Some of the most memorable action scenes in all of cinema but which is the best? Support the channel: / calvindyson Also follow me on other social media: / calvin_dyson / calvinmdyson / calvindyson letterboxd.com/calvindyson
The Living Daylights, GoldenEye, and Casino Royale all did fantastic jobs with introducing a new Bond actor in the PTS. The PTS for Bond 26 has big shoes to fill.
With The Spy who Loved Me, when he skis off the cliff and opens the parachute you will notice that it is all filmed in one shot, no cuts. They had several cameras filming but only one captured it and to the delight of the director captured it so perfectly there was no need for any other footage
You can tell it's one take as one of the discarded ski's gets dangerously close to the parachute when it opens [that always makes me feel tense no mater how any times I watch it!].
The Living Daylights has my favorite. Dalton looked so badass, the truck flying off the cliff and exploding, the Death to Spies Easter egg, it was just perfect.
I'm old enough to remember seeing On Her Majesty's Secret Service shortly after it premiered in theaters. And I was livid that they wrapped up the "Blofeld murdered Bond's wife" plotline in such an anticlimatic fashion in Diamonds are Forever. And yes, very young me was furious that Irma Bunt never appeared in the pre-title sequence, let alone the movie. So that will always be my lowest ranked one.
The Living Daylights is the perfect pre-title. Cool location, great action, humour, introduces a new Bond as a total badarse, and it's also not half an hour long.
Dalton is my absolute favourite and I agree, his introduction is spectacular and powerful. That shot of his face is amazing. Watching it over and over again.
The Goldeneye pre title sequence is definitely one of my favorites. I will say that it probably gets bumped up a few spots because of how much I’ve played through the N64 game lol.
The World is Not Enough has totally hit home for my mom, and me secretly. Since that was particularly our favorite home movie, and still is today, I really fell in love with it so much, and I couldn't be more happier.
It's quite interesting that even in the Craig era where the 'rule book' was ripped up and even things previously considered fixed [like the gun barrel] were mixed up, the pre-credit sequence was maintained and the titles weren't moved to the end or anything [like many films these days].
My number 1 is The Living Daylights, brilliant soundtrack, great introduction for Dalton as Bond, establishes elements of the main film, has moments of action and humour. I do also really like the Tomorrow Never Dies pre title sequence!
Here’s my ranking. For a bit of fun, I decided, instead of using the film titles, to list the sequences by their most memorable line: 24: -Whose funeral is it? -Yours! 23: _Well East Coast girls are hip…_ 22: Cai… Cai… Cairo! 21: Nick Nack, Tobasco! 20: Exactly 1 minute 52 seconds, that’s excellent 19: Darling, I give you very best duck 18: Time to Get Out 17: Saved by the Bell 16: This Never Happened to the Other Fella 15: My dear Colonel Bouvar, I don’t think you should have opened that car door by yourself! 14: I’ll buy you a delicatessen… in stainless steel! 13: The dead… are alive 12: Filthy habit 11: -Hey Felix! Haven’t you forgotten something? -Oh! 10: Yes, considerably. 9: Let the sheep out, otherwise I’ll kill you. 8: Positively shocking (honourable mention: At least he won’t be using heroin-flavoured bananas to finance revolutions) 7: Just changing carriages 6: Fill her up please! 5: ‘old on you’re dead! 4: He’s on his last leg, sir 3: STAAAAAHHHP! 2: He starts skiing and he’s being chased by these Russian sh*ts in black jumpsuits with lemon piping. They start shooting at him, and he goes “Right, I’ve had enough of that, just stop it!” Then he does a backwards somersault off this ramp and he lands on his feet. I’m not sure why but he’s not showing off! Then he goes over a cliff, and he’s falling, and you think “Oh God, James Bond’s going to die, *He’s Going To Die!* 1: theincrediblesuit.blogspot.com/2011/06/photo-from-yesterdays-post-vertically.html?m=1
@@DafyddBrooks Yep! A lot of good lines from that PTS to choose from (rounded figures; hidden assets; close but no cigar; King, the Money!) but the way Pierce screams “Stop!” whilst running through the MI6 building just sticks in my mind.
@@BenCol haha good one. well for an irishman (with a english accent) living in hollywood for a great number of years, your bound to have slight phoenetic changes in your voice. the way he says ' muffy?' in goldeneye is very american indeed. even tims midland/ Derby accent slips in when he says "your just in time, thing were about to turn Nasteyr" :)
@@SpaceCattttt I mean he's always been good but his recent stuff has been at another level with all the analysis, humour, and variety of Bond subjects he tackles [video games, novels, characters etc.]
1. The Spy Who Loved Me: Brilliant stunts, good plot development, and it leads into a wonderful theme song. It's such a good intro that I'd recommend people watch this as their first Moore film rather than LALD, or maybe even as their first Bond film. The goofy music during the ski chase almost brings it down to #2 for me though... 2. Casino Royale: Short, simple, and brutal. Gives you a taste of Craig's charisma and physicality, and leaves you wanting a whole lot more. And the gunbarrel at the end transitioning into the opening credits is one of my favorite moments of the whole franchise, it always gives me chills and gets my hyped for what's to come 3. OHMSS: While not as bombastic or thrilling as its counterparts, it's a great introduction to Lazenby and a fantastic opening to my favorite film in this series. And I have to admit that I can't help but smile at that fourth wall break every time. 4. The Living Daylights: there's not much I can add because it's plainly obvious why this works so well: it checks all the boxes for a good prologue and a good intro to a new Bond. 5. No Time To Die: Part of me wants to criticize this opening for being too bloated, but nearly every piece of it works. It's got horror, action, romance, a little bit of something for almost everyone.
One of the first James Bond films I ever saw was Casino Royale. I was surprised the opening sequence was shot in black and white, assuming the rest of the movie would be. The way the scene ends with the gun barrel homage, the bright red blood dripping down the screen, and the theme kicking in was just fantastic. I'll never forget the stupid grin I had on my face watching that scene play out, and I became a pretty big Bond fan after that. That one will always be in my top five for sure, along with The Living Daylights, Goldeneye, Skyfall, and No Time to Die (in no particular order). But it's really hard to pick just five!
I saw The Spy Who Loved Me in the theater first run. The audience actually cheered when that 'cute opened, it was so perfect. I had never been at a movie where the audience cheered the action like that before or since. It actually makes me a bit misty thinking about it.
The World Is Not Enough's PTS is perfection in my eyes, the bank scene alone would have placed it very highly but the boat chase is just the icing on the cake
'What the hell is he doing?' 'His job.' is probably one of my favourite quotes of the series Completely agree TSWLM is a top sequence but I do love TND's
I remember sitting in the cinema watching the opening of Die Another Day and, as Bond is swinging from the bell, just thinking 'don't say it, don't say it...ohh'. It's hard to disagree with your ranking, Calvin, and it's reminded me of how many of them are so brilliant, so thanks!
My theory about the guy in the Bond mask in FRWL is that he's been given a death sentence but if he survives Red Grant he gets a reprieve. Because he's literally fighting for his life it makes the exercise more real
@@jambler15 Come In 007, Your Time is Up contains probably my favorite Bond theme drop in the whole series. That shot where the boat flips the table with its wake and just lands _perfectly_ is so satisfying. Eargasmic.
@@DarthMeteos Yeah I love that moment too. TWINE has arguably the series best non-Barry score: Great use of the classic theme, plus a bunch of melancholy/ominous tracks that work perfectly.
Glad to see TND rank highly. Whole bundle of fun, great quips (I love the “His Job!” Line) and Arnold’s score is f’ing phenomenal. Also the little detail of the codenames being chess pieces. Love it love it love it.
Its good but TWINE is so much better that boat scene was so unique for the time while TND just seems like an average Mission Impossible intro meh but fair enough if you like it.
There are three title sequences that I will always love Tomorrow never dies, moonraker, and on her majesty’s secret service. Just reminds me of childhood nothing but good memories.
I can imagine Casino Royale you might have felt differently had the extended cut of the pre-title sequence with them establishing Bond actually being at a cricket match, and that's where the lavatory takes place. Pacing would have certainly felt different. There's just something so wholesome about seeing cricket in the cinema because it isn't often depicted as we always typically see.
Surprised it’s taken so long for you to do this countdown, but I’m glad you waited! I also really love the _TND_ intro. I actually think you nailed the selection. Cheers!
“On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” had the best opening. The drop to the knee in the gun barrel sequence, an air of mystery about the new Bond, splendid location work in Portugal, a thrilling fight, and a line - well-done - that had every Bond fan laughing at the time. (“This never happened to the other fellow.”) Seeing George Lazenby fit confidently into the role, especially during the fight, made me forget Sean Connery. (And I’m a fan of “From Russia With Love.”) Thrills me to this day! The best Bond, the best film.
Great video idea to rank bond pre-title sequences! :) My Ranking of Bond pre-title sequences: 10/10: 1. Octopussy 2. Goldeneye 3. Casino Royale 4. The Spy Who Loved Me 5. The World Is Not Enough 6. Die Another Day 7. The Living Daylights 8. Tomorrow Never Dies 9. Moonraker Great: 10. You Only Live Twice 11. Goldfinger 12. From Russia With Love 13. For Your Eyes Only Good: 14. Skyfall 15. Licence To Kill 16. A View To A Kill 17. Spectre Okay: 18. On Her Majesty's Secret Service 19. Thunderball 20. Live And Let Die 21. No Time To Die Boring: 22. Quantum Of Solace 23. The Man With The Golden Gun Bad: 24. Diamonds Are Forever
Interesting that your number 1 changed from your previous version of this video! I mostly agree with the top choices, but I do really like Spectre's pre-title sequence too! Thanks for making such enjoyable videos.
Moore as the lookalike South American general, taking his plane to a gas station, "filler up!" in Octopussy, or his Beach Boys homage in View To A Kill. Can't beat them.
Great vid! My top five in no particular order would be: The Living Daylights - fantastic, atmospheric action sequence, especially given that Dalton really was hanging on to that Land Rover with no assistance. Casino Royale - love the dual scenes playing out and the gun barrel occurring in context as the power chords of the title song kick in. GoldenEye - hard to pick between Brosnan's first three openers, but the atmospheric music and Sean Bean push this one to the top. Octopussy - was it the first to do the 'using your enemy's munitions against them' trope, as in Hunt for Red October, Hot Shots, GalaxyQuest, et al? The Spy Who Loved Me - if I could go back in time and visit a cinema for a first showing to soak up the audience wonder, this is very high on the list. Dishonourable mention: Die Another Day - if you ever want a vehicle to drive over landmines without setting them off, a hovercraft is the absolute WORST option. A truck touches the ground at four points.; a hovercraft sits on a very long and wide pressurised cushion of air that has enough downward force to hold up a large multi-tonne vehicle. The Laws of Physics had left the cinema in tears way before the invisible car showed up. :p
my all time favorite would be A View To A Kill, yeah it does get a bit silly with california girls but the rest of the music is amazing the stunts are cool. Spy who loved me, Octopussy And Moonraker are great too. Sir Roger had some great opening sequences. All of Peirce Brosnans are top shelf as well.
Interesting. I actually love the FRWL PTS. Watching that for the first time as a kid was utterly shocking and amazing. I love how it builds suspense and atmosphere. It's brilliant in its simple execution and one of my favs by far. I'm not as hot on the Goldfinger one tbh.
The little acting bit Calvin does in the beginning of him talking to the other him asking what was missed in thr pre titles and the one here a Calvin gets annoyed at the gun barrel sequence, i can imagine this is really the conversation he has with his boyfriend in the cinema and the poor guy has to suffer Calvin's emotional roll coaster through the Bonds!
@@klaudiagrob 24 minutes actually. But length doesn't affect my judgement at all. I mean, how would it become any better, or worse, by inserting the song, say after the childhood scene? Not that it would work with the song anyway.
"Ohhh boy..." - LOL!! I do love your little comedic interludes Calvin because they are actually, you know, comedic. Too many RU-vidrs try and be funny, not realising that being funny is a very hard thing to do - but CD, for the most part, actually manages to pull it off (snigger snigger....). And I don't ever watch comedies cause usually they don't make me laugh, so there's that too.....! Anyway, onwards with the show..... 😆❤
I'm not as in love with the Goldeneye opener as some people are, even though it was the first modern Bond film I saw when I became aware of the franchise. When I saw From Russia With Love and The Living Daylights, I was hooked. FRWL has a classic pretitle sequence, but my favourite is definitely from TLD, followed by Casino Royale, because both of them set the very Flemingesque tone for those films. We weren't going to get comic book male model in a tuxedo doing ridiculous things and talking like a horny teenager. We were getting a grounded, somewhat realistic story. That's what I love about all 3 films. All 3 stories suspend my disbelief in the way I want them to. I don't mind some levity in the films, but if it's just quip after quip, I'm watching an 80s Schwarzenegger film at that point. Bond is cool, but in the end, he's a government assassin. He doesn't have time to be joking around right before he kills someone. He's dealing with life and death stuff.
Well, as Sean Connery once pointed out, Arnie pretty much lifted the concept of the post mortem one liner from Bond. 'Stick around' is a very similar scenario to, 'I think he got the point.'
Agreed on Spectre’s weird-feeling action. The whole movie has action that seems to be at an arms length away. It’s hard to describe, and odd-feeling. The whole movie (for me at least) is filled with this stagnant action. Agreed on Octopussy being the most disconnected! I don’t think there are any connections at all to the main story.
My favorite pretitle is The Living Daylights's sniper sequence---clearly the plan for the original pretitle and even ends with the movie title being spoken.
Where OHMSS is concerned, Bond's "This Never Happened to the Other Fellow" line was supposed to be taken two ways. Obviously, it's a reference to Sean Connery, but he is holding Tracy's shoe and I believe the other reference was that of Prince Charming in Cinderella with the glass slipper. I'm pretty sure I read that in an article about 40 years ago. So it kinda-sorta breaks the 4th wall as there is another reference it is making. Great video as always Calvin!
Not a fan of the pre title of “live and let die” but, it makes sense that bond did show up. Since Moore was introduced in this movie, I think they wanted to build up his introduction
You recreated one of my biggest pet peeves: when a friend goes to the bathroom or comes in late and asks “what’d I miss?” I’m not going to talk during a movie especially not to explain what you chose to miss.
Hi Calvin. As always great video. I find From Russia With Love far too low. The sequence is exciting, surprising, dark and sets the tone for the coming movie perfectly. Far better than those sequences from the bubble gum Brosnan era. Keep up the good work. Love your videos.
Bond in Octopussy: "I'll see you in Miami." But he never goes to Miami! I agree, Octopussy's pre-title sequence is the most disconnected from the rest of the film. Which is just fine! A great mini-adventure that inspires us to turn off our brains and go for the ride. Part of my defense for Octopussy is that it gets away with so much, because it sets the expectation and maintains it throughout that this is all about fun, fun, fun, and more fun. If we opt to just not think about it too much, we are rewarded by this movie over and over.
Casino Royale is special to as I went in _not knowing_ it was a Bond Film (was on TV and was channel surfing) so that Pre-Title sequence really stood out to me as I thought it was a completely different film with the Grey Scale and the Grittyness. Until the Gun Barrel where I exclaimed *_"This is a Bond Film?!_* the fact it drew me in, in that amount of time and simpleness. *_Ah its so good!_*
I regularly attend meetings in the building where the opening scene of "The World Is Not Enough" was filmed. Thank you so much for the video, that's a very good list although I have always had a soft spot for the pre-title sequence in "Live and Let Die" so of course I cannot agree on that one 🙂
My son was doing a Con-Tiki tour across the US. I knew he was in New Orleans and I texted him to ask if he'd been to Filet of Soul. He texted me straight back and said he only had a few minutes before the bus took off but he raced around, found it and took pictures. So, we love the Live and Let Die opening - but we don't hate you for ranking it last.
I remember about the Quantum of Solance intro that it was so thrilling and fast cutted, a local radio show host confessed that he fell asleep in cinema because of it and missed the whole movie.
I saw "Spy Who Loved Me" opening week, and (with the pre-title sequence) first there was dead, stunned silence when he skied off the cliff, then roaring cheers when the union jack parachute opened.
Part of the reason the Spy Who Loved Me's sequence works so well is that it understands what sets Bond apart from other films. Yes, there's great action, but lots of movies have great action. Adding in the panache that you get with the Union Jack parachute is the key ingredient.
I’ve said this before in many of your criticisms of The opening sequence beach boys song for a view to a kill… The Beach boys were having a Renaissance in the mid 80s… I was in the theater when that scene happened… There was laughter followed by thunderous applause… It was a gag for the time…
FYI: Laird Hamilton, world class water skier, stood in for Pierce during the Die Another Day opening surf sequence//I met Laird and he was a cool dude!
Did you know he was going to play He-Man in the planned sequel to Masters Of The Universe, as Cannon Films didn't want to work with Dolph Lundgren again? Then Masters flopped, so Laird never got his chance.
24: Diamonds Are Forever 23: Die Another Day 22: Live and Let Die 21: A View to a Kill 20: You Only Live Twice 19: The Man with the Golden Gun 18: Thunderball 17: SPECTRE 16: For Your Eyes Only 15: Quantum of Solace 14: On Her Majesty's Secret Service 13: Moonraker 12: The World is Not Enough 11: From Russia With Love 10: Tomorrow Never Dies 9: GoldenEye 8: Goldfinger 7: Licence to Kill 6: Skyfall 5: Octopussy 4: The Spy Who Loved Me 3: The Living Daylights 2: No Time to Die 1: Casino Royale
I have a soft spot for the unofficial Never Say Never Again sequence. I've always loved the title song, and it was fun to see Sean Connery in action again. It showed that 007 was still a capable agent as he matured and that women still remain a weakness for him.
Great video Calvin, loved your commentary esp. comparing the "He's on his last leg sir" to the 2001 cut XD For my money I never "understood" the stakes of the Spectre pre-titles; It feels like something that reads fine on the script page "Bond and villain get into scuffle on out-of-control helicopter" but it never translated visually for me. Is barrell-rolling a helicopter considered super impressive? Was there a danger of it crashing into the pavilion? It never matched the kinetic energy of Skyfall and that's kind of indicative of the whole film. My top 5: 1) Casino Royale 2) Living Daylights 3) Spy Who Loved Me 4) Goldfinger 5) OHMSS
