By Ben Smith
Being James Bond 007…Bond…James Bond…All the ladies love him and the men want to be him!
Originally a fictitious character created by author Ian Fleming, who incidentally was a keen Ornithologist and named James Bond after a Caribbean Bird Expert in his first Bond novel - “Casino Royale”! Ian Fleming had no idea of the hype and unrivaled phenomenon that was to come with his character and Bond materialised into one of the best known and best loved spies the world has ever known.
Who plays Bond? Well only the most debonair, sexy, handsome, suave and sophisticated, charming actors need apply with chiseled features and a voice that would melt an iceburg, ageless and timeless and totally unstoppable. Each of the actors who have played Bond have all given the Agent their own brand of spice and originality shaping and changing the character slightly. Actors to have played bond are David Niven, George Lazenby, Sir Roger Moore, Sean Connery, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan. Of course, until recently, Bond had a certain well groomed, never a hair out of place look until, in addition to the prerequisites above, the rugged Daniel Craig broke the mould and added a bit of roughness and edginess to the character.
Of course without the music the Bond films would be silent and not as intensely action packed. The title sequence, the music, the talents of the composers such as John Barry, Monty Norman and David Arnold, to name just a handful, have all made unforgettable music and help invoke the passions and danger that is Bond. Those theme tunes are often named after the title of the film - but not always - on the odd occasion the Film Theme will differ from the Theme song and these are highlighted below:
James Bond Theme (Dr No, Monty Norman Orchestra 1962), From Russia With Love (Matt Munro 1964), Goldfinger (Shirley Bassey 1964), Thunderball (Tom Jones 1965), You Only Live Twice (Nancy Sinatra 1967), Look of Love (Casino Royale - Serigo Mendez and Brasil 66 1967), On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (John Barry Orchestra 1969), We Have All the Time in the World (Louis Armstrong 1969), Diamonds are Forever (Shirley Bassey 1971), Live & Let Die (Paul McCartney & Wings 1973), The Man With the Golden Gun (Lulu 1974), Nobody Does It Better (The Spy Who Loved Me - Carly Simon 1977), Moonraker (Shirley Bassey 1979), For Your Eyes Only (Sheena Easton 1981), All Time High (Octopussy - Rita Coolidge 1983), Never Say Never Again (Lani Hall 1983), A View to a Kill (Duran Duran 1985), The Living Daylights (A-ha 1987), License to Kill (Gladys Knight 1989), Goldeneye (Tina Turner 1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (Sheryl Crow 1997), The World is Not Enough (Garbage 1999), Die Another Die (Madonna 2002), You Know my Name (Casino Royale - Chris Cornell 2006), Another Way to Die (Quantum of Solace - Alicia Keys and Jack Black).
Of course last but not least, his favourite tipple has always been the iconic Martini…Shaken not Stirred…
Affordable James Bond Tribute Band Shaken Not Stirred
By Scott Riggs
Surely my collecting friends have had a chance to check out the new James Bond flick that was recently released. This newest and latest in the series of Bond focused adventures, Quantum of Solace, is the spy movie adventure of the season. Of course, every 007 fan always needs a little piece of the action to keep at home as a reminder of the Bond mania.
While you may not be able to [...] Continue Reading…
By Raymond DeChampfleur
From a school production of Oliver! to the new James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace, Daniel Craig has covered plenty of acting turf. Craig has seemingly replaced Jude Law as the world’s favourite British heart throb actor. Recently having been voted one of the sexiest men alive, and the best dressed man in Britain, he is taking the movie world by storm.
In recent years Craig has not only starred in the 007 [...] Continue Reading…
By Janice Wee
James Bond Quantum Of Solace is the sequel to Casino Royale. Does it measure up?
In Casino Royale, Bond was betrayed by the love of his life, Vesper, just before he was killed. Here, while tracking down the guy who blackmailed her, he uncovers Quantum, a massive organization with people everywhere, literally.
Unlike the romantic hero of Casino Royale, James Bond is a bitter man. A cold blooded killer who dispatches bodies of the [...] Continue Reading…
By D C Jackson
A James Bond party theme is always going to be a favourite with the guys. Beware though because a Bond party comes shaken not stirred! Throw a successful Bond party and your guests will soon be saying “Play it again Sam!” Here are some ideas that i know work very well:
Budget dependant, you could hire an Aston Martin to park in your drive. Your guests will be in the mood when [...] Continue Reading…
By Mary Duffy
From the examples that follow -culled from Ian Fleming’s novel Doctor No–you will realize that in all cases, Fleming uses an abundance of intransitive verbs, and many of them as sentence openers.
In a novel where the hero is an action hero, this is understandable. By definition, ‘intransitive verbs’ express a doable action. And the action hero is always doing something–never inactive.
Bond stiffened.
M snorted.
Bond persisted.
Bond grinned.
The drinks came.
The food came.
The girl smiled.
Quarrel nodded.
The [...] Continue Reading…
By David Leigh
Although James Bond sunglasses date back to Sean Connery’s time in the role, it is only recently that they have become a regular fixture. While it may go with the locations he’s travelling to, Bond has often visited tropical destinations without eye protection. While it is perhaps now seen as more fashionable to wear sunglasses, you just need to look at the recent Bond films and the number of products featured in [...] Continue Reading…
By Richard Shelmerdine
Learning how to be like James Bond could fill volumes of books full of personality traits and such. But I have narrowed it down to the few key things that make Bond Bond.
#1 Mindset
Bonds mind is completely focused on the task at hand. This is why he appears to be so confident outwardly because he has got his game together on the inside. He has control of his emotions and actually acts [...] Continue Reading…
By Sigrid Vargas
The novel was followed shortly by a television adaptation in 1954, which was warmly welcomed in the CBS Series Climax, by both baby boomer children as well as their parents. The movie was first released in 1967, and re-made in 2006 with Daniel Craig starring as James Bond. While the film was an instant success among moviegoers, the print version seemed to have been lost in oblivion.
Fleming’s first Bond novel was introduced [...] Continue Reading…
By Guy Draper
If you’re looking for a non stop, action packed thriller, then the new James Bond, ‘Quantum of Solace’, is definitely for you.
Leading on from old traits, seen in the most recent movies with Daniel Craig and ‘Casino Royale’, the new ‘Quantum of Solace’ adventures, will continue to dazzle, with even more high impact, intense action, and even greater quality sound and video based effects.
‘Quantum of Solace’ follows on from where the previous [...] Continue Reading…