No, For Me - Goldeneye Watch-Along

Brosnan & Bourbon

So how is everyone? The start of a new week, the start of new opportunities, presently in the middle of scoping some new indexes, deep in the thousand pages, gosh its dark down here.

Saturday was interesting, ANZAC Day here in Australia, so I did not feel it fitting to do any writing, instead I stumbled on to YouTube to try and find something to do with myself, instead YouTube recommended watching a Pierce Brosnan Goldeneye watch-along.

So as one does, purchased some bourbon and sat in to give it a watch, I must admit, it was exceptionally splendid, for those of you who know me well, you will know not only am I a huge bond fan, but Goldeneye is one of my favorites.

Action & Art

Many people probably suspect I would be into more high art, far to the contrary, I love my action films, a lot of people in the film industry and art circles give action films the nose, because it’s such a simple formula, its like a blonde in a pleated skirt blowing a kiss right? Yeah – to that I have always called nonsense, to do an action film well, and have it stand the test of time, is incredibly hard.

They are hard to write, they are hard to place the actors, and everyone has to get it just right, from the cameras to the costume, to the sequence, to have it all come together into a nice 2 hour package that every guy can walk away from and go “that was awesome!” and his girlfriend doesn’t hate him for dragging her along to an action flick, haha, that’s the key writers, the girl has to like It as well.

To me, I have always said, Pierce Brosnan’s Goldeneye is one of the classic bond films, it’s the right mix of unbelievable and action, it takes itself seriously enough, but not too seriously, that’s important, or at least was important, when that particular film came out, even if MGM must accommodate to a more modern world now, I think Goldeneye actually encapsulates the spirit of the cold war, better than any of its predecessors actually, but what of the music?

Movie Within a Movie

Pierce makes a great point in the commentary that the Title Sequence is a film within itself, and this is exceptionally true, the score and the cinematography of that opening music scene are essential to the film at large, I cant begin how hard it must be to sit down and write such a piece of music.

Not only does it have to capture the theme and motif of the entire film, it needs to be palatable, and short.

Interesting enough that it works for the films purposes, but also personable enough that it can appeal to the masses, the song itself, is a marketing piece for the film, so it has to be short enough to be picked up by radio, and casting the singer? That is another tough aspect, and if you get that gig as a musician, its one you would never turn down, stream of never-ending royalties, so you want to get it correct.

The Edge of Brilliance

Performed by the illustrious Tina Turner, composed by Bono & The Edge of U2, produced by Nelle Hooper, Encapsulates the themes of the franchise perfectly, never had the stakes been higher for the franchise than with the release of this film after such a long hiatus, so to, the importance of the score for the films theme, had to be on point, and in a certain sense of synchronicity it all comes together perfectly.

It’s a classic example of musicians sitting down and really creating something that works perfectly within the theme, of what the commission requests, from the first few bars, you here it, that pulse, dun, duh, dun dun, BAM BAM, then into the clicking, its secret agent to the max.

It scrolls, it flows and you feel it build with the strings, then it sucks back to enter Tina, with a seductive feline tone, you don’t even have to see it, to feel it, a sway of hang and a strike of pose and power, reflective of bond.
Echoing the title, but then it shifts, into the deeper section, strings pulling “You’ll never know” lines belted out with such deep emotion and staccato on voice, building up on a crescendo that dips back into the theme “time time is not..” and such out, back into the beat- all in a 3 minute, piece, such elegance, and such simple sophistication.

It’s a critical example, of an excellent “pop” piece, written in the theme of Ian Fleming’s world of espionage.

Those belting vocals at the end, with the swing of the strings, dun, duh, dun dun dun, on the cello, the violins twirling, fade and into the next scene, simply brilliant.