TMWTGG is a real hidden gem of sorts in the Bond franchise, as if LALD’s shadow is too great. Cigar smoking Moore had an edge to him here, possibly moreso than any other film in his era. His encounter with Lazar, slapping Anders, throwing the child overboard and such.
Christopher Lee is easily one of the best villains in the franchise, and with Nick Nack, they make a very good duo. Anything on the island and the funhouse is excellent - especially their dinner. Pure Fleming.
Good to see some love for a very underrated film. I love Bonds walk through Hai Fat’s gardens on the way to dinner… very creepy and very Bond. Nick Nack’s best moment for sure!
That is one of the things I like about the film (I think Hamilton helped shape this performance, after Moore’s Don’t-Play-Bond-Like-Connery performance in LALD). But again, it is a one-shot Bond; Moore’s re-calibration as Commander Bond in TSWLM was a brilliant stroke–the characterization suited his talents and was durable.
Great atmosphere in the scene. A few others I enjoy:
Goodnight being hidden in the closet for two hours “all in the line of duty.”
The RMS Queen Elizabeth set.
Hai Fat’s death.
Nick Nack being placed in the suitcase.
And here’s a statement I’m confident enough to make: TMWTGG Moore was the most handsome a Bond actor has ever looked in the franchise. I’ve always thought that.
Remarkable given how ill he was reputedly during filming , I do think Connery looked m(o)ore handsome in Goldfinger , the opening shot of Dalton in TLD is, in my opinion up there too.
TMWTGG has something I thought all the CraigBonds so far sorely missed: the sense of adventure in a far away place, Bond in another world.
This is one major ingredient in the films in general, for my taste, and the abundance of settings in overfamiliar places (London, Austria) or rather indistinctive surroundings (Miami, Morrocco, Chile could have easily been somewhere else) hurt the Craig era a lot.
When was Bond in Chile?
QOS, I thought?
Do you mean Haiti? Or Bolivia?
I stand corrected.
The desert scene at the end of QoS was in Chile, wasn’t it?
Filmed in Chile, but set in Bolivia. The hotel is actually an observatory.
So, I don‘t stand corrected anymore. 
Time for a Double-Oh, double feature night…Live And Let Die followed by From Russia With Love…
I am in the mood for You Only Live Twice tonight
Licence to Kill. One film that has, admittedly always been high in my rankings, but lately has been threatening to break into my top 3 films. Which is big for me, as my top 3 Bond films also happen to be in my top 10 films overall: The Spy Who Loved Me, Casino Royale, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. LTK is a close 4th.
You’d think someone would have proofread this. Apted directed TND? Thunderball was the third film?
Gonna make myself a martini (or two!) and put on Casino Royale as a great way to cap off a pretty nice birthday…
I posted that article in another thread. It’s terribly written and the person doing it clearly doesn’t get Bond. I lamented that, once again, people decry Octopussy without actually understanding anything about it.
Unrelated, watched The Living Daylights today. Not sure which one I’ll watch next, perhaps a Brosnan one. Also, happy birthday Dove!
Thanks theSpectre!