Who Is The Best James Bond?

[mkelley]

Well, if you didn't make yourself clear, it's because of what you typed:

"But Lazenby has a particular kudo in my opinion: He is closest to Ian Fleming's Bond."

I guess when I read that I thought you were saying Lazenby was the closest to Ian Fleming's Bond, which is patently ridiculous. Sorry if I misinterpreted you.

[Metaluna]

Okay, show of hands people...how many of you will be loading up your Netflix queue with Bond movies as a result of this thread?

[thayne]

Sean Connery = James Bond Period....

[Tommyknocker]

...which is patently ridiculous

I said it and I meant it. Whether you find it ridiculous or not, is your own affair. I stand by my opinion. Attacking someone else's opinion because it does not agree with yours, to me, Mr.Mkelley, is "patently ridiculous".

[Craig Tucker]

Sean Connery = James Bond Period....

I will agree with that, although I think Pierce Brosnan is doing a fine job.

[MachineMan]

Roger Moore becuase the 007 movies of his period were the best. "Live and Let Die" has the best boat chase ever!!!

[Gees]

Then next poll'd have to be "What was the best Bond film?" I think people might pick their Bond because of their fave film. :c)

[Craig Tucker]

Tricky with only 10 options allowed.

[j1d10t]

Then next poll'd have to be "What was the best Bond film?" I think people might pick their Bond because of their fave film. :c)

Very true...

Although, with what, 6/7(?) for Connery/Moore, 2 for Dalton, 1 for Lazenby, and 4(?) for Brosnan, how would you pick a fav?

[Gees]

I was -not_ actually suggesting it for a poll. :c* I only meant it seems some like a particular Bond best because they like that film, or era of film, best.

I just plain out and out love Sean in them. I don't even have a favorite film. :c)

- I accidentally left out the key & crucial word there :cD

[Tommyknocker]

I think the fairest way is to have separate polls for each actor, then list which was your favorite movie for each thespian. Because at last glance, Mr. Connery was "walking away" with this poll.

[Craig Tucker]

A poll for George Lazenby's best Bond film, should be a landslide

[j1d10t]

You'd only need to do a poll for the Connery, Moore, and Brosnan films, separately, then list both of Dalton's, Lazenby's, and Casino Royale along with the fan favs for Connery, Moore and Brosnan.

[Gees]

I was (oops) not actually suggesting it for a poll. :c* I only meant it seems some like a particular Bond best because they like that film, or era of film, best.

I just plain out and out love Sean in them. I don't even have a favorite film. :c)

That ended up bottom of the first page (without the "not"). I didn't mean for anyone to go crazy figuring out how to do it! :cD

I didn't mean it literally. :c*

I must be tired.

[vhelp]

No-year-name
-----------------
1 1963 (favorite) - Dr. No
2 1963 (favorite) - From russia with love
3 1964 (good) - Goldfinger
4 1665 (good+) - Thunderball
5 1967 (favorite) - You only live twice
6 1969 (good+) - On her majestries secrete service
7 1971 (best/favorite) - Diamonds are forever
-----------------------------------------
8 1973 (favorite)*** - Live and let die
9 1974 (favorite) - The man with the golden gun
10 1977 (favorite) - The spy who loved me
11 1979 (favorite)*** - Moonraker
12 1981 (good)*** - For your eyes only
13 1983 (good)*** - Octopussy
15 1985 (good)*** - A view to a kill
-----------------------------------------
16 1987 (good) - License to kill
17 ???? (better) - ???
-----------------------------------------
18 1992 Golden eye
19 1995 The world is not enough
20 1999 Tomorrow never dies

*** means, I saw in movie thearters

hmmm....

Well, in short, it's none other, Sean Connery !!

He set the mold for ALL bonds ahead.

Now, a bit of history...
It was 1973.. My dad, and other brothers went to an afternoon movie
thearter, and we saw what was called a double-feature. I don't know what
that ment in those days, but that's what we saw.
.
.
The movies were:
* Scorpio, and we all ate lots of Cherry Liquaish (spelling)
* Live and Let Die was the next movie.
.
.
I don't know about you guys.. but just hearing the theme song done by
Paul McCarthy is enough for me to feel like it was Yesterday all
over again. That song stuck to me like glue. I always see Roger Moore
James Bond when I hear that song.. bar none !!

It was then, and years later (some 1979) that I fell in love w/ nothing but
Roger Moore as THE James Bond guy!!

Ok, moving along...
Hear comes cable, and I am now watching movies.
Ok, now comes USA and TBS and they have..

* Bond week; Bond Month; Bond weekend and Bond madness

Some time, duirng the watching of all these Bond guys, I felt a turning of
ways, and leaning towards Sean Connery hmmm....
* You Only Live Twice, had become my favorite.. but only for a brief time.
* Then, it hit me.. Diamonds Are Forever did me in.
.
.
That movie made me sway to Sean Connery, and I have never turned back
to Roger Moore as the bond guy again. But, still.. he's set a new standard
in bond guys, and I can't ignore him either. He's THE best bond too.. but
I'll choose Sean Connery if I have to, even though my 1973 lirks around
the corner for reminders.

Now on to George Lazenby...
I felt, that he did great in this bond movie..
* #6 - 1969 On her majestries secrete service
I don't know why he didn't return, but shortly after, Sean Connery did:
* #7 - 1971 Diamonds are forever, which became my favorite. I heard romar
that he donated his monies for this movies.

Now for Roger Moore...
* #10 - 1977 (favorite) - The spy who loved me
..Jaw is burnt into my head, ever sinse seeing those teeth and electricity.
..only to find him again, in..
* #11 - 1979 (favorite)*** - Moonraker
It was a pleasure to see Jaws show up again, and then later, turn to good
But, what can I say, I love Roger Moore, and he set a new standard (mold)
in bond guy.

Ok, now comes Timonthy Dalton...
He too, started a new bond trend, but quickly gave up the bond seat. I never
did get the reason why. But, hay... maybe it's because he found out that
he was loosing his hair, and had to give it up.. but, luckly, Sean was much
older, and although he was loosing HIS hair too, it was much later in the
bonds, and of course, if you look at his last bond (my favorite) ...
Diamond Are Forever, you could see it lost quite a bit, ..hint, "bamby
anyone?"
But, the one thing I am greatful of, is the fact that Q had played a
few parts w/ the bond guy. Yes, once in Octopussy ..towards the
end, and the second time, in Timonthy's last one, ..though name slips me.
..may he rest in Q pieces.. I miss him

Ok, now comes Pears...
He's ok. I only saw two of his movies, but I really didn't quite get it down
in my mind yet, with him being the new (latest) bond guy.
He really should have taken the bond step, oh way back in the 80's I think
is when it was, that he was asked. But he had issues (can't remember them)
He could have started the new (and possibly) the best bond guy ever.

In the order of preference, it's:
* Sean Connery
* Roger Moore
* Timothy Dalton
* George Laziby - no explanaa here.. but I really did like this bond guy.
* Pears Bros..

The bottom line is like this...
As long as they play them, I'll watch them. I can never grow bored of watching
them. I've ben watching them since TBS started their Bond marathons oh, back
in mid 80's on cable. But, now TNN (now know as Spike) airs them, as they do
TNG.

That's it for now.
-vhelp

[Chuffster]

Bob Holness, and he's well known in the UK for his TV Quiz show BLOCKBUSTERS

I'll have an E please, Bob.

[Craig Tucker]

Well you have left out one other person out of the vote and although he's not well known like the other actors (except for his British TV Shows), he was after all the Very first Actor to Ever play James Bond.

Did not know that, what did he play James Bond in ?

[tweedledee]

Any Bond movie without Sean Connery is crap, and George Lazenby"s Aussie accent had to be dubbed over by an actor who could speak English.

[energy80s]

Actually, the full story is sadder.

They actually *picked* Pierce for the Bond movies (after Moore) and Remington Steel, the series he was in at the time, was cancelled and due to go off the air.

But either Pierce or his publicist or *someone* leaked the choice of the future Bond, and suddenly he was *hot*. So NBC ordered another season of the show, Pierce was contractually obligated to do it, and had to turn down the Bond role. He thought he had lost it forever, but was given a second chance years later.

This is even stranger when you know that Pierce had told NBC that he could do 6 more episodes of Rem Steele before he was needed for the 1st Bond shoot. They said that they wanted a 24 episode series and he had to cancel the Bond project. Then when it came to film Remington Steele, NBC decided just to go with 6 episodes!! By the time Pierce found out, Tim Dalton had already been cast, and so he missed out.

My personal fav Bond is Roger Moore. Then again I'm a child of the seventies and grew up with him. My favourite film is MOONRAKER. Some great one liners in it.

... When Q is demonstrating his latest tranquiliser gun, Bond tell him to make sure he gets them in the shops for Christmas. Or when Bond goes to test out the astronaut training gear, Dr. Goodhead (ooohhh eeerrr missus!!) says that a 70 year old can take 3G's and Roger says that you can never get a 70 year old when you need one! Or the time when Drax get one of his assistants to show Mr. Bond around the complex and "make sure some harm comes to him". Or the time .... oh must stop this!

[PyrosofT]

There was only 1 Bond...Connery himself.

He was the clear winner right from ther start.

[mats.hogberg]

Of all polls ever posted, this was the easiest - didn't even have to think for a microsecond, and even if I had, the result would have been the same. Sean Connery is one of my all time fav actors.

/Mats

PS!

When Q is demonstrating his latest tranquiliser gun, Bond tell him to make sure he gets them in the shops for Christmas. Or when Bond goes to test out the astronaut training gear, Dr. Goodhead (ooohhh eeerrr missus!!) says that a 70 year old can take 3G's and Roger says that you can never get a 70 year old when you need one! Or the time when Drax get one of his assistants to show Mr. Bond around the complex and "make sure some harm comes to him". Or the time ....

It's exactly this kind of stuff that makes all other incarnations of Bond pale in comparision: Mr Bond is no comedian, as recent scripts/actors seem to believe.
DS

[mkelley]

...which is patently ridiculous

I said it and I meant it. Whether you find it ridiculous or not, is your own affair. I stand by my opinion. Attacking someone else's opinion because it does not agree with yours, to me, Mr.Mkelley, is "patently ridiculous".

No, let me qualify it (because I don't mean to start a flame): I stated some facts in my opinon about Lazenby, which show that he isn't the "killing machine" you have described him as, but let me elaborate:

Lazenby's Bond doesn't have the revenge factor going on because his wife is not killed until the end of the film. Lazenby's Bond doesn't kill *anyone* in cold blood (unlike, say Sean's very first movie, Dr. No, when his cold blooded killing in the bedroom with a silencer set the tone for Sean's "killing machine") and, indeed, ends up merely knocking out his foes (at least four of them in two separate fights) until the first ski chase scene, during which he really only kills one man (and that's almost an accident, as he's hit by a ski and falls off a mountain). During the second ski chase scene one more dies, but also due to an accident.

Only at the end, when they are raiding the chateau, does Lazenby actually kill anyone on purpose, and there is only one death which could be possibly be described as "cold blooded" (the scientist who hurls the acid). Lazenby not only doesn't kill the villian in the film, but he doesn't even *capture* him (making him the most ineffectual Bond in any Bond movie).

So by my count, and by cold hard facts, Lazenby is actually the least killing machine of any Bond -- add to this he's the only Bond who cries and I think it's very clear why it's "patently ridiculous" as to why this Bond could be considered the closest to the Fleming Bond.

Now... OHMSS is one of my favorite movies. Indeed, it's my favorite Bond movie, but not because of Lazenby. It has the best villian outside of Auric, it has by far the best Bond girl, and the stunts and action scenes are incredible. Add up to the fact it follows the book fairly closely and you have something near and dear to my heart. I've seen the film in the theaters at least 20 times (I lost track after 15 or so) and many more times on DVD. So I think I have some credentials when it comes to this.

But if you have evidence to the contrary, I think it would be an interesting discussion to hear.

[Jukka]

Replies as follows:

@vhelp

The Dalton film you can't name is 'Living Daylights', about the defection of a russian general (or something). Myriam D'Arbo was the girl I believe, music by A-HA.

Also you missed out:

(1) Never Say Never Again (the Thunderball remake) when Sean Connery famously donned a wig for the film. However, like Casino Royale, this was never an official Bond film (different actors for M, Q, etc.).
(2) Die Another Day - the latest one.

@Others

For me Roger Moore is the best Bond, I especially like the candid way he played him and the ridiculous one liners. Seems to fit in well with the world at the time (70s) + also probably because the first Bond film I ever saw at the cinema was The Spy Who Loved Me (age 6!). I even had a toy Lotus which fired torpedoes and turned into a sub - wicked.

The Man With The Golden Gun & Live An Let Die are probably my two favourites.

Each to their own though.

[Jukka]

Ok, quick trivia for you - who has sung the most Bond theme tunes, and what were they?

[mkelley]

That's too easy -- even without looking it up on the net <g> I can tell you Shirley Bassie (sp?)

Goldfinger, natch, and then one other which escapes me right now (maybe because it was a Moore era Bond :>) But a truly trivia question is which Bond film did she "almost" do the theme song for, a song which ended up not being in the film (they used another) but was, IMHO, a much better song.

I'll give other clues for those stumped.

[mkelley]

Oh, pooh, it was "Diamonds are Forever" (a Sean Bond but one I categorize as a "Moore" Bond if you read my article). I remembered as soon as I posted (but was honest enough not to edit :>)

[Jukka]

mkelley

A clue for the nearly song would be nice.

Also you have missed 1 other song she did.

[Jukka]

The Liquidator?

[mkelley]

Hmmm, one other -- it *must* be a Roger Moore bond, then <g>. I really have problems with those (without actually looking it up... and cheating... I might guess it would be something from Octopussy or some such).

A hint for the one she never sang (actually, she did sing it, and it's available for those die hard Bond fans if they look, and it's well worth the look): The song that was finally used in its place was sung by a rather well known male heartthrob at the time.

Need any more clues? (And remember, it's not just the Bond film you must come up with, but the name of the obscure song that wasn't used, except as an instrumental at the end of the film).

[mkelley]

No -- not the Liquidator (an imagitive guess, though).

Here's the final clue: the title of this song was taken from the way James Bond was referred to in Asian countries (and Brocolli truly debated over whether to name the film after this song -- in the end I think sanity won out).