Wasn't Licence to Kill the first Bond film where the scene right after the main titles is set just moments after the pre-title sequence (which would later happen again with Quantum of Solace)? Because normally, the first scene after the main titles take place either days, weeks, months or even years (GoldenEye) after the events of the pre-titles.
I think my favorite pre-title sequence might be The Living Daylights. I love Dalton's introduction, the action, the teases with the agents, and that fantastic score John Barry composed. I think it's perfection.
Just found out that Christopher Lee has died. It was a sad day for all Bond, Lord of the Rings, Horror and Star Wars fans alike. Sorry to be a downer. Really like your video, went to see the The Merchant of Venice and saw Johnathon Pryce as Shrylock, really awesome!
Die another day felt like two movies slammed together to try to appease to both type of bond fans for the big 40th: the Super serious types that read the books and loved Dalton’s run and previous Bronson flicks AND the type that loved the ridiculous Moore and Connery flicks...it was a fucking mess. Thank God almighty that Skyfall rectified for the Golden Anniversary.
The dumb plot kinda ruins that one for me. Surfing is as ridiculous a form of travel in Die Another Day as it was in Escape from LA. And if you want to drive over a minefield, a hovercraft is absolutely the worst vehicle you could pick. The powerful air cushion gives it a bigger contact with the road than anything else.
Great video as always,mine would go like this 1. GoldenEye 2. Thunderball 3. The Living Daylights 4. Casino Royale 5. The World is not Enough 6. Moonraker 7. Die Another Day 8. For Your Eyes Only 9. Tomorrow Never Dies 10. Skyfall
@@strikerbowls791 Surfing was in the climax, not in the pre-title sequence. Still, it's better to not watch it because it's followed by one of the cringiest Bond songs ever.
@@strikerbowls791 It also looks so brown and washed-out I thought I was watching a different movie (probably a generic military movie focused on "realism").
11:00-11:12 LMAO! I think I would have actually placed The Spy Who Loved Me pre-title sequence as number 1. I only found out yesterday that Christopher Lee passed away. May he rest in peace.
I must be the Lone Ranger for my love of You Only Live Twice’s opening sequence! I don’t see it on anyone’s list! The space capsule “swallowing” totally blew my mind! That ominous music stuck in my mind for life! I was maybe 13, only the 2nd Bond film I saw in the cinema, I was a space nut and all into the Apollo missions, etc…This was to me the most spectacular big Villain plot ever in a Bond film at that time. Don’t care if no one else likes it!
Oh my gosh. Your two dishonorable mentions just happen to be my favorite open sequences of all time. The lack of Bond is precisely why I love them. They present a problem or some mysterious evil thing going on that Bond has to deal with. I’ll use Live and Let Die as my example. We see the problem. 3 people die mysteriously in 3 different parts of the world. Then the music starts. This is a James Bond movie and bond is going to sort this out. These open sequences allowed us to focus on the problem first before seeing how it gets resolved by 007.
Only six, maybe Skyfall, have nothing to do with the main story. It got difficult after #6 because most just didn't jump out at me. 10 Best Bond Pre-Titles ----------------------------- 1) Casino Royale (He gets his 00 and it leads into a cool tittle sequence with an awesome song) 2) Goldfinger (first of few mini adventures) 3) For Your Eyes Only (continuity) 4) The World is Not Enough (boat chase on the Thames) 5) Goldeneye (between two films) 6) Quantum of Solace (picks up where Casino Royale left off) 7) Diamonds Are Forever (new twist with villain thought to be dead) 8) Moonraker (stunts in free fall) 9) Ocotpussy (aerial stunts done here in America) 10) The Living Daylights (nice scenery)
It would be interesting to know more of the 'back story' of some of the mini-adventures. Maybe in a subsequent reboot, we could have films that tell the full story of those episodes, and end with Bond parachuting off a cliff, fighting for a parachute in mid-air, or topping up an Acrostar. Particularly with the Moonraker opening, it would be good to know more of Jaws's involvement.
The line that ends Octopussy's action-packed opening is one of the most Bond things ever, and always cracks me up. Moore's plane rolls up next to "Fill her up please" as Rita Coolidge's All Time High begins.
I remember listening to the behind the scenes for the opening title sequence for Licence to Kill. Timothy Dalton was once again doing the stunts of connecting the plane to the helicopter, and Cubby Broccoli got mad at him for doing the stunt himself.
Honestly, I'm genuinely shocked that the pre-title sequence for Goldeneye wasn't number 1 or ranked higher! I was expecting that initially. Great list as always! Personally, I've ALWAYS loved the one for License to Kill as it fits into the rest of the story, is a great introduction for Sanchez and the stunt with the plane mixed with the music was just phenomenal! Keep up the great work :)
I don't mind that The Man With The Golden Gun's pre-title sequence didn't have Bond because it introduced us to how duels with Scaramanga work. Therefore, when Bond and him finally battled, it was all the more exciting. However, Live and Let Die's is definitely the weakest. Even the transition to the title sequence is clumsy.
The other weird thing about the LALD title sequence is that the MI6 agent murdered is American? It's strange that Guy Hamilton didn't cast a British actor for the role. I mean we're supposed to believe that MI6 agents are Brits so what's the deal with the American being fobbed off on us as an English spy?
My list: 01. OHMSS, for the astounding editing alone. 02. FRWL, for setting the tone for these scenes. 03. Goldeneye, for inspiring a great N64 level. 04. Casino Royale, for Peter Sellers (wait, wrong one). 05. TLD, for setting a new tone for the Dalton era. 06. Goldfinger, for popularizing the cheesy one-liner. 07. DAD, for stopping me from walking out on Madonna. 08. Octopussy, for not boring me (atypical for Moore). 09. YOLT, for Bond's awesome assassination. 10. LTK, for its effective Robert Davi setup. Honorable mention: TWINE, even though it's too long. Dishonorable mention: DAF, for never mentioning Tracy.
the saddest thing is when Calvin says that a future film might give us a completely satisfying confrontation of Bond and Blofeld. Honestly, compared to Spectre, 8 minutes of For Your Eyes Only does a far better job of the confrontation.
I think it would be like this: 1.Goldfinger 2.Goldeneye 3.The spy who loved me 4.The world is not enough 5.From russia with love 6.Octopussy 7.Thunderball 8.Skyfall 9.On her majesty’s secret service 10.Tomorrow never dies Honorable mention: Moonraker & Spectre Dishonorable mention: Quantum of solace
In my opinion, the 'Licence to Kill' pre-credit scene is better than the 'Diamonds are Forever' PCS. I enjoy the plane-fishing scene immensely - the ingenuity and the stunt work of that scene alone makes for a great PCS. Add Michael Kamen's awesome rendition of the Bond theme with blaring horns on top and it's cinematic gold IMO. Apart from that, great list and great video! The new number cards look really good.
"I'll buy you a delicatessen, in stainless steel" no Bond fan will ever truly know the meaning of that line... but I'm sure that Kevin McClory somehow did. Perhaps that line was a subtle "fuck you!" that only McClory would understand.
cockshield It was Cubby Broccoli's line, a tribute to the Italian Mafia who would bribe business owners to act as a front for them by offering them to buy a delicatessen in steel. This was (and still is) top of the line and was seen as something luxury.
Well, you asked for a Top Ten, so here's mine: 10. The Living Daylights - An above-average action opener. Flawed, as you pointed out, but it's so Dalton: right in your face with minimal gimmicks. 9. License to Kill - A more out-there opener, super cheesy and 80s. Bonus points for feeling more like a self-contained movie than almost any other in the series. 8. Moonraker - Goofy, but mighty impressive if you think about how they made it. Ending's a little too broad, but it sets up the new kid-"friendly" Jaws and fits Moore's established persona like a glove. 7. Casino Royale - Just beautiful to look at. I don't care two shakes about Bond's origin or how he got his 00, but it's a tight sequence and a good warm up for the upcoming Parkour scene. 6. Spectre - The best thing about the film, I feel. Love the pacing especially. Doesn't try to complicate matters, like the rest of the Craig follow-ups. 5. Live and Let Die - I don't mind the Bond-less openers. Or even the action-less openers. I don't love the Bond series for the action scenes. I love it for the sets, the music, the glamour, the escapism, the camp, and the cast of wild eccentrics. 4. The Man With the Golden Gun - Same as the last, but even more gorgeous and crazy. These two films are the peak of stylish, camp Bond. 3. From Russia With Love - Of course, if you can throw in a solid plot too, that's even better, and FRWL's opening sets up Bond's nemesis fantastically, opening the film by framing it as a mystery. The classiest opening. 2. Goldeneye - As odd as it seems to say this, this opening is amazingly restrained. For a Brosnan. Probably the best action scene in the series after Parkour, very plot-relevant too. Over-the-top and very entertaining, without trying to be too cute. 1. The Spy Who Loved Me. Just the overall Bondiest opening there is.
My top 10 Dishonourable mention : For your eyes only Honourable mention : Licence to kill 10. Quantum of solace 9. Thunderball 8. Tomorrow never dies 7. Octopussy 6. The living daylights 5. The world is not enough 4. Casino royale 3. Goldeneye 2. The spy who loved me 1. Spectre
Of course SPECTRE takes the lead after its release but how come Licence To Kill didn't make the cut? I mean it had great stunt with the helicopter and Sanchez's plane, Felix is getting married, the score is amazing (throughout the film) and of course -the observer- Bond!
@@det9525 I have watched the sequence at least once in the recent week and am livid that Amazon prime only offers it with German dubbing in Germany. Don't get why I have never watched a Dalton bond before. Once I move into my new apartment I will buy the bluray and will christen my projector with it.
My Top 10 Favorite Opening Sequences: 10. On Her Majesty's Secret Service 9. Moonraker 8. The Man With The Golden Gun 7. Spectre 6. GoldenEye 5. The Living Daylights 4. Goldfinger 3. Skyfall 2. The Spy Who Loved Me 1. Casino Royale
Great review as always, Calvin! :) A fact for you: during the filming of The World Is Not Enough, my Dad was in his office and saw the whole boat chase being filmed! He said it was absolutely fantastic! Also, have you been to the Bond in Motion exhibition in Covent Garden, London? It's an amazing museum - my favourite by far. :)
Not sure he could have seen the *whole* boat chase being filmed, as it was filmed in a number of locations across London (one of which - the Wapping Ornamental Canal - is completely cut off from the river!).
1. The Spy Who loved me 2. Moonraker 3. Spectre 4. Casino Royale 5. The Living daylights 6. Thunderball 7. Goldfinger 8. You only live twice 9. Diamonds are forever 10. Licence to kill
If you really look deep into what he's saying during these reviews you'll see little hints into who is favorite bond is and he was least favorite is and I believe the list goes Roger Moore Pierce Brosnan Daniel Craig Sean Connery Timothy Dalton and George Lazenby
Seth Davis True, but I'd still like to see a thorough analysis of his list including his likes and dislikes of each actor's take and such. Plus people's opinion's do change
SolarDragon007 I get the feeling that either Lazenby or Moore is going to end up on the bottom, and Connery or Craig is going to end up on top. Personally, after "Skyfall" Craig became my favorite actor for the emotional depth he brought to the character.
THE SPY WHO LOVED ME is my all-time favorite cold opening to a Bond film. After introducing us to Agent XXX, Bond is called to action after making out with a girl, who turns out to be a spy, and a massive ski-chase ensue. Bond is pursued by agents as they ski down a mountain in an action scene that still holds up today without any special effects, and amplified by Hamlisch’s thrilling score. It culminates with Bond skiing right off a cliff, and the soundtrack goes completely silent as Bond is in freefall for several seconds-and then the Union Jack parachute opens right on the music’s crescendo, making the audience erupt in applause. And then, just when you think it can’t get any better, the credits begin and the best Bond song of all time, "Nobody Does It Better" by Carly Simon, starts playing…
I'd exchange 'D.A.F.' for 'T.N.D' and put 'T.N.D.' higher up the list. It's kinetic, Arnold's music adds a lot, Colin Samon & Dench & Palmer are good and it sets up the style of the movie well. I'm not such a fan of the Thames boat chase, but I do agree the end of that sequence is very strong visually and it struck me as almost Hitchcockian when Bond is rolling down the dome and how the live action merges with the opening credits. I'd also include 'O.H.M.S.S.'. Again, very kinetic and it ties directly into the overall movie.
Great list and video Calvin! My top 10 would be: 1: GoldenEye 2: The World Is Not Enough 3: Tomorrow Never Dies 4: Die Another Day 5: Casino Royale 6: Skyfall 7: For Your Eyes Only 8: The Living Daylights 9: Octopussy 10: The Man With The Golden Gun I hate the LALD one as well ;)
Hahaha! I love how Calvin keeps using the '...and a jump to the left!' clip over and over again. At first, I found it funny, then I found it annoying, but now it has got back to being funny again.
Tomorrow Never Dies, surprised that didn't make the list, a bit random as to why he ended up at the military base but when he starts shooting it up and escaping in the plane, good top ten none the less.
10.From Russia With Love 9.Die Another Day 8.For your eyes only 7.The Living Daylights 6.Tomorrow Never Dies 5.Licence To Kill 4.A View To A Kill 3.Casino Royale(2006) 2.Skyfall 1.The World Is Not Enough Hope you agree with me
Have you done a Top 10 Best James Bond cameo appearances by famous people? I would vote for John Barry's cameo as the orchestra conductor in The Living Daylights as my #1!
I think SPY WHO LOVED ME's opening should easily have been #1 or #2. Yes, it is very similar to MOONRAKER's, but that parachute finale is just so iconic. I like WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH's opening a lot, but it doesn't have that one singular iconic moment that the others do.
Since Moonraker came after The Spy Who Loved Me, it'd be more accurate to say Moonraker's was very similar to Spy's. But, yes, it's very iconic. As was the theme song, which gave 007 a catch phrase the films are STILL USING to this day!
My top 10 1)Quantum of solace 2)Goldfinger 3)Moonraker 4)Skyfall 5)A view to a kill 6)The living daylights 7)No time to die 8)Spectre 9)On her majesty's secret service 10)Casino Royale
10: Goldfinger 9: Spectre 8: The Living Daylights 7: The Spy Who Loved Me/Moonraker 6: Octopussy 5: For Your Eyes Only 4: Casino Royale 3: Goldeneye 2: The World is Not Enough 1: Skyfall
I would have Dishonorable mention: Casino Royale Honorable mention: For your eyes only 10:skyfall 9:A View To A Kill 8:Diamonds are forever 7:live and let die 6:the living daylights 5:the world is not enough 4:man with the goldengun 3:moonraker 2:die another day 1:spectre
Coming back here after No Time To Die… I think, for me, that film and Casino Royale have got to take the cake. While I was in the theatre watching No Time To Die, I was scared we weren’t going to get a credits sequence because the scene kept going on and on and they missed several transition opportunities, but then they got to the credits and I saw what they were doing. In NTTD, the opening bit is like a short film more than ever, thrusting you into the action and telling you a mini-story for a whopping twenty minutes (yes, this movie is the longest Bond film ever, at 163 minutes).
The License to Kill and Thunderball Pre Titles Are Very Underrated and In My Opinion they are Both Good Especially The Fight With Bond Vs Jacques Boivar (Bob Simmons)
World is not Enough is my favourite. I also loved Tomorrow Never Dies and Goldeneye pre title sequence. Goldeneye would be in my top 5. I loved all Brosnan's pre title sequences.
Old video! I rate the pre-titles on how well I remember them years later. For me the Spy Who Loved Me is the one that sticks, closely followed by For Your Eyes Only. I also like the jet pack sequence in Thunderball and the Live and Let Die pre-credit. Even though there is no Bond, the LaLD one really sets up the vaguely supernatural atmosphere of the movie. I don’t even remember any of the Craig pre-credits, which shows how unremarkable I found them.
Folks often miss the significance of Bond seeing the approaching assassin in the eye of the woman he's kissing in the "Goldfinger" PTS -- calling the bit silly. It's not silly. The bit is meant to show us how practical and even surface of a person Bond is... he's doesn't go deep. He's not really looking *into* the woman's eyes in a soulful way. He's keeping his wits about him. He's using her for a short pleasure -- knowing not to trust her or anyone. He's looking for surface clues everywhere including, literally, *on* her eyes, about what's really going-on there. There are lots of scenes in the cannon like this, to show the audience what a surface but practical man Bond really is... Bond's final line in the Casino Royale PTS is another example of this, par excellence.
The one that I think you missed as part of the top 10 is tomorrow never dies. I think it checks all the boxes with the exception of having a beautiful women in it.
1 - OHMSS 2 - GoldenEye 3 - Thunderball 4 - The Spy Who Loved Me 5 - Goldfinger 6 - Casino Royale 7 - Licence to Kill 8 - The Living Dayligths 9 - Quantum of Solace 10 - From Russia with Love Honorable mentions: Skyfall, Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough. Dishonorable mentions: Live and Let Die, You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever.
I have an issue with the Goldeneye title sequence. It begins and ends with great stunts, but geographically having the two in the same location is implausible. Bond bungee jumps down a high dam, but at the end of the sequence he's at an airfield (of which there is no sign from the dam - nor could there be as the dam would be in the way of the planes - on top of a cliff!
The problems I have with Goldeneyes pre-title sequences is the fact that the stuntman who jumps off the dam is clearly not Brosnan, and also the geography makes no sense. He jumps down a dam, goes down some stairs, and he only seems to go down, until he escapes, and then suddenly he's on top of a mountain for some reason.
The best ever pre-title sequence is "Licence To Kill". The way the bridal march segues into the title song is just amazing. It brings me to tears every time I watch it.
Interesting list, Calvin. I loved the B-word bit lol. Just found out yesterday that the voice of Blof---, errr I mean B******, in FYEO is the same voice of Tiger Tanaka and John Strangways. It belongs to Robert Rietty, who just passed away in April. Thought you might like that bit if you didn't already know it! Anyway, here's my top 10 list: 10. Tomorrow Never Dies 9. For Your Eyes Only 8. Moonraker 7. The Living Daylights 6. The Spy Who Loved Me 5. The World Is Not Enough 4. Die Another Day 3. Skyfall 2. Goldfinger 1. GoldenEye
Thanks for accepting my request to do the pre-title sequence.. and thanks for Octopussy being #2.. I actually believe it is #1 since I am not a fan of any of the Brosnan movies..
Best pre-title Bond sequences (my list of them!). 1) *Goldfinger* 2) *The Living Daylights* (Featured multiple 00's besides setting us all up for the new James Bond actor's big reveal onscreen) 3) *From Russia With Love* (Red Grant killing a fake Bond was a clever twist) 4) *Casino Royale* (wonderful start to a now "rebooted" 007 Bond film series) 5) *For Your Eyes Only* (Moore making up for the campyness of Mookraker with this dark and stylish opening. It was also Eon's way of saying they don't need a certain 'at the time?' McClory owned Thunderball character and Organisation [Blofeld & Spectre]) 6) *Man With The Golden Gun* 7) *GoldenEye* 8) *On Her Majesty's Secret Service* 9) *Thunderball* 10) *The World Is Not Enough* Honorable mentions; Spectre, The Spy Who Loved Me, Licence To Kill, A View To A Kill, Octopussy, Moonraker, Tomorrow Never Dies, Skyfall (ranked so low cos Bond's fall from the train was just utterly nonsense [i.e. he shouldn't have survived it period])
Well, if the codename theory is true, then he DIDN'T survive the fall from the train -- he got KIAd and they simply replaced him with another James Bond 007 (for maybe the 4th or 5th time in all)!
1- Why does Moore have to make up for the campiness of Moonraker since he didn't write, produce or direct it? People often blame him for the films the dislike. I never understood that. 2- EVERY Bond movie is campy. Some are just campier than others. But even Dr. No and From Russia With Love were campy. Just listen to the director's commentary where he uses the word "campy" multiple times to describe what he was going for.
I never realized how messed up it is that Bond seems to have no grief a few minutes after 2 fellow agents were killed in front of him in Living Daylights. Dalton's Bond goes crazy when Felix is attacked in Licence to Kill! He's also very upset when Saunders and Sharkey get killed. I get he might not have been as close with all the double 0's as he was with Alec, but he must've REALLY disliked 002 & 004 to delay reporting their brutal deaths to M just so he can bang some random lady. Maybe they were the Dwight & Andy of the MI6 office & he just hated them? Bond's sex drive trumping his concern for fellow agents feels like a Roger Moore moment in a Dalton film.
Going to be a pedant for just a second, but 002 doesn't actually die in this sequence. He gets hit with a paintball by one of the guards and is taken out of the exercise ("that's it mate, you're out of it"). Also as much as I love The Living Daylights, there is a clear sense that the writers are still trying to figure out how to transition away from Moore era silliness, which is why you get some bizarre out-of-character moments like the end of the sequence
Once again Calvin great video! Your list is solid Calvin, and it's good to see Octopussy in there, it's a fantastic sequence. I would put The Living Daylights as my personal favorite. It's a great introduction to a new Bond and after the farce that was A View to a Kill, a welcome change of tone.
Once again a great video, I think this is one of your better ones :) My list would be a bit different. 1. Octopussy, 2 TSWLM, 3 OHMSS, 4 TLDL, 5 Moonraker, 6 Goldeneye, 7. FRWL, 8. ATAK, 9 FYEO and 10 Skyfall.
1. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977) - I have never seen an audience explode the way they did when that parachute opened back in 1979. It was electric. 2. CASINO ROYALE (2006) - Totally turned my head around the first time I saw it. I don't even know if I liked it, it was so unexpected. It's status has grown large in time and context. 3. GOLDENEYE (1995) - After watching many of your videos, I wouldn't have thought that I would ever be ranking any aspect of GE higher than you, but here it is. I went into the theatre with no expectations. The franchise had been dead for six years, and I hadn't really been excited by the Bond films since the disappointment of MOONRAKER in 1979, but that PTS and Title Sequence were absolutely superb. My expectations instantly rose. Unfortunately, though I think it is a better than average Bond film, the rest of the movie never measures up to that beginning. 4. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963) - Probably gets knocked up a couple of slots due to it being the first. great tempo, Robert Shaw is terrific in the scene and the role. 5. MOONRAKER (1979) - Absolutely thrilling. Before CGI took all of the wonder out of cinema, knowing that these guys were real human beings pulling those stunts off was a wonderful experience on the big screen. It falls a slot due to the unfortunate inclusion of Jaws. 6. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS - (1987) - I like everything about it except for the soundtrack, Barry's worst. 7. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969) - Nice intro, a new atmosphere. I enjoy the lighting, it has an almost gothic quality. After all these years I still don't know how I feel about George's famous line before he runs into the Title Sequence. 8. GOLDFINGER (1964) - Surprisingly low for my overall favorite Bond film, but I have never found it overly exciting or poignant. It's iconic, funny, and it's definitely cool to see Connery dressed in solid black breaking into the heroin facility and planting the explosives, but I get a little more out of the previous seven. 9. LIVE AND LET DIE (1973) - I know that there is no Bond here, but I have been a big fan of this one since it scared me in the theatre in 1973 (I was 10 or 11). 10. SKYFALL (2012) - This type of action can often go wrong and become quite tedious. SF manages to pull it off. It holds my attention, offers some thrills and some nice character moments. And I like the giant mermaid hand. Maybe a tad of a hodgepodge. Worthy of note: 11. THUNDERBALL (1963) - Great fight, the senseless jet pack brings it way down, the water squirting DB5 sinks it. 12 FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981) - Almost makes it on the opening piece at Tracy's grave and the promise of a legitimate Blofeld as an actual threat. Then it all goes to Hell. 13. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974) - Really strong, but I did penalize this one for not including Bond. Even though it kind of did include him. 14. DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002) - This PTS is fairly generic fare for the Brosnan era, but it sets up Pierce's best scene in the franchise (immediately following the underrated Title Sequence) and I can't help thinking of that all as one package. So sad that with such great promise we would end up with the worst Bond film in the franchise.
Favorite has to be moonraker. When i first saw Jaws pushing bond out of the jet with no parachute i was scared for a few seconds. I thought bond was going to die for sure. With most title sequences, i could assume bond would be resourceful and somehow use his surroundings to his advantage, but in moonraker i was traumatized because it seemed there was no way he could live.
I personally love the pre-title opening to “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service !!!!!! Excellent fight sequence and the whole feel and mood of it is Classic Bond. The music by John Berry adds a lot to it 👍🏻👍🏻.
I like the way your lists are always unpredictable (apart from understandably the cars one). Every other Bond list you can predict they'll say "best villain: Goldfinger - just because", "best theme song: Goldfinger - just because", "best title sequence: Ski Jump - just because". You on the other hand seem to - *gasp!!* - put actual thought and consideration into your lists, which is why they're always fun to watch.
I agree it was logistically fantastic and looked amazing. But I have never understood why everyone went so gaga for that opening. I have seen, "Best pre-title sequence ever" written in more than a couple reviews. Ultimately it was a fistfight on a helicopter.
Well, the man with the Golden gun is one of the best openings to me ! No Bond, a total focus on the villain, which creates real hype for Scaramanga and the final showdown
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I think Licence to Kill's pre title sequence is underrated.
Johnny Canuck your wrong he wants to hump Lois
Brian Griffin yeh its frickin amazing. I love liscense to kill
Your right
Perhaps, but hooking a helicopter winch to the tail of the escaping plane is the cherry on top.
Wasn't Licence to Kill the first Bond film where the scene right after the main titles is set just moments after the pre-title sequence (which would later happen again with Quantum of Solace)? Because normally, the first scene after the main titles take place either days, weeks, months or even years (GoldenEye) after the events of the pre-titles.
I think my favorite pre-title sequence might be The Living Daylights. I love Dalton's introduction, the action, the teases with the agents, and that fantastic score John Barry composed. I think it's perfection.
Kicking out the window so he can get air flow to his parachute is forever one of the coolest intros.
The buildup score with that other 00 agent getting killed and Dalton's intro is classic!
Same! That one was also my favorite. I’ve rewatched it sooo many times.
How come Tomorrow Never Dies wasn't on the list? That one was so good!
Ejecting the dude out of the plane to hit the other one is absolutely bananas.
@@dereklewis4321 "backseat drivers"
It's rather generic if you think about it.
Love TND's pre-title sequence, especially the music.
Tomorrow Never Dies is my favourite Bond film. I am shocked that it doesn't feature
Just found out that Christopher Lee has died. It was a sad day for all Bond, Lord of the Rings, Horror and Star Wars fans alike. Sorry to be a downer.
Really like your video, went to see the The Merchant of Venice and saw Johnathon Pryce as Shrylock, really awesome!
die another day had a great one ! if they made the movie like that .... it'd be awesome !
The first part of the movie is actually reasonably good it's only in the Cuba sequences that things start to go downhill.
Movie starts off strong, but once he shaves and gets to China it goes down fast. Tho still love this film. It's one if the enjoyable bad bond movies
Die another day felt like two movies slammed together to try to appease to both type of bond fans for the big 40th: the Super serious types that read the books and loved Dalton’s run and previous Bronson flicks AND the type that loved the ridiculous Moore and Connery flicks...it was a fucking mess.
Thank God almighty that Skyfall rectified for the Golden Anniversary.
The dumb plot kinda ruins that one for me. Surfing is as ridiculous a form of travel in Die Another Day as it was in Escape from LA. And if you want to drive over a minefield, a hovercraft is absolutely the worst vehicle you could pick. The powerful air cushion gives it a bigger contact with the road than anything else.
The film starts off great and then he goes to Iceland
Great video as always,mine would go like this
1. GoldenEye
2. Thunderball
3. The Living Daylights
4. Casino Royale
5. The World is not Enough
6. Moonraker
7. Die Another Day
8. For Your Eyes Only
9. Tomorrow Never Dies
10. Skyfall
Sebastian Fitzptraick Die Another Day is higher than Skyfall? Can’t say I agree with that
@@gooondie shouldn't you say why it is in the list at all
@@gooondie Surfing, North Koreans, Hovercrafts. Enough said
@@strikerbowls791 Surfing was in the climax, not in the pre-title sequence. Still, it's better to not watch it because it's followed by one of the cringiest Bond songs ever.
@@strikerbowls791 It also looks so brown and washed-out I thought I was watching a different movie (probably a generic military movie focused on "realism").
11:00-11:12 LMAO!
I think I would have actually placed The Spy Who Loved Me pre-title sequence as number 1.
I only found out yesterday that Christopher Lee passed away. May he rest in peace.
I must be the Lone Ranger for my love of You Only Live Twice’s opening sequence! I don’t see it on anyone’s list! The space capsule “swallowing” totally blew my mind! That ominous music stuck in my mind for life! I was maybe 13, only the 2nd Bond film I saw in the cinema, I was a space nut and all into the Apollo missions, etc…This was to me the most spectacular big Villain plot ever in a Bond film at that time. Don’t care if no one else likes it!
The Charles “jump to the left” Grey joke always makes me laugh
Oh my gosh. Your two
dishonorable mentions just happen to be my favorite open sequences
of all time. The lack of Bond is precisely why I love them. They
present a problem or some mysterious evil thing going on that Bond
has to deal with. I’ll use Live and Let Die as my example. We see
the problem. 3 people die mysteriously in 3 different parts of the
world. Then the music starts. This is a James Bond movie and bond is
going to sort this out. These open sequences allowed us to focus on
the problem first before seeing how it gets resolved by 007.
I always liked Tomorrow Never Dies opening sequence.
Only six, maybe Skyfall, have nothing to do with the main story.
It got difficult after #6 because most just didn't jump out at me.
10 Best Bond Pre-Titles
-----------------------------
1) Casino Royale (He gets his 00 and it leads into a cool tittle sequence with an awesome song)
2) Goldfinger (first of few mini adventures)
3) For Your Eyes Only (continuity)
4) The World is Not Enough (boat chase on the Thames)
5) Goldeneye (between two films)
6) Quantum of Solace (picks up where Casino Royale left off)
7) Diamonds Are Forever (new twist with villain thought to be dead)
8) Moonraker (stunts in free fall)
9) Ocotpussy (aerial stunts done here in America)
10) The Living Daylights (nice scenery)
It would be interesting to know more of the 'back story' of some of the mini-adventures. Maybe in a subsequent reboot, we could have films that tell the full story of those episodes, and end with Bond parachuting off a cliff, fighting for a parachute in mid-air, or topping up an Acrostar.
Particularly with the Moonraker opening, it would be good to know more of Jaws's involvement.
The line that ends Octopussy's action-packed opening is one of the most Bond things ever, and always cracks me up. Moore's plane rolls up next to "Fill her up please" as Rita Coolidge's All Time High begins.
I remember listening to the behind the scenes for the opening title sequence for Licence to Kill. Timothy Dalton was once again doing the stunts of connecting the plane to the helicopter, and Cubby Broccoli got mad at him for doing the stunt himself.
Honestly, I'm genuinely shocked that the pre-title sequence for Goldeneye wasn't number 1 or ranked higher! I was expecting that initially. Great list as always! Personally, I've ALWAYS loved the one for License to Kill as it fits into the rest of the story, is a great introduction for Sanchez and the stunt with the plane mixed with the music was just phenomenal! Keep up the great work :)
Tomorrow never dies has my favourite pre title sequence.
I don't mind that The Man With The Golden Gun's pre-title sequence didn't have Bond because it introduced us to how duels with Scaramanga work. Therefore, when Bond and him finally battled, it was all the more exciting. However, Live and Let Die's is definitely the weakest. Even the transition to the title sequence is clumsy.
The other weird thing about the LALD title sequence is that the MI6 agent murdered is American? It's strange that Guy Hamilton didn't cast a British actor for the role. I mean we're supposed to believe that MI6 agents are Brits so what's the deal with the American being fobbed off on us as an English spy?
My list:
01. OHMSS, for the astounding editing alone.
02. FRWL, for setting the tone for these scenes.
03. Goldeneye, for inspiring a great N64 level.
04. Casino Royale, for Peter Sellers (wait, wrong one).
05. TLD, for setting a new tone for the Dalton era.
06. Goldfinger, for popularizing the cheesy one-liner.
07. DAD, for stopping me from walking out on Madonna.
08. Octopussy, for not boring me (atypical for Moore).
09. YOLT, for Bond's awesome assassination.
10. LTK, for its effective Robert Davi setup.
Honorable mention: TWINE, even though it's too long.
Dishonorable mention: DAF, for never mentioning Tracy.
My Top 10:
1. Casino Royale
2. Skyfall
3. Thunderball
4. OHMSS
5. Goldfinger
6. TSWLM
7. Spectre
8. The Living Daylights
9. FRWL
10. TWINE
I would prefer the 00 exercise of the living daylights
the saddest thing is when Calvin says that a future film might give us a completely satisfying confrontation of Bond and Blofeld. Honestly, compared to Spectre, 8 minutes of For Your Eyes Only does a far better job of the confrontation.
And NTTD's is even worse....
I think it would be like this:
1.Goldfinger
2.Goldeneye
3.The spy who loved me
4.The world is not enough
5.From russia with love
6.Octopussy
7.Thunderball
8.Skyfall
9.On her majesty’s secret service
10.Tomorrow never dies
Honorable mention: Moonraker & Spectre
Dishonorable mention: Quantum of solace
In my opinion, the 'Licence to Kill' pre-credit scene is better than the 'Diamonds are Forever' PCS. I enjoy the plane-fishing scene immensely - the ingenuity and the stunt work of that scene alone makes for a great PCS.
Add Michael Kamen's awesome rendition of the Bond theme with blaring horns on top and it's cinematic gold IMO.
Apart from that, great list and great video! The new number cards look really good.
"I'll buy you a delicatessen, in stainless steel" no Bond fan will ever truly know the meaning of that line... but I'm sure that Kevin McClory somehow did. Perhaps that line was a subtle "fuck you!" that only McClory would understand.
I think it was an anti-Semitic remark.
cockshield It was Cubby Broccoli's line, a tribute to the Italian Mafia who would bribe business owners to act as a front for them by offering them to buy a delicatessen in steel. This was (and still is) top of the line and was seen as something luxury.
John Quigley Thanks for that brother!
No worries! I've just read Cubby's book and he mentions it in that!
John Quigley Never knew Cubby had a book. It would be interesting to hear what he has to say about Connery.
Well, you asked for a Top Ten, so here's mine:
10. The Living Daylights - An above-average action opener. Flawed, as you pointed out, but it's so Dalton: right in your face with minimal gimmicks.
9. License to Kill - A more out-there opener, super cheesy and 80s. Bonus points for feeling more like a self-contained movie than almost any other in the series.
8. Moonraker - Goofy, but mighty impressive if you think about how they made it. Ending's a little too broad, but it sets up the new kid-"friendly" Jaws and fits Moore's established persona like a glove.
7. Casino Royale - Just beautiful to look at. I don't care two shakes about Bond's origin or how he got his 00, but it's a tight sequence and a good warm up for the upcoming Parkour scene.
6. Spectre - The best thing about the film, I feel. Love the pacing especially. Doesn't try to complicate matters, like the rest of the Craig follow-ups.
5. Live and Let Die - I don't mind the Bond-less openers. Or even the action-less openers. I don't love the Bond series for the action scenes. I love it for the sets, the music, the glamour, the escapism, the camp, and the cast of wild eccentrics.
4. The Man With the Golden Gun - Same as the last, but even more gorgeous and crazy. These two films are the peak of stylish, camp Bond.
3. From Russia With Love - Of course, if you can throw in a solid plot too, that's even better, and FRWL's opening sets up Bond's nemesis fantastically, opening the film by framing it as a mystery. The classiest opening.
2. Goldeneye - As odd as it seems to say this, this opening is amazingly restrained. For a Brosnan. Probably the best action scene in the series after Parkour, very plot-relevant too. Over-the-top and very entertaining, without trying to be too cute.
1. The Spy Who Loved Me. Just the overall Bondiest opening there is.
My top 10
Dishonourable mention :
For your eyes only
Honourable mention :
Licence to kill
10. Quantum of solace
9. Thunderball
8. Tomorrow never dies
7. Octopussy
6. The living daylights
5. The world is not enough
4. Casino royale
3. Goldeneye
2. The spy who loved me
1. Spectre
Of course SPECTRE takes the lead after its release but how come Licence To Kill didn't make the cut? I mean it had great stunt with the helicopter and Sanchez's plane, Felix is getting married, the score is amazing (throughout the film) and of course -the observer- Bond!
The Living Daylights is the best Pre-Title sequence!
that kick once we realise Dalton is Bond and immediately gives chase
@@RD19902010 Its perfection!
@@det9525 I have watched the sequence at least once in the recent week and am livid that Amazon prime only offers it with German dubbing in Germany. Don't get why I have never watched a Dalton bond before.
Once I move into my new apartment I will buy the bluray and will christen my projector with it.
@@RD19902010 Right you should def watch them. They are very good. Wish you the best with your new apartment! :)
My Top 10 Favorite Opening Sequences:
10. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
9. Moonraker
8. The Man With The Golden Gun
7. Spectre
6. GoldenEye
5. The Living Daylights
4. Goldfinger
3. Skyfall
2. The Spy Who Loved Me
1. Casino Royale
Great count!! Octopussy and For Your Eyes Only have excellent Opening Sequences too.
From Russia with love is my favorite
Great review as always, Calvin! :) A fact for you: during the filming of The World Is Not Enough, my Dad was in his office and saw the whole boat chase being filmed! He said it was absolutely fantastic! Also, have you been to the Bond in Motion exhibition in Covent Garden, London? It's an amazing museum - my favourite by far. :)
Not sure he could have seen the *whole* boat chase being filmed, as it was filmed in a number of locations across London (one of which - the Wapping Ornamental Canal - is completely cut off from the river!).
1. The Spy Who loved me
2. Moonraker
3. Spectre
4. Casino Royale
5. The Living daylights
6. Thunderball
7. Goldfinger
8. You only live twice
9. Diamonds are forever
10. Licence to kill
Do a video where you rank the Bond actors!
SolarDragon007 I thought he already did that a while ago :)
If you really look deep into what he's saying during these reviews you'll see little hints into who is favorite bond is and he was least favorite is and I believe the list goes Roger Moore Pierce Brosnan Daniel Craig Sean Connery Timothy Dalton and George Lazenby
Seth Davis True, but I'd still like to see a thorough analysis of his list including his likes and dislikes of each actor's take and such. Plus people's opinion's do change
SolarDragon007 I get the feeling that either Lazenby or Moore is going to end up on the bottom, and Connery or Craig is going to end up on top. Personally, after "Skyfall" Craig became my favorite actor for the emotional depth he brought to the character.
+JCBro2014 He said Moore was his favourite and he wasn't that big on Connery...
I was actually surprised. I would've bet money on it, that you give a dishonorable mention to the "A view to a kill" sequence :)
THE SPY WHO LOVED ME is my all-time favorite cold opening to a Bond film. After introducing us to Agent XXX, Bond is called to action after making out with a girl, who turns out to be a spy, and a massive ski-chase ensue. Bond is pursued by agents as they ski down a mountain in an action scene that still holds up today without any special effects, and amplified by Hamlisch’s thrilling score. It culminates with Bond skiing right off a cliff, and the soundtrack goes completely silent as Bond is in freefall for several seconds-and then the Union Jack parachute opens right on the music’s crescendo, making the audience erupt in applause. And then, just when you think it can’t get any better, the credits begin and the best Bond song of all time, "Nobody Does It Better" by Carly Simon, starts playing…
I'd exchange 'D.A.F.' for 'T.N.D' and put 'T.N.D.' higher up the list. It's kinetic, Arnold's music adds a lot, Colin Samon & Dench & Palmer are good and it sets up the style of the movie well. I'm not such a fan of the Thames boat chase, but I do agree the end of that sequence is very strong visually and it struck me as almost Hitchcockian when Bond is rolling down the dome and how the live action merges with the opening credits. I'd also include 'O.H.M.S.S.'. Again, very kinetic and it ties directly into the overall movie.
Octoupussy, Daylights & Goldeneye
Great list and video Calvin!
My top 10 would be:
1: GoldenEye
2: The World Is Not Enough
3: Tomorrow Never Dies
4: Die Another Day
5: Casino Royale
6: Skyfall
7: For Your Eyes Only
8: The Living Daylights
9: Octopussy
10: The Man With The Golden Gun
I hate the LALD one as well ;)
FisicoKart1 FYEO is the worst pre title sequences
I migliori pre title sono la spia che mi amava, Moonraker, Octopussy, Solo per i tuoi occhi e A view to a Kill
That Thames chase is greatness personified. I also adore the ski chase from TSWLM. And what the hey, throw Casino Royale's in there too! Great video!
Thanks, mate! Looks like we have similar favourites :D
Calvin did you here they are making a new bond game and it's going to come out 2015 or 2016?
+Lord Troll you look like a wofol fling out of a toaster
Hahaha! I love how Calvin keeps using the '...and a jump to the left!' clip over and over again. At first, I found it funny, then I found it annoying, but now it has got back to being funny again.
Living Daylights is my favorite.
Skyfall and Goldeneye had my favorite pre-title sequences, and are my favorite Bond movies.
Tomorrow Never Dies, surprised that didn't make the list, a bit random as to why he ended up at the military base but when he starts shooting it up and escaping in the plane, good top ten none the less.
Your "Helllooooooooooo Bond fans!" seems to be getting shorter than usual.
I'll make sure the next one is extra long ;)
Calvin Dyson Ewww....
Calvin Dyson Nice one brother!
+Aceheroic was the !
hes tired of doing it
9:45 funnily enough, the actor who played 004 who dies here was actually a supply teacher I had quite often when I was in Primary School😂
Awesome.
TSWLM(1977) & Moonraker(1979) & Octopussy(1983) & TLD(1987) & GoldenEye(1995) are the best!!!
10.From Russia With Love
9.Die Another Day
8.For your eyes only
7.The Living Daylights
6.Tomorrow Never Dies
5.Licence To Kill
4.A View To A Kill
3.Casino Royale(2006)
2.Skyfall
1.The World Is Not Enough
Hope you agree with me
Have you done a Top 10 Best James Bond cameo appearances by famous people? I would vote for John Barry's cameo as the orchestra conductor in The Living Daylights as my #1!
If we include non-EON films, I think Stirling Moss's cameo in the 1967 Casino Royale would probably be #2 for me.
I think SPY WHO LOVED ME's opening should easily have been #1 or #2. Yes, it is very similar to MOONRAKER's, but that parachute finale is just so iconic. I like WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH's opening a lot, but it doesn't have that one singular iconic moment that the others do.
Since Moonraker came after The Spy Who Loved Me, it'd be more accurate to say Moonraker's was very similar to Spy's. But, yes, it's very iconic. As was the theme song, which gave 007 a catch phrase the films are STILL USING to this day!
My top three are - For your Eyes Only, Casino Royale, Diamonds are Goldeneye
My top 10
1)Quantum of solace
2)Goldfinger
3)Moonraker
4)Skyfall
5)A view to a kill
6)The living daylights
7)No time to die
8)Spectre
9)On her majesty's secret service
10)Casino Royale
10: Goldfinger
9: Spectre
8: The Living Daylights
7: The Spy Who Loved Me/Moonraker
6: Octopussy
5: For Your Eyes Only
4: Casino Royale
3: Goldeneye
2: The World is Not Enough
1: Skyfall
i think the WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH opening is too long .
But still great :)
I would have
Dishonorable mention:
Casino Royale
Honorable mention:
For your eyes only
10:skyfall
9:A View To A Kill
8:Diamonds are forever
7:live and let die
6:the living daylights
5:the world is not enough
4:man with the goldengun
3:moonraker
2:die another day
1:spectre
Leo Walker I agree that spectre is the best, but casino royale is my second favourite so...
Coming back here after No Time To Die… I think, for me, that film and Casino Royale have got to take the cake. While I was in the theatre watching No Time To Die, I was scared we weren’t going to get a credits sequence because the scene kept going on and on and they missed several transition opportunities, but then they got to the credits and I saw what they were doing. In NTTD, the opening bit is like a short film more than ever, thrusting you into the action and telling you a mini-story for a whopping twenty minutes (yes, this movie is the longest Bond film ever, at 163 minutes).
The License to Kill and Thunderball Pre Titles Are Very Underrated and In My Opinion they are Both Good Especially The Fight With Bond Vs Jacques Boivar (Bob Simmons)
World is not Enough is my favourite. I also loved Tomorrow Never Dies and Goldeneye pre title sequence. Goldeneye would be in my top 5. I loved all Brosnan's pre title sequences.
5. The spy Who loved me
4. Casino royale
3. Skyfall
2. Octopussy
1. Goldfinger
Old video! I rate the pre-titles on how well I remember them years later. For me the Spy Who Loved Me is the one that sticks, closely followed by For Your Eyes Only. I also like the jet pack sequence in Thunderball and the Live and Let Die pre-credit. Even though there is no Bond, the LaLD one really sets up the vaguely supernatural atmosphere of the movie. I don’t even remember any of the Craig pre-credits, which shows how unremarkable I found them.
Folks often miss the significance of Bond seeing the approaching assassin in the eye of the woman he's kissing in the "Goldfinger" PTS -- calling the bit silly. It's not silly. The bit is meant to show us how practical and even surface of a person Bond is... he's doesn't go deep. He's not really looking *into* the woman's eyes in a soulful way. He's keeping his wits about him. He's using her for a short pleasure -- knowing not to trust her or anyone. He's looking for surface clues everywhere including, literally, *on* her eyes, about what's really going-on there. There are lots of scenes in the cannon like this, to show the audience what a surface but practical man Bond really is... Bond's final line in the Casino Royale PTS is another example of this, par excellence.
The one that I think you missed as part of the top 10 is tomorrow never dies. I think it checks all the boxes with the exception of having a beautiful women in it.
Unfortunately Calvin’s prediction wasn’t true. Blofeld Dimise in no time to die was disappointing.
Dalton double take HAHAHA
1 - OHMSS
2 - GoldenEye
3 - Thunderball
4 - The Spy Who Loved Me
5 - Goldfinger
6 - Casino Royale
7 - Licence to Kill
8 - The Living Dayligths
9 - Quantum of Solace
10 - From Russia with Love
Honorable mentions: Skyfall, Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough.
Dishonorable mentions: Live and Let Die, You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever.
My top 3
3. Live And Let Die
2. The Living Daylights
1. From Russia With Love
The worst one is Quantum of Solace for its vomit-inducing camera-work and lack of originality.
The stuntmen in the Moonraker opening... oof
Whatever good the Octopussy sequence might have, it is totally ruined in the very last instant with the "fill her up"-frozen-grin.
I have an issue with the Goldeneye title sequence. It begins and ends with great stunts, but geographically having the two in the same location is implausible. Bond bungee jumps down a high dam, but at the end of the sequence he's at an airfield (of which there is no sign from the dam - nor could there be as the dam would be in the way of the planes - on top of a cliff!
The problems I have with Goldeneyes pre-title sequences is the fact that the stuntman who jumps off the dam is clearly not Brosnan, and also the geography makes no sense. He jumps down a dam, goes down some stairs, and he only seems to go down, until he escapes, and then suddenly he's on top of a mountain for some reason.
The best ever pre-title sequence is "Licence To Kill". The way the bridal march segues into the title song is just amazing. It brings me to tears every time I watch it.
I think The World is Not Enough is under rated as well. It's a great Bond Movie.
When I saw TWINE in the movie theater, the audience cheered after Brosnan jumped onto the hot air balloon rope from his boat.
Interesting list, Calvin. I loved the B-word bit lol. Just found out yesterday that the voice of Blof---, errr I mean B******, in FYEO is the same voice of Tiger Tanaka and John Strangways. It belongs to Robert Rietty, who just passed away in April. Thought you might like that bit if you didn't already know it! Anyway, here's my top 10 list:
10. Tomorrow Never Dies
9. For Your Eyes Only
8. Moonraker
7. The Living Daylights
6. The Spy Who Loved Me
5. The World Is Not Enough
4. Die Another Day
3. Skyfall
2. Goldfinger
1. GoldenEye
And Largo, too.
Thanks for accepting my request to do the pre-title sequence.. and thanks for Octopussy being #2.. I actually believe it is #1 since I am not a fan of any of the Brosnan movies..
Thanks Calvin, your reviews are always insightful and funny.
Best pre-title Bond sequences (my list of them!).
1) *Goldfinger*
2) *The Living Daylights* (Featured multiple 00's besides setting us all up for the new James Bond actor's big reveal onscreen)
3) *From Russia With Love* (Red Grant killing a fake Bond was a clever twist)
4) *Casino Royale* (wonderful start to a now "rebooted" 007 Bond film series)
5) *For Your Eyes Only* (Moore making up for the campyness of Mookraker with this dark and stylish opening. It was also Eon's way of saying they don't need a certain 'at the time?' McClory owned Thunderball character and Organisation [Blofeld & Spectre])
6) *Man With The Golden Gun*
7) *GoldenEye*
8) *On Her Majesty's Secret Service*
9) *Thunderball*
10) *The World Is Not Enough*
Honorable mentions; Spectre, The Spy Who Loved Me, Licence To Kill, A View To A Kill, Octopussy, Moonraker, Tomorrow Never Dies, Skyfall (ranked so low cos Bond's fall from the train was just utterly nonsense [i.e. he shouldn't have survived it period])
Well, if the codename theory is true, then he DIDN'T survive the fall from the train -- he got KIAd and they simply replaced him with another James Bond 007 (for maybe the 4th or 5th time in all)!
1- Why does Moore have to make up for the campiness of Moonraker since he didn't write, produce or direct it? People often blame him for the films the dislike. I never understood that.
2- EVERY Bond movie is campy. Some are just campier than others. But even Dr. No and From Russia With Love were campy. Just listen to the director's commentary where he uses the word "campy" multiple times to describe what he was going for.
I never realized how messed up it is that Bond seems to have no grief a few minutes after 2 fellow agents were killed in front of him in Living Daylights. Dalton's Bond goes crazy when Felix is attacked in Licence to Kill! He's also very upset when Saunders and Sharkey get killed. I get he might not have been as close with all the double 0's as he was with Alec, but he must've REALLY disliked 002 & 004 to delay reporting their brutal deaths to M just so he can bang some random lady. Maybe they were the Dwight & Andy of the MI6 office & he just hated them? Bond's sex drive trumping his concern for fellow agents feels like a Roger Moore moment in a Dalton film.
Going to be a pedant for just a second, but 002 doesn't actually die in this sequence. He gets hit with a paintball by one of the guards and is taken out of the exercise ("that's it mate, you're out of it"). Also as much as I love The Living Daylights, there is a clear sense that the writers are still trying to figure out how to transition away from Moore era silliness, which is why you get some bizarre out-of-character moments like the end of the sequence
I think the one from Spectre gets the #1 now...
"Tomorrow Never Dies" has a great pre-title sequence. Should be on the list!
Foreall
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) should be number one .
The impression you do for the diamonds are forever part is much to Irish.
I pretty much agree, although I would swap Goldfinger, Casino and Diamonds for Tomorrow Never Dies, Licence to Kill and Die Another Day.
RIP Christopher Lee
Tomorrow Never Dies is my favorite pre title scene.
Once again Calvin great video! Your list is solid Calvin, and it's good to see Octopussy in there, it's a fantastic sequence. I would put The Living Daylights as my personal favorite. It's a great introduction to a new Bond and after the farce that was A View to a Kill, a welcome change of tone.
Once again a great video, I think this is one of your better ones :) My list would be a bit different. 1. Octopussy, 2 TSWLM, 3 OHMSS, 4 TLDL, 5 Moonraker, 6 Goldeneye, 7. FRWL, 8. ATAK, 9 FYEO and 10 Skyfall.
1. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977) - I have never seen an audience explode the way they did when that parachute opened back in 1979. It was electric.
2. CASINO ROYALE (2006) - Totally turned my head around the first time I saw it. I don't even know if I liked it, it was so unexpected. It's status has grown large in time and context.
3. GOLDENEYE (1995) - After watching many of your videos, I wouldn't have thought that I would ever be ranking any aspect of GE higher than you, but here it is. I went into the theatre with no expectations. The franchise had been dead for six years, and I hadn't really been excited by the Bond films since the disappointment of MOONRAKER in 1979, but that PTS and Title Sequence were absolutely superb. My expectations instantly rose. Unfortunately, though I think it is a better than average Bond film, the rest of the movie never measures up to that beginning.
4. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963) - Probably gets knocked up a couple of slots due to it being the first. great tempo, Robert Shaw is terrific in the scene and the role.
5. MOONRAKER (1979) - Absolutely thrilling. Before CGI took all of the wonder out of cinema, knowing that these guys were real human beings pulling those stunts off was a wonderful experience on the big screen. It falls a slot due to the unfortunate inclusion of Jaws.
6. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS - (1987) - I like everything about it except for the soundtrack, Barry's worst.
7. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969) - Nice intro, a new atmosphere. I enjoy the lighting, it has an almost gothic quality. After all these years I still don't know how I feel about George's famous line before he runs into the Title Sequence.
8. GOLDFINGER (1964) - Surprisingly low for my overall favorite Bond film, but I have never found it overly exciting or poignant. It's iconic, funny, and it's definitely cool to see Connery dressed in solid black breaking into the heroin facility and planting the explosives, but I get a little more out of the previous seven.
9. LIVE AND LET DIE (1973) - I know that there is no Bond here, but I have been a big fan of this one since it scared me in the theatre in 1973 (I was 10 or 11).
10. SKYFALL (2012) - This type of action can often go wrong and become quite tedious. SF manages to pull it off. It holds my attention, offers some thrills and some nice character moments. And I like the giant mermaid hand. Maybe a tad of a hodgepodge.
Worthy of note:
11. THUNDERBALL (1963) - Great fight, the senseless jet pack brings it way down, the water squirting DB5 sinks it.
12 FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981) - Almost makes it on the opening piece at Tracy's grave and the promise of a legitimate Blofeld as an actual threat. Then it all goes to Hell.
13. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974) - Really strong, but I did penalize this one for not including Bond. Even though it kind of did include him.
14. DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002) - This PTS is fairly generic fare for the Brosnan era, but it sets up Pierce's best scene in the franchise (immediately following the underrated Title Sequence) and I can't help thinking of that all as one package. So sad that with such great promise we would end up with the worst Bond film in the franchise.
The audience exploded ? Blimey, I'd like to have seen that !!
Favorite has to be moonraker. When i first saw Jaws pushing bond out of the jet with no parachute i was scared for a few seconds. I thought bond was going to die for sure. With most title sequences, i could assume bond would be resourceful and somehow use his surroundings to his advantage, but in moonraker i was traumatized because it seemed there was no way he could live.
In my opinion all of Brosnan’s pre-title sequences are great.
I personally love the pre-title opening to “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service !!!!!! Excellent fight sequence and the whole feel and mood of it is Classic Bond. The music by John Berry adds a lot to it 👍🏻👍🏻.
Good choice, Donald! “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” is absolutely my favourite, as well.
1. Spy Who Loved Me
2. Skyfall
0:17 Whenever I hear the phrase 'pre-title sequence', I mainly think of either Bond, Star Trek, Doctor Who or The Big Bang Theory.
I like the way your lists are always unpredictable (apart from understandably the cars one). Every other Bond list you can predict they'll say "best villain: Goldfinger - just because", "best theme song: Goldfinger - just because", "best title sequence: Ski Jump - just because". You on the other hand seem to - *gasp!!* - put actual thought and consideration into your lists, which is why they're always fun to watch.
Where would you put Spectre's? I thought it was pretty fantastic.
I agree it was logistically fantastic and looked amazing. But I have never understood why everyone went so gaga for that opening. I have seen, "Best pre-title sequence ever" written in more than a couple reviews. Ultimately it was a fistfight on a helicopter.
Really good job on this video!!! Completely agree with your choice for #1!
Where the hell is Tomorrow Never Dies?!?
New Spectre TV Spot! Have you watched it?
Enjoyed your pre-Top10 sequence. ;-)
Is that the QUANTUM font? I have it to! HAHAHAHHA!
As much as I dislike the movie, the typeface is quite wonderful :)
Well, the man with the Golden gun is one of the best openings to me ! No Bond, a total focus on the villain, which creates real hype for Scaramanga and the final showdown