As a big fan of the James Bond franchise (a direct result of being in a relationship with a Bond obsessive for ~7 years), I’ve always meant to do a ranking of all the films but have never really bothered with it. Today is the day it finally happens!
I’ve included non-canon Bond films in the list in order to capture my feelings for the film series as a whole. I also have to mention as a disclaimer that I tend toward enjoying the ‘camp’ films in the series more than the films that take themselves fairly seriously. Roger Moore is my favourite Bond, which might serve as an explanation for that. I really love the franchise and we usually do a yearly Bond marathon where we’ll watch all the films over the span of about two weeks (not one film consistently after the other, I think I would probably go crazy).
One day, I plan to have a post on each of these films, whether it’s an actual review or just me waxing lyrical about how amazing the cinematography is. I’ll link any reviews to this list once I’ve posted them.
Let me know what you think – what’s in your top 10? Are there any typically ‘bad’ Bond films that you secretly/publicly love? How amazing is Moonraker?
Here’s the list:
- Live And Let Die (1973)
- On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
- Casino Royale (2006)
- The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)
- Moonraker (1979)
- A View to a Kill (1985)
- Dr. No (1962)
- Octopussy (1983)
- Goldfinger (1964)
- The Living Daylights (1987)
- From Russia With Love (1963)
- For Your Eyes Only (1981)
- Licence to Kill (1989)
- Skyfall (2012)
- The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
- Goldeneye (1995)
- Quantum of Solace (2008)
- Thunderball (1965)
- Casino Royale (1967)
- You Only Live Twice (1967)
- Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
- The World Is Not Enough (1999)
- Never Say Never Again (1983)
- Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
- Die Another Day (2009)
(Holy crap – no idea why it’s showing up as Roman numerals, but I’m keeping it that way because it looks classy.)
FILM GRIMOIRE 
hehe, the roman numerals thing was a “happy accident!” it looks cool that way. This is a great, inspired list Anna, nice. Would be hard for me to rank mine because I love them all. I’m surprised to not see Goldeneye on the list, though! Its one of my top five, probably. It’s not a great film but it’s one of the only good ones Pierce Brosnan got to do. . . 😉
Haha, thank you! 🙂 Truth be told, I actually forgot to put Goldeneye on the list! I knew I was forgetting something. Shows how I feel about it, really! Thanks for bringing that to my attention, shall fix it up now. You’re right, though, it’s probably Brosnan’s best one!
I agree, Goldeneye is the perfect mix of all the Bond elements
I still have a lot of Bond movies to catch up on but I do have to say I LOVE Casino Royal 2006 and Skyfall! I’ve managed to avoid Die Another Day, maybe that’s a good thing based on your list 🙂
Two pretty good films to see! 🙂 Die Another Day is so bad. You’re definitely not missing out on anything!
Good list. The Spy Who Loved Me is number one for. I’m a big fan of Roger Moore though so great to see Live and Let Die so high!
Dr. No, Frm Russia With Love and Goldeneye are also big favourites of mine.
I love the Egypt scenes in The Spy Who Loved Me! Roger is the best for sure.
There are so many things I love about The Spy Who Loved Me and it begins with that jump off the cliff face to see Bond’s parachute open displaying a Union Jack! 🙂
Two of my favourites are actually Goldeneye and You Only Live Twice. Glad Die Another Day is right at the bottom, it’s by far the worst!
Die Another Day is so bad! I watched it again recently because it was on the television and it has not dated well.
I was agreeing with you, right up until I was reading your list back to front haha. Only joking, but I really don’t like the Moore era, which explains some of my differences. I think it depends on the first Bond you watch. For example, Brosnan was the first Bond I saw, so when I think of Bond, I think of him as Pierce.
Haha! I kind of love that about the Bond films though, how whichever one you’ve grown up with is generally your favourite. Gives it a sentimental quality that not many other franchises have.
The Roman numerals do look classy! 🙂 I think we all have different ideas for our favourite but Die Another Day will probably be on the bottom of everyone’s pretty much haha. I’ve done 3 Bond quizzes but my dad still wants me to do more Bond stuff on my site ha. What’s your favourite opening scene?
Yeah, I think Die Another Day is universally hated for good reason. It’s just not good and the theme song is the worst. I think my favourite opening scene is the one from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service concluding with Lazenby saying, “This never happened to the other fellow”. I also really like the Moonraker one with the mid-air struggle between Bond and Jaws. Which one’s your favourite?
The first Bond I saw at the cinema was Goldeneye. There’d been a big break before that film and so it was huge anticipation. And that opening stunt……. Do you and your partner have a similar order for your Bond films? Which was the first one you ever saw?
Here’s his top five:
1) On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
2) From Russia With Love
3) You Only Live Twice
4) Thunderball
5) Licence to Kill
So I think we have a pretty different taste! Dalton is his favourite Bond and I think he’s okay. I’m pretty sure the first Bond film I watched was either Live and Let Die or Octopussy, on the TV or something when I was really young. So that’s probably where my Roger Moore love comes from!
I read the first Bond book and I’m a big fan of Dalton. Real shame he didn’t do more. I hope one day they will open up a Bond museum. Can you pass my Bond test on to him. I really think he can beat 15
http://alexraphael.wordpress.com/2013/10/09/film-quizzes-james-bond/
http://alexraphael.wordpress.com/2013/10/12/film-quizzes-james-bond-2/
http://alexraphael.wordpress.com/2013/10/16/film-quizzes-james-bond-3/
I’ll make sure I pass them on, I think he would have a lot of fun with those! We have a Bond exhibition here in Melbourne at the moment, it’s called Designing 007. Looks pretty amazing, I have to catch it before it finishes up!
Does he make James Bond puns? Let me know how the exhibition turns out too 🙂
I have results from the quizzes! He got 100% correct! He doesn’t make many puns but occasionally he will quote a line of dialogue in the middle of a conversation, and the dialogue will match perfectly with the context of the conversation. He’s that kind of Bond maniac.
Superb. He really knows his stuff.
I read that as you were in a relationship with Bond for 7 years!
No love for the Brosnan films?
Ha! Worst boyfriend ever! Yeah, not much of a fan of Brosnan, though I do generally like Goldeneye.
Great list! We don’t entirely see eye to eye, considering Goldeneye is my favourite, followed by Goldfinger and Skyfall. I do have a soft spot for the Brosnan considering he was the Bond of my generation.
Regards, Jordan
Thanks! That’s what I love about Bond – the way we kind of attach to the one we grow up with, and how there’s such variety between the actors. There’s something for everyone. 🙂
I saw all the old James Bond movies with my father when I was very little, and I remember they were perfect. I wonder what would I think of them now 🙂
You should revisit them! 🙂
Interesting list and I like some of the choices. I still have atl least two thirds of the Bond films I haven’t seen in full or at all.
For me Sean Connery is my favourite version of Bond and my favourite film would be Goldfinger, its classic and it has one of the best theme songs. I think Casino Royale would be in a close second because I adore that film and LOVE Daniel Craig.
Definitely agree with you on the Goldfinger theme – what an amazing song. Shirley Bassey has a fine set of pipes!
Excellent list, the Bond films are one of my favourite movie franchises.
Thanks! Me too. 🙂
I’ve only seen a couple of Bond movies – because I suck – but I love the Roman Numerals. This is a classy joint – I’m surprised you haven’t kicked me out yet….
Ha! Classy by accident!
Interesting list. I will say that Moonraker, The Man with the Golden Gun, and Octupussy would probably be closer to the bottom for me with Bond films. That said, it all depends on the perspective. It looks like you’re more of a Roger Moore fan, and I do have a soft spot for his work since I grew up with it. I’m more partial to The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only, though. I will say that I agree with your last three, which are all terrible. We also have several of the same on our top five.
My top five: 1. Thunderball, 2. Licence to Kill, 3. Casino Royale, 4. The Spy Who Loved Me, 5. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
That’s a good top five! Lots of people make fun of For Your Eyes Only but I thought it was pretty solid. I’m glad I’m not the only person who thinks Diamonds Are Forever is a big pile of garbage (although Die Another Day is certainly worse).
oh my gosh! I dreamed about being able to do this, but the Bond films are all kind of similar and I lost steam after watching the first 5 or so. Kudos for your stamina! Of the ones I’ve seen, my favorites are Goldfinger, From Russia with Love, and Casino Royale (2006). I’m surprised to see On Her Majesty’s Secret Service near the top of your list – did the poor editing not bother you?
Yeah, I think somewhere around the middle-end of this list all the plots start to blend together. For example, I can never remember the plot of Thunderball to save my own life, but all I know is that I enjoy some more than it and some less than it. As for OHMSS, I really love it for a number of reasons but have never noticed the editing! Is it really bad? I’ll try and pay attention to it the next time I watch! 🙂
Maybe the editing isn’t as bad as I think! I remember one of the fight sequences being poorly mashed together, but if that’s the only thing I can remember then maybe it’s the only example!
My boyfriend is insisting that he replies to your comment! He says, “You’re probably referring to the fight sequence in the ocean in the pre-title sequence, and the fight sequence in Piz Gloria, and in Draco’s office, which all utilise jump cuts. This is a stylistic choice and doesn’t work for everyone but is somewhat unique for the Bond franchise (probably why I like it even more, plus John Glen is the editor and he’s awesome)”. As you can see, he thinks about this stuff a lot!
haha that’s cool, I’m glad he’s passionate about it! It was completely lost on me that the fight sequences (I was thinking of the one in Draco’s office, specifically) featured jump cuts – that explains everything. Now, if anything, I’m determined to re-watch it with this in mind!
For me Dr. No is top of the list. Followed by From Russia With Love, Casino Royale, Goldeneye and The Living Daylights.
That’s a great selection! The Living Daylight is so good. Excellent theme song too.
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