It's Bond, James Bond - I'm here for my doctor's appointment!

April 11, 2011 5:33 PM

For most of his 81 years, Sir Roger Moore has played invincible leading men. "But behind the scenes he has cheerfully hidden a list of real (and imagined) ailments.You are late,’ says Sir Roger Moore in a deep growl. I apologise. I had thought the interview was at nine o’clock. ‘I am just off to the funeral parlour,’ he continues."

"Of all the things Sir Roger Moore has lost over the years (appendix, tonsils, adenoids, a sensitive snip in a circumcision and more recently his prostate), his sense of humour is not one of them. ‘If you don’t have humour,’ he says, still laughing, ‘then you may as well nail the coffin lid down now.’"

"Illness, he admits, has permeated every part of his life, although it is hard to distinguish whether the hypochondria that ‘flows through my veins’ started before the string of scrapes and near-death experiences that have punctuated his life.

‘I believe it is better to be prepared for illness than to wait for a cure,’ he declares, ‘and you certainly save on hospital beds that way.’"

"And given the extensive time he has spent with the medical profession, will he be so generous as to leave his body to science?

‘I have no objection,’ he smiles, ‘although everything is so worn out, I’m not sure they’d take me.’"

posted by VikingSword (94 comments total)

Your first line had me looking for an obituary, so glad to be proved wrong!
posted by arcticseal at 5:42 PM on April 11, 2011 [3 favorites]

His memoir is a lot of fun
posted by IndigoJones at 5:43 PM on April 11, 2011

.
posted by found missing at 5:47 PM on April 11, 2011

He's 83 now, and just had an accident on set.
posted by Burhanistan at 5:53 PM on April 11, 2011

Moore played The Saint? I have to check that out.
posted by DU at 5:53 PM on April 11, 2011

Pepsi blue urine
posted by Pruitt-Igoe at 5:59 PM on April 11, 2011

This guy was the best Bond and I will stand by that statement forever like a beach next to an ocean. The endless ocean of Roger Moore's slate-grey eyes.
posted by tumid dahlia at 6:01 PM on April 11, 2011 [10 favorites]

Moore is a pretty good Bond but those movies are among the worse of the franchise. And when I say "worse" I mean "best". And when I say "best" I mean "worst".
posted by DU at 6:02 PM on April 11, 2011 [19 favorites]

You certainly couldn't have kept showing up to shoot Octopussy without a sense of humor.
posted by COBRA! at 6:03 PM on April 11, 2011 [8 favorites]

Also: just stop and think about that for a second. There's actually a movie called Octopussy. Adults had meetings about how to make Octopussy. Wealthy men agreed to finance Octopussy.

OCTOPUSSY!
posted by COBRA! at 6:04 PM on April 11, 2011 [49 favorites]

Whatever happened with her. Seems like she's no longer in the news.
posted by found missing at 6:09 PM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

Although it was during Moore's tenure as Bond that the franchise bottomed out, he's not really to blame. At least two of the Moore-era movies--For Your Eyes Only and The Spy Who Loved Me--compare favorably to the lesser Connery efforts and most of the Brosnan movies.
posted by Rangeboy at 6:09 PM on April 11, 2011

OCTOPUSSY!
posted by COBRA! at 6:11 PM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

When Moore was in the kind of Bond films he deserved to be in, he was great. If only Connery had bowed out a few films earlier...

Moore was also fantastic as Simon Templar in The Saint. Definitely worth a rental!
posted by Aquaman at 6:13 PM on April 11, 2011 [5 favorites]

I certainly enjoyed his Bond movies at the time, but I don't think they've aged well, though few of the Bond movies have. And while he was a good Bond, he's no Sean Connery. But Roger Moore is a fine actor, and it's good to see him looking so good at 83.

I thought this was the best quote in the interview (or whatever that was):

Weight, or the abundance of it, seems to be a recurring problem for Sir Roger. While actress Jane Seymour was warming up her tarot card skills for the role of Solitaire in Live And Let Die, Bond producer Cubby Broccoli warned Sir Roger he needed to ‘lose a little weight and get into shape’.

‘Why didn’t you just cast a thin, fit fellow and avoid putting me through this hell?’ he retorted.

Carry on Sir Roger -- glad to read of your continuing adventures and not another damned obituary.
posted by mosk at 6:14 PM on April 11, 2011 [2 favorites]

I so had a gay thing for James Bond. I mean, really, Sean Connery on the beach with skin wetted trunks and all that gorgeous chest hair? My saturday afternoons in my bedroom on the first cable signal to my rural town with SEAN CONNERY wet and half naked!! Damn no wonder I wore out my underwear.

And then came Roger Moore. Not hot. Sorry.

But the way he could express so much with a raised eyebrow was AMAZING. And he did give Bond a wonderful humour.

But I never . . .um, "found" myself with Roger Moore.

But that's O.K. Moore in space with Jaws made up for it.

Kinda.
posted by yesster at 6:14 PM on April 11, 2011

I wonder if he had any offscreen nooky with Grace Jones during filming of "A View to a Kill."
posted by Burhanistan at 6:15 PM on April 11, 2011

"nooky with Grace Jones" is both as hot and as dangerous as ...... no, there's no thing to which this can be compared.
posted by yesster at 6:18 PM on April 11, 2011 [9 favorites]

I always felt Moore was the appropriate 1970s James Bond. But he should have left after Moonraker. The movies he did in the 80s were dreadful.
posted by cazoo at 6:19 PM on April 11, 2011

The Saint is how I always think of him. Bond seemed, well, just wrong! Simon Templar was humorous and ironic. The Bond character was mean and a little nasty.

He's 83?!?!

*feels very old*
posted by warbaby at 6:20 PM on April 11, 2011 [2 favorites]

Nooky or arm-wrestling?
posted by tumid dahlia at 6:20 PM on April 11, 2011

His memoir is a lot of fun.

And then there's "Roger Moore's James Bond Diary", a book a late friend of mine swore by as the ne plus ultra in ghostwritten banality -- lists of celebrities met, meals eaten, and Roger Moorish observations about filmmaking:

'It may seem like money for jam pressed close to the beautiful Madeline Smith and taking her clothes off into the bargain, but on the twentieth take your arm is aching, you've got cramp in your left foot and you're right knee is going to sleep. "
posted by Faze at 6:22 PM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

I always felt Moore was the appropriate 1970s James Bond. But he should have left after Moonraker. The movies he did in the 80s were dreadful.
posted by cazoo

Really? I thought For Your Eyes Only was pretty good, maybe the best Moore movie.

Also, I remember being 13ish and seeing that Dragon magazine was edited by a guy named Roger Moore. Part of me knew that there was no way it was that Roger Moore, but I just refused to accept that thought.
posted by COBRA! at 6:23 PM on April 11, 2011 [4 favorites]

Opening credits to View to a Kill.

Opening credits to Live and Let Die.

Opening credits to Octopussy.

All amazing.
posted by hermitosis at 6:31 PM on April 11, 2011 [3 favorites]

Really? I thought For Your Eyes Only was pretty good, maybe the best Moore movie.

Maybe I need to see that one again. But I doubt it could be better than when he defeats Dracula in The Man with the Golden Gun.
posted by cazoo at 6:36 PM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

At the risk of drawing ire, I thought Daniel Craig in Casino Royale was the best Bond pic yet.
posted by Short Attention Sp at 6:36 PM on April 11, 2011 [19 favorites]

Man, not that it has much to do with Moore, but Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill" is the best Bond theme song by a longshot.
posted by Burhanistan at 6:39 PM on April 11, 2011 [11 favorites]

At the risk of drawing ire, I thought Daniel Craig in Casino Royale was the best Bond pic yet.
posted by Short Attention Sp at 6:36 PM on April 11

Absolutely. More gritty and rough without the pretty boy thing. But still hot. So frickin hot.
posted by yesster at 6:42 PM on April 11, 2011 [2 favorites]

At the risk of drawing ire, I thought Daniel Craig in Casino Royale was the best Bond pic yet.

Craig is a very good, modern Bond.
posted by device55 at 6:42 PM on April 11, 2011 [4 favorites]

At the risk of drawing ire, I thought Daniel Craig in Casino Royale was the best Bond pic yet.

Wow, if Betty White was having health problems, would you show up to talk about how Rue McClanahan was the "goldenest" girl??
posted by hermitosis at 6:44 PM on April 11, 2011 [9 favorites]

Heard a recent radio interview with him, and he couldn't have been more down to earth and normal. A good guy.
posted by gjc at 6:44 PM on April 11, 2011

To be honest, I thought that Eva Green in Casino Royale made it the best Bond pic yet.
posted by Flashman at 6:49 PM on April 11, 2011 [4 favorites]

"A woman?!"

Dr. Goodhead?
posted by Burhanistan at 6:52 PM on April 11, 2011

Man, not that it has much to do with Moore, but Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill" is the best Bond theme song by a longshot.

Really? I do admit to enjoying this and a few other Duran Duran songs as guilty pleasures, but doesn't McCartney's "Live and Let Die" or Shirley Bassey singing "Goldfinger" trump "A View to a Kill"?
posted by wabbittwax at 6:53 PM on April 11, 2011 [6 favorites]

Hypochondria is an incredibly rough thing to deal with, and I admire his sense of humor about it.

He's also my favorite Bond; I have no idea if he's the best Bond (probably not, I suppose), but he's my favorite Bond. The first Bond I ever saw was For Your Eyes Only on my parents' brand new VCR, a new type of machine that let you watch movies at home on giant cassette tapes and also let you rewind them, fast-forward through them to skip scenes, or pause them to use the restroom or make popcorn. Technically I didn't see the entire movie, but my parents let me watch the opening credits and one or two of the chase scenes, and it was awesome!
posted by infinitywaltz at 6:53 PM on April 11, 2011 [2 favorites]

Wow, if Betty White was having health problems, would you show up to talk about how Rue McClanahan was the "goldenest" girl??

No, because I am not a fan of the Golden Girls.
posted by Short Attention Sp at 6:54 PM on April 11, 2011 [4 favorites]

Heh. That nose wart thing? The needle in the tip of your nose? Yep. Most Pain Ever. If I hadn't been instantly crying so hard that I couldn't see, I would have punched that fucking doc in his own nose.
posted by Mei's lost sandal at 6:55 PM on April 11, 2011

Moore was definitely a highlight in the Cannonball Run.
posted by azpenguin at 6:56 PM on April 11, 2011 [4 favorites]

When I was a kid, Roger Moore was my favourite Bond, mostlly because The Spy Who Loved Me was the first Bond movie I ever saw. As I grew up, my opinion shifted to Connery and that's where it has stayed. As I look back on his films now I think Moore was fighting against some real obstacles to greatness in the franchise. First, the writing was going so far into camp territory it was hard to take seriously, and second, his suits were never as nice as Connery's. It may just have been true to the era, but those tan suits from the seventies, and some of the other things he was wearing just remind me of my dad, and my dad is not James Bond.
posted by wabbittwax at 7:01 PM on April 11, 2011 [2 favorites]

I know it's sacrilegious to say so, but Roger Moore has always been my favorite Bond, though that may be because I grew up watching his movies. I even taped the disco version of the 007 theme from one of my parents' records. I'm not sure why I liked those movies so much. My parents always laughed at things I didn't see as funny, and when I'd ask them to explain, they'd just say, "It's a pun."
posted by katillathehun at 7:03 PM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

I think it can be agreed that Moore was a competent Bond, and in fact was capable of rising to the level of a very good Bond. Unfortunately, it was under his reign as Bond that the franchise grew increasingly stagnant and downright silly. Like Brosnan, he was wasted on some bad material and kept on past his expiration date. With both men the producers kept the franchise conservative between reboots, only adding on sillier contraptions and exotic (and lazier) action scenes until the film's box office receipts began to decline. Moore deserved better.

That said, Timothy Dalton was a level under Moore and Brosnan. He got a fairly good film (the Living Daylights) and one God awful one (License to Kill). Ultimately the too short Dalton got a mediocre reboot that felt all too much like the some of the poorer Moore films.

Daniel Craig has turned into a top tier Bond, matched only by Connery, in large part because the franchise finally got a reboot that fit the modern era. Gone were the silly gadgets and bad computer graphics that had bloated the films since the late 1970s until Brosnan is riding around in an invisible car in the arctic and surfing off of Cuba in the atrocious Die Another Day. Instead Craig played a tougher Bond, jettisoning any foppishness, which matched the stripped down intensity of the brilliant Casino Royale. Without Craig's intensity and edgier portrayal, the modern reboot (that owed much to the Bourne films) would have failed. Quantum of Solace was a weaker stand alone film, but watched back to back with Casino Royale, the two films hold upas one continuous narrative unmatched in the Bond franchise.

Connery of course is the Best Bond, or perhaps tied with Craig. No matter how silly or sexist his films got, he created the mold from which so many others followed. Had he failed there would be no future Bonds, but thankfully his charisma carried even his poorer efforts. The man is/was synonymous with 'cool'.

Oh, and of course George Lazenby, the one film Bond, is never to be spoken of except to whisper "the horror.... The horror".
posted by boubelium at 7:15 PM on April 11, 2011 [7 favorites]

He apparently also had a scare with skin cancer when a prominent mole on his face was removed sometime after Octopussy (1983) and A View to a Kill (1985)
posted by crunchland at 7:19 PM on April 11, 2011

Moore played The Saint? I have to check that out.

Definitely check it out. I honestly think Moore made a better Simon Templar than he did James Bond- the Saint's blend of insouciant humor that would burst into action fitted Moore far better than Bond's cynical and ruthless nature ever did.

The pity is, The Saint episodes don't seem to be easily viewable on the net. Figures.
posted by happyroach at 7:31 PM on April 11, 2011

On the other hand, a bunch of Bond films are now on Netflix streaming.
posted by ZeusHumms at 7:43 PM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

Oh, and of course George Lazenby, the one film Bond, is never to be spoken of except to whisper "the horror.... The horror".

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is a pretty good Bond movie. Lazenby isn't terrible, he just doesn't register compared to the others. Sad, because he got to play opposite Diana Rigg who should have been in every Bond movie.
posted by wabbittwax at 7:52 PM on April 11, 2011 [8 favorites]

> The pity is, The Saint episodes don't seem to be easily viewable on the net. Figures.

They, um, are if you are an amoral pirating sort.
posted by Burhanistan at 7:58 PM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

His self depreciating humour really came out in Cannonball Run, especially during the 'afternoon tea' scene (sorry, couldn't find a video link). Good man.

Is it really true that snowboarding took off pretty much because of the intro to 'A View to a Kill'?
posted by porpoise at 8:18 PM on April 11, 2011

I know it's sacrilegious to say so, but Roger Moore has always been my favorite Bond, though that may be because I grew up watching his movies.

Huh. And I thought it was just me.

And I will put forwards Live And Let Die as my fave film of his, although in part because it is soooooo ridiculous.
posted by GuyZero at 8:48 PM on April 11, 2011

His self depreciating humour really came out in Cannonball Run, especially during the 'afternoon tea' scene

"You know something, mother? You're too Jewish!"
posted by Burhanistan at 8:54 PM on April 11, 2011 [3 favorites]

Roger is involved in the upcoming, new Saint TV production. (Actually I think I recall reading that his son is a producer, but I may have that detail wrong.)

Sadly, as much as I respect a number of the people affiliated with this new production, I don't hold high hopes for it. I would have been much happier with a period piece.

For those who want more information about past TV shows featuring the Robin Hood of modern crime, there is a ton of details online.

Actually the entire official site www.saint.org is jam-packed with all sorts of treats for the Charteris fan and for fans of the character as played by Moore, Vincent Price, Louis Hayward, George Sanders, Ian Ogilvy and others.

Another wonderful resource for TV Saint fans is the upcoming book, The Saint on TV, by Ian Dickerson. (I had the opportunity to read an early version, so I'm comfortable in my recommendation.) See http://www.lesliecharteris.com/ for more from Dickerson.
posted by sardonyx at 8:57 PM on April 11, 2011

Everyone should rush to Amazon, or Netflix, or wherever you can, and watch all 24 episodes of The Persuaders!, starring Roger Moore and Tony Curtis.

English Lord Brett Sinclair (Moore) and American Danny Wilde (Curtis) are wealthy playboys, put together by Judge Fulton to investigate crimes which the police can't solve. These two men are complete opposites, but become great friends through their adventures, and constantly risk their own lives for one another.

My favorite Roger Moore vehicle. Truly a wonderful, hilarious, bizarre little show that never got the recognition it deserved. (But oy, the clothes.)
posted by tzikeh at 9:12 PM on April 11, 2011 [6 favorites]

One thing I forgot to add: Moore played a much better Bond than he did a Maverick cousin. I could only get through a couple of his episodes, but I don't think I'm selling him short about that role.

Some day I need to watch a couple of episodes of The Persuaders. I think that character is probably a better fit that Beauregarde Maverick.

Moore's Bond was the first one I encountered (The Spy Who Loved Me), so for a while, he was my definition of Bond. Of course that changed after reading the books and seeing the rest of the films. These days I can appreciate what each of the lead actors brought to the role and their place in the history of the series.
posted by sardonyx at 9:17 PM on April 11, 2011

Drat - my link to The Persuaders! went to imdb page, and I meant to link to the Wikipedia entry.

So now I have.
posted by tzikeh at 9:20 PM on April 11, 2011

Roger Moore was not the best Bond, but having grown up in the Seventies, he was my Bond.
posted by Dr. Zira at 9:41 PM on April 11, 2011 [10 favorites]

[I expect Bonds work the same way that Doctors Who work; i.e., Bond you grow up with is the Bond you stick with, even despite the fact that hotter, more successively awesomer Bonds show up and make you feel all tingly in new ways YES I AM LOOKING AT YOU DANIEL CRAIG.]
posted by Dr. Zira at 9:57 PM on April 11, 2011 [2 favorites]

And I will put forwards Live And Let Die as my fave film of his, although in part because it is soooooo ridiculous.

I think The Spy Who Loved Me is technically the best one, but Live And Let Die will always be my favorite for the same reason. Jane Seymour telling fortunes with a gang of dudes straight out of a blaxploitation film... but in Louisiana... with a bonus of Baron Samedi and an extra extra bonus of Roger Moore running on crocodiles. Good grief.
posted by katillathehun at 10:34 PM on April 11, 2011 [1 favorite]

From the article, the idea that Tony Curtis gave Roger Moore health advice is somewhat mind-blowing.

I expect Bonds work the same way that Doctors Who work

Nah. Connery is and always will be the ultimate filmic Bond. Anyway, the more I got into the 007 mythos -- I've read every single book and have several reference books -- the more I simply felt that no single movie has quite lived up to the mixture of cocktails-and-tuxedo fantasy and literal ball-busting carnal torture blending together in a self-loathing assassin who cannot get close to women or reconcile himself with his job that Fleming dreamed up. Craig is the best at communicating this yet, but frankly Brosnan did the best job before that (in the disappointing Tomorrow Never Dies, alas). Moore had moments, but hated doing the stuff that set it up, like tipping Locque over the cliff in FYEO.

As for The. Best. Bond. Movie, it's On Her Majesty's Secret Service, hands down, and any true Bond fan will agree. Lazenby gets knocked too hard. He is mostly credible, just fails to jump off the screen like Connery, and that's too bad because I think he succeeds at what he tries. The movie has Diana Rigg, the Best. Bond. Girl. ever, as well, partly to compensate for Lazenby's acting shortcomings. What's more, the film sets up a key emotional note for Bond (the death of his beloved wife) that is referenced occasionally in future films, despite them not sharing a proper timeline and continuity. And my God what a perfect Blofeld lair Piz Gloria was, and a real location to boot. But the part that's best for me is the extended chase sequence -- three distinct parts, hardly a breather -- and the real fear that Bond exudes. I hate superhero Bond.

Anyway. Moore was too old. He is actually older than Connery by some weeks or months, even if he looked "younger" when he started the role, and by the 80s it was really showing. How this wrinkled man could fight off meanie minions without looking ridiculous became increasingly dicey.

But, you know, as a true Bond fan, ultimately, I cannot succumb to being a snob. The whole thing is spy pulp through and through, man! So I find something to love in even the clunkers, like Walken, Jones, and Macnee in A View to a Kill, although I would gladly fast-forward over the SF City Hall fire sequence.
posted by dhartung at 11:43 PM on April 11, 2011 [3 favorites]

"nooky with Grace Jones" is both as hot and as dangerous as ...... no, there's no thing to which this can be compared.

My site is giving away a Meet and Greet with Grace Jones. Can't wait to hear how that turns out
posted by Lovecraft In Brooklyn at 12:21 AM on April 12, 2011

At the risk of drawing ire, I thought Daniel Craig in Casino Royale was the best Bond pic yet.

Absolutely.

Craig is a very good, modern Bond.

Nonsense. He's a classic Bond; his films fit Fleming's stories far more perfectly than any other. Moore's were fun, but they were such a camp parody of the source material, intentional or otherwise, that Austin Powers was entirely unnecessary.

That said I certainly enjoyed the Moore Bonds as a kid, and his happy sense of self-deprecation in the Muppets and the Cannonball Runs and so on makes him seem like a decent bloke.
posted by rodgerd at 1:20 AM on April 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

Has anyone seen 'The Man Who Haunted Himself'? That's a great Roger Moore film -- well worth watching. Kitsch early 70s psychological/supernatural film.

My favourite Moore moment as Bond is in Moonraker -- when he's having a fight in the back of the ambulance. The bad guy punches Bond's head into Lois Chiles' crotch (she's tied up). I love how in the middle of this brawl Moore just comes out with "Sorry about that," in the most debonair fashion possible.
posted by TheAlarminglySwollenFinger at 2:28 AM on April 12, 2011

Glad to see On Her Majesty's Secret Service getting some love. It's easily the most underrated Bond film and shares more than a few similarities with Craig's two movies. Personally, I think Lazenby did a fine job in the role. I don't think the audiences at the time were prepared for a James Bond who had, you know, actual emotions, though.

Moore was the Bond of my youth, and I think he was perfect for the role at that point in the series, when the producers started doubling down on gadgets, gimmicks & ridiculous set pieces at the expense of plot & character development. There were certain films in his run (I'm looking at you, Moonraker) where you could just tell that Moore was totally aware of the sheer ridiculousness of the thing and played the part with just the right amount of earnestness while giving a knowing wink to the audience, as if to say " I know this is preposterous, even by Bond standards, but don't worry folks, I'll try to make this enjoyable for both of us" (This by the way, is what Dalton's take on Bond lacked, which mystifies me, because he was all sorts of awesome as Prince Barin in Flash Gordon)
posted by KingEdRa at 2:45 AM on April 12, 2011

I prefer the Connery Bond, but the Saint series is perfect with Roger Moore, and it wouldn't have been nearly as good with anyone else.

My own Moore guilty pleasure: "Ffolks".
posted by easily confused at 3:54 AM on April 12, 2011

"...which must have terrified his parents Lily and George, a policeman."

I found it fascinating that both of his parents worked as a single police man.
posted by Splunge at 4:01 AM on April 12, 2011 [2 favorites]

I wish I could find a video of the Dame Edna interview with Roger Moore. Like most things Everagean, it was priceless. She gave him a gift, which was a sweater. Except that Roger Moore blanched when he saw it. It was a fairly ugly sweater made from a sweater pattern than he had modeled in his youth.
posted by plinth at 5:24 AM on April 12, 2011

Also: just stop and think about that for a second. There's actually a movie called Octopussy. Adults had meetings about how to make Octopussy. Wealthy men agreed to finance Octopussy.

Screenplay by George MacDonald Fraser, he of the Flashman series.

BTW, Moore was a great friend of William F. Buckley. Given how little respect that man gets around here, I expect that might shake up a few true blue Moore admirers.

I found it fascinating that both of his parents worked as a single police man.

See what a world of difference a comma can make? And people say grammar doesn't matter.
posted by IndigoJones at 5:25 AM on April 12, 2011

My cousin Richard, who was born with Down's Syndrome, is probably the biggest James Bond fan you could ever find. You know how they release a new box set of the series about every two years? Last I checked, he had six of them, two of which were VHS as well as all the bootlegged tapes my Uncle made for him over the years. He can tell you anything you'd like to know about the movies, the girls, the weapons, the cars and most importantly, the Bonds. Only one Bond in particular, though, occupies an exalted place in his heart.

Several years ago, my Aunt was on a holiday with a friend in London. They wandered past a swanky cafe when she noticed that one of the diners was Roger Moore. She didn't want to pass the chance up, so she ambled over, excused herself for intruding upon his meal and told him about her son Richard was, without exaggeration, his biggest fan in the universe, and that Richard thought he was much better than the other Bonds, and would it be any trouble if she could have his autograph for Richard?

"Well now," he exclaimed smoothly as he took the envelope and signed it with his pen, "Tell Richard that I think he has superb taste."

I don't think Rich will ever take it down from his wall.
posted by Silverdragonanon at 5:25 AM on April 12, 2011 [16 favorites]

Oh nevermind. Wish granted.
posted by plinth at 5:27 AM on April 12, 2011

My own Moore guilty pleasure: "Ffolks".

Oh mais oui! Thanks to HBO, I bet I have seen this movie dozens and dozens of times. Definitely better as Ffolks.
posted by briank at 5:31 AM on April 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

I liked the Roger Moore Bond movies, and I like Roger Moore in general. Like many have said, his were the Bond movies I grew up on, and they hold a special place in my heart. But what always bothered me about Moore, and Brosnan to a greater degree, is that they were a little too smooth, too refined.

James Bond is, at heart, a brute. He's a brute who has been shoe-horned into a tuxedo. He can pull it off, but he's truly himself when he's visiting extreme violence on someone. If James Bond hadn't become a spy, he'd be a criminal. His job allows him to do the horrible things which come so easily to him, and not be prosecuted. Connery and Craig capture this perfectly.
posted by Shohn at 5:33 AM on April 12, 2011 [3 favorites]

I always found him to be a "creepy" James Bond. How women fell all over him is beyond me. He was like a dirty old man with money. Ick.
posted by stormpooper at 6:47 AM on April 12, 2011

Man, not that it has much to do with Moore, but Duran Duran's "A View to a Kill" is the best Bond theme song by a longshot.

Nope. The original James Bond theme is the best by a long shot. "Live and Let Die" by the Macca a close second. Apparently (according to Wikipedia) there was supposed to be a "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" theme to be used in "Thunderball" with vocals by Shirley Bassey before Tom Jones' "Thunderball" replaced it. If that had been used, it would have pre-emptively beat all the others that came after it no matter who they were recorded by.

"Die Another Day," on the other hand, deserves to die another death.
posted by blucevalo at 7:40 AM on April 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

Gonna have to disagree there. "Live and Let Die" is kind of a monstrosity. I mean, Duran Duran's "View to a Kill" is certainly also a monstrosity, but it's got that cool sequenced beat.
posted by Burhanistan at 7:43 AM on April 12, 2011

How women fell all over him is beyond me. He was like a dirty old man with money. Ick.

You probably don't want to watch many movies made before say 1987 then, because many romances in them involved younger women falling for (dirty) older men, some with money, some not.
posted by blucevalo at 7:47 AM on April 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

Nonsense. He's a classic Bond; his films fit Fleming's stories far more perfectly than any other.


Yes, Craig shares some traits with the classic Bond of novels, but he is very much modernized for our times. I mean in the original Casino Royale novel there isn't close to the level of action or violent intensity as the film. In the book a lazy bomb attack by two thugs is the first "action" piece, Vesper has no edge, and Bond spends most of his time eating meals and doing weird things like trying to size up a room by how many Jews are in it. While Craig is brutish as the Bond of the novels, he is also modern: abs built atop abs, intense and intricate action pieces, far more modern in terms of his interaction with women, etc. We like our action heroes conflicted and dark, which coincidentally is more in line with the novels, but this is a coincidence of timing. Craig is built for the modern world.
posted by boubelium at 7:50 AM on April 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

Sorry, guys, you're all wrong. The best Bond theme song is You Only Live Twice.
posted by COBRA! at 7:57 AM on April 12, 2011 [3 favorites]

My site is giving away a Meet and Greet with Grace Jones. Can't wait to hear how that turns out

Oh, you won't hear. They never do. You'll be lucky if you find any evidence at all, beyond the bones.
posted by hippybear at 8:13 AM on April 12, 2011 [2 favorites]

(that owed much to the Bourne films)

Absolutely, goddamned right.
posted by jsavimbi at 8:13 AM on April 12, 2011

Roger Moore was Bond when I was a kid, but I was never totally convinced by him. Until one day, I looked at his name and thought Roger Moore = Roger (verb) More. Which explains his approach to the character of Bond quite nicely.
posted by ob at 8:17 AM on April 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

This many comments in and no one has posted a link to his Muppet Show?

Slow Boat To China, co-starring Miss Piggy

And the finale: Talk To The Animals

Bonus link: the originally-intended theme song for Tomorrow Never Dies, written by David Arnold and sung by k d lang. Much more of a classic Bond theme than the breathy piece of shit they ended up using.
posted by Pallas Athena at 9:03 AM on April 12, 2011 [4 favorites]

Fascinating thread!

By coincidence, I just watched Live and Let Die, almost 40 years after I first saw it. Unfortunately, it did not stand up - what I thought was so witty at the time just seems stiff and contrived. :-(

Interestingly enough, I saw Diamonds Are Forever about a year ago and that did stand the test of time! For one thing, I remembered DAF as very violent - and astonishingly enough, it was still violent 30 years later - so there's a "high-stakes" feeling to all of it. But I think it's actually that Connery feels dangerous, somehow, and that sorta stood up.

Very fond of Roger Moore, though, I grew up with him as "The Saint" so I was extra-excited back in the day when he became Bond...
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 9:39 AM on April 12, 2011

Pallas Athena:

Bonus link: the originally-intended theme song for Tomorrow Never Dies , written by David Arnold and sung by k d lang. Much more of a classic Bond theme than the breathy piece of shit they ended up using."

Yeah -- they had that one play over the closing credits, instead of putting it as the opening theme, which is just a crime.

I know there's no Brosnan love around here (I mostly think he was sub-par because he was handed some pretty crap scripts and they were on ridiculously shaking footing with figuring out how to reboot the franchise yet again), but my third-favorite theme after "Goldfinger" and "Live and Let Die" is from "The World is Not Enough," written by Bond music/lyrics vets David Arnold and Don Black, and performed wonderfully by Garbage. I wish I could figure out how to embed a YouTube vid, but this link will have to do.
posted by tzikeh at 10:22 AM on April 12, 2011

Well, okay -- the video is automatically set up to play inline, and yet it won't. So, don't click the arrow, just click the link, and it'll show you the opening titles. Bizarre.
posted by tzikeh at 10:26 AM on April 12, 2011

I agree, tzikeh - Shirley Manson really captures the feel and taste of the "classic" Bond theme songs and is even a great stand-alone song, musically.
posted by porpoise at 11:17 AM on April 12, 2011

I really liked Live and Let Die when I saw it. Right up until the end. Which, even to my young mind, was fucking ridiculous even for a Bond film. I won't spoil it for you folks that haven't seen a film from 1973 yet. In fact, why shouldn't you suffer too?
posted by Splunge at 11:34 AM on April 12, 2011

Shirley Bassey, "Mr. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang"
posted by kirkaracha at 11:54 AM on April 12, 2011

Also not used: Johnny Cash, "Thunderball"
posted by kirkaracha at 12:02 PM on April 12, 2011

Scott Walker: Only Myself To Blame, from The World Is Not Enough.
posted by Grangousier at 12:42 PM on April 12, 2011

The problem with Live and Let Die (the song) as a Bond theme is that it crushes the movie. The song is much better and has a better legacy than the movie does, so it shouldn't count a Bond theme, as its more of a McCartney song that was used for a James Bond movie in most casual fan's minds. But A View To a Kill? Man, that song is the pure distillation of James Bond, Action Movie.
posted by KingEdRa at 12:46 PM on April 12, 2011

Sorry, guys, you're all wrong. The best Bond theme song is You Only Live Twice.

I can't argue with anything involving 1960s Nancy Sinatra. She's like Kryptonite.
posted by blucevalo at 1:28 PM on April 12, 2011

Moore's were fun, but they were such a camp parody of the source material, intentional or otherwise, that Austin Powers was entirely unnecessary

It's like everyone forgets about Derek Flint. The Flint movies were far superior to Austin Powers, and I still LOL everytime I see James Coburn speak to the dolphins. Our Man Flint and In Like Flint parodied Bond, Austin Powers picked up/stole from the Flint movies. Then from itself. Twice. So yes, Austin Powers was unnecessary to the power of 3.
posted by Hoopo at 4:37 PM on April 12, 2011

Talking about themes, I have a soft spot for On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
posted by ersatz at 5:11 PM on April 12, 2011 [1 favorite]

OHMSS certainly lends itself to a remake (remodel?), that's for sure.
posted by stannate at 10:56 PM on April 12, 2011

I just want to point out to fans of Rogers that you can ask question on its official website each month, six people get answers from the man himself etc
posted by Thepersuaders at 5:00 PM on April 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

One more thing I'm not a big fan of bond in actual fact even though I am Rogers Web manager , I thought he was best in The Persuaders with the fantastic Tony Curtis, fantastic chemistry and humour.
posted by Thepersuaders at 5:02 PM on April 13, 2011