Bond Tonight?

[Not Afraid]

I've been going back and forth on going to the Bond films at the Aero tonight. After hearing the latest traffic report, I think it may be wise to stay at home. So, if any of you are planning on going AND will be taking the 405 up, PLEASE CHECK YOUR TRAFFIC SOURCES.

Apparenyly, a crane has fallen on the 405 at the 101 and all lanes are blocked. No doubt this will make the already-hellish 405 an even bigger mess.

Fair warning.

[innerSpaceman]

Heheh, Bond was a blast. Thunderball is a GREAT movie. Sean's still sexy as all hell in that one, and the one-liners are actually good. Amazing.

You Only Llive Twice is far more silly, and Sean is looking both his age and his tedium with the role. It was fun seeing them with my pal from Lowry restoration ... she was able to point out all the work that needed to be done on the very average prints that the Aero ended up showing. Heheh, she had never seen either film before ... except frame-by-frame.

She was able to point out one hysterical bit that I'd never noticed before. Blofeld's white kitty trying desperately to escape his clutches during the volcanic explosions at the end of Twice. The cat is obviously sedated, yet also freaked by the on-set effects ... and the result is hilarious.


I doubt I'll go back tomorrow to try my hand at the Bond Trivia Contest, but it was a fun evening of 60's fun tonight.

[€uroMeinke]

Yeah Thunderball is one of the best - which I guess is why they remade it as Never Say Never Again, but You Only Live Twice has one of my all time favorite lines:

SEAN: Pushing away a plate of oysters - Won't be needing these

[mousepod]

I think the reason they remade Thunderball as Never Say Never Again had more to do with copyright loopholes than anything else.

For the record, I love You Only Live Twice. From the snazzy Nancy Sinatra theme song to the bullet in a cigarette, the movie never fails to amuse me. Plus, it's the only Bond movie to feature a screenplay by Roald Dahl.

I'll admit that the early Connerys are fantastic - but I somehow find myself drawn back to YOLT and Diamonds Are Forever over and over again.

[€uroMeinke]

I do have a pet peeve about You Only Live Twice - they mixed up the rocket launch sock footage - A Gemini space craft is seen launched from the Russians, and a Soyuz is launched by the Americans - perhaps this was sly UK commentary on the folly of the Space Race, but as a Junior Astronaut that mix up has always bothered me from my first screening sometime in the 70's

[mousepod]

I never noticed that! Well spotted €!

[Tref]

Yeah Thunderball is one of the best - which I guess is why they remade it as Never Say Never Again, but You Only Live Twice has one of my all time favorite lines:

SEAN: Pushing away a plate of oysters - Won't be needing these

I noticed he didn't touch his dessert, either.

[innerSpaceman]

I noticed the convoluted story and screenplay credits on the film last night. It seems Thunderball was intended to be the first James Bond film, and the first version of it was written directly for the screen. When that didn't pan out as the first Bond movie, Ian Fleming adapted the screenplay for his 9th James Bond novel. Kevin McClory, one of the original screenplay writers, promptly sued Fleming for plagerism.

As part of the eventual settlement, McClory got the producer credit on Thunderball (relegating Cubby and Saltzman to exec producers for the first and only time), and he retained certain rights to the novel. And he could, and did, later remake the film as Never Say Never Again, with the coup of Sean Connery reprising his role as James Bond. I like the remake very much, although it veers from the typical Bond style ... especially in the scoring department. But Klaus Maria Brandauer is one of the best Bond villains ever, and Thunderball is simply a great Bond story worthy of an updated version.

Both movies are teriffic, though of course the original is one of the four uber-classic Connery Bonds that are now beyond iconic.

[Prudence]

This all has me listening to my CD of Bond themes again.