Gosh, can you believe it? Who would have thought a film with a minimum budget of just $1 million in 1962 would have started an ongoing phenomenon that is alive and well to this day?! Bond, James Bond. The world's most famous fictional British secret agent is celebrating it's 50th anniversary! With 23 features in all (plus 2 independent films which I still consider legitimate Bond films), seven very different actors, and decades of adventures, the Bond films are here to say and very much a part of our modern culture.
Now, the first James Bond, played by Sir Sean Connery, is the one to compare all the following Bonds to. Mr. Connery did seven films in all during a span of 21 years. Starting with his first film in 1962, Dr. No, Connery brought charm, charisma, action and sly wit with his portrayal of 007. He was humorous when he needed to be and said all the right lines that only he could deliver. But being the first, he had no one to compare to. Remember, up to that point, the James Bond character had not been seen outside Ian Fleming's novels and what was portrayed in the novels was a cold killer assassin and less charm. Well, there is one exception. In 1953, Fleming's first novel, "Casino Royale" was on a special on CBS called Climax! It was just an hour and the character of James Bond was played by American actor Barry Nelson. Due to his character being American, he was known as Jimmy Bond. The episode did not do the book justice in that it changed many things. Anyway, back to Sean Connery. The way he played the role made him one of the most popular men the world over! His next film, From Russia With Love, hit theaters a year later. This would be Ian Fleming's last Bond film before his death in 1964. Connery was fresh in the part during his second time as 007 and it would not be until the next film,
Goldfinger, when the Bond films would finally take off and be a worldwide hit the world over. The third Bond movie is really what made it and after that success, more and more people the world over loved the Bond movies and thus would continue onto today.
After the success of
Goldfinger,
Thunderball came out a year later and it was hyped as "The Biggest Bond of All!" This indeed was the case as the budget certainly went up with each picture and now anyone in show business would kill to be in a Bond film, no pun intended. Now, during this time, as the films got more and more unrealistic in terms of plot and circumstances, and with the wide popularity of the character portrayed by Conney, rather than Connery himself, he got a bit bored of the job. So, two years after
Thunderball, Connery played Bond one last time in 1967 for
You Only Live Twice. Now, this Bond film was to be shot entirely in Japan. Now, the Bond films were just as popular in Japan as they were in Britain and the United States. One day, while walking the streets of Japan, Connery was seen in sandals and baggy pants with an unbuttoned shirt. A fan walked up to him and said in surprise, "Mr. Bond?" Connery replied, "I'm Sean Connery. Fuck off!" This in turn not only turned away a fan but also made Connery respect the role of James Bond even less. Toys and merchandise hit the stores full blast with Connery's face on it and each item on the packaging said, "This man
IS James Bond." Now, Connery felt typecast and said he wanted to focus on other things. Connery also seemed to start getting out of shape but we will go into all that later.
Following Connery's last Bond film, another film was in the works but the producers were without a James Bond! So, now that he was unwilling to play the part again, the producers found a little known Australian model/commercial actor called George Lazenby. He was going to be the new James Bond. Lazenby had no acting experience and is considered by many to be the worst James Bond...ever. In 1969, at the heyday of the spy genre, this spy would be replaced by another. Now, once Lazenby was cast, the crew did all that was possible to give him similar looks to Connery. His hair was cut the same way, he used a few suits that were tailored for Connery and even said some of the things Connery would say. Since Lazenby did only one Bond film, he did not have the chance to make the character his own. And remember, there were only five Bond films that came before this one and Sean was in all of them. So, not only did they want to make him seem like another Sean, he also had no acting experience which made it twice as hard for them. Now, Lazenby was not bad as Bond, however on the set he was a pain to work with and after production, his agent recommend that he never do another Bond film again. Feeling that he was big stuff, and that once he was Bond his career would soar, Lazenby agreed and left the role as James Bond. The man was even originally signed on for a seven picture deal, but declined. And not only did his career end after that, he would never do anything except adult entertainment movies and children videos. Poor George...
Now, Bond entered the 1970s...Now, you ask, How could a spy still exist in the 70s? What was the point? The 60's were over and the spy scene was done. Who needs a gentleman agent in this decade? Well, none other but the return of Sean Connery made it possible. He was the man that really revised this view and the producers knew that once he was lured back, people would be flushing to the cinemas all over the world to see the made who made Bond what it was. The year is 1971. George Lazenby had done
On Her Majesty's Secret Service in 1969 and left the part. The producers had no James Bond. Looking for some Americans to play the part of Bond, they had their eye on many including Adam West and Burt Reynolds. I am so glad that did not happen. James Bond is meant to be played by one who is British. That is what makes the character so unique! In any case, when the producers contacted Connery, they bribed him into playing the part one last time for a large sum of money to be donated to the Scottish Educational Trust. Connery agreed to play the part and Bond was Back! Sadly, the film wasn't a hit in terms of reviews but financially the movie was a big success!!! This time...Connery was gone for good...Right?
In 1973, the man who claimed to have been offered the part of James Bond back in 1962 but could not get it due to a contract, finally got the part: Sir Roger Moore. Now, he was certainly a different James Bond 007. In no way was he planning on mimicking Connery or Lazenby. He was going to make the part of 007 his own. And that he did. Roger Moore, a British actor who had been famous in television with The Saint and The Persuaders, took the reigns from Connery's last film, and took on a 12 year ride as James Bond. Now, in 1973, when he did his first movie, Moore would enter the world of Blaxploitation films. This film did not deal with a European madman trying to take over the world, or Blofeld and his white cat, no, this film entered the world of drugs and African American villains. In order to bring a spy in the current times, Bond was brought into the world of
Shaft and
Coffey. Now, Moore was the best to play the part at the time because the world needed humor in it. And Moore is certainly the man with the charm. Less action, suspense and seriousness that Sean brought to the part, and more wit, charm and sly humor. During Moore's run as Bond, he always kept his cool and was for the ladies first and the mission second. Yes, of course he was still Bond, but the way Moore made the part, it seemed like it wasn't even Bond anymore but more episodes of The Saint. Now, I respect Moore, even though he is my least favorite James Bond. But again, each Bond is different. Finally leaving the part in 1985, at the age of 58, it was time for Moore to hang up his gun.
Now, believe it or not...during the run of Moore's Bond, Sean Connery made yet
ANOTHER comeback 12 years after his last appearance in
Diamond Are Forever in 1971. This 1983 rival Bond film was known as
Never Say Never Again. In fact, the title itself was indirectly created by his wife at the time, in response to Sean Connery saying that he would never play the role of James Bond again. I suppose it's poetic justice. In any even, the return of Connery was a great sigh of relief to the fans who were tired of Moore. Now, this WAS Sean Connery's last portrayal of the part. Now that he is 83, I sincerely doubt he is going to come back. But hey, it would be nice to see him in a tux and do a photo shoot as Bond! But it was nice to see Sean Connery complete seven films.
The year is now 1986, and Sir Roger Moore stepped down from the role a year ago. Now, a classically trained Shakespearean British actor is taking over the role as the new James Bond. Timothy Dalton. By far probably the most underrated James Bond, Dalton stepped in with his new film
The Living Daylights in 1987. Dalton read all the Ian Fleming books and loved all of the Sean Connery pictures, especially the first three films. He really based his portrayal of the character from what he read in the books and wanted to bring the written James Bond to the big screen.
Perhaps the reason as to why Dalton taking over the reigns wasn't a good idea for some or most people, is because there was too much of a contrast between himself and Moore in the way they portrayed the characters. As mentioned before, Moore was the charmer and put the romance and witticisms first, while Dalton's Bond had far less time for the ladies and more time for the mission and taking care of his own problems and instincts before losing himself to the girl. The humor was Dalton's shortcomings if he had a fault at anything. But again, where Moore's Bond chilled and sat behind the scenes, this Bond was all up in the action. Timothy Dalton wanted the audience to see a character you could relate to. Someone you could believe existed yet at the same time keep the fantasy alive. Most of the actions sequences were done by Dalton himself in his movies. He wanted it to be flawless so the audience wouldn't know if it was a double or Timothy doing the stunts.
Sadly, Dalton would do just one more 007 film before the Bond series took a 6 year hiatus in order to settle a long and daunting dispute with MGM and another company distributing the Bond films without the permission of the Bond family. Anyway, I don't want to bore you with this. You can find the information regarding the delay between Bond films here:
In any case, with this last Bond film that Dalton did, it was in 1989 and again, as Roger Moore's first Bond film dealt with Blaxploitation, this also dealt with the way most movies were heading in the 1980s, drug smuggling in South America. This film was written perfectly for Dalton in that it highlighted all his strong suits for his interpretation as 007.
After six years since the last James Bond film, Timothy Dalton finally hung up his Walther PPK due to the constant delay in production of the next film. There is a misconception that Dalton's last Bond film killed the franchise. That is not at all the case. This lawsuit took so long that Dalton just wanted to move on. Who took is place? None other than the great Pierce Brosnan! Now, this is the Bond I grew up with so I am naturally biased towards this 007. Even to this day, he is my favorite.
Now, here is a Bond who was not only his own, but was also a mix between the charm of Roger Moore and the danger and strength of Sean Connery. In addition, there were also hints of Timothy Dalton as well. But what made Pierce Brosnan so great was his sophistication. He had it all. He had a little bit of everything and then some. The cool thing about him was that he could kick ass without even looking it. The first time I saw James Bond was a commercial for
GoldenEye back in 1995. I was thinking to myself, Whoa, who is this guy? I never ended up seeing it in theaters but Brosnan was still Bond when I saw my first 007 film,
Die Another Day. Brosnan's first film really brought James Bond into the 90s and it was the Bond that most enjoyed. Heck, he was the Bond I grew up with, as I said before so of course there is going to be some bias. Although Brosnan was signed on for three films with an option for a fourth, he was still quite popular among fans even though he was approaching his 50s. In either case, he wasn't too old to play Bond, unlike Moore who started aging after his third film. After four feature films as Bond, the producers felt they wanted to reboot the franchise and give the reigns to my second least favorite 007: Daniel Craig.
In 2006, Craig's first film
Casino Royale hit theaters. It was an instant hit despite what people felt about the choice of him as 007. To be honest, the new film he did was quite enjoyable. I remember seeing it opening day and not only did it bring Bond back to it's routes, but it also focused more on the plot and less on the gadgets. The one thing I felt was wrong with Brosnan's last film, was the excessive use of gadgets and CGI. Now, this has nothing to do with Brosnan as Bond, but it has to do with the director. I felt that Brosnan's films were all wonder in terms of how he portrayed the character, but the last one he did seemed to push it to the limit in terms of what they could and could not do. So bringing Bond back to basics was cool.
The difference with Daniel Craig as James Bond, is that he is far more psychical than any of the other James Bond actors. These films don't really feel all that much like Bond films of the past, but again, things change of course and so do the movies. Craig played Bond more like a Jason Bourne-like character. He's the kind of man that would kill first then ask questions second. Craig is a real paranoid kind of Bond and doesn't trust anyone; which is like an agent should be, but remember, this is James Bond. Even Dalton trusted people. But, like Dalton, he has far less time for the ladies even though he does form a romantic relationship in one of the films, just as Dalton did in
The Living Daylights. Craig is essentially the Dalton of the 21st century. With the release of
Skyfall, Craig's third film, the James Bond films will certainly getting back to basics and take us on adventures in the next few years.
Well, to wrap this up, whichever direction the James Bond films go, here's to 50 years and may the future bring more adventure and excitement with each new film to come!
JAMES BOND WILL RETURN
*Credit for James Bond artwork titles goes to my friend
SWFan1977on deviantART.com. Enjoy!
