James Bond at 60

[The Blackbird]

Now that the next James Bond flick is finally seeing the light of day after spending about twenty years (or so it feels like) on the shelf, it's time (though some might disagree) for a 60th anniversary retrospective on the 007 films.

DR. NO (1962)

The first thing that strikes you as you look at this now is how it works well as a movie, not just as a demo-reel of stunts. Sure, after all these decades much looks so antique it's positively antediluvian, from the rear-screen projection of the car chases to the bow ties to Bond barking so many orders at Quarrel you wonder if he's a closet member of the KKK. For those younger viewers only familiar with action movies like the FAST AND FURIOUS franchise, what they don't recognize in this film is known as a "plot." Contrary to myth, the series by no means took itself completely seriously right from the start: just look at Dr. No himself and you can see how silly even this would have been if the actors didn't take it seriously.

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963)

This is the only film in the entire series where what we see could actually have happened. Imagine this, a Bond movie that's actually carried by the actors! Note that the realism is enhanced by the way it's hard to tell who the main villain even is here. Robert Shaw brings his usual powerful presence, but he's working for Lotte Lenya, who's only present briefly. Pedro Armendariz walks away with the whole film, in of course his last screen appearance. Pity Daniela Bianchi just seems to get dumber and dumber as the movie goes on...

GOLDFINGER (1964)

They sneakily reconfigured the series right under our noses here. It sure looks like a plausible series of events, but of course everything we have here is gleefully ludicrous. You can sense the difference right from the start as Bond strips off his wetsuit to reveal an immaculate tuxedo underneath and things will never be the same again. The climactic fight in Fort Knox is still edge-of-your-seat stuff.

THUNDERBALL (1965)

This film always gets flack for being too slow, what with so much underwater footage, which would have been a much bigger deal in 1965, but it sure is epic. Secret Agent mania was never higher than it was at this point. Adolfo Celi may well be my single favourite villain in the entire series, he's so dangerous.

CASINO ROYALE (1967)

Well, the music is certainly great. I could buck the trend and say this film is a neglected gem, but I'm not going to. It's amazing to think a film with this much talent involved could turn out this way. It starts off incoherent and just gets worse. Of course, if Peter Sellers hadn't bailed out on the whole thing before finishing his scenes, it would have been a lot better. David Niven was brought in to prop things up, and you might not even realize at first the two actors never share any scenes together. Woody Allen is hysterically funny, but there's too little of him here. Characters are introduced and then disappear over and over again. If you want a Bond spoof, stick with OUR MAN FLINT or THE SILENCERS.

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967)

There's no more colourful location in the world than Japan, and they certainly take full advantage of it here. For me this movie is still a roller-coaster ride from start to finish, its scope pretty breathtaking even if the series is sillier than ever. The whole thing is so huge it's hard to feel superior to it. With an exhausted Connery leaving, this might well have been a logical place to end the series, not in the least as, by definition, there is cinematically no way to top what we see here. Every Bond movie made since has been an attempt to outdo this one.

ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969)

For so long this was the Bond film everyone seemed to want to forget. Fortunately they came to wake up and realize what a minor masterpiece it actually is. Director Peter Hunt makes an effort to make every single shot in the film interesting to look at, John Barry's music is epic, and there is real human drama going on here. George Lazenby is perfectly all right, he just commits the mortal sin of not being Sean Connery. Pity his agent convinced him, almost as soon as he had signed on board, to get back out again because the series was running dry...

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971)

They were obviously embarrassed by the whole "fiasco" of the previous film and lurched back into comic book territory with the brainless rebuttal we see here. Ironically, Connery came back and they gave him a script requiring no real acting. It's entertaining enough, just don't look for any actor thinking they have to make any real effort. Gotta love Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, though...

LIVE AND LET DIE (1973)

Now this is more like it! Roger Moore is obviously nothing like Connery but he's not taking anything for granted here and was rarely this energetic again. This film is so different in flavour from the previous entry it's hard to believe they are part of the same series. The villains are all genuinely menacing and there are many really tense moments throughout. The big debit, of course, is Clifton James: the big boat chase should have been phenomenal, but it keeps grinding to a halt so we can cut back to this redneck sheriff making "hilarious" racial slurs. What were they thinking? The voodoo/magic angle is certainly a bizarre touch. The script contains some of the funniest lines in the series. "Waste him... is that a good thing?"

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974)

Having jumped aboard the "blaxploitation" train last time, here the producers take advantage of the martial arts craze started by Bruce Lee. There's a strange sense throughout this movie of "will this do?" You'd think Christopher Lee alone would make this great, but there's no way around one big problem: they brought back Clifton James as Sheriff Pepper (who for some reason seems to be in Thailand to buy a car) so he can once again wreck not one, but this time two, big chase scenes with his unfunny quips. These bits are so stupid they make it difficult to take the entire movie seriously. As has been pointed out by Bond scholars, Lee is more likable than Bond, which isn't the idea.

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977)

In true Irving Thalberg style, they realized the only way to bounce back from the lackluster performance of the last movie was with a blockbuster with a fortune spent on it. It's so big you don't even realize at first it's basically YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE all over again, this time out at sea. Richard Kiel's Jaws was a truly inspired creation (he was sure a long way from EEGAH!...), and Roger Moore is finally in his element.

MOONRAKER (1979)

Criticizing this movie is a bit like taking shots at a Saturday morning cartoon, so I'll be positive. It's certainly never boring, which is more than you can say about many subsequent entries. The ludicrousness of the concept goes without saying but at least everyone looks like they believe what's happening here. Once again a super-villain has organized a plot to destroy the earth, without a single security leak in his organization. He has somehow set up a hidden base in a South American jungle capable of launching a dozen space shuttles, apparently without even a single road leading to the place. Somehow he has constructed a complete space station without anyone noticing (and for all the talk about a radar jamming system, an object that big would be noticeable from Earth anyway, of course), and as far as we can see, he seriously plans to recolonize the entire world with about a dozen people. NASA, meanwhile, is apparently able to launch a shuttle of its own whenever it pleases to suit its own agenda. Meanwhile, Cubby Broccoli kept crowing proudly about how scientifically accurate this movie is (Cubby wasn't the brightest bulb on the tree...) And Jaws should have simply been killed off in the station at the end. For all that, it's all still stupidly, insanely entertaining. The opening sky-diving sequence is a very impressive piece of action, and though she doesn't get much love, Lois Chiles is a big improvement over the wooden Barbara Bach. John Barry's score may well be my favourite of the entire series.

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981)

The only way to go back to earth was to really go back to earth. This is the 1980's equivalent of FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, as Bond rubs elbows with Bond girls who are real people and goes after human villains with believable goals. There are plenty of great - no, stunning - stunt sequences to grab your attention, and I'll always fondly remember how well this whole thing went over in the theatre. This would have made a great serial: there are so many points at which you really do seriously wonder how on earth Bond is "gonna get out of this one..."

OCTOPUSSY (1983)

For all of its exotic India location work, I find this one of the least memorable films in the series. Somehow every aspect has been reigned in a little too much, resulting in a mighty bland production. The tiger hunt scene, for example, is strained beyond reason. Maude Adams, ironically, makes more of an impression in THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, because there her character at least drives the story. Here, you're at a loss to understand why she, her big organization, or her ridiculous team of spandex-clad gymnasts are even present. Poor Maud makes little impression here even when she goes skinny-dipping! Louis Jourdan is just doing his Louis Jourdan routine as the bad guy, and his henchman is one of the least interesting ever. Steven Berkoff's crazy Russian general is a more interesting character, but his plan for a terrorist attack at a circus feels all too uncomfortably like something real-life terrorists might try. His masterplan makes no sense anyway. Rita Coolidge's opening song may be the most boring thing ever heard, and while Vijay Amritraj is fun, this isn't the last time the filmmakers will kill off the most likeable character in the movie.

NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (1983)

Well, it was great to see Connery back, but mostly it's weird how they keep trying to make us feel nostalgia for M, Q and Moneypenny when they are played by different actors here. For reasons that will be familiar to any Bond fan who knows the name Kevin McClory, this film is a remake of THUNDERBALL, just minus any sense of scale or urgency. Still, Klaus Maria Brandauer is great (weirdly, Roger Ebert named him as his favourite Bond villain!), and it's easy to see why Kim Basinger became such a big deal.

A VIEW TO A KILL (1985)

There's something about this movie that just inspires sheer hate in the viewer, isn't there? It's so carelessly thought out that the entire plot just up and changes halfway through. Casting Patrick Macnee as a bumbling operative who dies because of his own stupidity is so wrong it's just evil, but we're not even supposed to care. On the other hand, we are supposed to suddenly start caring about Grace Jones, after watching her murder half the cast, just because the other villain betrays her. For all her screen presence (she was at this point at the start of being a hot property in the movies for about a year or so) her character is just tiresome. Christopher Walken came in for a lot of flack for being "bland," but in reality his psychotic performance is the only thing that keeps the movie alive. It certainly provides the only tangible entertainment. The worrying trend of introducing subplots that just become blind alleys bogging the film down starts here (take a bow, Fiona Fullerton), and for some reason John Glen can't even direct a simple fight scene competently, and the less said about the fire truck chase (and the Don Knotts clones who serve as cops in it), the better. Even the climactic battle atop the Golden Gate Bridge fails to thrill. Audiences desperately hoped Roger Moore's retirement would pave the way for a new direction for the series...

THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS (1987)

A VIEW TO A KILL got a universal damning from the critics, so naturally the producers decided to hand Timothy Daltons' all important, make-or-break debut story to that film's director, John Glen. They gave the new Bond everything he needs here... except a story. 34 years after I saw this at Grauman's Chinese, I still don't understand the plot. A Russian general pretends to defect and Bond has to figure out if a second general is a traitor or not, as if we care. The first general tries to sound urgent about various agents knocking each other off, crowing, "God forbid this may lead to nuclear war!" which shows you how desperate things are getting. What's the point of this new Bond being such an unpredictable, dangerous guy when he's trapped in a plodding "adventure" that never gives him a chance to be one? He even misses the big fight at the safe house. The almost overwhelming presence of Joe Don Baker is constantly shoved aside while the film keeps focusing instead on the annoyingly weedy Jeroen Krabbe, and it stays with me to this day the contemporary reviews that compared the interminable scenes in the Afghan desert to ISHTAR. The conclusion is a big anti-climax, too. Everyone hoped for something better next time...

LICENCE TO KILL (1989)

Even now, it's hard to understand what went so wrong. Bond is now just a grim, humourless murderer we don't want to be around. The producers insanely brought back John Glen to direct yet again, and right on cue, he turns out a dull, clumsy movie that drags on forever, notable for its sudden forays into graphic violence. Bond is out to avenge an attack on Felix Leiter, but they forget to give us any reason to care about Leiter in the first place. Then they cast the replacement blonde from THREE'S COMPANY to play his wife. Bond quits his job and now has to go rogue... then they have Q just turn up and supply him with an arsenal of gadgets anyway. His actions here get several innocent people killed... then they remember in the closing minutes to have M telephone him and offer him his old job back again, no questions asked. Robert Davi is a scary villain but his menace is undercut by the way Bond makes a fool out of him at every turn. The tanker truck chase isn't much of a climax, but it's still the only time the movie comes to life. Richard Maibaum is by now so far past his sell-by date he tries to give us lines like "You know, I love James, so much!" and he uses terminology like "stinger missiles" but doesn't even seem to understand what they are.

GOLDENEYE (1995)

After Dalton balked at the long-term contract he was offered that would have seen him trapped playing Bond when he was an old man, we got Pierce Brosnan, who they had wanted as Bond in the first place. This movie got a lot of credit for revitalizing the series, though it's really not all that good. It's not bad, but it's mighty overrated. Brosnan at least seems more enthusiastic about this part than Dalton ever did. Izabella Scorupco is an halfway interesting character for a while. All the villains, though, just ham it up ineffectually. Still, everyone else seems to love this movie so I must be wrong.

TOMORROW NEVER DIES (1997)

There's not a lot of depth here, which is disappointing for those hoping Brosnan's wish to do interesting things with this character would come true, but it is a high-octane action flick. It still feels like a Roger Moore film from twenty years earlier though...

THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (1999)

Three movies in, and Pierce Brosnan is already on auto-pilot. Michael Apted did some great films, but he was all wrong for Bond. There is no energy in any of the action scenes, Denise Richards is so awful she practically sinks the whole movie, and we're given an assassin so stupid she seriously thinks she can escape pursuing authorities in a hot air balloon. Nobody even has any idea what the villains are up to, which doesn't encourage the audience to feel any urgency about the proceedings. Why make such a huge deal out of the fact Bond's arch enemy is incapable of feeling any pain, and then do absolutely nothing with it? Sophie Marceau (uniquely, the only time in the series the main villain is a woman) is a stunning lady, but she can hardly carry the entire film. Of course, it's just painful seeing Desmond Llewelyn clearly being eased out as Q, but we can't blame the creators for not knowing what tragic fate was to befall the actor after filming was done...

DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002)

Remember how everyone at the time went on about how exciting this movie was? It was only after all the hoo-ha died down people really stopped, thought about it, and realized how stupid it all was. The science on play here is of course, bonkers. Worse, the producers have jumped fully on the CGI bandwagon and think we'll be thrilled by an animated Pierce Brosnan parasailing. They forgot that we really appreciated it when, for example, Bond once skied off a cliff and opened a parachute, and it was a real man skiing off a real cliff. This film is like a BATMAN movie gone completely berserk. And as for Bond's invisible car...

CASINO ROYALE (2006)

First of all, Daniel Craig is superb here, his performance garnering praise from previous Bonds. Finally, an official version of Fleming's first 007 novel, with some big set pieces grafted into it to make it worth putting on the big screen. This film is so down-to-earth it feels like they made it primarily as an apology for DIE ANOTHER DAY.

QUANTUM OF SOLACE (2008)

Director Marc Forster has to take all the blame here. His insane decision to fast edit the action scenes renders them all pretty much incomprehensible. Roger Moore himself was highly critical of this. Forster seemed determined to fumble the dramatic ball at every turn. Mr White, the character whose capture was the payoff of CASINO ROYALE, here gets away at the start and we're supposed to forget all about him after spending the whole film waiting for Bond to find him. The climactic confrontation with the spy who betrayed the love of Bond's life in the last film here... takes place offscreen, as does the main villain's death, and his demise is shamelessly ripped off from THE EIGER SANCTION anyway. The opera house sequence is nice, but it's a shame this title forever stops Craig from having a near-flawless track record as Bond.

SKYFALL (2012)

For arguably the first time, Bond was robbed at the Oscars. Overall the film is completely dazzling, with Craig perfect in his role and stunning cinematography throughout. I must say, I'm one of those weirdos who was glad to see the back of Judi Dench's M here. I always found it a little irksome, watching her stab Bond in the back in practically every movie and having no faith in him at all even after he keeps winning the day. Bernard Lee's M couldn't stand Bond either, but at least he always had his back.

SPECTRE (2015)

The opening tracking shot alone is worth the price of admission. It's weakened primarily by the introduction of cliches in the plot, ie. Bond and Blofeld being "brothers," and who didn't see that coming? Also, for some reason, they suddenly become obsessed with their own continuity with this title, with pictures of previous bad guys from the Craig movies pinned up at every turn, which becomes quite a weakness. It's not like we are "nostalgic" for Mads Mikkelsen. Still, at least they finally resolve the long-unfinished Mr. White subplot here.

NO TIME TO DIE (2021)

Too early to tell, and even if it wasn't I wouldn't want to print a bunch of spoilers here. Minus points, though, for going with such a bland title, especially since the earlier one they were kicking around, SHATTERHAND, was terrific.

[silentfilm]

That was an awesome summary of all the Bond movies. I just watched QUANTUM OF SOLACE for the first time last week and was hugely disappointed. The fast cutting made some of the action scenes nearly incomprehensible. And I agree with your assessment of the on-screen villains.

My favorite Roger Moore has always been FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. Bond actually rebuffs a woman's advances towards him (Lynn-Holly Johnston). The scene where Bond runs up the steps while the assassin's car speeds up the hairpin-turn hill gives me goosebumps every time. SPOILER AHEAD The ending is very different too, as the villains are not all dispatched. "That's Détente, Comrade; YOU don't have it, I don't have it."

[earlytalkiebuffRob]

Would not SHATTERHAND be under some kind of copyright, being Karl May's Western creation both in print and film?

[Mike Gebert]

May died in 1912, so it's legally okay. Still struck me the same way it does you, though.

[The Blackbird]

Be warned: the newest film clocks in at a staggering two hours and forty-three minutes. It didn't take this long to tell BEN-HUR. Whatever happened to intermissions?

[earlytalkiebuffRob]

Be warned: the newest film clocks in at a staggering two hours and forty-three minutes. It didn't take this long to tell BEN-HUR. Whatever happened to intermissions?

Yes, was horrified when I heard that although have dipped out on a group trip to the cinema for it. Better ways to spend my time and money...

[Spiny Norman]

Be warned: the newest film clocks in at a staggering two hours and forty-three minutes. It didn't take this long to tell BEN-HUR. Whatever happened to intermissions?

At least Climax! Casino Royale was short.

[Dave Pitts]

Wow! Great job -- and your assessments of all those films is uncannily close to mine.

[Daniel Eagan]

The new one is very, very long. I saw it on IMAX, which made the opening Italian footage look especially spectacular. Sadly, the rest followed a downward trajectory into maudlin self-pity, apart from a ridiculous interlude with the fabulously photogenic Ana de Armas.

What dismayed me the most is how the franchise has congealed into a gooey mass with every other superhero franchise. Those villains running down the outside of a skyscraper? Very Hobbs & Shaw. Rami Malek is photographed just like Thanos in The Avengers, and he even has the same plan for the world. You'll spot bits and pieces of Venom, Fast & Furious 6, and many others, with pauses for emoting from the award-winning Ralph Fiennes, a subdued Christoph Waltz, and a suspiciously gung-ho Jeffrey Wright.

I like Craig's Bond, I like him as a performer, and I liked how he revived the franchise. But I can't help feeling No Time to Die is dated, the same way I thought Black Widow had passed its sell-by date.

[The Blackbird]

The new one is very, very long. I saw it on IMAX, which made the opening Italian footage look especially spectacular. Sadly, the rest followed a downward trajectory into maudlin self-pity, apart from a ridiculous interlude with the fabulously photogenic Ana de Armas.

What dismayed me the most is how the franchise has congealed into a gooey mass with every other superhero franchise. Those villains running down the outside of a skyscraper? Very Hobbs & Shaw. Rami Malek is photographed just like Thanos in The Avengers, and he even has the same plan for the world. You'll spot bits and pieces of Venom, Fast & Furious 6, and many others, with pauses for emoting from the award-winning Ralph Fiennes, a subdued Christoph Waltz, and a suspiciously gung-ho Jeffrey Wright.

I like Craig's Bond, I like him as a performer, and I liked how he revived the franchise. But I can't help feeling No Time to Die is dated, the same way I thought Black Widow had passed its sell-by date.

Please, spoilers alert!

I always forget dear Bessie Love has a little cameo during the casino sequence of ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. She was about 70 but she still looked great.

Anybody else feel elderly pondering that the girl that sings the new film's title song is, what, about 16 years old, I think? Haunting as the song is, it becomes even more so when one realizes that, for the first time, we're starting into a Bond movie in a world without Roger Moore or Sean Connery in it....

Well, for anyone pumped for actually going to a movie theatre again, here are some more looks back:

Opening titles for DR.NO:


Opening titles for YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE:


Opening titles for LIVE AND LET DIE:


Opening titles for TOMORROW NEVER DIES:


Opening titles for CASINO ROYALE (something very DANGER MAN-esque about these):


Opening titles for SKYFALL (this one still gives me the chills, Daniel Kleinman is brilliant):


Opening titles for SPECTRE:

[s.w.a.c.]

I'm also aligned with most of those assessments. Great minds think alike and all that. I probably like Tomorrow Never Dies more than you, but then again, I'm a Michelle Yeoh fanatic, and wish she was more prominently featured in it.

Rewatched Spectre last night in preparation for seeing No Time to Die this weekend, and I get why it's not so highly regarded, but if they hadn't made Blofeld Bond's foster brother, I wonder how many people would have minded? I understand tieing everything together through SPECTRE, but that was probably the step too far that nobody wanted. Apart from that, it's still pretty stylish and exciting, and I thought Lea Seydoux was terrific as Madeline.

And I often wonder how Diamonds Are Forever would have played if Lazenby had stayed on. I think he'd have been better suited to the tone of it than Connery was, but we'll never know now.

I've been wanting to revisit License to Kill, but then I remember that Wayne Newton is in it, and think better of it.

[Mike Gebert]

If anyone wants alt-universe Bond, BBC Radio has done a series of adaptations of the books—more faithful adaptations—with Toby Stephens (the villain in Die Another Day) as Bond and John Standing as M. They're mostly available on YouTube; here's Dr. No with David Suchet as No:

[The Blackbird]

I'm also aligned with most of those assessments. Great minds think alike and all that. I probably like Tomorrow Never Dies more than you, but then again, I'm a Michelle Yeoh fanatic, and wish she was more prominently featured in it.

Rewatched Spectre last night in preparation for seeing No Time to Die this weekend, and I get why it's not so highly regarded, but if they hadn't made Blofeld Bond's foster brother, I wonder how many people would have minded? I understand tieing everything together through SPECTRE, but that was probably the step too far that nobody wanted. Apart from that, it's still pretty stylish and exciting, and I thought Lea Seydoux was terrific as Madeline.

And I often wonder how Diamonds Are Forever would have played if Lazenby had stayed on. I think he'd have been better suited to the tone of it than Connery was, but we'll never know now.

I've been wanting to revisit License to Kill, but then I remember that Wayne Newton is in it, and think better of it.

Oh, I like TOMORROW NEVER DIES, I think it's Brosnan's best Bond film, though I seem to be in a minority on that one. It's just funny how it may as well have been a Roger Moore script; so much for progress.

SPECTRE: you know it's getting to be a weird world when Bond is ripping off Austin Powers.

Every time I see Lea Seydoux I can't concentrate because I keep getting flashbacks to her nude lesbian scenes in BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR, or as I call it, THE GREATEST MOVIE EVER.

I tried looking at other retrospective articles on the series in the run-up to the new film, and, sadly, right on cue, well, you can guess what I've been seeing, in Forbes, etc.: YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE and LIVE AND LET DIE are "racist," DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER is "homophobic," and films are called out whenever the leading ladies are "damselled" and rendered helpless enough to need rescuing by Bond, which would be... all of them, basically. That's all that seems to matter to some, now. Then again, back when it was announced Lashana Lynch was going to be "the new 007" (as it turns out, this simply meant she plays another MI6 agent who inherits the retired Bond's code number), the talk show hosts were delightedly going, "Oh, snap!" because they mistakenly thought Bond himself was literally going to metamorphosize into a Jamaican woman for the next movie (and, in other words, wouldn't be Bond anymore). Something similar happened when Bond seems to imply a gay past with one line in SKYFALL when if fact he's clearly just referring to the torture scene in CASINO ROYALE.

Obviously, no Bond films are missing (though Barry Nelson's television turn as "Jimmy" Bond only resurfaced in 1981), but there are deleted scenes that are and could be called "Holy Grails" by 007 fans. No footage of these bits are now known to exist:

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE: Kerim Bey stages a car crash to prevent the Bulgarian from following Bond in the street. It was deleted after it was belatedly pointed out (by Terence Young's son!) that the Bulgarian had already been killed earlier in the narrative.

GOLDFINGER: Goldfinger has henchmen help him steal the plane at the end, but they are only glimpsed in the existing version.

THUNDERBALL: Domino gives Bond a guided tour of the interior of the DISCO VOLANTE. [You may be aware there are alternate versions of this film out there, with some different music and dialogue.]

ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE: Bond chases a spy through the London streets after the scene at the College of Arms.

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER: Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd kill Lana Wood.

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN: Bond and Scaramanga have a shouting match after their duel on the beach. Bits of this can be seen in the trailer.

MOONRAKER: Jaws staggers out of the circus tent after falling through it.
Drax has a boardroom scene meeting with fellow villains in the conference room under the shuttle launch site.
There was more footage of Bond wandering around the space station, including a strange bit where he goes through a zero-gravity chamber where Drax's "girls" are meditating.

QUANTUM OF SOLACE: Bond tracks down Mr. White and the other bad guys he photographed fleeing the opera and kills them in the final scene. This was actually filmed so the footage presumably still exists, though you could hardly include it in a future cut of this film since Mr. White comes back years later in SPECTRE. Then again, you only live twice.

[Daniel Eagan]

According to the editors, some excised scenes in No Time To Die. I would describe them except spoiler etc.

[s.w.a.c.]

I wonder if there'll be a point where Fleming's books become public domain, and get more faithful adaptations a la Sherlock Holmes (I'm thinking Jeremy Brett, as opposed to Robert Downey Jr.)? Or will Eon Productions be able to maintain some sort of copyright claim on 007 and James Bond that prevents something like that from happening?

[The Blackbird]

Mr. Craig got his Star on the Walk of Fame last Wednesday right near Roger Moore's. Oddly enough, it was for his contributions to radio. Just kidding. I've never seen Bond looking so bashful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jIjuIxFx-g&t=777s

[silentfilm]

I wonder if there'll be a point where Fleming's books become public domain, and get more faithful adaptations a la Sherlock Holmes (I'm thinking Jeremy Brett, as opposed to Robert Downey Jr.)? Or will Eon Productions be able to maintain some sort of copyright claim on 007 and James Bond that prevents something like that from happening?

I suspect that Eon has a trademark on the James Bond character, so it is unlikely any "new" adventures could be written or filmed. But the original books would be fair game once they fall into the public domain.

[Daniel Eagan]

I wonder if there'll be a point where Fleming's books become public domain, and get more faithful adaptations a la Sherlock Holmes (I'm thinking Jeremy Brett, as opposed to Robert Downey Jr.)? Or will Eon Productions be able to maintain some sort of copyright claim on 007 and James Bond that prevents something like that from happening?

I suspect that Eon has a trademark on the James Bond character, so it is unlikely any "new" adventures could be written or filmed. But the original books would be fair game once they fall into the public domain.

Isn't that how Never Say Never Again got made? Because Eon didn't have the rights to Thunderball?

[Frame Rate]

Would not SHATTERHAND be under some kind of copyright, being Karl May's Western creation both in print and film?

In both the US and Britain a mere title cannot be copyrighted, but it can be trademark-protected by law when subsequently used for branding/marketing purposes. The registry of prospective film titles has been an industry-enforced practice since 1925, but it may be possible to win a court-awarded injunction and/or damages against an uncooperative "copycat" who's trying to fool the public with a same-titled movie, planned for or currently in release, as that of the plaintiff -- under a common-law claim of "unfair competition".

[s.w.a.c.]

I wonder if there'll be a point where Fleming's books become public domain, and get more faithful adaptations a la Sherlock Holmes (I'm thinking Jeremy Brett, as opposed to Robert Downey Jr.)? Or will Eon Productions be able to maintain some sort of copyright claim on 007 and James Bond that prevents something like that from happening?

I suspect that Eon has a trademark on the James Bond character, so it is unlikely any "new" adventures could be written or filmed. But the original books would be fair game once they fall into the public domain.

Isn't that how Never Say Never Again got made? Because Eon didn't have the rights to Thunderball?

Behold the story of Kevin McClory.

(It's just his Wikipedia page, but it has the Cole's Notes version of the Thunderball rights tangle which kept EON from using Blofeld or SPECTRE for so many years.)

[s.w.a.c.]

Repeated post.

[IA]

A very enjoyable run-through of the Bond films. For sheer entertainment value Goldfinger is still the best-assembled thrill machine, while From Russia With Love is the best attempt a non-fantastical but still outlandish spy thriller. The very best of them all is On Her Majesty's Secret Service, which has the over-the-top opulence of the Connery Bonds but also the drama and emotional heft of that more recent Bonds have tried to achieve.

I do have to quibble with the trashing of Licence to Kill, which I regard as one of the better entries in the series. John Glen was brought back because he was an excellent action director, as shown repeatedly in LTK, especially in Bond's escape from Krest's yacht and the tanker truck chase, which far from being not "much of a climax," is one of the best action sequences in the entire series. And Sanchez is given one of the most gloriously ironic deaths of any Bond villain. Also, in contrast to the Brosnan era, the action set-pieces are integrated into the plot and drive it forward.

Licence to Kill also features Timothy Dalton's most committed performance as Bond. Free of silly quips, he brings back the intensity of Sean Connery, and since the film adapts a large portion of the novel Live and Let Die, he gets to play Fleming's Bond as well. His performance looks forward to Daniel Craig's Bond, but back in 1989 the concept of Bond going rogue on a personal mission of vengeance was genuinely new, not the cliche it became during the Craig years.

The film has also more emotional resonance than many of its predecessors. Robert Davi's Sanchez is a villain with his own twisted code of values, and Bond is able to manipulate him by exploiting his value of loyalty. Bond himself is confronted with the consequences of his rogue behavior when his initial attempts to kill Sanchez go haywire and leave other agents dead and endanger Pam. He's forced to accept the help of others, namely Pam and Q (whose relationship with Dalton is far more avuncular than with Connery and Moore) in order to win.

Incidentally, blaming Richard Maibaum for the dialogue is unfair, since the 1989 writers' strike prevented him from working on the film's final drafts.

[The Blackbird]

Top Ten Signs You've Seen Too Many James Bond Films:

10. You think you are James Bond (happens to me every time I come out of the theatre)

9. Every morning, you ask yourself, "How should I get to work today, should I ski off the cliff and parachute in or should I bungee-jump off the dam?"

8. Your car insurance premiums are through the roof, to say the least

7. Your college roommates were three guys named Derek Flint, Matt Helm and Maxwell Smart

6. You're taking medication for allergies to nerve gas, shark bites and laser beam wounds

5. Every time you're late to the office, you use that old "I fell out of an airplane without a parachute" line

4. Each time you save the world, your ungrateful boss' one and only reaction is shock and disgust because they then happen to catch you in mid-shag with the red-hot babe who helped you save it

3. You seriously believe it's possible for a Korean general to change his race using DNA restructuring and become so famous as a philanthropist he can receive a knighthood even though there's no record of his existence prior to 14 months earlier

2. Your closet is full of cigarettes that shoot bullets, wristbands that shoot cyanide-tipped darts and other gadgets you inexplicably only ever used once

1. You constantly rage "Ringo gets knighted, I get a watch!"

[boblipton]

But your watch can kill someone six different ways.

Bob

[Spiny Norman]

The special thing about Bond is that it's basically the only thing that you can fawn about despite it often being crap, without being called a nerd.
This level of dedication for Star Wars / Trek, and you're classified as a geek who will forever stay single in his parents' spare room.

[Frame Rate]

The Movie Industry's grand ol' PR machine rolls on, with often rather obvious, reactive ploys.

So the early boxoffice receipts look disappointing?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... ve-UK.html

Then it's time to "broaden the audience base"... with strategically planted stories such as:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/o ... ght-venues

https://www.out.com/celebs/2021/10/13/d ... etero-bars

[Mike Gebert]

Can't wait for Bond to fall out of copyright so people can write James Bond Vs. Dracula and James Bond Vs. Jack the Ripper. Or a novel in which Bond teams up with Henry Kissinger.

[Spiny Norman]

Now that the next James Bond flick is finally seeing the light of day after spending about twenty years (or so it feels like) on the shelf, it's time (though some might disagree) for a 60th anniversary retrospective on the 007 films.
VERSION 2


CLIMAX! CASINO ROYALE (1954)
Climax?? Already the first ever adaptation is throwing suggestive names at us. Jimmy Bond is perhaps not the best actor on the set but it was all done live. Make sure that you search the version WITH the ending because it isn't over yet.

DR. NO (1962)
This movie is so old, it doesn't even have end credits! On the bright side, Sean can still speak more or less normal English here. Shoddy sound quality and editing by the way.
A painting in the secret headquarters was a clever joke by the way - it was a reproduction of a painting that had been stolen just before the shooting started. (This anecdote is on the LaserDisc-only commentary track that was later censured.)

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963)
OK, maybe this one is not so bad. Still, this is the one where he's first given EXACTLY the gadgets that are going to come in useful at some point. Got to admire how prescient this Q-fellow is! By the way his name is Boothroyd - so he's not some sort of Q anon.

GOLDFINGER (1964)
This is really where it all first started to go too far. The "shocking" joke pre-credits. The converting of a lesbian. Whose name is Pussy Galore. Just let that sink in.

THUNDERBALL (1965)
Coming really close to Austin Power territory here, with the foreign accented villain with an eye patch. The film that simply forgets about one character once it's time to get a final shot of Bond and a girl. Q's appearance has strange audio problems, by the way. One word is clearly redubbed and the scene ends with his mouth still moving.

CASINO ROYALE (1967)
No complaints. Not the first or the last time that stars were completely wasted on their Bond movie roles!

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967)
Basically this is an Austin Powers movie avant la lettre. I know I said this before but now we have the secret lair in a hollow volcano. Although not even Austin Powers would pretend to be Japanese. And the camera that watches the car that was following Bond being dropped in the sea - the characters are watching their own camera? Or was there a second helicopter just to film the first helicopter do the job?

ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969)
The one time they wanted to move into new territory, and become slightly original, they backed out again.

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971)
People hate the Moore era for being too ludicrous, but be honest, that had already started right here. And the fight at the end - mr. Wint is basically cooperating because throwing him overboard that way couldn't be choreographed in any other way. (What if the waiter had not been an imposter, but was too polite to contradict Bond over the "claret" issue?)

LIVE AND LET DIE (1973)
OK so now it's Harlem and voodoo7? Another sign of its age: that sheriff says he's a democrat. What about the dolls with cameras and darts in them? Did they have those all over the island just in case Bond ever passed by and stopped the car there? Must have been quite an operation.

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974)
"Having jumped aboard the "blaxploitation" train last time, here the producers take advantage of the martial arts craze started by Bruce Lee."

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977)
Not bad. Amazing how Bond walks from one ancient Egyptian monument STRAIGHT into another one that is hundreds of kilometers away. Ah, the miracles of editing!

MOONRAKER (1979)
Hang on, while they were busy making TSWLM someone else made space cool again! So, into space with Bond, and let's go PIEW PIEW PIEW. Too bad that in space, no-one can hear you quip. (Jaws meets Pippy Longstocking - I'm not judging but I just don't know WHY!)

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981)
Oh, Blofeld is back, for no reason at all. James is at his wife's grave, so it really is the same character even though the actor changes.

OCTOPUSSY (1983)
Bond is a clown. No he's actually disguised as a clown. I hate clowns! I get why the villain wanted to shake things up a bit. That Gogol really does seem old and complacent.

NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (1983)
This actually stars Rown Atkinson. Too bad Sean jusht can't shpeak properly anymore. People fall for it, but I'm shure he'sh doing it on purposhe.

A VIEW TO A KILL (1985)
The one that tries to do all the familiar scenes. Skiing, horse riding, car chase, chateaux, factories, no end to it. Also, last time they managed to kill one of The Avengers.
And can I just say at the end of the Roger Moore era: Don't think I didn't notice! Close-up of Roger, longshot of completely different stuntman skiing down a slope or something, back to close-up. I see what you're doing. You're not fooling anyone!

THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS (1987)
Title song by A-ha! Scenes in Afghanistan... how the world changes!
I think the problem was, during this era, there was no fresh outside material to rip off.

LICENCE TO KILL (1989)
Imagine that, a secret agent gets killed on the job - I sort of agree with the above, somehow it isn't proper motivation. Leiter, sure, but he's had loads of colleagues. Time for one of the longest pauses in the franchise.

GOLDENEYE (1995)
After six years, it was going to be a hit and maybe it's not all that bad. A new M. The woke left PC snowflakes had to make M a woman of course.
Isn't it here that they briefly introduce some kind of new Leiter replacement that we never hear about again?

TOMORROW NEVER DIES (1997)
Bit run off the mill perhaps. Funny how they suddenly remember the Chinese, only to forget them again afterwards.

THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (1999)
Q's last appearance. Really, they had never made any farewellish scene as backup? What if he had still been alive 3 years later?
Actually, he didn't appear in Live and let die either.

DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002)
Try to spot the references to the first 40 years of Bond while you're watching. In some ways I feel sorry for this one. It did the same as all other Bond movies did, yet this got panned.

CASINO ROYALE (2006) and QUANTUM OF SOLACE (2008)
Now this is the moment we had all been waiting for. FINALLY, something they could rip off! See the darker side of Jaso... Sorry, James Bournd's career.
Gone are the gadgets, gone is Cleese, and gone is all the funny stuff THAT HAD BEEN PART OF BOND FROM DAY 1. As with the Star Trek reboot, if you're changing EVERYTHING, why bother even still calling it a Bond movie? Surely, this is not a cheap ploy to also draw an old, gullible, audience?
And sorry, what's going on time-wise? The same M, who previously called Bond a relic, is there when he's new on the job? Is this a prequel or a reboot? When are we living? How old is Bond?
Love interest kills herself at the end for no reason.

SKYFALL (2012) and SPECTRE (2015)
Of course, it couldn't last, and slowly, one by one, the ridiculous aspects sneak back in. Q. Blofeld. The villain's ridiculously detailed plans which actually work, including a shot missing him and that subway train. The old gadgets make a cameo as part of the same nostalgia for what it used to be about. So is Bond 80 years old then or what? That means it's permamently unclear if this is a sequel or a reboot or a rip-off, or all of the above.

[The Blackbird]

Now that the next James Bond flick is finally seeing the light of day after spending about twenty years (or so it feels like) on the shelf, it's time (though some might disagree) for a 60th anniversary retrospective on the 007 films.
VERSION 2


CLIMAX! CASINO ROYALE (1954)
Climax?? Already the first ever adaptation is throwing suggestive names at us. Jimmy Bond is perhaps not the best actor on the set but it was all done live. Make sure that you search the version WITH the ending because it isn't over yet.

DR. NO (1962)
This movie is so old, it doesn't even have end credits! On the bright side, Sean can still speak more or less normal English here. Shoddy sound quality and editing by the way.
A painting in the secret headquarters was a clever joke by the way - it was a reproduction of a painting that had been stolen just before the shooting started. (This anecdote is on the LaserDisc-only commentary track that was later censured.)

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963)
OK, maybe this one is not so bad. Still, this is the one where he's first given EXACTLY the gadgets that are going to come in useful at some point. Got to admire how prescient this Q-fellow is! By the way his name is Boothroyd - so he's not some sort of Q anon.

GOLDFINGER (1964)
This is really where it all first started to go too far. The "shocking" joke pre-credits. The converting of a lesbian. Whose name is Pussy Galore. Just let that sink in.

THUNDERBALL (1965)
Coming really close to Austin Power territory here, with the foreign accented villain with an eye patch. The film that simply forgets about one character once it's time to get a final shot of Bond and a girl. Q's appearance has strange audio problems, by the way. One word is clearly redubbed and the scene ends with his mouth still moving.

CASINO ROYALE (1967)
No complaints. Not the first or the last time that stars were completely wasted on their Bond movie roles!

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967)
Basically this is an Austin Powers movie avant la lettre. I know I said this before but now we have the secret lair in a hollow volcano. Although not even Austin Powers would pretend to be Japanese. And the camera that watches the car that was following Bond being dropped in the sea - the characters are watching their own camera? Or was there a second helicopter just to film the first helicopter do the job?

ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969)
The one time they wanted to move into new territory, and become slightly original, they backed out again.

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971)
People hate the Moore era for being too ludicrous, but be honest, that had already started right here. And the fight at the end - mr. Wint is basically cooperating because throwing him overboard that way couldn't be choreographed in any other way. (What if the waiter had not been an imposter, but was too polite to contradict Bond over the "claret" issue?)

LIVE AND LET DIE (1973)
OK so now it's Harlem and voodoo7? Another sign of its age: that sheriff says he's a democrat. What about the dolls with cameras and darts in them? Did they have those all over the island just in case Bond ever passed by and stopped the car there? Must have been quite an operation.

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974)
"Having jumped aboard the "blaxploitation" train last time, here the producers take advantage of the martial arts craze started by Bruce Lee."

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977)
Not bad. Amazing how Bond walks from one ancient Egyptian monument STRAIGHT into another one that is hundreds of kilometers away. Ah, the miracles of editing!

MOONRAKER (1979)
Hang on, while they were busy making TSWLM someone else made space cool again! So, into space with Bond, and let's go PIEW PIEW PIEW. Too bad that in space, no-one can hear you quip. (Jaws meets Pippy Longstocking - I'm not judging but I just don't know WHY!)

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981)
Oh, Blofeld is back, for no reason at all. James is at his wife's grave, so it really is the same character even though the actor changes.

OCTOPUSSY (1983)
Bond is a clown. No he's actually disguised as a clown. I hate clowns! I get why the villain wanted to shake things up a bit. That Gogol really does seem old and complacent.

NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (1983)
This actually stars Rown Atkinson. Too bad Sean jusht can't shpeak properly anymore. People fall for it, but I'm shure he'sh doing it on purposhe.

A VIEW TO A KILL (1985)
The one that tries to do all the familiar scenes. Skiing, horse riding, car chase, chateaux, factories, no end to it. Also, last time they managed to kill one of The Avengers.
And can I just say at the end of the Roger Moore era: Don't think I didn't notice! Close-up of Roger, longshot of completely different stuntman skiing down a slope or something, back to close-up. I see what you're doing. You're not fooling anyone!

THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS (1987)
Title song by A-ha! Scenes in Afghanistan... how the world changes!
I think the problem was, during this era, there was no fresh outside material to rip off.

LICENCE TO KILL (1989)
Imagine that, a secret agent gets killed on the job - I sort of agree with the above, somehow it isn't proper motivation. Leiter, sure, but he's had loads of colleagues. Time for one of the longest pauses in the franchise.

GOLDENEYE (1995)
After six years, it was going to be a hit and maybe it's not all that bad. A new M. The woke left PC snowflakes had to make M a woman of course.
Isn't it here that they briefly introduce some kind of new Leiter replacement that we never hear about again?

TOMORROW NEVER DIES (1997)
Bit run off the mill perhaps. Funny how they suddenly remember the Chinese, only to forget them again afterwards.

THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (1999)
Q's last appearance. Really, they had never made any farewellish scene as backup? What if he had still been alive 3 years later?
Actually, he didn't appear in Live and let die either.

DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002)
Try to spot the references to the first 40 years of Bond while you're watching. In some ways I feel sorry for this one. It did the same as all other Bond movies did, yet this got panned.

CASINO ROYALE (2006) and QUANTUM OF SOLACE (2008)
Now this is the moment we had all been waiting for. FINALLY, something they could rip off! See the darker side of Jaso... Sorry, James Bournd's career.
Gone are the gadgets, gone is Cleese, and gone is all the funny stuff THAT HAD BEEN PART OF BOND FROM DAY 1. As with the Star Trek reboot, if you're changing EVERYTHING, why bother even still calling it a Bond movie? Surely, this is not a cheap ploy to also draw an old, gullible, audience?
And sorry, what's going on time-wise? The same M, who previously called Bond a relic, is there when he's new on the job? Is this a prequel or a reboot? When are we living? How old is Bond?
Love interest kills herself at the end for no reason.

SKYFALL (2012) and SPECTRE (2015)
Of course, it couldn't last, and slowly, one by one, the ridiculous aspects sneak back in. Q. Blofeld. The villain's ridiculously detailed plans which actually work, including a shot missing him and that subway train. The old gadgets make a cameo as part of the same nostalgia for what it used to be about. So is Bond 80 years old then or what? That means it's permamently unclear if this is a sequel or a reboot or a rip-off, or all of the above.

Er,

THUNDERBALL: Kutze had a life preserver to float in, I'm sure they soon picked him up.
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE: Why not, Austin Powers had no problem pretending to be a buck-toothed Brit.
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER: I'm guessing if the waiter hadn't been an imposter, he'd have been fine, not wearing that distinctive after-shave Bond quickly noticed.
LIVE AND LET DIE: The sheriff doesn't say he's a democrat. In the next film, though, he clearly implies he's a Republican (the "joke" being he thinks elephants are the Democrat mascot)
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH: Well, Q of course does have a semi-farewell scene, and somehow I can't imagine them approaching the beloved Desmond Llewelyn and asking him "Say, can we film an alternate final scene with you in case you drop dead before the next film?"

[Spiny Norman]

Er,

THUNDERBALL: Kutze had a life preserver to float in, I'm sure they soon picked him up.
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE: Why not, Austin Powers had no problem pretending to be a buck-toothed Brit.
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER: I'm guessing if the waiter hadn't been an imposter, he'd have been fine, not wearing that distinctive after-shave Bond quickly noticed.
LIVE AND LET DIE: The sheriff doesn't say he's a democrat. In the next film, though, he clearly implies he's a Republican (the "joke" being he thinks elephants are the Democrat mascot)
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH: Well, Q of course does have a semi-farewell scene, and somehow I can't imagine them approaching the beloved Desmond Llewelyn and asking him "Say, can we film an alternate final scene with you in case you drop dead before the next film?"

There is still the aftershave which was the real clue of course. The claret test was simply the final straw. It doesn't excuse the rest of the list!

I hadn't realised it would be such a conversation stopper. Please keep in mind, that this list could only have been made by someone who has watched these movies many, many times...