Moonraker

Moonraker (1979)

This review has Spoilers, but I don't think they'll affect your experience much.

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Advisory

Ok, so if you don't want to read a really long thesis & just want the bottom line about the film, go to the very bottom section.

The best parts of this review are probably on Corinne Cléry (the woman in the picture further down), & The Title Song right after her section. If you don't like those sections, then the rest of this will suck for you & you shouldn't bother reading on. Those are basically the best parts of the movie along with the pre-titles sequence & the two dramatic sequences with the centrifuge & the termination of Corinne's employment. (These are in the first section below.) You're welcome! :)

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And here, we, go...

Moonraker was EON Productions' 11th Bond film. It might've been the 1st film I saw by myself in the theater. Its fantastical elements are out of fashion for today's Bond, & it's easy to find flaws in it, but to a young kid at the time, it was a lot of fun.

EON planned to make For Your Eyes Only after The Spy Who Loved Me, but after the massive success of Star Wars (1977), all the studios scrambled to get their own space movies into production. Moonraker, Alien, & Star Trek: The Motion Picture all came out in 1979.

A moonraker is defined as the small light sail at the very top of the mast, it's used for speed. In the film, it's the name of the space shuttle that's stolen in the opening scene.

The pre-titles sequence, tame by today's standards, was very exciting & revolutionary on its release. The Bond films always pushed stuntmen to their limits, & this was a remarkable example. Bond is pushed out of a plane & must steal another person's parachute in mid-air to survive.

The behind the scenes documentary showed how they developed & achieved it. These were physical stunts, real people creating the sequence in free fall, no CGI. Considering they were made to be seen in theaters instead of on discs & streaming, I'll forgive being able to tell it's not really Roger Moore & Richard Kiel fighting in the sky. The pilot was really out there though. He was an experienced parachutist, & one of the people that helped develop the stunt.

Much of Moonraker is certainly comical by today's standards, but it's countered by some very serious moments, like Bond in the Centrifuge & Drax terminating Corinne's employment after she gave information to Bond. These scenes look like they're from a different film, but I accept them as being necessary to show Drax as a formidable Bond villain, & they happen in the first half of the film. The second half gradually becomes more absurd, maybe reaching its peak with the gondola going up the steps & riding through the streets of Venice, making a pigeon do a double take (that's not a typo).

Corinne Cléry

Another of the film's highlights, she plays the villain Drax's personal pilot. She is mesmerizing. Looking back now, I would've preferred her as the main Bond girl.

She starred in the French film The Story of O (1975), where she played a photographer who undergoes training to serve the members of an S&M club. The French do have interesting film plots.

The Title Song

Moonraker isn't one of the most popular Bond songs, but it's still a great song & a testament to John Barry's talent. The melody is luxuriant & beautiful, with chimes that sound like a digital signal dancing over the sounds of the orchestra.

And Hal David's lyrics (the sexiest in any Bond song), & Dame Shirley Bassey's vibrant yet soothing voice, all combine to make an enduring & undeniable song.

The music transports you into the night sky, where her voice envelops you like soft clouds, in a warm nurturing embrace. It's the afterglow of love. There's room in the lyrics for that interpretation; the Moonraker is the weapon Bond never leaves home without, & his partner is looking for another trip around the world. It's subtly overt once you know.

In the end scene, the Houston control room turns on the onboard camera in the space shuttle & is shocked to see Bond & Dr. Goodhead floating in zero gravity with only a blanket wrapped around them like a sexy meat wrap.

The British Defence Minister asks "My God, what's Bond doing?" Q, looking down & turned away from Bond on the screen, says "I think he's attempting reentry, sir." (Oh, Q know it, man). Then the song plays.

Where are you? Why do you hide?
(she's looking for goldmember, who has retreated into his lair)

Where is that moonlight trail that leads to your side?
(the glistening trail means goldmember's already had a meeting with her)

Just like the Moonraker goes in search of his dream of gold
(so goldmember rakes over her moons in search of her gold. but also, rakish as an adjective is "having or displaying a dashing, jaunty, or slightly disreputable quality or appearance." "he had a rakish, debonair look." so Moonraker could be describing Bond, who is raking over a woman's Moons. And he's raking over them with, well, some type of rakish tool. that's all i'll say. you'll just have to imagine the fire, that rises from his repeated raking. )

I search for love, for someone to have and hold
(she wants to have & hold goldmember)

I've seen your smile in a thousand dreams
(she's obsessed with goldmember's smile, she yearns to meet him/it again)

Felt your touch and it always seems
You love me
You love me
(she wants goldmember a second time, she even says it twice, yeah baby)

I'll leave it to you to interpret the second verse. (Lyrics)

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Moonraker Theme Playlist
(Click here)
This Playlist highlights the theme song & has some surprises.

You Can Judge a song by its Covers
The better the song, the more people like it, & the more covers there are.

Moonraker Tribute - Dame Shirley Bassey's original rendition, set to a nice montage downplaying the space elements of the film.
Cover by Conchita Wurst - Not bad, not bad at all.
Piano Instrumental - When a song is good, distilling it down to one instrument can make you appreciate it even more.
Guitar Instrumental - Ditto
Cover with Acoustic Guitar - Nice :)
Electric Guitar Instrumental - Cool :)
007 Counting Shadows In Another World (David West Mashup) - Techno remix of John Barry's masterpiece "007 And Counting" from "Diamonds Are Forever." Included here just because it's Very Cool.
007 And Counting (Remastered) - From "Diamonds Are Forever." Because the og piece is Great. John Barry at his finest.
The Incredibles, Kronos Unveiled - Skip to 1:25 when the music starts. This piece was inspired by 007 And Counting. The Incredibles owes a lot to John Barry's music, which is inseparable from the Bond films.
Cover in Roy Orbison style. If you like Orbison (& you should. Listen to his best stuff), you'll like this.
Cover by Bond Girl - It takes balls to cover a Shirley Bassey song. Or maybe not, because this lady does a great job.
Cover by Sheena Easton (Live, 2014) - This is interesting because she sang For Your Eyes Only, which is the next film after Moonraker. She was the first (& only?) singer to be shown in the opening titles of a Bond film. Look at For Your Eyes Only's opening titles & you'll see why. She was beautiful enough to make Prince want to write something about her Sugar Walls. I'm not sure what those are, but knowing Prince is very shy, it's probably something completely innocent. I'll have to study those lyrics in the future.
Sheena was one of his girlfriends for a while. In the song Black Sweat, he sings, "You can act hard if u want to, this groove will make u sweet. U'll b screaming like a white lady when I count to 3... 1, 2, 3. And then a high piano note plays. Did Sheena give a high note like that when Prince was workin' up a Black Sweat? These are important questions.
Goldfinger by Sheena Easton (Live, same event) - Still beautiful in 2014, 33 yrs(!) since For Your Eyes Only in 1981! Jeez I feel old. It's interesting how her accent is so much more pronounced than in For Your Eyes Only.
GoldVader - This explores an alternate reality. What if Vader became obsessed with gold & decided to steal the Republic's gold reserves? You don't buy it? Well trust me, this turned out much better than DarthFinger.
Cover of Goldfinger with lyrics about Moonraker - This is the best cover of Goldfinger with lyrics about Moonraker sung by a Hoare. I've searched. This Is The Very Best. I only wish I knew what the last line said exactly. It's a mystery that keeps on giving.

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Here are the first 3 of the 15 songs on the Playlist.

Summary

I'm sure the film will be very dated for most of today's audience. Admittedly, I'm looking at it through the eyes of the boy I once was. I suppose that's the appeal for many Bond fans whose parents enjoyed Bond in the 60s & 70s.

I remember the wonder & happiness I felt when my parents took us to watch the Connery & Moore Bonds in the theater. And I kept returning to that feeling when I re-watched video tapes I recorded from the TV showings. I equate those feelings with happier, innocent times, when my world was small & simple, & my parents took care of everything.

To sum up, Moonraker's not among my top Bond films, but it has a special place in my heart. Like any Bond film, it's clearly a product of its time, a snapshot of pop culture. They are mainstream PG-rated action fantasy movies for the family.

I can find things to enjoy in any Bond film, I just like Bond that much. The films are like comfort food, or life long friends. Moonraker has a lot of good things. If you can be open & just go with it, expect the complete opposite of Craig's films, & let all the ridiculousness wash over you, you'll have a fun time.

CB 9/20

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