Movies I Want Everyone to See: The Man Who Would Be King (1975)

Review by Richard Kirkham

All you film fans out there who were born after 1970 are about to eat your hearts out. You may know that the 70s were the second golden age of Hollywood, after all that’s when “Star Wars”, “The Godfather”, and “Alien” all started. You may even be aware that the greatest adventure film ever made, “Jaws”, was released in the Summer of 1975. It would be a solid argument to make that 1975 was the apex of Hollywood film making in that decade. Here is a partial list of the movies released that year: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Dog Day Afternoon, Barry Lyndon, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Rollerball, Three Days of the Condor, Shampoo, Nashville, Seven Beauties, Cousin cousine,The Passenger as well as the aforementioned fish story. ” That is a list of essential films for anyone who loves movies to partake of. Buried in the avalanche of great films from that year, is the one film that stars Michael Caine and Sean Connery together as the leading men (each had a small part in “A Bridge Too Far”) and as a bonus it was directed by John Huston.

The FMR Ranking of Bond Films. All 23 From Worst to First.

Ok, Bond fans. This is it, the last Bond related post for the foreseeable future. 😦 Non Bond fans, bear with me one last time, with the exception of Wednesday’s (title pending), we’re going to move on back to our regularly scheduled movie talk starting tomorrow. I promise. 😀

But there’s one more ranking that needs to be done, and it’s a big one. The films themselves. The Bond series has had numerous ups and downs over the five decades that its been around, giving us some great movies, and some awful ones. And this weekend brought us one that wants to shoulder its way to the top, people are already talking about it being the “Best Bond Ever”.

Click through to read my ranking of all 23!

The Great Debates: Who is the Best Bond?

The big question. For years, Sean Connery was the pat answer, but lately, Daniel Craig has been making a serious run at the throne. Will the strength of the modern movie-making in his films help him unseat the King? How many fans of the campy Roger Moore era are out there? Dalton has his supporters, but just how many? Can people forgive Brosnan for the movies he was in and judge him as the Bond he was? Will anyone vote Lazenby?

Click through to read the tale of the tape!!

New Episode of the (title pending) Movie Podcast with Tank and Fogs! The Supersized Bond Spectacular!!

This year marks the 50th Anniversary of James Bond, and this week sees the release of a brand new Bond movie… as a way to celebrate both, Tank and I proudly present our break down of the entire Bond series. Our Supersized Bond Spectacular!!

From Sean Connery to Daniel Craig, Tank and I discuss every movie in the series. “Dr. No”, “The Spy Who Loved Me”, “Goldfinger”, “Goldeneye”, “Casino Royale”… they’re all here.

As always, you can either download the episodes or listen to them directly here (Part 1 Sean Connery and George Lazenby) and here (Part 2 Roger Moore through Daniel Craig). You can also look for us on iTunes or Stitcher Radio by searching for (title pending) or Tank and Fogs!

Movies That Everyone Should See: “Dr. No”

Fifty years ago this year, in October of 1962, James Bond first appeared onscreen in “Dr. No”

We take it for granted now. 007 has become an pop culture cornerstone. A Bond movie is as close to a sure thing to be a big success as there is in the movie business. But there was a time when movie audiences had never heard of James Bond. As hard as it is to imagine, there was a time when a James Bond movie was not a surefire huge grossing film. When, in spite of shining prospects, a misstep could have cut short an entire franchise.

Thankfully, the first movie they made was the brilliant “Dr. No”. A tone setting film that established the world of James Bond in almost every way. Its success would propel the Bond series to become one of the longest running, most successful movie franchises of all time.

James Bond: Classic, Cheese, or Crap? – BONUS “Never Say Never Again”

“Never Say Never Again”

1983

Bond: Sean Connery

Classic, Cheese, or Crap?: CRAP

In 1958, Ian Fleming began trying to bring his famous spy to the big screen. He was introduced to a writer named Kevin McClory, and together (eventually joined by screenwriter Jack Wittingham), they began work on a screenplay they would eventually title, “Thunderball.” Due to the failure of McClory’s first feature film, however, Fleming lost interest in the collaboration. Instead of pursuing the screenplay further, he cannibalized the major elements (including SPECTRE and Blofeld) and turned them into a new novel of the same name.

The story would eventually make it to the big screen once Cubby Broccoli and Harry Saltzman began adapting the books.

But behind the scenes, Kevin McClory was fighting in the courts for his rights to the original Thunderball screenplay. It was a legal fight that would lead to the death of Blofeld, the end of SPECTRE, and eventually, “Never Say Never Again”.

James Bond: Classic, Cheese, or Crap – “Goldfinger”

“Goldfinger”

1964

Bond: Sean Connery

Classic, Cheese or Crap?: CLASSIC

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Bond: Do you expect me to talk?

Goldfinger: No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die

Do I need to say anything more in support of it’s “Classic” status then that?

James Bond: Classic, Cheese or Crap – “Live and Let Die”

“Live and Let Die”

1973

Bond: Roger Moore

Classic, Cheese or Crap: Cheese

This is one of a small handful of Bonds that don’t fit well into the classifcation system. “Live and Let Die” is one of the better Moore Bonds, but I didn’t feel it was good enough to be called classic. It’s got some cheese to it, but the “L’eau du Fromage” isn’t as strong as other films in the catergory.

But in the end, between the voodoo and the Tarot cards and the pimps… I had to go Cheese.

James Bond: Classic, Cheese or Crap? – “From Russia With Love”

“From Russia With Love”

1963

Bond: Sean Connery

Classic, Cheese or Crap?: Classic

“From Russia With Love” was the second Bond film ever made. At that point, the franchise wasn’t even a franchise. I mean, if you only have two movies, wouldn’t the second one just be called a “sequel”? It’s widely hailed as being the most realistic Bond movie ever… that the action and plot of this film hew more closely to the real world activities of Cold War era spies than any other Bond film.

It’s undoubtedly a classic.

Yet I have to admit it’s my least favorite of the five “good” (DN->YOLT) Connery Bonds.

James Bond: Classic, Cheese or Crap? – “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”

“On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”

1969

Bond: George Lazenby

Classic, Cheese or Crap?: CRAP

In 1967, Sean Connery “retired” from playing Bond for the first time. After five enormously successful films, the role of James Bond was recast for the very first time.

The new actor? George Lazenby.

The movie? “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”.

The result? Crap.