Apparently so.
Posted on 10/13/2012 9:35:17 PM PDT by Vince Ferrer
When is a Bond film not a Bond film? It’s a question likely to prey on the minds of the very many cinema goers who will see this 23rd official 007 adventure. Skyfall shakes together familiar elements of the Ian Fleming canon – the cars, the guns, the exotic locales with the dames to match – into a blistering comic book escapade that the old Bond, and one suspects Fleming too, would find altogether alien.
(Excerpt) Read more at telegraph.co.uk ...
His review is 180 degrees from any reviewer that has already seen the film.
From the web...
“During the 1963 production of From Russia with Love, photographer David Hurn was commissioned to photograph the actors of the film in their costume. When the theatrical property Walther PPK did not turn up for the shoot, Hurn volunteered his own Walther LP 53 air pistol and said he would airbrush out the long barrel; the airbrushed stills appearing in a US “JAMES BOND IS BACK” poster. However, Renato Fratini a film poster artist saw the original stills of the weapon and used it in his U.K. posters with the weapon appearing in several more film posters up to The Man With the Golden Gun. On 14 February 2001, Hurn had his LP 53 (serial number 054159) in its original presentation case and letter of provenance auctioned off at Christie’s where the weapon fetched in excess of US$435,000.”
I like it, too, but I think Adele is giving them a run for their money with her version of "Skyfall."
Heard it for the first time about a week ago and it's fast becoming my favorite song. Reminds me of the Bond songs from the sixties.
I don’t like this new Bond theme by Adele. It drags and drags. I want a high powered Bond theme like “View to a Kill” by the Duran boys
So...it is a Walther LP 53 air pistol ?
Apparently so.
Three or four years ago, someone on this board mentioned the odd history of the “007 pistol that never was,” and I lost track of it.
Thanks very much for the update.
What was the caliber of this air gun ?
I’m interested because I shoot a Quackenbush .50 cal air rifle made here in Missouri. It’s a big banger and Missouri Department of Conservation approved to take deer.
Fair enough. I don't claim the new one's great music [the lyrics are nonsense,] but it reminds me a lot of "Goldfinger." I've always been more caught up in the melody and the harmony than the "meaning."
I've got to say that, though I've never paid any attention to Adele, her phrasing is spectacular.
I suppose I might see it. Bond films are unlikely to have the usual snarky leftist dialog that causes me to immediately exit the theater.
Why do the press and media let the producers claim the title “official” film when there have been 24 previous films including one with sc they are not counting?
You fellas hear about the alleged “homoerotic” scene where Bardem “strokes” Bond’s torso or something? Bardem says his character would “**** anything”.
Homos see “subtext” everywhere cause that’s what they’re looking for and the actors are liberal fools who are happy to show how “enlightened” they are by talking that stuff up so I wouldn’t necessarily make too much of it.
In fact, in ‘Licence to Kill’ Franz Sanchez (Scaramanga) inexplicably hires Bond because FS is attracted to Bond.
Wouldn’t surprise me.
Gotta stay with the agenda you know.
Havier Bardiem makes my Tourette’s act up, X25. I will not watch anything with him in it.
Havier Bardiem - he was the psycho in No Country For Old Men???
Tommy Lee Jones did a good job in that flick. He looked positively beaten into the ground...”Weathered” I believe the term is...
“Havier Bardiem - he was the psycho in No Country For Old Men???”
Yes he was.
“Tommy Lee Jones did a good job in that flick.”
He did!
Comic books are for kids.
James Bond could be in for one heck of a makeover with Skyfall, his twenty-third outing (and no, we’re not referring to his wardrobe). Director Sam Mendes (American Beauty, Road to Perdition) may seem an odd choice for a Bond film, but while his style may be deemed ‘artsy’ by casual moviegoers, he’s taking inspiration from one director known for blending blockbuster action with poignant filmmaking.
The James Bond series has turned actors into household names, yet the ones behind the camera have garnered much less attention. That might make Sam Mendes’ role seem less significant in the long run, but that could be about to change – assuming Mendes can recreate even an ounce of the movies he’s turning to for inspiration.
As promotion of Skyfall has picked up speed, the largest source of enthusiasm and commitment to putting James Bond back on the right tracks has been coming directly from Mendes. Even when discussing the authentic London locations being used for filming, the man at the wheel seems as pleased as a kid in a candy store. But apparently, his thoughts on the project weren’t always so positive.
Mendes explained to ThePlaylist that his spot in the director’s chair came with some trepidation, and while the job may be one that many filmmakers dream of attaining, he wasn’t so optimistic:
“I was never interested and I don’t think I saw most of the Pierce Brosnan films [...] I was not into them at the time and then when Daniel got cast I was interested because he was a friend and I had worked with him. And I thought, ‘Wow, that’s interesting.’ I was on record as saying that I didn’t think he was good casting. Then I saw it and was blown away and was suddenly interested again, as a character, and eager to see the next one. I was slightly disappointed with ‘Quantum of Solace’ although I think it’s got a bit of a short shrift, there’s a lot in it that’s interesting. But when I met with Daniel and he asked whether or not I was interested in doing it, I found myself saying yes very quickly. It was just good timing.”
Mendes’ decision to jump on board was a risky one, since he rightly points out that the reception to Bond’s last adventure was lukewarm at best. But those who felt that the first Skyfall trailer revealing the diabolical Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) seemed more ‘Nolan-esque’ than ‘Bond-ish’ may have been right on the money.
The strength of story, drama and compelling turmoil that director Christopher Nolan brought into the Batman mythos “directly inspired” Mendes in his view of the Bond series. Not just as a sign that tired properties can still have potential, but what can be attempted when studio dollars are on the line.
As Mendes sees it, the precedent has been set for directors like himself to bring more artistic flourishes to mainstream projects. What that means for Skyfall isn’t clear, but does sound promising:
“In terms of what [Nolan] achieved, specifically ‘The Dark Knight,’ the second movie, what it achieved, which is something exceptional. It was a game changer for everybody…”
“We’re now in an industry where movies are very small or very big and there’s almost nothing in the middle [...] it would be a tragedy if all the serious movies were very small and all the popcorn movies were very big and have nothing to say. And what Nolan proved was that you can make a huge movie that is thrilling and entertaining and has a lot to say about the world we live in, even if, in the case with ‘The Dark Knight,’ it’s not even set in our world. It felt like a movie that was about our world post-9/11, and played on our fears, and discussed our fears and why they existed and I thought that was incredibly brave and interesting. That did help give me the confidence to take this movie in directions that, without ‘The Dark Knight,’ might not have been possible. Because also, people go, ‘Wow, that’s pretty dark,’ but then you can point to ‘Dark Knight’ and go ‘Look at that – that’s a darker movie, and it took in a gazillion dollars!’ That’s very helpful. There’s also that thing – it’s clearly possible to make a dark movie that people want to see.”
Nolan’s accomplishments extend far beyond producing one of the most taut and chilling character dramas the comic book genre has ever seen. The success and praise earned by Inception – a story Nolan thought up himself – showed that in an age of sequels, reboots and adaptations, an original script can still earn almost a billion dollars at the box office.
It would be optimistic to think that Skyfall can do the same, but everything shown so far pays testament to Mendes’ wishes of making a “big fabulous escapist movie.” The over-the-top action scenes may set a new standard for Bond’s theatrics, but the film isn’t forgetting its heritage either. The new beginning for Bond may not please every fan, but the fact that it will be forgoing 3D (and the attached profits) when it hits theaters should earn some goodwill.
Is Christopher Nolan’s influence starting to seep into too many other franchises, or should directors take inspiration from wherever they can? Think the tone could work for this ‘darker’ chapter of James Bond’s life, or may only weigh down a plot that should be fun above all else?
Skyfall will be in theaters and IMAX on November 9, 2012.
It still tickles me that people think Nolan did something substantially new in his Batman films. He just faithfully moved the comic book character to the screen.
Dude he was great in No Country for Old Men as a stone cod killer..
I think he will be excellent in Skyfall possibly the baddest guy JB has ever had to deal with..
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