Live and Let Die (1973)

Director:

Guy Hamilton

Writers:

Ian Fleming (novel)
Tom Mankiewicz (screenplay)

Release Date:

27 June 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Roger Moo7re is James Bond

Plot:

007 is sent to stop a diabolically brilliant heroin magnate armed with a complex organization and a reliable psychic tarot card reader.

Plot Keywords:

Trapdoor | Cult Favorite | Henchman | Villainy | Black Woman

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Roger Moore	...	James Bond
Yaphet Kotto	...	Kananga / Mr. Big
Jane Seymour	...	Solitaire
Clifton James	...	Sheriff J.W. Pepper
Julius Harris	...	Tee Hee (as Julius W. Harris)
Geoffrey Holder	...	Baron Samedi
David Hedison	...	Felix Leiter
Gloria Hendry	...	Rosie Carver
Bernard Lee	...	M
Lois Maxwell	...	Miss Moneypenny
Tommy Lane	...	Adam
Earl Jolly Brown	...	Whisper
Roy Stewart	...	Quarrel Jr.
Lon Satton	...	Harold Strutter
Arnold Williams	...	Cab Driver

Also Known As:

Ian Fleming's Live and Let Die (USA) (complete title)
Vivre et laisser mourir (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
Å leve og la dø (Norway) [no]
Élni és halni hagyni (Hungary) [hu]
007 - Vive e Deixa Morrer (Portugal) [pt]
Agente 007, vivi e lascia morire (Italy) [it]
Com 007 Viva e Deixe Morrer (Brazil) [pt]
Elä ja anna toisten kuolla (Finland) [fi]
James Bond 007 - Leben und sterben lassen (West Germany) [de]
Lev og lad dø (Denmark) [da]
Leva och låta dö (Sweden) [sv]
Viu i deixa morir (Spain: Catalan title) [ca]
Vive y deja morir (Spain) [es]
Vivir y dejar morir (Argentina) [es]
Yasamak için öldür (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Zít a nechat zemrít (Czechoslovakia) [cs]

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Hungarian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Ireland:PG | Brazil:Livre | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Iceland:12 | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M (TV rating) | Australia:PG (original rating) | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1973) | Peru:14 | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | UK:A (original rating) | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

117th Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Danjaq

Trivia:

First of two times to date that James Bond has been seen hang-gliding in the EON Productions official James Bond series. Very popular as a new sport in the 1970s, Roger Moore is the only actor to ever play James Bond and be seen hang-gliding. The second time was in Moonraker (1979).

Goofs:

Continuity: While Bond is in the taxi cab, asking the driver to go uptown (into Harlem), we see a hill through the rear window. In the next shot, the land is flat.

Quotes:

[first lines]
UN Translator: [translating for Hungarian delegate] ... was so ably pointed out by the Secretary General in his opening remarks. But - and I must emphasize this point - no formula can or will ever cover each case. For instance...
[audio feed is unplugged]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Cult of...: The Onedin Line (#2.5)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

LIVE AND LET DIE

Good Bond movie with a good line in bad guys

Several British agents are killed in America and in the Caribbean. Despite the difference in how the murders occur they seem linked together by drugs. Bond begins to investigate and finds links between the American drug dealer Mr Big and the mysterious owner of a Caribbean island Kananga. While investigating Bond falls foul of both despite gaining the affections of Kananga's beautiful mistress Solitaire.

Roger Moore's first Bond is one of his best. The film wisely steps away from those regular bad guys the Russians and gets a new feel by actually having non-white main characters. The plot is pretty good and doesn't have the usual `take over the world' feel to it. There is plenty of silly stuff of course but the stunts are quite good and Bond has a new line in `eyebrow raised' humour.

Moore will never be the best Bond but he did make the role his own – adding an element of self-deprecating humour to the role. Yaphet Kotto is a good actor and makes a good bad guy. Jane Seymour isn't convincing as the mystic property of Kananga – she really should have been played by a black actress and it shows a lack of bravery on the side of the producers that they went with a white face as the lead Bond girl. Julius Harris is good as Tee Hee and Clifton James adds some comedy value as J.W. Pepper.

Overall this is one of Moore's best Bond movies and certainly stands out from previous films with numerous Russian baddies. Also the theme music is a really fun song from Wings.