[sub]The results of CBn survey of its members
to find the 50 greatest moments of
James Bond movies, books, and videogames[/sub]
Over the past couple of weeks, CBn has been running an online survey to try to establish what its members consider to be the "Best of Bond". Members were encouraged to PM me with their choice of top 3 Bond moments from the books, the films, the videogames - moments that typify Bond for them, or perhaps moments personal to them and standing out in their memories.
Thank you to everyone who voted: as it turns out, 49 suggestions had at least 2 votes, with a handful gathering one vote each. Where moments received an equal number of votes, the eventual order was achieved via a highly sophisticated flip of a coin.
I hope I've transcribed everyone's comments accurately into this run-through; I have not identified the voters but you're welcome to if you recognise yourself.
On a personal level, there's nothing here I can disagree with and, for purely selfish reasons, many of these selections remind me why I am a Bond fan in the first place.
Again, many thanks for taking part to those who did; for those who did not, enjoy anyway!
Anyway, on with places 19-11
Jim 19
(5 votes)
“S.P.E.C.T.R.E. – trying to kill me…”
Bond escapes, but the bad guys are closing in…: OHMSS
“Bond, having just escaped from Piz Gloria, tries to hide in the crowd from Irma Bunt and Blofeld's men and finally sits down on a bench in despair, pulls his jacket above his ears and obviously thinks that he'll be caught very moment - and all of a sudden, Tracy is standing in front of him. Probably Lazenby's best acting in the entire movie. And a pleasant surprise for the audience, who of course expected some kind of miracle escape with a big Bang - and has, at that point, completely forgotten about Tracy.”
“Really messes up the audience, this – new Bond anyway, rescued by a girl! Who then takes charge on the driving, wins a race, and ends up being proposed to! This never happened to the other fella!”
“When she skates up to him - best moment in the series, without question. Fantastic way for the two plots to come together, and introduce the final one of Bond getting married.”
“The bell fight goes on too long but it’s still an exciting scene with a brilliantly shot payoff up Diana Rigg’s body – as much as the censor allows!!! – and the shaky camerawork during the crowd scenes is really atmospheric – and years before Bourne! This is a better film outside of the Bond series – with all its formula – than in it. If it was the only one ever made this would be so more highly regarded. But because it’s in the series and all the He’s Not Connery crap comes with it… but we know better!”
“OHMSS is the perfect Bond film and this is the perfect moment.” 18
(5 votes)
“As you said – such good sport.”
Bond bags himself a sniper: Moonraker
“I don’t suppose anyone else will vote for this but it’s so effortlessly my James Bond and a real favourite of mine.”
“Bond means different things to different people – keep your angst and self-analysis and “that’s what keeps you alone”; this scene is just a good, fun time. Love it.”
“Roger Moore – was there ever a man more misunderstood? Here he murders someone and it’s still hilarious. Fantastic actor, great Bond.”
“It means James Bond to me. Not much of the rest of the film does but this is a great ‘moment’.”
“Entertains me. That’s what I want from Bond. The look on Drax’s face is priceless! You know that when work’s been crap you can come home and put Moonraker on and everything’s OK again.” 17
(5 votes)
"Smiert Spionam"
004 falls; Bond turns: The Living Daylights
“What an introduction!!!”
“Looks like a killer; acts like a killer. This isn’t bashing Moore but seriously – just one look and you know this Bond is something else.”
“Is James Bond without actually saying anything. Not even Connery did that.”
“Best introduction scene of all the Bonds.”
“Dramatic and a bit OTT overdramatic: about right for a Bond film.” 16
(5 votes)
“Sorry; forgot to knock”
Bond bungees off the dam: GoldenEye
“What a stunt. WHAT A STUNT! He falls and falls and falls. Really brave.”
“If they wanted to make a statement about the glory days being back, it’s hard to think of anything more they could have done other than… no, it IS hard to think of anything more they could have done. All your Terminators and Lethal Weapons and Die Hards never did this, and that’s because only Bond could. And he sees them all off within seconds of the film starting. The guv’nor’s back. Fantastic.”
“The audience in the theater I was in were real quiet – in a good way. It was awe. It was respect. Now I liked the Dalton films but you just knew this was going to be better.”
“One of those few times when the trailer worked – even though they had most of this stunt in the trailer, you still wanted to see the whole thing when it came out and you weren’t disappointed.”
“F*** me what a thing to do.” 15
(5 votes)
“He got the boot…”
Bond and Necros slug it out on the cargo bag; the timer ticks down: The Living Daylights.
“The greatest stunt I have ever seen in a movie.”
“Incredible stuntwork; film after film they come up with something amazing. This is one of the best, probably the best.”
“Cheapo insert shots with Dalton aside, this sequence is what Bond is: massive stunt that could just happen (no surfing over icebergs here) with a bomb ticking away…which you forget about…until you hear it ticking again…”
“When that net is jerking around at the end your heart is in your throat; killer stunt.”
“Every Bond film, no matter how indifferent the whole of it is, always has something: but this is a good film anyway and then they did this. A cracker.” 14
(5 votes)
“I admire your luck, Mr…?”
You know the rest: Dr No
“Everyone will vote for this. And why not?”
“Nails it. Nails it.”
“I had no idea at the time, this would last this long.”
“The pause is perfect, the delivery is perfect: Dalton sounded like he hated the line, Moore as if everyone knew who he was already. Brosnan sounded like he was waiting for applause. Connery has it dead on, first time.”
“If you think about it he is replying in the manner she introduced herself. Cool. The best reading of the line.” 13
(5 votes)
“Any higher, Mr Bond, and my ears will pop.”
Bond freefalls for his life: Moonraker
“Jaws ruins it but you can’t deny that this is a great scene to start with: only James Bond can fall out of a plane without a parachute and then survive.”
“Gets stupid but another amazing stunt. They’ve just blown up a Jumbo and now they do this. Is this the most outrageous opening to any film?”
“You only get this stuff in the Bonds.”
“Sort of endearing really, and probably not a great scene on reflection - you can see the parachutes, you can see the back projection - but it still looks stunning and I remember as a nine year old watching it open mouthed: I knew James Bond was my sort of hero. I talked about it for days and days afterwards.”
“Incredible to think this is nearly thirty years old (well, nearly): it would probably be CGI now and that would remove the risk. There are real people up there risking their lives just to entertain me.” 12
(6 votes)
“It is not only the immediate agony, but also the thought that your manhood is being gradually destroyed and that at the end, if you will not yield, you will no longer be a man.”
Le Chiffre administers a beating: Casino Royale
“F*** me. Ouch”
“A hard read. A great read. But you have to look away and then keep looking back… and I’m a woman!”
“A long time ago, when I was just discovering Literary Bond, I really had very little idea of just how radically different the films are from the books. Admittedly, the blurb on my copy of CR did mention a torture scene, but that was the only warning I had. Truly an 'I can't believe what I'm reading' moment, I remember thinking, 'but it's James Bond! They can't do that to James Bond!!.' Mr Fleming, you are a sick, sick man. In a good way.”
“Almost unreadable (in a good way); harsh.”
“You know they won’t do it justice in the film (which I’m still looking forward to); this is the real point when you realise, if you’ve been brought up on the films, that the books hold different pleasures. Not necessarily better – just different, sometimes really different. Like this.”
“Great writing: you really feel it.” 11
(6 votes)
“A water pistol?”
Bond "meets" Andrea Anders: The Man with the Golden Gun
“Cruel but funny, and humiliates her: James Bond.”
“A powerful scene: Moore looks somewhat unhinged, as if his Bond was scared for his life. Oh yeah, that was the plot, sometimes.”
“Wit and twisted sex: this is a great scene.”
“He behaves really badly here; but really well as Bond. Is it wrong to say that?”
“This film has the reputation of being one of the more stupid ones. OK, so it is generally very casual, but this is as hard as Bond ever got (until Dalton put a knife to Lupe’s throat and I voted for that too. What does that say about Bond? What does it say about me? LOL)”
“Doesn’t make any sense once you know that it’s Andrea who has asked Bond to help her but it’s quite gripping and Moore has some killer lines – that one about bullets being too expensive to waste on Andrea is really rude!”
 "There was a violent cruelty, a pathological desire to wound, quite near the surface in the man."CBn: ...we have people everywhere Only James Bond is James Bond. |
The Bond 50 - as voted for by you!, 19-11
2 August 2006 - 16:49
2 August 2006 - 17:04
6 August 2006 - 06:56
