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Captain, I’m with the British Secret Service
The fire engine hijacking in A View to a Kill ranks among the most overtly camp moments of 1980s Bond movies. After rescuing Stacey Sutton, Bond is swiftly arrested amid exaggerated police antics that exist almost entirely for comic relief, followed by cartoonish distractions. Including using the fire engine’s water… Read More →
Filed Under: A View To A Kill -
I detach the movies from the books
I deliberately separate the James Bond movies from the novels. After discovering the Bond movies in the mid-1990s and later reading all Fleming and some Raymond Benson, I initially enjoyed drawing connections between page and screen. Over time, though, I’ve found that treating them as distinct works leads to a… Read More →
Filed Under: General -
Brushing up on a little Danish
One of Bond’s many sly euphemisms for sex, this particular quip comes from Tomorrow Never Dies, during a scene at Cambridge where Bond is interrupted mid-tryst by an urgent call from Moneypenny. Unfazed, Bond answers the phone without missing a beat, continuing his extracurricular activity while unapologetically delivering the line.… Read More →
Filed Under: Tomorrow Never Dies -
But James, I need you!
Bond’s abrupt departure from the romantic log cabin at the opening of The Spy Who Loved Me is prompted by an urgent summons from M, and it immediately crystallizes the character’s priorities. When his companion protests with the above, Bond’s coolly dismissive reply, “So does England,” is delivered as he… Read More →
Filed Under: The Spy Who Loved Me -
Character Spotlight: Lotte Lenya as Rosa Klebb
Lotte Lenya is perfectly cast as the curmudgeon SPECTRE Number 3 Rosa Klebb in From Russia With Love. Lenya strips Klebb of any conventional glamour, with a low, monotone voice and an almost teacher-like authoritativeness that gives disciplinarian nun vibes. Her complete lack of sex appeal is not a limitation… Read More →
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The Thunderball score is intoxicating
There’s something genuinely intoxicating about the Thunderball score that other Bond movies have never quite replicated. Even when the movie’s pacing starts to drag or the plot gets a bit murky, John Barry’s music acts as this incredible, seductive tether that keeps you locked in. Despite its tropical setting, the… Read More →
Filed Under: Thunderball