I think my favorite pre-title sequence might be The Living Daylights. I love Dalton's introduction, the action, the teases with the agents, and that fantastic score John Barry composed. I think it's perfection.
Wasn't Licence to Kill the first Bond film where the scene right after the main titles is set just moments after the pre-title sequence (which would later happen again with Quantum of Solace)? Because normally, the first scene after the main titles take place either days, weeks, months or even years (GoldenEye) after the events of the pre-titles.
I must be the Lone Ranger for my love of You Only Live Twice’s opening sequence! I don’t see it on anyone’s list! The space capsule “swallowing” totally blew my mind! That ominous music stuck in my mind for life! I was maybe 13, only the 2nd Bond film I saw in the cinema, I was a space nut and all into the Apollo missions, etc…This was to me the most spectacular big Villain plot ever in a Bond film at that time. Don’t care if no one else likes it!
The line that ends Octopussy's action-packed opening is one of the most Bond things ever, and always cracks me up. Moore's plane rolls up next to "Fill her up please" as Rita Coolidge's All Time High begins.
Honestly, I'm genuinely shocked that the pre-title sequence for Goldeneye wasn't number 1 or ranked higher! I was expecting that initially. Great list as always! Personally, I've ALWAYS loved the one for License to Kill as it fits into the rest of the story, is a great introduction for Sanchez and the stunt with the plane mixed with the music was just phenomenal! Keep up the great work :)
Just found out that Christopher Lee has died. It was a sad day for all Bond, Lord of the Rings, Horror and Star Wars fans alike. Sorry to be a downer. Really like your video, went to see the The Merchant of Venice and saw Johnathon Pryce as Shrylock, really awesome!
Only six, maybe Skyfall, have nothing to do with the main story. It got difficult after #6 because most just didn't jump out at me. 10 Best Bond Pre-Titles ----------------------------- 1) Casino Royale (He gets his 00 and it leads into a cool tittle sequence with an awesome song) 2) Goldfinger (first of few mini adventures) 3) For Your Eyes Only (continuity) 4) The World is Not Enough (boat chase on the Thames) 5) Goldeneye (between two films) 6) Quantum of Solace (picks up where Casino Royale left off) 7) Diamonds Are Forever (new twist with villain thought to be dead) 8) Moonraker (stunts in free fall) 9) Ocotpussy (aerial stunts done here in America) 10) The Living Daylights (nice scenery)
It would be interesting to know more of the 'back story' of some of the mini-adventures. Maybe in a subsequent reboot, we could have films that tell the full story of those episodes, and end with Bond parachuting off a cliff, fighting for a parachute in mid-air, or topping up an Acrostar. Particularly with the Moonraker opening, it would be good to know more of Jaws's involvement.
THE SPY WHO LOVED ME is my all-time favorite cold opening to a Bond film. After introducing us to Agent XXX, Bond is called to action after making out with a girl, who turns out to be a spy, and a massive ski-chase ensue. Bond is pursued by agents as they ski down a mountain in an action scene that still holds up today without any special effects, and amplified by Hamlisch’s thrilling score. It culminates with Bond skiing right off a cliff, and the soundtrack goes completely silent as Bond is in freefall for several seconds-and then the Union Jack parachute opens right on the music’s crescendo, making the audience erupt in applause. And then, just when you think it can’t get any better, the credits begin and the best Bond song of all time, "Nobody Does It Better" by Carly Simon, starts playing…
The best ever pre-title sequence is "Licence To Kill". The way the bridal march segues into the title song is just amazing. It brings me to tears every time I watch it.
I don't mind that The Man With The Golden Gun's pre-title sequence didn't have Bond because it introduced us to how duels with Scaramanga work. Therefore, when Bond and him finally battled, it was all the more exciting. However, Live and Let Die's is definitely the weakest. Even the transition to the title sequence is clumsy.
The other weird thing about the LALD title sequence is that the MI6 agent murdered is American? It's strange that Guy Hamilton didn't cast a British actor for the role. I mean we're supposed to believe that MI6 agents are Brits so what's the deal with the American being fobbed off on us as an English spy?
1. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977) - I have never seen an audience explode the way they did when that parachute opened back in 1979. It was electric. 2. CASINO ROYALE (2006) - Totally turned my head around the first time I saw it. I don't even know if I liked it, it was so unexpected. It's status has grown large in time and context. 3. GOLDENEYE (1995) - After watching many of your videos, I wouldn't have thought that I would ever be ranking any aspect of GE higher than you, but here it is. I went into the theatre with no expectations. The franchise had been dead for six years, and I hadn't really been excited by the Bond films since the disappointment of MOONRAKER in 1979, but that PTS and Title Sequence were absolutely superb. My expectations instantly rose. Unfortunately, though I think it is a better than average Bond film, the rest of the movie never measures up to that beginning. 4. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963) - Probably gets knocked up a couple of slots due to it being the first. great tempo, Robert Shaw is terrific in the scene and the role. 5. MOONRAKER (1979) - Absolutely thrilling. Before CGI took all of the wonder out of cinema, knowing that these guys were real human beings pulling those stunts off was a wonderful experience on the big screen. It falls a slot due to the unfortunate inclusion of Jaws. 6. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS - (1987) - I like everything about it except for the soundtrack, Barry's worst. 7. ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969) - Nice intro, a new atmosphere. I enjoy the lighting, it has an almost gothic quality. After all these years I still don't know how I feel about George's famous line before he runs into the Title Sequence. 8. GOLDFINGER (1964) - Surprisingly low for my overall favorite Bond film, but I have never found it overly exciting or poignant. It's iconic, funny, and it's definitely cool to see Connery dressed in solid black breaking into the heroin facility and planting the explosives, but I get a little more out of the previous seven. 9. LIVE AND LET DIE (1973) - I know that there is no Bond here, but I have been a big fan of this one since it scared me in the theatre in 1973 (I was 10 or 11). 10. SKYFALL (2012) - This type of action can often go wrong and become quite tedious. SF manages to pull it off. It holds my attention, offers some thrills and some nice character moments. And I like the giant mermaid hand. Maybe a tad of a hodgepodge. Worthy of note: 11. THUNDERBALL (1963) - Great fight, the senseless jet pack brings it way down, the water squirting DB5 sinks it. 12 FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981) - Almost makes it on the opening piece at Tracy's grave and the promise of a legitimate Blofeld as an actual threat. Then it all goes to Hell. 13. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974) - Really strong, but I did penalize this one for not including Bond. Even though it kind of did include him. 14. DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002) - This PTS is fairly generic fare for the Brosnan era, but it sets up Pierce's best scene in the franchise (immediately following the underrated Title Sequence) and I can't help thinking of that all as one package. So sad that with such great promise we would end up with the worst Bond film in the franchise.
Coming back here after No Time To Die… I think, for me, that film and Casino Royale have got to take the cake. While I was in the theatre watching No Time To Die, I was scared we weren’t going to get a credits sequence because the scene kept going on and on and they missed several transition opportunities, but then they got to the credits and I saw what they were doing. In NTTD, the opening bit is like a short film more than ever, thrusting you into the action and telling you a mini-story for a whopping twenty minutes (yes, this movie is the longest Bond film ever, at 163 minutes).
My top 10 Dishonourable mention : For your eyes only Honourable mention : Licence to kill 10. Quantum of solace 9. Thunderball 8. Tomorrow never dies 7. Octopussy 6. The living daylights 5. The world is not enough 4. Casino royale 3. Goldeneye 2. The spy who loved me 1. Spectre
Great list and video Calvin! My top 10 would be: 1: GoldenEye 2: The World Is Not Enough 3: Tomorrow Never Dies 4: Die Another Day 5: Casino Royale 6: Skyfall 7: For Your Eyes Only 8: The Living Daylights 9: Octopussy 10: The Man With The Golden Gun I hate the LALD one as well ;)
I think SPY WHO LOVED ME's opening should easily have been #1 or #2. Yes, it is very similar to MOONRAKER's, but that parachute finale is just so iconic. I like WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH's opening a lot, but it doesn't have that one singular iconic moment that the others do.
Since Moonraker came after The Spy Who Loved Me, it'd be more accurate to say Moonraker's was very similar to Spy's. But, yes, it's very iconic. As was the theme song, which gave 007 a catch phrase the films are STILL USING to this day!
Have you done a Top 10 Best James Bond cameo appearances by famous people? I would vote for John Barry's cameo as the orchestra conductor in The Living Daylights as my #1!
The License to Kill and Thunderball Pre Titles Are Very Underrated and In My Opinion they are Both Good Especially The Fight With Bond Vs Jacques Boivar (Bob Simmons)
Of course SPECTRE takes the lead after its release but how come Licence To Kill didn't make the cut? I mean it had great stunt with the helicopter and Sanchez's plane, Felix is getting married, the score is amazing (throughout the film) and of course -the observer- Bond!
Folks often miss the significance of Bond seeing the approaching assassin in the eye of the woman he's kissing in the "Goldfinger" PTS -- calling the bit silly. It's not silly. The bit is meant to show us how practical and even surface of a person Bond is... he's doesn't go deep. He's not really looking *into* the woman's eyes in a soulful way. He's keeping his wits about him. He's using her for a short pleasure -- knowing not to trust her or anyone. He's looking for surface clues everywhere including, literally, *on* her eyes, about what's really going-on there. There are lots of scenes in the cannon like this, to show the audience what a surface but practical man Bond really is... Bond's final line in the Casino Royale PTS is another example of this, par excellence.
1. The Spy Who loved me 2. Moonraker 3. Spectre 4. Casino Royale 5. The Living daylights 6. Thunderball 7. Goldfinger 8. You only live twice 9. Diamonds are forever 10. Licence to kill
World is not Enough is my favourite. I also loved Tomorrow Never Dies and Goldeneye pre title sequence. Goldeneye would be in my top 5. I loved all Brosnan's pre title sequences.
I have an issue with the Goldeneye title sequence. It begins and ends with great stunts, but geographically having the two in the same location is implausible. Bond bungee jumps down a high dam, but at the end of the sequence he's at an airfield (of which there is no sign from the dam - nor could there be as the dam would be in the way of the planes - on top of a cliff!
Once again a great video, I think this is one of your better ones :) My list would be a bit different. 1. Octopussy, 2 TSWLM, 3 OHMSS, 4 TLDL, 5 Moonraker, 6 Goldeneye, 7. FRWL, 8. ATAK, 9 FYEO and 10 Skyfall.
My top 10 1)Quantum of solace 2)Goldfinger 3)Moonraker 4)Skyfall 5)A view to a kill 6)The living daylights 7)No time to die 8)Spectre 9)On her majesty's secret service 10)Casino Royale
I would have Dishonorable mention: Casino Royale Honorable mention: For your eyes only 10:skyfall 9:A View To A Kill 8:Diamonds are forever 7:live and let die 6:the living daylights 5:the world is not enough 4:man with the goldengun 3:moonraker 2:die another day 1:spectre
Interesting trivia... the guy who played baldie villain with cat in FYEO (cannot mention his name for legal reasons, lol) also played Lobot in Empire Strikes Back
TLD pretitles is my favourite. But I always wondered how 004 managed to fall down an entire mountain when he had thrown a grappling hook and just started climbing the rope.
Calvin, if your farts sound like that boat explosion, I'd be worried. Great vid as usual, surprised not to see Goldeneye ranked higher on your list given how much you love the film. Haven't considered how I would rank them personally but I daresay The Spy Who Loved Me, From Russia With Love, Skyfall, The World is Not Enough and Goldeneye would all make my top ten as well.
My top 10 list :1goldeneye, 2 skyfall, 3 the living daylights, 4 licence to kill, 5 tomorrow never dies, 6 casino royale, 7 a view to a kill, 8 octopusy, 9 the spy who loved me, 10 monrracer
My friend, some advice if you are going to use the 'double take' again. Try to find the 'Hanna Barbera' Double Take sound effect. Or any other sound effect. For some reason, I think it'll fit and throw some laughs your way. And at the very least, the pigeon sorta had a reaction compared to the dog that more like 'Meh'.
I agree it was logistically fantastic and looked amazing. But I have never understood why everyone went so gaga for that opening. I have seen, "Best pre-title sequence ever" written in more than a couple reviews. Ultimately it was a fistfight on a helicopter.
My Top Ten Would Be As Follows. 10. MoonRaker 9. License To Kill 8. From Russia With Love 7.The Living Daylights 6. The Spy Who Loved me 5. SkyFall 4.GoldFinger 3.Octopussy 2.Tomorrow Never Dies 1.The World is Not Enough
1. Skyfall 2. Casino Royale 3. The Spy who loved me 4. Goldfinger 5. Live and let Die 6. From Russia with Love 7. Spectre 8. The Man with the Golden Gun 9. Diamonds are forever 10. Goldeneye
The live&letdie sequence is one of the best!! And who says Bond has to be in it??? What a weird point of view. I think it's rather ideal that he's not, as it's supposed to tell us a bit about what is on the menu - I mean, you don't expect to see Columbo before the murder has been committed. I think generally the newer the movie, the worse the pretitle sequence. In fact, the worse the whole movie. I think already with Brosnan the “action” sequences (including the pretitles) got so fast and are so explosive that all realism went completely out the window, and with it every hint of excitement, which is why I've dropped out by now. The last one I've seen was A Quantum of Solace, and I'm not going to watch the newer ones. There remains only one that I'd still like to see: The spoof with Sean Connery's brother! Speaking of spoof: Trying to do Bond without comedy is as bad a mistake as doing it without beautiful girls or without exotic locales, so Daniel Craig is like Timothy Dalton completely unsuited to play the part, because he brings no humour to the part.
Dear Calvin. I am one of your biggest fans,and I want you to do Top 10 James Bond moments.Please Calvin. From the Australian Zane Murcha.(Not Michelle.)
1) Goldfinger 2) Octopussy 3) Goldeneye 4) the Spy Who Loved Me 5) the Living Daylights 6) Moonraker 7) The World Is Not Enough 8) Skyfall 9) License to Kill 10) Casino Royale HM: For Your Eyes Only
It's a shame Bond films AREN'T a continuation of the opening sequence, they would all be awesome. Bond films usually go like this: great opening sequence, boring, overly long love song, typical intro with Bond in M's office talking about the mission, boring overly long plot development, throw in a few action scenes before everyone falls asleep, have a huge action sequence at the end if anyone still watching and que exit music. Bond films should be more like Jackie Chan Police Story films and less than what they are. Cliche.
HM Moonraker 10. Spectre 9. License To Kill 8. Tomorrow Never Dies 7. Goldfinger 6. From Russia With Love 5. Skyfall 4. Goldeneye 3. The Spy Who Loved Me 2. The Living Daylights 1. Casino Royale
12:47 biggest problem with Skyfall's intro is why she didn't just shoot the guy after Bond fell? I mean he's right there clear shot and she's just like nnnnope I'll just watch him get away. There's no reason NOT to fire then. Fire 6 times to be sure. Don't hit Bond for nothing.
I have this weird and depressing feeling that the Delicatessen line was actually to indicate that it was a brainwashed civilian rather than the real Blofeld.
you might think that, but that line was supplied by Cubby himself. In the 1930s gangster/mafia world it was a common bribe. Knowing that, it seems to me that Blofeld simply panics and offers Bond a bribe that is not quite modern.
Well [sobbing..] for us old Bond fans the whole phenomenon died when the Craig-guy came along so also the pre-sequences on the post-Bond era should be a no-no... It is not Craig's fault, of course - I think it was Michael G. Wilson who finally managed to assassinate Bond. A good video, anyway!
Great video as always,mine would go like this 1. GoldenEye 2. Thunderball 3. The Living Daylights 4. Casino Royale 5. The World is not Enough 6. Moonraker 7. Die Another Day 8. For Your Eyes Only 9. Tomorrow Never Dies 10. Skyfall
@@strikerbowls791 Surfing was in the climax, not in the pre-title sequence. Still, it's better to not watch it because it's followed by one of the cringiest Bond songs ever.
@@strikerbowls791 It also looks so brown and washed-out I thought I was watching a different movie (probably a generic military movie focused on "realism").
Die another day felt like two movies slammed together to try to appease to both type of bond fans for the big 40th: the Super serious types that read the books and loved Dalton’s run and previous Bronson flicks AND the type that loved the ridiculous Moore and Connery flicks...it was a fucking mess. Thank God almighty that Skyfall rectified for the Golden Anniversary.
The dumb plot kinda ruins that one for me. Surfing is as ridiculous a form of travel in Die Another Day as it was in Escape from LA. And if you want to drive over a minefield, a hovercraft is absolutely the worst vehicle you could pick. The powerful air cushion gives it a bigger contact with the road than anything else.
11:00-11:12 LMAO! I think I would have actually placed The Spy Who Loved Me pre-title sequence as number 1. I only found out yesterday that Christopher Lee passed away. May he rest in peace.
Oh my gosh. Your two dishonorable mentions just happen to be my favorite open sequences of all time. The lack of Bond is precisely why I love them. They present a problem or some mysterious evil thing going on that Bond has to deal with. I’ll use Live and Let Die as my example. We see the problem. 3 people die mysteriously in 3 different parts of the world. Then the music starts. This is a James Bond movie and bond is going to sort this out. These open sequences allowed us to focus on the problem first before seeing how it gets resolved by 007.
I remember listening to the behind the scenes for the opening title sequence for Licence to Kill. Timothy Dalton was once again doing the stunts of connecting the plane to the helicopter, and Cubby Broccoli got mad at him for doing the stunt himself.
My list: 01. OHMSS, for the astounding editing alone. 02. FRWL, for setting the tone for these scenes. 03. Goldeneye, for inspiring a great N64 level. 04. Casino Royale, for Peter Sellers (wait, wrong one). 05. TLD, for setting a new tone for the Dalton era. 06. Goldfinger, for popularizing the cheesy one-liner. 07. DAD, for stopping me from walking out on Madonna. 08. Octopussy, for not boring me (atypical for Moore). 09. YOLT, for Bond's awesome assassination. 10. LTK, for its effective Robert Davi setup. Honorable mention: TWINE, even though it's too long. Dishonorable mention: DAF, for never mentioning Tracy.
I think it would be like this: 1.Goldfinger 2.Goldeneye 3.The spy who loved me 4.The world is not enough 5.From russia with love 6.Octopussy 7.Thunderball 8.Skyfall 9.On her majesty’s secret service 10.Tomorrow never dies Honorable mention: Moonraker & Spectre Dishonorable mention: Quantum of solace
"I'll buy you a delicatessen, in stainless steel" no Bond fan will ever truly know the meaning of that line... but I'm sure that Kevin McClory somehow did. Perhaps that line was a subtle "fuck you!" that only McClory would understand.
cockshield It was Cubby Broccoli's line, a tribute to the Italian Mafia who would bribe business owners to act as a front for them by offering them to buy a delicatessen in steel. This was (and still is) top of the line and was seen as something luxury.
In my opinion, the 'Licence to Kill' pre-credit scene is better than the 'Diamonds are Forever' PCS. I enjoy the plane-fishing scene immensely - the ingenuity and the stunt work of that scene alone makes for a great PCS. Add Michael Kamen's awesome rendition of the Bond theme with blaring horns on top and it's cinematic gold IMO. Apart from that, great list and great video! The new number cards look really good.
the saddest thing is when Calvin says that a future film might give us a completely satisfying confrontation of Bond and Blofeld. Honestly, compared to Spectre, 8 minutes of For Your Eyes Only does a far better job of the confrontation.
Well, you asked for a Top Ten, so here's mine: 10. The Living Daylights - An above-average action opener. Flawed, as you pointed out, but it's so Dalton: right in your face with minimal gimmicks. 9. License to Kill - A more out-there opener, super cheesy and 80s. Bonus points for feeling more like a self-contained movie than almost any other in the series. 8. Moonraker - Goofy, but mighty impressive if you think about how they made it. Ending's a little too broad, but it sets up the new kid-"friendly" Jaws and fits Moore's established persona like a glove. 7. Casino Royale - Just beautiful to look at. I don't care two shakes about Bond's origin or how he got his 00, but it's a tight sequence and a good warm up for the upcoming Parkour scene. 6. Spectre - The best thing about the film, I feel. Love the pacing especially. Doesn't try to complicate matters, like the rest of the Craig follow-ups. 5. Live and Let Die - I don't mind the Bond-less openers. Or even the action-less openers. I don't love the Bond series for the action scenes. I love it for the sets, the music, the glamour, the escapism, the camp, and the cast of wild eccentrics. 4. The Man With the Golden Gun - Same as the last, but even more gorgeous and crazy. These two films are the peak of stylish, camp Bond. 3. From Russia With Love - Of course, if you can throw in a solid plot too, that's even better, and FRWL's opening sets up Bond's nemesis fantastically, opening the film by framing it as a mystery. The classiest opening. 2. Goldeneye - As odd as it seems to say this, this opening is amazingly restrained. For a Brosnan. Probably the best action scene in the series after Parkour, very plot-relevant too. Over-the-top and very entertaining, without trying to be too cute. 1. The Spy Who Loved Me. Just the overall Bondiest opening there is.
My Top 10 Favorite Opening Sequences: 10. On Her Majesty's Secret Service 9. Moonraker 8. The Man With The Golden Gun 7. Spectre 6. GoldenEye 5. The Living Daylights 4. Goldfinger 3. Skyfall 2. The Spy Who Loved Me 1. Casino Royale
Great review as always, Calvin! :) A fact for you: during the filming of The World Is Not Enough, my Dad was in his office and saw the whole boat chase being filmed! He said it was absolutely fantastic! Also, have you been to the Bond in Motion exhibition in Covent Garden, London? It's an amazing museum - my favourite by far. :)
Not sure he could have seen the *whole* boat chase being filmed, as it was filmed in a number of locations across London (one of which - the Wapping Ornamental Canal - is completely cut off from the river!).
@@det9525 I have watched the sequence at least once in the recent week and am livid that Amazon prime only offers it with German dubbing in Germany. Don't get why I have never watched a Dalton bond before. Once I move into my new apartment I will buy the bluray and will christen my projector with it.
If you really look deep into what he's saying during these reviews you'll see little hints into who is favorite bond is and he was least favorite is and I believe the list goes Roger Moore Pierce Brosnan Daniel Craig Sean Connery Timothy Dalton and George Lazenby
Seth Davis True, but I'd still like to see a thorough analysis of his list including his likes and dislikes of each actor's take and such. Plus people's opinion's do change
SolarDragon007 I get the feeling that either Lazenby or Moore is going to end up on the bottom, and Connery or Craig is going to end up on top. Personally, after "Skyfall" Craig became my favorite actor for the emotional depth he brought to the character.
Hahaha! I love how Calvin keeps using the '...and a jump to the left!' clip over and over again. At first, I found it funny, then I found it annoying, but now it has got back to being funny again.
I'd exchange 'D.A.F.' for 'T.N.D' and put 'T.N.D.' higher up the list. It's kinetic, Arnold's music adds a lot, Colin Samon & Dench & Palmer are good and it sets up the style of the movie well. I'm not such a fan of the Thames boat chase, but I do agree the end of that sequence is very strong visually and it struck me as almost Hitchcockian when Bond is rolling down the dome and how the live action merges with the opening credits. I'd also include 'O.H.M.S.S.'. Again, very kinetic and it ties directly into the overall movie.
Tomorrow Never Dies, surprised that didn't make the list, a bit random as to why he ended up at the military base but when he starts shooting it up and escaping in the plane, good top ten none the less.
