by John Chergi » Tue May 23, 2017 1:43 pm
I was saddened to hear the deaths of Roger Moore and Dina Merrill over the last 24 hours or so. Many of the Classic HFO fans on the forum also fans of the James Bond Series. Mr. Moore brought a comedic element to Bond and moved the Series forward. My FAV Moore film The Spy Who Loved Me.
I remember Dina from Nine Dragons as a poster has already stated. Coincidentally, I watched Nine Dragons last AM and I'm still amazed they removed the nerve gas despite Mr. McGarrett's strict security measures. The brainwashing of McGarrett and the different scenes were some of the best of the series.
Moore 89 and Merrill 93 lived full lives but still today sad day for many. JC
by H50 1.0 FOREVER » Tue May 23, 2017 5:42 pmIt is sad to think we've lost two more great actors. It's difficult to imagine either being in such advanced years. They still seem as young as when we saw them on screen.
by ringfire211 » Wed May 24, 2017 6:54 pmStill reeling from the passing of Sir Roger Moore. By all accounts, one of the kindest and most generous people you'd ever meet. Plus a wonderful wit and sense of humor that couldn't be beat. One of the reasons why he's my personal favorite Bond, James Bond. No one delivered a one-liner the way Rog did (with that wonderful trademark raised eyebrow of his). He's the very personification of the perfect English gentleman. "They don't make 'em like this anymore" applies to Roger like to no one else. Let's also not forget his generous work with UNICEF. He was a true humanitarian. Being the oldest of the Bond actors, he has taken the first step to the other side, which all the others will follow in due course. Sad but such is life. We will miss him greatly! R.I.P. Sir Roger. Nobody did it better.
Here's a wonderful Roger story which shows just what kind of man he was: http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/24/entertainment/roger-moore-marc-haynes-post/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%253A+rss%252Fcnn_showbiz+(RSS%253A+CNN+-+Entertainment)
P.S. I watched OCTOPUSSY last night, in Roger's honor. It's one of my favorites. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME and LIVE AND LET DIE are tied for first place as my favorite Bond films. But it's hard to pick a favorite because I love all 7 that he did almost equally. Maybe I'd pick A VIEW TO A KILL as my least favorite because Rog was getting up there in age, but on the other hand it has the dynamic villainous duo of Christopher Walken and Grace Jones who are just outstanding!! I mean what an awesome pairing!!
by John Chergi » Wed May 24, 2017 7:19 pmRingfire
I enjoyed the Octopussy James Bond film very much. My sister & I used to laugh when Roger Moore is in the clown suit. He glances down at his watch when he hears the villains state 10 or 11 45 time of the detonation. Maude Adams and the young ladies were easy on the eyes and also good fighters. I knew the guy on watch would be killed. James Bond goes to relieve him. My sister a bigger Roger Moore fan than me. I would say The Spy Who Loved Me as my FAV Moore Bond film. Just a fantastic story! Also loved the 007 car in that film. I'd probably place For Your Eyes Only 2nd and Octopussy 3rd of the Roger Moore ones. JC
by RickNewportBeach » Wed May 24, 2017 10:54 pmringfire211 wrote:THE SPY WHO LOVED ME and LIVE AND LET DIE are tied for first place as my favorite Bond films. But it's hard to pick a favorite because I love all 7 that he did almost equally. Maybe I'd pick A VIEW TO A KILL as my least favorite because Rog was getting up there in age, but on the other hand it has the dynamic villainous duo of Christopher Walken and Grace Jones who are just outstanding!! I mean what an awesome pairing!!
I also think THE SPY WHO LOVED ME and LIVE AND LET DIE are outstanding Bond films. Some of that may have to do with when they came out I was young and single and having the time of my life. I don't get all the negative comments I hear about Moore's Bond. I get it if people think Sean Connery was the best but I don't think that takes away from Moore. I thought he was great.
by ringfire211 » Thu May 25, 2017 9:49 amJohn, FOR YOUR EYES ONLY is indeed another great one. It's just behind OCTOPUSSY for me. Probably tied with MOONRAKER, or maybe slightly ahead. It all depends on my mood, if I want to see escapism on a grand scale (which MOONRAKER certainly delivers, as does SPY WHO LOVED ME) or a more down-to-earth affair like EYES ONLY. It was a great film and ushered in the 80s with a slightly more serious turn from Roger (which showed that he could do drama just as well as comedy) and gave us a more real-world spy film than some of the previous ones. It was a great change of place. In some ways it's similar to Connery's classic FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE where Bond isn't trying to save the world but instead trying to recover a McGuffin (as Hitchcock would call it) - in RUSSIA it was the Lektor decoding machine, here it's the ATAC submarine tracking device. Great film! Most folks pick RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK as the best film of 1981 but for me it's FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. No question! Bond has Indy beat every time!
by ringfire211 » Thu May 25, 2017 10:06 amRick, not only are those 2 my personal favorites but they were also Roger's favorites! He was always on record that he though THE SPY WHO LOVED ME was his best. He loved working with the director Lewis Gilbert (they really shared the same sense of humor and vision of Moore's Bond) and he just loved all those magnificent locations they went to - Egypt, Sardinia, etc. Plus it's the very definition of an epic Bond film, and it was a huge success at the box office and really cemented Roger as Bond, James Bond. Not just Connery's replacement. LIVE AND LET DIE was his second favorite because obviously it was his first and it ended up a big success at the box office, outgrossing even the previous one with Connery! Plus he said he really enjoyed making that film and all the locales (especially New Orleans and Jamaica) and those witty lines that Tom Mankiewicz wrote for him. Personally I just love the vibe of that film - it's Bond mixed with Blaxploitation mixed with voodoo and somehow it totally works! It feels really fresh when compared to the previous Connery film and has great energy, and finally Bond has new villains to square off against, not the same old SPECTRE and Blofeld. Yaphet Kotto, Julius Harris, and Geoffrey Holder as Kananga, Tee-Hee, and Baron Samedi are a wonderful trio of bizarre baddies!! Jane Seymour as Solitaire is beyond stunning, and I get a real kick out of Clifton James (who also just recently passed away) as the hick sheriff J.W. Pepper! "Secret aaaagent???!!! On whooooo's siiiiiiiiiiide?????!!!!!" Then there's the superb song by Paul McCartney and Wings and score by George Martin which is just the icing on the cake!