James Bond
James Bond is a fictional British spy created by Ian Fleming in 1953.
History
1950s-1960s
In 1953, Fleming wrote Casino Royale, the very first James Bond novel. The novel made a lot of money, and he continued to write one James Bond novel each year until he died in 1964. In a 1956 South African radio program Moonraker he was voiced by Bob Holness. In 1962 Albert. R. "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman started to produce the first James Bond movie, Dr. No, starring Sean Connery as James Bond. The movie became extremely popular, and they continued to make more Bond movies. In the end of the 1960s Connery did not want to do any more Bond movies, and many thought that Bond was now dead. In 1969, George Lazenby appeared in one movie as the Bond character, but the movie was not successful.
1970s-1980s
In 1971 Sean Connery stepped back into the role for one movie "Diamonds are Forever". After this in 1973, producers came up with the Live and Let Die movie, starring Roger Moore as Bond. The movie became a very big success. The series continued throughout the 1970s and 1980s with Roger Moore playing the role of Bond.
In the 1980s, Bond movies were not as successful at the box office. Unlike the 1960s and 1970s, in the 1980s there were many other action movies being produced that could compete with the Bond series.
After Moore left the role as Bond, he was replaced with Timothy Dalton in the late 1980s. Dalton tried to make a serious, "down to earth" Bond, closer to the Fleming novels. Fans did not like Dalton's interpretation of the Bond character, and the movies made little money.
1990s
The Cold War ended in 1991. Since Bond almost always fought Communists, many now thought that the Bond series of movies was finally dead.
In 1995, producers developed the GoldenEye movie, starring Pierce Brosnan as Bond. This film made the Bond character well known in the 1990s. Brosnan appeared in several Bond movies.
2000s
In 2002, the James Bond character was used in the 20th movie, Die Another Day, the 40th anniversary of the movies and the 50th anniversary since Fleming wrote his first Bond novel. In 2006, the 21st movie, Casino Royale, was released. Pierce Brosnan, who played James Bond in the previous four movies, was replaced by Daniel Craig, the first James Bond to have blonde hair. The movie is based on the first Ian Fleming novel of the same name, but is set in the present day. The movie features a cameo appearance by Richard Branson, a British billionaire. It has a new model of Aston Martin DB9, the car that made James Bond so famous in the 1960s. Many fans think that whilst this movie is different than other movies, it is much better, and movies in the future (however few there will be) will be in this new format. In 2008, Craig appeared in a second Bond movie, Quantum of Solace and a third, Skyfall, in 2012. His fourth appearance as Bond was with Spectre in 2016. His fifth and final appearance as Bond is with No Time to Die in 2021.
Movies
| Franchise Count | Title | Year | Actor | Director | Total Box Office * | Budget * | Inflation Adjusted Total Box Office *† |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dr. No | 1962 | Sean Connery | Terence Young | $59,600,000 | $1,200,000 | $425,488,741 |
| 2 | From Russia with Love | 1963 | $78,900,000 | $2,500,000 | $555,909,803 | ||
| 3 | Goldfinger | 1964 | Guy Hamilton | $124,900,000 | $3,500,000 | $868,659,354 | |
| 4 | Thunderball | 1965 | Terence Young | $141,200,000 | $11,000,000 | $966,435,555 | |
| 5 | You Only Live Twice | 1967 | Lewis Gilbert | $111,600,000 | $9,500,000 | $720,388,023 | |
| 6 | On Her Majesty's Secret Service | 1969 | George Lazenby | Peter R. Hunt | $87,400,000 | $7,000,000 | $513,445,231 |
| 7 | Diamonds Are Forever | 1971 | Sean Connery | Guy Hamilton | $116,000,000 | $7,200,000 | $617,520,987 |
| 8 | Live and Let Die | 1973 | Roger Moore | $161,800,000 | $12,000,000 | $785,677,477 | |
| 9 | The Man with the Golden Gun | 1974 | $97,600,000 | $13,000,000 | $426,826,774 | ||
| 10 | The Spy Who Loved Me | 1977 | Lewis Gilbert | $187,300,000 | $28,000,000 | $666,367,656 | |
| 11 | Moonraker | 1979 | $210,300,000 | $34,000,000 | $624,527,272 | ||
| 12 | For Your Eyes Only | 1981 | John Glen | $202,800,000 | $28,000,000 | $481,005,579 | |
| 13 | Octopussy | 1983 | $187,500,000 | $27,500,000 | $405,873,493 | ||
| 14 | A View to a Kill | 1985 | $157,800,000 | $30,000,000 | $316,186,616 | ||
| 15 | The Living Daylights | 1987 | Timothy Dalton | $191,200,000 | $40,000,000 | $362,876,056 | |
| 16 | Licence to Kill | 1989 | $156,200,000 | $32,000,000 | $271,586,451 | ||
| 17 | GoldenEye | 1995 | Pierce Brosnan | Martin Campbell | $353,400,000 | $60,000,000 | $499,954,330 |
| 18 | Tomorrow Never Dies | 1997 | Roger Spottiswoode | $346,600,000 | $110,000,000 | $465,588,535 | |
| 19 | The World Is Not Enough | 1999 | Michael Apted | $390,000,000 | $135,000,000 | $504,705,882 | |
| 20 | Die Another Day | 2002 | Lee Tamahori | $456,000,000 | $142,000,000 | $546,490,272 | |
| 21 | Casino Royale | 2006 | Daniel Craig | Martin Campbell | $599,200,000 | $150,000,000 | $640,803,677 |
| 22 | Quantum of Solace | 2008 | Marc Forster | $586,090,727 | $230,000,000 | $586,090,727 | |
| 23 | Skyfall | 2012 | Sam Mendes | $1,108,283,816 | $150,000,000 | $1,259,615,685.92 | |
| 24 | Spectre | 2015 | $880,700,000 | $951,042,882.01 | |||
| 25 | No Time to Die | 2021 | Cary Fukunaga | ||||
| Totals | Movies 1-25 | $4,809,157,447 | $1,123,000,000 | $11,686,214,000 |
Many of the James Bond movies were massive hits. However, there are two movies classed as unofficial Bond films and not recognised as part of the series. The 1967 version of Casino Royale was a spoof, featuring "Jimmy Bond". Also, Never Say Never Again was not made by Albert R. Broccoli's production company, EON Productions. Connery is the tallest actor to play James Bond to this day.[1]
Representation
Visually and musically, but also artistically overall, James Bond and the British way of being a gentleman repeatedly serve as inspiration, or artists like Marc Engelhard and other protagonists resemble each other in this style.[2]
James Bond Media
Hoagy Carmichael—Fleming's view of James Bond
Hans Zimmer (composer of the 2021 film No Time to Die) with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall in London in 2022 during The Sound of 007 in Concert to mark 60 years of the Bond series.
An Aston Martin DB5 as seen in Goldfinger
The Little Nellie autogyro with its creator and pilot, Ken Wallis
James Bond Island (Khao Phing Kan, Thailand)
Model of Connery next to an Aston Martin DB5 at the London Film Museum
Waxwork of Daniel Craig, the most recent 007, at Madame Tussauds, London
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References
- ↑ Sean Connery trivia at WDW.com
- ↑ "Galleries for artistic photos". 2022.
- ↑ Macintyre 2008, p. 208.