007 Discussion

Since posting about the 50th anniversary of the James Bond movie franchise the other day, some friends have been discussing the best and worst of the movies via email.

I received this one this evening:

We need to look at the Bond franchise from the perspective of the Top 5 and the Bottom 5:

Top 5:



1. From Russia With Love – most realistic spy film. Great fight on the train.

2. Goldfinger – the laser scene is unbeatable.

3. Thunderball - Fiona Volpe – the bad girl

4. Dr. No – the original has to be in the top tier

5. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – might have been #1 if Sean Connery starred. Nevertheless, a great film



Bottom 5:



1. Moonraker – bullshit in space

2. A View to a Kill – total crap

3. Octopussy – great title, but no substance

4. Any Timothy Dalton film – so that takes #4 and #5 spot

I don't particularly disagree with the Top 5, except I'd place Goldfinger No. 1.

Likewise, I generally agree with his Bottom 5, except when it comes to the Timothy Dalton movies. I liked Dalton's Bond and while the stories could've been better, I would put "Any Pierce Brosnan film" in the #4 and #5 spots. The screenplays were horrible and I never really warmed to Brosnan as Bond.

What do you think?

By the way, Roger Moore is planning to release a new book this year in keeping with the Bond anniversary, "Bond On Bond."

The James Bond Films: 50th Anniversary

There's one thing that movie fans or, specifically, James Bond fans, can look forward to this year is the 50th anniversary of Eon Productions' James Bond franchise.

Above, Ursula Andress.

It was in 1962 that the franchise was launched by the first movie based on Ian Fleming's British Secret Service agent 007, Doctor No. The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli. That movie made Sean Connery an international star and it featured Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder, Jack Lord as CIA agent (and Bond pal) Felix Leiter, Joseph Wiseman as Doctor No, Bernard Lee as "M" and Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny. Desmond Llewelyn did not join the regulars as "Q" until the next movie, From Russia With Love.



Doctor No introduced the iconic "James Bond Theme" and the Maurice Binder "gun barrel" Bond opening sequence. It had a budget of one million dollars (low-budget by today's standards) and was released on October 5, 1962.

It will be fun to see what may be in store this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the James Bond films.



Left, Sean Connery in his first James Bond outing.

Diane Cilento, ex-Mrs. Sean Connery, Dies At 78

Diane Cilento, ex-wife of actor Sean Connery, has died, Reuters reports.

According to Reuters:

(Reuters) - Australian actress Diane Cilento, nominated for an Oscar in the 1960s for her role in "Tom Jones" and ex-wife of James Bond star Sean Connery, has died after a long illness, local media reported on Friday. She was 78.

Cilento often played dizzy blondes, but she did appear in one of Connery's James Bond movies, You Only Live Twice. Wearing a black wig, she doubled for Japanese actress Mie Hama in a diving scene.

Next: "The Spy Who Loved Me"

Left, the first edition paperback of "You Only Live Twice" I finished reading last night.

Yes, I finished what I thought was the last Ian Fleming James Bond book I had in my collection, "You Only Live Twice." It is the first edition paperback as shown at left.

It turns out that I have one Fleming novel left (it was misplaced on my shelf) to read: "The Spy Who Loved Me." So I'll be reading it out of publishing order.

"You Only Live Twice" novel is vastly different than the movie version. The story takes place about nine months after Ernst Stavro Blofeld murdered Bond's wife Tracy. It does not involve spacecraft, but instead a mission to assassinate a Swiss doctor who set up a suicide "clinic" in a castle near Fukuoka, Japan.

Frankly, this story would've made a more interesting movie than the one Eon Productions put out in 1967 with Sean Connery.

On "The Spy Who Loved Me," we see 007 "through the eyes of a passionate woman." We'll see how it differs from the Roger Moore feature from 1977.

Next: "You Only Live Twice"

On Her Majesty's Secret Service by Ian Fleming was finished (finally!) last night.

It is one of Fleming's best James Bond novels and I found that the 1969 movie with George Lazenby (as Bond) and Diana Rigg (as Tracy) was pretty close to the book, with some changes here and there.

The next book (in the order of publication) I am going to read is You Only Live Twice, which is set in Japan. It will be interesting to see the differences between the movie (with Sean Connnery (as Bond) and Akiko Wakabayashi) and the book.

Left, Akiko Wakabayashi.