50 Years of Bond

Not only is ‘Spectre’ Craig’s best Bond film, it’s the most definitive artistic statement on the super-spy since ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.’

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Written by Richard Maibaum Directed by Peter Hunt UK, 1969 To call On Her Majesty’s Secret Service underappreciated is to call the sky blue. Only in the years since the release of Daniel Craig’s introduction to the series, Casino Royale, has OHMSS begun to be reappraised as a realistic, character-driven …

You Only Live Twice Directed by Lewis Gilbert Written by Roald Dahl 1967, UK Easily the most parodied of all the James Bond films, You Only Live Twice is the fourth film starring Sean Connery as 007.  After five years portraying the secret agent, it took producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman (as well …

From Russia With Love Directed by Terrence Young Written by Richard Maibaum and Johanna Harwood 1963, UK 50 years later, and with twenty-three “official” entries, From Russia With Love represents the very best of the Bond franchise. Skyfall is the closest to be considered, at best – almost equal to what was achieved in ’64 …

The most commercially successful Bond film to date is Thunderball. The pic earned over $141 million worldwide, of which more than half was generated domestically in the U.S. The film was such a success, it was remade some 18 years later as Never Say Never Again. This is without a doubt my favourite Bond film …

1: Dr No – Opening Title Sequence The schizophrenic title sequence introduces John Barry’s famous James Bond theme, but instead of transitioning into the now traditional pop song (which uses the title as a lyric), random portions of two calypso songs were used instead. This was also of course the first of Maurice Binder’s many …

  Thunderball Directed by Terrence Young Written by John Hopkins and Richard Maibaum 1965, UK Being a relative novice to the James Bond canon, I have never grown accustomed to the many  colorful details that have leaked from the Bond films into popular culture. Thunderball, as I discovered, is the home to many of the …

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published November 1, 2012.  Fifty years ago this month, Marilyn Monroe passed away from a suspected accidental drug overdose (although conspiracy geeks love to contemplate more nefarious scenarios). The commemoratives are already showing up on magazine and newspaper entertainment pages, cable channels have announced their Marilyn film fests and …

Goldfinger Directed by Guy Hamilton Screenplay by  Richard Maibaum and Paul Dehn Starred: Sean Connery, Honor Blackman Released September 1964 by United Artists Even if you had never seen this film, just as with Ursula Andress rising from the waves like a bikini-clad version of Botticelli’s Venus in Dr. No, you’d recognize the iconic image. The …

Dr. No Directed by Terence Young Written by Richard Maibaum & Johanna Harwood 1962, UK Author, Ian Fleming had been seeking out a movie deal for nearly a decade until the rights for his novels were finally bought by producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli. Little did they know they would change the landscape …

It is important, in any series, that an instalment does not forget where it came from, but in Skyfall’s attempts to celebrate its roots, does it ultimately undermine them? The title theme sounds quintessentially Bond, a custom absent in the last three films, for better or worse. It is also the first of the Daniel …

Continuing with our month long James Bond marathon, comes a documentary celebrating the franchise’s 50th birthday: Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007, from director Stevan Riley, looks at the history of James Bond, and what surprisingly emerges, is a movie-industry bromance, between Albert “Cubby” Broccoli and Harry Saltzman. Riley chooses to illustrate his …

Quantum of Solace Written by Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade Directed by Marc Forster UK, 2008 On the Mousterpiece Cinema podcast, Josh and I frequently joke about our “Island Films” by which we don’t mean the films that we would hypothetically take to a desert island, but the films that we are alone on an island in …

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Skyfall Composed by Thomas Newman Sony Classical November 6th 2012 It’s been 25 years since John Barry scored The Living Daylights, his final Bond movie, and since then, every composer who’s tackled a Bond score has tried to step out of his shadow, with varying degrees of success. David Arnold racked up 5 Bond movies …