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Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto, Jane Seymour, Clifton James, Julius Harris ... see more see more... , Geoffrey Holder , B.J. Arnau , Earl Jolly Brown , Michael Ebbin , David Hedison , Gloria Hendry , Ruth Kempf , Tommy Lane , Bernard Lee , Lois Maxwell , Lon Satton , Arnold Williams , Joie Chitwood , Madeline Smith , Roy Stewart

Roger Moore makes his first appearance as "Bond...James Bond" in 1973's Live and Let Die. Bond is dispatched to the States to stem the activities of Mr. Big (Yaphet Kotto), who plans to take over the ... read more read more...Western Hemisphere by converting everyone into heroin addicts. The woman in the case is Solitaire (Jane Seymour in her movie debut), an enigmatic interpreter of tarot cards. The obligatory destructive-chase sequence occurs at the film's midpoint, with Bond being chased in a motorboat by Mr. Big's henchmen, slashing his way through the marshlands and smashing up a wedding party. Clifton James makes the first of several Bond appearances as redneck sheriff Pepper, while Geoffrey Holder is an enthusiastic secondary villain. The title song, written by Paul McCartney and Linda McCartney, provides the frosting on this 007 confection. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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66% liked it

61,264 ratings

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64% liked it

36 critics

PG, 2 hr. 1 min.

Directed by: Guy Hamilton

Release Date: June 27, 1973

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DVD Release Date: October 19, 1999

Stats: 2,724 reviews

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Live and Let Die Live and Let Die Secretary Jane Seymour Jane Seymour Bond, James Bond James and Solitaire Solitaire Clifton James Bond with Solitaire Live and Let Die (1973) Live and Let Die Jane Seymour Jane Seymour Bond and Solatre Live and Let Die DVD Cover. Jane Seymour Live and Let Die
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Flixster Reviews (2,724)

  • spielberg00
    July 23, 2011
    spielberg00
    This film marks the point where I have seen six Bond films (in order of seeing them: GOLDFINGER, CASINO ROYALE, QUANTUM OF SOLACE, DR. NO, YOU ONLY LOVE TWICE, LIVE AND LET DIE), and before, I thought GOLDFINGER was the best. Now, I think this by far is.
  • deano
    July 4, 2011
    deano
    Roger Moore's debut 007 role is very different to Sean Connery and George Lazenby while playing as James Bond as a more relaxed, charming, humourous character.
    Jane Seymour looks innocent in the ways of the world... she is lovely as the clairvoyant heroine Solitaire, whose power... read mores fade after being romanced by the suave, and handsome British secret agent. Yaphet Kotto is a good actor and makes a great villian and Clifton James adds some comedy value as Sheriff J.W. Pepper.
    The set-pieces are spectacular in all the ways you would expect them to be (the bus chase, speed-boat chase and the infamous crocodiles stand out in particular), and the action is fast-paced throughout.
  • garyX
    May 1, 2011
    garyX
    Bond investigates a drug lord with a reputation steeped in black magic in probably the most tacky and exploitative outing in the franchise. It is guilty of jumping on every yokel-pleasing bandwagon of the 1970s, including redneck humour, blaxploitation and ludicrously over the to... read morep car chases, all tainted by the kind of distasteful sexism that was swept away by 1980s political correctness. The plot is also straight out of Austin Powers, featuring a villain called "Mr Big" (oh, the imagination) and an attempt to kill the indestructible secret agent by leaving him alone and unguarded right outside their secret drug lab. Doh. Moore is far more sleazy than suave, his seduction of the radiantly beautiful Jane Seymour feeling particularly seedy, but my biggest problem with this rather nasty blaxploitation pastiche is the fact that blaxploitation worked because the heroes were BLACK. That was kind of the point. Making a blaxploitation film where all the villains are black and the two heroes are both white just smacks of plain racism. Having said all that, it manages to be mildly entertaining on the level of pure kitsch but the amount of sophistication or subtlety on display here is equalled by the average Carry On film.
  • CloudStrife84
    March 27, 2011
    CloudStrife84
    Featuring supernatural elements like voodoo-occultism, tarot readings and characters that rise from the dead (twice!), this certainly goes into the records as one of the more unique of the Bond movies. There are some plot elements that are outright bizarre and preposterous, which... read more had me scratching my head on more than one occation. Yet, it has a wonderful charm and likeability about it, that makes it easy to ignore all those question marks. Roger Moore is great with its sophisticated British wit, and Jane Seymore unforgettable as the stunning Solitaire. It's actually the first Bond flick with Moore that I've seen in its full length, and what I can say after the viewing, is that I'm positively left with an appetite for more.
  • rayman0071
    March 3, 2011
    rayman0071
    If you ever wanted to hear British secret agent James Bond get called a "honky",well Roger Moore's first Bond film and the official eighth 007 movie is for you. However,this is not the first time actor Roger Moore has played an international man of mystery and espionage. He was h... read moreowever,the suave and sophisicated Simon Templar on the 1960's television series "The Saint".
    Moore had some big shoes to fill after fellow Bond Sean Connery exited the series after "Diamonds Are Forever",which was released in 1971,and the seventh 007 film in the series. Exit Sean Connery and Enter Roger Moore.
    "Live and Let Die" came out at the height of the blaxploitation/martial-arts craze that defined the 1970's. Released in the summer of 1973,"Live and Let Die" is all aspects in insane beyond measure even by Bond film standards.
    "Live and Let Die" was the first Bond film in the series to have a African-American villain in the featured role. Let's see,there's a lot of the voodoo stuff,Yaphet Kotto as the evil Caribbean dictator Kananga/Mr. Big who wants to take over the world while owning a chain of soul food restaurants right? There's also Jane Seymour(with that Big Ass Afro) as a psychic virgin called Solitaire who works her charms on Bond while Bond works his charms on her,in the bedroom. Oh yeah,there's Kananga's assistant with the metal hand Tee(Julius Harris),and all over the place Baron Samedi(Geoffrey Holder...who remembers him and the 7-Up commercials from that decade?)
    and that dumbfounded county sheriff(Clifton James) while our hero escapes hit-men,skips across a bunch of crocodiles while getting back to safety,not to mention being chased by car and speedboats in this over the top film. Another reason is the all-over-the-place theme song by Paul McCartney and Wings(and it is also noted that the 8th Bond film did not have a original John Barry composition). This is "gonzo" Bond at its 1970s-est. And if you want further proof catch the other 007 films starring Roger Moore that included more insanity and over the top acting from "The Man With The Golden Gun",'
    "Moonraker","For Your Eyes Only","Octopussy",and his final outing as 007 in 1985's "A View To A Kill".
  • TheDudeLebowski65
    June 28, 2010
    TheDudeLebowski65
    The First Roger Moore film in the James Bond series is a film with a much different direction than previous films in the series. Despite this, Live And Let Die is one of the most original Bond films with Roger Moore and the most original films in the series since Thunderball. A f... read moreilm that returns to what made the series so great, this is a film not to miss, and has colorful new villains and allies. Blofeld is no more as the film makers felt that James Bond needed a new type of villain to fight. Live And Let Die is an action packed film with plenty of thrills to spare, and this is one of the most serious films in the roger era of Bond films. As many of them later on would become more tongue in cheek and cheesy. This one is a no nonsense thriller.
  • matertenebraum
    October 16, 2009
    matertenebraum
    Bond goes blaxplotition. People who describe this movie as 'racist' are clearly deluded. Ok,the entire set of villains are black, but this in fact is a positive. In previous Bonds, there were few noticable black characters, and those that did appear were mainly stereotyped as sim... read moreple and superstitous.

    This time, although some of the minor baddies seem very blaxploitation, some of the most memorable villains were spawned here, including Yaphet Kotto's Dr Kanaga, steel clawed giant Tee Hee, and the mystical Baron Samedi. For the first time, black people are considered to be worthy of a serious feature in James Bond, as serious opponents.

    This is also the first Roger Moore film of the series, which makes it more watchable. The mood is lighter and there is a trace of comedy, which helps things immesurably since the wooden and colourless Sean Connery years, which although they set Bond on the way, were surpassed by Moore in the 70s and 80s. Moore gave the series a real flavour, and that begins here with some of the most memorable sequences of the whole Bond era.

    The plot may not be totally cohesive or even coherent, but some of the images and performances in this film will live in movie history, and rightly so.
  • SirPant
    September 23, 2009
    SirPant
    The Blaxploitation Bond, love it!
  • bottcorecords1
    February 20, 2009
    bottcorecords1
    007 Roger Moore investigates the disappearances of secret agents and gets mixed up with some voodoo witch doctors and a tarot card reader named "Solitaire". Bond goes to Harlem and then to New Orleans, where apparently, Bond is a "honkey". At one point, Bond pulls a "pitfall" m... read moreoment, and jogs across some alligators. A whole lot of nothing else happens and then there's a boat chase that might be the most boring boat chase ever committed to film. But then there's the plot: Mr. Big (Kotto) has plans to flood the world's heroin market thereby driving the mafia out of business, at which point he shall rule the drug world. Ugh, then there's a shark tank, a magnetic watch, and by the time you realize Yaphet Kotto looks alot like Flip Wilson, he meets a ridiculous end. Hey, at least the theme song (by Paul McCartney) is good! This is the weakest pre-80s Bond film I've seen so far.
  • sononothing
    November 27, 2008
    sononothing
    Roger Moore takes over the role of James Bond in Live and Let Die, which has Bond spending most of his time in the Western Hemisphere as he investigates the connection between a Caribbean prime minister and an American drug lord.

    What's interesting about Live and Let Die is tha... read moret there are supernatural aspects in the film, mainly with red hot Jane Seymour's portrayal of the tarot card reading Solitaire. These aspects don't overpower the film that has really become a love it or leave it entry into the series, most of which comes from the public's obsession with Sean Connery as James Bond. Yaphet Kotto plays the lead baddie Kananga as almost a black Blofeld, cool instead of aristocratic.

    Live and Let Die is as fast paced as they get. You have to remember that Roger Moore's Bond and Connery's Bond are different, yet the same. It's still Bond. The only real problem with the film is how racist it can be perceived to be. Imagine that instead of SPECTRE you are saying that the entire black populations of Harlem and New Orleans are involved in an international drug conspiracy. Yeah, this was before the P.C. world we live in now. But overall Live and Let Die is a great action flick with Moore taking the role smoothly.

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Critic Reviews

Dave Kehr
October 13, 2008
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader

Guy Hamilton's direction lacks enthusiasm and pace, while even the art direction -- long the Bond films' real secret weapon -- seems to have fallen to a shrunken budget. Full Review

Variety Staff
October 13, 2008
Variety Staff, Variety

The comic book plot meanders through a series of hardware production numbers. Full Review

Richard Schickel
October 13, 2008
Richard Schickel, TIME Magazine

Setting aside an allright speedboat spectacular over land and water, the film is both perfunctory and predictable -- leaving the mind free to wander into the question of its overall taste. Or lack of it. Full Review

Roger Greenspun
May 9, 2005
Roger Greenspun, New York Times

Live and Let Die has been especially well photographed and edited, and it makes clever and extensive use of its good title song, by Paul and Linda McCartney. Full Review

Roger Ebert
October 23, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

It doesn't have the wit and it doesn't have the style of the best Bond movies. Full Review

James Berardinelli
January 1, 2000
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

The only thing about Live and Let Die to weather the test of time is its title song. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
March 1, 2009
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Tacky and cartoonish. Full Review

Peter Canavese
October 25, 2008
Peter Canavese, Groucho Reviews

I know I probably shouldn't like Live and Let Die, but I do. This crackpot entry, the eighth, in the long-running James Bond series, is figuratively all over the map...[Blu-ray] Full Review

October 13, 2008
Film4

Moore acquits himself in a larger than life adventure peppered with enjoyably rotten gags and lots of playful action. Full Review

Ian Nathan
October 13, 2008
Ian Nathan, Empire Magazine

It can't quite muster an explosive third act to match previous jaunts, but Moore had got his feet under the table. Full Review

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Live and Let Die Trivia

  • Which James Bond movie features a famous speed boat chase through the swamps and bayous of Louisiana?  Answer »
  • Who performed the title track to the 007 movie "Live and Let Die"?  Answer »
  • Roger Moore first appearance as James Bond was in what film?  Answer »
  • Which Bond film didn't star Sean Connery?  Answer »
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