@@AD-kv9kj Ok. I give up. You are right. The first gunbarrel looks much better, more polished, and looks more like a gunbarrel than the high definition colored No Time do Die Gunbarrel that actually looks like a gunbarrel.
The gun barrel sequence is to James Bond what the title crawl is to Star Wars. There's always such an electric feeling to sit down in the cinema, the lights go down, you get that title & rating card up and then the theme swells, and we get the famous intro we're expecting. It just immediately sets the mood for the viewing, and primes you for the experience ahead, so for the Daniel Craig era to mostly not include in the beginning is has been one of the things that has REALLY bothered me. I do agree though that Casino Royale gets a a free pass/praise since it actually works so well with the themes of the movie and helps "establish" the trope, and I enjoy the different take that No Time To Die does because again, it works without feeling jarring - unlike Spectre...
I agree. Till this day I'm still pissed that the gun barrel was not in the beginning of Skyfall. Regardless of Sam Mendes' bullshit excuse it should've been in the beginning lol
@@ivanivez7456 yeh as nice as the cinematic shot at the start of Skyfall is, it just doesn't justify the absence of the gun barrel for me. They could easily have given us a gunbarrel with an establishing shot, then gone into the same intro we got anyway.
I agree. The one thing I will disagree on is I don’t like the swelling music. This trope needs to stop. I love the moment of silence after the idents, the to be blasted out of my seat with the appearance of the white dots and not a moment before. The suspense for me is as important as the execution of the barrel itself.
Im gonna be honest, while i grew up with the gunbarrel era films as a kid with Roger Moore flicks, the first movie theatre showing of Bond i watched was Skyfall. So i never really got that movie theatre thrill to the gunbarrel showing up, at least not like i did watching Force Awakens as my first theatre experience of a Star Wars film.
Craig walks too fast in his gun barrel sequences. I always thought the "premise" of the gun barrel sequence is Bond walking casually (not too fast and not too slow) seemingly unaware of an assasin having him in his sights when suddenly Bond whirls to the camera and fires....eliminating the threat!
Agreed, but also the blood flows down too quickly. It looks too CGI if you catch my drift. The blood in Brosnan's sequences is also CGI but it flows much more smoothly.
In Casino Royale, gunbarrel zooms out because James Bond is starting. In Quantum of Solace, he walks fast because he’s chasing his enemies to pay them back In Skyfall, he walks slow because his condition got worse In Spectre, Blofeld was expecting him because he showed his gun already. In No Time to Die, gunbarrel zooms in because James Bond is ending
The gun barrel walk at the beginning of any bond provides a certain adrenaline ŕush when you see it in the theater for the first it is like a event which make the bond movies so unique. Simply the greatest movie franchise of all time 18:25
I felt they all were symbolic and thematic in their own way; 1. CR - Bond begins 2. QoS - Bond comes full circle 3. SF - Bond begins again 4. SP - Bond looks to the past 5. NTTD - Bond fades
The No Time to Die gunbarrel feels quite haunting cuz of how there's no blood and Bond fades out, foreshadowing his fate at the end. Obviously it didn't haunt me on the first viewing and didn't really pick up on any of that since I didn't know what happens at the end. But now when I see it, kind of makes me think of Avengers: Infinity War title appearing in the end credits and flakes away into dust the same style as how Thanos snapped everyone away into dust.
I think my most hated part of the Craig Bond gunbarrels is that, for QoS, Skyfall and Spectre, the blood has no animation. It doesn’t actually dribble, it just falls like a shutter being pulled down. You’d think you’d get better results nowadays since it’s easier to animate it than in the past when it all had to be done by hand, but, apparently not. It just adds to the feeling of laziness of “right, gotta get this over and done with”. I’m also not a fan of the music playing over the studio logos*, it feels just a bit too self-aggrandising. *Side note to say I dislike the new MGM logo. It feels way too gaudy and the CGI lion is terrible. Maybe because I think the original was pretty classy already, but I thought the 2012 update gave it a modern spin while keeping that sense of class.
ahh man i love the new MGM logo, it gives it a cinematic legacy kind of feel. The new United Artist logo i dont like at all, I prefer the shiny Golden star/sun look they had from Goldeneye. But I do always like the MGM/UA 80's one from For your eyes only. soooo 80's :)
@@DafyddBrooks Maybe I’ll come to appreciate it with time - it was quite jarring to see the CGI Leo, having become so used to live-action Leo. Rewatching it, perhaps I was being too harsh to call the CGI “terrible” - it is good, it just looks a little too noticeably CGI to me. For me, peak UA logo is the metallic one they brought in around 2000 or so, simply because it’s the one that they used for the Ultimate Edition remasters, so I associate it with watching Bond films in a sort of Pavlovian way.
@@BenCol haha fair enough. it can be quite jarring when you see something new sometimes and if it aint broke, dont fix it right?! as for MGM, theres not a lot they can do differently to both keep the lion and things and keep it fresh other than just completely change it altogether . You know what you have a point about the simple metallic UA there, its to the point and quick :). Disneys one in 2006 for the 2nd pirates movie was always fantastic. I was sad when universal only had this for 7 years and then changed it for Jurrasic park 2 ua-cam.com/video/jpLTq3Fc2vU/v-deo.html. I think its magical and very John williamsey :)
I quite agree with you on the new MGM logo, BenCol. I honestly prefer it when there's no zoom or fancy cg work going on. Just a fade on the logo, lion roars, fade out. As you say, it's a classy logo, I prefer it when studios keep it simple. For instance, I much prefer the 2D Disney logo from the 90s than the CG elaborate one they've been using since Tangled (I think Tangled was the first to use it... Since that era anyway!)
@@calvindyson the Cel animated one will always win over the elbarate CGI one any day :). Oh man I'll go further and say I miss VHS intro from Disney :) ua-cam.com/video/Yv2arFRJisA/v-deo.html
Thanks for the video Calvin I totally understand why CR didn't have a traditional gunbarrel and the one we did get is genius. The rest are a little harder to defend. The last fully traditional gunbarrel including the iris opening to the first scene and blood was TWINE because DAD had the CGI bullet. There has been no normal gun barrel this century.
First of all, I love that you call Die Another Day "DAD" lmao. Secondly, doesn't Spectre have a traditional gunbarrel? We DO have a normal gunbarrel this century, with Spectre.
@@HOTD108_ yeah but people as usual complained on how spectre's was incompetently done. Here's some list -Craig reveal gun during walk - the gun barrel doesn't move after it gets shot - no iris transition - the "the deads are alive" thing tbh its more of a nitpicking really because people are nostalgic on pierce brosnan's gunbarrel design and think they could do better than the movie studio
Honestly, the gunbarrel sequence has never boiled down to presentation for me but more of the music that accompanies each of them which is why I love Dr. No, OHMSS, FYEO, LTK and ALL of the Brosnan Bonds. What gets me most about Craig's gunbarrel is the stock Bond theme usually incorporated with them. All I just ask for are those musical spices to help set the tone of the movie to come.
18 minutes of thoughts that every single James Bond fan in the world has had countless times but not another soul on Earth has ever thought about for more than two seconds :D Great video as always Calvin!
When I saw DAD in the cinema, I definitely did a Dr. Evil “WOAH!!!” when we got the bullet projectile in the gun barrel. I got a kick out of it when I was 13, but it really wasn’t needed. Then again, it’s another thing to have a laugh at when rewatching DAD
QoS has the worst IMO and its all because of the preceding scene. Bond drops the necklace in the snow, he walks off, ECU of the necklace in the snow, Arnold’s beautiful and melancholic last four piano notes. Fade to black and then all of a sudden… bam… Bond theme and Craig trying to speed things up. IMO it would have been better if the scene faded to black, the white dots appear, no music, no sound and until Bond turns, fires and then the gunshot is heard and Eva Almer’s “Forever” begins and continues for the rest of the credits.
Love your tweak suggestion! I agree, it's odd to follow up such a sombre moment with it. I guess they wanted the audience to leave on a 'high' so they provided it as a jolt of excitment at the very end, whether it worked with the final scene or not.
@@calvindyson I do wonder if the gun barrell was even in the movie originally or was it added when the Mr White scene was dropped at the end [hence why it looks rushed]?
@@calvindyson I dont know how you feel about 'fanmade' gunbarrel sequences but this 'Casino Royale' style sequence made for QoS is pretty good imo. ua-cam.com/video/yfOszQoN1Yg/v-deo.html
I think back to opening night and just think ‘Man, I’m not gonna have that first viewing experience for at least 2 years again’. Even as I was sat there I was so aware of what a special occasion that Bond theme song blasting is at the cinema it was just incredible!
One thing I recently (re)discovered that surprised me greatly: Ever since David Arnold's first score with Tomorrow Never Dies and continuing on post-Arnold, the gunbarrel music has had a very distinct ending with the "Da-Da-da-Daaaaaaaa...." refrain repeated three times followed by a final closisng note. The thing that surprised me was that it turns out Arnold did NOT come up with that ending riff: George Martin first used it in his gunbarrel sequence all the way back in 1973's Live & Let Die, and it was not reused until David Arnold revived it 24 years later, copying Martin's ending exactly.
@@calvindyson Hi Calvin what do you think of the possibility of the bond series making movies that are set back in the 60s or even the 50s? I would personally love to see a faithful adaption of Trigger Mortis. Just wondering how you would feel about that?
The Craig gunbarrels are my favorite because of how they represent the film. In Casino Royal it was his transition to 007. The reason Bond is so fast in Quantum of Solace is because he is running from his enemies. He is slow and awkward in Skyfall because he isn't completely healthy. He waves the gun in Spectre because his enemies already know who he is and are watching him. And No Time to Die has no blood because he misses the shot. Also, you'll notice the gun sound plays before Craig pulls his gun up seeming that Bond got shot first.
Pierce Brosnan is the king of the Gunbarrel. I like the background music of Goldeneye but I love Thunderball, For Your Eyes Only and Licence To Kill background music more.
I’m not exactly sure why but during the craig era, it seems like everyone involved in the making of the films have completely forgotten how to do the gunbarrel sequence. It’s a classic case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
Previously they just filmed one for each Bond and re-used the footage [minor changes not withstanding] while in the Craig era they just tried a different one each time and frankly after 20 films, why not try new things?
It felt to me like they were purposely going out of their way to make James Bond films NOT James Bond films anymore. Same thing applies, though... if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
The major problem I have with the Craig films (and this ties in directly with the gunbarrels) is that they spend so many movies building him up and introducing him to us that in turn they run out of time to actually have regular bond adventures. For example, Casino Royale, Quantum, and Skyfall are all just meant to introduce us to Craig’s Bond. The end of Skyfall being, “Okay, now we can get to work”. Then they have one standard Bond outing with Spectre, and since they’ve run out of time, have to quickly wrap things up with No Time to Die. This is indicative of a lot of other failed contemporary movie series as well ie: - Star Trek 09 - The Amazing Spider-Man - The DC cinematic universe It’s as if they don’t know how to pace things, and the series runs out of steam before it even gets off the ground. Although Brosnan had 1 less movie than Craig, I feel like he was Bond for far longer.
Skyfall's epliogue to me more felt like a subversion of the classic Bond set up. Bond meets the MI6 crew and gets his mission and goes into the Gunbarrel sequence at the end rather than these being at the start. It also ties into the 'life goes on' feeling of the ending where despite the lost of Judi's M, the work continues [similar to how NTTD ends with Bond's wake]. Skyfall feels more like Bond justifying his place as he's getting older and both his and M's method's are constantly being questioned so he's very much 'established' by that point to me.
I know I'm in the minority with this opinion but I absolutely love Spectre's gunbarrel with it returning to the old school static background and the iris opening up on Bond as he starts walking. While I think we'd all have preferred Craig to not swing his gun around as he walks, I honestly don't mind it as much anymore as it does kind of fit Craig's portrayal of Bond as a reckless and cavalier agent who probably doesn't care if he lives or dies but will do his job anyways. I also love the colour of the blood, it's a really captivating shade of red. The only things keeping this gunbarrel sequence from being the best for me personally is the fact it fades to black and to that "the dead are alive" shit and that unfortunately Spectre peaked within the first 15 seconds with the sequence itself lol
Craig's big-dick gun swinging is hardly the most questionable choice among gun barrel actors' physical performance: original gun barrel Bond stand-in Bob Simmons had an odd little hop (nearly a bounce) that left him standing distinctly off-center to the left at the end of his gun barrel sequence, Roger Moore would clutch the elbow of his gun arm with his other hand for his early gun barrels (presumably in what could only have been a massively counterproductive attempt to steady his shot) and bless his heart, George Lazenby actually ended his one shot at a gun barrel on one knee. Looking back, the gun barrel sequences are almost something of a chronicle of outdated ideas of what people used to think an effective (or at least "cool") gun stance was (I guess we can at least all be thankful that Brosnan never succumbed to the odd 90's obsession with holding your gun sideways).
@@briangonigal3974 > Roger Moore would clutch the elbow of his gun arm with his other hand for his early gun barrels (presumably in what could only have been a massively counterproductive attempt to steady his shot) What he was doing is the Weaver stance, which _is_ proper firearm etiquette, just so you know. In fact, it's one of *the* main shooting stances for a handgun along with the Isosceles Stance, even if the latter is more popular nowadays.
The uneven gunbarrel qualities reflect how messily handled the Craig era became. They weren't prepared for a continuous narrative or the shifting tones of movies from 2006-2021 and while I'm pretty happy with Craig's films overall the sloppiness at times is something I really hope the producers learned from
Honestly, it feels more like they gave each film maker the freedom to tailor the gun barrel to each film rather than just re-using the footage each time and I'm fine with that.
Subverting tropes is all well and good - but it kind of loses all meaning when you do it so much the audience forgets what it is you’re subverting in the first place!
I thought the No Time To Die gun barrel was pretty good overall - didn’t mind the missing blood rolling down bit. It was either blood or the pan out of the gun barrel to the overhead shot of the snowy forest (from white to white) and I would choose the latter for this one. Didn’t like the STOCK gun sound effect though - wish they used something that really gives you that punch in the chest and that echoes.
I actually kind of like not knowing what to expect from the gun barrel sequence. Like the variety, but some implementations are better than others. Also agree with Calvin's rankings on this list.
I still don't understand why they ever felt the need to change it after Brosnan. They absolutely nailed it back then. Casion Royale is the only one where I understand why they changed it. The position right before the title sequence is great, but I still would have prefered it to be in the old style. And I hate how the blood looks like marmalade. Spectre still puzzles me. It looks like an absolute amateur rendition of the classic design. People on youtube have made better unofficial ones.
@@eramos8916 I agree that thy needed to change things up. I like most of Casino's departures from the formula. Heck, I like them in almost all Craig movies. I really enjoyed NTTD for bringing a totally new ending. I just don't like the CR gunbarrel design. I think it's weird how overly 3D it is, even though it leads into an entirely 2D Title sequence.
@@theomnitorium7476 Agreed. We'd had 20 films of largely the same tropes, why not try something new? [And agreed about NTTD ending, I don't need to see Bond kissing the Bond girl at the end every time and I really thought it worked]. The only thing that was kept was the titles after a pre-credit sequence instead of maybe moving those to the end as well like most modern movies but that was one tradition they kept consistent.
The cutaways to the black and white T-shirted Calvins were hilarious! Thanks for another awesome video. I am relieved to hear that you enjoyed the NTTD gunbarrel - I was concerned the lack of blood would spoil it for you, which would have been a shame because it is glorious, otherwise!
I love the Quantum gunbarrel. I always thought the actor moved a little too slow in the old ones. Pierce Brosnan’s really improved them. Quantum is fast and vicious. That’s how gunfights go. The slow walks and turns drive me nuts.
As a sidenote love in Roger's era they were so whatever about the Gun Barrell that they kept using him walking along in flared suit trousers well past it being an anachronism. Or that the first three films don't feature Sean Connery as Bond in the Gun Barrell sequence.
Yep, I think your list is on the money. If it did become tradition from now on that they film a new gunbarrel for every film, I wouldn’t mind - wondering what the new gunbarrel will look like would be another thing to look forward to for each new film. However, I had no problem with them reusing a gunbarrel throughout a Bond actor’s tenure, don’t fix what ain’t broke (in fact, I kinda like the sense of continuity it brings). So if they did go back to one-gunbarrel-per-Bond (assuming they don’t mix about with aspect ratios part way through again) I wouldn’t mind either.
You notice how the NTTD gunbarrel fades into the shot panning upwards across the trees. In the stark B&W look of it, that pan could also be read as the pattern of blood trickling down the screen. So there's that.
Calvin I am so glad that you overanalyze the gunbarrels! Super nice to see I'm not the only one and the gunbarrels are actually the reason I stumbled across your channel in the first place a few years ago! Keep it up!
big fan of the idea of incorporating studio logos in a clever way like that Universal one for No Time to Die. Still think the best usage of that idea was from Spider-Verse though, flashing rapidly through weird alternate takes of the Columbia logo to riff on its alternate dimension concept.
For the NTTD gun barrel, I think they use the trees in the first shot as a replacement for the blood trickle. The way the camera moves up from a white open field to the forest "trickling down" into frame seems intentional.
So very glad to see the pigeon on your checklist of Bond movie essentials! Also, you've answered the question "what would be better than a video with Calvin Dyson?". TWO Calvin Dysons! I definitely like the "Skyfall" gunbarrel the best of the Craig Bonds. I'm not sure that I buy Sam "gosh, but I'm clever" Mendes' rationalization about the opening shot of the film and the gunbarrel being at the end. In the wake of the most recent film, I'm nostalgic about the gunbarrel of "Skyfall" in that I now wish it had been at the end the final film of the Craig era.
Great video as always, Calvin. I'm surprised you didn't talk more about the music. NTTD's gunbarrel is my favorite for that reason. When I heard Johnny Marr's guitar in the theatre for the first time I was so excited.
Another excellent video, Calvin. As entertaining and insightful as always. Yes it bugged me that Sam Mendes didn't connect the gunbarrel with the opening shots and, as you said, thought of it as a separate entity.
I actually like that Craig walks really quickly. He's the "get shit done, get it over with" Bond. I like it. And I disagree on Brosnan's. I think they're some of the most dated ones of all. Like, the Connery, Lazenby, Moore and Dalton ones have dated so much that they're not dated anymore. The Brosnan ones, admittedly mostly due to the music, feel SUPER 1990s.
1967's Casino Royale. The plot involves a badguy using germ warfare, and kidnapping 007 daughter, 007 is pulled out of retirement by government espionage agencies, and...007 dies in an explosion. Someone is being overpaid in the screenwriting department at Eon.
I have to be honest and say in all my child hood watching BOND movies, I never thought they would change the gun barrel scene. I wonder if STAR WARS will do the same in the future??
I still find it slightly jarring whenever I watch Rogue One and there's no opening crawl! It's such a part of the formula for me that it feels odd without it...
Brian De Palma said on a podcast interview [Light the Fuse] that he was shown a work print version of Star Wars [the effects were not done so WW2 stock footage was used instead for the death star raid!] and he said there needed to be more exposition at the start, so the opening crawl was born! George Lucas repaid the favor when he was shown a rough cut of Mission Impossible 96 and said he was unclear about the set up, leading to the briefing scene being added in a re-shoot [Kristen Scott Thomas was un-available that day so that's why she's stood away from the group so she could be added later].
My most appreciative favorite gun barrel from Daniel Craig's 10 years as James Bond 007 is the one from Skyfall, because it looks metallic and presentationally put for a specific type of spy/espionage film for James Bond. I love it. Even though it's Calvin Dyson's least favorite one, I still think it's the best one yet.
Thanks for the vid Calvin, think I agree with your ranking. However, I reckon you could do an entire series ranking of gunbarrel sequences if you wanted. Appreciate they didn't change the filming much for the other Bonds, but the music and fade to opening scene in my view make them all somewhat unique. Top of my list would be Licence to Kill, Goldeneye, and Casino Royale.
Great video Calvin! I remember punching the air when the gun barrel came on in Spectre and NTTD…..have my say my favourite has to be the Universal NTTD one
They do something similar in some of the Mission Impossible films [although in that case it's actual footage as a homage to the TV show's title sequence].
You capture my feelings so perfectly about the Craig gunbarrels. I just love it! Thanks!! Absolutely agree with the ranking as well. I hoped they would have used the graphic for CR all the way through his films, but consistency is difficult for the Bond producers, apparently.
I have the same ranking as yours. I honestly like it whenever they do something different with the gun barrel shots like in Casino Royale and No Time To Die.
Absolutely wonderful video, Calvin. And I agree on all points. The Gun Barrel sequence has been a long time obsession for me since I became a Bond fan 40 years ago. It's just pure bliss to see at the start of every Bond film. Getting up in age now and hating change (LOL) the Daniel Craig films have been hard for me to accept or adapt to... but I'm trying! I made my own video of all of them in order and I sort of tune out after Die Another Day. I've seen so many blokes on here redo the Daniel Craig Gun Barrels and do sooo much better by them, The SPECTRE one where the swing arm is hidden and it has a 3D effect and opens up into the movie is the way it should have been done, for example.
Casino Royale easily is his best. I like how it thematically works well into the story and starts the title sequence, it's brilliant. The others suck. They should have stuck with the Brosnan era gunbarrel, which is my favorite. Craig's gunbarrels are kind of all over the place.
But going back to the Brosnan's one which was filmed back in 1995 would be a bit lazy. Personally, I like how each film has a unique gun barrel rather than just using the same footage each time.
Nice thought, but Calvin's right: the blood would have ruined what was otherwise a very effective zoom-in "through" the gun barrel to the opening shot of a white snow-covered terrain.
0:45 and 1:11 and 2:18 and 10:12 hahahahahahahah I love white dots too and great list man :) I cant wait when you get to your Goldeneye review and you'll talk about why the music gun barrel was so off for that
17:44 That made me laugh WAY harder than it should have done. Anyway, some thoughts. I will never forget seeing CR for the first time and getting jarred out of the moment when it didn’t open with the gunbarrel. I mean compared to the other subversions the film makes it’s nothing but it was damn weird as a first timer. LOVE the move into the titles tho, and I wish they’d have done the same for Quantum - have a longer pre-title sequence and have the gunbarrel be the shot where Bond shoots Mitchell. That would’ve been great, instead of the half arsed version we got. The Skyfall one feels too slow for me, it’s like an overcompensation after the Quantum one. The music’s great but it should’ve been at the start and it would’ve worked with the opening shot imo. Aside from the gun swinging, I really like the Spectre one and I was so excited in the cinema for the first time when it came on. I think the fade-out works just as fine as the dot opening in, even though I still do prefer it that way, and I kind of like the way the lighting changes, it really makes that gunbarrel stand out. Tbh, i think the gunbarrel wouldn’t’ve looked as flat if the lighting was different, it was a bit too bright and kind of low-res. The No Time To Die one was good, I loved the transition into the scene itself, but in terms of the gunbarrel designs, I’d personally take the CR one over it.
'I want Roger Moore Necking with Fiona Fullerton' which is View not Spy who loved me but I guess that's the joke [or an error they didn't pick up]. That episode is very funny [especially his 'Spy who loved me' recreation which was apparently done in one take!]
Love this video, Calvin. My favourite Bond film in the cinema was Die Another Day and nearly 20 years later, I can’t believe I’m yet to see a true classic gunbarrel sequence in the cinema. My fingers are crossed that Bond 26 opens with a Brosnan or Moore style gunbarrel. That’s all I ask haha 😂
1. Casino Royale - smart and fits the story and looks/sounds fantastic - one of the best in the series 2. Spectre - really like this one, like the colours and Craig's walk/pose and him obviously holding the gun doesn't bother me 3. No Time to Die - Craig's walk and pose are good but I don't like the design that much and miss the blood dripping down the screen. Don't really like how it fades into the film either. Universal logo is a bit annoying too, although I respect them incorporating it into the sequence 4. Quantum of Solace - design is ok but hate how fast it is. Craig is almost running. Having said that, I like his final pose a lot, but the decision to put it at the end as well as zooming out into a Quantum of Solace logo were stupid 5. Skyfall - my personal favourite Craig film and my favourite of the entire franchise, yet the gunbarrell is utter shit. Design is dull and ugly, Craig's walk is weird and his turn/final pose looks awkward. Don't like it being at the end either, but can sort of forgive it for fading into a 50th anniversary logo, which is kind of cool.
I think the No Time to Die gun barrel works very well given the later context. The fade out into white almost alludes to Bond not killing the assassin and foreshadows the ending of the film.
Calvin this video speaks volumes I love it I really thought skyfall was going to be the one the proper one. But I must say it’s got one helluva opening
Hello calvin, chancing of seeing this, is pretty slim ngl. But it would be amazing if you could do a ranking of the title sequences, i think OHMSS, TSWLM, CR, and skyfall have some of the best, but i would love to hear your opinion.
Nice video, love your reactions and your points on the gun barrel sequence. The NTTD’s MGM sequence is far better than the one used by Universal. But no blood… me thinks he missed and is dead… As for my personal favourite… it’s easily Casino Royale for me. The segway into the shot, and the impact of the gunshot as the opening bars of You Know My Name kick in is sublime. However the blood drip seems more akin to tomato soup being spilled rather than ketchup😁
@@calvindyson While Im not even close to your level of Bond fan status and knowledge. I have to admit your videos kinda made me more of a Bond fan in the last few years. Im happy every time you release a new video. Your arguments are solid, your comedic timing is very good and overall you are a very talented and gifted host/creator.
I remember when I went to see QOS. The gun barrel sequence (incorrectly placed as it is at the end of the film) came on, to which I quipped "Oh here we go, the film's starting" which got a surprisingly big laugh from the surrounding people who could hear me.
In my opinion they should've either left the gunbarrel well enough alone and kept it as it always was... or used Casino Royale as a precedent and integrated it at the end of every pre-title sequence in a similar manner.
I like the idea of integrating it at the end of the pre title sequence. When I first saw Casino Royale, I personally thought it was a clever update and expected it as a new tradition going forward. I think if they kept that idea, just tried different integrations it could have made for some stellar openings. Like NTTD was quite nicely stylised, imo. Alas it didn’t work out that way. I would have also been fine if that was just a one off, marking it as a reboot. Oh well
White shirt Calvin on the left reminds me of Star Wars fans who hate the Special Edition changes 1:11 The 1981 re-release of the first film where the opening crawl now includes 'Episode IV A NEW HOPE' 2:17 The first Special Edition release in 1997 where Greedo shoots first and Han awkwardly shifts his head aside to dodge the hit 4:19 The DVD release where actors from the prequels replace original actors for better continuity, no original versions 6:17 The Blu-ray release where Vader now shouts "Nooooo!" when saving Luke from the Emperor, still no original versions 10:08 The original versions of the films finally included on the Limited Edition DVD release... but as non-anamorphic laserdisc transfers 13:26 The Disney+ 4K release where Greedo now says "Maclunkey" before he and Han now shoot at the same time, no original versions again
I get everything what you said, and I love to see someone who loves NTTD gunbarrel as much as myself, but I would have to disagree with you on SPECTRE one. It might be because it was my first Bond I saw in cinema but gunbarrel in SPECTRE will forever be one of the best scenes in the entire series for me. I remember myself, I was 12 at the time, sitting in the cinema proud to be a Bond fan(and proud to be old enough to see it in the cinema), and it just clicked with me, I adored the music and it was just a great opening shot of the movie. Great video as always, I would maybe recommend you to do this for every actor as I know how much I am amazed by diversity of all the gunbarrels so it is also great to see someone sharing this specific or maybe even weird interest.
Let's remember: the reason Binder's gun barrel shot looks so good is because IT IS A REAL PHOTO OF A GUN BARREL! Achieved using pinhole photography.
Is it just a photo of a gun-barrel or is it a rendition of that photo? Like did he base the barrel graphic on the real photo?
@@lukan1u5 pin hole photo, to achieve the widest depth of field.
To be honest it doesn't look good at all
@@duckvs.chipanddale585 I'd love to see you take a photo anywhere near as globally iconic and cool to open a movie with. It looks amazing.
@@AD-kv9kj Ok. I give up. You are right. The first gunbarrel looks much better, more polished, and looks more like a gunbarrel than the high definition colored No Time do Die Gunbarrel that actually looks like a gunbarrel.
The gun barrel sequence is to James Bond what the title crawl is to Star Wars. There's always such an electric feeling to sit down in the cinema, the lights go down, you get that title & rating card up and then the theme swells, and we get the famous intro we're expecting. It just immediately sets the mood for the viewing, and primes you for the experience ahead, so for the Daniel Craig era to mostly not include in the beginning is has been one of the things that has REALLY bothered me. I do agree though that Casino Royale gets a a free pass/praise since it actually works so well with the themes of the movie and helps "establish" the trope, and I enjoy the different take that No Time To Die does because again, it works without feeling jarring - unlike Spectre...
I agree. Till this day I'm still pissed that the gun barrel was not in the beginning of Skyfall. Regardless of Sam Mendes' bullshit excuse it should've been in the beginning lol
@@ivanivez7456 yeh as nice as the cinematic shot at the start of Skyfall is, it just doesn't justify the absence of the gun barrel for me. They could easily have given us a gunbarrel with an establishing shot, then gone into the same intro we got anyway.
I agree. The one thing I will disagree on is I don’t like the swelling music. This trope needs to stop. I love the moment of silence after the idents, the to be blasted out of my seat with the appearance of the white dots and not a moment before. The suspense for me is as important as the execution of the barrel itself.
no it isn't
Im gonna be honest, while i grew up with the gunbarrel era films as a kid with Roger Moore flicks, the first movie theatre showing of Bond i watched was Skyfall. So i never really got that movie theatre thrill to the gunbarrel showing up, at least not like i did watching Force Awakens as my first theatre experience of a Star Wars film.
Craig walks too fast in his gun barrel sequences. I always thought the "premise" of the gun barrel sequence is Bond walking casually (not too fast and not too slow) seemingly unaware of an assasin having him in his sights when suddenly Bond whirls to the camera and fires....eliminating the threat!
Yes very much agree
Agreed, but also the blood flows down too quickly. It looks too CGI if you catch my drift. The blood in Brosnan's sequences is also CGI but it flows much more smoothly.
@@Arbron I honestly think that the old drawn blood style from the old movies is LEAGUES better than the new, dark, thicker, more realistic blood
I read this in alan partridges voice
In Casino Royale, gunbarrel zooms out because James Bond is starting.
In Quantum of Solace, he walks fast because he’s chasing his enemies to pay them back
In Skyfall, he walks slow because his condition got worse
In Spectre, Blofeld was expecting him because he showed his gun already.
In No Time to Die, gunbarrel zooms in because James Bond is ending
And the change of lighting to a silhouette hinted Spectre's shadowy nature as an organization. I actually like Thomas Newman's score for the sequence.
The gun barrel walk at the beginning of any bond provides a certain adrenaline ŕush when you see it in the theater for the first it is like a event which make the bond movies so unique. Simply the greatest movie franchise of all time 18:25
Then why wasn't the QoS one at the beginning? You know, when there was a chase going on and not at the end when it's basically resolved.
I felt they all were symbolic and thematic in their own way;
1. CR - Bond begins
2. QoS - Bond comes full circle
3. SF - Bond begins again
4. SP - Bond looks to the past
5. NTTD - Bond fades
Hot take: Casino Royale is the best gun barrel of the entire series. The gunshot rattling into You Know My Name is absolute perfection.
@Reuben Ward Shorts didn’t realize I made a typo, I fixed it
Actually it is my least favorite of the entire franchise. There are some things you don't fuck with.
For me the absolute best is GoldenEye, but this I could totally see as the best as well. Brilliant opening.
It definitely is not
Oh absolutely, I don’t think that’s even a hot take. That moment was genius
I have NEVER noticed Bond just walking off at the end of the Quantum gunbarrel. Mind blown.
That makes two of us !
I didn’t either!
I can't tell you how much I appreciate Calvin's completely unabashed nitpicking geeking out on details. Stellar.
The No Time to Die gunbarrel feels quite haunting cuz of how there's no blood and Bond fades out, foreshadowing his fate at the end. Obviously it didn't haunt me on the first viewing and didn't really pick up on any of that since I didn't know what happens at the end. But now when I see it, kind of makes me think of Avengers: Infinity War title appearing in the end credits and flakes away into dust the same style as how Thanos snapped everyone away into dust.
I think my most hated part of the Craig Bond gunbarrels is that, for QoS, Skyfall and Spectre, the blood has no animation. It doesn’t actually dribble, it just falls like a shutter being pulled down. You’d think you’d get better results nowadays since it’s easier to animate it than in the past when it all had to be done by hand, but, apparently not. It just adds to the feeling of laziness of “right, gotta get this over and done with”.
I’m also not a fan of the music playing over the studio logos*, it feels just a bit too self-aggrandising.
*Side note to say I dislike the new MGM logo. It feels way too gaudy and the CGI lion is terrible. Maybe because I think the original was pretty classy already, but I thought the 2012 update gave it a modern spin while keeping that sense of class.
ahh man i love the new MGM logo, it gives it a cinematic legacy kind of feel. The new United Artist logo i dont like at all, I prefer the shiny Golden star/sun look they had from Goldeneye. But I do always like the MGM/UA 80's one from For your eyes only. soooo 80's :)
@@DafyddBrooks Maybe I’ll come to appreciate it with time - it was quite jarring to see the CGI Leo, having become so used to live-action Leo. Rewatching it, perhaps I was being too harsh to call the CGI “terrible” - it is good, it just looks a little too noticeably CGI to me.
For me, peak UA logo is the metallic one they brought in around 2000 or so, simply because it’s the one that they used for the Ultimate Edition remasters, so I associate it with watching Bond films in a sort of Pavlovian way.
@@BenCol haha fair enough. it can be quite jarring when you see something new sometimes and if it aint broke, dont fix it right?! as for MGM, theres not a lot they can do differently to both keep the lion and things and keep it fresh other than just completely change it altogether . You know what you have a point about the simple metallic UA there, its to the point and quick :). Disneys one in 2006 for the 2nd pirates movie was always fantastic. I was sad when universal only had this for 7 years and then changed it for Jurrasic park 2 ua-cam.com/video/jpLTq3Fc2vU/v-deo.html. I think its magical and very John williamsey :)
I quite agree with you on the new MGM logo, BenCol. I honestly prefer it when there's no zoom or fancy cg work going on. Just a fade on the logo, lion roars, fade out. As you say, it's a classy logo, I prefer it when studios keep it simple. For instance, I much prefer the 2D Disney logo from the 90s than the CG elaborate one they've been using since Tangled (I think Tangled was the first to use it... Since that era anyway!)
@@calvindyson the Cel animated one will always win over the elbarate CGI one any day :). Oh man I'll go further and say I miss VHS intro from Disney :) ua-cam.com/video/Yv2arFRJisA/v-deo.html
Thanks for the video Calvin
I totally understand why CR didn't have a traditional gunbarrel and the one we did get is genius.
The rest are a little harder to defend. The last fully traditional gunbarrel including the iris opening to the first scene and blood was TWINE because DAD had the CGI bullet. There has been no normal gun barrel this century.
First of all, I love that you call Die Another Day "DAD" lmao. Secondly, doesn't Spectre have a traditional gunbarrel? We DO have a normal gunbarrel this century, with Spectre.
@@HOTD108_ yeah but people as usual complained on how spectre's was incompetently done.
Here's some list
-Craig reveal gun during walk
- the gun barrel doesn't move after it gets shot
- no iris transition
- the "the deads are alive" thing
tbh its more of a nitpicking really because people are nostalgic on pierce brosnan's gunbarrel design and think they could do better than the movie studio
Honestly, the gunbarrel sequence has never boiled down to presentation for me but more of the music that accompanies each of them which is why I love Dr. No, OHMSS, FYEO, LTK and ALL of the Brosnan Bonds. What gets me most about Craig's gunbarrel is the stock Bond theme usually incorporated with them. All I just ask for are those musical spices to help set the tone of the movie to come.
This 100%. It’s completely “let’s get this over and done with” rather than a grand unveiling.
18 minutes of thoughts that every single James Bond fan in the world has had countless times but not another soul on Earth has ever thought about for more than two seconds :D
Great video as always Calvin!
When I saw DAD in the cinema, I definitely did a Dr. Evil “WOAH!!!” when we got the bullet projectile in the gun barrel. I got a kick out of it when I was 13, but it really wasn’t needed. Then again, it’s another thing to have a laugh at when rewatching DAD
That acryonym confused me so much
It means Die Another Day
QoS has the worst IMO and its all because of the preceding scene. Bond drops the necklace in the snow, he walks off, ECU of the necklace in the snow, Arnold’s beautiful and melancholic last four piano notes. Fade to black and then all of a sudden… bam… Bond theme and Craig trying to speed things up. IMO it would have been better if the scene faded to black, the white dots appear, no music, no sound and until Bond turns, fires and then the gunshot is heard and Eva Almer’s “Forever” begins and continues for the rest of the credits.
Love your tweak suggestion! I agree, it's odd to follow up such a sombre moment with it. I guess they wanted the audience to leave on a 'high' so they provided it as a jolt of excitment at the very end, whether it worked with the final scene or not.
@@calvindyson I think that was the intention.
@@calvindyson I do wonder if the gun barrell was even in the movie originally or was it added when the Mr White scene was dropped at the end [hence why it looks rushed]?
@@calvindyson I dont know how you feel about 'fanmade' gunbarrel sequences but this 'Casino Royale' style sequence made for QoS is pretty good imo. ua-cam.com/video/yfOszQoN1Yg/v-deo.html
@@jamesatkinsonja Apparently it was, but I'm not 100% certain
The excitement I felt at No Time To Die is impossible to truly describe. The first film I’d seen in the cinema since December 2019.
I truly envy you.
I think back to opening night and just think ‘Man, I’m not gonna have that first viewing experience for at least 2 years again’. Even as I was sat there I was so aware of what a special occasion that Bond theme song blasting is at the cinema it was just incredible!
wow that's the same for me as well!
no time to die is the first film i saw in theaters since december 2019
It was my first since 1917 in February 2020.
I probably like the No Time to Die Gun Barrel the most. Completely unrelated but I love Michael Kamen’s music for the Licence to Kill Gun Barrel 👌
Agreed on Michael Kamen's LTK gunbarrel score. You know that film is going for a different vibe right from that moment!
One thing I recently (re)discovered that surprised me greatly: Ever since David Arnold's first score with Tomorrow Never Dies and continuing on post-Arnold, the gunbarrel music has had a very distinct ending with the "Da-Da-da-Daaaaaaaa...." refrain repeated three times followed by a final closisng note. The thing that surprised me was that it turns out Arnold did NOT come up with that ending riff: George Martin first used it in his gunbarrel sequence all the way back in 1973's Live & Let Die, and it was not reused until David Arnold revived it 24 years later, copying Martin's ending exactly.
@@calvindyson Hi Calvin what do you think of the possibility of the bond series making movies that are set back in the 60s or even the 50s? I would personally love to see a faithful adaption of Trigger Mortis. Just wondering how you would feel about that?
The Craig gunbarrels are my favorite because of how they represent the film. In Casino Royal it was his transition to 007. The reason Bond is so fast in Quantum of Solace is because he is running from his enemies. He is slow and awkward in Skyfall because he isn't completely healthy. He waves the gun in Spectre because his enemies already know who he is and are watching him. And No Time to Die has no blood because he misses the shot. Also, you'll notice the gun sound plays before Craig pulls his gun up seeming that Bond got shot first.
My all time favorite Gunbarrel have to be from GoldenEye, the music, the modernazation, Pierce performence, amazing!
Pierce Brosnan is the king of the Gunbarrel. I like the background music of Goldeneye but I love Thunderball, For Your Eyes Only and Licence To Kill background music more.
Absolute best
I’m not exactly sure why but during the craig era, it seems like everyone involved in the making of the films have completely forgotten how to do the gunbarrel sequence.
It’s a classic case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”
Previously they just filmed one for each Bond and re-used the footage [minor changes not withstanding] while in the Craig era they just tried a different one each time and frankly after 20 films, why not try new things?
It felt to me like they were purposely going out of their way to make James Bond films NOT James Bond films anymore. Same thing applies, though... if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
@@susanp.203 Die Another Day showed it was firmly broken and Casino Royale was the fix...
@@susanp.203 It was broke
The major problem I have with the Craig films (and this ties in directly with the gunbarrels) is that they spend so many movies building him up and introducing him to us that in turn they run out of time to actually have regular bond adventures. For example, Casino Royale, Quantum, and Skyfall are all just meant to introduce us to Craig’s Bond. The end of Skyfall being, “Okay, now we can get to work”. Then they have one standard Bond outing with Spectre, and since they’ve run out of time, have to quickly wrap things up with No Time to Die. This is indicative of a lot of other failed contemporary movie series as well ie:
- Star Trek 09
- The Amazing Spider-Man
- The DC cinematic universe
It’s as if they don’t know how to pace things, and the series runs out of steam before it even gets off the ground. Although Brosnan had 1 less movie than Craig, I feel like he was Bond for far longer.
Skyfall's epliogue to me more felt like a subversion of the classic Bond set up. Bond meets the MI6 crew and gets his mission and goes into the Gunbarrel sequence at the end rather than these being at the start. It also ties into the 'life goes on' feeling of the ending where despite the lost of Judi's M, the work continues [similar to how NTTD ends with Bond's wake]. Skyfall feels more like Bond justifying his place as he's getting older and both his and M's method's are constantly being questioned so he's very much 'established' by that point to me.
I know I'm in the minority with this opinion but I absolutely love Spectre's gunbarrel with it returning to the old school static background and the iris opening up on Bond as he starts walking.
While I think we'd all have preferred Craig to not swing his gun around as he walks, I honestly don't mind it as much anymore as it does kind of fit Craig's portrayal of Bond as a reckless and cavalier agent who probably doesn't care if he lives or dies but will do his job anyways.
I also love the colour of the blood, it's a really captivating shade of red. The only things keeping this gunbarrel sequence from being the best for me personally is the fact it fades to black and to that "the dead are alive" shit and that unfortunately Spectre peaked within the first 15 seconds with the sequence itself lol
Me too. Its also the most Bond like Craig film.
Craig's big-dick gun swinging is hardly the most questionable choice among gun barrel actors' physical performance: original gun barrel Bond stand-in Bob Simmons had an odd little hop (nearly a bounce) that left him standing distinctly off-center to the left at the end of his gun barrel sequence, Roger Moore would clutch the elbow of his gun arm with his other hand for his early gun barrels (presumably in what could only have been a massively counterproductive attempt to steady his shot) and bless his heart, George Lazenby actually ended his one shot at a gun barrel on one knee. Looking back, the gun barrel sequences are almost something of a chronicle of outdated ideas of what people used to think an effective (or at least "cool") gun stance was (I guess we can at least all be thankful that Brosnan never succumbed to the odd 90's obsession with holding your gun sideways).
@@briangonigal3974 > Roger Moore would clutch the elbow of his gun arm with his other hand for his early gun barrels (presumably in what could only have been a massively counterproductive attempt to steady his shot)
What he was doing is the Weaver stance, which _is_ proper firearm etiquette, just so you know. In fact, it's one of *the* main shooting stances for a handgun along with the Isosceles Stance, even if the latter is more popular nowadays.
Also, let's not forget that Sean Connery was _wobbling_ in his gunbarrel footage
Ah yes, an 18 minute video about a man shooting into the camera.
It’s what I was put on earth to do
spectre's gun barrel sequence is "bland" because that's the cinematographer's choice for the whole movie
The uneven gunbarrel qualities reflect how messily handled the Craig era became. They weren't prepared for a continuous narrative or the shifting tones of movies from 2006-2021 and while I'm pretty happy with Craig's films overall the sloppiness at times is something I really hope the producers learned from
Honestly, it feels more like they gave each film maker the freedom to tailor the gun barrel to each film rather than just re-using the footage each time and I'm fine with that.
Subverting tropes is all well and good - but it kind of loses all meaning when you do it so much the audience forgets what it is you’re subverting in the first place!
Well said
In Bond's case, the tropes are so well known after 40 years+20 films it's pretty much guaranteed people know it.
The Spectre gunbarrel looks like it's been AI upscaled. It's got that smoothed-over painterly look to it, which is jarring.
That was before AI was a thing.
I thought the No Time To Die gun barrel was pretty good overall - didn’t mind the missing blood rolling down bit. It was either blood or the pan out of the gun barrel to the overhead shot of the snowy forest (from white to white) and I would choose the latter for this one. Didn’t like the STOCK gun sound effect though - wish they used something that really gives you that punch in the chest and that echoes.
I actually kind of like not knowing what to expect from the gun barrel sequence. Like the variety, but some implementations are better than others. Also agree with Calvin's rankings on this list.
Connery's gunbarrel sequence also only changed from Simmons to himself because they changed the aspect ratio.
Two Calvins at a time! My Sunday is complete.
This was really funny-you made what could have been a very dull subject into something
entertaining.
I still don't understand why they ever felt the need to change it after Brosnan. They absolutely nailed it back then.
Casion Royale is the only one where I understand why they changed it. The position right before the title sequence is great, but I still would have prefered it to be in the old style. And I hate how the blood looks like marmalade.
Spectre still puzzles me. It looks like an absolute amateur rendition of the classic design. People on youtube have made better unofficial ones.
Marmalade! Thank you! I was racking my brains!
With a new Bond, it's needs to be fresh. Craig freshened up the series to take away or redefined the Bond tropes.
@@eramos8916 I agree that thy needed to change things up. I like most of Casino's departures from the formula. Heck, I like them in almost all Craig movies. I really enjoyed NTTD for bringing a totally new ending.
I just don't like the CR gunbarrel design. I think it's weird how overly 3D it is, even though it leads into an entirely 2D Title sequence.
The CGI gun barrel in NTTD is very good and is a worthy predecessor of the Brosnan era CGI.
@@theomnitorium7476 Agreed. We'd had 20 films of largely the same tropes, why not try something new? [And agreed about NTTD ending, I don't need to see Bond kissing the Bond girl at the end every time and I really thought it worked]. The only thing that was kept was the titles after a pre-credit sequence instead of maybe moving those to the end as well like most modern movies but that was one tradition they kept consistent.
The cutaways to the black and white T-shirted Calvins were hilarious! Thanks for another awesome video. I am relieved to hear that you enjoyed the NTTD gunbarrel - I was concerned the lack of blood would spoil it for you, which would have been a shame because it is glorious, otherwise!
I love the Quantum gunbarrel. I always thought the actor moved a little too slow in the old ones. Pierce Brosnan’s really improved them. Quantum is fast and vicious. That’s how gunfights go. The slow walks and turns drive me nuts.
I love love love the way that the gun barrel book ends the continued story of casino Royale through quantum of solace.
I thought this would be boring but Calvin never disappoints - so entertaining and informative 👏
As a sidenote love in Roger's era they were so whatever about the Gun Barrell that they kept using him walking along in flared suit trousers well past it being an anachronism.
Or that the first three films don't feature Sean Connery as Bond in the Gun Barrell sequence.
Excellent work, Calvin. It'd also be fun to rate the gunbarrel sequences in Craig's three videogames.
That was also my reaction to the spectre's gunbarrel. And my brother was exactly like the black shirt version of you XD
I love to look thru an empty hand towel roll tube. Blinking my eye and the using cellophane creates the blood effect on demand.
Very comforting 😀
Yep, I think your list is on the money.
If it did become tradition from now on that they film a new gunbarrel for every film, I wouldn’t mind - wondering what the new gunbarrel will look like would be another thing to look forward to for each new film. However, I had no problem with them reusing a gunbarrel throughout a Bond actor’s tenure, don’t fix what ain’t broke (in fact, I kinda like the sense of continuity it brings). So if they did go back to one-gunbarrel-per-Bond (assuming they don’t mix about with aspect ratios part way through again) I wouldn’t mind either.
QoS's walk with a Pierce Brosnan Gunbarrel would have been perfect for me. Love the white shirt/black shirt sketches, Calvin!
Calvin, I love your channel so much. You get so much material out of every facet of the Bond series and it never ceases to amaze me.
You notice how the NTTD gunbarrel fades into the shot panning upwards across the trees.
In the stark B&W look of it, that pan could also be read as the pattern of blood trickling down the screen.
So there's that.
Calvin I am so glad that you overanalyze the gunbarrels! Super nice to see I'm not the only one and the gunbarrels are actually the reason I stumbled across your channel in the first place a few years ago! Keep it up!
Another great video as always! It's intriguing how something so relatively small can hold so much discussion material over it.
Love the checklist. Pigeon and double take are the highlights 🤓
I'm so happy you noticed!! :D
@@calvindyson Grumpy M was pretty good too!
I must say, Craig's always been particularly bad at hiding that gun in all his 'proper' gun barrels.
Despite the Quantum one being too quick, at least Craig does actually manage to hide his gun as he walks along before turning to shoot.
Nice for Calvin to have his twin in one of his videos again, after making his debut in The Man Who Haunted Himself review ;-)
big fan of the idea of incorporating studio logos in a clever way like that Universal one for No Time to Die.
Still think the best usage of that idea was from Spider-Verse though, flashing rapidly through weird alternate takes of the Columbia logo to riff on its alternate dimension concept.
For the NTTD gun barrel, I think they use the trees in the first shot as a replacement for the blood trickle. The way the camera moves up from a white open field to the forest "trickling down" into frame seems intentional.
So very glad to see the pigeon on your checklist of Bond movie essentials! Also, you've answered the question "what would be better than a video with Calvin Dyson?". TWO Calvin Dysons!
I definitely like the "Skyfall" gunbarrel the best of the Craig Bonds. I'm not sure that I buy Sam "gosh, but I'm clever" Mendes' rationalization about the opening shot of the film and the gunbarrel being at the end. In the wake of the most recent film, I'm nostalgic about the gunbarrel of "Skyfall" in that I now wish it had been at the end the final film of the Craig era.
Calvin: I don’t have many opinions when it comes to comparing the previous gunbarrels.
Also Calvin: *Top 10 Gunbarrel Sequences*
"An Overly Long Review"
*Goooooooooooood*
Great video as always, Calvin. I'm surprised you didn't talk more about the music. NTTD's gunbarrel is my favorite for that reason. When I heard Johnny Marr's guitar in the theatre for the first time I was so excited.
The hallmark of brilliant UA-cam content is when a video makes you care about something that barely even registered with you before.
Surprisingly interesting look on the subject, the 18 minute runtime had me worried like come on, really, but I was entertained throughout. Well done!
Another excellent video, Calvin. As entertaining and insightful as always. Yes it bugged me that Sam Mendes didn't connect the gunbarrel with the opening shots and, as you said, thought of it as a separate entity.
I actually like that Craig walks really quickly. He's the "get shit done, get it over with" Bond. I like it.
And I disagree on Brosnan's. I think they're some of the most dated ones of all. Like, the Connery, Lazenby, Moore and Dalton ones have dated so much that they're not dated anymore. The Brosnan ones, admittedly mostly due to the music, feel SUPER 1990s.
1967's Casino Royale. The plot involves a badguy using germ warfare, and kidnapping 007 daughter, 007 is pulled out of retirement by government espionage agencies, and...007 dies in an explosion. Someone is being overpaid in the screenwriting department at Eon.
How many years did they spend on that stinker and all they did was a crappy remake of the parody Casino Royale?
Really MGM/Eon?
I have to be honest and say in all my child hood watching BOND movies, I never thought they would change the gun barrel scene. I wonder if STAR WARS will do the same in the future??
I still find it slightly jarring whenever I watch Rogue One and there's no opening crawl! It's such a part of the formula for me that it feels odd without it...
@@calvindyson As Redlettermedia would say
"it broke NEW GROUND" ua-cam.com/video/OfJRm0WssOE/v-deo.html
The used some title cards over the first couple of shots in 'Solo'
Brian De Palma said on a podcast interview [Light the Fuse] that he was shown a work print version of Star Wars [the effects were not done so WW2 stock footage was used instead for the death star raid!] and he said there needed to be more exposition at the start, so the opening crawl was born!
George Lucas repaid the favor when he was shown a rough cut of Mission Impossible 96 and said he was unclear about the set up, leading to the briefing scene being added in a re-shoot [Kristen Scott Thomas was un-available that day so that's why she's stood away from the group so she could be added later].
My most appreciative favorite gun barrel from Daniel Craig's 10 years as James Bond 007 is the one from Skyfall, because it looks metallic and presentationally put for a specific type of spy/espionage film for James Bond. I love it. Even though it's Calvin Dyson's least favorite one, I still think it's the best one yet.
Thanks for the vid Calvin, think I agree with your ranking. However, I reckon you could do an entire series ranking of gunbarrel sequences if you wanted. Appreciate they didn't change the filming much for the other Bonds, but the music and fade to opening scene in my view make them all somewhat unique. Top of my list would be Licence to Kill, Goldeneye, and Casino Royale.
If they ever made a 3-d Bond film, they should bring back the CGI bullet from "Die Another Day."
I'm so glad somebody made a video about this.
Great video Calvin! I remember punching the air when the gun barrel came on in Spectre and NTTD…..have my say my favourite has to be the Universal NTTD one
I so wish they'd fire Daniel Kleinman. Spoilers in the titles, spoilers in the freaking gunbarrel.
They do something similar in some of the Mission Impossible films [although in that case it's actual footage as a homage to the TV show's title sequence].
I totally agree with your ranking Calvin! Also, It is very cool that your gunbarrel ranking is my ranking of the D.C. Bond films hehe :P!
You capture my feelings so perfectly about the Craig gunbarrels. I just love it! Thanks!!
Absolutely agree with the ranking as well. I hoped they would have used the graphic for CR all the way through his films, but consistency is difficult for the Bond producers, apparently.
The Quantum one is super underrated to me. Definitely my favorite one.
Calvin, you helped me to appreciate the Brosnan gun barrel more. Now a fan.
You don't get enough credit in your comments for the writing you do. That's what I keep coming back for. Thank you.
I have the same ranking as yours. I honestly like it whenever they do something different with the gun barrel shots like in Casino Royale and No Time To Die.
Absolutely wonderful video, Calvin. And I agree on all points. The Gun Barrel sequence has been a long time obsession for me since I became a Bond fan 40 years ago. It's just pure bliss to see at the start of every Bond film. Getting up in age now and hating change (LOL) the Daniel Craig films have been hard for me to accept or adapt to... but I'm trying! I made my own video of all of them in order and I sort of tune out after Die Another Day. I've seen so many blokes on here redo the Daniel Craig Gun Barrels and do sooo much better by them, The SPECTRE one where the swing arm is hidden and it has a 3D effect and opens up into the movie is the way it should have been done, for example.
Casino Royale easily is his best. I like how it thematically works well into the story and starts the title sequence, it's brilliant. The others suck. They should have stuck with the Brosnan era gunbarrel, which is my favorite. Craig's gunbarrels are kind of all over the place.
But going back to the Brosnan's one which was filmed back in 1995 would be a bit lazy. Personally, I like how each film has a unique gun barrel rather than just using the same footage each time.
The Skyfall one is so strange because Craig very strangely wiggles his head. Didnt notice it for years but now I cant unsee it.
The reason that there’s no blood in No Time to Die gunbarrel is beacause James Bond dies. I think it’s something like an easteregg or something.
Nice thought, but Calvin's right: the blood would have ruined what was otherwise a very effective zoom-in "through" the gun barrel to the opening shot of a white snow-covered terrain.
0:45 and 1:11 and 2:18 and 10:12 hahahahahahahah I love white dots too and great list man :) I cant wait when you get to your Goldeneye review and you'll talk about why the music gun barrel was so off for that
Well done Calvin!
It always bothered me that in the Skyfall gunbarrel, he completely missed. Look where his hand is pointed.
17:44 That made me laugh WAY harder than it should have done.
Anyway, some thoughts.
I will never forget seeing CR for the first time and getting jarred out of the moment when it didn’t open with the gunbarrel. I mean compared to the other subversions the film makes it’s nothing but it was damn weird as a first timer. LOVE the move into the titles tho, and I wish they’d have done the same for Quantum - have a longer pre-title sequence and have the gunbarrel be the shot where Bond shoots Mitchell. That would’ve been great, instead of the half arsed version we got.
The Skyfall one feels too slow for me, it’s like an overcompensation after the Quantum one. The music’s great but it should’ve been at the start and it would’ve worked with the opening shot imo.
Aside from the gun swinging, I really like the Spectre one and I was so excited in the cinema for the first time when it came on. I think the fade-out works just as fine as the dot opening in, even though I still do prefer it that way, and I kind of like the way the lighting changes, it really makes that gunbarrel stand out. Tbh, i think the gunbarrel wouldn’t’ve looked as flat if the lighting was different, it was a bit too bright and kind of low-res.
The No Time To Die one was good, I loved the transition into the scene itself, but in terms of the gunbarrel designs, I’d personally take the CR one over it.
That scene in Partridge always annoys me as when listing Bond films, he gets Bond wrong himself.
'I want Roger Moore Necking with Fiona Fullerton' which is View not Spy who loved me but I guess that's the joke [or an error they didn't pick up]. That episode is very funny [especially his 'Spy who loved me' recreation which was apparently done in one take!]
Love this video, Calvin. My favourite Bond film in the cinema was Die Another Day and nearly 20 years later, I can’t believe I’m yet to see a true classic gunbarrel sequence in the cinema. My fingers are crossed that Bond 26 opens with a Brosnan or Moore style gunbarrel. That’s all I ask haha 😂
Great video Calvin. Some might think it a little pedantic but this is an essential debate.
1. Casino Royale - smart and fits the story and looks/sounds fantastic - one of the best in the series
2. Spectre - really like this one, like the colours and Craig's walk/pose and him obviously holding the gun doesn't bother me
3. No Time to Die - Craig's walk and pose are good but I don't like the design that much and miss the blood dripping down the screen. Don't really like how it fades into the film either. Universal logo is a bit annoying too, although I respect them incorporating it into the sequence
4. Quantum of Solace - design is ok but hate how fast it is. Craig is almost running. Having said that, I like his final pose a lot, but the decision to put it at the end as well as zooming out into a Quantum of Solace logo were stupid
5. Skyfall - my personal favourite Craig film and my favourite of the entire franchise, yet the gunbarrell is utter shit. Design is dull and ugly, Craig's walk is weird and his turn/final pose looks awkward. Don't like it being at the end either, but can sort of forgive it for fading into a 50th anniversary logo, which is kind of cool.
The impression I always got from QoS gunbarrel sequence is "right, film's over, now PISS OFF!"
Double Calvin running gag was hilarious!
I think the No Time to Die gun barrel works very well given the later context. The fade out into white almost alludes to Bond not killing the assassin and foreshadows the ending of the film.
Calvin this video speaks volumes I love it I really thought skyfall was going to be the one the proper one. But I must say it’s got one helluva opening
Hello calvin, chancing of seeing this, is pretty slim ngl. But it would be amazing if you could do a ranking of the title sequences, i think OHMSS, TSWLM, CR, and skyfall have some of the best, but i would love to hear your opinion.
Nice video, love your reactions and your points on the gun barrel sequence. The NTTD’s MGM sequence is far better than the one used by Universal. But no blood… me thinks he missed and is dead…
As for my personal favourite… it’s easily Casino Royale for me. The segway into the shot, and the impact of the gunshot as the opening bars of You Know My Name kick in is sublime. However the blood drip seems more akin to tomato soup being spilled rather than ketchup😁
Good point on the tomato soup look! It definitely has a 'thinner' look to it that usual. More slimey etc happy you enjoyed the video :D
Calvin after so many great videos I have to say it: I love you!
Why thank you so much 😁😁
@@calvindyson While Im not even close to your level of Bond fan status and knowledge. I have to admit your videos kinda made me more of a Bond fan in the last few years. Im happy every time you release a new video. Your arguments are solid, your comedic timing is very good and overall you are a very talented and gifted host/creator.
Well I very much appreciate the kind words! 😁😁 really happy you’re enjoying the channel and there’ll be much more to come for sure 😁😁
@@calvindyson Keep up the good work man. Best regards from Germany.
@@KatarnCrusader I'm for Germany too and I as well love Calvin!
I remember when I went to see QOS. The gun barrel sequence (incorrectly placed as it is at the end of the film) came on, to which I quipped "Oh here we go, the film's starting" which got a surprisingly big laugh from the surrounding people who could hear me.
Never laughed as hard watching your videos as much as this one… 😆
I'm seeing double here. Four Calvins!!!
In my opinion they should've either left the gunbarrel well enough alone and kept it as it always was... or used Casino Royale as a precedent and integrated it at the end of every pre-title sequence in a similar manner.
I like the idea of integrating it at the end of the pre title sequence. When I first saw Casino Royale, I personally thought it was a clever update and expected it as a new tradition going forward. I think if they kept that idea, just tried different integrations it could have made for some stellar openings. Like NTTD was quite nicely stylised, imo. Alas it didn’t work out that way. I would have also been fine if that was just a one off, marking it as a reboot. Oh well
Lazenby in OHMSs my favourite gun barrel sequence.
White shirt Calvin on the left reminds me of Star Wars fans who hate the Special Edition changes
1:11 The 1981 re-release of the first film where the opening crawl now includes 'Episode IV A NEW HOPE'
2:17 The first Special Edition release in 1997 where Greedo shoots first and Han awkwardly shifts his head aside to dodge the hit
4:19 The DVD release where actors from the prequels replace original actors for better continuity, no original versions
6:17 The Blu-ray release where Vader now shouts "Nooooo!" when saving Luke from the Emperor, still no original versions
10:08 The original versions of the films finally included on the Limited Edition DVD release... but as non-anamorphic laserdisc transfers
13:26 The Disney+ 4K release where Greedo now says "Maclunkey" before he and Han now shoot at the same time, no original versions again
I get everything what you said, and I love to see someone who loves NTTD gunbarrel as much as myself, but I would have to disagree with you on SPECTRE one. It might be because it was my first Bond I saw in cinema but gunbarrel in SPECTRE will forever be one of the best scenes in the entire series for me. I remember myself, I was 12 at the time, sitting in the cinema proud to be a Bond fan(and proud to be old enough to see it in the cinema), and it just clicked with me, I adored the music and it was just a great opening shot of the movie. Great video as always, I would maybe recommend you to do this for every actor as I know how much I am amazed by diversity of all the gunbarrels so it is also great to see someone sharing this specific or maybe even weird interest.