CommanderBond.net

The Bond 50

[sub]The results of CBn survey of its members
to find the 50 greatest moments of
James Bond movies, books, and videogames[/sub]

5

(8 votes)

“No; just looking…”

Hello Honey: Dr No

“Spoilt by Connery singing and the editing’s messy but what a hell of an entrance.”

“Why can’t I be James Bond? It’s not fair.”

“I wouldn’t throw her out of bed for eating crisps.”

“Honey. Ride Her.”

“The image. Show that image anywhere and people know what it’s from. That’s not just fame, that’s iconic.”

“You can just imagine the effect this must have had on the audience. Still does on me.”

“Incredible body, incredible entrance. The character’s reasons for being there are terrible and she isn’t really necessary to the plot but necessity isn’t what these films are about. Sets the standard, and never surpassed.”

“Raymond Chandler said something like “When things a getting dull, have someone burst into the room waving a gun.” When things are getting dull in Bond, have a beautiful girl in a bikini wander up from the sea, brandishing a knife. This is why Bond is better.”

4

(8 votes)

“The sniper was a woman…”

The defective defection: The Living Daylights

“Great atmosphere; real Cold War stuff.”

“Best adaptation of a Fleming short story, and gives it an extra twist. There’s dark humour – I mean, that gun is ridiculous – and there’s action and there’s some sharp dialogue.”

“00-heaven. OK that’s corny but this is damned good.”

“The only thing this lacks to sum up all Bonds is romance – but it sort of has that, as did the short story when Bond falls in love with the sniper. Neat way to start the film off – the plot goes mad after a while but this is a very memorable sequence.”

“Bond is always at his best in Europe – for me he just doesn’t work when he goes to America even though I’m from there! This is a great scene and for anyone who knows the Bond from the books, something special. Dalton is superb.”

“Dalton’s not Fleming’s Bond – none of them are. But he might actually for these few minutes be better than that.”

“Those few edits of Bond powering that sedan through the cobbled streets, tersely conversing with Koskov – somehow they really affect me and I love watching them.”

“Great scene – Bond’s utter dismissal of Saunders, which really pays off later when they become friends. Dalton looks so cool and that little trick with the Velcro lapel – the sort of neat little trick the Bond films do so well.”

3

(9 votes)

“Do you know a lot about guns, Mr Bond…?”

Bond establishes that he knows a little about women: Thunderball

“Only one man goes into the lion’s den and pisses him off and nicks his woman. And the lion knows it is happening and just cannot prevent it. You know the name. You know the number.”

“Bond shooting his gun from the hip at Largo's pool. Why? Provides definition of "dangerous capable cool." Would provide same answer if asked 'why I want to be Bond' etc etc”.”

“The way Bond casually blasts the clay pigeon from the air and the sneer in Largo’s voice – funny and slick, just as the films should be.”

“So relaxed but so deadly – both of them, and the girl in the middle. Great scene.”

“All the way through this film Bond knows they are the villains and they know he knows and he knows they know he knows but he beats them because they don’t know that he knows they know he knows. I know what I mean, anyway!!”

“Fabulous scenery, fabulous script.”

“The best face-off between Bond and a villain: the suppressed violence is palpable and the killer joke with the woman’s gun is so clever.”

“He can’t help toying with them when they think they’re toying with him. Real Bond.”

“If I could live my life as a film, I would live my life as Thunderball.”

2

(9 votes)

“Since you are here, would you mind giving me something to put on?”

Bond interrupts Fiona’s bathtime: Thunderball

“God I want to be this man. The casual way he hands the shoes over and sits to watch… yeah, that’s James Bond. And I want it to be me.”

“She has the craziest accent but they look so good together and Connery was never cooler and as he’s the best Bond there’s no competition for this scene.”

“He seduces his enemy, and for the Hell of it, and that’s so Bond.”

“I don’t like Thunderball much – it goes on and on and on – but it would be stupid to say that this isn’t great and ‘instant Bond’”

“This scene defines Bond better in the span of one minute than some of the other films do in ninety. The quintessential Bond moment, perfect in every sense of the word. Not one hair on Connery's toupee is out of place.”

“Even telling you about it makes me want to watch it again; sexy sexy sexy.”

“It’s the best of Bond. It doesn’t need any explaining.”

“Connery before he went fat. The films before they went fat. The wit before it went stupid and full of puns. A wild woman, a cool man. You wanted us to define “Bond”. This is it.”

“I love James Bond films and this is why I love James Bond films.”

1

(9 votes)

“But James – I need you.”
“So does England…”

Dressed as a banana, Bond skis off a mountain: The Spy who Loved Me.

“[Quoting from survey example] Fantastical, brazen stunt - Nobody Does it Better - couldn't be any other type of film – what he said!”

“Clever people can probably analyse this better but for me it’s F*** he’s gone over the cliff!!”

“Still the biggest and bravest stunt ever. And a perfect introduction to the title song. Nobody does it better. Damn right.”

“Whilst feeling I should have instead included something of more substance (stop laughing, I realize it's Bond we're on about, here), this sequence is just too much of a beautiful stunner to be ignored. It works for me on several levels: the photography of the fall I find wonderful--not consciously arty, thank god-- and with no idiot music accompanying(at least until the very end); the audacity of even dreaming this up and attempting it, and then pulling it off, acts as a sort of symbolic stroke for the series as a whole; I am fond of the backstory involving the inclement weather, Mr. Sylvester's bravery/idiocy, the failure of several key cameras to get the shot, leaving only the one angle; I secretly find the yellow jumpsuit quite the thing, although it does clash with the Union Jack parachute.”

“Still the best stunt ever, thirty years on.”

“It's one of the most incredible stunts performed on film, made even more amazing by the fact that it was done for real with no computer enhancement whatsoever.”

“The Union Jack, while seemingly the stupidest thing ever for a spy from the UK somehow managed to be perfect. Only Bond.”

“Can’t think of anything witty but it’s just so James Bond.”

“James Bond never stops. Even when he runs out of road. Fantastic.”

Wonderful.

Care to enlighten us as to which 3 you voted for Jim, or did you take yourself out of the running?

I was surprised at how well LTK & MWGG fared.

Stands and applauds

Well done, Jim. One of the best uses of these forums ever.


Can’t wait for number 50.

That was great. I need a cigarette.

My third vote went to the #1 pick - TSWLM ski jump. I knew that one would come in at #1 or thereabouts, and I thusly felt I should vote for something else, but I just couldn't help it.

My Dr NO "Smith & Wesson" line didn't make it :-(

Anyway, good list and comments.

Agreed.

And kudos not only to Jim for his intelligence-gathering, but also to the contributors - much wittier and more thought-provoking commentary than you'd expect of a "fansite". There's some really hilarious and well-written stuff here.

This - in its entirety - should really be in a mag like Empire around the time of the release of CASINO ROYALE.

"Bond fans give their Top 50 moments" - belongs beyond the borders of CBn, at least when done as well as this. Well done, CBn.

Some interesting findings here. I share Loomis' sentiment on the quality of the comments, some witty stuff. Most enjoyable read, although as the votes appear to be reasonably well spread--and as number one received only nine votes--I am not sure if it is possible to declare these moments 'winners'. Moreover, to draw any sort of conclusion would therefore be a bit silly, but I am going to do so anyway.

One aspect of note is that although participants had the choice to vote for any moment in the novels, the films or (oddly) the videogames each moment in the top five is from the film series. I am reminded of Philip Larkin's review of Licence Renewed: "there became two Bonds, book-Bond and film-Bond, each with his separate public ... a certain hostility arose between them." A tad theatrical perhaps, however the evidence here would suggest that it is film-Bond who still retains the support of Bond fandom with book-Bond a definite second. This is not a surprise, of course, but a mere confirmation that the literary series does not, unfortunately, have the same appeal as the great fun--if slightly vacuous--cinematic series.

The top five did nevertheless contain a few surprises. One; no On Her Majesty's Secret Service? I understand that among non-Bond fans, or general film-fans, OHMSS is the wayward son the family does not want to talk about, however I had expected it to be represented at some point on the list. The argument in the hotel room, the marriage proposal, the safe-cracking scene, Tracy's death; perhaps they received seven votes. I usually see the picture rather highly rated when reading various 'top twenty' lists--and it does contain many moments or scenes that are memorable--so it is surprising (to me, anyway) that the OHMSS is conspicuous by its absence.

A pleasant surprise is the appearance of The Living Daylights, and I especially appreciated this comment: "Dalton’s not Fleming’s Bond – none of them are. But he might actually for these few minutes be better than that." I don't know who wrote that but I absolutely agree! Everything about that part of the film works: the brusque behaviour towards Saunders and the cynical treatment of Koskov, Bond's refusal to shoot Kara and cold professionalism, the dark cold war atmosphere juxtaposed with the romance of the orchestra. Just brilliant. Having ignored the short stories for far too long I recently re-read this one and I do think the film makers effectively captured the scene; I may have been caught unawares by its inclusion but am pleased nonetheless.

Two moments from Thunderball? I love the film (it hovers around number three and four for me) however always had the impression that it was somewhat less loved by other Bond fans. Well, from the comments on the film at least it is evident that it does not exactly receive overwhelming praise. It was something of a shock, then, to see moments from the picture placed at numbers two and three, and this does lead me to have some more confidence in the masses than I previously had. The interruption of Fiona's bathtime is pure sex--and given her love of those metal bars I get the feeling she was a bit of a handful. Connery was at his most iconic in that scene, oozing the charisma and the playfulness that endeared (and endears) him to millions. Luciana is just gorgeous, although personally I'll never get over Claudine's magnificent emergence from the sea in *that* bikini. (A better moment, dare I say, than Ursula Andress' number five--yes, really. Shoot me). As for Bond's facing up to Largo; here were two genuine adversaries in one of the few moments in the series where there existed genuine (or believable) hostility between them. This moment--and the casino scene--is a perfect example of two actors at the top of their game displaying real, yet disguised, malice. For some reason Bond's dealings with Graves in Die Another Day never quite captured the same tension.

Another surprise was the lack of a moment from Goldfinger or From Russia with Love. There are so many famous moments from the former--moments that have penetrated the general public's psyche--that it is incredible that the film is nowhere to be seen. It is in so many ways the quintessential Bond picture that I expected it to pop up once or twice, although I do suppose it is rather nice that the sheep mentality has been rejected by the participants. (The film is not actually in my top five, but the great moments and imagery seem to embody the feel of most of the series). I am not surprised that the daring parachute jump from The Spy Who Loved Me is on the list, although I did expect a Goldfinger moment to occupy the top position. It was a brilliant and imaginative stunt--truly breathtaking. A great cinematic moment, and probably the perfect representation of everything the films had become by that point.

An interesting survey to hold Jim with some unexpected results. Wasn't there a British poll at the time of Die Another Day's release in which Joe Bloggs voted for his favourite moments of the Bond series? If so, does anyone know how the respective results compare?

This post has been edited by Lazenby880: 3 August 2006 - 00:47

Nice job putting all of this together, Jim. I really enjoyed reading them all up to #1 (and am particularly happy to see my two favourite moments included: the The Spy Who Loved Me ski jump and Tracy skating in front of Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service).

Interesting results. I have to say that The Living Daylights' sniper scene and Thunderball's gun scene surprise me a little being in the top five. The others, I can easily understand. And I enjoyed all the posters' comments, by the way. Great idea and good job Jim.

Unfortunately, I never did quite get around to including my "Best of Bond" choices. But if I had, here are the ones I would have selected (although I could have easily selected a couple dozen others):

3. "Bond. James Bond." Sean Connery's introduction as 007 in Dr. No. The setting, the mood, the music, and Connery's nonchalance define utter cool and set the stage for the style of the series as well as the trademark delivery of cinema's most famous line.

2. "He had no head for heights." Roger Moore kicks Locque's car off a cliff in For Your Eyes Only. Moore was never finer than in this scene. He stares down a speeding car, holds his ground and confidently shoots the driver. Then with the car hanging by its rubber, so to speak, Bond calmly walks over, casually assesses the situation, flips the henchman a memento from one of his own killings, and then coldly kicks the car off the ledge. It just underscores how Bond is a cold-blooded assassin when he needs to be and is someone who you don't want to get on the bad side of. (And I love how Locque's body falls out of the window as the car reaches the bottom. It may not have been intended that way, but it was a great touch nonetheless.)

1. "Nobody does it better." Moore skis off a mountain and parachutes to safety in The Spy Who Loved Me. What can I say? It is easily the most jaw-dropping, unbelievable, fantastic, and awesome stunt in the series and, consequently, cinema history as well. That stunt alone proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that when it comes to thrills, excitement, and stunts, nobody does it better than James Bond 007.

Thanks to all, and thanks for your suggestions 00-Agent!

There will be an opportunity to vote for number 50 by poll going up later on today...

I expect I may run this again given another year or so (let the dust settle on Casino Royale - who knows, that may well yet feature) so it will be interesting to see what, if anything changes.

In the more immediate future, given the very positive feedback (and the quality of comments) I expect we'll have other surveys on different aspects of Bond.

[I didn't vote but my three would be:-

1. Thunderball shoes
2. Bond's attempt on M's life in the novel The Man with the Golden Gun
3. "A water pistol"?]

The one that really surprised me at first glance was the Moonraker sniper scene, although the more I think about it, it is a bit of a hoot.

Overall I don't know what conclusions can be drawn from this except that the Roger Moore films contain some great moments and TWINE didn't garner a single vote. Ah well.