27 April: Goldfinger
Synopsis: (1964, GUY HAMILTON) “Do you expect me to talk, Goldfinger?” “No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!” Bobbing up from under a stuffed seagull, a frogman strips to reveal an impeccably white dinner jacket–Sean Connery as James Bond, of course. Here, after Shirley Bassey belts the chart-busting title tune, 007 squares off against Gert Frobe’s eponymous master criminal and his fiendish plot to corner the world’s gold reserves, with Fort Knox (Kentucky) the prize; while dodging torture by laser and that steel-belted hat from Japanese sidekick “Oddjob”–and not dodging Honor Blackman’s Pussy Galore or the tragically golden-hued Shirley Eaton.
Show Times: 1:00, 3:10, 5:20, 7:30, 9:40
Goldfinger sing-a-long following 7:30 & 9:40 shows!
28 April: Goldfinger
Synopsis: (1964, GUY HAMILTON) “Do you expect me to talk, Goldfinger?” “No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!” Bobbing up from under a stuffed seagull, a frogman strips to reveal an impeccably white dinner jacket–Sean Connery as James Bond, of course. Here, after Shirley Bassey belts the chart-busting title tune, 007 squares off against Gert Frobe’s eponymous master criminal and his fiendish plot to corner the world’s gold reserves, with Fort Knox (Kentucky) the prize; while dodging torture by laser and that steel-belted hat from Japanese sidekick “Oddjob”–and not dodging Honor Blackman’s Pussy Galore or the tragically golden-hued Shirley Eaton.
Show Times: 1:00, 3:10, 5:20, 7:30, 9:40
Goldfinger sing-a-long following 7:30 & 9:40 shows!
29 April: Dr. No
Synopsis: (1962, TERENCE YOUNG) When a British agent disappears in Jamaica, Sean Connery’s 007 is sent in to investigate–why does nobody come back alive from Crab Key? First big screen Bond adventure is perhaps closest to the books, and sans the later gadgetry and pyrotechnics, but who cares when Ursula Andress’s Honey Ryder rises bikiniclad from the surf? With Joseph Wiseman (Brando’s Judas in Viva Zapata!) in the missile-redirecting title role. “Sets up a box office bonanza with its gleeful blend of sex, violence and wit, as memorable as anything in the series.” – Time Out (London).
Show Times: 1:00, 3:10, 5:20, 7:30, 9:40
1 May: Live And Let Die
Synopsis: (1973, GUY HAMILTON) Yaphet Kotto’s ever-smiling Dr. Kananga already has his own private island; now he’s trying to make it the headquarters of a drug empire. But then a British agent is killed–which means James Bond is on the case. Roger Moore’s first Bond, contending with Jane Seymour’s Tarot priestess Solitaire; singing, dancing, laughing, mysterious Geoffrey Holder; and Clifton James’ uber-redneck Sheriff J.W. Pepper. “The movie that proved there could be life after Sean Connery, with some of the niftiest gadgets and cleverest action beats of the entire series.” – Entertainment Weekly. Plus five vintage Bond trailers!
Show Times: 1:40, 4:20, 7:00, 9:40
2 May: The Spy Who Loved Me
Synopsis: (1977, LEWIS GILBERT) “It’s the biggest. It’s the best. It’s Bond… and beyond!” Curt Jurgens is a man with a mission: stealing British and Russian submarines to destroy the world so he can repopulate it from his underwater city–and why not? Roger Moore’s 007, following a spectacular pre-credits entrance and opening titles featuring Carly Simon’s mega-hit “Nobody Does It Better,” teams with a deadly enemy, Russian Major Barbara Bach (later Mrs. Ringo Starr), to save the day, while fending off Richard Kiel’s seemingly-invincible, steel-toothed “Jaws.” “A glitter sci-fi adventure fantasy with sets recalling Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. The last 45 minutes is a spectacular piece of sustained craftsmanship.” – Pauline Kael.
Show Times: 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30
4 May: From Russia With Love
Synopsis: (1963, TERENCE YOUNG) “He seems fit,” allows Brecht/Weill legend Lotte Lenya after buffed-up hit man Robert Shaw (Jaws, The Taking of Pelham 123) shrugs off her brass-knuckled punch to his gut; then he proves it in a compartment-wrecking battle on a moving train with Connery’s Bond–himself on the trail of a Russian decoding device. Or is it a SPECTRE trap to pay Bond off for that Dr. No business? “A remarkably gritty, wittily exciting plot . . . memorable for the brilliant pre-credits stalk, Lenya’s lesbo sadist, Shaw’s psycho assassin, the cat-andmouse game on the Orient Express, and the enchanting, vividly alive Daniela Bianchi.” – Tom Milne, Time Out (London).
Show Times: 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30
From Russia With Love sing-a-long following 7:00 & 9:30 shows!
5 May: From Russia With Love
Synopsis: (1963, TERENCE YOUNG) “He seems fit,” allows Brecht/Weill legend Lotte Lenya after buffed-up hit man Robert Shaw (Jaws, The Taking of Pelham 123) shrugs off her brass-knuckled punch to his gut; then he proves it in a compartment-wrecking battle on a moving train with Connery’s Bond–himself on the trail of a Russian decoding device. Or is it a SPECTRE trap to pay Bond off for that Dr. No business? “A remarkably gritty, wittily exciting plot . . . memorable for the brilliant pre-credits stalk, Lenya’s lesbo sadist, Shaw’s psycho assassin, the cat-andmouse game on the Orient Express, and the enchanting, vividly alive Daniela Bianchi.” – Tom Milne, Time Out (London).
Show Times: 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30
From Russia With Love sing-a-long following 7:00 & 9:30 shows!
6 May: Diamonds Are Forever
Synopsis: (1971, GUY HAMILTON) “I didn’t know there was a pool down there.” In Connery’s Bond swan song (or so he thought at the time: see May 17), 007 kills Blofeld (Rocky Horror Picture Show‘s Charles Gray)–or does he?; hurtles through the streets of Las Vegas in a frenetic car chase, and through the desert in a dune buggy; hooks up with “independent operator” Tiffany Case (Jill St. John) and “Plenty” O’Toole (Natalie Wood’s younger sister Lana); and gets his butt kicked by female strongarms Bambi and Thumper: all in search of smuggled diamonds. With Shirley Bassey once again belting the title tune. “One never has much time to react to its lack of reason, only to its sensations of speed and narrow escape, and to the splendor of its crazy gadgets and decor.” – Vincent Canby, New York Times.
Show Times: 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30
8 May: Octopussy
Synopsis: (1983, JOHN GLEN) As the Soviets mass overwhelming armored forces along the border between East and West, maverick general Steven Berkoff is arguing they should throw in some nukes as well and–horrors!–the world’s art market is being flooded with fake Faberge eggs! With Maud Adams in the title role (her first Bond girl role in almost a decade: see May 16); locations from India to Cuba to Germany; Louis Jourdan (Gigi) as Kamal Khan, arguably the series’ suavest villain; a title song from 70s icon Rita Coolidge; and Roger Moore’s Bond masquerading as a crocodile, gorilla, and clown. “Grand escapist fare.” – Leonard Maltin.
Show Times: 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30
9 May: For Your Eyes Only
Synopsis: (1981, JOHN GLEN) “My nightie is slipping.” “So is your accent, Countess.” In a freighter sunk off Greece is a device that allows control of all of Britain’s nuclear submarines; and in the hunt are Roger Moore’s Bond, sly slimeball Julian Glover, gorgeous Carole Bouquet (Bunuel’s Obscure Object of Desire and Chanel commercial star), out for revenge on her father’s murderers, plus easy-going smuggler Topol (Fiddle on the Roof‘s movie Tevye). With title song warbler Sheena Easton and stunts from mountaintops to underwater.
Show Times: 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30
11 May: You Only Live Twice
Synopsis: (1967, LEWIS GILBERT) “… and twice is the only way to live!” When a spacejacking leads to harsh words between the superpowers, it’s obvious that SPECTRE’s up to its old tricks, and it’s time for Connery’s Bond to head for the Far East, and encounters with Japanese cutie Kissy Suzuki (Mie Hama), German Karin Dor, subway-riding secret service head “Tiger” Tanaka (samurai regular Tetsuro Tamba), and, at last, SPECTRE’s Number One, pussycat-stroking Blofeld (Donald Pleasence). With Bond’s bizarre makeover into a Japanese fisherman, fake volcano finale, and Nancy Sinatra title song. Screenplay by Roald (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) Dahl!
Show Times: 1:10, 3:20, 5:30, 7:40, 9:50
12 May: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
Synopsis: (1969, PETER R. HUNT) “Someone is re-arranging a few bodies… and a few bodies are arranging themselves for him.” Blofeld’s back (this time played by a pre-Kojak Telly Savalas), planning to wage biological warfare from a spectacular Alpine aerie. But it’s a post-Avengers Diana Rigg who’s got George Lazenby’s 007 (the Australian model’s one and only appearance in the role); as the daughter of crime boss Gabriele Ferzetti (Antonioni’s L’Avventura), she links up with Bond for the series’ one true love story. But there’s also series action peaks in a nighttime ski sequence, a car chase down icy streets, and a bobsled showdown. Director Hunt was the innovative editor of the first four Bonds. “The most dazzling of the series.” – Pauline Kael.
Show Times: 1:40, 4:20, 7:00, 9:40
13 May: Thunderball
Synopsis: (1965, TERENCE YOUNG) “What I did tonight was for Queen and country!” After Adolfo Celi, SPECTRE’s Numero Due, steals two nukes for international blackmailing purposes, Connery’s Bond takes on his foe’s widow (or is she?), makes a getaway via Jet Pack, handles dangerous redhead Luciana Paluzzi with care, has fun with “Domino” Derval (Miss France Claudine Auger) at the bottom of the sea, then joins a mass underwater showdown. When Tom Jones recorded the title song, he asked what “strikes like thunderball” meant; even the lyricist couldn’t tell him. See the remake on May 17. “Sleek and quite fun, with Bond almost getting his in the villain’s shark-infested swimming pool, and a cleverly choreographed underwater battle to provide the icing on the mix.” – Time Out (London).
Show Times: 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30
14 May: Casino Royale (1967)
Synopsis: (1967, JOHN HUSTON, ET AL.) “My doctor says I can’t have bullets enter my body at any time.” Five (count ’em!) directors; seven 007s, including David Niven, Peter Sellers, Dr. No‘s Ursula Andress, and the even-more-unlikely Woody Allen; and an all-star-cast-to-end-all-all-star-casts, including Deborah Kerr, Charles Boyer, Jean-Paul Belmondo, William Holden, John Huston and, as the biggest of all the Bond super-villains, Orson Welles.
Show Times: 2:45, 7:00
15 May: A View To A Kill
Synopsis: (1985, JOHN GLEN) 007 for the 80s. Industrialist Christopher Walken decides to corner the world computer chip market the easy way–he’ll simply destroy Silicon Valley with an earthquake–and he’s got scary Grace Jones as his sidekick! Roger Moore (in his final Bond outing) does a routine entrance via skiis, snowmobile, and snowboard, then teams with Avengers legend Patrick Macnee and ex-Charlie’s Angel Tanya Roberts; with a leap from the Eiffel Tower, and a firetruck/police car chase across San Francisco among the action highlights. Plus Duran Duran’s super-hit title song.
Show Times: 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30
16 May: The Man With The Golden Gun
Synopsis: (1974, GUY HAMILTON) “The girls are willing… the pace is killing.” A car rotates 360 degrees as it flies over a river; luscious babes fling themselves at OO7 amid exotic locations (Hong Kong, Thailand, etc.), while our hero once again saves the world, here from a scheme to corner a solar energy device. Roger Moore, in his second essay of the part, squares off against Christopher Lee’s gold-loving gunman Scaramanga, Britt Eckland’s good Bond girl Mary Goodnight, Maud Adams’s bad Bond girl Andrea Anders, Herve Villechaize’s Nick Nack (unofficial prototype of his later Fantasy Island Tattoo), and Clifton James in a reprise of his Live and Let Die redneck sheriff. 60s pop idol Lulu sings the title song.
Show Times: 2:00, 4:30, 7:00, 9:30
17 May: Never Say Never Again
Synopsis: (1983, IRVIN KERSHNER) That dastardly Largo, SPECTRE’s Number Two, steals two nukes en route to world blackmail–sound familiar? For complex contractual reasons, this was a free remake of Thunderball, with a different M, Q, and Miss Moneypenny–but with Sean Connery returning as Bond after 12 years (the title refers to his onetime vow not to play the role ever again). This time it’s Kim Basinger as Domino, Barbara Carrera as the temptress, and, acting-wise, the most formidable villains ever: Klaus Maria Brandauer (Mephisto) as Largo and, as Blofeld, Ingmar Bergman great Max von Sydow.
Show Times: 1:40, 4:20, 7:00, 9:40
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