007 Film Festival In New Jersey

By: Anders Frejdh

Published:
2008-01-20

ROGER MOORE AS JAMES BOND IN NEW JERSEY

When MOORE Bond Was Good Bond

Few fictional characters have earned such a lasting role in popular culture as the super secret agent James Bond, who first appeared in the novels and short stories of Ian Fleming but took on a life of his own on screen when first played in 1962 by Sean Connery.

The recent hubbub over Daniel Craig's "new" - and blond-haired - Bond is testament to the character's enduring appeal. But the first and most intense controversy over the Bond series came when Connery grew tired of the role and was replaced by Roger Moore, who had become famous as television's "The Saint." The super spy himself never faced a greater challenge than Moore did in taking over a character that was so closely associated with another actor.

Connery's die-hard fans still complain that Moore wasn't as good. But the fact is that Moore made seven Bond films to Connery's six (not counting the "unofficial" Never Say Never Again"). And Moore stayed in the role for 13 years to Connery's nine, all the while maintaining the franchise's popularity.

Friday, January 30 at 8PM - THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
Starring Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Maud Adams, Hervé Villechaize.
Directed by Guy Hamilton.
(1974, 123 mins., UA. Rated PG.)

Roger Moore's second turn as James Bond takes the secret agent to Hong Kong, Macau, Thailand, and then the South China Sea in search of a solar energy weapon. His arch-nemesis for this outing is Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee Ã¢â‚¬â€œ who is the nephew of Bond creator Ian Fleming), whose funhouse-like lair is ensconced on a well-fortified island. Scaramanga is not a psychotic maniac like many Bond villains. Rather, he's a steely assassin who sees himself as a businessman. Scaramanga's aide-de-camp is Nick Nack, played by the diminutive Fantasy Island star Herve Villechaize. The film also includes an unmistakable set-piece of mid-'70s movies: a Kung Fu face-off. But "classic" elements established in the Connery era are still plentiful: terrific action sequences, spectacular sets and a great score. And of course, there are the obligatory Bond girls: the bikini-clad Mary Goodnight (Britt Ekland) whose clumsy efforts to help Bond are almost as destructive as the elusive solar weapon, and Scaramanga's mistress Andrea Anders (Maud Adams, who would be back to co-star with Moore in Octopussy).

Saturday, January 31 at 3:30PM - FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
Starring Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Julian Glover, Topol, Lynn-Holly Johnson. Directed by John Glen.
(1981, 127 mins., Color, UA. Rated PG.)

In this twelfth installment in the series (and fifth with Roger Moore in the title role) James Bond is on the trail of the Atomic Targeting Attack Communicator, used to control Britain's submarine-based nuclear missiles. With the Cold War still very much on at the time, Soviet agents and smugglers in their employ are equally anxious to find the lost device. Bond finds himself in alliance with Melina Havelock, (played by Carole Bouquet), a young woman whose motivation isn't patriotism or self gain, but rather to avenge the murder of her parents at the hands of a Soviet agent. The film was something of a deliberate change in direction from its more recent predecessors in the Bond series, most notably 1979's Moonraker, which, while a commercial success, had relied too heavily on gadgetry, gimmicks and humor in the opinion of some critics and fans. With fewer technological gimmicks than most Bond movies, For Your Eyes Only provides solid adventure by emphasizing tension, plot and stunts. It has a more believable plot than usual, and the villains seem more human, and a bit less caricature. Roger Moore delivers one of his finest performances as the master spy, eschewing some Ã¢â‚¬â€œ although not all Ã¢â‚¬â€œ of the humor he often displayed in the role, portraying the Bond character as an edgy, tough gentleman spy.

Saturday, January 31 at 7:30PM - OCTOPUSSY
Starring Roger Moore, Maud Adams, Louis Jourdan, Kristina Wayborn, Kabir Bedi, Steven Berkoff.
Directed by John Glen.
(1983, 140mins., Color, MGM/UA. Rated PG.)

When another "double-0" agent is murdered after delivering a fake Faberge egg to the British embassy in East Berlin, Agent 007 is sent to investigate in this 13th installment of the James Bond series. When the real version of the egg is bought at a Sotheby auction by an exiled Afghan prince named Kamal Khan (Louis Jourdan), Bond follows him to India, where the prince lives in a palace with the obligatory henchmen. Bond also meets the beautiful and enigmatic anti-heroine of the title: Octopussy (played by Maude Adams, in her second Bond appearance), a wealthy woman who lives with her own all-female cult "of the Octopus" and also owns a touring circus that travels to East Germany. Octopussy and Khan are linked to a smuggling operation that also involves a rogue Russian general (played with vein-popping intensity by Steven Berkoff), who is scheming to start WWIII. The film includes several especially thrilling action sequences, as well as spectacular aerial stunt work. And while all Bond films tend to be mini-travelogues, this one carries off the usual jet-setting with more finesse, in part because of its lush cinematography of exotic Indian settings. And of course, this film has the most risqué of all Bond titles; it was taken from an Ian Fleming short story, which otherwise has little to do with the movie's plot.

For more info, click the link below.
(Many thanks to our friend Gary Firuta for the heads up on this event!)
www.loewsjersey.org/content/view/69/1/

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007 Film Festival In New Jersey

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