James Bond DVD Boxsets

[Black Lushus 0]

This might sound strange but I watched GoldenEye again this past week and couldn't help but think Sean Bean seemed more like the strong arm thug heel, rather than the mastermind heel.

 

I got that feeling after I saw him in Patriot Games...and, like you, felt the same way with GoldenEye...he's like a right hand man sort of villian, not one I would picture to be the boss.

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

Am I the only one who thinks Tomorrow Never Dies is by far the best Brosnan vehicle? It's much more intense than Goldneye with a better performance from Brosnan and a MUCH better storyline. Plus the action sequences are pretty spectacular, not to mention it doesn't drag like Goldeneye does. It's one of the very few post-Connery movies, that I could see Connery starring in. I rewatched both recently and Goldeneye left me a bit underwhelemed while Tomorrow Never Dies surprised me.

[Open the Muggy Gate 0]

This might sound strange but I watched GoldenEye again this past week and couldn't help but think Sean Bean seemed more like the strong arm thug heel, rather than the mastermind heel.

 

I got that feeling after I saw him in Patriot Games...and, like you, felt the same way with GoldenEye...he's like a right hand man sort of villian, not one I would picture to be the boss.

 

I think Goldeneye was the first Sean Bean movie I watched to my recollection. So the image of him being a mastermind heel stuck with me in every other movie of his. Total opposite of you Lush. Goldeneye is in my top 3. And the game is top 10 all time for me too.

[cabbageboy 0]

For everyone's amusement I'll post the Entertainment Weekly rankings of all 20 Bond movies (without the new one). I also put my thoughts in parentheses.

 

1. Goldfinger (Agreed, it was my #1 too. I'm from Louisville, KY. Could I have anything else?)

2. You Only Live Twice (What the fuck? How can a Bond movie without any decent female lead be #2? I like Donald Pleasance as well as the next fellow, but this is overrated as hell at 2. I had it at like 7.)

3. Live and Let Die (I assume they wanted a Moore film pretty high, but why not Spy Who Loved Me? This is my mom's favorite in the series though, so it does have fans. I only had it #10 on my list.)

4. Thunderball (This one is a bit overrated as well. Why did they put two of Connery's weaker outings in the top 5? I had this at #8.)

5. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (It seems like this and Goldfinger are the only ones that make everyone's top 5. I almost think this deserves to be #2, but there's just too many Lazenby haters out there.)

6. Dr. No (I had it either 5 or 6 so this is about right.)

7. GoldenEye (Certainly the best Brosnan, I had it #3 for sentimental reasons. One of my favorite Bond movies, and I think a lot of fans would agree)

8. From Russia With Love (Okay, now I have a bit of a problem. This one should have been in the top 5, or at least switched with Dr. No. EW accuses it of having a slow pace, but I don't really agree.)

9. The Spy Who Loved Me (Switch this with Live and Let Die and you have something.)

10. For Your Eyes Only (I was about to say they overrated this but I had it at 11 myself. So they have it pretty much right.)

11. Diamonds Are Forever (Slightly low, I had this one at 9. One of the most entertaining in the entire series, but it really doesn't follow through on OHMSS at all.)

12. Die Another Day (Insane. One of the worst in the series. There IS a reason why Brosnan was turfed and Craig was brought in. And Halle Berry sucked ass. Had it at 17.)

13. Moonraker (This one is certainly cheesy but it's kinda fun. I had it at 15.)

14. Tomorrow Never Dies (This is actually right where I had this one. There's some decent stuff in it, but Jonathan Pryce really sucked.)

15. A View to a Kill (Okay, what? I had this one last at 20. You have an old and tired Moore, the hideous Grace Jones/Moore sex bit, a lame chick in Tanya Roberts. EW must either love Duran Duran or Walken.)

16. The Living Daylights (EW loathes Dalton, but I had this one a bit higher at 13. If you take this poll 15 years ago it probably would be in the top 10 easy, but it doesn't really hold up.)

17. The Man With the Golden Gun (We're nearing rock bottom. I had this one at 19, but I guess they are Lee fans.)

18. Octopussy (I had this at 16. There's worse out there than this one. Still not too amazing however.)

19. Licence to Kill (I had this at 18 myself. It's pretty crappy. An example of taking a Bond movie in the serious direction and doing it mostly wrong.)

20. The World is Not Enough (WTF? This one isn't bad at all, I had it at 12. Sure, Denise Richards is lame, but Sophie Marceau is all kinds of hot, Carlyle is a decent enough heel, and there are some interesting locales. They should switch this with Die Another Day.)

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

My top 20 would be:

 

1. Goldfinger

2. For Your Eyes Only

3. License To Kill

4. From Russia With Love

5. Tomorrow Never Dies

6. The Spy Who Loved Me

7. Dr. No

8. Goldeneye

9. You Only Live Twice

10. A View To A Kill

11. The Living Daylights

12. The World Is Not Enough

13. Live and Let Die

14. Octopussy

15. Diamonds Are Forever

16. The Man With The Golden gun

17. Moonraker

18. Thunderball

19. Die Another Day

 

Haven't seen OHMSS yet.

[cabbageboy 0]

You hate Thunderball so much you listed it twice, eh?

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

I'll leave out Casino Royale for now, although it probably comes in at about #7. It is certainly better than YOLT, but I can't say I liked it as much as Dr. No.

 

1. Goldfinger (THE James Bond movie. Everybody knows this one and for good reason. Practically every film afterwards save OHMSS, LTK & CR is pretty much a copy of the same formula created in this film.)

2. From Russia With Love (Much more serious than the later films, it is the style that Casino Royale is hoping to revive. It drags a little bit in the middle, so it isn't quite as good as Goldfinger, but the Orient Express sequences are the best in the entire series.)

3. Goldeneye (It essentially saved the franchise back in 1995 and brought Bond out of the Cold War.)

4. The Spy Who Loved Me (Probably the most pure fun film in the series, outside of Goldfinger. Fantastic stunts, good Bond girl, Carly Simon, the Lotus Espirit and Jaws before he was ruined. What more could you want?)

5. For Your Eyes Only (The film that showed that Roger Moore could play a serious Bond.)

6. Dr. No (Overshadowed by the two giants that followed it, but it is a very nice spy thriller in its own right.)

7. You Only Live Twice (Most people would probably put Thunderball over this, but I found this one to be the more exciting of the two. I still consider Donald Pleasance to be the one true Blofeld.)

8. Thunderball (The weakest of Connery's initial five, which still makes it better than pretty much anything that followed.)

9. The World Is Not Enough (Yes, Denise Richards is horrible. But having a female lead villain who would seduce the lead male characters, Bond & Renard, to do her bidding was fresh and it has some of the best action scenes in the series. One of the most underrated Bond films.)

10. Live and Let Die (Moore's first outing is a bit out there with all the supernatural elements, but is a lot of fun with a good villain, good Bond girl, and some classic stunts like the bit with the alligators and subsequent boat chase. Best theme music of the series too.)

11. Licence to Kill (Robert Davi owns this movie, and is one of the best villains in the series.)

12. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (If Connery was in this, it would be top five. Lazenby drags the entire movie down. There is a lot of great stuff here, but it ultimately ends up being the equivalent of the Indianapolis Colts lining up on Super Bowl Sunday with Jim Sorgi at quarterback. It just doesn't work.)

13. Tomorrow Never Dies (Solid action film. I enjoyed it enough, it just wasn't very memorable aside from the remote control car.)

14. Octopussy (Roger Moore's equivalent of Tomorrow Never Dies. Solid, nothing spectacular.)

15. The Living Daylights (Dalton is actually better here than in Licence to Kill, but the villains are weak and although the first half of the film is pretty good, the Afghanistan sequence is brutal.)

16. Die Another Day (A tale of two films. Everything up to the point Bond goes to Iceland is good. Everything afterwards is horrible.)

17. The Man with the Golden Gun (A good villain doesn't save it.)

18. A View to a Kill (A good villain doesn't save it #2, only Moore is 10 years older.)

19. Moonraker (Almost a parody, but at least there is some fun in it.)

20. Diamonds Are Forever (That Connery is in this and missed OHMSS is the greatest tragedy in the history of the series.)

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

After seeing Casino Royale tonight, I'm not sure where I'd rank it. I probably need to rewatch. A very welcome change after DAD but it does drag at times...right around the cusp of the top 10 for me in the 9-11 range.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

I can't believe EW liked AVTAK better than TWINE. Disgusting!

[cabbageboy 0]

I'm not sure why they would say World is Not Enough is the flat out worst Bond movie because I don't think anyone else would say that.

 

But then Diamonds Are Forever as the worst? I'll admit it has some problems (Blofeld in drag, Bond no selling the events of OHMSS) but it's a very fun outing as a stand alone film. I guess one could say it's a flat ending to the whole Blofeld storyline, but I have to think they wanted to go back to Blofeld later and didn't.

 

I'm still perplexed by the love of For Your Eyes Only on this board. It's decent but in the end kind of a 2nd rate rehash of From Russia With Love with much weaker villains.

[Lil' Bitch 0]

IYO Who were the best and worst Bond girls?

 

What were the best and worst Bond movie theme songs?

 

For me:

 

Best girl - Tatiana Romanova

Worst girl - May Day

 

Best song - Diamonds Are Forever

Worst song - Thunderball

 

Best Bond Girl

 

1.) Honey Rider (Dr. No)

 

2.) Pussy Galore (GF)

 

3.) Tracy Vicenzo (OHMSS)

 

4.) Jinx (DAD)

 

5.) Anya Amasova (TSWLM)

 

6.) Xenia Onatopp (GE)

 

7.) Wai Lin (TND)

 

8.) Rosa Klebb (FRWL)

 

9.) Tiffany Case (DAF)

 

10.) Melina Havelock (FYEO)

 

Worst Bond Girl

 

1.) Christmas Jones (TWINE)

 

2.) Stacey Sutton (AVTK)

 

3.) Corinne Dufour (MR)

 

4.) Kara Milovy (TLD)

 

5.) Helga Brandt (YOLT)

 

6.) Mary Goodnight (TMWTGG)

 

7.) Pam Bouvier (LTK)

 

8.) Holly Goodnight (MR)

 

9.) Bibi Dahl (FYEO)

 

10.) Octopussy

 

^ Although EW IMO got this wrong because to me, a Bond girl is somebody 007 actually sleeps with.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

Best Girl - Pussy Galore

Worst Girl - Mayday

 

Best Song - Nobody Does It Better

Worst Song - The Man with the Golden Gun

 

EW also got it wrong when they had Jinx anywhere near the top ten. She's down there with May Day (who for some reason isn't on their bottom ten) and Christmas Jones. What was so wrong with Helga Brandt by the way?

[Lil' Bitch 0]

Basically, they didn't think she was hot and that her German character had no place in a movie with a Japanese setting.

[Black Lushus 0]

Best Song-3 way tie Live and Let Die, A View To a Kill and For Your Eyes Only

[cabbageboy 0]

Best Song: Nobody Does It Better.

Worst Song: Die Another Day (I almost said TMWTGG but at least that is an actual SONG, not robotic rambling).

 

Best Bond Girl: Tracy from OHMSS

Worst Bond Girl: Miss Goodnight from TMWTGG

 

I was soooo close to saying Jinx on that. But Ms. Goodnight wins out, since she was by far the most inept, embarrassing Bond girl ever. I thought of saying the chick from Living Daylights too, but at least she could play the cello. Ms. Goodnight though? She actively sabotages Bond at several points in the film by being totally clueless.

 

In regards to Jinx, I have something to ask. What was the point of the entire character being in the movie? Rewatch Die Another Day and you'll understand what I mean. She has zero point even existing. Bond could still go to Cuba, find the gene therapy lab, go to Iceland, etc. She contributes jack shit. Add to it Rosamund Pike (as Miranda Frost) being a much more critical character, as well as being a lot hotter than Jinx.

[Black Lushus 0]

Best Song-3 way tie Live and Let Die, A View To a Kill and For Your Eyes Only

 

that last song shoulda been Nobody Does it Better from The Spy Who Loved Me...wtf was I thinking?

 

oh, and don't sleep on License To Kill by Gladys Knight, fellas...

[cabbageboy 0]

I think the two best themes have to be Live and Let Die and Nobody Does it Better. Great themes and yet seem like actual songs on the radio, and are timeless to boot. View to a Kill is ultra overproduced and 80s sounding, not as timeless.

[Black Lushus 0]

true, but I dig Duran Duran.

[SuperJerk 0]

The new song is also pretty good, IMHO.

 

I think the worst song was either "Die Another Day" or "The Living Daylights".

[cabbageboy 0]

Living Daylights isn't a terrible theme if you can stand overproduced 80s stuff like A-Ha.

 

Die Another Day? That one truly sucks. It might even be worse than Man With the Golden Gun. At least MWTGG sounds somewhat like a real song, not just robotic mumbling.

[Insanity 0]

I haven't seen all the James Bond films but there's no possibility that one of them can be worse than "A View To Kill." I don't like watching old people have sex.

[Zorin Industries 0]

I was watching A View To A Kill the other night, and to be honest I think its a decent enough movie, not the crap everyone makes it out to be. Sure it has its bad moments (Tanya Roberts being snuck up upon by an Airship the worst) but I fairly enjoyed it.

 

I was actually struck with how much Zorins not your typical supervillian, sure he's got the grandiose scheme, but he's much more a total pyscopath than any previous Bond villian, check out casual manner and glee in the scene where he blows up the mine and guns down the miners.

 

I think a better approach to the movie would have been to make it like Never Say Never Again, with Moore playing a past his prime Bond (which he already was really) and having to deal with a man like Zorin who was crazier and more twisted than anyone he had faced before. Maybe have Zorin kill off Tanya Roberts character and really come close to defeating Bond at the end to show the old rules were out the window.

 

They could have put the series to bed for a number of years then done a reboot ala Casino Royale.

[cabbageboy 0]

A View to a Kill has its moments, but some of the later Moore movies suffer from being too cheesy. Stuff like Bond doing a Tarzan yell during a chase (from Octopussy) is inappropriate and silly. Or the Beach Boys playing at the beginning of AVTAK, it's foolish.

 

The Bond movie I underrated the most is Licence to Kill. It was one that left a very bad taste in my mouth for a long time for being too vicious and bloody for a Bond movie, but I watched it again recently and liked it better. Dalton pointed the way in it for the more hardcore Bond that Craig played in Casino Royale (and is really a better fit for Bond). I also like that they developed the Bond/Leiter relationship beyond just "Leiter shows up for a few scenes, talks to Bond, etc." And it's probably Q's finest hour, as he actually does some field work in addition to bringing the gadgets.

[The Robfather 0]

I just saw Thunderball for the first time tonight.

 

It sucked.

 

The final underwater battle was so long and drawn out. I thought it would never end. Also, there were a couple fight scenes where you could cleary see where the takes ended. Just looked cheesy.

 

I also get very tired of the whole 'minion screws up, killed for his mistakes by evil boss' bit. I saw that play 3 times in slightly different variations. It becomes a little laughable.

 

Overall, the movie just felt long. I still got alot of Bonds to watch, but this one was not one I'd recommend to anyone.

[Darthtiki 0]

Best Bond Song I gotta go with The World is not Enough, but then again I'm a Garbage zealot, though Tomorrow Never Dies and You Know My Name are up there too.

The worst has to be between All Time High (Octopussy) and Die Another Day, seriously what the FUCK does Sigmund Freud have to do with James Bond

 

As for Bond girls I have to go with Anya and Miranda Frost as best, for worst I'd say May Day but I'll give her a pass only because its Grace Jones and that's her schtick and say Jinx/Christmas Jones and the cameo by Madonna

[cabbageboy 0]

Thunderball is the one Connery Bond movie that I feel doesn't really hold up as well as his other ones. And yes, it's mainly due to the underwater stuff dating the movie, since it's kinda long and dull to watch now.

 

I actually like the song All Time High, though I'll admit it reeks of that early 80s soft rock vibe.

[The Robfather 0]

Ok, I’ve gotten to On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

 

Wonderful movie.

 

May be my favorite I've seen thus far. I liked the darker tone and the downer ending. I also enjoyed all the snow action scenes. I had heard awful things about George Lazenby, but I liked his performance (save the dubbing when he was undercover). 007 doesn't need to be too suave. This also doesn't play as a standard action affair. Bond actually has a story arch.

[cabbageboy 0]

Glad you enjoyed it, OHMSS is definitely one of my faves in the series too (I had it at #2 overall). The ending is certainly the only sad, depressing Bond ending but the rest of it isn't so bleak as to not be entertaining. There's still a lot of humor in other parts of the film, mostly when Bond is undercover.

 

OHMSS doesn't feel like any other Bond movie. Maybe it's Lazenby being a 1 and done, maybe it's the more genuine old style romantic vibe.

[Zorin Industries 0]

Got the Roger Moore Box Set for Xmas, hes my favourite Bond, so pretty happy with that. Have sat down and watched Live And Let Die and The Man With The Golden Gun so far.

 

 

 

!!HERE BE SPOILERS!! (Though you should really know what happens in all the Bond movies by now)

 

 

 

Haven't seen LALD in a number of years, and didn't remeber enjoying it that much, after watching it again I thought it was really good. Good villians, decent plot and a good Bond girl in Jane Seymour. Only time it ever dragged for me was the boat chase, which felt like it went on for a bit too long. Baron Samedi was always near the top of my favourite villians, but Tee Hee's also preety good too. Yaphet Koto, was good value as well.

 

I was quite surprised at parts of Roger Moores Bond as well, we all know he can do the wit and sophistication, but he actually came through with a bit of grit at times as well. Check out the scene where he threatens to kill Rosie Carver if she doesn't talk, I honestly believed that Bond was prepared to do it.

 

Saying all that though, it felt like there was some X-factor missing to make to truly great, can't put my finger on it, but something just seems to be missing. A respectable 7.5/10

 

TMWTGG I quite liked too, it has its problems (Britt Ekland i'm looking at you), but it has good points, Scaramanga the high point. I thought the scene at the kickboxing fight, with him having a casual chat with Bond next to a dead Maud Adams was really well done. I liked the fact that he had no hard feelings against Bond, and would likely have left him alone had Bond not coming searching for Goodnite. I also like the fact he admits hes' no scientist and has no grandiose scheme, he just wants a big payday from the Solar collector.

 

Still the movie dragged at some points, the first opening prologues preety good, but the 15 - 20 mins after that are pretty forgetable. Goodnites' a terrible Bond Girl, the fact that Ekland looks great in a Bikini saves her from being the worst. The scene at the karate school just seems stupid, and theres no reason for JW Pepper to show up.

 

All in all, its a fairly average affair, but not awful. Also I don't know why people dislike the theme, after hearing it again, i'd say its one of my favourite themes from the series. 6/10

 

I'll review the rest when I sit down to watch them.

[DMann2003 0]

Got Volume's 3 & 4 for Christmas, so I'm pretty happy having the whole collection now.

 

I'm just continually knocked out by the new transfers, these films come to life like brand new, no more dirt and scratches to mar the presentations, which really hurt watching Goldfinger and On Her Majesty's Secret Service. 2 of my favs.