The Guns of Navarone (1961) - Thompson's wonderful war-adventure classic

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The starry cast encased in striking Greek columns make up this exciting poster for J. Lee Thompson's The Guns of Navarone

WWII: 2,000 British prisoners of war are set to be executed, after they have been captured by Axis powers on a Greek island, if the Navy fail to break them free; but the Nazis have two enormous cannons, which hinder the rescue operation.

 

The Guns of Navarone is written by writer/producer Carl Foreman (Young Man with a Horn (1950)), adapting the same-titled 1957 bestseller by Alistair McLean (South by Java Head (1958)), and directed by great British filmmaker J. Lee Thompson (Murder Without Crime (1950)).

The film is a rare, wonderful war adventure. Gregory Peck (Yellow Sky (1948)) as Captain Mallory get the 'impossible mission', and he and David Niven (Goodyear Theatre (1957-58)) as a pedantically philosophizing chaplain have some really good scenes together, especially when Peck, - who has one of his career's best heroic parts here, - puts Niven in his place. Anthony Quayle (Jarrett (1973, TV movie)) with gangrene, and a bitter Anthony Quinn (The Message (1976)) are also terrific in the fine cast.

The Guns of Navarone is grand, a beautiful production with a great Dimitri Tiomkin (Blowing Wild (1953)) score. Technically there are shots in the film that are lacking a bit in quality. But this is a very minor note to a really wonderful film.

Related posts:

J. Lee Thompson: Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) or, The Final Ape!
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) or, The Ape Uprising

Cape Fear (1962) - Great suspense in effective home invasion thriller 

 Writer-producer Foreman discusses the film in a 2-minute clip here

 

Cost: 6 mil. $

Box office: 25 mil. $ (worldwide rentals); likely gross of 55.5 mil. $

= Mega-hit (likely returned around 9.25 times its cost)

[The Guns of Navarone premiered 27 April (London) and runs 158 minutes. MacLean's novel was inspired by the Battle of Leros during WWII. Head of Columbia Pictures Mike Frankovich had read the novel and passed it excitedly on to Foreman to adapt. Alexander Mackendrick was set to direct but was fired a week prior to shooting over 'creative differences'. Shooting took place in Senegal, Greece, England, Mexico and in Los Angeles from February - July 1960. Niven got seriously ill and nearly died after filming in the pool of water beneath the cave elevator and was hospitalized for weeks, as production continued but under great uncertainty. He finally recovered and was able to complete his scenes. Peck's German was dubbed. Several members of the Greek royal family visited the set and were used as extras in the Mandrakos café scene. The film stays close to the novel; the island of Navarone is fictional. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip attended the London premiere. The film was a great success, grossing 28.9 mil. $ in North America, with rentals of 13 mil. $. With worldwide rentals of 25 mil. $, if multiplied accordingly, the world gross would be 55.5 mil. $. The film was the year's 2nd highest-grossing of all, after West Side Story. It was nominated for 7 Oscars; it won the Best Special Effects Oscar, and lost Best Director to Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins for West Side Story, Editing to West Side Story, Drama/Comedy Score to Henry Mancini for Breakfast at Tiffany's, Picture to West Side Story, Sound to West Side Story and Adapted Screenplay to Abby Mann for Judgment at Nuremberg. It also won 2/3 Golden Globe nominations, and was nominated for a BAFTA and a Grammy among other honors. MacLean's 1968 sequel novel (the only sequel he ever wrote) was adapted as the same-titled Force 10 from Navarone (1978), without any of the talent of the original film involved; it was unsuccessful. Thompson returned with Cape Fear (1962). Peck returned in that film; Niven in The Best of Enemies (1961); Quinn in Barabbas (1961). The Guns of Navarone is certified fresh at 92 % with a 7.93/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Guns of Navarone?

The Gauntlet (1977) - Locke/Eastwood cast sparks in corny shoot-em-up

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A hot and smoky, very sexual comic book style poster by Frank Frazetta for Clint Eastwood's The Gauntlet

 

An unpopular Phoenix cop gets send to Las Vegas to escort a mob witness prostitute back, but it turns out that both the mob and the corrupt police are willing to do anything to off her - and him!

 

The Gauntlet is written by Michael Butler (Brannigan (1975)) and Dennis Shryack (Flashpoint (1984)) and directed by Californian master filmmaker, director/star Clint Eastwood (Play Misty for Me (1971)), whose 6th feature it is.

It is an action-thriller with a romance attached that's exciting if marked by formula and routine. Eastwood and Sondra Locke (Death Game (1977)), - lovers off camera at the time also, - have good chemistry, and especially Locke has sparks flying here. The Gauntlet has its good share of action, albeit of the predictable kind. SPOILER The ending, in which the couple drive to court in a grotesque rain of bullets, seems like an over-kill, while it also, (rather unusually at least to this extent), cries out US police departments as deeply, deeply corrupt - and stupid!

 

Related posts:

Clint Eastwood: Sully (2016) - Eastwood's miracle landing biopic is inert and overrated  2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
Top 10: The best biopic movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
American Sniper (2014) - Eastwood conveys an American man and myth in electric masterpiece  
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2011 in films - according to Film Excess   
J. Edgar (2011) - Eastwood, Black and DiCaprio's great, intense biopic   

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
Gran Torino (2008) - Eastwood's actor persona comes full circle in absolute smash (co-producer/director/starring actor)
The Changeling (2008) or, The Christine Collins Story  
2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]    
2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Letters from Iwo Jima/硫黄島からの手紙 [Öjima Kara no Tegami] (2006) - The Japanese side of Eastwood's remarkable WWII two-parter   
Flags of Our Fathers (2006) - Eastwood's Iwo Jima portrayal is captivating and profoundly moving 

Blood Work (2002) - Eastwood churns out uninspired thriller adaptation (producer/director/starring actor)
The Dead Pool (1988) - The highly entertaining last Dirty Harry movie (starring actor)
City Heat (1984) - Eastwood and Reynolds wrestle dispassionately in Benjamin's messy period affair (co-starring actor)
Tightrope (1984) - An undervalued Clint Eastwood sex killer thriller (starring actor)
Any Which Way You Can (1980) or, More Monkey Business! (starring actor)
Escape from Alcatraz (1979) - Siegel, Tuggle and Eastwood's phenomenal prison escape thriller (starring actor)
Every Which Way but Loose (1978) or, Honky Tonk Monkey Business! (starring actor)
The Enforcer (1976) - Eastwood teaches revolutionaries a lesson in third, less punchy Dirty Harry (starring star)
The Eiger Sanction (1975) - Eastwood's mountain climbing dud (director/star)

High Plains Drifter (1973) - Eastwood cleans up red town in great western (director/star)
The Beguiled (1971) - Intense, erotic Civil War kammerspiel thriller (starring actor)  
Dirty Harry (1971) - Eastwood's great, signature renegade cop character comes to life (starring actor)
Coogan's Bluff (1968) or, Dopes and Hippies, Beat It! (starring actor)  
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) - Leone ends his poncho trilogy with certified classic (starring actor)
For a Few Dollars More/Per Qualche Dollaro in Più (1965) or, Return of the Poncho Killer (co-starring actor)
A Fistful of Dollars (1964) or, Killer in a Poncho (starring actor)

 

Watch a short German VHS teaser for the film here

Cost: 5.5 mil. $

Box office: 35.4 mil. $

= Huge hit (returned 6.43 times its cost)

[The Gauntlet premiered 17 December (Japan) and runs 109 minutes. Shooting took place in Arizona, including Phoenix, and in Las Vegas, Nevada from April - June 1977. The action sequences cost 1 mil. $ of the budget and included thousands of explosive squibs. The film grossed 26.1 mil. $ (73.72 % of the total gross) in North America. Roger Ebert gave the film a 3/4 star review, translating to a notch higher than this one. Eastwood returned with Bronco Billy (1980); as an actor he returned in Any Which Way But Loose (1978). The Gauntlet is fresh at 75 % with a 5.90/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of The Gauntlet?

Great Guy (1936) or, Incorruptible!

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A smudge-like shade beside James Cagney's large head indicates something dark and ominous on this strong poster for John G. Blystone's Great Guy

 

A fresh card in New York's beleaguered Department of Weights and Means makes himself unpopular around town by being decent and skilled at clearing up scams, - and unbribable to boot. 

Great Guy is written by Henry McCarthy (Silent Pal (1925)) and Henry Johnson (Wild Gold (1934)), with Harry Ruskin (Keeping Company (1940)) contributing dialog, based on James Edward Grant's (Angel and the Badman (1947)) Johnnie Cave stories from the Saturday Evening Post magazine in 1933-34, and directed by John G. Blystone (On Again, Off Again Finnegan (1914, short)).

James Cagney (The Roaring Twenties (1939)) acts with imposing physicality here in a film that is a banal and minor flick, which I saw in an inferior public domain copy. Great Guy is short and half-baked.

Perhaps the best part of Great Guy is the line Cagney delivers to his secretarial flirt, when he finds himself in deep trouble, and she wears an impressive hat: "At a time like this, you wear a hat like that?" - Priceless.

 Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: Unknown

Box office: Reportedly 2.1 mil. $ (North America only)

= Uncertain, but likely a big hit

[Great Guy was released in December (USA) and runs 66 minutes. Shooting took place in California. Cagney was paid 100k $ for his performance. The film was the first of two films he made for Grand International Picture, breaking off his contract with Warner Bros. After the second film, musical Something to Sing About (1937), which flopped and helped cause the closing of the company by 1940, Cagney returned to Warner Bros.. If Great Guy was made on a realistic 0.5 mil. $ budget, the film would rank as a big hit based on the domestic gross alone. The film is in public domain and can be seen free and legally right here. Blystone returned with 23½ Hours Leave (1937). Cagney returned in Something to Sing About (1937). 867 IMDb users have given Great Guy a 6.3/10 average rating.]

What do you think of Great Guy?

Gone with the Wind (1939) or, What Women!

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An epically romantic embrace and kiss adorn this beautifully framed poster for Victor Fleming, George Cukor and Sam Wood's Gone with the Wind

Scarlett O'Hara keeps her unhappy love of the already wed soldier Ashley alive in Georgia in 1861, through the coming horrors of the American Civil War and 3 marriages of her own, solely to learn that only her homestead Tara lasts forever.

Gone with the Wind is written by Sidney Howard (The Silver Cord (1933)), with Oliver H.P. Garrett (Street of Chance (1930, story)), Ben Hecht (The Indian Fighter (1955)), Jo Swerling (Lady by Choice (1934)) and John Van Druten (Old Acquaintance (1943)) contributing elements, based on the same-titled 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell (Lost Laysen (1916)), and directed by Californian master filmmaker Victor Fleming (When the Clouds Roll By (1919)), whose 42nd feature it was, with George Cukor (Gaslight (1944)) and Sam Wood (A Night at the Opera (1935)) making uncredited directing contributions.

The film is a splendid, fantastic epic: Every shot blinds with splendor and sumptuous dedication. (Cinematography by Ernest Haller (My Girl Tisa (1948)) and Lee Garmes (The Lusty Men (1952)).) The grandiose, story-telling score by Max Steiner (Marjorie Morningstar (1958)), magnificent Technicolor and performances are out of this world: Vivien Leigh (The Village Squire (1935)) and Olivia de Havilland (Government Girl (1943)) in particular, but really the cast is tremendous across the board. The wonderfully human story is also extraordinarily strong for its time in its African-American parts, and I don't write a single one off as a flat, stereotypical character. - Shame on those who dare to write off the entire film, which is so precious cinema history, and not just the line from it which every one still knows: "Frankly dear, I don't give a damn!"

Gone with the Wind is a true masterpiece, and is about women first and foremost! It is big-time American South nostalgia, which carries you off to that place with a wildly exciting 4-hour melodrama. An incredible achievement.

Watch a trailer for the film here

Cost: 3.85 - 3.9 mil. $ (different reports)

Box office: 400.5 mil. $

= Blockbuster (returned 102.69 - 104.02 times its cost)

[Gone with the Wind premiered 15 December (Atlanta, Georgia) and runs 234 minutes. Producer David O. Selznick bought the rights to Mitchell's novel in 1936 for a record 50k $. (Selznick would later acknowledge that Mitchell had still been underpaid, considering the film's success, and paid out an additional 50k $.) Production was delayed to secure Clark Gable's participation, whereas Leigh was cast from a vast pool of actresses following a hugely publicized national 'search for Scarlett'. Gable was paid around 120k, Leigh 25k $ (for a much longer working period), whereas the writing team reportedly earned 126k $. Cukor was fired as director after less than 3 weeks shooting; rumored to be due to his homosexuality, and possibly for knowing details as to Gable's secret gay past. Shooting took place in Arkansas, Georgia and California, including Los Angeles, from December 1938 - November 1939. Cukor continued coaching Leigh and De Havilland in private on weekends. Steiner's was the longest score written for a film up to that point. The preview screening concluded with cheers and a standing ovation. The Atlanta premiere was an event with record admission prizes and 300k people there to see and participate in the 3-day festivities and parade; one of the days was declared a state holiday. Hattie McDaniel (Maryland (1940)), who plays Mammy, was absent, because the racist Jim Crow laws kept her from attending the film. It was shown in North America as a roadshow engagement only in 1939-40 with a 1 $ admission prize, double the day's standard, and 70 % going to MGM (up from the typical 30-35 % of the period). Prizes were later normalized for a general release. The print, distribution and ad costs reportedly came to around 3.1 mil. $ additionally. It is estimated 60 mil. tickets were sold in North America in the film's first 4 years, around half the population. The film was nominated for 13 Oscars, winning 10, 2 of which were honorary: It won Best Picture, Actress (Leigh), Supporting Actress (McDaniel, first Africa-American to win an Oscar, though she was segregated from her colleagues at the ceremony; also nominated was De Havilland), Director, Screenplay, Cinematography, Art Direction, Editing, and honorary Oscars for its use of equipment and color, (it was the first Best Picture winner in color.) The 8 competitive Oscars set a new record, which the film held until Gigi (1958) beat it with 9. It is still the longest Best Picture winner of all time. It also won 2 National Board of Review awards. Selznick sold his share in the film in 1942 to his business partner (for just 500k $), who sold it on to MGM for 2.8 mil. $. The film had brought the studio back 32 mil. $ in 1943, making it the most profitable movie ever made up to that point. Another 5 mil. $ was earned at the first re-release in 1947, where it again was one of the year's ten biggest earners. Subsequent re-releases continued to rake in tens of millions of $ worldwide. The film was finally overtaken in box office might by The Sound of Music (1966). The 1967 re-release was again a roadshow, and it became the most successful re-release ever, grossing 68 mil. $, and assuring its position as the 4th highest-grossing picture of the 1960s. It overtook Sound of Music with a 1971 re-release, but was then overtaken by The Godfather (1972) as the top-earner. An estimated 200 mil. tickets have been sold for the film in North America, more than any other film ever. It was immensely popular abroad as well, selling 35 mil. tickets in the UK and 16 mil. in France, during WWII, and in the recovering years after. Adjusted for inflation the film made more than 3.44 bil. $ at the box office. NBC paid 5 mil. $ to be the first network station to show the film in 1976, which became the highest-rated TV program and most-watched film to ever air on TV: 47.5 % of households in the US and 65 % of TV viewers saw it. CBS paid 35 mil. $ in 1978 for the right to show the film 20 times in the following 20 years. Roger Ebert gave it a 4/4 star review, in line with this one. The 6-hour sequel miniseries Scarlett was released in 1994 with none of the original talents involved. IMDb's users have voted the film in at #168 on the site's Top 250, sitting between The Truman Show (1998) and Soul (2020). Fleming returned with They Dare Not Love (1941); Cukor with Susan and God (1940); Wood with Out Town (1940). Leigh returned in 21 Days Together (1940); De Havilland in My Love Came Back (1940); Gable in Strange Cargo (1940); and Leslie Howard (The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)) in Common Heritage (1940, short) and theatrically in 'Pimpernel' Smith (1941). Gone with the Wind is certified fresh at 91 % with an 8.79/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of Gone with the Wind?

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) - Great musical numbers define cultural cornerstone

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Two long-legged glamour girls look ready to give a show on this colorful, inviting poster for Howard Hawks' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

Two show singers take a cruise to Europe, where one of them means to wed her ridiculous millionaire fiancée. Tomfoolery and a lost diamond tiara get in the way.

 

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is written by Charles Lederer (Ocean's Eleven (1960)), based on the same-titled 1949 Broadway musical, and directed by Indianan master filmmaker Howard Hawks (The Road to Glory (1926)), whose 39th feature it was.

It is a vulgar and shamelessly materialistic movie, which probably shouldn't be judged on this, since it is a comedy, but when the laughs don't materialize as is the case here, one feels compelled to note it nonetheless. Marilyn Monroe (The Asphalt Jungle (1950)) is vamped up, and so is Jane Russell (Waco (1966)). There is handsomely choreographed, catchy and good-looking musical numbers, but Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is still a dumb film (with a memorable but unrelated title.) 

Related posts:

Howard Hawks: El Dorado (1966) - Hawks, Duke and Mitchum's great western

The Big Sleep (1946) - The sexiest noir carousel you will ever ride
Top 10: The best adaptations reviewed by Film Excess to date
Top 10: The best B/W movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Bringing Up Baby (1938) - A screwy gathering

  

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 2.3 mil. $

Box office: Reportedly 5.3 mil. $

= Minor flop, some uncertainty (returned 2.30 times its cost)

[Gentlemen Prefer Blondes premiered 1 July (Atlantic City) and runs 91 minutes. Russell was paid 200k $ for her performance, while the then lesser-known Monroe was paid 500 $ a week. Shooting took place in London, England and in Los Angeles from November 1952 - January 1953. It is said that the musical numbers were more or less directed by choreographer Jack Cole (River of No Return (1954)). The film was the 8th highest-grossing worldwide of the year and made 5.1 mil. $ in North America. That leaves only a 0.2 mil. $ gross for all foreign markets, which seems unlikely and hard to believe, - but is nevertheless the numbers that are recorded. Hawks returned with Land of the Pharaohs (1955). Russell returned in The French Line (1953); Monroe in The Jack Benny Program (1952-53) and theatrically in How to Marry a Millionaire (1953). Gentlemen Prefer Blondes is certified fresh at 98 % with a 7.86/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes?

High Plains Drifter (1973) - Eastwood cleans up red town in great western

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Director/star Clint Eastwood with a whip and a revolver looks dangerous on the colorful poster for his High Plains Drifter

 

Into the small mining town of Lago in the American West rides a stranger, who has soon - with swift action - killed 3 men. The town then want him for their protector and leader, as a feared gang is on the loose.

High Plains Drifter is written by Ernest Tidyman (The French Connection (1971)) and directed by Californian master filmmaker Clint Eastwood (Play Misty for Me (1972), whose 2nd feature it is, and who also stars in the lead.

Eastwood has rarely been more cocky, arrogant, commanding and self-assured than here, and he is still very much the hero in this town of hypocrites, weaklings and swooning women. Lago also has the memorable dwarf Mortdecai and psychedelic music, - Eastwood and composer Dee Barton (Chain Gang (1984)) follow the contemporary cue set by Ennio Morricone in Sergio Leone's spaghetti-westerns starring Eastwood. There's good acting all around, and the story gets related in a mysterious pace that feels perfect. 

High Plains Drifter is both hard-boiled and laced with humor; there's very long whipping flashbacks, SPOILER which point forward to the somewhat odd 'metaphysical' ending; Eastwood's stranger turns out to be a new incarnation of the town's late sheriff Duncan Jones, whom no-one, however, recognizes!...

Related posts:

Clint Eastwood: Sully (2016) - Eastwood's miracle landing biopic is inert and overrated  2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED IV]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED III]
Top 10: The best biopic movies reviewed by Film Excess to date 
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2014 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]
American Sniper (2014) - Eastwood conveys an American man and myth in electric masterpiece  
2011 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
2011 in films - according to Film Excess   
J. Edgar (2011) - Eastwood, Black and DiCaprio's great, intense biopic   

2008 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED II]
Gran Torino (2008) - Eastwood's actor persona comes full circle in absolute smash (co-producer/director/starring actor)
The Changeling (2008) or, The Christine Collins Story  
2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess [UPDATED I]    
2006 in films and TV-series - according to Film Excess
Letters from Iwo Jima/硫黄島からの手紙 [Öjima Kara no Tegami] (2006) - The Japanese side of Eastwood's remarkable WWII two-parter   
Flags of Our Fathers (2006) - Eastwood's Iwo Jima portrayal is captivating and profoundly moving 

Blood Work (2002) - Eastwood churns out uninspired thriller adaptation (producer/director/starring actor)
The Dead Pool (1988) - The highly entertaining last Dirty Harry movie (starring actor)
City Heat (1984) - Eastwood and Reynolds wrestle dispassionately in Benjamin's messy period affair (co-starring actor)
Tightrope (1984) - An undervalued Clint Eastwood sex killer thriller (starring actor)
Any Which Way You Can (1980) or, More Monkey Business! (starring actor)
Escape from Alcatraz (1979) - Siegel, Tuggle and Eastwood's phenomenal prison escape thriller (starring actor)
Every Which Way but Loose (1978) or, Honky Tonk Monkey Business! (starring actor)
The Enforcer (1976) - Eastwood teaches revolutionaries a lesson in third, less punchy Dirty Harry (starring star)
The Eiger Sanction (1975) - Eastwood's mountain climbing dud
The Beguiled (1971) - Intense, erotic Civil War kammerspiel thriller (starring actor)  
Dirty Harry (1971) - Eastwood's great, signature renegade cop character comes to life (starring actor)
Coogan's Bluff (1968) or, Dopes and Hippies, Beat It! (starring actor)  
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) - Leone ends his poncho trilogy with certified classic (starring actor)
For a Few Dollars More/Per Qualche Dollaro in Più (1965) or, Return of the Poncho Killer (co-starring actor)
A Fistful of Dollars (1964) or, Killer in a Poncho (starring actor) 

Watch a 3-minute clip from the movie here

Cost: 5.5 mil. $

Box office: 15.7 mil. $ (North America only)

= At least a box office success - but likely a big hit (returned 2.85 times its cost domestically alone)

[High Plains Drifter premiered 6 April (Los Angeles) and runs 105 minutes. The town in the film was built from scratch: 14 complete buildings, including a church and a two-story hotel built in 18 days, using 150,000 feet of timber. Shooting took place in Nevada and California in and around July 1972, specifically it lasted 6 weeks, 2 days ahead of schedule and under budget. The film was the 20th highest-grossing in North America in 1973, and the 6th highest-grossing western in North America in the 1970s. Eastwood returned with Breezy (1973), and as an actor with a cameo in Breezy and as a starring actor in Magnum Force (1973). High Plains Drifter is fresh at 93 % with a 7.70/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of High Plains Drifter?

GoldenEye (1995) - Brosnan arrives in Campbell's dumb Bond mess

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Flanked by two sensual women and his steadfast Walter PPK gun, Pierce Brosnan's Bond hovers over a menagerie of action-promising elements on this fiery poster for Martin Campbell's GoldenEye

 

A space-based weapons system gets stolen by a Russian crime syndicate headed by a former colleague of MI6 agent 007, James Bond.

GoldenEye is written by Michael France (Hulk (2003)), Jeffrey Caine (Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)) and Bruce Feirstein (The Best Legs in Eight Grade, TV movie (1984)) and directed by Martin Campbell (The Sex Thief (1973)). It is the 17th film in the Bond franchise and probably the stupidest of the lot.

There is no visible chemistry between Pierce Brosnan (Robinson Crusoe (1997)) as the new, 5th actor to play Bond, and Sean Bean (Sharpe (1993-08)) as villain, agent 006, Alec Trevelyan. Both Famke Janssen (Hide and Seek (2005)) and Minnie Driver (Big Night (1996)) impress me as unsexy Bond 'babes.' Alan Cumming (Nicholas Nickleby (2002)) appears as a bizarre hacker, who freezes to death.

The dialog seems to be wholly missing in long stretches of this debacle, and the plot is without mitigating qualities; among other things Bond trashes through an Eastern-European major city in a tank. Elegance is dead in this charmless stinker. Desmond Llewelyn (Thunderball (1965)) is one of few elements from previous Bond movies to reappear, and his scenes are among the film's few light moments.

 

Related posts:

Bond franchise: Spectre (2015) - Mendes' second Bond delivers 
Skyfall (2012) - Mendes elevates a slickly produced modern Bond to thrilling heights 
Die Another Day (2002) - Tamahori makes a thrilling, grand piece of Bond escapism 
A View to a Kill (1985) or, Once a Gentleman, Always a Gentleman! 
For Your Eyes Only (1981) - Glen debuts with wacky, action-packed Roger Moore Bond

Top 10: Best car chases in movies reviewed by Film Excess to date
Diamonds Are Forever (1971) - Connery's last Bond adventure is a colorful romp 

Goldfinger (1964) - The 007 template gets perfected in fabulously entertaining third spectacle 
From Russia with Love (1963) - Several remarkable elements make Young's 2nd Bond an enduring classic  
Dr. No (1962) - Bond # 1 is one attractive package

 

Watch a trailer for the film here

 

Cost: 60 mil. $

Box office: 352.1 mil. $

= Huge hit (returned 5.86 times its cost)

[GoldenEye premiered 13 November (New York) and runs 130 minutes. 6 years passed since the release of License to Kill (1989), before the 17th Bond film was released, primarily due to legal battles following the sale of MGM/UA to Pathé Entertainment in 1990. Prior Bond actor Timothy Dalton's 3-movie contract elapsed due to the long unproductive period, and though he was invited back to the role, he passed, as producer Albert R. Broccoli wanted him to only return for several more films and not just one last. Pierce Brosnan was cast over Paul McGann, after Mel Gibson, Hugh Grant and Liam Neeson had passed on the role. Brosnan was paid 1.2 mil. $ for his performance. The script was the first not directly linked to an Ian Fleming novel. Shooting took place in Skt. Petersburg, Russia, Monaco, Switzerland, Puerto Rico, France, England, including London, from January - June 1995. The film opened #1 to a 26.2 mil. $ first weekend in North America, where it spent another 3 weeks in the top 5 (#2-#2-#3) and grossed 106.4 mil. $ (30.2 % of the total gross). The film was the 4th highest-grossing in the market over-all of the year and the most successful Bond movie since Moonraker (1979). It was nominated for 2 BAFTAs. Roger Ebert gave it a 3/4 star review, translating to 2 notches higher than this one. Brosnan returned as Bond in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997). Campbell returned with The Mask of Zorro (1998). Brosnan returned first in The Disappearance of Kevin Johnson (1996). GoldenEye is certified fresh at 79 % with a 7.10/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

What do you think of GoldenEye?