Albert R. Broccoli film season at BFI in London

By: Anders Frejdh

Published:
2009-04-10

May programme details for BFI Southbank's Albert R. Broccoli season.

• CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG
Sun 3rd May 12:30 NFT1, Sat 23rd May NFT1
Adapted from an Ian Fleming story the film had other Bond reminders including a role for Gert Frobe (Goldfinger) and a script credit for Roald Dahl (writer on You Only Live Twice). An endearing family film - though scary in places - that has since become an established classic and the inspiration for a long-running, successful stage musical.
UK 1968. Dir Ken Hughes. With Dick Van Dyke, Sally Anne Howes, Lionel Jeffries. 145min. Cert U.

• Diamonds Are Forever (1971) - Sun 3rd May 15:15 NFT2, Tue 5th May 20:30 NFT1
Connery was back, and in fine form, in a story that ostensibly revolved around diamond smuggling but inevitably turned out to be a megalomaniac's desire for world domination. Jill St John shines as Tiffany Case, who changes sides in a heartbeat but always keeps her eye on the main prize. One of the key plot devices in the film was inspired by a dream Broccoli had in which his friend Howard Hughes was replaced by an impostor.

UK 1971. Dir Guy Hamilton. With Sean Connery, Jill St John, Charles Gray. 120min. PG
New digital restoration

• Live and Let Die (1973) - Sun 3rd May 20:45 NFT1, Wed 6th May 20:30 NFT3
Harlem, New Orleans and a Caribbean island provide the backdrop to Moore's first outing as Bond as he investigates the murder of three British agents. The star acquits himself well, looking convincing in the action scenes and a natural at the urbane witticisms. Kotto makes a memorable villain and Seymour is nicely off-kilter as the fragile Solitaire. The next phase of the franchise was safely underway.

UK 1973. Dir Guy Hamilton. With Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto, Jane Seymour. 120min. PG.

• The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) - Mon 4th May 20:30 NFT1, Fri 8th May 20:20 NFT2
Based on Ian Fleming's final Bond novel, The Man With The Golden Gun pits 007 against the lethal Scaramanga, who charges a million a hit. The result is another fast-paced, exotic actioner with memorable set-pieces and one fantastic car stunt, a 360 degree spin, done for real.

UK 1974. Dir Guy Hamilton. With Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland. 124min. PG.

• The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) - Fri 8th May 18:10 NFT1, Sun 10th May 20:20 NFT2, Thu 28 May 20:20 NFT1*
'Cubby' Broccoli had been having problems with his business partner and, after The Man With The Golden Gun, United Artists bought out Harry Saltzman's share: this is the first Bond film where Broccoli has sole producer credit. The pre-credit sequence features arguably the most daring stunt in all Bondage, when ski-jumper Rick Sylvester (doubling for Moore) skis off the edge of a cliff and seems to fall endlessly before triggering a Union Jack parachute.

UK 1977. Dir Lewis Gilbert. With Roger Moore, Curt Jurgens, Barbara Bach. 125min. PG.
New digital restoration

*Joint ticket available with Roger Moore in Conversation

• Moonraker (1979) (1979) - Sat 2nd May 15:00 NFT1*, Sun 10th May 17:30 NFT1**, Mon 11th May 20:30 NFT2
For Your Eyes Only had been announced as the next Bond film in the closing credits of The Spy Who Loved Me, but with the success of sci-fi hits Star Wars and Close Encounters..., Broccoli instead decided to produce Moonraker in which Bond blasts off into space aboard a shuttle. Michael Lonsdale is compelling as megalomaniac villain Hugo Drax and Bernard Lee makes his last appearance as M.

UK 1979. Dir Lewis Gilbert. With Roger Moore, Michael Lonsdale, Lois Chiles. 126min. PG.

*plus Lewis Gilbert in Conversation
**plus Q&A with Richard Kiel

• For Your Eyes Only (1981) - Sat 9th May 15:20 NFT1, Sat 16th May 20:30 NFT1
Despite the huge box-office of Moonraker, Broccoli and his team decided to scale down the world of Bond and try to return to more human values that had worked so well in From Russia With Love. Editor and second unit director John Glen (who has shot the ski-jump sequence for The Spy Who Loved Me) was elevated to the director's chair and the more thoughtful story garnered some of the best reviews of any of the Bond films.

UK 1981. Dir John Glen. With Roger Moore, Julian Glover, Carole Bouquet. 127min. PG.

• Octopussy (1983) (1983) - Mon 4th May 17:50 NFT1, Tue 12th May 18:10 NFT2, Fri 15th May 20:20 NTF2
With a rival Bond movie starring Sean Connery (Never Say Never Again) out at the same time, Broccoli had his hands full ensuring the franchise could see off this interloper, but in the end Octopussy comfortably out-earned its rival. Elsewhere, though, things were going better still, and at the Oscar ceremony in 1982 Cubby Broccoli was given the prestigious Irving G. Thalberg Award for his impressive body of work: an honour that he proudly described as the highlight of his career.

UK 1983. Dir John Glen. With Roger Moore, Louis Jourdan, Maud Adams. 130min. PG.

• A View to a Kill (1985) - Sat 16th May 15:40 NFT2, Thu 21st May 20:20 NFT1
Siberia, France and California provide the locations for Moore's swansong as 007, in a story about an attempt to trigger an earthquake designed to wipe Silicon Valley off the map. Broccoli was now presented with yet more challenges - Moore leaving and a huge fire having destroyed the 007 set at Pinewood Studios.

UK 1985. Dir John Glen. With Roger Moore, Christopher Walken, Tanya Roberts. 131min. PG.

• The Living Daylights (1987)- Sat 3rd May 17:30 NFT1*, Sat 23rd May 17:15 NFT3**, Mon 25th May 17:40 NFT1
Broccoli has considered Pierce Brosnan for the next Bond, but his TV commitments proved a deal-breaker. Instead, the team opted for Timothy Dalton, who had been considered some years before. It's a more thoughtful, less cavalier Bond we meet here - and one who doesn't follow orders blindly. After the murder of 004, Bond's investigations uncover a sinister new operation: Smiert Spionem (Death to Spies).

UK 1987. Dir John Glen. With Timothy Dalton, Jeroen Krabbe, Maryam d'Abo. 131min. PG.

*plus John Glen in Conversation
**plus Q&A with Maryam d'Abo

• Licence to Kill (1989) - Sat 23rd May 20:20 NFT3, Mon 25th May 15:00 NFT2
The competition was getting better, and action films in general more violent. Dalton was a very creditable Bond, and this film raised the stakes by upping the realism of the violence and pitting 007 against more believable villains - South American Drug barons. When Bond's CIA pal Felix Leiter gets maimed and his new bride murdered, Bond goes off radar to avenge their deaths and has his licence to kill revoked, determinedly waging a one-man war against the dangerous Franz Sanchez.

UK 1989. Dir John Glen. With Timothy Dalton, Robert Davi, Carey Lowell. 133min. 15.

• GoldenEye (1995) (1995) - Sun 24th May 15:40 NFT1, Sat 30th May 17:45 NFT3
Internal difficulties with MGM has put the franchise on hiatus, but finally a new movie was green-lit, and at last Pierce Brosnan got the role many felt he was born to play. The production was now in the hands of Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli (both of whom had worked for many years in the franchise) and they oversaw a dynamic rebirth of the screen legend.

UK 1995. Dir Martin Campbell. With Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco. 130min. 12A.

• Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) - Sat 2nd May 20:40 NFT1*, Sun 24th May 20:30 NFT1, Fri 29th May 20:30 NFT2
Cubby Broccoli passed away in 1996, but the revitalised franchise cruised on with another action-crammed entertainment which kept his vision alive. Here - in a nod towards the Hong Kong martial arts movies that had revolutionised action cinema - Bond is paired with Chinese agent Wai Lin (played by Asian superstar Michelle Yeoh) in a cautionary tale about the power of the press.

UK 1997. Dir Roger Spottiswoode. With Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Teri Hatcher. 119min. 12A.

*plus Stunt Masterclass with Vic Armstrong

• The World Is Not Enough (1999) - Fri 1st May 20:30 NFT1*, Mon 25th May 20:30 NFT2, Sun 31st May 15:00 NFT2
Brosnan was proving a formidable Bond with a winning mix of charm, intelligence and physical dexterity. His scenes with M (Judi Dench) were developing into highlights of the films, and here she has a bigger than usual role when she is kidnapped by the villains of the piece. Robbie Coltrane returns in a scene-stealing turn as Valentin Zuchovsky (first seen in GoldenEye), one of Bond's friendlier enemies.

UK 1999. Dir Michael Apted. With Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle. 125min. 12A.

*plus David Arnold Masterclass

• Die Another Day (2002) - Tue 26th May 18:00 NFT2, Sat 30th May 20:20 NFT3
After incarceration and torture in North Korea, Bond is returned to MI6 in a spy-swap but is deemed suspect-possibly turned. Repeating his earlier actions in Licence To Kill, he goes AWOL to sort out the mess himself. Brosnan's last outing is tougher than its predecessors and he portrays real emotion in his hatred of the villain. Bond in-jokes aplenty in this, the 20th movie of the series, including Halle Berry's first appearance echoing that of Ursula Andress 40 years earlier in Dr. No.

UK 2002. Dir Lee Tamahori. With Pierce Brosnan, Toby Stephens, Halle Berry. 133min. 12A.

• Casino Royale (2006) - Wed 27th May 20:15 NFT1, Sun 31st May 17:40 NFT1
Daniel Craig's first outing as Bond combined with the return of veteran director Martin Campbell, led to this critically acclaimed adaptation of Ian Fleming's very first James Bond novel. Craig's edgy and intense performance in this tragic love story takes the Bond character into new territory.

UK 2006. Dir Martin Campbell. With Daniel Craig, Mads Mikkelsen, Eva Green. 144min. 12A.

• Quantum of Solace (2008) - Tue 12th May 11:00 NFT2*, Fri 29th May 18:20 NFT1, Sun 31st May 20:45 NFT1
Continuing the story from Casino Royale, Bond - despite claims to the contrary - sets out to avenge the death of his lover. Once again, 007 defies M and treads a lone path to confront environmentalist Dominic Greene, who - behind a facade of good intentions - has a murderous hidden agenda. Craig portrays a brutally physical Bond, with a keen intelligence and a direct approach to the job in hand.

UK 2008. Dir Marc Forster. With Daniel Craig, Mathieu Amalric, Olga Kurylenko. 106min. 12A.
Digital Screening

*Parent and Baby screening

Editor's note:
For more James Bond film screenings preented on From Sweden with Love, click here.

For further details, visit the official BFI Southbank website below:
whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/

Tags:

#cubby_broccoli

#film_screenings

Tag Cloud

Albert R. Broccoli film season at BFI in London

Tag Cloud