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Hi all, this is an offshoot of a conversation on william--W 's FYEO thread about other potential Bond edits (here's his thread: http://www.fanedit.org/forums/showthread.php?12329-Bond-12-For-Your-Eyes-Only/page3 )
While tinkering with the much larger House of Cards and Sorcerer edits, I rewatched Thunderball and saw so much potential to make this a better watch. It would also be a less time consuming edit for me as I know the material pretty well-- I have bought Thunderball more than any other Bond film : VHS, VCD, DVD, Blu ray x2 -- but I always remember it being part of a bundle purchase of another, better Bond film. Which is a shame because Thunderball really is Connery's last great (or real, for that matter) performance as 007. Its the last one where he really owns the role-- but the film itself has always stayed shy of greatness due to numerous reason-- lacklustre nemesis in Largo, slow pacing, the overlong underwater sequences, the rather jumbled plot (I never liked having Bond just coincidentally stumble upon the key plot points at the spa), and, the spa..
I see potential for a leaner edit here-- if you loved the original and are a fan of it, you'll probably hate the version I have in mind, but if you're open to watching something different, I have a few ideas of how I might tweak this classic.
Here are a few reviews I read trying to get a sense as to whether what didn't work for me also disappointed others:
Excerpts:
My idea of a cutlist would be:
-Biggest change: Cutting out the whole spa sequence
---nothing in the spa was remotely exciting, and Bond doesn't make a big deal of the weird things going on there immediately (I mean he doesn't even report the numerous murder attempts; plus, after the briefing, the explanation he gives for going to Nassau could be reinterpreted-- in the original, he decides to go after Derval's sister because he saw Derval dead the previous night-- but this was on a hunch that the sister knows something. It's a hunch, she could be useless for all Bond knows, hence M's line "Do you think she's worth investigating?".
If you removed the ' saw dead Captain in the spa' line, you have Bond examining the dossier on Derval before deciding to go to Nassau after his sister--- why not? He was the pilot of the aircraft after all, investigating his sister might be as good a place as any to start, all the agents were seemingly randomly being assigned-- still operating on a hunch that she may know something, but no different from the previous scenario, except its more realistic, less complicated and gets us into the real story faster.
-Trimming all tourist/idle shots as well as most of the underwater sequences to the essentials
-Most of the rest of the film actually works except for trimming
I'm open to any other major cuts which should be made...
It's a rough idea at this point, what do you guys think?
Cheers
While tinkering with the much larger House of Cards and Sorcerer edits, I rewatched Thunderball and saw so much potential to make this a better watch. It would also be a less time consuming edit for me as I know the material pretty well-- I have bought Thunderball more than any other Bond film : VHS, VCD, DVD, Blu ray x2 -- but I always remember it being part of a bundle purchase of another, better Bond film. Which is a shame because Thunderball really is Connery's last great (or real, for that matter) performance as 007. Its the last one where he really owns the role-- but the film itself has always stayed shy of greatness due to numerous reason-- lacklustre nemesis in Largo, slow pacing, the overlong underwater sequences, the rather jumbled plot (I never liked having Bond just coincidentally stumble upon the key plot points at the spa), and, the spa..
I see potential for a leaner edit here-- if you loved the original and are a fan of it, you'll probably hate the version I have in mind, but if you're open to watching something different, I have a few ideas of how I might tweak this classic.
Here are a few reviews I read trying to get a sense as to whether what didn't work for me also disappointed others:
Excerpts:
- There is also an extended sequence of Largo’s men hijacking a jet plane, crashing it into the sea, and killing one of their own men. It’s a key scene and needed to be in there, but it seemed to go on forever. It easily could have been trimmed by a few minutes, but it seemed like the director was in love with his own underwater photography, which is impressive, but causes the movie to stop dead in its tracks.
-The second half is definitely better, but still suffers from pacing problems.
-By the time Largo and his men suit up for the big final underwater sequence in the film, there's still something like 30 minutes to go, and it really feels like the film's played all its narrative cards already.Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/motion-...-the-first-series-stumble#oVkyyBfFMOZK6kWv.99
-This should have been the best Bond movie. Just look at that poster! All the ingredients are there: Jetpacks, underwater fights, busty chicks, high-speed chases, man-eating sharks, and a hotter-than-ever Sean Connery. But something went wrong along the way from script to screen. It’s simple enough: It’s just plain not a very good movie.
-Approximately half of the action occurs underwater, where the photography is remarkably clear and colorful. The climax is set down there, but at over eight minutes far outstays its welcome.
-A fair amount of time is spent beneath the ocean's surface, and, down in Neptune's realm, the photography (by Lamar Boren) is clear and the action sequences are invigorating (when they don't seem to last forever, that is)
-I’m sure she played menacing very well, but I was so distracted by her impressively enormous bust size that I had trouble noticing.
-The second half is definitely better, but still suffers from pacing problems.
-By the time Largo and his men suit up for the big final underwater sequence in the film, there's still something like 30 minutes to go, and it really feels like the film's played all its narrative cards already.Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/motion-...-the-first-series-stumble#oVkyyBfFMOZK6kWv.99
-This should have been the best Bond movie. Just look at that poster! All the ingredients are there: Jetpacks, underwater fights, busty chicks, high-speed chases, man-eating sharks, and a hotter-than-ever Sean Connery. But something went wrong along the way from script to screen. It’s simple enough: It’s just plain not a very good movie.
-Approximately half of the action occurs underwater, where the photography is remarkably clear and colorful. The climax is set down there, but at over eight minutes far outstays its welcome.
-A fair amount of time is spent beneath the ocean's surface, and, down in Neptune's realm, the photography (by Lamar Boren) is clear and the action sequences are invigorating (when they don't seem to last forever, that is)
-I’m sure she played menacing very well, but I was so distracted by her impressively enormous bust size that I had trouble noticing.
My idea of a cutlist would be:
-Biggest change: Cutting out the whole spa sequence
---nothing in the spa was remotely exciting, and Bond doesn't make a big deal of the weird things going on there immediately (I mean he doesn't even report the numerous murder attempts; plus, after the briefing, the explanation he gives for going to Nassau could be reinterpreted-- in the original, he decides to go after Derval's sister because he saw Derval dead the previous night-- but this was on a hunch that the sister knows something. It's a hunch, she could be useless for all Bond knows, hence M's line "Do you think she's worth investigating?".
If you removed the ' saw dead Captain in the spa' line, you have Bond examining the dossier on Derval before deciding to go to Nassau after his sister--- why not? He was the pilot of the aircraft after all, investigating his sister might be as good a place as any to start, all the agents were seemingly randomly being assigned-- still operating on a hunch that she may know something, but no different from the previous scenario, except its more realistic, less complicated and gets us into the real story faster.
-Trimming all tourist/idle shots as well as most of the underwater sequences to the essentials
-Most of the rest of the film actually works except for trimming
I'm open to any other major cuts which should be made...
It's a rough idea at this point, what do you guys think?
Cheers
