My Favourite James Bond Pre-Title Sequences

The pre-title sequence is a signature of the James Bond franchise. Even the rule-breaking Daniel Craig films kept to this tradition, sans the gunbarrel  at  beginning for most of the films. While the Bond franchise weren’t the first movies to have pre-title sequences, they’re most closely aligned with the series. So, I want to talk about my favourite pre-title sequences of the franchise. Starting with the one that reintroduced the character of 007 and showed us how he gained his "00" status.

Casino Royale

In my piece late last year about Casino Royale I talked about film's opening sequence, saying 

"it efficiently sets up this version of  Bond as we see him talking calmly to MI6 Section Chief (and traitor) Dryden while cutting to Bond earlier brutally killing Dryden's contact, Fisher, in a bathroom. The black and white cinematography switches between a stark and gritty look in the bathroom to a smoother one in the present. This contrasts the hands on killing of Fisher with one silent bullet assassination of Dryden. Though to be fair, Fisher does come back to life and Bond shoots him as well."

This opening quickly establishes this as a different kind of Bond movie and a different kind of Bond.  This new Bond is a "blunt instrument" but also someone capable of a cleaner kill. I love the use of the different black and white footage, contrasting the more brutal and messy kill of Fisher and the efficiency of the Dryden kill. Craig's performance immediately proves  how he was the perfect choice for this new version of Bond, rough and rugged, but also cool and cold. And incorporating the gunbarrel in to the actual narrative- as Fisher revives and attempts to kill Bond- is such a brilliant reinvention of an old tradition. 

From Russia With Love

The series' first pre-title sequence came with the second film and was the first to "kill off" Bond. We're led to believe the real Bond (Sean Connery) is being stalked by an assassin named Red Grant (Robert Shaw) but it's revealed to be SPECTRE training exercise. It effectively sets up Grant as a threatening and ruthless villain for Bond to face, creating genuine suspense through it's visual storytelling. The atmosphere is perfect and only two movies in showed the franchise was willing to subvert audience expectations. 

Goldeneye

From the opening dam jump to the climatic plane escape, Goldeneye's pre-title sequence made Bond a action hero for the 90s. That dam jump is still one of the most impressive stunts in film history and Pierce Brosnan established himself as great Bond, cool under pressure but with hints of vulnerbility, as when he witnesses the "death" of fellow 00 agent Alec Trevelyan (Sean Bean). It was great to see Bond work with another 00 and his supposed death adds genuine drama to the action. The chemical weapon facility has great production design,  a terrifically cold late cold-war aestethic. It's one of the series most memorable locations.

Skyfall

That opening shot with Bond (Craig) stepping in to frame with the first couple of notes of the Bond theme playing is so good. And it showcases Roger Deakins' gorgeous cinematography right from the start. From there the action becomes what director Sam Mendes calls a "Russian nesting doll,”  going from car chase to bike chase all the way to a fight on a train, where Bond is accidentally shot by Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) when M (Judi Dench) tells her to take the shot at Patrice, the man Bond is fighting. Bond's "death" primes us for a film that will be about rebirth and reinvention, both for Bond and the franchise. The opening also shows us how the relationship between Bond and M will be tested to the limit throughout the film.

Thunderball

It's the jetback, it's pretty much that. That, and the origin of  Austin Powers punching a woman he thinks is a man. 

Goldfinger

While From Russia With Love had the franchise's first pre-title sequence, Goldfinger solidifies what the pre-title sequence would be going forward. We have the real Bond (Connery) this time, placing explosives in a drug factory then taking off his wetsuit, revealing a white dinner jacket. He then waits for the explosion, smoking casually as they go off. This is all quintessential Bond and helped define the franchise's image. And then there's that "shocking" climax, where Bond throws a lamb in a bathtub, killing his would-be assassin.

No Time To Die

The most recent pre-title sequence is also the series' longest to date. And it's actually two sequences in one, both which see Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux) lose someone close to her. The first sees young Madeleine encounter the film's villain Safin (Rami Malek), who kills her mother. The second has Madeleine lose her lover, Bond (Craig), who is tricked in to believing she's betrayed him as Vesper Lynd did. Bond visiting Vesper's grave ties the film back to Casino Royale and Bond's actions after it blows up reveals Bond never really got over her betrayal. This dooms him and Madeleine's relationship, losing 5 years with Madeleine and his daughter. This is the most emotional pre-title sequence, with Bond sending Madeleine away on a train, beautifully and hauntingly segwaying in to Billie Eilish's title song, which reflects Bond's emotional state at the moment.  

Spectre

While Spectre falls apart once it gets to Blofeld's compound, the pre-title sequence is strong, especially with its opening tracking shot which follows Bond in to a hotel and then out on to a balcony. And then there's Bond fighting a bad guy in a helicopter, leading it to flip over. It's a shame the rest of the film's action doesn't live up to this prologue.

The Living Daylights

Timothy Dalton's debut as Bond introduced-through the pre-title sequence-an authentically physical Bond who chases down a Russian assassin who kills two 00s during a training exercise. After the obvious stunt doubles in Roger Moore's A View to a Kill Bond on the roof of a truck as it drives down a cliff is refreshing and thrilling. 

 

The Spy Who Loved Me

After three smaller scale- and somewhat cheap feeling films (Diamonds Are Forever, Live and Let Die, The Man With the Golden Gun) The Spy Who Loved Me makes it clear right from the beginning that epic Bond is back, having a submarine be hijacked in the first scene. Then during a ski chase Bond (Roger Moore) jumps off a cliff then releases his parachute with the Union Jack, a moment that got cheers when the film had its UK premiere. The chase itself is terrific and ties in to the emotional arc of the film by having Bond kill the lover of Russian agent XXX (Barbara Bach), with whom Bond will team up during the course of the film. 

Moonraker

One of the weaker Bond films but one of the better openings. Bond (Moore) is pushed out of a plane without a parachute by Jaws (Richard Kiel, who first appeared in TSWLM). It has great stunt work and I love how it's just a random event in Bond's life that doesn't tie in to the rest of the film, sans Jaws.

For Your Eyes Only

While I don't like the way it unceremoniously dispatches the unnamed villain (who is Blofeld but because of rights issues wasn't able to be called that), Bond (Moore) being stuck in a remote controlled helicopter is a inventive conceit. It was also a nice touch to have Bond visit his wife Tracy's grave since it was Blofeld who had her killed.

So, what are your favourite pre-title sequences and are they from your favourite films? Comment and let me know. 

The Essential Films: "Paper Moon:" (1973)

A Series of Writings on Films that I feel are essential for film lovers, coupled with films that are personal to me. Spoilers for those you haven't seen the film.

Paper Moon is a gem of a film, one of the under-sung great films of the 1970s, made by a great director in his prime. With the recent passing of Peter Bogdonovich  I decided to look back on his fourth film, a poignant but unsentimental road trip featuring a real-life father/daughter pair playing a pair who may or not be father and  daughter. Paper Moon begins in 1935 with the funeral of Addie Loggins' (Tatum O'Neal) mother and the arrival of "family friend" Moses Pray, who may be Addie's father. Moses is asked to take Addie to her aunt's, to which he reluctantly obliges. It's soon revealed that Moses is a conman, selling bibles to widows under the pretense that their late husband bought it and had their name inscribed in it. Addie catches on pretty quickly and becomes Moses' unlikely partner. 

Paper Moon is based on the novel Addie Pray by Joe David Brown. Bogdonovich didn't like the title and came up with the title Paper Moon after seeing the title of the song "It's only a Paper Moon" on a list of songs that were popular during the 1930s. When Bogdonovich asked Orson Welles what he thought of the title Welles told him just to be release the title instead of the film. 

Bogdonovich had just done What's Up Doc? with [Ryan] O'Neal and wanted to do another film with him, which is how he met Tatum and got her on board. Casting a real life father and daughter could've easily been a gimmick but the two O'Neals have a whip-smart chemistry. Supposedly, Roberts Evans, the head of Paramount at the time, suggested Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson for Moses. It's hard to imagine what Nicholson could've brought to the role but I think O'Neal, while never being one of the "heavyweight" actors of the time- compared to Nicholson, De Niro or Pacino- has the right amount of sleaziness without becoming outright unlikable. And it's no wonder Tatum won an Academy Award for her performance. It's almost fifty years later and she's still wonderful in the film. She makes Addie a lived in child of the 1930s rather than 70s and Bogdonovich trusts that opening the film with a close-up of her face will establish the whole tone of the film. And it does. Addie's look is somber and mature beyond her years. This will not be a sentimental kid's film but a film about a particular place and time that was full of despair for the United States.  

The film has a lived in quality but also feels like a memory, a vision of the past rather the real thing. This is due to Laszlo Kovacs's black and white cinematography. There's something about black and white which puts a film outside of reality. It was Welles who suggested shooting the film in black and white through a red filter, to give the images high contrast. The film is visually rich, a real treat. There's a section in the film where Moses picks up a dancer named Trixie Delight (Madeleine Kahn) and her maid Eugenie (PJ Johnson). Addie becomes jealous, showing the audience the growing bond between her and Moses. After they've stopped for lunch on a hill, Addie stays under a single tree, not wanting to sit in back of the car with Trixie in front. This shot, and the shots of Trixie attempting to persuade Addie to come along, are magnificent. 

The film's visual storytelling is impeccable. Going back a little, when Addie first discovers Moses' con with the bibles, visually we see it through Addie's perspective- she sees the bibles and what Moses uses to print the names on the bibles. It reminds us that Addie is the main character and we're seeing much of the story through a child's perspective. While she won Supporting Actress, O'Neal should've won Best Actress. Even Khan, who was nominated in Best Supporting Actress with O'Neal, said O'Neal was the Best Actress and she the Best Supporting Actress. I agree O'Neal is the lead actress and Addie is the character who propels the story forward. She makes Moses her partner, breaks up him and Trixie and gets herself and Moses out of going to jail during the bootlegger segment. 

 But having a child lead the film doesn't make it too cutesy or sentimental. Paper Moon's lack of sentiment is a big part of why it's so great. The film looks at Addie and Moses' relationship matter-of-factly. They're two people who belong together, whether or not they're actually father and daughter. The fact its never confirmed Moses and Addie are father and daughter contributes to the film's unsentimental approach. That they are most likely biologically related remains a unspoken truth rather than an easy way to pull on the heart strings. Moses eventually brings Addie to her aunt's but Addie leaves, telling Moses he still owes her money. Again, no sentiment. These two characters are above that. It doesn't have to be spoken out loud that they love each other. And the film ends with them on the back of a truck, driving in to an unknown future. But as I said, these two belong together, for better or for worse. 

Why did this story feel like a memory?: "The Matrix Resurrections"

Spoilers Below

"They took my life and turned in to a video game" laments Neo (Keanu Reeves) at one point in Lana Wachowski's The Matrix Resurrections, her return, sans her sister Lily, to the universe that defined them. Neo has learned after his sacrifice at the end of The Matrix Revolutions he was resurrected and put back in to the Matrix, where he was given the identity of a video game developer who created the video game called...The Matrix. One of the big themes of The Matrix was choice of identity. The Matrix gives you an identity but it is not one of your choosing. In Resurrections Neo's identity has been robbed of him and his life has been reduced to entertainment. The Matrix took humanity's imprisonment and turned it in to mass entertainment created by the very man who attempted to free humanity from their virtual prison. It would be a cosmic joke except it was specifically manufactured by a computer program, the Analyst (Neil Patrick Harris), who took over the Matrix from the Architect, he of the "ergo" and "vis a vis."

Bugs (Jessica Henwick), a resistance fighter, tells Neo that the Matrix took something so important to her and others, Neo's story and "turned it in to something trivial. Were better to bury truth than in something as ordinary as a video game?" One can hear through Neo and Bugs' conversation Wachowski lamenting on what was so personal to them becoming so commercialized. Hell, The Matrix was turned in to a video game, one written and directed by them. So maybe there's a little bit of self-critique from Wachowski. The Matrix was so personal to them- it's often read as a trans allegory- so perhaps it was reductive to turn it in to a video game and make sequels from it.

It's no coincidence the film's title has Resurrections in it, acknowledging  this is a dead franchise being resurrected, along with a couple of previously thought dead characters. The film is a meta-commentary on legacy sequels, nostalgia and the role of a creator. This is Wachowski grappling with the legacy of her creation and the burden of creating something so popular it almost becomes bigger than you.

The Matrix Resurrections was to be made even without the Wachowskis' involvement but Lana Wachowski came on to steer the ship along with novelist and co-screenwriter David Mitchell (who wrote the novel Cloud Atlas on which the Wachowskis' film was based.) Neo (Thomas Anderson in the Matrix), like the Wachowskis, is told by his business partner (Jonathan Groff)- who's actually a new version of Neo's old nemesis Agent Smith- a sequel is happening to his seminal game with or without him. Smith even name drops Warner Bros. Making a sequel to the game is largely about nostalgia and Wachowski is critiquing how legacy sequels are largely dependent and coast on nostalgia. There's also the irony, as I already mentioned, of humanity's imprisonment becoming a touchstone for a generation via this game. 

The success of the game has plagued Neo as he is unable to separate his "real life" from his "creation," even almost walking off a roof, believing he could fly.  As a creator you can become so defined by your creation that it becomes a curse. You're not able to completely move on from it and people keep asking for more, more of you that you shouldn't have to give, more of what gives them comfort from the real world. In the film's case the "real world" is in itself a virtual reality. When you're playing a video game you're enjoying a simulation within what you don't realize is a simulation. 

Your creation can also be co-opted by people for whom it was never meant. Look at how the concept of the Red Pill was incorporated in to the alt-right philosophy even though The Matrix was made by two trans women, people whom that movement hates. While art is always open to anybody to interpret as they wish, certain people can attach themselves to and misinterpret your work.

Coming back to Neo being unsure of his own reality- when Morpheus (Yahya Abdul Manteen II) shows up Neo thinks he's going crazy. This Morpheus is a computer program created by Neo, an amalgamation of the real Morpheus and Smith. I like Manteen's laidback and chic cool cat interpretation of Morpheus. This version of Morpheus is a cool conceit and I like that he can interact with people in the real world via a new technology. But my favourite performance in the film may be Groff's. Groff doesn't imitate Hugo Weaving but instead invokes something about that performance, all while adding his own corporate cut-throat smarm to the part. And his "awakening" provides one of the film's most memorable moments.

When Neo is taken out of the Matrix and learns the truth he begins grappling with his own legend and questions whether his sacrifice at the end of Revolutions mattered, due to learning his whole life became a video game for mass consumption. He's a little like Luke Skywalker in The Last Jedi in that regard. He has to be told that what he did indeed mattered, even if things didn't work out perfectly. There actually was peace between machines and humans until a civil war broke out between the machines over an energy shortage. The last human city Zion was destroyed but humans and their machine allies forged a new underground city called IO. And Neo reunites an old ally, Niobe (Jada Pinkett Smith), who never believed in the concept of the "One" but believed in Neo. There's even a field of study encompassing his life called "Neology." 

Neo is defined by his own legend, just like the Wachowskis are defined by their creation. He is a man who can never just be a man. He is the One, he is a legend, he's the creator of the most important video game ever. Whether in the Matrix or out he's burdened by expectation, just like the Wachowskis are expected to always return to this universe. The only thing grounding Neo is Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), who died in Revolutions but along with Neo was resurrected by the aforementioned Analyst, who was tasked with researching Neo. He discovered Neo's powers were linked to Trinity and he could run the Matrix based on Neo and Trinity's relationship. I'm still a little confused on how this all works. But essentially, with Neo leaving the Matrix, it has destabilized. Trinity was given the name "Tiffany" while in the Matrix and the Analyst made sure to keep her and Neo close together in the Matrix. Neo wanting her out of the Matrix puts him at odds with the Analyst who wants him back in the Matrix. While the love story between Neo and Trinity didn't quite work for me in the trilogy I found there was something genuinely touching about their reunion in this film. 

As others have pointed out, the Analyst is essentially a cynical Kevin Feige- like studio producer who's vision of the Matrix is to give people what they want. "The sheeple aren't going anywhere. They like my world," he tells Neo and Trinity in the final scene. "They want to be controlled. They crave the comfort of certainty." Coming back to the title, he's essentially resurrected the franchise and its dead characters. But Neo and Trinity tell him they're going to rewrite the Matrix. This echoes the original film's ending which implied Neo could change the Matrix, which the sequels ignored. It's also commenting on change and creativity in a franchise a good thing. And I would hope if there is a Matrix 5 the Matrix should look very different. 

I feel I'm liking this film more in retrospect, which I know I've said before about certain films. I do feel this a film that's more interesting than enjoyable. It perhaps loses itself in its meta-commentary to the detriment of being a satisfying entertainment. The reason the original film is still the best is because it was just a exceptionally cool action film, with its blend of philosophy, martial arts, cyberpunk and rage against the system energy. The first two sequels- particularly The Matrix Reloaded- doubled down on the philosophy and action, ending up disappearing up their own asses. Re-watching them recently what stands out is the thin and stretched out story. Most of the films' running time is dedicated to bigger action sequences and duller scenes of philosophical discussion.

The original film had the right amount of philosophy without losing the audience. It was simple and accessible. And it was one of those zeitgeist defining films, a film I'd argue is the Star Wars of its time. And It probably never should have never gotten a sequel.  The Matrix films have become like the Terminator franchise, in that it's been difficult to continue on the story from the first film- though Terminator 2 is a terrific sequel. The Matrix Resurrections critiques its own existence but may not prevent more Matrix films. It may have even opened the door. But as Morpheus would say, the Wachowskis will be the ones who have to walk through it.