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| Bond Book Reviews: Other Related 007 Books |
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"Class I would like you to write me an essay about James Bond." Yes this book drops in the media studies section, remembering years ago when doing my tv studies courses each week we would have access to a book box containing similar books like this one. Printed before the release of Casino Royale this softback contains 200 pages of essays by Bond experts ? Split into 4 sections: The Real James Bond, The James Bond Debate, How to Make James Bond Your Bitch & James Bond in the 21st Century. Each sections has three interludes with short items on: Drink Like Bond, Eat Like Bond & Dress Like Bond.
Bond novelist Raymond Benson opens looking at the cinematic Bond against his literary counterpart. Other experts are questionable as some write their piece from memory and make a few bloopers. Overall worth a read if you fancy a chance to agree or disagree with them then forget them. Thanks to co-editor Leah Wilson for the chance to read it early but sorry rather late with this review. Happy film studies !
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The two authors covers 50 years of literary & movie Bond from Fleming creating our hero in January 1952 to the press launch of DAD in January 2002.
For £16.95 you get a 352 page book with 15 chapters ( numbered 001 etc. ), an end 3 part Appendix, Bibliography and Index.
Inside are 8 pages of b&w photos including Eon's former and existing London offices.
Having read many books about the history of 007, the narrative takes you over familiar ground with news highlights again covered and added authors' comments e.g. about Sean's NSNA: "Let's not be ambiguous: NSNA is simply dreadful."
The book is well researched, compact but early narrative sometimes jumps back and forth which may be due to 2 authors.
An interesting section is the aforementioned Appendix, first co-author Gary ( son of comedian Eric ) Morecambe's conversation with Sir John Morgan, a friend of Fleming.
The second has Sterling visiting the Pinewood set of TWINE ending with Bond star Pierce Brosnan making a cup of tea in his dressing room for the author.
The final part called Words of Bondage has block quotes ( with no sources given ) starting with Fleming, his friend Raymond Chandler, all 5 screen Bonds and ending with producer Michael G Wilson.
If you've never read anything about the world of 007 which is very unlikely and are looking for a non-glossy approach, this text book maybe a good start as it saves time reading previous related books.
For me not much new, so a library borrow or cheap sale buy.
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I'm not sure if this 294 page book is part of an unmentioned publisher series with
each page header following a page layout of top left of bond film and right of virgin film with a larger vertical side of BOND FILM and movie title.
The two authors explain in the introduction their method of categorising each film:
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The inside cover of this large 144 page book tells us that it is for "fans of all ages".
With an emphasis on photos rather than text, this book could be seen as a prototype of the 007 Spy Files magazine with cut-out photos and detail drawings of Bond scenes.
This 2000 version, priced at a reasonable £12.99, covers 007's exploits from Dr No to TWINE.
The illustrations by Roger Stewart are excellent, shame he has to make 007 look like Brosnan in early missions.
His numbered art-work with occasional movie photo help us easily follow a memorable Bond scene.
With a red cover I was expecting the book to open "Tonight Commander James Bond of the British Secret Service ... This Is Your Life !" instead we get a foreword by M ( and accompanying page photo )
followed by the Bond Dossier starting with details and items about Bond with cut-out colour photos of Brosnan.
This continues with his 'look' - examples of his tailoring, 'in love' - montage of his ladies ( nice smiling one of Miss Rigg ), his service MI6 - support personnel like M, Moneypenny & Tanner, next the 'Wizard of MI6' - Q,
his 'world of spies' - Wai Lin, Tanaka etc. and lastly 'Supervillains' - mainly Blofeld.
The next section examines his Missions with 2 pages devoted to each movie's plot with photos, large cut-outs etc. and further pages of illustrations looking at certain aspects like a location ( GF's Operation Grand Slam ) or equipment like his cars or boats
e.g. TWINE's stealth ship - showing the different levels of the craft with cut-away sections.
Due to it's release there is a large section on TWINE.
I compared the art-work of the TWINE's Q Boat and TSWLM's Atlantis with the aforementioned magazine.
The book wins by miles for accuracy as Stewart's drawings try to convince us that these gadgets actually work when we really know that it was all done by movie special effects.
The final section looks at the Movies with an end opening caption joking "... To date, five actors have played James Bond.
The real 007 has never disclosed which one he feels has captured him the best."
Each movie has a short cast/credit listing with a cast member photo, a travelogue location photo and more cut-out photos.
Even in the earlier Missions section it is difficult to find a photo of the first 4 007s - in FYEO a photo of Countess Lisl ( Pierce's late wife, Cassandra Harris ) appears with poor Roger cut off at his shirt shoulder !
Having seen numerous publications with the same movie stills I can't praise this book high enough for photo selection - many I hadn't seen before.
Ending with a brief index, this should keep the "fans of all ages" happy until the next update. The connection with this book and 007 Spy Files is consultant Dave Worrall of the JBCC.
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The authors trace the history of the famous British studios, Pinewood, home of the Bond movies, from the early days right up to the latest productions including
TWINE.
The book with over 200 b&w photos tries to do justice to every production made and gives special chapters to the Bond & Carry On movies.
An eighteen page chapter is devoted to BOND ... JAMES BOND which traces the importance of the EON/Bond franchise with some different photos - some from the JBIFC and others taken around the grounds where elements of the movies were made
- memories of a '94 Dave Worrall studio tour come flooding back.
Other related connections include a preface by Bond star Roger Moore who reveals that he has "kept an office at the studio for the past 25 years and I consider that Pinewood is my second home".
Not sure if Sean Connery felt the same due to problems he had with the British Government's 90 days tax rule on one of his films but returned for his later Entrapment.
The book's opening credits are dedicated "in memory of J Arthur Rank and Desmond Llewelyn - greatly missed."
The cover has a small Brosnan TWINE casino photo and on the rear a larger Roger Moore photo seated on location in his 007 casting chair.
Bond pops up in other chapters like the Carry On with .. Spying when Eon producer Saltzman wasn't too happy with the film's poster resembling FRWL.
In another chapter filming of the Bond spoof Casino Royale is covered.
This 208 page book ends with a full filmography which proves the importance of this expanding studio for the entertainment industry.
A recommended read for any movie fan.
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The author, an Open University Lecturer in Film & TV, takes a serious look at the history of the Bond films in popular culture.
With an Introduction titled Taking James Bond Seriously followed by chapters grouping the films e.g. Chapter 3 Bondmania: Thunderball, Casino Royale, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
He compares the Fleming's books to the later films and uses their dialogue when necessary and relates to historical events.
The 325 page publication is a useful media studies resource as it rekindled my memories of evening studies with numbered notes throughout the narrative.
It's a shame the notes aren't placed at the end of each chapter rather than the end of the book.
Also included is a full filmography ( up to TND ) and bibliography ( detail listing of books, unpublished scripts, newspapers etc. ) and 40 b&w movie photos.
Explaining the success of the series, the author suggests in his postscript ...
"... it is the combination of all these elements - the production values, the visual spectacle, the pattern of repetition and variation, the Britishness and the internationalism - which accounts for the distinctive style of the Bond films."This well researched book will interest all true Bond fans even if you're not doing film studies.
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This 'authorized guide to the World of 007' covers all the Bond movies* plus a brief look at the literary 007,
while other chapters are devoted to The James Bond Family, spin-off movies,
other James Bonds and the 007 Phenomenon - looking at the fans who follow this legendary spy.
With a foreword by Bond producer Michael G Wilson, the next pages are devoted to Remembering Cubby [ Broccoli ].
Then each chapter opens with short credit list/ release dates, within are subsections:
The Assignment, 007's Women, 007's Villains, 007's Allies, Vehicles, Gadgets & Weapons,
Marketing & Merchandising and finally The Box Office.
Small black info boxes are added with each movie titled Top Secret Cast & Crew Dossiers and Around The World With 007 - revealing the movie's filming locations.
Each author brings his in-depth knowledge to the subject matter and the 204 page publication includes some different & not seen before photos from the EON's photo library
especially the final page b&w photo of Saltzman, Fleming & Broccoli titled Their world was not enough...
It's a must read for Bond fans.
*This print of the book covers up to TND, the updated version with different cover includes TWINE.
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This updated version covers the movies from Dr No to TND and includes Casino Royale & NSNA.
With a Prologue titled Everything or nothing, they explain the Bond history and how as fans they "brought the dream".
The 206 page book [ £15.99 ] contains plenty of 007 information along with many b&w photos ( most taken at Eon's press gatherings to promote the films ).
So if you're looking for the usual movie photos, this book isn't for you - perhaps this explains the 'unofficial' tag on the cover.
Apart from the movie title, each chapter is given a subtitle e.g. Dr No - An Elizabethan gangster & Goldfinger - A kind of joke Superman , usually taken from mentioned press reviews.
Each movie is looked at in sectioned paragraphs i.e. history, relationship to Fleming's books, ommitted scenes. box-office, reviews etc.
As explained in their Introduction, every chapter ends with the movie categorised:
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After his Making of GoldenEye the author returns to follow the troubled making of Brosnan's 2nd outing as superspy 007. Back in 1997 the book was released in full size publication but this smaller version - 8in(20cm) x 6in (15cm) is part of a purchased Collector's Limited Edition Video Box Set* so comes in smaller print and giving this reviewer some evening eye-strain !
The black soft cover has posing Brosnan within gun barrel front photo but has less pages than last time ( 95 compared to 128 ) and after a Preface follows 3 chapters ( Bond 18...and Counting, Creating the Bond Magic & The Final Countdown ) each containing elements about the making of a big budget Bond movie. Background & quotes from all areas: cast, director and production team. Along the way you discover some interesting facts: like out of the original script only 3 pages remained unchanged and there were seventeen versions of 007's BMW 750iL gadget-filled car !
If you think filming is glamorous read some of the smaller parts/extras accounts and discover the hours of waiting & re-filming. The book is a good insight into world of 007 with the expected colour photos from the movie and while filming. The inside opening photo of author chatting to star in Thailand is captioned Pearce and Pierce .... So if you ever come across a rare copy it's worth a purchase despite its age.
* Note. The black Collector's Limited Edition Video Box Set contained a video of TND, 2nd video Highly Classified: The World of 007 hosted by Desmond Q Llewelyn, 3 limited numbered movie storyboards and the book.
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Having purchased the movie's all-colour official magazine when released, I couldn't see the point of purchasing this book about The Making of GoldenEye.
In London recently I noticed the 'mint-condition' book in a sale reduced from the original £8.99 to £4.99 that's less than some 007 mags - so a bargain buy !
The 128 page softback book splits into 11 chapters starting with James Bond: Present and Correct and ending with The Masterminds about the director, editor etc.
The author covers similar ground to the magazine but with some different location & studio photos, mainly b&w with most of the colour photos taken from the movie.
The biggest chapter is devoted to Pierce Brosnan's Bond Diary with the writer's observations about production and the Irish star adding his quotes along the way.
It opens with Pierce taking his agent's call "at exactly 12.35pm on 1st June 1994" telling him that he got the part.
Another chapter called And ... Action has the script from four scenes in Brosnan's first outing including his dressing-down by the new M.
Like the magazine, the final page is the movie's credit listing but unlike the mag's full listing here is just a waste with a spaced-out summary of some cast & production names.
Slightly disappointing for a Making Of .. book but despite its age it still proves an interesting, light read worth adding to your Bond library.
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When working in London I used to spend some lunch-times looking around the discount book shops hoping to pick up a bargain. This book resembles one of those speciality annuals brought out at Xmas but with glossy cover with Bond actors ( which is the same as hard cover if lost - most are plain ) I got this bargain for half price ( original price £9.95 ).
The title's new has been added for cover/updating purposes, the book opens with a foreword by Bond Producer Albert R. Broccoli as it marks the 25th anniversary of the Eon series. It has an opening background chapter about THE BOND MOVIE PHENOMENON including a double page of the 4 Bond actors with portrait photos/details.
Each movie section follows the same format with left page gun barrel and inserted movie photo. The right page movie chapter opens with an overview and any going ons between movies, then over the following pages broken down into ...
007 B S menu: top of page * book menu * front page *