James Bond at 60 - Top 5 Best Dialogues 🗣️

In this feature series, celebrating the 60th anniversary of the cinematic James Bond, I reflect on some of Bond's greatest moments or those that weren't great.

[deanjonasson]

Enjoyed your Top 5 very much. When people think about Bond films, they focus on the action, the gadgets, the plot twists and locations. What is sometimes overlooked are the dialogue and characterization. Your analysis brings these to the fore. Your choices were thoughtful and well analyzed. The scene from THE SPY WHO LOVED ME was an intriguing surprise. One might conclude that neither Moore nor Bach are A-list actors but they pull off this scene well, ratcheting up the tension and stakes. (It's a pity that that level of drama is forsaken by the final scene.) Another surprising pick was from THUNDERBALL between Bond and Volpe. The coldness of their exchange highlights what a mercenary world both operate in. Rich dialogue like this works between strong equals; Bond vs. Red Grant as well as Bond vs. Scramanga. For me, your #2 choice would certainly be my #1: Bond vs. Vesper Lynd sparing on the train. We learn a lot of backstory and both characters are fleshed out. As with THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, the personal stakes are established but, unlike the earlier film, these stakes will have significant consequences throughout the remainder of the film.  

When fans talk about where they want the franchise to go moving forward, I would vote for more dialogue of this calibre. It is what separates the Bond series from other spy/action films. (When this aspect fails, say in DIE ANOTHER DAY, the film is hobbled and has to rely on the aforementioned action, gadgets, etc.)

Thanks for putting this together. In my next viewing of the Bond series, I'll keep my eye (and ear) tuned for other notable examples of best dialogue.

[SPORT]

I immediately thought of the Bond/Vesper conversation when I saw your post. Wonderfully written and acted.

[guyandre]

If I may say so, I think that Eva Green is such a good actress, that one can see, in the intensity of her eyes, that, at that very moment, it is love at first sight, and that Bond “will get his wicked way”.

[guyandre]

“Old man” is what alumni of the same college, generally Oxford or Cambridge, call themselves when they meet, for instance years later, at their “gentlemen clubs.
“The vilain” who has just blown is cover by not knowing, sacrilege, that only white wine is appropriate with fish, (a cardinal sin in the 50s’ 60s’ and 70s’) had tried to look and sound “very British” (his mother tongue being Russian) when he met Bond earlier on, by casually placing the words within the conversation he initiated.
However, Bond’ suspicion, discreet light raise of the eyebrows, had been arisen straight away when those words were used.
A real British gentleman wouldn’t behave in such a way when meeting a stranger on a train, of course.
Even in the Orient Express.

[jorgriebold]

Sehr interessante und gute Auswahl (insb. Nr. 1!). "Ich bin das Geld" wäre bei mir auch dabei gewesen 😀

[guyandre]

Concerning Bond v Vesper Lynd, I would say that, written in the days of “women emancipation” the dialogue is more one-upmanship than insult.
Lynd behaves like a man, like an equal.
The reference to Omega was probably part of “the contract” as Omega had a promotion campaign with the Bond franchise, when they took over from Rolex.
The Omega Seamaster range was actually sold at the time by the Geneva horlogers as the “Bond watch”.
A few were actually manufactured with the 007 gun logo on the back of the case.

[metamoralia]

Yes, absolutely ... the dialogue scene between Bond & Grant is just wonderfully tense and riddled with a kind of class hatred. It's the one time in the series when Bond really looks like he's had it.

[billlucas]

Excellent choices. But it should be remembered that Bond and Anya had already become intimate before this scene, which made Anya's death threat even more profound

[miroslavvarga]

the skiing scene(spy who loved me) is officially in the film in Austria, not in Switzerland, otherwise the scene was filmed in northeastern Canada.It's interesting that someone knows every scene from Bond movies, which are essentially fiction, and in fact has no idea about geography. This is a typically American story, but it's obviously rooted in Mother England.😂😂😂