Discovering good movies, one bad movie at a time

A guide to all things Bond at Alternate Ending. Directed by Irvin Kershner Written by Lorenzo Semple, Jr. Premiered 6 October, 1983 PRE-TITLE SEQUENCE There isn’t one. We should not takes this as a break with tradition, though; for reasons to be explained shortly, this isn’t an “official” Bond movie. TITLE SONG Michel Legrand is […]

A guide to this blog’s James Bond marathon can be found right here. OCTOPUSSYDirected by John GlenWritten by George MacDonald Fraser andRichard Maibaum & Michael G. WilsonPremiered 6 June, 1983 PRE-TITLE SEQUENCEWhat we have here is nothing less than a perfect little standalone mini-movie that sums up in less than ten minutes the entire raison […]

A guide to this blog’s James Bond marathon can be found right here. FOR YOUR EYES ONLYDirected by John GlenWritten by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. WilsonPremiered 24 June, 1981 PRE-TITLE SEQUENCEIt is customarily held that Bond opening sequences have precisely fuck-all to do with the plot of the movie they are attached to, but […]

A guide to this blog’s James Bond marathon can be found right here. MOONRAKERDirected by Lewis GilbertWritten by Christopher WoodPremiered 26 June, 1979 PRE-TITLE SEQUENCEQuiz time, everybody! What Bond film opens with a pre-title sequence that starts with the mysterious theft of a large military vehicle that sends the British government into a tizzy, whereupon […]

A guide to this blog’s James Bond marathon can be found right here. THE SPY WHO LOVED MEDirected by Lewis GilbertWritten by Christopher Wood and Richard MaibaumPremiered 7 July, 1977 PRE-TITLE SEQUENCESuch a grab-bag of unrelated plot globules that it seems almost impossible to imagine they stuck it all into eight minutes: we start on […]

A guide to this blog’s James Bond marathon can be found right here. THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUNDirected by Guy HamiltonWritten by Richard Maibaum and Tom MankiewiczPremiered 19 December, 1974 PRE-TITLE SEQUENCEThe third and (unless I have forgotten something important) final opening sequence in a Bond movie that does not feature Bond himself, though […]

A guide to this blog’s James Bond marathon can be found right here. LIVE AND LET DIEDirected by Guy HamiltonWritten by Tom MankiewiczPremiered 27 June, 1973 PRE-TITLE SEQUENCEIn the very first opening sequence in the whole franchise where James Bond doesn’t appear, even in the form of a doppelganger (viz. From Russia with Love), we […]

A guide to this blog’s James Bond marathon can be found right here. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVERDirected by Guy HamiltonWritten by Richard Maibaum and Tom MankiewiczPremiered 14 December, 1971 PRE-TITLE SEQUENCEIn Japan, some poor SPECTRE functionary is thrown right the hell through a paper door, as a pointedly unseen but audibly familiar Cmdr. James Bond, Agent […]

A guide to this blog’s James Bond marathon can be found right here. ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICEDirected by Peter HuntWritten by Richard MaibaumPremiered 18 December, 1969 This happens to be the only James Bond film that’s actually susceptible to being spoiled, and it’s partially because of its shock ending that it’s also one of […]

A guide to this blog’s James Bond marathon can be found right here. YOU ONLY LIVE TWICEDirected by Lewis GilbertWritten by Roald DahlPremiered 12 June, 1967 PRE-TITLE SEQUENCEYou Only Live Twice boasts one of the few openers that directly ties in to the movie about to follow, but that’s not what stands out, not to […]

A previous review of this film can be found here. A guide to all things Bond at Alternate Ending. Directed by John Huston, Ken Hughes, Val Guest, Joseph McGrath, and Robert Parrish Written by Wolf Mankowitz & John Law & Michael Sayers with uncredited contributions by Woody Allen, Val Guest, Ben Hecht, Joseph Heller, Peter […]

A guide to all things Bond at Alternate Ending. Directed by Terence Young Written by Richard Maibaum and John Hopkins, from a story by Kevin McClory & Jack Whittingham and Ian Fleming Premiered 9 December, 1965 PRE-TITLE SEQUENCEThere are so many firsts involved with this film, but here’s one that matters right now: in the […]