| |
Shaken and Stirred A Look into the Early James Bond MoviesJames Bond, also known as 007, is a fictional British spy created by writer Ian Fleming in 1953. Fleming wrote numerous novels and short stories based upon the character and, after his death in 1964, further literary adventures were written by Kingsley Amis (pseudonym "Robert Markham"), John Pearson, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, and Charlie Higson.
Although initially made famous through the novels, James Bond is now probably best known from the film series. Twenty films have been made. To date, six actors have portrayed James Bond in the official series. They are:
Sean Connery (19621967; 1971)
George Lazenby (1969)
Roger Moore (19731985)
Timothy Dalton (19871989)
Pierce Brosnan (19952002)
Daniel Craig (2006present)
Here is a look at the first three James Bond movies; Dr. No, From Russia With Love, and Goldfinger.
The James Bond film series has its own traditions, many of which date back to the very first movie in 1962. Since Dr. No, each film begins with what is known as the James Bond gun barrel sequence, which introduces agent 007. A gun barrel is seen from the assassin's perspective a side-on view of Bond walking, which quickly turns and shoots. The scene then reddens (signifying the spilling of the would-be assassin's blood), the
gun barrel dissolves to a white circle, and the film begins. After this introduction, every film (with the exception of Dr. No) would start with a pre-credits teaser, also popularly known as the "opening gambit". Usually the scene features 007 finishing up a previous mission before taking on the case from the film, and does not always relate to his main objective.
After the teaser sequence, the opening credits begin, during which an arty display of scantily clad and even (discreetly) naked females can be seen doing a variety of activities from dancing, jumping on a trampoline, to shooting weapons. This title sequence is a trademark and a staple of the series. Agent 007's famous introduction, "Bond. James Bond", became a catchphrase after it was first muttered (with a cigarette in the corner of his mouth) by Sean Connery in Dr. No. Since then, the phrase has entered the lexicon of Western popular culture as the epitome of polished, understated machismo. Every film, except Dr. No (1962) and Thunderball (1965), has the line: "James Bond will return..." or "James Bond will be back" during or after the final credits.
The first James Bond movie was Dr. No (1962). This film introduced many of the recurring themes associated with the suave and witty secret agent: the code name "Agent 007" ("double-O-seven", whose double-O prefix means that he is "licensed to kill"), the distinctive theme music and equally distinctive "gun barrel" opening credits sequence, the "Bond girl" (here, Ursula Andress), exotic locales, the criminal organization S.P.E.C.T.R.E., narrow escapes, Bond's astonishing good luck and skill (including skill at gambling), an over-ambitious villain (here, Dr. Julius No is trying to disrupt U.S. missile launches), quirky villainous henchmen, characters with odd names (here, "M", "Honey Ryder", "Miss Moneypenny", and of course "Dr. No" himself), and the first meeting with Felix Leiter.
In fact, many characteristics of Bond himself were introduced in this film (or, often, brought in from the books), from Bond's idiosyncratic self-introduction (as "Bond. James Bond.") to his taste for fine wine or champagne, women, and weaponry.
The film also established the tradition of venturing from Fleming's original novels. During the 40-year history of the series, only a couple of Bond films would stay true to the source material. Dr. No has many similarities to the novel, but almost as many differences.
The movie starts out in Jamaica, where British agent Commander John Strangways and his secretary mysteriously disappear. Although nobody knows it yet, they have been killed. James Bond is sent to Jamaica to investigate the disappearances and determine whether they are related to recent disruptions of American missiles.
Soon after exiting the airport, Bond is greeting by a taxi driver who says he has been sent to drive him to the government house. In reality, the man is an enemy who commits suicide after he is found out, rather than risk the wrath of his boss. Eventually, Bond makes it to Dr. No's island, Crab Key, meets Honey Ryder, and discovers the Doctor's plot, which is, as suspected, to sabotage an American missile launch.
This is the first Bond film to mention the criminal organization S.P.E.C.T.R.E., though its role in this film is minor. Dr. Julius No, the film's villain, is also a member of S.P.E.C.T.R.E.; it would later be a more formidable foe in From Russia With Love through You Only Live Twice. The head of S.P.E.C.T.R.E. would continue to be Bond's nemesis till Diamonds Are Forever and briefly once again in For Your Eyes Only.
Following Dr. No was From Russia With Love (1963). The film follows the plot of Fleming's novel almost to the letter; however, the villain is the major change between the literary and cinematic versions of the story. At the Cold War's height, EON Productions felt it inadvisable casting the Russians as villains, so SMERSH was replaced by S.P.E.C.T.R.E., the criminal organization who is a mutual enemy of both superpowers, introduced in the first James Bond film, Dr. No. As such, this film is a sequel to the previous film in that S.P.E.C.T.R.E. seeks revenge upon James Bond for his killing of Dr. Julius No.
The film features the first appearance of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, leader of S.P.E.C.T.R.E., although he wouldn't directly confront Bond for several more cinematic adventures. To integrate S.P.E.C.T.R.E. to the storyline, minor changes were made so that SMERSH agent Red Grant is responsible for actions committed by other characters in the novel. Other than these topical changes, the film's plot is the same as the novel'sJames Bond is lured to Turkey, where Corporal Tatiana (Tania) Romanova is stationed to assist her defection, and obtains a LEKTOR decoder (renamed from the novel's Spektor to not confuse the audience with S.P.E.C.T.R.E.).
The third film was Goldfinger (1964). In Goldfinger, using a nuclear device supplied by Red China, gold-smuggler and metallurgist Auric Goldfinger intends to increase the value of his gold bullion ten-fold by detonating the device inside Fort Knox, thereby making the 15 billion dollar gold supply of the United States radioactive for 58 years.
James Bond has been a worldwide phenomenon since the first movie hit the big screen in 1962, and continues on today.
The Best Bad Monsters from Black and White Movies
Are you in the mood for an exhilarating night of truly frightening (and sometimes downright silly) movie monsters? Are you looking to brush up on your movie monster trivia? Even with the multimillion special effects and CGI tricks of today, some...
The Famous Film Noir Genre in Review
The film style that became popular in the U.S. in the mid 1940s of noir has lived on in subtler tones, and parodied even at that time. From Bob Hopes movie My Favorite Brunette in 1947, to Dead Men Dont Wear Plaid in the 1970s, the genre has been...
Classic Sing and Dance Movies with Gene Kelly
It was the year 1912, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that Eugene Curran Kelly, otherwise known as Gene Kelly, was born. This dynamic and well-known actor was most noticed for his flashy dance moves, more than anything else. Gene Kelly became one of MGM...
Jerry Lewis and Dean MartinA Glimpse into Americas Favorite Classic Comedy
Duo When you think about comedy and the people that bring laughs into your household on a regular basis, few can argue the prowess of the union between Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin. This was a pair that for all practical purpose should not have...
Memorable Marlon Brando Moments
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an Oscar winning American actor who was widely regarded as one of the greatest method actors of the twentieth century. Brando was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He had a tumultuous childhood, in which he was expelled from several...
|
|
|
|
|
