Nanner Split said:
captainsolo, I noticed you listed several Billy Wilder films. Have you ever seen Stalag 17? That one's one of my all-time favorite films.
I also can't believe I forgot to mention Apocalypse Now. That one might be my favorite movie of all time, I'd have to think about it a bit more. :P
A few more good ones:
Moon
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
The Sting
(Paul Newman and Robert Duvall have tied for my "favorite actor ever" spot)
I like Stalag 17. Bill Holden=happiness. Billy Wilder may have been the funniest man who ever lived.
I love Paul Newman-especially The Verdict.
Duvall just is Tom Hagen and THX completely.
The Bond gunbarrel is pretty much the best opening sequence ever designed. It is instantly recognizable, brilliant, and the moment where you quiver with excitement. It is integral. Dalton is so good, and is rather like the book Bond in numerous ways. The thing is, that has never really been nailed film-wise. They are two separate entities. The closest we came was with George in OHMSS.
Connery becomes bored in his films because he was given nothing more to do. He was locked in to what the public wanted, and no one was going to mess with that. By YOLT he was completely fed up. The Japanese hounded him day and night, and the producers were unwilling to pay more or let him do more as 007. Thus, he is dull and uninvolving in the film for the most part. (compare this with his performance in The Hill two years before. Startling difference.) Thunderball was also besieged with problems and was essentially saved by Peter Hunt making frantic edits late in the game.
Hunt had wanted the ending of OHMSS to be the teaser for DAF, but with Lazenby's departure all plans for a down and dirty revenge picture were thrown out the window. Enter adult jokes, bad toupee Connery, Charles Gray in drag, Jimmy Dean, Wint and Kidd, Diamonds Are Forever. The wittiness of the script keeps the thing moving.
Moore could definitely kill and be dark. LALD and TMWTGG has him being ruthless and even roughing up women. Re-watch his second tryst with Rosie where he knows she is a double and begins to question her. "I certainly wouldn't have killed you before." Or the scene with Lazar the gunsmith where he turns the tables and aims at the man's groin: "Speak now or forever hold your piece."
The teaser for FYEO has never really worked. We begin with the nice tip of the hat to OHMSS. Then Moore has the serious delivery of "Yes, it usually is." He seems to be reminiscing of all he has lost because of his job. The action is not bad, but Blofeld in a power wheelchair? Come on! It's a cheap way to say that Bond is done with the past and is back in the Cold War. And who in the hell wrote the line about the stainless steel delicatessen?? Must have been the same person who decided to hire Bill Conti to do a Bond score.
Whoa. Completely forgot Sidney Lumet films:
12 Angry Men/The Hill/Murder On The Orient Express/Dog Day Afternoon/Network/Prince Of The City/The Verdict/Before The Devil Knows You're Dead.
And Frankenheimer: The Manchurian Candidate/Seconds/Ronin.
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm/Batman Returns/Batman Forever:(childhood-don't judge me!)
Flint films/President's Analyst