Quote:
Originally Posted by hoyya
As much as I know was Dr No the first Bond film and naturally it's one of the best besides Goldfinger because of Ursula Andress and Sean Connory. I think Dr No was in b/w, wasn't it?
For me it's interesting, that we both were attached to the 007 novels in our early teens. I think I was fascinated by Bonds consequence in fullfilling his mission and all the adventures he lived through. And in the books you really belive, there is danger and he faces it!
I haven't touched no Bond novel in over 20 years (at that age I could not yet read english), but I think I'll buy me "Thunderball" now in original!
I'll have a look at eBay!
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You and Bellsmyre46 both bring up some very interesting and astute points regarding the James Bond cultural mythology
vis a vis the differences between the books and the movies--both in overall plot and in the sharply different characterizations of Bond. I picked up my first Fleming Bond novel at around 11-12 yrs old--coincidentally, also "From Russia with Love" which I hadn't seen the film of yet.
This was back in the days when all TV was 3 lousy networks, and the ABC Sunday Night Movie ran James Bond all summer long. I had been a big Bond fan probably since I was 8-10 yrs old, and at that age Roger Moore was the coolest motherfucker I'd ever seen in my life, and the obtuse scifi appeal of "Mooonraker" was perfectly pitched to a kid my age. So when I read "From Russia.." I was sorta shocked by how different the written Bond was--not as "cool", but definitely more dangerous. But then, his villains were more dangerous too, and quite cunningly NEVER explained the entire evil plan to our hero since "you're about to die anyway, Mr. Bond..." or that sort of thing.
I won't say I "got it" right away, but I did immediately achieve an admiration for the greater literary integrity of Connery's Bond, especially in the earliest films like "Dr. No". The cheesy sci-fi set pieces, goofy one-liners, and often ridiculous gadgetry was still entertaining, but no longer satisfied. The more realistic, gritty Bond who became less human with every kill, who tried ever harder to bury his soul-sickness underneath the weight of top shelf liquor and anonymous pussy and was never really sure that he could win the day deeply and fundamentally altered my concept of heroism.
Those points are exactly why I so enjoyed the recent "Casino Royale", because we got to see a Bond onscreen who was closer to that idea than anything we've seen since the first 2 or 3 films. Another factor is the overall "maturing" of filmgoing audiences, such that directors and producers now recognize that a flawed, "human" hero can connect to a modern cinema audience better than a 2-dimensional one, and allow the directors and writers to express this much more than in the past. As proof, I can point out how the "indestructible" box office action heroes of the 80's and early 90's (Schwarzenegger, Stallone, etc) suddenly seemed to lose their massive appeal, and more complex characters who could actually get HURT were being faced of against villains who were often smarter and better-equipped than they were (the 1st "Die Hard" is a perfect example to mark the beginning of this cultural shift).
OK, rant off. Sorry, I really tried to stay out of this because I knew if I got started I wouldn't shut up. I'm a huge Bond fan--so much so that I once even managed to convince a college professor to let me write my thesis on Bond. Believe me, I could keep going! I'll try not to bore you fine folks anymore with this overwritten nonsense. After all, this IS a forum for pornography, not film theory!
So on that note, I can cite one thing about Bond that is actually relevant to this forum: Pussy Galore wasn't just a name, it was her personal mission! HUGE man-hating lesbian she was--if you read between the lines just a little--and only James Bond had the phallic power to overwhelm her and convert her back to cock, with plenty left over to kick Auric Goldfinger's ass as well.
'Nuff said! Read this if you don't believe me:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pussy_Galore
