At first, I was going to post the whole list, but then I thought, this might generate a lot of discussion, and a few at a time seems better.
I’m doing a top six because Casino Royale upset the top five I had settled on and gotten happy with, and I sort of agonized over that.
Anyway, here it is:
1. From Russia with Love
2. GoldenEye
3. The Spy Who Loved Me
4. Casino Royale (2006)
5. The Living Daylights
6. Diamonds Are Forever
I am pleased with a list of excellent films that represents the full range of actors and eras and sensibilities of the James Bond franchise. Five of the six actors, and two very different faces of Sean Connery. Hardcore spying is dominant in all of these movies, except Diamonds Are Forever, but even that film has a powerful thread of true espionage and horror mixed in with the humor. (I will defend DAF unto the death. Possibly it needs its own thread; we’ll see.)
21 users commented in " My top six Bond films "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackDAF does need it’s own thread! Not a terrible film, but certianly not even in my top 10. By YOLT Connery was tired as Bond and I really think it shows in DAF and for me the film is so cartoony and comic booky. Plus, I really love the books OHMSS and YOLT and the movie’s handling of Bond’s revenge on Blofled is horrible, considering it followed OHMSS. Plus I never liked the fact that Charles Gray, an actor who was also in YOLT, plays Blofeld. Far to fey for my tastes. Although I appriciate your love for this film and love that you rate it so high. There certainly are some great moments (notably the fight in the elevator) and some great Bond lines!
Oh, the fight in the elevator is certainly a highlight. I will give DAF its own thread, I promise. In the meantime, suffice it to say it was the first Bond film I saw on its own in the theater (I had previously seen a triple-feature). So it’s memorable and special to me.
You should read my book, then you’d know this.
You are totally right I do need to read your book! Does anyone besides Amazon carry it? I live in NYC and would love to be able to pick it up instead of ordering it.
I actually think the fight in the elevator is one of the best fist fights in the entire series! The close quarters are reminisent of FRWL and it feels so utterly classic Bond. Best fights thread????
Deborah, you’ve got at least one person watching your back … Diamonds Are Forever RULES!!! In all seriousness, it’s my favorite film in the series.
Granted, it has quite a few flaws …
– It’s definitely not the BEST Bond movie out there.
– It has my least favorite Blofeld. As Tom Mankiewicz said, Charles Gray was a “fussy” Blofeld … when you think about it, Telly Savalas seemed to be the only guy who played Blofeld where if you said, “Hey, see that guy? He’s a ruthless criminal mastermind who’s the driving force behind a global network of thugs,” you’d buy it.
– Sure, Jill St. John’s gorgeous and all, but she’s way down my list of favorite Bond girls (my top three: Diana Rigg, Luciana Paluzzi and Famke Janssen). Luckily, Lana Wood (not to mention Bambi and Thumper!) saved the day for me on that front.
– Not exactly the best Connery performance.
– And, as Zippertuck pointed out, the Bond-Blofeld dynamic was pretty disappointing. I can’t speak from experience, but if Blofeld gunned down my absurdly beautiful wife on my wedding day, I don’t think I’d be quite as calm and collected around him as Bond seemed to be in DAF.
But God help me, I’ve probably seen DAF twice as often as all the other films. A lot of times, I’ll just have it on in the background while I’m doing something else … and of course, I rattle off most of the lines from memory while I’m folding laundry, doing dishes or scrubbing out the tub.
Like I said, it’s not the best Bond movie out there, but I find it wildly entertaining. I could do lines from DAF all day …
BOND: “I’m afraid you’ve caught me with more than my hands up.”
——
BLOFELD: “The satellite is at present over … Kansas. Well, if we destroy Kansas, the world may not hear about it for years.”
——
PLENTY: “Hi, I’m Plenty.”
BOND: “But of course you are.”
PLENTY: “Plenty O’Toole.”
BOND: “Named after your father, perhaps?”
——
BOND: “I was just out walking my rat and seem to have lost my way.”
——
BOND: “I tend to notice little things like that … whether a girl is a blond or a brunette.”
TIFFANY: “And which do you prefer?”
BOND: “Well, providing the collars and cuffs match …”
——
BOND: “It’s Saxby.”
WHYTE: “BURT Saxby? … Tell him he’s fired.”
Just a glorious movie!
Zippertuck, the book is available anywhere. Any Barnes and Noble will keep it stocked, and Borders or any non-chain bookstore will probably have it as well.
I happen to love Charles Gray. I think Blofeld is meant to be fussy. He has a white cat for God’s sake! He is the guy who pushes buttons to kill, who issues orders for someone else to do the dirty work. So a thug doesn’t work for me.
My favorite Blofeld casting is Max von Sydow, I think the elegance is dead-on.
Looked for the book at the Borders at the Time Warner Center Friday, but they did not have it. I will continue to search for it and will buy it very soon. You have inspired me to expand my Bond knowledge even further!
Charles Gray will never do it for me.
You can always ask a bookstore to order a book. Most are happy to do so and delighted to know what customers want. And they don’t obligate you to buy it once it comes in.
I would have to list them this way
1) O.H.M.S.S.
2) Goldfinger
3) From Russia With Love
4) For Your Eyes Only
5) Thunderball
6) The Spy Who Loved me.
I’m really a big fan of pretty much all of the movies from License To Kill back to Dr. No. I really didn’t care for the never ones until Casino Royale (2006). Bit this is my personal opinion and I’m sure the others have different favorites as well.
You have a very respectable list there, Jimmy. I’m not a big fan of OHMSS, but most fans place it in the top five.
Is the list the same without CR?
Mine is:
Casino Royale
Goldfinger
Thunderball
From Russia With Love
Dr. No
What do you mean, is it the same? Not sure what the question is. Yours are all fine movies. I’m not a huge Thunderball person, but it has great stuff in it for sure. I’m very fond of Dr. No.
I mean is it in the same order? I like to know what other Bond fans think.
I’m just wondering if the top five is different with out CR.
P.S The main reason I like Thunderball so much is:
1. It has Sean Connery
2. It was one of the first ones I ever saw as a kid.
I mean, is it:
1. From Russia with Love
2. GoldenEye
3. The Spy Who Loved Me
4. The Living Daylights
5. Diamonds Are Forever
then, what is # 6?
The main reason I ask is that a lot of Bond fans that I know had different top fives or tens before CR came out.
That is exactly it, Alex. My top five, I mean. In my book, I listed my #6 as Goldfinger, although lately I have to say I’d place Dr. No there. I find it’s the one I re-watch most often.
6 – Quantum of Solace (2008)
Perhaps it won’t stay here forever, but I can’t see why there are so many detractors. I have watched this film at least nine times – most of which in the comfort of my own home (I can assure you it is better). QOS is the best Bond journey. It is a journey of his soul. Craig is magnificent is this film. He dances in the role and is terrific as a provoker, a fighter and a spy. The score, and the cinematography are excellent. I love the title sequence, and the title song is better after the third time you’ve heard it. The film has three special scenes: The Tosca, The escape from the MI6 security at the Bolivian hotel, and the end – three of the best scenes in Bond history. What prevents this from being perfect are the plane scene and the boat bit. If the director decided to remove those bits and replaced them with some scenes that let the story breath, it would have been exquisite.
Best Scene: The Tosca, Bond undermines the entire organization to a magnificent operatic score.
5 – For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Two things prevent this movie from being higher: 1) Bernard Lee’s absence – he makes every film he is in, better. 2) Moore should have stuck with his late 70’s wardrobe.
Other than that, this is a perfect Bond movie.
Best Scene: Bond kills Locque.
3 (Tie) – Moonraker (1979)
I may be the biggest advocate of Moonraker on the entire forum. Moonraker is fun for nearly 120 minutes. Roger Moore is at his best, and Barry’s score is luscious. The travelogue and pacing of the film is terrific. I love the style and feel of the 70’s. Not a guilty pleasure, just a pleasure.
Best Scene: Bond shoots the Drax sniper at the Globes.
3 (Tie) – The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Spy is, overall, the better film. Moonraker the better performance. Ultimately, what makes it a tie is that Hugo Drax is such a superior villain and Holly Goodhead is a more worthy Bond girl. I love the sound track, the colors, the pacing and the Lotus. Roger looks great and looks comfortable in the role.
Best scene: “So Does England”. The quintessential decadent Bondian moment. Terrfic PTS.
2 – Casino Royale (2006)
Terrific adaptation of a 53-year old classic novel (I mean what else could they have done to update it?). Craig and Green are fabulous as is Mikkelson. Only drawbacks are that the action sequences are a tad too long, and the card game, while a highlight, did little show that Bond had earned enough money to compete with Le Chiffre.
Best scene: “The name’s Bond. James Bond.”
1 – Thunderball (1965)
Still the best – by far. Exciting Bond adventure with the quintessential Bond performance. Connery is everything Bond should be – witty, charming and provoking. He looks terrific and the Bahamas is the best setting for a Bond film. Great score and cinematography with a great supporting cast.
Best scene: Bond shoots clay pigeons with a “woman’s” gun
1 Casino Royale — action, romance, believable villans and plot; beginning of a nice relationship between M and Bond. Beautiful scenes, clothes, drinks on a train, its all there.
2 Dr. No–the first and still holds up, until the final scene which veers dangerously into 60s TV feel. A product of its time. Ruthless Bond (after killing henchman in the river “I had to”, blasting the evil geologist whose name escapes he right now), bon vivant Bond and unfortunately a smidgen of imperialist Bond (with Quarrel).
3 FRWL–Only thing keeping it at 3 is the overtly Cold War Russia thing going on. Add a star if you like creepy chess playing SMERSH agents.
4 Goldeneye–action, action, action. Breathtaking first scene and lets be honest, you get both ends of the spectrum in the Bond girl department in this one. Bonus Famkee in the recent Taken, in which she is relegated to the Mom role–getting old is no picnic.
5 Spy Who Loved Me–Have to include the longest lasting Bond in the top 6 list, and this one nudges out FYEO. Barbara Bach is from Brooklyn??
6 Living Daylights–the sleeper of the group. Just a really good solid movie all around. Even the dumb stuff (cello sledding away from the KGB) seems like good fun. For some reason I like the scene with Dalton and the cello in the mens room, where he is emptying the rifle and gives a nosy guy a real dangerous look.
Final thought–why do they introduce a new Bond (Dalton/DC) with a classic (LD/CR) and follow it up with a frustrating encore (LTK/QOS)?
butterfly, love your thoughts. Only Connery has a great second movie.
It’s been a while since I’ve ranked them. They often change over time. Still,
1. Goldfinger
2. Casino Royale (2006)
3. FRWL
4. OHMSS
5. Thunderball
6. TSWLM
No doubt, I will change it again tomorrow.
I personally love both LTK and QoS. Both are great!
ALEX
6. Dr. No
5. From Russia with Love
4. For Your Eyes Only
3. The Living Daylights
2. Casino Royale (2006)
1. Goldfinger
Leave A Reply