We’ve already had Deathmatches about the songs (albeit I obviously recognise not all of those in that round of Deathmatches were played over the titles), so for this one lead with your impression of the visuals rather than the vocals / da tune – although obviously how those visuals play out alongside the music is an entirely justifiable consideration and it would be madness to deny it. Madness, I say.
Interesting how much use ON HER MAJESTY’S titles make of footage from previous productions. Also, how the Moore titles use his face - and the silhouette double very obviously wasn’t Moore any more in later films, even stretching his image a little (OCTOPUSSY) it would seem.
Overall, some main titles I remembered as very strong heavily rely on their songs to make them work. Lasciviously grinning women holding prop guns ejaculating a blood red ‘007’ is bordering satire today.
I am re-watching the sequences with the volume slightly lowered so as to focus on the visuals, and, like you, am finding that my response to the theme song must have had a strong influence on my liking/disliking of a particular title sequence.
Interesting how so time-locked many of the sequences are turning out to be.
OHMSS - One of my favorite Title Sequences, the silhouette, the Brittanica, the hour glass, it’s great, plus it’s really perfectly fit in with Barry’s score, truly artistic, just like a wallpaper, beautifully made, dramatic and colorful, just beautiful and classic, something that I could rewatch any day of the week, the best of this group.
The Living Daylights - Good one, I really liked the woman in sunglasses, couples dancing around and the headlights, the color was very pop, and it also fits in with Aha’s song, really discotheque.
Moonraker - Not a fan of this one, I think it’s a bit dull in places, I didn’t liked those ladies flying and stumbling around, especially the woman flying like Superman that turned into an infrared color.
Octopussy - Same, not a fan, it looked like a Title Sequence for a Parody film, didn’t liked that image of Moore/Bond with poorly edited arms holding guns coming out, those glowy drawings moving through the women’s body, and the repetitive use of 007 Logo, it felt cheap.
For Your Eyes Only - Not so much in this one, the whole Title Sequence just featured Sheena Easton and waters.
Moonraker – I really like this one. It’s a good follow up from The Spy Who Loved Me. Good visuals with the space motif.
Octopussy – It’s simple, but I really like it. The lasers were a nice touch, though I will admit the Octopussy arms wrapping around Bond was a little rough around the edges. Still, scantily-clad ladies and lasers? Works for me.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – I’m not the biggest fan of this one and I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s all the shots of the previous Bond films falling through the hourglass like grains of sand. I understand why they’re there, and it makes sense, but, for me, I think, it might hold the title sequence back. (One nitpick, why did Maurice Binder include two to three shots of all of Sean Connery’s previous films EXCEPT From Russia With Love which only had one shot? For some reason, that’s always bothered me.) Overall, the concept is good, but it just doesn’t grab me like others do.
For Your Eyes Only – The Sheena Easton Show. Yes, she’s good looking, but she’s not what I want to see in a Bond main titles sequence, certainly in being that prominent that way. And when she’s not the main focus, the rest of the sequence is a little underwhelming and boring. I would have preferred Binder had gone in a different direction.
The Living Daylights – And here is where, I think, Binder starts to run on fumes. The main titles sequence isn’t TOO bad, but it’s not great either, rather lackluster. It pales in comparison to most of the previous entries in the series, but it wouldn’t be near as bad as the next film’s main titles entry.
MR–clear winner here for me–beautiful match between visuals and music. As I said in the TSWLM group–MR remakes that movie and improves upon it, and the same can be said of the title sequences.
OHMSS was second favorite, though the scenes of previous films were distracting.
MR’s titles also progress the story along, albeit in a minor way as they depict Jaws falling into the circus net and Bond’s parachute landing with still images. I really like Bassey’s song, and the slower pace of the sequence lends a classy feel to everything - the blue colour scheme, smoke and zero gravity performers.