John Orquiola
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| #1 Posted on 24.1.08 1643.03 Reposted on: 24.1.15 1643.17 | The next James Bond movie has a name. Quantum of Solace.
The majority of moviedom uttered a collective "Huh?" while I said, "Hey, I remember what that means."
"Quantum of Solace" is actually the title of the third story in "For Your Eyes Only", which was a short story collection Ian Fleming wrote that I read when I was 13 or 14. I read that book thinking it was a novelization about the movie For Your Eyes Only. That goofy mistake ended up being my introduction to Ian Fleming's novels about James Bond, who turned out to be nothing like Roger Moore in the books.
If memory serves, the story is actually one told to Bond at a party. After that my memory fails me. The Internet says:
"This story has no spies, no guns, no supervillains, no global conspiracies, and yet it might be one of the most significant pieces Ian Fleming ever wrote about James Bond.
Bond is sitting on a sofa, after a dinner party, talking with the Colonial Governor. After Bond (who despises small talk) [hey, so do I!] makes a comment about marrying a stewardess, the Governor launches into a story of one of his old coworkers, and it is this tale, told in the older man's voice, that comprises the bulk of the short story.
In brief, it is the story of a young Diplomatic Services man who marries a flight attendant. When she becomes disillusioned with her less-than-flashy life and her husband, she has a blatant affair. It ruins her husband, who is eventually transferred to Washington for six months.
When he returns, he ruthlessly crushes her spirit much as she did his -- but privately, over the course of a year. In the end he leaves her financially and emotionally ruined, but pays the price of the coarsening of his soul. In the end, she hits bottom and slowly recovers, even finding happiness.
The crux of the story is the emotional phenomenon the Governor calls the Quantum of Solace, the smallest unit of human compassion that two people can have. As long as that compassion exists, people can survive, but when it is gone, when your partner no longer cares about your essential humanity, the relationship is over.
At the end of the story Bond is depressed, and suddenly finds his life of adventure to be fundamentally boring and unfulfilling compared to the real human drama the Governor has told him about.
The unwritten part of the story, the essential truth never spelled out in so many words is this --
No one in the world has a Quantum of Solace for James Bond.
He is alone. The people closest to him are M, who, in the end treats him like a fine hunting dog, and his elderly housekeeper May, who, as much as she may fuss and fret about his health, will eventually retire and be done with him. From this point on in the series [of novels], Bond is crumbling, a man sliding down the slope of his career, a human being rather than the automaton Fleming originally set out to create."
Quantum of Solace has nothing to do with the plot of the short story it borrows its title from. Promote this thread! | | Big Bad
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| #2 Posted on 24.1.08 2154.27 Reposted on: 24.1.15 2154.29 | Well, maybe not NOTHING to do with it. The film seems destined to end with the dinner-party incident described in this short story. If there was ever time for a Sean Connery cameo, him playing the Governor would pretty much be it. | CEOIII
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| #3 Posted on 25.1.08 0111.23 Reposted on: 25.1.15 0111.42 | I have never understood the love for Connery's Bond. I'm sorry, but if you're casting for a BRITISH secret agent, and one of the guys answering the casting call is a guy with an incredibly thick SCOTTISH accent, don't you a)get him a speech coach, b) try and deal with it in post-production, or c) tell him "thanks for coming by" and cast someone else in the part?
Roger Moore was the best Bond ever, and I outright refuse to hear arguements on the subject. Especially any arguements that start with "Sean Connery was better because........" | oldschoolhero
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| #4 Posted on 25.1.08 0232.07 Reposted on: 25.1.15 0232.24 | Roger Moore? Who made Bond into a Carry On caricature with smirking, eyebrow raises and bad fake tan? Jeez, at least pick Craig over Connery. | General Zod
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| #5 Posted on 25.1.08 0914.13 Reposted on: 25.1.15 0919.18 | Originally posted by oldschoolhero Roger Moore? Who made Bond into a Carry On caricature with smirking, eyebrow raises and bad fake tan? Jeez, at least pick Craig over Connery.
I'm inclined to agree. While Moore's earlier Bond films were pretty good, he became a caricature in the end. Overall I place Moore at the bottom of the Bond list.
As for the new title, I was pleased to see that they chose a Fleming title and, while not crucial to the plot, I expect to see the dinner scene in the movie.
| ironcladlou
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| #6 Posted on 25.1.08 1214.37 Reposted on: 25.1.15 1214.48 | Am I the only one who really liked Pierce Brosnan's Bond? I mean, yeah, the quality really tapered off towards the end, but I think history is going to be very kind to his portrayal. | Zeruel
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| #7 Posted on 25.1.08 1255.12 Reposted on: 25.1.15 1258.34 | Originally posted by General Zod Overall I place Moore at the bottom of the Bond list.
On the BOTTOM of the Bond list? Where do you have George Lazenby then? Moore couldn't have been worse than the one hit wonder, could he? | Big Bad
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| #8 Posted on 25.1.08 1543.26 Reposted on: 25.1.15 1543.33 | Lazenby was actually a terrific Bond, and Her Majesty's Secret Service is by far the most underrated Bond movie. I'd rank it as one of the best, in fact. | General Zod
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| #9 Posted on 25.1.08 1554.58 Reposted on: 25.1.15 1557.31 | Originally posted by Big Bad Lazenby was actually a terrific Bond, and Her Majesty's Secret Service is by far the most underrated Bond movie. I'd rank it as one of the best, in fact.
Couldn't agree more. Lazenby just had the sad job of following Connery, but he was very good and OHMSS is one of the best Bond flicks.
And ironcladlou, I dug Brosnan as well. Die Another Day blew but I believe he truly embodied the character. | John Orquiola
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| #10 Posted on 25.1.08 1623.05 Reposted on: 25.1.15 1623.05 | Whoa, a Best Bond debate with praise for George Lazenby. I have to get in on this.
George Lazenby was a terrific Bond. If he weren't unhappy with Broccolis as his producers and if he had faith that James Bond would endure past the 1960's (he felt in the free love era of the late 60's and early 70's, with all the social changes afoot, that Bond was a dinosaur that he couldn't understand or get behind so how could an audience?) I believe he could have eventually succeeded Connery successfully. Lazenby's Bond was more open, more human, less cooly invincible than Connery.
As for On Her Majesty's Secret Service itself, it is THE most underrated Bond movie and one of the best of the entire series. I couldn't agree more. In fact, several aspects that Casino Royale was (over)praised for (in my opinion) as being new or innovative departures from the Bond formula (the emotional depth, Bond's recklessness, his tragic love story with Eva Green) aren't new at all. They're remakes -- On Her Majesty's Secret Service did it first. Lazenby was a younger, reckless Bond. He falls in love and marries Diana Rigg - the only time Bond has ever and may ever do that. What's more, the movie is very much a product stylistically of its release year, 1969. There's a swinging 60's vibe to the editing, music, and style of the movie. It's very much what Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery in 1997 was referencing and homaging.
As for Roger Moore, I must leap to his defense as well. In my experience, you love the Bond you grew up with the most and for me, that Bond is Roger Moore. I've seen every Bond movie at least once and all of Connery's, Brosnan's and Moore's at least twice. Yes, Moore had a couple of really shitty movies. So did Brosnan and so did Dalton. Moore is still my favorite and he probably always will be.
The popular strikes people have against Moore's Bond can be easily refuted:
1) Moore doesn't look like James Bond. Again, Roger Moore was the first Bond I ever saw, and to me he's what James Bond is supposed to look like. I discovered Connery in my teens and later adjusted my perception of Bond with the knowledge that Connery was the first, with Timothy Dalton and Brosnan fitting that mold. Still, I don't care if Connery was the first. Moore is the longest serving Bond (1973-1985) and at seven, he made the most "official" Bond movies (Connery's seventh was the non-canon Never Say Never Again, which Moore's Octopussy trumped at the box office in 1983). Moore kept the Bond franchise going for over a decade.
2) Moore is too silly/weak in the role. Wrong. Moore was a ruthless motherfucker when he had to be. Moore's Bond cold-bloodedly killed henchmen left and right, man or woman, and he always personally executed the main villain in his movies. He quipped more than Connery, he clowned around his share (even had to dress like a clown in Octopussy), but the bottom line was: fuck with Roger Moore's James Bond and you were a dead man or woman. But if you're a woman, Moore's Bond would be sure to nail you first. (That's right, fellas, no Bond was more promiscuous and got more tail than Moore.)
3) Moore's movies weren't as good as Connery's. Depends on the movie. Moore did end up in some stinkers. Moonraker is ridiculous; James Bond should not be in outer space. Octopussy, once you get past the title (but how awesome is it that they got away with that title?) is overlong and dull but better than you remember in the first half set in India. However, The Spy Who Loved Me is an all-time classic. It's a fantastic James Bond movie with all the globe-hopping, sexy girls, gadgets (the Lotus sports car that becomes a submarine, which is more believable to me than Brosnan's invisible car in Die Another Day), memorable henchmen (Jaws), and supervillains with "impregnable" headquarters (an undersea fortress/city) that you want to see when you go to a James Bond movie. I'd put The Spy Who Loved Me right up there with Goldfinger and On Her Majesty's Secret Service as the best examples of James Bond.
Now, who is the best Bond? The most popular answer is Sean Connery. They're not wrong. He's the first and the icon. Most of the younger set will say Pierce Brosnan. Also not wrong. I loved Pierce's Bond. Pierce is the modern embodiment of James Bond; he incorporates all of the best qualities of his predecessors. If a kid today asked me who James Bond is, I'd show him Brosnan. Craig is still too new at this; he's very promising but we'll see how his future movies stack up.
I hate to rank the Bonds as best but twist my arm and I say:
Connery Brosnan Moore Lazenby Craig Dalton
But if I were rank them by favorite:
Moore Brosnan Connery Lazenby Craig Dalton
To me the biggest shame in James Bond history is that as great as Brosnan was as Bond - and he was GREAT - he never got a Bond movie that was as great as he was in the role. The over the top nature of Brosnan's movies (invisible car) are the reason why the Broccolis had to "go back to the drawing board" and revamp Bond to compete with the stripped down Bourne movies. Thus we got Daniel Craig, Casino Royale, and soon Quantum of Solace.
(edited by John Orquiola on 25.1.08 1430) | Caliban
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| #11 Posted on 25.1.08 1710.27 Reposted on: 25.1.15 1710.43 | Wow, I don't think I've ever seen anyone make such a compelling arguement for Moore as the best Bond.
Connery still wins, but A+ for effort! | PeterStork
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| #12 Posted on 25.1.08 1758.30 Reposted on: 25.1.15 1758.36 | Add me to the love for OHMSS. It's simply one of the best stories that Fleming produced to be adapted, and as well as it turned out I think it would be even better in modern hands; that story with Casino Royale production values would be a big step up. (In particular, the big fight at the end of OHMSS never did much for me. Not that Royale's was perfect, but it's far more watchable.)
While we're turning this into a ranking/list thread to piss off CRZ: 1. Craig 2. Brosnan 3. Moore 4. Connery 5. Lazenby 6. Dalton
Danny boy's my fave at the moment, but he made one film with a killer script so that could always change. Moore would be higher if not for the last half of his career, and Brosnan seemed to suffer through a couple bad scripts better than he did.
As for Bond 22's title, A+ from a Bond/artistic standpoint, D- from a PR standpoint. SO many people are going to go "WTF!" that I hope there's a killer trailer/ad campaign to drive 'em in. I think Casino Royale was awesome enough to aid this effort. | ALL ORIGINAL POSTS IN THIS THREAD ARE NOW AVAILABLE |
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