Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

Odeon are celebrating 60 years of James Bond and starting with Dr No on 15th April they are working their way through the Bond franchise and giving you the opportunity to relive and experience all the films on the big screen again. Below is the timeline for releases, it is pretty much one a week for the next 6 months:




15 April - DR. NO (60th Anniversary)

22 April - FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

29 April - GOLDFINGER

6 May - THUNDERBALL

13 May - YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE

20 May - ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE

27 May - DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

3 June - LIVE & LET DIE

10 June - THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN

17 June - THE SPY WHO LOVED ME

24 June - MOONRAKER

1 July - FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

8 July - OCTOPUSSY

15 July - A VIEW TO A KILL

22 July - LIVING DAYLIGHTS

29 July - LICENSE TO KILL

5 August - GOLDENEYE

12 August - TOMORROW NEVER DIES

19 August - THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH

26 August - DIE ANOTHER DAY

2 September - CASINO ROYALE

9 September - QUANTUM OF SOLACE

16 September - SKYFALL

23 September - SPECTRE

30 September - NO TIME TO DIE

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

Just to add to this for people who don't go to the Cinema or can't afford the ridiculous cost.

All 25 Bond movies will be available on Amazon Prime at no additional cost from 15th April for a limited time.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

Great tip, thanks :tu:

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

1967's Casino Royale and 1983’s Never Say Never Again unfortunately are not included.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

Wow! All the Easter/Christmas movies since the 70s almost at once.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

That's a shame, the 67 Casino Royale is by far the best "Bond" film, after all it has more than one James Bond and you can't beat that. Still I have that one on DVD.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

These were made by different production companies and are usually regarded as “unofficial” even though they had the rights to make them at the time.

The “official” 25 Bond films are all made by Eon.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

Casino Royale is awful regardless of anything.

Never Say Never Again, which is a remake of Thunderball was only made because of a rights issue.


NSNA was up against Octopussy and Roger Moore, and they were both too old. I thought Connery was still better.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

I think it's a shame Amazon got the right to it even if Eon have a large degree of control. There are already rumours of a TV show set the universe and Amazon are going to want to milk the IP.

In a world of everything being a universe, I quite liked Bond being an event movie every 3 years or so.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

I've pre iously seen From Russia with Love and On Her Majesty's secret service in Cinemas. They are my two favourite ones.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

I have only seen Pierce Brosnan onwards. From about 1996 onwards I think.



https://variety.com/2022/tv/global/j...gm-1235214551/

It sounds like a James Bond themed version of the Krypton Factor

I noticed they are skipping 1983s "Never say never again" :D (Im glad im not the only one who didnt like that)

The earliest one I have seen is Thunderball I believe but I didnt really like it... First one I really love is YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967) Which I have on VHS :)

I have also seen these

1) FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (Rioger Moore) - Have it on VHS
2) Octopussy (Roger Moore) - Have it on VHS
4) View to a kill (Roger moore) - Have it on VHS
5) Licence to kill - Timmy Dalton - Have it on VHS
6) Tommorow never dies - Pierce Browson

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

They are skipping Never Say Never Again as it wasn't part of the main franchise and is just a remake of Thunderball.

---------- Post added at 01:16 ---------- Previous post was at 01:13 ----------

So you've never seen any Connery, Lazenby, Moore or Dalton? I've seen all of them so many times.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

Missus and I are working our way through Moore first, as these are the ones we remember best from our childhoods (I’m guessing these were the ones most often repeated on TV in the 80s as they were the newest ones at the time). I have never seen them uninterrupted, high definition and widescreen before, so this is turning out to be a real treat.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

ya, my parents and grandparents had them all on video when I was very young and I watched them many times. The two bits I looked forward to in every film was the opening action scene and the obligatory trip to Q half way through the film to get the latest tech and gadgets.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

Oh right. The way you phrased that it sounded like you'd only seen Brosnan onwards.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

Ive seen them all at the cinema since Live and Let Die.

I didnt realise until the other day that Daniel Craig has played Bond for 15 years, the longest of all of them.

Ya its amazing Paul!!

Ah man!!

Thank you for that info,maybe thats why I dont like it much.....

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

I think the original Casino Royale is also on Prime. That's on my viewing plan even though I have the DVD. Love the blurb "Five directors and an all-star cast...".

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

The original isn't on Prime but there is a spoof of it on there by the same name.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

That spoof is the original that I've seen. Great fun. Didn't know there was a proper, earlier Casino Royale. I hate how they mucked up the newer one replacing baccarat with poker.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

In the grand scheme of things, replacing one card game with another is hardly mucking it up. Screen adaptations of novels routinely change far more than fine details like that. In the case of Bond, the films rarely stick very close to the novels and are frequently amalgamations of multiple sources written by Fleming.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

That spoof originally was supposed to be an Eon Production.
Charles K. Feldman, the producer, had acquired the film rights in 1960 and had attempted to get Casino Royale made as an Eon Productions Bond film; however, Feldman and the producers of the Eon series, Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, failed to come to terms. Believing that he could not compete with the Eon series, Feldman resolved to produce the film as a satire. The budget escalated as various directors and writers became involved in the production, and actors expressed dissatisfaction with the project.

MGM, distributers of Eon films got the rights for the film in 1999 and it was produced as part of the series by Eon and released in 2006.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

Just looking through the listing now and both Casino Royale (1967) and Never Say Never Again are available with Prime at present.

Well its good they are offering it for those who wanna see that......

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

Out of curiosity I decided to watch the Dr.NO for the first time a couple of weeks ago when I was on vacation from my hgv job. I felt like I was looking at a museum exhibit. It's amazing how much the films moved on for past couple of decades. It was a very unique experience.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

that's why I won't watch anything other than the Daniel Craig films anymore. Whether it is the sound, action or visual effects, they offer a far more immersive viewing experience and you can believe they are real spy films with consequence. For me the earlier James Bond films are synonymous with the Adam West Batman tv series.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

You have no appreciation of the film-makers art.

Tonight’s treat is Goldfinger. An entertaining story as well as an interesting snapshot of life in the mid 1960s.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

And the Adam West Batman is still better than the more modern ones. True the production of the later titles is greater but they get too dark. I prefer the earlier more light hearted and fun titles.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

I love the Dark Trilogy and enjoy the earlier ones with Val Kilmer, Michel Keaton and George Clooney. I havent seen them in yonks but i would happily watch them again.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

How can you compare bond to 60s Batman??

That's just not even a thing. Early bond films are classic cinema and fantastic movies in their own right. Way more immersive than many new films. Most visual effects and stunt work was all captured on film none of this CGI blue screen fakery.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

The terrible sound and overall cheeseyness. The only reason you watch something like that is to cringe and laugh.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

What terrible sound?

Sean Connery and George Lazenby were not OOT cheesy. They were just a product of their time. It was when Roger Moore took over that it went laughable at times. However they are still mostly good fun and enjoyable to watch.

They certainly aren't as tongue in cheek or as cheesy as 60s Batman. Not even on the same scale.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

Loved Goldeneye. Might have to go and re-live it on the big screen.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

The diabolical dubbing of every sound effect. They sound like chinese/japanese films. Fake punches, fake gun shots, fake explosiins, fake car noises, fake everything. I know they are a product of their time but it doesn't mean they are good or are worth (or enjoy) watching today.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

Yes a lot of things were ADR but that doesn't make them bad or terrible. In fact the won an Oscar for best sound for Goldfinger. Also some early Oscars for visual effects for Thunderball.

A lot 9f what Bond was doing for cinema was cutting edge at the time. Most film and TV now still dubs sounds and voices, it's just harder to notice with better technology behind it.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

Well I enjoy all the Bonds they tick my enjoyment factor boxes.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

Same for me although Moore is my least favourite Bond.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

From someone who claims to be a film aficionado this is very disappointing. You truly have no sense of film as an art-form. As Stephen already pointed out, far from being fake, Goldfinger actually won the oscar that year for its sound. i.e. it was, in the view of the Academy, the state of the art at the time it was made.

Film is indeed meant to be immersive, but clearly you're working to a different definition of immersive to the Academy, BAFTA and just about everyone else. Film is meant to do more than engorge your realism factor. It's about finding new ways to tell interesting stories and examine ideas. And, in point of fact, without the work of sound editors on 1960s films like Goldfinger, you wouldn't have the sound production you so love on films today. The art is in a constant state of development and innovation, and classic films remain classics because of their achievement at the time as well as their contribution to the development of the art. If you don't understand that, you're no sort of film fan at all.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

I can confidently say I have never said that in my life

indeed but it doesn't mean they carry the same weight or value today. The whole point is that they were fantastic for their time. Just because a film may have been ground breaking in the 1930s doesn't mean I want to watch it today. The Artist is a perfect example if you have seen it. Would you want an infantry battalion from WWII in our army today or a dot matrix printer? They were good in the day but that is where they belong.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

There were groundbreaking and great for when they were made and they are still good to this day.

That's like saying Star Wars was great for 1977 but it's not worth watching now as effects and sound are better on new films.

Just not logical.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

And yet you harp on at length about Oscar nominations, have opinions on all sorts of films and relentlessly share ‘how it should have ended’ type material on here. You clearly have strong views on how you think films *should* be made.

On the contrary, it means exactly that.

… and here again you miss the point by a country mile, because for all your claimed interest in film, what actually titillates you can be very narrowly defined indeed. You want to be effortlessly transported into a situation as if you were there, without having to do any significant mental or emotional engagement of your own, and you dislike being challenged by a film ending in a way other than you want it to.

If that’s what you go to the cinema for, then fine. I won’t argue with that, plenty of people do so and are perfectly happy. But criticising classic films as being of less current value because of their age or production methods defies all logic. You might as well argue Leonardo da Vinci’s work is worth less because he used lead-based pigments in his paint.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

if it makes you feel any better I have just been to see Starship Troopers at the cinema and I enjoyed it as much this time round as I did when I first saw it 25 years ago.


yup, that's because I get berated for my views and opinions on films and anyone would get the impression from this forum that I am the odd one out and the only person who thinks the way I do. I laugh my ass off (literally) when I watch the HISHE's and they pick up on everything I do. I post them to reinforce my point of view and show I am not in the minority.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

Many of the HISHE and honest trailers are done for a laugh and a joke, not a serious view in any way.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

I recently bought the box set of James Bond and must say the older films are the best.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

One thing that isn't fake like today is the stunts, Live and Let Die had a stunt impressive enough for the films villan to be named in homage to the stuntman.

I actually thought nearly the same thing (think I had nerd rather than aficionado), for me if it's well written and well acted I can watch anything, production values can be ignored imo and for me to many films today rely on green screen fakery to compensate for mediocre acting and writing

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

My favourite film is GoldenEye but theres one bit that always iritates me.
When they are about to steal the helicopter from the ceremony on the boat, Xenia shoots the crew and you hear the gun shot. However it has a silencer fitted!

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

Theres good and bad with every incarnation of Bond. My personal take, and I've seen them all several times.

Dr No - Meh
From Russia With Love - Good
Goldfinger - Very Good
Thunderball - Meh
You Only Live Twice - Best*
Diamonds are Forever - Good

OHMSS - Best* (I know this was before DaF, and as it's his only one it's obviously his best, but he gets a Best* for being one of the best Bonds of all)

Live and Let Die - Very Good
Man with the Golden Gun - Meh
The Spy Who Loved Me - Best*
Moonraker - Meh
For Your Eyes Only - a bit better than Meh
Octopussy - A bit worse than Meh
A View to A Kill - Meh* (gets a Meh* for having the best Theme tune of all the Bonds)

The Living Daylights - Good
Licence to Kill - Best*

Goldeneye - Good
Tomorrow Never Dies - Good
The World is Not Enough - Meh
Die Another Day - Sub Meh

Casino Royale - Very Good
Quantum of Solace - Good (and should be regarded as Casino Royal Pt II. Back to Back they work as a two parter.)
Skyfall - Best*
Spectre - Very Good
No Time to Die - Very Good.

Bonds Ranked Best to Worst:

Craig
Dalton
Lazenby
Connery
Moore

Best Films:
Skyfall
Licence to Kill
OHMSS
Spy Who Loved Me
You Only Live Twice

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

What about Brosnan?

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

Ha, yes…..that omission says it all really. I think he was the worst. He brought nothing to the role. His films weren’t bad but I don’t think he stamped any identity onto his portrayal of the character.

He was the vanilla Bond.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

Interesting choices, for me I liked Goldfinger a lot and I think Lazenby is the worst Bond because he had the best story, an excellent actress as his love interest and an iconic actor as the villan and it imo is an average film. I wasn't a massive fan of Dalton but people that knew Fleming said he is the closest in looks, mannerisms and demeanor to how he wanted Bond to be. Roger is my favourite and I like most of his films even a view to a kill has grown on me over the years after thinking it was amongst the worst films, there's actually a moment that never fails to make me chuckle where he nearly goes over the side of the Eiffel Tower, the groan he let's out is such a wobbly old man noise. Don't like Daniel Craig at all, probably should as my ex wife's family and his wife's family were semi friendly, coming from the same tiny village in Hertfordshire. Didn't think much of Brosnan but did quite like Connery. I liked the old sidekick henchmen of old to, Oddjob, niknak, Jaws, their novelty value was good for me.

Re: Celebrating 60 Years of James Bond
 

I love OHMSS and rate it highly as one of my favourite Bond film and performance from Lazenby. Only wish he'd had another film as well to show use what he can do.