "Abelard & Eloise" waaay back then. There was a very revealing love scene on the Broadway stage.

[JackFavell]

There's a case to be made that Emma Peel WAS James Bond.

[CineMaven]

Oh man!!! BRILLIANT!!

[JackFavell]

Thanks.

It works.

[RedRiver]

seeing Connery & Rigg together would been dynamite!

Wow! I have nothing against Lazenby's portrayal either. I like the movie. But the REAL Bond and the former Mrs. Peel together? Look out!

[kingrat]

Maybe I expected too much based on the glowing comments, but my feelings about SKYFALL were similar to ChiO’s, though not quite so negative. I liked it well enough, but don’t feel much enthusiasm for it. Until the Scotland scene, I never felt particularly connected to the film. The more guys our hero shot, the more stuff exploded, the less interested I was. There were two fetching new Bond girls (and I’m sure Red wishes someone would fetch them over to his place), Naomie Harris and Berenice Kim Marlohe. Mlle. Marlohe may be the first Bond girl to be about as flat-chested as Constance Bennett, and she deserves credit for not taking the path of plastic surgery. Her character, Severine, disappears in mid-movie, and that was a disappointment. I’d have liked a larger role in the film for both actresses. The film is disjointed—my other half, who loved it, noted that the list of agents, which is what Bond is trying to retrieve, isn’t even mentioned again after a certain point.

SKYFALL is an odd mix. In the opening scenes I was thinking, “Wow, I didn’t realize Daniel Craig was about 60”—not that there’s anything wrong with that—although shirtless he looked younger. Imdb says he’s 44. Either they were using aging makeup on him or he has what people in Texas call the “rode hard and put away wet” look. There are occasionally some nice visual set-pieces, as lzcutter noted, but I disliked the trendy blue-tone photography which will soon look very dated. ChiO mentioned the fireworks-for-sex metaphor, which I took to be a film-school homage to TO CATCH A THIEF.

James Bond has been re-Bourne, with a downbeat air, less humor and less sophistication. Like Matt Damon in THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM, he now has superhero fighting skills, and as in that film and THE BOURNE SUPREMACY, the villains are from within the agency, not from without. SKYFALL lacks the leftist ambience of those two films (“the CIA is the real problem”), a plus in my view, but the Bournes are better made, with more tension and better pacing.

Some of the audience was audibly uncomfortable when Silva (Javier Bardem, having a lot of fun) unbuttons Bond’s shirt and touches his chest. I wanted the blue suit/blue shirt/blue tie combo that Ralph Fiennes wears in the big scene in M’s office with Bond. This may be the first Bond film where another actor is more stylishly dressed than James himself, and that’s a revealing point. Daniel Craig and Judi Dench do justice to their scenes, and Albert Finney has a juicy supporting role as the gamekeeper. The over-the-rooftops scene is fun, even though you know most or all of it is CGI. The more serious turn at the end of the film is unlike previous Bonds, and I had mixed feelings about that. Done well, and does it reflect the feeling that no one in this era can feel as confident as Sean Connery’s Bond did?

[MissGoddess]

does it reflect the feeling that no one in this era can feel as confident as Sean Connery’s Bond did?

It's as if no one dares to.

[movieman1957]

Went to see "Goldfinger" this morning with a really good crowd of mostly middle age and senior spectators. It was fun to see it on the big screen.

This has been a series where a lady does a pre-film discussion. I won high marks when she asked who played the first James Bond. My answer - Barry Nelson. (A 1954 tv production of "Casino Royale.")

There wasn't any revelation seeing on the big screen but it was fun.

[Rita Hayworth]

Went to see "Goldfinger" this morning with a really good crowd of mostly middle age and senior spectators. It was fun to see it on the big screen.

This has been a series where a lady does a pre-film discussion. I won high marks when she asked who played the first James Bond. My answer - Barry Nelson. (A 1954 tv production of "Casino Royale.")

There wasn't any revelation seeing on the big screen but it was fun.

Barry Nelson ... the 1954 TV Production of Casino Royale was pretty darn good and I happen to have a rare DVD recording of it and I watch it occasionally. Barry did a pretty good job portraying Bond. And, it is quite watchable and some of the die hard 007 fans today could relate to it. I would love to see it on TCM someday so that today's fans can enjoy it too.

I am happy that you had a great time watching Goldfinger on the big screen ... thanks for sharing that Movieman.

[RedRiver]

I have that DVD too. Poor copy. But dirt cheap at Wal-mart! First Bond villain? None other than Peter Lorre! I hear good things about the new movies, especially the latest. I'm just Bond out. I've been through five castings, multiple viewings of the good ones. It's enough. Movieman, I think I've seen GOLDFINGER in a theatre three times. Some of the others as well.

[movieman1957]

"Spectre" is due here Friday. The British press seem to like it. The American press does not. Hung up on trying to tie the last three films together and give frequent, and apparent annoying nods, to Roger Moore era films the reviews call it a mess at worst and disappointing at best.

Some disagree on the narrative part but there is almost universal dislike of Christoph Walz. What is worse than a bad Bond villain? Practically nothing. Going through "Skyfall" the other night I wonder if it sets me up for a big disappointment. I'm already thoroughly put off by the theme song. What starts out very Barry-ish turns into a squeal fest at the hands of Sam Smith; I had to turn it off.

I'll still see it. I have a date with my daughter to see it.

[RedRiver]

The previews are exciting. I'm actually intrigued. But I probably won't see it. Haven't been Bonded since Brosnan.