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Post by snsurone on Oct 14, 2018 17:13:25 GMT
I was surprised when the announcement came out that a movie was being made of this novel. It's notable as Roger Moore's first picture as James Bond.
I had read the book in the '60's, and it is unspeakably racist and totally UN-PC! In fact, it seemed that Bond's mission changed from government business to rescuing the lily-pure white goddess from the leering black apes!
But when I did see the movie, it had very little in common with the book. The black actors, especially Yaphet Koto were dignified and mature, even if they were the "villains". In fact, the very end of the film depicts Geoffrey Holder laughing in triumph on the front of a train.
BTW, Ian Fleming's Bond books were as sexist as they were racist. All women were judged on their body parts, especially T&A.
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Oct 14, 2018 18:37:09 GMT
It's a Bond film that I was hurt I didn't love as much in later life after loving it loads back in the late 70s and 80s when viewed with younger eyes. You see the problems more readily with older brain! A mixed bag but an important franchise entry and one I can safely revisit for comfort food purpose. My review >
More Action. More Excitement. More Adventure.
Live and Let Die is directed by Guy Hamilton and adapted to screenplay by Tom Mankiewicz from the novel written by Ian Fleming. It stars Roger Moore, Yaphet Koto, Jane Seymour, David Hedison, Julius W Harris, Gloria Hendry, Earl Jolly Brown, Clifton James and Geoffrey Holder. Music is scored by George Martin and cinematography by Ted Moore.
Bond 8 and 007 is assigned to investigate the recent murders of MI6 agents in New Orleans, San Monique and New York. Suspicion falls on San Monique ruler Dr Kananga, a man who has definite links to Harlem crime lord Mr Big. As 007 digs deeper he uncovers a plot to corner the world's heroin market, but halting such a plan is hindered by the presence of voodoo in his midst.
Connery was gone, for good this time, no amount of cash would entice him to don the tuxedo for a "legitimate" Bond movie again... This meant that producers Broccoli & Saltzman would be showcasing the third actor to play James Bond in a four year period! After the fall out of the casting of Lazenby in OHMSS, it was agreed that a established actor was needed this time around. Timothy Dalton was mooted, as he was for OHMSS (he was never offered the role though until 1986), but it came down to just two actors, Roger Moore & Michael Billington. Billington would screen test for the role of 007 a few times in his life but never landed the coveted role, as a sweetener he got to play a minor character in 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me. So Roger Moore it was, someone the producers knew quite well and who was well in vogue after starring in The Persuaders and The Saint. He also was honoured to play the role, wanted it badly and accepted the fanaticism that went with it.
Moore's take on Bond the man was a world away from Connery, and rightly so, but Live and Let Die is not far removed from Connery's last outing, Diamonds Are Forever. In truth it's a weak script, with Mankiewicz probably under orders from above to play to Moore's strengths and keep the overt humour and cartoon escapades as a selling point. The decision to pitch Bond into a world of voodoo is a good one, and it was not, as some believe, an attempt to grasp the tails of the Blacksploitation market that had made waves in the early 70s. It's a better film than Diamonds Are forever, without doubt. The villains are memorably played, though Kananga's (Koto) demise is indicative of the daftness that would blight many Bond movies from here on in, and in Hamilton's hands the action, especially an adrenalin pumping speedboat chase, is quality entertainment. Top blunderbuss theme tune, too, from Paul McCartney & Wings. While Felix Leiter is back on good charming form in the hands of Hedison (a real life friend of Moore and it shows).
Problems elsewhere, though, stop this from being a great Bond movie. Much of the film is made up of scenes that are played purely for smiles rather than for dramatic purpose. In short a Bond movie has stopped taking itself seriously. The introduction of Sheriff Pepper (James) is pointless, the beautiful Seymour shows promise but then becomes one of "those" Bond girls who is a liability to 007 outside of the bedroom, and the film is padded out with scenes that offer nothing important to the story. Hendry's Rosie Carver is a dope and poorly written, though it gave Bond his first inter-racial "dalliance", something that the producers were nervous about behind the scenes. While there's no Q! And George Martin's score is very hit and miss.
A new actor playing Bond and many failings in the picture, could Bond still succeed? Yes indeed! Moore, in spite of not getting good page to work from and getting stick from the critics, put his own stamp on the role by looking smooth, having an excellent vocal delivery and being someone the girls wanted to bed and the boys wanted to be. The box office sang to the tune of over $160 million, over $40 million more than Diamonds Are Forever. The tag-line ran "More Action, More Excitement, More Adventure", though not entirely accurate, there was indeed an abundance of fun play and gadgets are us (Felix Lighter, priceless). Bond was set to continue coining it in for the foreseeable future, but the dye had been cast and Bond ran the risk of becoming purely a cartoon caricature... 7/10
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Post by Primemovermithrax Pejorative on Oct 14, 2018 20:02:31 GMT
I could never take the conflicts seriously in Bond films because of that humor.
It was like Eric Idle kept popping up behind Bond to say "Nudge nudge wink wink, knowhatImean? KnowwhatImean?"
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Post by wmcclain on Oct 14, 2018 20:19:13 GMT
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Post by llanwydd on Oct 14, 2018 20:19:32 GMT
The only thing I remember about that film was the speedboat. I remember an actor in that scene turned up as the same character in another Bond film for some reason. Some sort of cameo reappearance.
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Post by faustus5 on Oct 14, 2018 21:06:04 GMT
First Bond film I ever saw as kid--I didn't even know the character existed when my parents took me to see it at a drive in. I had never seen a movie like it before and I was instantly in love with the series.
It probably hasn't aged well, but when you are a kid you can be amazed by almost anything when it is completely new to you.
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Post by OldAussie on Oct 14, 2018 21:50:28 GMT
It was on tv so often in the 70s that I got sick of it. Also I was upset that it wasn't Connery. So I never really liked it as much as the other Bond flicks. I still put it in the bottom 4 or 5 of the franchise (I HATE that word, but how else to describe it) although it does seem popular with a lot of people - maybe helped by the theme song.
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Post by llanwydd on Oct 14, 2018 21:56:57 GMT
One reason I was fascinated with the film was that the theme music was on the radio a lot and it was by my favorite band at the time, Wings. I was in 6th or 7th grade. I wasnt allowed to go to movies so I had to wait for it to be shown on television.
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Post by mikef6 on Oct 14, 2018 22:01:07 GMT
Wan't it LALD's ending that was spoofed so successfully in the first Austin Powers? Dr. Evil is going to leave Powers tied up and slowly descending into a pool with sharks while Dr. Evil and everybody was going to leave. Scott Evil tries to say, "Why don't we just shoot him before we leave?" but the good doctor can't see the logic of that and insists that they all go while Powers is still alive.
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Post by Lebowskidoo 🦞 on May 21, 2019 15:08:48 GMT
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on May 21, 2019 15:32:20 GMT
whenever I rewatch the entire series in chronological order, which I've done a few times now. Yep I do that as well, actually overdue for my latest since I haven't reviewed Spectre yet. Time to get busy again!
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Post by movielover on May 21, 2019 15:38:05 GMT
Personally, I love it. Great speed boat chase, great theme song, great Bond girl, lots of humor, great villains (including the guy from the 7UP commercials, "ha-ha-ha"). I especially love the ending scene in the train compartment.
Roger Moore is so suave and cool that he's a great James Bond in my eyes, either tied for 1st with Connery or at least a close 2nd.
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Post by movielover on May 21, 2019 15:42:39 GMT
The only thing I remember about that film was the speedboat. I remember an actor in that scene turned up as the same character in another Bond film for some reason. Some sort of cameo reappearance. That was Clifton James as Sheriff Pepper. I love that character. He reappeared in The Man with the Golden Gun.
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Post by vegalyra on May 21, 2019 17:44:03 GMT
One of the first Bond films I remember seeing, the opening sequence with the skull freaked me out as a little kid. Dad even said I would hide behind the couch until that part was over. haha. It ended up being one of my favorite Bonds for quite some time until I finally saw all the films uncut and in order on DVD years later. I still rank it pretty high, and it has one of the most gorgeous Bond girls ever invented (Jane Seymour), plus the powerboat scene is really well done. The theme song (by Wings and later Guns N Roses) is probably still played more on the radio than any other.
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Post by Chalice_Of_Evil on May 22, 2019 0:34:20 GMT
Probably my favourite of Roger Moore's Bond films, and also features one of my favourite Bond girls as well as one of my top 3 Bond film songs. The only thing I remember about that film was the speedboat. I remember an actor in that scene turned up as the same character in another Bond film for some reason. Some sort of cameo reappearance. That was Clifton James as Sheriff Pepper. I love that character. He reappeared in The Man with the Golden Gun. I always wondered if the Sheriff in Superman II (1980), also played by that^ actor, was meant to be the same character or not.
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Post by fangirl1975 on May 24, 2019 20:41:26 GMT
One reason I was fascinated with the film was that the theme music was on the radio a lot and it was by my favorite band at the time, Wings. I was in 6th or 7th grade. I wasnt allowed to go to movies so I had to wait for it to be shown on television. How come you weren't allowed to go to the movies? That sounds loco to me.
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Post by snsurone on May 24, 2019 21:07:53 GMT
One reason I was fascinated with the film was that the theme music was on the radio a lot and it was by my favorite band at the time, Wings. I was in 6th or 7th grade. I wasnt allowed to go to movies so I had to wait for it to be shown on television. How come you weren't allowed to go to the movies? That sounds loco to me. Not so surprising. I can remember having to beg my mother for the money to go see A HARD DAY'S NIGHT with a couple of friends. I never received a weekly allowance as other kids did.
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Post by louise on May 28, 2019 12:55:57 GMT
I love it. It's tremendous fun. I was particularly delighted, when watching the documentary about the making of it, to find that the crocodile farm was a real place, and so was the sign saying trespassers will be eaten. The owner of the farm did the stunt where Bond jumps across all those crocodiles.
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Post by geode on Jul 28, 2019 13:56:54 GMT
I haven't watched this since its first release in theaters. It was by far my least favorite entry in the series, and although I disliked some later Bond films this remains at the bottom of my list.
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