James Bond is better than everything

[Naïve Old Fart 11,256]

7 hours ago, Jamie Dutton said:

The only other one I really want is Quantum of Solace.

 

QUANTUM OF SOLACE is pretty good as an OST.

All I need from that is a physical release of "Crawl, End Crawl".

[Tallguy 5,279]

8 hours ago, Yavar Moradi said:

I wouldn’t say it’s the only one I want, but it’s near the top of my list and it’s going to feel like a long 3+ year wait for me, on that one.

 

Yavar

 

Just expand it. They don't need to make an anniversary release for QoS. (One of my kids was born the same year. Don't make me freak out more!)

 

I also don't know if I'm missing anything. I love the album, but that's not a score that I ever go find a particular track. I just play the whole things. I have almost no context from the movie. There's got to be a better (and less insulting) term that "wallpaper". But this is definitely a score that I listen to for its overall sound.

[Naïve Old Fart 11,256]

Imo, it's Arnold's best work, for Bond.

 

1 hour ago, Tallguy said:

I also don't know if I'm missing anything.

... except the aforementioned "Crawl, End Crawl" (in fact, the whole of the "End Title").

 

Not a fan of QOS, Tallguy?

Over the years, I've taken to it.

There's much to enjoy about it. Give it another chance.

[A. A. Ron 2,219]

I only saw Quantum of Solace once when I was in college, around the time Skyfall came out. I liked it as an action movie, but mostly kept that opinion to myself because of all the backlash.

[Mr. Lovejoy 7,771]

I saw QOS with a chick and she laughed out loud when Domenic Greene made a funny face at Bond at the Opera. 

[Naïve Old Fart 11,256]

4 hours ago, A. A. Ron said:

I only saw Quantum of Solace once when I was in college, around the time Skyfall came out. I liked it as an action movie, but mostly kept that opinion to myself because of all the backlash.

You're among friends, here. You can speak your mind 

 

I'll go on record by saying that it's my second-favourite Craig Bond.

[Yavar Moradi 3,383]

I think Quantum is decent as a kind of final act to Casino Royale… it’s just not much on its own, and pales in comparison to its better-directed predecessor. I guess I can understand liking it better than Skyfall even though that’s also a much better directed and better shot film (the most beautiful looking of all Bond films thanks to Roger Deakins). Skyfall has some particularly stupid plot holes to say the least, despite having a very well acted villain.

 

Quantum also has the advantage of a far superior score. A shame this couldn’t have been the song though:

Yavar

[Naïve Old Fart 11,256]

It's a good song, but if it was going to be used for QOS, then it needed a modern arrangement.

 

 

1 hour ago, Yavar Moradi said:

(the most beautiful looking of all Bond films thanks to Roger Deakins).

 

The four best looking Bond films:

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE 

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME 

GOLDENEYE 

SKYFALL 

[Sweeping Strings 2,788]

QOS isn't so bad when the 'Bournefluence' settles down a bit. If I was rating the Craigs from my favourite to least favourite, then - 

Skyfall 
Casino Royale
Spectre
QOS
NTTD 

 

[Tallguy 5,279]

The only thing I really remember from QoS was Bond being miserable (which was great, this is what Diamonds are Forever should have been like) and the back and forth between Bond and M. And that the camera work was ridiculous.

[Naïve Old Fart 11,256]

My Craig Bond ratings:

 

SPECTRE

QUANTUM OF SOLACE 

CASINO ROYALE 

SKYFALL 

 

 

 

 

(we don't talk about the other one)

[Tom Guernsey 3,061]

5 hours ago, Yavar Moradi said:

I think Quantum is decent as a kind of final act to Casino Royale… it’s just not much on its own, and pales in comparison to its better-directed predecessor. I guess I can understand liking it better than Skyfall even though that’s also a much better directed and better shot film (the most beautiful looking of all Bond films thanks to Roger Deakins). Skyfall has some particularly stupid plot holes to say the least, despite having a very well acted villain.

 

Quantum also has the advantage of a far superior score. A shame this couldn’t have been the song though:

Yavar

I listened to this and thought "gosh, this is great, I should probably get that track and add it to QOS in my iTunes library". I then looked at my iTunes library to find I already had. Face... meet palm.

 

On the other hand, by complete chance, I noticed that (not in my music library) have a song called Forever - I Am All Yours by Eva Almér which is pretty decent...

 

 

 

[Trope 1,106]

2 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

My Craig Bond ratings:

 

SPECTRE

QUANTUM OF SOLACE 

CASINO ROYALE 

SKYFALL 

 

 

 

 

(we don't talk about the other one)

I'm assuming Spectre is your number 1? If so, WOW that's the first time I've seen that particular film at the top of anyone's Craig Bond list! I respect it. Could you give some reasons as to why? I'd love to hear them, there's a lot I really like about that film.

 

Currently, my ranking would be:

 

1. SKYFALL

IMO this film is the best stand-alone Craig Bond adventure. If I were to show a newbie any Craig Bond film, it would be this one. The cinematography is just gorgeous, the framing, the colours, every location is spectacular to behold: Shanghai, Macau, Scotland, etc. The opening action sequence in Istanbul is possibly my favourite out of all the Bond films, the way it continues to escalate, and Tom Newman proves that he absolutely has what it takes to handle Bond in action. I think Newman hits it out of the park with this score, bringing the right amount of suaveness, precision, energy, and subtlety (obviously, I'm biased as he is possibly my favourite composer aside from JW). I love the themes of new vs. old, I love the villain being a twisted reflection of Bond, I love the relationship between Bond and M (and there being no real love interest), I love Bond going solo on a mission and piecing the story together step by step. Every action sequence is so well put together and in a unique setting (highlights include the London Underground and the Skyfall mansion). Sure, there are some plot holes and perhaps the pacing is a little uneven at times. But wow, this film blows me away every time I see it; I become totally absorbed by it and love going on that thrill ride.

 

2. QUANTUM OF SOLACE

Blasphemous to rate it above Casino Royale, I know, but there's just something about this film, the locations, the feel, the grittiness, the look. Obviously, one can fault the breakneck pace of the film and exposition which never lets up, and which took me 3 whole viewings to catch enough information and make sense of the plot as a result... You can't stop focussing for more than 30 seconds or you'll miss a critical bit of exposition and you'll be completely lost 2 scenes later. But now having my head wrapped around what's going on, I think this is a very solid Bond action movie and a great follow-up story to Casino Royale, with plenty of interest and twists and turns to keep me engaged. The editing of the action scenes may be the film's biggest fault IMO (I know it's stylistic, but it becomes too much and too confusing very quickly). On the other hand, the themes of this film are very strong. I like that Bond is out for revenge, and Camille may be one of my personal favourite Bond girls as a result; their relationship being based on the mutual desire for vengeance makes them a pretty awesome team, and I like that they don't actually get together at the end. I know Casino is an objectively better-made and written film, but I very much enjoyed Quantum in my most recent viewing.

 

3. CASINO ROYALE

This is just a great film all around; what is there to say that hasn't already been said? I understand completely why this is commonly regarded as Craig's best, even if it's not in my subjective ranking. The Madagascar sequence is just off-the-rails amazing, and the airport sequence very nearly matches it - Arnold kills it with the score in these scenes. This new Craig Bond is introduced spectacularly, and he's so well fleshed-out in this film; cold, calculating, always on the job, efficient, reckless. His relationship with Vesper is the best out of all his romantic interests, their interplay is so engaging to watch. I do find the film drags towards the final act. NOT during the card playing, which I find riveting and tense, but from post-Le Chiffre death to Vesper taking the money in Venice; Bond confessing his love for Vesper, sleeping with her in the hospital, then sleeping with her again on the beach, travelling to Venice, then sleeping with her again in the hotel. With how efficient the rest of the script is, this section just goes on for a little too long for my liking. I also feel that the final Venice action sequence, while very good, fails to match the two amazing ones from earlier in the film. But overall, this is a great first Bond film for Craig, setting everything up very well.

 

4. SPECTRE

This one is difficult for me to put low in my rankings, because there are so many individual elements I really love about it, but it just doesn't quite come together. I like the cinematography, I like Hinx and Mr. White and even Blofeld and Spectre (who I feel are appropriately spooky, at least early on), and the locations are pretty neat. I appreciate that much of the film is trying to throw back to the earlier Bond eras, through visuals, characters, locations, plot points, etc. My favourite section of this film is undoubtedly the train through to Blofeld's desert base sequence. I wish there was more time spent on the relationship between Bond and Madeleine, as I'm not 100% convinced that he would once more be willing to throw away everything to go and be with her. But there is the foundation of solid chemistry between them laid in the train sequence exchange, and I wish that dynamic was explored in more depth. But then, the final part of the film really just deflates everything IMO. Going back to London, Bond strolling around the abandoned MI6, it's all so anticlimactic. I would have loved for the final action set-piece to have been set IN Blofeld's awesome villain base! Imagine Bond taking out some kind of satellite or computer technology while also saving the girl in a really cool, classic throwback location; I think that could have worked with the tone this film was trying to achieve. Keep the MI6 crew, not Bond, localised in London; although even that and the whole Nine Eyes plot never really excites me anyway. I think with a little more tweaking of the script, this could have possibly been one of Craig's best films.

 

5. NO TIME TO DIE

I've only seen this film twice, first time at the cinema in 2021. On my most recent second viewing, many things about the film just felt off, particularly the tone and the character of Bond; he feels like a completely different person here compared to the earlier films. Where is the grittiness, the seriousness, the bad-ass killer of few words who is cold, calculating, and efficient? His interactions with Felix, M, and Blofeld just feel like a totally different character, waffling on in out-of-character dialogue. Additionally, beyond the great opening action scene in Matera, what epic action scenes is Bond actually doing cool stuff in? It feels as if he's constantly stuck taking out faceless henchmen in the background, and struggling at it too. The comic-relief evil scientist... Oh GOD, I kept cringing every time he was doing unfunny comic improv, completely removing any sense of the seriousness of the villain's threat. This character belonged in GoldenEye or another Brosnan film, not this one. And Nomi... such a bland character to introduce with so little chemistry with Bond. What a bizarre choice to have HER team up with him on his very last mission. I just imagine how cool it might have been if it were Bond and Felix teaming up together at the end, with actual relationships and emotional stakes between them. And the nanobots plot... Clearly it's a last-minute re-write that just doesn't make any sense or relate to Safin's poison garden and family legacy. I don't mind Safin as a villain, even if his motives aren't entirely clear; I like his Japanese-inspired style, particularly at his base at the end of the film. I don't even mind Bond's death at the end, I just wish the final action sequence could have been a proper big, balls-to-the-wall, all-guns-blazing finale, rather than Bond taking out a few goons in a stairwell in a nice continuous shot. I'm sure I have more complaints... I hope that in future re-watches, I can find more to appreciate beyond the nice cinematography and the odd moment here or there. I just feel this is a big let-down to end the Craig films on. In all honestly, I prefer to stop watching at Spectre and imagine Bond and Madeleine lived happily ever after, driving off into distance.

[Luke Skywalker 2,119]

I like the quantum of solace opening sequence-music very much (i dont mean the opening song but the car pursuit)

[Edmilson 10,112]

Quantum of Solace has the best villain, but the Bourne-like shaky camera almost ruin the great action scenes. Truly a relic of the 2000s I really don't miss.

 

Skyfall looks great thanks to Deakins but the story and the script are rather dumb. I'll never understand how that movie is the first Bond to make over a billion dollars at the box office.

 

Spectre has a nice beginning but a truly awful second half.

 

We don't talk about the other one.

[Naïve Old Fart 11,256]

5 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

(we don't talk about the other one)

 

1 hour ago, Edmilson said:

We don't talk about the other one.

[Yavar Moradi 3,383]

I think there's a lot to like in No Time To Die. I enjoyed it much more than SPECTRE (after the opening) anyway, and I thought the relationship with Madeleine Swann was handled much better (and also appreciated the callback to Vesper, to bring things full circle). Glad they kinda fixed some of the stupid Blofeld-as-adopted-brother BS from that. Wish there had been more Felix Leiter working with Bond. Thought the new 007 was okay but far overshadowed by the character played by Ana de Armas, who was freakin' awesome and in the film far too little (the whole action sequence with her was fantastic; I'm surprised no one has mentioned it)... I would pay money to see a spinoff about her character in an instant.

 

Also, though in general I enjoy and admire Thomas Newman more as a composer than Hans Zimmer, I gotta say that the score was a step up over SPECTRE as well. SPECTRE music-wise felt largely like a less-inspired retread of Skyfall and it bored me. (I think the song is actually underrated though -- hot take, I know!) Meanwhile Zimmer and Mazzaro gave us THIS which is better than any single cue from the previous two Newman scores, IMO:

 

I also really like the Eilish title song to be honest, and appreciate that it was much better incorporated throughout the score than either of the previous two title songs were, by Newman.

 

So yeah, did I love everything in No Time To Die? Nah, I'd rank it on the lower end of Craig Bond films still to be honest (but I'll still take it over the hugely disappointing SPECTRE any day). But I still found a lot to enjoy in it.

 

Yavar

[HunterTech 1,471]

Quite frankly, Zimmer did much better with the music than I was expecting him to, especially for the clear time crunch he had. The first half (especially on the OST) is honestly a pretty solid audition for a light and snazzy Bond score from him and Mazzaro. Plus, I think the incorporation of the Eilish song is pretty excellent, being the thing that really holds the whole effort together. The big issue lies in the fact the second half has to adhere to the melodrama of the film, and thus makes it easy for me to feel like it's trying too hard to sell me the emotions it wants me to feel. Not to mention that it's also where a lot of the more egregious recycling of past ideas kick in (compared with how much better integrated they are in the first half). Which, combined with the previous complaint, results in a quite hollow finale, so you're left with a bit of a mixed bag ultimately. Still, the fact Cuba Chase even exists at all tells me that these guys could really knock it out of the park if the tone stays within that realm.

[Pieter Boelen 906]

10 hours ago, Yavar Moradi said:

Skyfall has some particularly stupid plot holes to say the least

Damn right it does!

The movie was OVER by the halfway mark. 

Everything that came after had NO right to happen.

NO WAY a proper clever Q would ever plug Evil WizKid Guy's laptop into the entirety of the British intelligence network. 

Like what the HELL?!?

 

Then we get Home Alone in Scotland and the bad guy WINS by killing off a fan favourite character and actress. 

Seriously, Skyfall is HALF a good movie. 

And nothing more.

[Yavar Moradi 3,383]

Eh, the second half is largely carried by good performances by Craig and Dench. And it’s still beautiful to look at thanks to Deakins. You just gotta turn your brain off to some degree… which let’s be honest is true about a great many Bond films; this one isn’t special in that department. (Maybe your problem is that it just takes itself more seriously than those other films do?)

 

I think people who rank Skyfall highest of the Craig Bonds either do so because of the visual spectacle, or because they are more “traditional Bond” fans and this film was a reset in a lot of ways, bringing Q and Moneypenny back to the franchise, etc. But I think Casino Royale holds up far, far better… still my favorite Bond film of all time, actually (it displaced The Living Daylights).

 

Yavar

[Pieter Boelen 906]

8 minutes ago, Yavar Moradi said:

Maybe your problem is that it just takes itself more seriously than those other films do?

Definitely the overly serious tone does it no favours. 

It's strange to me, because normally I'm quite forgiving of plot holes. 

But that particular Q one is ASTRONOMICALLY egregious.

It's really at such a level that I really couldn't possibly NOT notice it. 

How that managed to get past the script editors, I've got no bloody clue. 

 

Of course I also object to the consequences of Q's inane stupidity.

I like Judi Dench and M and don't like at all that she dies.

Especially when avoiding it would've been BEYOND easy. 

 

Yeah, this movie really annoys me. 

Especially knowing how many folks apparently consider it Top Tier somehow.

[Edmilson 10,112]

Another thing that weakens Skyfall for me is the whole "the villain wanted to get caught" thing. It's not a trope I particularly like and by the time the movie released it was already cliche (see The Dark Knight, The Avengers and Into Darkness on the following year). Seems like a lazy way of showing that "the villain is always one step ahead of the heroes!" that was popularized by TDK.

[Yavar Moradi 3,383]

I totally agree on that being an annoying trope. It was okay in The Dark Knight, annoying in this, and actually angering in Star Trek Into Darkness.

 

Yavar

[Sweeping Strings 2,788]

Skyfall is my favourite Craig because for me it's a near perfect blending of 'nuBond' and classic Bond. 

A good example is Silva ... he has his own island as his base of operations, which is pretty classic. But he's also a bisexual cyber-terrorist for hire, which is quite modern.    

[Yavar Moradi 3,383]

Silva’s a great antagonist and Bardem plays him to the hilt… a shame his “revenge against mommy” plot is so dumb.

 

Yavar

[Naïve Old Fart 11,256]

Ok, @Trope, plug in.

You asked me why SPECTRE is my favourite Craig Bond, especially as I ranked what are usually considered to be the best two (CASINO ROYALE, and SKYFALL) so low.

I'll start with why I don't like SKYFALL more than I do.

Bardem: I don't like him as an actor.

M dying: I don't see the point (unless Dench wanted out).

The main reason that I'm not fond of SKYFALL, is that it's a film that wants - expects - to be liked. It's formulaic almost beyond redemption. It regurgitates themes we've seen before (Bond resigning; M in trouble; Bond coming back; an attack on MI6), and makes the assumption that we the audience will forget that we have - literally - seen it all before.

Going back to Skyfall was also a mistake, as it means that the films take a backwards step when they should be moving forward (although Finney's "Kincaid" steals every scene he's in!).

SPECTRE is considered to be an inferior Xerox of SKYFALL, but I prefer it to the former because I think that it a far more engaging story. Also, there is far more for the "big three" (Moneypenny, Q, and M) to do. I love Q's scenes with Bond, in Switzerland.

The - albeit brief - return of Mr. White was also an unexpected pleasure. Along with Q, and Leiter, Mr. White is my equal favourite character from the Craig era.

It seems to me that SPECTRE needed to prove that there was life after SKYFALL, and it did.

There are things I don't like about it (I miss Deakins' lush cinematography, and Baird's sharp editing), but I find it a more satisfying watch.

Oh, yeah, one more reason; Monica Bellucci 

Of course all this is the opining of one man about two films. In the big scheme of things, it don't add up to a hill o' beans, but... you asked 

 

[Trope 1,106]

1 hour ago, Yavar Moradi said:

Silva’s a great antagonist and Bardem plays him to the hilt… a shame his “revenge against mommy” plot is so dumb.

I'm not sure I'm understanding what's so dumb about it. I think he's a great Bond villain, and his motives make sense, even if there are some "conveniences" that allow him to achieve his goals.

 

Silva not only wants to get revenge on M by killing her, but wants M to suffer, to feel helpless, humiliated, and powerless, like he did when she abandoned him and gave him up as an agent. That's why he sadistically enjoys taunting and torturing her by slowly leaking the encrypted identifies of other agents, and blowing up the MI6 building in front of her.

 

Being a tech/computer whiz (as proved by the scene on his island base), he clearly knows about MI6's protocol and the goings on in M's personal schedule. He allows himself to be captured in order to get closer to M. He knows there is going to be an inquiry held, and so plans his escape to coincide with it in order to attempt to murder her himself in a publicly humiliating manner - right after she's been berated at the inquiry, shown to be incompetent, and now to be killed in an apparently safe and secure location by one of her own prisoners. Obviously, he is foiled by Bond in this plan and has to retreat for a while.

 

Unable to let M go, he is then led by Bond to Skyfall, where we see the theme of the film (old vs. new) play out once again, with Silva forced to go "back in time", and, now lacking his technological advantage, his usual overconfidence backfires, and Bond gets the upper hand and ultimately defeats him (but only just).

 

I don't think his plan is any less over-the-top than most Bond villain plans. He is perhaps a more complex villain, especially in his relationships with M and Bond, but at the same time, he still has that classic evil genius mixed with obsession/mania, ultimately leading to his own downfall, which is a staple of some of the best Bond villains. And Bardem plays it all so well; watching his scenes is always a great time for me.

 

30 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Of course all this is the opining of one man about two films. In the big scheme of things, it don't add up to a hill o' beans, but... you asked 

Thank you for taking the time to clarify! I personally disagree with most of your takes on Skyfall, but I do agree that Spectre has a lot of things to love, and deserves more credit than it generally receives.

[Pieter Boelen 906]

54 minutes ago, Trope said:

his usual overconfidence backfires, and Bond gets the upper hand and ultimately defeats him (but only just).

Actually no. 

The villain WINS.

And for no good reason. 

I don't imagine Silva had any plans beyond his revenge. 

I doubt he thought as far as actually surviving. 

He goes down knowing that, against all odds, he actually succeeded. 

And did I mention that this is for absolutely no good reason??

[Naïve Old Fart 11,256]

Silva doesn't see M die.

Come to think of it, we don't get to see how M got her injury.

[Pieter Boelen 906]

58 minutes ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Silva doesn't see M die.

Come to think of it, we don't get to see how M got her injury.

So the villain doesn't know he's victorious when he dies. 

But he's still victorious. 

 

Actually, this kind-of makes it even worse.

NOBODY wins. 

Depressing indeed. 

 

And...

For absolutely not a shred of a good reason.

[Tallguy 5,279]

I've decided one of my least favorite tropes in films is when someone is running from someone in the middle of nowhere IN THE DARK, and yet they still get found. (Barring like super competent ninja trackers or merciless hunter dogs or some such.) I mean, at least show me a cliche "found a piece of fabric on a fence or something.)

 

I started getting really pissed about this in the movie Heat. De Niro should have gotten away.

[Meredith McKay 7,544]

1 hour ago, Pieter Boelen said:

So the villain doesn't know he's victorious when he dies. 

But he's still victorious. 

 

Actually, this kind-of makes it even worse.

NOBODY wins. 

Depressing indeed. 

 

 

[Naïve Old Fart 11,256]

54 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

I started getting really pissed about this in the movie Heat.

 

I thought that De Niro's character was spotted because of the aeroplane lights.

 

 

 

55 minutes ago, Tallguy said:

De Niro should have gotten away.

 

It had to end how it ended. It was the message of the film.

[Trope 1,106]

6 hours ago, Pieter Boelen said:

The villain WINS.

He goes down knowing that, against all odds, he actually succeeded. 

I don’t interpret it this way in the film based on the information we’re given. Silva sees M is injured from a gunshot wound from the firefight in the house, he attempts to get her to pull the trigger and kill them both, but Bond knifes him just before and Silva doesn’t have the pleasure of seeing M die, even though she ultimately succumbs to her wounds. Silva’s overconfidence in himself means he continually overlooks or disregards Bond as an adversary, and ultimately Bond’s “old ways” allow him to defeat the villain.

 

I understand you are saying that M still dies, but that wasn’t Silva’s sole intention. HE wanted to be the one who made her first suffer, and then to murder her (“nobody touch her, she’s mine!”). And so I interpret the end of the film as not giving him the victory. 

 

5 hours ago, Naïve Old Fart said:

Come to think of it, we don't get to see how M got her injury.

It happens in the scene just after she fires at the one remaining henchman in the first attack wave with her pistol. As she has never been a good shot, she misses and the goon open fires in her direction. Some of his bullets penetrate her cover and strike her, hence she drops the pistol. Bond takes out the goon before any further damage can be done, and M pretends “only her pride” is hurt (which tricks Bond and the audience into a false sense of security, and is perfectly in character for M). This makes for something of a surprise sudden death, when we finally see how bad she really is injured. This IMO is great, because it happens so quickly and Bond and M only have time for a short exchange of words and to show that they do care for each other. This, together with Tom Newman’s ethereal underscore, makes for a more realistic and emotionally direct scene than all of the flowery dialogue and layers upon layers of dramatic Zimmer strings at the end of No Time to Die. Just some of my thoughts.

[Pieter Boelen 906]

3 hours ago, Meredith McKay said:

Hehehe. 

It's okay. 

I much rather think about Stargate Atlantis. 

How about that Joel Goldsmith, eh?

[Meredith McKay 7,544]

12 minutes ago, Pieter Boelen said:

Hehehe. 

It's okay. 

I much rather think about Stargate Atlantis. 

How about that Joel Goldsmith, eh?

It's a pretty good theme.

 

Some of the underscore in the episode sounds like First Contact every once and a while.

[Quppa 229]

New interview with Neil Bulk on the recent Bond expansions/remasters: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/the-007-files/episodes/S2E001-Interview-with-Neil-S--Bulk---a-peak-behind-the-scenes-at-the-expanded-James-Bond-soundtrack-albums-e2u882f (starts at ~6:40).

 

Interesting titbits:

- ~9:10 Warner Records was easy to work with at the time of the Die Another Day expansion in 2017.

- ~12:20 There's no master plan for release order (but they knew they had to do Moonraker and Goldfinger last year for their anniversaries).

- ~15:45 They searched anew for the Goldfinger tapes but didn't find anything except the recording sessions for the mono version of the title song (compiled from takes 10, 12 and 15).

- ~19:45 The number of CDs produced for these Bond releases is based on estimated demand (are there 5,000 people who want them?) - nothing to do with union fees.

- ~21:45 Bulk had to keep mum about the Moonraker release for about 8 months. They had no problem getting the Moonraker tapes, despite the long-standing rumours about them being missing.

- ~25:00 Blames the lack of score on the original LTK album on the 80s trend of having song-heavy soundtrack albums (like Back to the Future and The Karate Kid).

- ~26:30 No real indication that the recordings hadn't finished at the time of the original soundtrack album being made (unlike Thunderball or Tomorrow Never Dies), so it's not clear why it lacked music from the last third of the film.

- ~33:50 The All Time High instrumental wasn't included with the other Octopussy tapes but UME had a good tape transfer of it so it could be included.

- ~34:10 The quadraphonic master of Live and Let Die had a different performance of Fillet of Soul (included in the expanded release).

- ~37:10 Tomorrow Never Dies and newer films used digital editing to swap between takes and Bulk has to figure out by ear which takes were used through tracks.

- ~38:30 Jurassic Park III had a ton of intercuts.

- ~39:10 They spent a lot of time deciding on the order for the Goldfinger remaster (film order or US album order or UK album order).

- ~43:00 He hopes they can do more releases (no hints on what might be coming).

[Yavar Moradi 3,383]

14 hours ago, Quppa said:

Interesting titbits:

- ~9:10 Warner Records was easy to work with at the time of the Die Another Day expansion in 2017.

 

Have they ever *stopped* being easy to work with? It's Warner Bros. Pictures which essentially stopped working with the specialty labels (Varese Sarabande can still expand WB titles for which they control perpetuity album rights) in 2020. But just like Universal Pictures vs. Universal Music, the record label group hasn't been owned by the film company in many years. That's why we got the new 2CD Wrath of Khan without any hitch (Atlantic Records is owned by Warner Music Group):

https://lalalandrecords.com/star-trek-ii-the-wrath-of-khan-limited-edition-2-cd-set/

 

Yavar

[jacksparrow900 38]

14 hours ago, Quppa said:

New interview with Neil Bulk on the recent Bond expansions/remasters: https://creators.spotify.com/pod/show/the-007-files/episodes/S2E001-Interview-with-Neil-S--Bulk---a-peak-behind-the-scenes-at-the-expanded-James-Bond-soundtrack-albums-e2u882f (starts at ~6:40).

 

Interesting titbits:

- ~9:10 Warner Records was easy to work with at the time of the Die Another Day expansion in 2017.

- ~12:20 There's no master plan for release order (but they knew they had to do Moonraker and Goldfinger last year for their anniversaries).

- ~15:45 They searched anew for the Goldfinger tapes but didn't find anything except the recording sessions for the mono version of the title song (compiled from takes 10, 12 and 15).

- ~19:45 The number of CDs produced for these Bond releases is based on estimated demand (are there 5,000 people who want them?) - nothing to do with union fees.

- ~21:45 Bulk had to keep mum about the Moonraker release for about 8 months. They had no problem getting the Moonraker tapes, despite the long-standing rumours about them being missing.

- ~25:00 Blames the lack of score on the original LTK album on the 80s trend of having song-heavy soundtrack albums (like Back to the Future and The Karate Kid).

- ~26:30 No real indication that the recordings hadn't finished at the time of the original soundtrack album being made (unlike Thunderball or Tomorrow Never Dies), so it's not clear why it lacked music from the last third of the film.

- ~33:50 The All Time High instrumental wasn't included with the other Octopussy tapes but UME had a good tape transfer of it so it could be included.

- ~34:10 The quadraphonic master of Live and Let Die had a different performance of Fillet of Soul (included in the expanded release).

- ~37:10 Tomorrow Never Dies and newer films used digital editing to swap between takes and Bulk has to figure out by ear which takes were used through tracks.

- ~38:30 Jurassic Park III had a ton of intercuts.

- ~39:10 They spent a lot of time deciding on the order for the Goldfinger remaster (film order or US album order or UK album order).

- ~43:00 He hopes they can do more releases (no hints on what might be coming).

Didn't Neil also mention that anything after The Spy Who Loved Me the elements were not in  there so that must mean For Your Eyes Only, A View To A Kill, The Living Daylights and Goldeneye the elements are somewhere else. IMO. 

I'm looking forward to more Bond and I think Thunderball would be nice to have complete since it's the only Connery Bond that isn't not counting DR. No , From Russia With Love and Goldfinger which the elements are lost. 

[Andy 5,715]

 

Bond fans may need to raid Fort Knox to afford these dollies. 

[Mr. Lovejoy 7,771]

How about some regular action dolls? I'd be all over a McFarlane Toys box set of all the Bonds, similar to the Batman movie one they did. It's easy to reuse suited bodies. We've never gotten proper 007 action dolls.

 

I remember seeing these prototype pre-posed figures for Quantum of Solace years ago that were eventually canceled.

 

[Jay 41,686]

Oscars to Feature James Bond Music Tribute, Honoring Longtime Producers

[Yavar Moradi 3,383]

Maybe they could also give Bond composers who wrote that music a shout out too, eh?  

 

Yavar

[Jurassic Shark 14,537]

Nobody knows who they are.

[Yavar Moradi 3,383]

2 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Nobody knows who they are.

 

More people would if they got more highlighted with opportunities like these.

 

Yavar

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,766]

5 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Nobody knows who they are.

 

Everyone knows Monty!

[Jurassic Shark 14,537]

Yeah, his Good Omen, Bad Omen is a blast!

[Tallguy 5,279]

7 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Nobody knows who they are.

 

That's Spider-Man.

[Naïve Old Fart 11,256]

23 minutes ago, Jurassic Shark said:

Yeah, his Good Omen, Bad Omen is a blast!

Do you mean "Bad Sign, Good Sign"?

[Jurassic Shark 14,537]

Ah, crap. I haven't listened enough to it lately.