#8 Live and Let Die

I was all pumped up for this movie, Live and Let Die, because there’s a new James Bond. The opening song had me singing with a fake mic, but I didn’t know what to make of James Bond going to Harlem. Just because there’s a new Bond doesn’t mean he’s changed his ways…halfway through the movie he’s already slept with three women. Here’s my thoughts about James Bond in Live and Let Die. (There will be spoilers.)

Roger Moore is the New James Bond

Roger Moore is the third actor to play James Bond. Of course, Sean Connery was the first. George Lazenby was the second, but quit after his first and only Bond movie (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service).

My first thoughts on Roger Moore: Handsome. British. Sophisticated.

It’s hard not to compare Roger Moore to Sean Connery, since Connery is the first James Bond. Roger Moore definitely brings his own style, not trying to imitate Connery. He doesn’t have the swagger Connery had, but he does have an air of sophistication that Connery didn’t have.

Sean Connery appeared sophisticated–his style, the way he dressed, choice of drink, etc–but get to know him better, and it seems his outer appearance was a cover up for his true unscrupulous character. (The way he treated women comes to mind.) Whereas, Roger Moore’s sophistication as Bond seems to be more than skin deep.

What Did I think of the Live and Let Die Plot?

As with all James Bond movies I’ve seen so far, there aren’t too many scenes that don’t grab my attention. This one included. But sometimes, by the end of the movie, it seems like the dots haven’t been connected. (It’s probably just me. If you’re a Bond fan you probably like all the action, but I see some of the action as a distraction from the actual plot.)

Sometimes watching a James Bond movie is like taking a million side streets with pot holes when the one straight, smooth road would’ve made more sense. James Bond’s Assignment was to investigate the killing of three British agents who were murdered in different parts of the world. This is a fairly simple plot that took a ton of side streets with pot holes.

Unless the plot is straightforward like Dr. No or You Only Live Twice, I’m left wanting to research the plot on the internet. With so much action and jumping from one country to another, the plot seems disjointed. With only 18 minutes left in this movie, I still didn’t know why the agents in the beginning of the movie were killed and how the people in Harlem were connected.

Live and Let Die is Reflective of 1970s Stereotypical American Culture

This movie definitely catered to a 1970s American audience, and it made me cringe a bit because of the stereotypical characters. The Black characters in Harlem (yes, James Bond goes to Harlem) looked like they came right out of a 1970s Shaft or Super Fly movie. And the White, Southern sheriff look like he came out of an episode of the tv show, Dukes of Hazzard. Although, Dukes of Hazzard came on tv several years later, but you get my point.

Because of the stereotypes and some of the outrageous comical action scenes, it was more cartoonish than other Bond films. At times it did seem like I was watching an episode of the Dukes of Hazzard.

James Bond and Women in Live and Let Die

In his first scene, James Bond is in bed with a woman. This Bond, the Roger Moore Bond, seems to have evolved a tad bit in his treatment towards women. His boss unexpectedly shows up at the door, and instead of shoving the woman in a closet or something rude that Sean Connery Bond would have done, the woman sneaks into the closet herself to hide from James Bond’s boss. Sean Connery Bond would’ve picked the woman up and tossed her into the closet like a dirty old sheet.

Halfway through the movie Bond has already had sex with three women. Like I said, he evolved a tad bit, but not much.

I was surprised to see the super young Jane Seymour in this movie. She plays the main Bond girl and was only 20 years old in this movie. Her role in this film was somewhat accidental. She says she was never trying to seek a role as a Bond girl like so many actresses at the time. A James Bond producer saw her in another role and wanted her in Live and Let Die.

James Bond’s First Black Love/Lust Interest

James Bond doesn’t discriminate when it comes to lust. Rosie Carver is a Black double agent and the first Black woman with a main lead in a Bond movie, and the first female love/lust interest of Bond. Rosie is played by Gloria Hendry who was also a model.

In South Africa, romantic scenes with Rosie and James Bond were edited out because interracial relationships were illegal at the time. (Only a few years earlier, and it would have been the same for certain states in America.)

Interestingly, the role of the main Bond girl was initially written for a black female, but it was changed somewhere in the midst of filming. The producers decided it was too risky to have the main Bond girl be black and ride off into the sunset with the white lead, James Bond. Rosie’s character was killed and Solitaire, James Seymour’s character, rode off into the sunset with Bond.

Background

Live and Let Die started filming in October 1972 and was released in theaters in January 1973. The fast production of these movies continues to amaze me.

Amazon Prime Video X-RAY Feature

Amazon Prime Video has a feature called X-RAY that provides extra information about each scene in the movie. When X-RAY is turned on, and I move the laptop cursor, information appears on the screen telling what actors are playing in the scene, trivia about the movie and goofs that were made during filming.

I was hugely disappointed that the only information X-RAY provided in this movie was who played who in each scene.

Because of the X-RAY feature, I’ve learned so many behind the scene details–that’s how I learned that Sean Connery wore a hairpiece in all Bond movies; that George Lazenby cried in his wife’s death scene in At Her Majesty’s Request and so much more.

I hope the X-RAY feature returns with the next movie.