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The Best…Bond moments

The Best…Bond moments
  • Posted at 2:56pm
  • 17 October 2008
  • by PaulJones-RT
  • 2 comments

A video-clip countdown of my personal top five 007 film scenes, featuring some acknowledged classics along with some less celebrated gems (plus Alan Partridge's take on the opening scenes of "the best film ever made"). And if you detect a slight bias towards the wooden suavity of Roger Moore, well, what can I say - nobody does it better.

5. You Only Live Twice

A rooftop: Sean Connery takes on all comers, darting and slugging his way through a gaggle of miniature henchmen like a powered-up character in a retro computer game. The jaunty brass rendition of the theme from You Only Live Twice only adds to the scene's surreal quality.



4. On Her Majesty's Secret Service

Twilight; a beach: after plunging into the surf to rescue an apparently suicidal Diana Rigg, George Lazenby's brand new Bond is set upon by a pair of armed thugs. The vicious, desperate ruck that follows leaves us in no doubt Bond is fighting for his life.

As Lazenby dispatches the bad guys, Rigg nicks his car and screeches off up the road. In a nod to his predecessor Sean Connery, George notes ruefully, "This never happened to the other fella".



3. Tomorrow Never Dies

Pierce Brosnan, on a motorbike, handcuffed to kick-ass martial arts poppet Michelle Yeoh. Through the backstreets and over the rooftops of Saigon the bickering pair are pursued by a pack of evil black Range Rovers and a machine-gunning helicopter.

The scene culminates with the sinister chopper backing Bond and Wai Lin into a corner, intent on making mincemeat out of them with its rotor blades. Seconds before the s**t hits the fan, Bond turns the bike on its side and skids beneath the whirring blades of doom. Some nifty work with a washing line and the chopper nose-dives to a fiery end. Cool.




2. The Spy Who Loved Me

Now pay attention 007… No list of Bond moments would be complete without a look at one of Major "Q" Boothroyd's gadgets, and although this scene involves another excellent car chase, it's the vehicle itself we're interested in. Yes, in 1977 white was still a cool colour for a sports car and the Lotus Esprit S1 was just the best car in the world.

After taking delivery of his new toy, Bond foregoes the usual gadgetry rundown from Q, keeping us in the dark as to what exactly is so extra-high spec about this particular car. So when we watch him drive it straight off a dock and into the Mediterranean, we can't blame his passenger Agent Triple X for being slightly concerned. But she needn't be. Under the water, the wheels fold in, fins appear, a periscope extends - the car turns into a submarine!

And unfortunately for the smug helicopter pilot hovering above (where else but Bond would you see a chopper pilot wearing lip gloss and a diamond choker?), the sub comes fully equipped. In a moment of phallic retribution, the smile is well and truly wiped off her face by a good-sized sea-to-air missile.



1. The Spy Who Loved Me

Exhilarating near-jingoism defines this scene, beginning with Roger Moore's delicious exchange with some Alpine totty as he leaves her cosy chalet to go to work:

"But James, I need you!"

"So does England."

Out on the piste, Bond is quickly joined by the obligatory black-clad pursuers. Some funk-fuelled downhill and a spot of hot-dogging later and he finds himself heading towards a cliff edge. A sheer drop awaits Bond - surely some last-minute swerve or one of Q's gadgets must save him?

But no, shockingly, he skis straight off the cliff and into oblivion. Several beats of silence, broken only by the swirling of the wind, as the tiny be-skied figure flounders towards certain death. And then - a parachute unfurls, a Union Jack emblazoned across it! The huge brass of the Bond theme kicks in: Ba-da! Ba-dam! Goose bumps ensue.



And if that hasn't convinced you, watch the legendary Alan Partridge's take on the scene, and post a comment below.

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Comments

  • Posted on 12 November 2008
  • at 12:30am
  • by Steve Thomson

In my opinion the two best scenes in the Bond films, where the train fight in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE and the laser beam scene in GLDFINGER

  • Posted on 19 October 2008
  • at 9:15pm
  • by RicardoRed

With so many films in the series, and so many memorable scenes, it's nigh on impossible to have a top five even a majority of fans would agree on.

While the Lotus Esprit submarine epitomised the fantasy and humour of the Moore films and was the high point in the best movie of his tenure as Bond, Goldfinger set the standard for the whole series. I was surprised then not to see the inclusion of the film's most iconic scene where Gert Frobe's titular villain has Bond strapped to a table, with an advancing laser beam slowly cutting up towards Bond's crown jewels. Getting an understandable sweat on, Bond asks if Goldfinger expects him to talk, where upon he's given the immortal retort, "No Mr Bond, I expect you to die!". If there's one scene in the whole series most Bond fans would include in their list, I think this would be it.

I would agree very much with the inclusion of the OHMSS pre-opening credit scene. It's a rough and brutal fight, getting Bond back to basics after the rather fantastical nature of You Only Live Twice. It's beautifully shot too, a classier style that's replicated a number of times throughout the film. My only issue with the scene - it's a niggle, but a big one - is the screeching of the tyres on Bond's Aston Martin when Tracy drives it up the beach to reach her car. She's driving on sand - you can't have a car screech on sand!

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