@@Ben-km4qy apparently his agent told him to do only one. it was stupid to make blofeld an action character...he is the brains...not the brawn...savalas sucked
Agree, the Blofeld in Spectre was a bit of a disappointment. The "Finish it!" part was quite 'non-Blofeld-like'. He should have offered Bond a delicatessen... in stainless steel. Very nice list Calvin!
+Ceterafan123 I'd have loved it if Spectre just ended with Blofeld offering Bond a delicastessen and he accepted and the end of the film was Bond opening up a butchers shop.
My favorite will always be Telly Savalas not only because of his phyicality, but also due to the smug and sleazy smile on his face. Waltz, however, comes second on my list because he has to be the most psychotic Blofeld ever and I actually like the way they rewrote his backstory. Now it's really personal between him and Bond. I love Donald Pleasence and the "Please, let me kill you!" type of look in his eyes, but I find his Blofeld inferior to those of Savalas and Waltz.
I get you couldn't get past Savalas' accent, but Telly Savalas I feel made the character his own and different than Pleasance's character and portrayal. He added a sinister and menacing element to him and was truly Bond's match and adversary.
Telly Savalas gave the character some personality and here is a fact for you when he first captures Bond and stands with against the wall and holds his cigarette in a cool way , check out his index finger . It malformed , he usually hides it but its small and crooked . Even Ian Fleming would like him in the cast in since in his novels most of the characters had deformities .
Fun observation: At the beginning of Diamonds Are Forever, you can see the plastic surgeons working on a series of mannequins that seem to change from Donald Pleasance into Charles Gray.
I think blofield in Spectre was the best I study psychology and u have no idea how many cases I see where the most disturbed people, remain calm while having a mental break and not even kidding 75% of all mental cases are caused with either a childhood tragedy or mother or father issues. And blofield plan in this film would have to be the most realistic.
Blofeld being Bond's brother was...just...the most cliche, anti-Bond (thematically) thing they could ever do. I hated that so much. Made no sense at all. That being said, I think Charles Gray was my favorite Blofeld.
I just wanted to get off my chest how much I appreciate most of your videos. I rarely ever agree with you but I love the way in which you explain your choices. I can't *believe* your channel has so few subscribers, and I try to direct as many people as I can to it.
I always loved Donald Pleasance as Blofeld, but growing older I've started leaning more towards the Telly Savalas and Faceless Blofelds. A part of me wishes they had followed up on the Dawson/Pohlmann take by matching the characters physical description. But one could think that in the aftermath of operation Thunderball, Blofeld received a horrible plastic surgery attempt that left him the scar, and ended up shaving his hair off. I always thought the Faceless Blofeld would look like a Cary Grant looking male, with his smoothe voice and all.
1: From Russia With Love/Thunderball 2: You Only Live Twice 3: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service 4: For Your Eyes Only 5: Spectre 6: Never Say Never Again 7: Diamonds are Forever
And he actually had villainous plans, seemed like an untouchable head of the world's most dangerous and secret organization and wasn't James Bond's brother... These writers are the most amateurish hacks ever, how they are still being hired is beyond me. They should have been fired after The World is Not Enough, let alone Die Another Day.
Awesome video as always! My top would be: 1) From Russia With Love & Thunderball 2) You Only Live Twice 3) On Her Majesty's Secret Service 4) For Your Eyes Only 5) SPECTRE 6) Diamonds Are Forever I've only seen Never Say Never Again once, so I can't really judge about Max :P
Great video 1 On Her Majesty's Secret Service 2 From Russia With Love and Thuderball 3 You Only Live Twice 4 Diamonds Are Forever 5 Spectre 6 For Your Eyes Only 7 Never Say Never Again
1) Telly Savalas- Just excellent as Blofeld! 2) Charles Grey- Deceptively charming, but very evil. 3) Donald Pleasence- Evil looking Blofeld, and good.
Everybody always argues about which Blofeld is the best Blofeld, but it's a settled question. Only one Blofeld has a pair of gay assassins who make dark comedy quips about every victim, so there's no argument about which is the best one.
My favourite was telly savalas. Something about the way he was holding his cigarette in OHMSS. And the voice when instructing his ladies through their compacts.
Savalas is definitely the best portrayal for me. Pleasence could give him a run for his money for me if he had more to do in You Only Live Twice outside of the last 40 minutes because he was also absolutely fantastic. I really enjoyed Gray as Blofeld as well, and just like for a bunch of other people probably, Waltz was very mixed for me. Not necessarily the fault of his performance, in fact I thought Waltz did an absolutely great job with what he had, more at the fault of the writing.
coming to this video in 2024, getting to waltz and hearing you say "he will appear in another bond film" made me chuckle you were right about the reappearance...but then again we k ow what happened to him
To answer why Charles Grey was cast as Blofeld even though he looks nothing like the others: he's actually the most lore-accurate in terms of appearance if you read the books. Blofeld's initial description in the book Thunderball basically describes someone who looks like Chris Grey.
I don't think humiliating and killing Bond in the Craig continuity was his sole motivation. I think that was just an important personal project that he enjoyed to pursue whenever it tied in with his plans for world domination. He does say in the film: "You interfered in my world, I destroyed yours" That suggests his pursuit of Bond was more incidental.
Donald Pleasance was also good as Thomas Cromwell in Henry VIII and His Six Wives from 1972. Off topic I know but in that film Keith Michell plays Henry VIII and he I think does the best portrayal of England's most famous king in the same way Roger Moore (I agree with you Calvin) is the best James Bond. I think the second best portrayal of Henry VIII was by Robert Shaw (Red Grant in From Russia With Love) in A Man for All Seasons from 1966.
1) Thunderball/From Russia with Love Bloefeld was by far the best. A great blend of a mysterious, reserved, ruthless, criminal mastermind that still had a sense of honor. As the Old Saying goes less is more." 2) Bloefeld (Donald Pleasance) 3) Bloefeld (Charles Grey) 4) Bloefeld (Telly Savalas) 5) Bloefeld (Christoph Waltz) 6) Bloefeld (Never Say Never Again) 7) Bloefeld (For Your Eyes Only)
6: For Your Eyes Only 5: Never Say Never Again 4: Diamonds Are Forever 3: Spectre 2: On Her Majesty's Secret Service 1: You Only Live Twice I just find Donald Pleasance's appearance more iconic and memorable, but that doesn't mean I don't love Telly Savalas' appearance as Blofeld!
I liked Waltz's portrayal of Blofeld, maybe you'd be a little less harsh if he'd offered Bond a delicatessen to spare his life whilst on Westminster Bridge?
1. Telly Savalas/Donald Pleasance/Dawson/Pohlmann 2. Charles Gray 3. Christoph Waltz (brilliant actor, and does what he can with the material, but for god's sake - what a way to **** a character up! Giving a personal connection to Bond completely undermined the essence of both Bond and Blofeld.
Blofelds from Best to Worst:1.) Christoph Waltz2.) Donald Pleasance3.) Charles Gray4.) Telly Savalas 5.) Blofeld from From Russia with Love 6.) Blofeld from For Your Eyes Only
Good to see Charles Gray up near the top. He's my personal favourite (he is, as you say, camp and witty) but I accept you can make a decent argument for Pleasance and Dawson/Pohlmann.
The only bad Blofeld was the dude on the pre title sequence of For your eyes only in his convenient dispatch scene, anonymous and with a voice over, the rest are class actors.
I have watched On Her Majesty's Secret Service only once some 20-30 years ago and don't much remember anything about it. I haven't seen the movie since then, but after having watched two scenes of his Blofeld on TH-cam, I think that I would personally put Savalas at number 1 or at least at second place. To me he is that good. Many mention his physicality. For me it is that he exudes great competence and intelligence on all levels. And like others have said, he probably would have been perfect for portraying Lex Luthor.
Soooo glad I read no spoilers for "Spectre"; never occurred to me that Christoph Waltz / Oberhauser was Blofeld... I wasn't that much invested in it but MAN when Bond woke up and that white Persian cat came into focus, that was an awesome reveal!
The producers have obviously lost the plot. They have no clue about their own franchise somehow nor how to make a Bond film anymore. They have even forgotten how to do a simple gunbarrel opening, they've forgotten James Bond is supposed to be tall, dark and handsome and overall a fun adventure character, not a weird, short, fugly, stiff and awkward goon. They've forgotten who Blofeld is and what he is supposed to do, now he's some weird kitchen sink drama relative of James Bond?? Next, they are now planning a thoroughly contrived "woke" black Bond who will probably be gender fluid or whatever else is vapidly fashionable now, M will be his actual dad, Q can be Indian or something just for the sake of it, Moneypenny can be a lesbian, Felix Leiter will be trans etc...I mean, they systematically killed off main characters and demolished everything about James Bond for a reason. To replace all our beloved characters with trendy caricatures that just sit there on screen constantly going on about their gender or sexuality and no doubt like with every other Hollywood movie now they'll all behave like completely unprofessional, neurotic and angry teenagers the entire time rather than actually being highly professional top ranking staff of the British Secret Intelligence Service...
I also would like to know why they went to Charles Gray to play the part of Blofeld. He had had a small part in You Only Live Twice as Henderson, who got murdered. Charles Gray btw was also a Shakespearean actor and a serious play actor.
+DarthRushy I suppose so. Spectre as whole, isn't bad it's just ok and fails to do anything new or interesting. Waltz has signed on for two more films so I really hope he improves otherwise we're going be bored of blofeld
Harry of Solihull I think if Spectre had a better connection to Quantum(for example, Quantum and mr. White could've had a similar relationship to Spectre like MI6 and M to Nine Eyes), had its runtime trimmed down and featured a Blofeld not bogged down by daddy issues, we could've had a fantastic film.
DarthRushy Exactly! Spectre could have been amazing as QoS could have. But what makes Spectre ok and QoS awful is that for me, there isn't anything in Spectre that annoys me or upsets me. It's the most ok bond ever, maybe. QoS has a villain who isn't even at all threatening, not once. Unlike Waltz who, despite being a bit dull, has hints of being a threat unlike Greene who is a complete idiot. The Bond series is quite inconsistent, particularly the Craig films. We had Casino Royale which was an amazing reboot, QoS which is maybe the worst movie I've ever seen, Skyfall which is a wonderful 50th celeberation and Spectre which is just OK.
+Harry of Solihull I actually really enjoyed Quantum lol, as it was a nice, quick revenge movie with some cool ideas. It was really flawed, but fun. I don't like the artsy, slow pace that Skyfall and Spectre have. It's not Bond.
I think Blofeld in Spectre saying finish it at the end has something to do with the direction of the franchise. He is Bond's ultimate villain and if he dies then that would kind of end things with Bond's career and the franchise. Blofeld probably wanted Bond to suffer because of the repercussions that would happen if he killed MI6's most wanted enemy (MI6 wanted him alive for information, etc.). However, Bond says I have something better to do, which is continue as Bond and let the true rivalry of Blofeld and Bond continue to live on. Hopefully the new film will add to the ending of Spectre.
Hello Calvin. I believe on the 2000 DVD edition commentary of " Diamonds Are Forever" it is mentioned that 1. Charles Grey was still under contract to UA, so Eon Productions was able to use him in the film, and cast him as Blofeld. 2. Grey most likely accepted the pay he was offered, as once they gave Connery the £ 1 million, there wasn' t a ton of cash to attract a higher profile actor for the role 3. As the film featured several American actors ; it was decided to keep the principal roles of Bond, M , Q and Blofeld as British. Charles Grey was a well - known British actor, especially in TV productions of Shakespeare plays.
+Felix Leiter Totally agreed. He was a great Blofeld and I remember when I heard him being announced as the character and I said "that's the part he's born to play."
The best Blofeld is Dr. Claw. Which is to say, your choice of the mysterious faceless Blofeld is best. Giving Blofeld a face, especially the kind of doofy looking face of Pleasence with the over-exaggerated obvious make-up scars... Is the equivalent of revealing Dr. Claw's face with the silly ugly toy. Took away any mystery and all menace.
Book one of the James Bond: Agent Of Spectre comic series just came out today. Bond is recruited by Blofeld himself to help him win a Spectre civil war and I can’t wait to read it.
I'm not convinced that Waltz's Blofeld is entirely sincere in that controversial moment. I think it's a complicated mix of genuine nihilism, plus recognition that he'll be imprisoned if he can't orchestrate his own murder -- but also a taunt, and a bluff. The kind of proposition to which there's no one right answer, so he'd be somewhat disappointed no matter what. That said, I agree that Waltz is underwhelming. I blame the script more than the actor, but both were phoning it in.
Donald Pleasence is brilliant. His Heinrich Himmler in Eagle Has Landed was genuinely terrifying. Partly because what I'd already known about that limping psychopath, but, damn, Pleasence did that part justice and a half. That said, I agree, the obscured Bofeld is the best.
I rank Christoph Waltz's Blofeld pretty highly, if only because one of his lines inspired a perfectly-timed riff when I watched it with friends a while ago. "I am the author of your pain." "....He's Bruce Feirstein?" (Bruce Feirstein, of course, was the screenwriter during Pierce Brosnan's time, which means _he_ has to bear at least some of the flak which that era now gets.)
Really late to this, but although the Christoph Waltz blofeld isn’t amazing, from what I understand, He wanted James Bond to kill him to show Madeline that James cannot change from being a cold blooded killer. I’m pretty sure somewhere in the movie, Madeline says that if James continues to be a killer, she cannot stay with him.
As a note, Calvin, the reason Blofeld offers Bond a delicatessen is because the mafia, at that time, used to use delicatessens (which were very expensive places) to pay off people.
I like Donald Pleasance the best because of the creep factor and his look. Charles Gray was the funniest, IMO. I was the most disappointed with Christoph Waltz. Also, John Hollis also played Lobot in The Empire Strikes Back!
It does seem that when they made Diamonds Are Forever someone said something like: "lets not bother looking for another Blofeld, we got a perfectly good actor we have hardly used in Charles Gray. " By the by Gray was an honored stage performer and Shakespearean actor.
For me, Donald Pleasence is Number 1 just because I love the actor and how creepy he can be. And Number 2 is definitely Christoph Waltz -- a very fully realized character.
The similarity between Max Von Sydow and Jan Werich in the role is uncanny. I agree that Von Sydow is disappointing in the role, but he does give us an idea how disappointing Werich probably was in his few scenes filmed and why they got rid of him. Both have that out-of-place 'professor' vibe about them.
Roger Moore is the BEST bond. For those of us that are bigger fans of Roger Moore see the beginning of your eyes as a middle finger to the Sean Connery films that there are bigger and better villains out there.
if they continued the direction they were going with Blofeld in FRWL and TB then i think Christopher Lee would have been a fantastic full reveal of the character
Christoph Waltz was laways going to be Blofeld in a Bond movie. Another brilliant choice for Blofeld - Wayne Pygram - you might know him as Scorpius as Farscape. Or Patrick Stewart! Would Bela Lugosi have made a good Blofeld when he was alive? (it's just a shame he died in 1956) And if you want to bring a little camp back to Blofeld, there's always Derek Jacobi!
Supposedly Orson Welles was first choice to play Blofeld in Never Say Never Again. That could have been amazing, and he had the booming voice and presence. But I don't know. And of course, he'd already played Le Chiffre in Casino Royale.
Classy pick for #1. But I would go with Pleasence overall as my favorite, as, while Off-screen-Blofeld is indeed evocative of every distant, unseen "The Man" villain, I think the two films he appears in work against him. Both FRWL and Thunderball are crazy gorgeous, with more memorable sets and locations and far more visually striking villains to steal the Big Bad's thunder when all is said and done. That's one reason I consider Rosa Klebb to be a villain, not a henchwoman, as she's the more prominent distant-order-giver. Had Off-screen-Blofeld been in Dr No instead, maybe (instead, we get Off-screen-Dr No, who I think is more effective than on-screen Dr No), but as it is, I'll take the creepy Blofeld we see front-and-center over the "oh yeah, he was in that one too, wasn't he?" Blofeld. Best Blofeld Rankings: 6. Everything Wrong with Blockbuster Movie Writing Today Blofeld 5. Lawsuit Blofeld (he was boring and wasted, but at least he was superfluous) 4. Campy Blofeld 3. Off-screen-Blofeld 2. Mafioso Blofeld 1. Creepy Blofeld BTW, I don't know what you're talking about with that wheelchair/helicopter scene or what that could possibly have to do with Blofeld. Is that even from a Bond film? Whenever I pop in "For Your Eyes Only" (which is often, mind), the movie viewing experience starts with Sheena Easton, and ends with "James Bond Will Return". I don't know WHERE you're getting the idea there's a Blofeld scene in it. No sir. Not in my version of that underrated gem.
I agree that Rosa's reactions make Blofeld feel like a huge threat. Then again, I'd argue that they also make her never feel like one. At least, they could have waited for the third act to make her squeal in front of Blofeld. Instead, the supposed main villain of the film is petrified for the 50% of her screen time throughout the film. Not as effective.
Telly Savalas was by far the best Blofeld in the best Bond film, facing off against the best Bond, George Lazenby! Donald Pleasance was a fine actor, but a late replacement in “You Only Live Twice.” And it would be hard to imagine him battling Lazenby on the bobsled! Charles Gray was another excellent actor wasted in the role of Blofeld - in a thoroughly asinine film! Max Von Sydow was superb in “Never Say Never Again,” suggesting the hidden Blofeld of “From Russia With Love” and “Thunderball”; pity his part wasn’t larger.
Christoph Waltz was good casting, but the writing wasn't good. He would have been stupendous if he wasn't the brother per say. Maybe if he was a small time criminal in his youth that was maimed for left for dead by a young Bond on an early mission and decided to seek revenge by rising up in the underworld.
While he was great as Scaramanga, I feel that Christopher Lee would have made a wonderful Blofeld and would have been a more natural successor to the Dawson/Polhmann duo.
Fleming wanted Lee to play Dr No. Certaintly with his booming voice, that was also capable of being chillingly quiet and in control, he was perfect. At least we got him as Scaramanga (who in the book is just a standard American gangster). In real life, Lee had lived like Bond during the war, being involved in dangerous missions for The SAS.
Sorry, I don't think Lee would work as Blofeld. He's sinister but too cool and collected. Also too tall and due to his similar deep voice and dark features wouldn't have played well off of Connery.
@Qasim Hussain Because he's too similar to Connery and arguably just as cool. Blofeld isn't supposed to be "sexy" necessarily. The only reason Telly Savalas worked as a sexier Blofeld in OYMSS is because George Lazenby's Bond was so un-sexy, especially in his undercover role when he was mostly interacting with Blofeld.
Your average teen nowadays probably doesn't even know who Blofeld is but thanks to merchandising and parodies everyone knows who Vader is. Also every generation has their own Joker.
+IMovie Makers I agree with you dude. I liked how Waltz had portrayed him with this disturbing domineer. But sadly like Belluci, he was underused and his back story/ motivation was just bad
I really like Donald Pleasance's psychotic take on Blofeld, but I really like Savalas' "Lex Luthor" style; he's one of the few Bond evil masterminds that also exudes a sense of physical menace. They really should be thought of as 2 separate villains, even though their characters share the same name. Charles Gray was way too much like someone's doddering old uncle. Waltz was good.
Where is a video: Blofeld's Cat: Worst to Best?
That poor cat in YOLT! At th-cam.com/video/8m0THkQ1MuQ/w-d-xo.html it looks like Hans is going to shoot it, to put it out of it's misery.
@@davidjames579
I've heard the poor cat was peeing over, and scratching the hell out of Donald Pleasance, with all the explosions!
@@paulrawes Supposedly it ran off and it took hours of searching the life size Volcano set to find it!
paul rawes you can see in YOLT when the explosives go off the cat goes all crazy
I think there was only one cat
Totally agree with the whole "adopted brother thing". It sucked. Poor and constructed attempt at increased drama.
It made the Austin Powers movies more spot on for some reason for Bond movie parodies.
Reminded me of Goldmember 😂
Donald Pleasance was the best Blofield.
Donald did the most to make it an iconic character.
Yes should have had another movie
@@Ben-km4qy apparently his agent told him to do only one. it was stupid to make blofeld an action character...he is the brains...not the brawn...savalas sucked
@@thewkovacs316 Really I thought EON didn't want him anymore.
Definitely but I also loved From Russia With Love
Agree, the Blofeld in Spectre was a bit of a disappointment. The "Finish it!" part was quite 'non-Blofeld-like'. He should have offered Bond a delicatessen... in stainless steel. Very nice list Calvin!
+Ceterafan123 I'd have loved it if Spectre just ended with Blofeld offering Bond a delicastessen and he accepted and the end of the film was Bond opening up a butchers shop.
"We meat again, Mr Bond."
Peter Evans That's for the gay porno parody! 😂😂
My favorite will always be Telly Savalas not only because of his phyicality, but also due to the smug and sleazy smile on his face. Waltz, however, comes second on my list because he has to be the most psychotic Blofeld ever and I actually like the way they rewrote his backstory. Now it's really personal between him and Bond. I love Donald Pleasence and the "Please, let me kill you!" type of look in his eyes, but I find his Blofeld inferior to those of Savalas and Waltz.
@@PeterEvansPeteTakesPictures "I'm cheeesed to see you, Blofeld"
I get you couldn't get past Savalas' accent, but Telly Savalas I feel made the character his own and different than Pleasance's character and portrayal. He added a sinister and menacing element to him and was truly Bond's match and adversary.
I like Savalas, also, but for sinister, I don't think he matches reptilian Pleasance's shrill, Hitlerian scream to "KILL BOND!"
Telly Savalas gave the character some personality and here is a fact for you when he first captures Bond and stands with against the wall and holds his cigarette in a cool way , check out his index finger . It malformed , he usually hides it but its small and crooked . Even Ian Fleming would like him in the cast in since in his novels most of the characters had deformities .
@@varanid9 Donald Pleasance also played Himmler, and had experience playing Nazi's in many films.
He was definitely better than Gray. LOL
Fun observation: At the beginning of Diamonds Are Forever, you can see the plastic surgeons working on a series of mannequins that seem to change from Donald Pleasance into Charles Gray.
Is Calvin wearing a SPECTRE ring?
Is Calvin a member of SPECTRE?
;-)
+joel1975 Is Calvin actually Blofeld? Somebody donate him a swivel chair and a cat.
He’s too much of an English Twit
@@colindoyle6130 You're just butthurt that you don't own the delicatessen... In stainless steel!
@@HOTD108_ I dont listen to the opinions of gun loving rapists
Think one could say Darth Vader is more iconic
yeah can't Blofeld is the most in ALL of cinema. Tha'ts a wde range of films.
Dr. Evil made Blofeld almost as iconic.
not really
I immediately thought that.
Tyrel J. Star wars will never die
12:11 A scar so terrifying even the cat wants to get the hell away from him.
Donald Pleasance is my favourite. Even though the actor was British, the accent was done perfectly by him
I think blofield in Spectre was the best
I study psychology and u have no idea how many cases I see where the most disturbed people, remain calm while having a mental break and not even kidding 75% of all mental cases are caused with either a childhood tragedy or mother or father issues. And blofield plan in this film would have to be the most realistic.
psychology is bullshit science.
@@centralprocessingunit2564 Bullshit
@@randallrutherford1384 yep
I love Savala's Blofeld! Absolutely adore him. On the other side of the spectrum (no pun intended) I put Gray's, I just can't stand his Blofeld.
Blofeld being Bond's brother was...just...the most cliche, anti-Bond (thematically) thing they could ever do. I hated that so much. Made no sense at all.
That being said, I think Charles Gray was my favorite Blofeld.
Why people hate it that much? Just curious, i didnt like it that much but its not that terrible imo
@@mariogv4083, it's pretty cliche that in a spy thriller, the big bad guy terrorist ends up being James Bond's brother.
I just wanted to get off my chest how much I appreciate most of your videos. I rarely ever agree with you but I love the way in which you explain your choices. I can't *believe* your channel has so few subscribers, and I try to direct as many people as I can to it.
I always loved Donald Pleasance as Blofeld, but growing older I've started leaning more towards the Telly Savalas and Faceless Blofelds. A part of me wishes they had followed up on the Dawson/Pohlmann take by matching the characters physical description. But one could think that in the aftermath of operation Thunderball, Blofeld received a horrible plastic surgery attempt that left him the scar, and ended up shaving his hair off. I always thought the Faceless Blofeld would look like a Cary Grant looking male, with his smoothe voice and all.
I'm sure he threw the plastic surgeon into his piranha pool
1: From Russia With Love/Thunderball
2: You Only Live Twice
3: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
4: For Your Eyes Only
5: Spectre
6: Never Say Never Again
7: Diamonds are Forever
Yup...the best Blofeld was the one we never saw. He was calm, cold and collected.
And he actually had villainous plans, seemed like an untouchable head of the world's most dangerous and secret organization and wasn't James Bond's brother... These writers are the most amateurish hacks ever, how they are still being hired is beyond me. They should have been fired after The World is Not Enough, let alone Die Another Day.
Awesome video as always!
My top would be:
1) From Russia With Love & Thunderball
2) You Only Live Twice
3) On Her Majesty's Secret Service
4) For Your Eyes Only
5) SPECTRE
6) Diamonds Are Forever
I've only seen Never Say Never Again once, so I can't really judge about Max :P
Great video
1 On Her Majesty's Secret Service
2 From Russia With Love and Thuderball
3 You Only Live Twice
4 Diamonds Are Forever
5 Spectre
6 For Your Eyes Only
7 Never Say Never Again
1) Telly Savalas- Just excellent as Blofeld! 2) Charles Grey- Deceptively charming, but very evil. 3) Donald Pleasence- Evil looking Blofeld, and good.
Everybody always argues about which Blofeld is the best Blofeld, but it's a settled question. Only one Blofeld has a pair of gay assassins who make dark comedy quips about every victim, so there's no argument about which is the best one.
My favourite was telly savalas. Something about the way he was holding his cigarette in OHMSS. And the voice when instructing his ladies through their compacts.
Mabye Bond has a secret love of coleslaw.
+Harry Noke Everyone knows that 007 is a quiche man.
Savalas is definitely the best portrayal for me. Pleasence could give him a run for his money for me if he had more to do in You Only Live Twice outside of the last 40 minutes because he was also absolutely fantastic. I really enjoyed Gray as Blofeld as well, and just like for a bunch of other people probably, Waltz was very mixed for me. Not necessarily the fault of his performance, in fact I thought Waltz did an absolutely great job with what he had, more at the fault of the writing.
1. Donald Pleasence
2. Telly Savalas
3. Max Von Sydow
4. Charles Gray
5. Christoph Waltz
Bowfeld got parodied by dr evil, now they have turned him into dr evil.
Fun fact: With the original actor Jan Werich playing Blofeld in YOLT, he was going to be dubbed by the FRWL/TB actor who voiced Blofeld.
1. Donald Pleasence 2. Telly Savalas 3. Christoph Waltz
Telly savalas is definitely my favourite one, he's the least cartoony and also the scariest
coming to this video in 2024, getting to waltz and hearing you say "he will appear in another bond film" made me chuckle
you were right about the reappearance...but then again we k ow what happened to him
Hugely enjoyable, thank you!
Thank YOU for watching :D
To answer why Charles Grey was cast as Blofeld even though he looks nothing like the others: he's actually the most lore-accurate in terms of appearance if you read the books. Blofeld's initial description in the book Thunderball basically describes someone who looks like Chris Grey.
I like Blofeld in From Russia with Love and Thunderball because of his voice and Blofeld in OHMSS the most.
I don't think humiliating and killing Bond in the Craig continuity was his sole motivation. I think that was just an important personal project that he enjoyed to pursue whenever it tied in with his plans for world domination. He does say in the film: "You interfered in my world, I destroyed yours" That suggests his pursuit of Bond was more incidental.
+SIngli6 Then why bother with the "finish it"?
I interpreted it as his being absolutely certain that Bond was going to kill him and deciding that he wanted to die with dignity.
Thing is, it came off as a stupid, tacky shoehorned motive. Just like the Whole Brother envy reason.
Donald Pleasance was also good as Thomas Cromwell in Henry VIII and His Six Wives from 1972. Off topic I know but in that film Keith Michell plays Henry VIII and he I think does the best portrayal of England's most famous king in the same way Roger Moore (I agree with you Calvin) is the best James Bond. I think the second best portrayal of Henry VIII was by Robert Shaw (Red Grant in From Russia With Love) in A Man for All Seasons from 1966.
donald {leasance is great in everything he does; however, I stillthe the "From Russia with Love" and "Thunderball" has the best Blofeld
Great in Halloween and Great Escape !
1) Thunderball/From Russia with Love Bloefeld was by far the best. A great blend of a mysterious, reserved, ruthless, criminal mastermind that still had a sense of honor. As the Old Saying goes less is more."
2) Bloefeld (Donald Pleasance)
3) Bloefeld (Charles Grey)
4) Bloefeld (Telly Savalas)
5) Bloefeld (Christoph Waltz)
6) Bloefeld (Never Say Never Again)
7) Bloefeld (For Your Eyes Only)
In terms of physical menace, the Blofeld of the novels weighed twenty stone, most of it muscle.
I agree with Calvins rankings.
Woohoo! Thanks! :D I knew someone would eventually!
How did you resist the temptation? "I wish we'd had just one more film in the series where he was a presence and not a Pleasence."
6: For Your Eyes Only
5: Never Say Never Again
4: Diamonds Are Forever
3: Spectre
2: On Her Majesty's Secret Service
1: You Only Live Twice
I just find Donald Pleasance's appearance more iconic and memorable, but that doesn't mean I don't love Telly Savalas' appearance as Blofeld!
I liked Waltz's portrayal of Blofeld, maybe you'd be a little less harsh if he'd offered Bond a delicatessen to spare his life whilst on Westminster Bridge?
I think that alone would have redeemed the entire movie.
How could you pick Charles Gray from Diamonds Are Forever in your top 3
1. Telly Savalas/Donald Pleasance/Dawson/Pohlmann
2. Charles Gray
3. Christoph Waltz (brilliant actor, and does what he can with the material, but for god's sake - what a way to **** a character up! Giving a personal connection to Bond completely undermined the essence of both Bond and Blofeld.
Blofelds from Best to Worst:1.) Christoph Waltz2.) Donald Pleasance3.) Charles Gray4.) Telly Savalas 5.) Blofeld from From Russia with Love 6.) Blofeld from For Your Eyes Only
Waltz under Charles?!! You're joking right??!!! Was I the only one that liked Spectre? Man cause after this ranking I feel like it
Good to see Charles Gray up near the top. He's my personal favourite (he is, as you say, camp and witty) but I accept you can make a decent argument for Pleasance and Dawson/Pohlmann.
The only bad Blofeld was the dude on the pre title sequence of For your eyes only in his convenient dispatch scene, anonymous and with a voice over, the rest are class actors.
The adopted brother thing just gives me Austin Powers vibes and I just can't unsee it anymore
10:58 Doctor Loomis, is that you? Did you come back? Did you come back from the ground mausoleum?
Hey Calvin, I really enjoy your videos, are you ever going to continue the Bond reviews? I've been waiting to see your updated DAF review. :)
Brilliant video Calvin! Will you ever do an updated bond film ranking video? I enjoyed your last one a lot.
I have watched On Her Majesty's Secret Service only once some 20-30 years ago and don't much remember anything about it. I haven't seen the movie since then, but after having watched two scenes of his Blofeld on TH-cam, I think that I would personally put Savalas at number 1 or at least at second place. To me he is that good. Many mention his physicality. For me it is that he exudes great competence and intelligence on all levels.
And like others have said, he probably would have been perfect for portraying Lex Luthor.
Soooo glad I read no spoilers for "Spectre"; never occurred to me that Christoph Waltz / Oberhauser was Blofeld... I wasn't that much invested in it but MAN when Bond woke up and that white Persian cat came into focus, that was an awesome reveal!
The producers have obviously lost the plot. They have no clue about their own franchise somehow nor how to make a Bond film anymore. They have even forgotten how to do a simple gunbarrel opening, they've forgotten James Bond is supposed to be tall, dark and handsome and overall a fun adventure character, not a weird, short, fugly, stiff and awkward goon. They've forgotten who Blofeld is and what he is supposed to do, now he's some weird kitchen sink drama relative of James Bond?? Next, they are now planning a thoroughly contrived "woke" black Bond who will probably be gender fluid or whatever else is vapidly fashionable now, M will be his actual dad, Q can be Indian or something just for the sake of it, Moneypenny can be a lesbian, Felix Leiter will be trans etc...I mean, they systematically killed off main characters and demolished everything about James Bond for a reason. To replace all our beloved characters with trendy caricatures that just sit there on screen constantly going on about their gender or sexuality and no doubt like with every other Hollywood movie now they'll all behave like completely unprofessional, neurotic and angry teenagers the entire time rather than actually being highly professional top ranking staff of the British Secret Intelligence Service...
Yeah Pleasance literally stares into your soul
I also would like to know why they went to Charles Gray to play the part of Blofeld. He had had a small part in You Only Live Twice as Henderson, who got murdered. Charles Gray btw was also a Shakespearean actor and a serious play actor.
Waltz is like Spectre as whole. Just OK.
+Harry of Solihull I'd disagree. He really brought down the movie for me. SPECTRE was doing okay until his Blofeld spoiled it.
+DarthRushy I suppose so. Spectre as whole, isn't bad it's just ok and fails to do anything new or interesting. Waltz has signed on for two more films so I really hope he improves otherwise we're going be bored of blofeld
Harry of Solihull I think if Spectre had a better connection to Quantum(for example, Quantum and mr. White could've had a similar relationship to Spectre like MI6 and M to Nine Eyes), had its runtime trimmed down and featured a Blofeld not bogged down by daddy issues, we could've had a fantastic film.
DarthRushy Exactly! Spectre could have been amazing as QoS could have. But what makes Spectre ok and QoS awful is that for me, there isn't anything in Spectre that annoys me or upsets me. It's the most ok bond ever, maybe. QoS has a villain who isn't even at all threatening, not once. Unlike Waltz who, despite being a bit dull, has hints of being a threat unlike Greene who is a complete idiot. The Bond series is quite inconsistent, particularly the Craig films. We had Casino Royale which was an amazing reboot, QoS which is maybe the worst movie I've ever seen, Skyfall which is a wonderful 50th celeberation and Spectre which is just OK.
+Harry of Solihull I actually really enjoyed Quantum lol, as it was a nice, quick revenge movie with some cool ideas. It was really flawed, but fun. I don't like the artsy, slow pace that Skyfall and Spectre have. It's not Bond.
I think Blofeld in Spectre saying finish it at the end has something to do with the direction of the franchise. He is Bond's ultimate villain and if he dies then that would kind of end things with Bond's career and the franchise. Blofeld probably wanted Bond to suffer because of the repercussions that would happen if he killed MI6's most wanted enemy (MI6 wanted him alive for information, etc.). However, Bond says I have something better to do, which is continue as Bond and let the true rivalry of Blofeld and Bond continue to live on. Hopefully the new film will add to the ending of Spectre.
"Why would you spend so much money on an actor of that caliber and do nothing with him as Blofeld" Applies to both Sydow and Waltz.
Hello Calvin. I believe on the 2000 DVD edition commentary of " Diamonds Are Forever" it is mentioned that 1. Charles Grey was still under contract to UA, so Eon Productions was able to use him in the film, and cast him as Blofeld. 2. Grey most likely accepted the pay he was offered, as once they gave Connery the £ 1 million, there wasn' t a ton of cash to attract a higher profile actor for the role 3. As the film featured several American actors ; it was decided to keep the principal roles of Bond, M , Q and Blofeld as British. Charles Grey was a well - known British actor, especially in TV productions of Shakespeare plays.
Waltz' Blofeld is totally the darkest version.
Waltz was an excellent Blofeld and I fully expect him to appear in the next Bond flick.
+Felix Leiter Totally agreed. He was a great Blofeld and I remember when I heard him being announced as the character and I said "that's the part he's born to play."
No Christoph Waltz was absolutely awful as Blofeld. Terrible miscasting
The best Blofeld is Dr. Claw.
Which is to say, your choice of the mysterious faceless Blofeld is best.
Giving Blofeld a face, especially the kind of doofy looking face of Pleasence with the over-exaggerated obvious make-up scars... Is the equivalent of revealing Dr. Claw's face with the silly ugly toy.
Took away any mystery and all menace.
Book one of the James Bond: Agent Of Spectre comic series just came out today. Bond is recruited by Blofeld himself to help him win a Spectre civil war and I can’t wait to read it.
I'm not convinced that Waltz's Blofeld is entirely sincere in that controversial moment. I think it's a complicated mix of genuine nihilism, plus recognition that he'll be imprisoned if he can't orchestrate his own murder -- but also a taunt, and a bluff. The kind of proposition to which there's no one right answer, so he'd be somewhat disappointed no matter what.
That said, I agree that Waltz is underwhelming. I blame the script more than the actor, but both were phoning it in.
Donald Pleasence is brilliant. His Heinrich Himmler in Eagle Has Landed was genuinely terrifying. Partly because what I'd already known about that limping psychopath, but, damn, Pleasence did that part justice and a half.
That said, I agree, the obscured Bofeld is the best.
The first video I watched of your channel all those videos ago
I rank Christoph Waltz's Blofeld pretty highly, if only because one of his lines inspired a perfectly-timed riff when I watched it with friends a while ago.
"I am the author of your pain."
"....He's Bruce Feirstein?"
(Bruce Feirstein, of course, was the screenwriter during Pierce Brosnan's time, which means _he_ has to bear at least some of the flak which that era now gets.)
Really late to this, but although the Christoph Waltz blofeld isn’t amazing, from what I understand, He wanted James Bond to kill him to show Madeline that James cannot change from being a cold blooded killer. I’m pretty sure somewhere in the movie, Madeline says that if James continues to be a killer, she cannot stay with him.
When he put Donald pleasant as 2, I was sure he was gonna say Mike Myers as number 1
As a note, Calvin, the reason Blofeld offers Bond a delicatessen is because the mafia, at that time, used to use delicatessens (which were very expensive places) to pay off people.
Charles Gray was the worst. Waltz number 3, Savalas, #2, Pleasance #1
I liked the spectre blofeild.
I think the actor who played Dr. No encapsulates many of the characteristics most people think of when Blofeld comes to mind.
Donald plesance is the best blofeld and actor bot plesance and Connery are the best actors for blofeld and bond by far.
I legit forgot Max Von Sydow or Blofeld were even in that movie.
I like Donald Pleasance the best because of the creep factor and his look. Charles Gray was the funniest, IMO. I was the most disappointed with Christoph Waltz.
Also, John Hollis also played Lobot in The Empire Strikes Back!
One of these Blofeld's looks oddly familiar
It does seem that when they made Diamonds Are Forever someone said something like: "lets not bother looking for another Blofeld, we got a perfectly good actor we have hardly used in Charles Gray. " By the by Gray was an honored stage performer and Shakespearean actor.
For me, Donald Pleasence is Number 1 just because I love the actor and how creepy he can be. And Number 2 is definitely Christoph Waltz -- a very fully realized character.
The similarity between Max Von Sydow and Jan Werich in the role is uncanny. I agree that Von Sydow is disappointing in the role, but he does give us an idea how disappointing Werich probably was in his few scenes filmed and why they got rid of him. Both have that out-of-place 'professor' vibe about them.
Roger Moore is the BEST bond. For those of us that are bigger fans of Roger Moore see the beginning of your eyes as a middle finger to the Sean Connery films that there are bigger and better villains out there.
Its the guy in bow tie also Blofeld?
Love the Blofeldesque/Spectre ring, Calvin.
if they continued the direction they were going with Blofeld in FRWL and TB then i think Christopher Lee would have been a fantastic full reveal of the character
Donald P’s cat spends most of the movie being terrified… so even his pet is scared of him! 😎
“A James Bond villain played by Oscar Wilde.” Wouldn’t that be something?
Die laughing
waltz's blofeld was genius.
not wanting to die so he challenges bond to finish it.
I actually agree with this list.
Christoph Waltz was laways going to be Blofeld in a Bond movie.
Another brilliant choice for Blofeld - Wayne Pygram - you might know him as Scorpius as Farscape.
Or Patrick Stewart!
Would Bela Lugosi have made a good Blofeld when he was alive? (it's just a shame he died in 1956)
And if you want to bring a little camp back to Blofeld, there's always Derek Jacobi!
Supposedly Orson Welles was first choice to play Blofeld in Never Say Never Again. That could have been amazing, and he had the booming voice and presence. But I don't know. And of course, he'd already played Le Chiffre in Casino Royale.
Classy pick for #1. But I would go with Pleasence overall as my favorite, as, while Off-screen-Blofeld is indeed evocative of every distant, unseen "The Man" villain, I think the two films he appears in work against him. Both FRWL and Thunderball are crazy gorgeous, with more memorable sets and locations and far more visually striking villains to steal the Big Bad's thunder when all is said and done. That's one reason I consider Rosa Klebb to be a villain, not a henchwoman, as she's the more prominent distant-order-giver. Had Off-screen-Blofeld been in Dr No instead, maybe (instead, we get Off-screen-Dr No, who I think is more effective than on-screen Dr No), but as it is, I'll take the creepy Blofeld we see front-and-center over the "oh yeah, he was in that one too, wasn't he?" Blofeld.
Best Blofeld Rankings:
6. Everything Wrong with Blockbuster Movie Writing Today Blofeld
5. Lawsuit Blofeld (he was boring and wasted, but at least he was superfluous)
4. Campy Blofeld
3. Off-screen-Blofeld
2. Mafioso Blofeld
1. Creepy Blofeld
BTW, I don't know what you're talking about with that wheelchair/helicopter scene or what that could possibly have to do with Blofeld. Is that even from a Bond film? Whenever I pop in "For Your Eyes Only" (which is often, mind), the movie viewing experience starts with Sheena Easton, and ends with "James Bond Will Return". I don't know WHERE you're getting the idea there's a Blofeld scene in it. No sir. Not in my version of that underrated gem.
Most iconic villain in cinema? I think that easily goes to Darth Vader.
I agree that Rosa's reactions make Blofeld feel like a huge threat. Then again, I'd argue that they also make her never feel like one. At least, they could have waited for the third act to make her squeal in front of Blofeld. Instead, the supposed main villain of the film is petrified for the 50% of her screen time throughout the film. Not as effective.
The only one for me was Donald Pleasens he was the most creepy scary blofeld😮
Telly Savalas was by far the best Blofeld in the best Bond film, facing off against the best Bond, George Lazenby! Donald Pleasance was a fine actor, but a late replacement in “You Only Live Twice.” And it would be hard to imagine him battling Lazenby on the bobsled! Charles Gray was another excellent actor wasted in the role of Blofeld - in a thoroughly asinine film! Max Von Sydow was superb in “Never Say Never Again,” suggesting the hidden Blofeld of “From Russia With Love” and “Thunderball”; pity his part wasn’t larger.
Christoph Waltz was good casting, but the writing wasn't good. He would have been stupendous if he wasn't the brother per say. Maybe if he was a small time criminal in his youth that was maimed for left for dead by a young Bond on an early mission and decided to seek revenge by rising up in the underworld.
While he was great as Scaramanga, I feel that Christopher Lee would have made a wonderful Blofeld and would have been a more natural successor to the Dawson/Polhmann duo.
Fleming wanted Lee to play Dr No. Certaintly with his booming voice, that was also capable of being chillingly quiet and in control, he was perfect. At least we got him as Scaramanga (who in the book is just a standard American gangster). In real life, Lee had lived like Bond during the war, being involved in dangerous missions for The SAS.
Sorry, I don't think Lee would work as Blofeld. He's sinister but too cool and collected. Also too tall and due to his similar deep voice and dark features wouldn't have played well off of Connery.
@Qasim Hussain Because he's too similar to Connery and arguably just as cool. Blofeld isn't supposed to be "sexy" necessarily. The only reason Telly Savalas worked as a sexier Blofeld in OYMSS is because George Lazenby's Bond was so un-sexy, especially in his undercover role when he was mostly interacting with Blofeld.
@@mikesteelheart in the books I think Blofeld is even taller than 007
@@davidjames579I thought Fleming wanted Lee to play Bond since they’re cousins in law
Calvin: “Ernst Stavro Blofeld is simply the most iconic villain in all of cinema”
I find your lack of faith disturbing.
How about another joke Calvin?
Long live the king
Your average teen nowadays probably doesn't even know who Blofeld is but thanks to merchandising and parodies everyone knows who Vader is. Also every generation has their own Joker.
i think he is right. he is the one most often copied and parodied
That quote came from Darth Vader
I think Waltz is creepy and menacing but underused in Spectre
He is not a physical match for Craig's Bond
+IMovie Makers I agree with you dude. I liked how Waltz had portrayed him with this disturbing domineer. But sadly like Belluci, he was underused and his back story/ motivation was just bad
The whole film was underused .
i feel he'll be back in Bond 25
Waltz is underappreciated.
I really like Donald Pleasance's psychotic take on Blofeld, but I really like Savalas' "Lex Luthor" style; he's one of the few Bond evil masterminds that also exudes a sense of physical menace. They really should be thought of as 2 separate villains, even though their characters share the same name. Charles Gray was way too much like someone's doddering old uncle. Waltz was good.
Waltz Is The Most Psychotic