James ironically was from New York.
LALD has IMO the best non-Barry score, George Martin really nailed it.
The low-key aspects really help the film's impact in addition to the non-stop setpieces/snakepits. Bond is a thinking cold blooded intellegence agent again and Moore is quite ruthless in his use and manipulation of others to achieve results.
The blaxploitation elements are regrettable nowadays yes, but as with TMWTGG to a lesser extent with kung-fu if you can look past them the film's overabundance of charm knocks you over.
It's also notable for being the only solo Tom Mankewicz screenplay.
Oh heck I'll admit I'm just writing about my childhood favorite to avoid thinking about SKYFAIL.