Live and Let Die (1973)

Director:

Guy Hamilton

Writer:

Tom Mankiewicz (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 June 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

Roger Moo7re is James Bond

Plot:

007 is sent to stop a diabolically brilliant heroin magnate armed with a complex organization and a reliable psychic tarot card reader.

Plot Keywords:

British | Heroin | Tarot Card | James Bond | Card

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Roger Moore	...	James Bond
Yaphet Kotto	...	Kananga / Mr. Big
Jane Seymour	...	Solitaire
Clifton James	...	Sheriff J.W. Pepper
Julius Harris	...	Tee Hee (as Julius W. Harris)
Geoffrey Holder	...	Baron Samedi
David Hedison	...	Felix Leiter
Gloria Hendry	...	Rosie Carver
Bernard Lee	...	M
Lois Maxwell	...	Miss Moneypenny
Tommy Lane	...	Adam
Earl Jolly Brown	...	Whisper
Roy Stewart	...	Quarrel Jr.
Lon Satton	...	Strutter
Arnold Williams	...	Cab Driver 1

Also Known As:

Ian Fleming's Live and Let Die (UK) (complete title) (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Hungarian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Iceland:12 | Ireland:PG | South Korea:15 | Brazil:Livre | New Zealand:PG | Canada:14A (video rating) | Portugal:M/12 | UK:PG (tv rating) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (TV rating) | Australia:PG (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1973) | Peru:14 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (video rating) | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | UK:A (original rating) | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

117th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Eon Productions

Trivia:

During the car / boat chase in Louisiana, the road they travel on shows the newly introduced full yellow road striping. Although still pretty rare at the time to see full yellow striping (MUDCT introduced it in late 1971), you'll notice that there are no white lines underneath. (Later scenes show that this road had just been re-surfaced, and parts have no striping at all. Hence, it was most definitely plausible to have had the full new markings present and no trace of the old ones.)

Goofs:

Continuity: When Tee Hee is feeding the alligators, his wrist moves on the prosthetic arm. Later, in the train fight, his whole arm is revealed when his sleeve rips, and the arm has no wrist joint.

Quotes:

[first lines]
UN Translator: [translating for Hungarian delegate] ... was so ably pointed out by the Secretary General in his opening remarks. But - and I must emphasize this point - no formula can or will ever cover each case. For instance...
[audio feed is unplugged]

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Itse valtiaat - Agenttimusikaali (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

LIVE AND LET DIE

Good Bond movie with a few minor problems.

Of all the Bonds that have been made, this one is probably the darkest.

One of the things that I am missing is the humor. It misses the typical Roger Moore James Bond humor with as a result that the movie becomes a bit too serious. Sure it has some funny moment but it just misses the Roger Moore touch he added to the later Bond movies. But that's no wonder since this was Moore's first Bond, it looks like both actor and crew were still searching for the right character for Moore's Bond.

Another minor problem is the story. There happens too much in a too short amount of time. They could have resolved this by making the movie just 10 minutes longer.

But still it is a very solid Bond movie. It has some amazing character such as Baron Samedi and the legendary Sheriff J.W. Pepper that later returned in "The Man with the Golden Gun". The villains are one of the very best from the Bond series even though Kananga is a bit underused. Jane Seymour plays a great and beautiful Bond girl but again also she is a bit underused.

The atmosphere is pretty dark, mainly of course the scene's in Harlem. It's interesting but I still prefer the lighter Bond.

The movie is full with famous Bond scene's with the speed boat chase as one of the best. It's funny, spectacular and tense in other words: Typical Bond. I also always enjoy the scene's between Bond and M and this movie is no exception. Their relationship and the certain tension towards each other is priceless and always good for some hard laughs. It's pure comedy that not all people will understand.

The music by George Martin is different but it suits the movie and it's atmosphere really well! The main title song by Paul and Linda McCartney is also very good and one of the very best Bond theme songs.

Solid Bond that could have been excellent.

7/10