We'll lead off with "Thunderball" since it came out in 1965! The opening credits are spectacular no doubt!
But you've gotta admit, the credits for "Thunderbirds Are GO" which came out a year later in 1966, are much more brazen and bolder!02 Handsome Leading Man
Even at his nerdiest, as in this rocketman getup, Sean Connery.....
....is going to be cooler than four or five puppets, now if it had been Muppets, that might have been a different story!03 Hot Women
Although her voice is that of "Thunderbirds" co-creator Gerry Anderson's genius wife Sylvia, Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward just doesn't really do it for me! I don't know how to say this without being offensive, but she looks like a puppet!!
Martine Beswick as James Bond's assistant Paula, on the other hand does! Check out Martine's silhouette in the bottom picture, that's it, I am convinced the woman is perfect!04 Hot Cars
Every way I turned, I read that Bond drove a Bentley Mark II Continental in "Thunderball," but after being corrected, I realized this was an Aston Martin DB5 as I first had thought! What a beautiful car!
This is the FAB1! It was based on the Chinese-six car, four in front and two in back, and was also known as the Bassackwards! They constructed a real-life copy to transport Gerry and Sylvia Anderson to the London premiere of "Thunderbirds Are GO," and the car broke down before they got there! Gerry and Sylvia were forced to take a taxi to the premiere, and I think that's funnier than Hell! As you can see, the FAB1 was also an amphibious vehicle!05 Meeting of the Minds
This is a tough one, but I'm going with the extra big cut-out giant desk with the matching centerpiece in "Thunderbirds Are GO!" Pretty scary, but unless I miss my guess, that puts "Thunderbrids Are Go" ahead 3 rounds to 2!06 Bathing Beauties
This isn't even worth discussing! Score is tied!!07 Tantalizing Titillation!
"Thunderbirds" bounce back with fake little zine titled "Riviera," and the article "girls, girls, Girls," and the back cover is "TANS!"08 Coolest Sunglasses
A strong choice by both contenders, I declare this round a draw!09 Night Life!
Anything on a tropical island is amazing, but how can you compete with a restaurant called the "Swinging Star" that features outdoor dining on something akin to one of the rings of Saturn!10 Explosions!
How is it possible that a fake explosion could be even better than a real fake explosion? Damned if I know!
So a puppet movie manages to beat out a classic James Bond adventure in a grueling ten round match? It was a split decision but that's the way the three judges, Jeff Tracy, Scott Tracy, and Virgil Tracy saw it!!! I think the real clincher was the music!!!Cliff Richards and The Shadows puppets perform "Shooting Star"
And here's just a taste of the theme from "Thunderball" written by one of the masters, John Barry, and sung by the iconic aTomic Jones!
You were right the first time. It's an Aston Martin DB5. I have no idea where you got the idea that it was a Bentley Continental, which looks somewhat like a Rolls-Royce but with a sporty ass. Bond drove a 1920s Bentley in many of the books, but I think even in the Thunderball novel he had an Aston. I think that was a DB2, as it was written earlier.
ReplyDeleteI'm a bit upset that Bond lost this round, especially as this is my favorite of the series. But Thunderbirds were fairly awesome, so I concede that it was a fair fight.
Thanx! I'll change the info. I spent a lot of time looking at pictures on the internet to make sure, after reading he drove a Bentley in this film on more than one website, and convinced myself that there was a smaller sportier Bentley with a grill like that! Oh, well, so much for the intellectual powers of Tequila!
ReplyDeleteRound 1: Thunderbirds credits are "more brazen and bolder"? Wrong!
ReplyDeleteDid the credits of Thunderbirds are Go include side-silhoutettes of naked lady titties with rock hard nipples? Did the credits of Thunderbirds are Go force me to cross my legs so my dad in the next seat wouldn't see how "interested" I had become in them?
No. Round to Thunderball.
Speaking as a friend of Martine Beswick's for over a quarter of a century, you are correct: she IS the perfect woman, and she still is!
Meeting off the Minds round: I'm sorry. Does the puppett meeting room one have gigantic paintings, massive works of soul-enriching art whose sole reason to exist is to cover up War Room maps of weapons-of-death world deployment, despite the fact that no one without the highest security clearence would ever be allowed into the room in the first place, so there is NO REASON TO HIDE THEM? ("Hey Guys, Quick! That new guy, Yuri, is bringing everbody coffee! Lower all the paintings. Act casual! Talk about sports!") I think not.
(And let us not fail to notice that the chair left vacant for "007" is the 7th chair from the door. They're all there, and they have to sit in order! If one of them dies, do they all get to movie up a chair? Why doesn't 008 ever get a blumb assignment? Does 008 suck! What the hell kind of cherry assigments does 001 get to go out on!) I'm afraid this round must go to Thunderball.
Round 9 Nightlife: "how can you compete with a restaurant called the 'Swinging Star' that features outdoor dining on something akin to one of the rings of Saturn!?"
By having an on-staff assassin who times his shot to the band music, and kills your date for you in your arms. What could be more romantic? 007, a man to die for. Round to Thunderball.
And then you add the title song by Tom Jones, and on the DVD alternate soundtrack, the entirely-different second title song by Dionne Warwick, and it's advantage to Thunderballl, though Thunderbirds are Go made a strong showing, especially in the fake-explosions category, despite competing with a movie that won an Oscar for its exlosions!
Hey Doug,
ReplyDeleteThanx for making me laugh! You might have put more thought into this thing than I did!
Love it! Here's a video of the Shadows at the Swinging Star!
ReplyDeletehttp://wfmuichiban.blogspot.com/2009/06/cliff-richard-jr-on-thunderbirds-are-go.html