Showing posts with label david hedison. Show all posts
Showing posts with label david hedison. Show all posts

Saturday, September 01, 2012

007 James Bond Marathon: Licence to Kill



Based on the short stories by Ian Fleming, Licence to Kill is the story of James Bond going rogue following an attack on his friend Felix Leiter by a drug lord. Directed by John Glen and screenplay by Michael G. Wilson and Richard Maibaum, the film marks a departure of sorts for the Bond franchise by delving into darker territory as Bond aims for vengeance. With Timothy Dalton playing Bond for the second and final time, the film also stars Robert Davi, Talisa Soto, Carey Lowell, David Hedison, Desmond Llewelyn, Caroline Bliss, Wayne Newton, Benicio del Toro, Priscilla Barnes, and Robert Brown as M. Licence to Kill is thrilling and intense film from John Glen.

It’s the wedding day of Felix Leiter (David Hedison) as James Bond is the best man where the two decide to help out the DEA capture a drug lord named Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi). The mission turns out to be a success just in time for Leiter to be married to Della (Priscilla Barnes) as things seem to go well. Instead, Sanchez manages to escape with the help of DEA agent Ed Killifer (Everett McGill) who was bribed $2 million as Sanchez sends his henchman Dario (Benicio del Toro) to kidnap Leiter. When Bond learns of Sanchez’s escape, he goes to Leiter’s home to find Della dead and Leiter barely alive from a shark attack. He and Leiter’s friend Sharkey (Frank McRae) investigate a secret marine lab run by Milton Krest (Anthony Zerbe) where Bond confronts Killifer and kills him.

Bond’s activities gets the attention of the DEA and M who wants Bond to stop going after Sanchez only for Bond to resign and go rogue. With Sharkey’s help, Bond boards Krest’s boat to learn of a drug deal that is happening where Bond causes problems by foiling the deal and stealing five million dollars. After reading Leiter’s secret report, Bond meets a former CIA agent-pilot Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell) as they team up to take Sanchez down by traveling to Isthmus with Bouvier pretending to be Bond’s secretary. The two investigate Sanchez’s banks and casino where they learn that Sanchez is making a deal after Bond hears about his from Sanchez’s girlfriend Lupe (Talisa Soto). Bond later gets help from Q (Desmond Llewelyn), who is on holiday, as they plan to do more investigating where Bond attempts to assassinate Sanchez.

Instead, the assassination is foiled by a couple of Hong Kong narcotics agents (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and Diana Lee Hsu) and British agent Fallon (Christopher Neame) who wants to send Bond back to Britain. Yet, it is foiled by Sanchez’s men as Bond is taken to Sanchez’s home where he gains Sanchez’s trust by telling him what happened to the Krest deal. After getting help from Q and Bouvier to help frame Krest, Bond is able to infiltrate Sanchez’s secret base to find out how Sanchez is exporting the drugs to his rich customers. Realizing what Sanchez is going to do and profit from the drug sale, Bond has to stop him from causing trouble as he hopes to get his revenge.

The film is just simply about James Bond seeking vengeance for what happened to his longtime friend Felix Leiter by going after a drug lord as he’s forced to go rogue with very few resources. It’s a different take on the Bond formula where it’s all driven by vengeance as Bond forgoes all of his duties to his government in favor of seeking justice for his friend. Even as he has to break some rules in order to go after this ambitious drug lord that simply just wants to have a lot of money and create a powerful drug trade among international dealers. Bond would realize that things are more complicated than his vendetta when various other authorities are trying to go after Sanchez.

The screenplay’s approach to creating something different with the usual schematics of a Bond film allows the story to be more engaging but also reach into dark territory. Notably with its theme on vengeance and loyalty where the latter is often spouted upon by Sanchez. Sanchez is a very interesting villain who is willing to buy his way out of anything while wanting to profit from the drug trade. Yet, he is also ruthless if he feels betrayed and has no qualms about killing anyone. Other characters such as Pam Bouvier and Lupe Lamora are just as interesting for the way they each help Bond take down Sanchez. Notably Bouvier who is first seen talking with Leiter about Sanchez’s capture as she later meets Bond where they help each other out. While Lamora is just this abused girlfriend of Sanchez, she does manage to help Bond out by giving him information and lying for him against Krest and other Sanchez associates.

John Glen’s direction is definitely big in terms of presentation as it begins with this very expansive sequence where Bond and Leiter help the DEA capture Sanchez in the Florida Keys. Even as it would involve helicopters and Bond hooking a small plane onto that helicopter before he and Leiter jump off the helicopter to arrive to the wedding in style. With a lot of the film set in Florida and Mexico, Glen’s direction is also more aggressive in terms of the action as there’s more fights and gun battles that happen where it’s driven by Bond’s vendetta. Glen also balances it with suspense as he allows the audience to take its time to uncover Sanchez’s ideas as well as realize how complicated Bond’s plans for vengeance are. Overall, Glen crafts a very mesmerizing yet exhilarating suspense-action film.

Cinematographer Alec Mills does excellent work with the photography from the colorful shots of the Florida and Mexican exteriors to the dark interiors in Krest marine lab where Bond confronts Killifer. Editor John Grover does terrific work with the editing by creating a straightforward approach to the editing in terms of building up its suspense and flesh out the action sequences. Production designer Peter Lamont, with set decorator Michael Ford and art directors Dennis Bosher and Michael Lamont, does spectacular work with the set pieces ranging from Sanchez’s lavish home to the home base where he runs his drug lab.

Costume designer Jodie Lynn Tillen does superb work with the costumes such as the lavish dresses that Lamora and Bouvier wears to the suits the men wear. Special effects supervisor John Richardson does nice work with the special effects for the film‘s action sequences including the climatic one at Sanchez‘s home base. Sound recorder Edward Tise does wonderful work with the sound to capture the atmosphere of some of the film‘s intimate yet tense moments such as Leiter‘s torture scene. The film’s score by Michael Kamen is very good for its orchestral flourishes to play up the suspense and action as it incorporates many variations of the Bond theme. The soundtrack includes a powerful title track sung by Gladys Knight while Patti LaBelle sings the lush, closing ballad If You Ask Me To.

The casting by Janet Hirshenson and Jane Jenkins is brilliant for the ensemble that is created as it features some notable small roles from Pedro Armendariz Jr. as the President of Isthmus, Wayne Newton as Sanchez’s middle man Professor Joe Butcher, Don Stroud as Sanchez’s henchman Colonel Heller, Anthony Starke as Sanchez’s financial advisor Truman-Lodge, Grand L. Bush as the DEA agent Hawkins, Frank McRae as Leiter’s friend Sharkey, Christopher Neame as British agent Fallon, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and Diana Lee Hsu as undercover Hong Kong narcotic agents, and Priscilla Barnes as Leiter’s bride Della. In their last appearances as Bond regulars, Robert Brown is excellent as M while Caroline Bliss is good as Miss Moneypenny.

Anthony Zerbe is terrific as the slimy Milton Krest while Everett McGill is quite good as the DEA agent Killifer who sold Leiter out for money. In one of his early film roles, Benicio del Toro is great as the very devious Dario who is ruthless in his duties for Sanchez. David Hedison is wonderful as Bond’s longtime friend Felix Leiter while Desmond Llewelyn is superb in his role as the gadgets inventor Q who helps Bond out. Talisa Soto gives a very fine performance as Lupe Lamora who helps Bond out in giving him information while hoping that Sanchez will be stopped. Carey Lowell is brilliant as the ex-CIA agent Pam Bouvier who helps Bond out as she deals with her feelings for Bond as well as trying to ensure that things get done.

Robert Davi is fantastic as the villainous Franz Sanchez by bringing a dark sense of charm to his character as well as a brutality to the way he gets rid of his enemies and those who betrayed him. Finally, there’s Timothy Dalton in a marvelous performance as James Bond. Dalton brings a real sense of brooding intensity to a man seeking vengeance for his friend as he’s willing to be more visceral in his pursuits while trying to maintain his professionalism as a secret agent. It’s a very complex performance from Dalton as he gives Bond a dark edge that is very captivating to watch as it’s really one of the best portrayals of James Bond.

Licence to Kill is a phenomenal film from John Glen that features an outstanding performance from Timothy Dalton as James Bond. While it’s different film of sorts in terms of what is expected from Bond as it doesn’t feature a lot of humor. It is still very compelling for the way Bond is portrayed in a revenge angle to show a side of him that isn’t seen very much. Even as he has to go on his own with very little help. In the end, Licence to Kill is a mesmerizing yet fun film from John Glen.




© thevoid99 2012
Posted by at 6 comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday, July 20, 2012

007 James Bond Marathon: Live and Let Die



Based on Ian Fleming’s novel, Live and Let Die is the story of James Bond uncovering the deaths of three agents in the hands of a dictator who also poses as a drug lord in a small Caribbean Island. Directed by Guy Hamilton and screenplay by Tom Mankiewicz, the film marks the first of seven features to star Roger Moore as James Bond where Moore brings a bit of humor to the famed character. Also starring Yaphet Kotto, Jane Seymour, David Hedison, Lois Maxwell, Clifton James, Gloria Hendry, and Bernard Lee as M. Live and Let Die is a stylish yet thoroughly entertaining film from Guy Hamilton.

After the death of three different agents at the United Nations building, New Orleans, and the Caribbean island of San Monique, M asks James Bond to uncover the mysteries of these death as he and Bond believe the deaths are all connected to San Monique dictator Dr. Kananga (Yaphet Kotto). Bond travels to New York City where he encounters some strange occurrences in Harlem involving voodoo after his driver was assassinated. With his CIA friend Felix Leiter (David Hedison) and another agent named Strutter (Lon Satton), Bond learns about a heroin distributor named Mr. Big as he meets a mysterious tarot card expert named Solitaire (Jane Seymour) who is considered Dr. Kananga’s most treasured possession.

Traveling to San Monique, Bond meets CIA agent Rosie Carver (Gloria Hendry) to uncover what happened to the death of an agent in San Monique with the help of Quarrel Jr. (Roy Stewart) as Bond sneaks up to Solitaire’s home to find more answers. After tricking her with her tarot cards, Bond and Solitaire discover a field of poppy fields near Kananga’s home as Bond believes Kananga is in cahoots with Mr. Big. After he takes Solitaire to safety, Bond is stopped by Big’s henchmen where he eventually discovers who Mr. Big is. Realizing what Big is planning to do with the heroin, Bond realizes what he must do to stop Big as well as save Solitaire who has lost her powers as a tarot card expert.

The film is essentially the story of James Bond going to different places like New York, New Orleans, and the Caribbean to uncover the deaths of three agents that is connected to a dictator in a fictional Caribbean island. There, he encounters voodoo, heroin smuggling, and a beautiful tarot card expert who might be the key to helping him figure out what is going on. It’s a simple plot for a James Bond film but Tom Mankiewicz’s screenplay does manage to do what is expected but with a different approach to the Bond film schematics. Notably as the film bends a few genres such as 70s blaxploitation and the American Southern films to put Bond in new worlds that he previously hadn’t been in.

In these new worlds, Bond faces up against a dictator who also masquerades as a drug distributor named Kananga who is just an ambitious man that is planning to make a profit in giving away heroin to those that want it. While he isn’t as ambitious as other villains, he is certainly cunning while he treasures Solitaire more than anything as she is the one person who could reveal his fate. The character of Solitaire is just as interesting as she is the tarot card reader with a special gift yet her encounter with Bond would bring conflict as she is also a virgin. In Bond taking away her virginity, he would unknowingly take away her powers which she despairs at in an amazing monologue about her gift where she would have to use her faded powers in a crucial scene for Bond’s freedom as the aftermath is a heartbreaking one. While the script also includes some comical moments that involves a redneck state trooper in J.W. Pepper (Clifton James), the screenplay succeeds in playing out the suspense and adventure of what is expected in a Bond film.

Guy Hamilton’s direction is definitely marvelous for the way he opens the film with the three different deaths of the three agents in different locations to establish everything Bond is about to face. With some amazing shots of the locations in New York City’s Harlem district, New Orleans, and Jamaica for the scenes of San Monique. Hamilton creates a film that is very worldly while bringing a new energy that is needed for a new James Bond. Filled with dazzling chase scenes on cars and speedboats, the action is always engaging and crucial to what Bond needs to do.

The action is balanced by Bond exploring these new places where he’s in where he’s a fish out of water where a white man is in the world where the black man rule. It’s essentially Bond trying to integrate with a new world where 70s cinema is changing as Bond manages to make himself to be a worthy opponent for a man like Kananga. While the humor ranges from being low-key to more comical in the scenes involving J.W. Pepper, it works to display Bond in action and how he tries to handle the situation. Overall, Guy Hamilton succeeds in creating a Bond film that is truly enjoyable to watch from start to finish.

Cinematographer Ted Moore does wonderful work with the film‘s photography from the beautiful Jamaican locations to the interiors set in Harlem and New Orleans to establish the world Bond is encountering. Editors Bert Bates, Raymond Poulton, and John Shirley do excellent work with the editing by utilizing a lot of straightforward cutting to play up the film‘s suspense and action along with some of the film‘s comical manners. Art director Syd Cain does brilliant work with the set pieces such as the voodoo ceremony and the secret meeting rooms Kananga does his business at.

Costume designer Julie Harris does superb work with the costumes such as the elaborate clothes that Solitaire wears during her tarot reading. The special effects work of Rick Baker and Derek Meddings is very good for some of the moments that involves the shark bullet Bond uses for the film‘s climatic meeting with Kananga. Sound recorders Ken Barker and John W. Mitchell do terrific work with the sound to capture the atmosphere of the club Bond and Felix Leiter encounter as well as the voodoo ceremony filled with a big crowd of people. The film’s music by George Martin is certainly fun to listen to with its mix of bombastic orchestral flourishes mixed in with a bit of funk. The title sung by Paul and Linda McCartney for their band Wings is definitely one of the best songs of the Bond film franchises thanks to its sprawling orchestral and horn arrangements mixed in with rock bombast.

The casting of Weston Drury Jr. is incredible for the ensemble that is created as it includes some notable small roles from Lon Satton as CIA agent Strutter, Arnold Williams as one of Kananga’s henchmen in a corrupt cab driver, Roy Stewart as Quarrel Jr., and Madeline Smith as the Italian agent Miss Caruso that Bond romances early in the film.  Other notable small roles include Lois Maxwell as the always funny Miss Moneypenny, Bernard Lee as the always stern M, Gloria Hendry as the fearful CIA agent Rosie Carver, David Hedison as the resourceful Felix Leiter, and Clifton James as the hilarious idiotic redneck state trooper J.W. Pepper.

In the roles of Kananga’s henchmen, there’s standout performances from Tommy Lane as the brutish Adam, Julius Harris as the robotic-armed Tee Hee Johnson, Earl Jolly Brown as the raspy big man Whisper, and Geoffrey Holder as the voodoo priest Baron Samedi whose laugh is one of the most memorable. In her film debut, Jane Seymour is great as the conflicted Solitaire who falls for James Bond while dealing with her loyalty towards Kananga. Yaphet Kotto is excellent as the villainous Dr. Kananga whose ambition to run the heroin market has Kotto proving to be very dastardly while getting the chance to be upset when things don’t go his way as it’s one of Kotto’s great performances.

Finally, there’s Roger Moore in his first of seven outings as Agent 007 James Bond. While he may not have the toughness of Sean Connery, Moore is able to put his own spin into Bond by making Bond tough but also resourceful in whatever objects he can use to get out of a bad situation. There’s also a laid-back sense of charm in Moore in the way he deals with women or how he confronts a villain. Moore’s approach to the humor is also more laid-back in the way he delivers the funny one-liners as Moore definitely makes Bond his own to standout from the more iconic figure from Sean Connery.

Live and Let Die is a thrilling yet fun film from Guy Hamilton featuring Roger Moore in a phenomenal performance as James Bond. The film is definitely proof that Bond can survive without Sean Connery with Moore being the right guy to play the legendary Agent 007. With a top-notch supporting cast that includes Yaphet Kotto and Jane Seymour, it’s a film that is truly adventurous and funny while doing what James Bond films do best. In the end, Live and Let Die is a glorious film from Guy Hamilton.




© thevoid99 2012
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)