News:

The AARoads Wiki is live! Come check it out!

Main Menu

Discussion. James Bond Discussion

Started by inkyatari, September 28, 2018, 09:27:35 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

english si

I really enjoyed Skyfall when I first saw it, but then again, not really as a James Bond film but rather an action film. And I haven't put any effort to see it since on the TV.

OK, it did help that I have much more of a connection to the London skyline shots, and Dame Judi than an American would. But then, the Underground errors wound me up - the other edge of that British sword (though this one only cuts if you are a geek and paying too much attention to minor details that have zero relevance to the actual film)!

Oh, and I saw it in a lovely 1920s cinema not very far from the studio, bringing in some additional ambience, and some Bond links due to that age and proximity.


abefroman329

The best part of Skyfall is the theme song. Great callback to the Shirley Bassey themes.

inkyatari

Quote from: abefroman329 on October 04, 2018, 05:14:42 PM
I'm surprised the line in Skyfall alluding to Bond possibly being bisexual wasn't more controversial than it was, but maybe I was looking in the wrong places.

As long as we're talking about Bond themes, am I the only one miffed that the lyrics to Goldeneye have nothing to do with the plot?

Methinks that Bono and The Edge (who wrote it,) were never given access to the plot, so they winged it.

Also, a podcast I used to listen to, James Bond Radio, one had a great episode or two about rejected Bond themes. 

Here's an interesting one...

I'm never wrong, just wildly inaccurate.

inkyatari

I rather enjoy this theme as well...

I'm never wrong, just wildly inaccurate.

sparker

David Arnold and the late Chris Cornell's song "You Know My Name" from Casino Royale is vastly underrated, probably since it echoes a harder rock edge than most other Bond entries.  It set the tone for the following films; the basic chord progression (Bm/G/E) was copied in Jack White's "Another Way to Die" from Quantum of Solace -- and Adele even used it as the basis for the title song Skyfall.   Regardless, no voice but Cornell's could make the song work -- although Arnold utilized an orchestrated instrumental version several times within the film's score to good effect. 

tdindy88

Quote from: inkyatari on October 04, 2018, 09:05:46 PM
As long as we're talking about Bond themes, am I the only one miffed that the lyrics to Goldeneye have nothing to do with the plot?

I could have course be wrong but it seems to me that the lyrics of that song are more about Alec Trevelyan being pissed at Bond for abandoning him and his plotting to get revenge on him and England. Which seems kind of relevant to the plot as presented in the movie.

sparker

Quote from: tdindy88 on October 04, 2018, 09:48:43 PM
Quote from: inkyatari on October 04, 2018, 09:05:46 PM
As long as we're talking about Bond themes, am I the only one miffed that the lyrics to Goldeneye have nothing to do with the plot?

I could have course be wrong but it seems to me that the lyrics of that song are more about Alec Trevelyan being pissed at Bond for abandoning him and his plotting to get revenge on him and England. Which seems kind of relevant to the plot as presented in the movie.

Trevelyan wasn't pissed at Bond for abandoning him; he faked his own death in front of Bond so his death could be reported back to MI6.  He was pissed at Bond for setting the explosive timers early so he and Omourov didn't have time to disarm them -- and they went off, disfiguring his face.

abefroman329

Quote from: inkyatari on October 04, 2018, 09:05:46 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on October 04, 2018, 05:14:42 PM
I'm surprised the line in Skyfall alluding to Bond possibly being bisexual wasn't more controversial than it was, but maybe I was looking in the wrong places.

As long as we're talking about Bond themes, am I the only one miffed that the lyrics to Goldeneye have nothing to do with the plot?

Methinks that Bono and The Edge (who wrote it,) were never given access to the plot, so they winged it.

Also, a podcast I used to listen to, James Bond Radio, one had a great episode or two about rejected Bond themes. 

Here's an interesting one...


Have they discussed Good to Say Goodbye, which allegedly wasn't the rejected theme to Quantum of Solace?

inkyatari

Quote from: abefroman329 on October 05, 2018, 02:31:36 AM
Quote from: inkyatari on October 04, 2018, 09:05:46 PM
Quote from: abefroman329 on October 04, 2018, 05:14:42 PM
I'm surprised the line in Skyfall alluding to Bond possibly being bisexual wasn't more controversial than it was, but maybe I was looking in the wrong places.

As long as we're talking about Bond themes, am I the only one miffed that the lyrics to Goldeneye have nothing to do with the plot?

Methinks that Bono and The Edge (who wrote it,) were never given access to the plot, so they winged it.

Also, a podcast I used to listen to, James Bond Radio, one had a great episode or two about rejected Bond themes. 

Here's an interesting one...


Have they discussed Good to Say Goodbye, which allegedly wasn't the rejected theme to Quantum of Solace?

I'd have to listen to that episode again.
I'm never wrong, just wildly inaccurate.

abefroman329

I misremebered the name of the song - it's No Good About Goodbye. Anyway, listen for yourself:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nEAWlUKRHHk

sparker

Quote from: abefroman329 on October 05, 2018, 09:10:54 AM
I misremebered the name of the song - it's No Good About Goodbye. Anyway, listen for yourself:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nEAWlUKRHHk
That sounds like an archetypal Bond theme song a la the classic John Barry efforts.  But then, so did the song "Surrender" from Tomorrow Never Dies which was supposed to have been the main title theme; that one was sung by k.d. lang.  But Broccoli & Co., in both cases, discarded the more traditional Bond-song approach in order to provide a song by a more popular artist of the day (for Tomorrow, it was Sheryl Crow, and for Quantum, it was a duet from Jack White, who wrote that song, entitled "Another Way To Die", and Alicia Keys).  Perhaps with the seemingly perpetual dire financial straits of UA/MGM, they were simply trying to boost sales of the soundtrack albums by including those artists -- but the result was a questionable song selection up front instead of one that fit well with the particular film.  At least with Tomorrow, they had the good sense to slide the better song in over the end titles.  Arnold worked instrumental versions of the k.d. lang song into his score as well -- while the Crow title song had no further appearance past the titles.  With Quantum, the Arnold/Black/Bassey song simply disappeared; BTW, Don Black was one of John Barry's favored lyricists, providing lyrics for Thunderball, Diamonds Are Forever, and The Man With the Golden Gun (although the latter was silly and forgettable) -- and the pair won an Oscar for Born Free.   Black also supplied the lyrics for Arnold's title song for The World Is Not Enough, performed by the group "Garbage".  It's too bad Barbara Broccoli & company didn't give the Bassey song cited above at least the "end title" treatment -- it's a pretty good one!

abefroman329

It seems insane that Sheryl Crow performed a Bond theme song. Yes, more insane than Duran Duran or a-ha or Garbage. Don't ask me why, I'm weird like that.

english si

Today is The Official James Bond Day  :-/

OK, it's 56 years to the day since Dr No. was released so there's legit reason to have it today, but it seems odd to do some marketing for a film series that not only doesn't really need awareness to be raised, but won't start shooting the next instalment until nearly 6 months' time.

Still, if you were in London and happened upon the Aston Martins then that would have been nice.

abefroman329

And Dr. No doesn't even resemble what anyone thinks of as a James Bond film.

sparker

Quote from: abefroman329 on October 05, 2018, 02:27:45 PM
And Dr. No doesn't even resemble what anyone thinks of as a James Bond film.

The Bond "idiom" arguably commenced with Goldfinger -- from the gadgets to the self-deprecating humor, and on to the music.  One could argue that the chord progressions written by Barry for the title song of that film set the standard for the massive amounts of spy films that followed (Jerry Goldsmith's theme for Our Man Flint seemed like a derivative "spoof" of the Barry work - especially the Bb-E "round the world" sequence seen accompanying the lyrics ".......the man with the Midas touch").  Seemed like every film composer of that era from Goldsmith through Lalo Schifrin emulated that idiom -- some in non-spy films like the Schifrin-scored 1965 Steve McQueen-starrer The Cincinnati Kid as well as, ironically, his score for The Liquidator (1966), the film that made John Gardner swear off films of his novels.  Both themes and scores seemed to use the "Bond" thematic idiom, which didn't dissipate until the "spy craze" petered out by the end of the decade.   

sparker

An 007-month "bump" for this thread, prompted by the announcement this week of the beginning of filming "Bond 25" (still no definitive title)......but with the addition of Rami Malek (Mr. Robot) as the new villain, variously described as a "techno-whiz" with sinister motives.  First time a Best Actor Oscar winner has played a villain (although 3 of them have been played by actors who previously won Best Supporting Actor:  Walken, Bardem, and Waltz).  Also -- Jeffrey Wright is back as Felix Leiter after a 2-film hiatus, along with most of the supporting cast of the last couple of films.  But still no finished script (reminiscent of Quantum of Solace, which was reportedly written "on the fly" by cast & crew during a writers' strike).  And, of course, Daniel Craig's back; likely his last.  This may be a particularly bumpy ride -- and the scheduled release is early spring 2020.  Stay tuned!     

Rothman

Heh.  I like how your post makes it look like we'd know Malek from Mr. Robot rather than the movie he got the Oscar for: Bohemian Rhapsody. :D
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position(s) of NYSDOT.

sparker

^^^^^^^^^
I'd take it as a safe bet that more folks have seen him on Mr. Robot than his portrayal of Freddie Mercury.  Bohemian Rhapsody held its own at the box office, but wasn't a "blockbuster" by any means.  Just aiming to address what is likely a wider audience. 

english si

Also the US wasn't the prime market the film was aimed at - the UK was (similar to Bond films). However it still grossed $216.4 million in North America, and it's opening weekend there made more money than the first 12 days in the UK. It topped the box office the first weekend, and was still third on the third weekend after The Grinch and Fantastic Beasts. It topped the US sales charts when released for home viewing.

And it's not like Mr Robot was a rip-roaring success. 1.75 million watched the pilot (with numbers sinking after that) live - hardly that popular. More watched the film opening weekend. I'd suggest the number of people who've seen it is about the same for both.

inkyatari

I was hoping to see if Bautista came back as a henchman.  IMHO, he was easily a top tier henchman behind Oddjob and Jaws.
I'm never wrong, just wildly inaccurate.

sparker

Quote from: inkyatari on April 29, 2019, 09:02:23 AM
I was hoping to see if Bautista came back as a henchman.  IMHO, he was easily a top tier henchman behind Oddjob and Jaws.

According to the latest cast listings, Dave Bautista is not in the cast, at least for the present.  But apparently there's some filming in Scotland scheduled -- maybe we'll see what's supposedly left of the Skyfall house again!

sparker

A suggestion to anyone interested in Bond lore (books & film, although tending to favor the latter) and/or the progress of the latest film, still untitled but referred to as "Bond 25", should head over to:

mi6-hq.com

Pretty comprehensive Bond site -- better than secondhand prattling about minutiae by myself or others. 

inkyatari

Apparently there's a temporary stop on filming because Daniel Craig got injured.
I'm never wrong, just wildly inaccurate.

sparker

Quote from: inkyatari on May 16, 2019, 09:03:36 AM
Apparently there's a temporary stop on filming because Daniel Craig got injured.

Seeing as how the film's opening date has been pushed back to April 2020 (apparently that's a "hard" date -- meaning theaters are now booked), it's unlikely that the producers wouldn't attempt to make up time down the line to ensure that the filming and postproduction schedule remains intact.  They already had one bad experience in this regard 11 years ago with Quantum of Solace;  they're probably pulling out stops to avoid that situation again. 

inkyatari

Bumping this from a couple month hiatus..

In case you haven't heard, Bond 25 is titled No Time to Die
I'm never wrong, just wildly inaccurate.



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.