ALL SCI-FI Forum Index ALL SCI-FI
The place to “find your people”.
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

Moonraker (1979)
Goto page Previous  1, 2
 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    ALL SCI-FI Forum Index -> Sci-Fi Movies from 1970 to 2000
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Krel.
Guest





PostPosted: Tue May 07, 2019 4:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

In the beginning of the movie, they hijack a shuttle, and fry the 747 carrier. They interviewed the actual 747 carrier pilot that did the shuttle drop flights about what would actually happen in that case.

The Pilot said that first off the carrier plane couldn't fly if the shuttle were fueled, it would weigh too much. What they found during the shuttle drop tests, is that the shuttle was providing most of the lift. When the shuttle was released, the 747 would immediately drop, losing altitude. So the carrier plane should have been okay in the movie.

The theme to "Goldfinger", was originally sung by Anthony Newley, who also wrote the song. You can hear it on YouTube, its a bit different.

David.
Back to top
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17019
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Tue May 07, 2019 5:27 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

That's fascinating! I always thought that the unfueled shuttle (which they were when being carried) couldn't possibly launch from the 747 without extensive "secret" modifications to both the shuttle and the 747.

After all, the shuttle carried very little fuel on it's own, so without the giant liquid fuel tank attached to it, the shuttle wouldn't have gotten very far.

Thanks, Krel.

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17019
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Wed Dec 04, 2019 10:41 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I'll say one thing for Moonraker, it certainly upheld the Bond tradition concerning beautiful sets. Cool


__________

__________









____________ Moonraker (1979) Official Trailer


__________

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Pow
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 3400
Location: New York

PostPosted: Wed Dec 04, 2019 12:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes Bud, the sets for "Moonraker'' remain stunning to look at to this day.

From the caves with the grotto in S.America & the villain's hidden space shuttle base, to the space station you can admire the designs and work that went into creating 'em all.

I always got a real kick out of the conference table Drax had located under the blast door for the shuttle.

It's monitors & chairs automatically folded up and lowered down into the floor.

Made me wonder if such a design would work for futuristic submarines and space ships?

Since room is a premium on such vessels it would seem that it might be practical to have furniture, lab benches, beds and so forth to be able to retract into floors, walls, and ceilings in order to make room for other items as needed.

Multi-purpose rooms.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17019
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Wed Dec 04, 2019 1:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I'm not a fan of the Roger Moore films in the Bond franchise, but I was really impressed by the space battle in the climax. The special effects are still gorgeous, as shown by the video below.


_________ Moonraker 1979 - Laser Battle scene


__________


And then Bond and Miss Goodhead chase the last remaining poison gas container in a space shuttle equipped with a laser, skipping across the atmosphere, causing the shuttle to heat up.

Very dramatic. Cool


____________ Moonraker - Attempting Re-Entry


__________

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
The Spike
Astral Engineer


Joined: 23 Sep 2014
Posts: 266
Location: Birmingham. Great Britain.

PostPosted: Thu Feb 27, 2020 8:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

At least I shall have the pleasure of putting you out of my misery.

Moonraker is directed by Lewis Gilbert and adapted to screenplay by Christopher Wood from the novel written by Ian Fleming. It stars Roger Moore, Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Richard Kiel and Corinne Dufour. Music is scored by John Barry and cinematography by Jean Tournier.

Bond 11 and 007 is tasked with finding out what happened to the Moonraker space shuttle that mysteriously disappeared up in space. His investigation takes him to the billionaire builder of the craft, Hugo Drax, where Bond discovers a fiendish plot to start a new world of perfect human beings.

At the end of The Spy Who Loved Me we were told that James Bond would return in For Your Eyes Only, but the gargantuan success of Star Wars and a rekindling of all things sci-fi led Albert Broccoli to send 007 out into space! Armed with a $30 million budget and using only the core base plotting of Fleming's novel, the makers crafted what many feel is the runt of the James Bond litter. The money "is" up there on the screen, it's excess overdrive, outlandish from start to finish and actually is very very entertaining. The problem is that in James Bond terms it barely feels like a Bond movie, it actually could be any bloke propelling the story, this is a guy reliant on gadgets and not his brain or brawn, quipping away purely for the sake of a cheap laugh. Ultimately it's a cash in, both in terms of the sci-fi boom hitting the late 70s and of the James Bond name.

If judged away from the Bond universe on its own popcorn terms, the film is a blast, literally. As a whole it's a bit choppy, but many of the parts desperately trying to make up a cohesive blockbuster are great entertainment. Mid air scrap for a parachute, a cable car sequence brilliantly realised, centrifuge chamber peril, boat chase, laser fight and much space age malarkey, the film is chocked full of crowd pleasing moments. In fact it's often mistaken as being a film set in space, when in fact the action doesn't move up there until the last half hour, the previous hour and a half is spread out over France, Italy, Brazil, USA, Gutemala and of course England. The score and the title song, however, are very much Bond. With Barry and Bassey back respectively, this film is filled with appropriate atmospheric space strains and a hauntingly emotive theme song.

Characterizations are a mixed bag. Lonsdale's Hugo Drax is one of the better Bond villains, dignified, well educated and wallowing in a life of luxury, he's perfectly understated in Lonsdale's hands and in fact steals every scene he shares with Moore's Bond. Holly Goodhead (Chiles) is a bold Bond girl with many skills, she's a scientist and an astronaut, attractive and decently played by Chiles, if a touch unmemorable in the Bond girl universe. Kiel is back as Jaws, with the makers choosing to make him some love sick puppy dog, where once was a unique villain, now is cypher for slapstick and a crappy flip-flop of plotting, while the "love interest" for Jaws, Dolly (Blanche Ravalec), is cringe worthy. Sadly this would be the last appearance of Bernard Lee as M, but he leaves a favourable mark, as does Desomond Llewelyn as Q, but once again Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) is all too brief, the flirt and banter she used to share with Bond now seems long gone.

With a committed Bond fan base trudging through the turnstiles to see the latest installment, the sci-fi fans intrigued by the themes of the story, and the general blockbuster loving crowd, Moonraker made a colossal $203 million at the worldwide box office, making it the highest grossing Bond film so far, a record that would stick until Brosnan's debut in 1995. While critical notices were not as bad as some would have you believe, the critics clearly judging it on non Bond terms. Broccoli took notice of the fans, though, who were upset by the lack of respect to the serious side of Bond. He promised things would be different for Bond 12. 7/10

_________________
The quality of mercy is not strnen.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17019
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Thu Feb 27, 2020 9:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Brother, there ain't nothin' to disagree with in your review, Sir Spike, so I'll just say, "Good show, old chap! Bravo!"

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    ALL SCI-FI Forum Index -> Sci-Fi Movies from 1970 to 2000 All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Goto page Previous  1, 2
Page 2 of 2

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group