Most people have encountered British Agent James Bond only through the lucrative film franchise that has made him immortal—while making the seven actors who have portrayed him seem, subsequently, particularly mortal. It may surprise viewers to be reminded how spectacularly popular the Bond novels of Ian Fleming, who wrote them as a holiday hobby after retiring from a career in World War II-era espionage, actually were. In the decade before Bond turned up on screen in 1962, the print version of Casino Royale, in which Bond was introduced, enjoyed three printings. Fleming impressively combined technical experience and keen observation with wit and pathos. The onscreen misogyny and machismo are largely Hollywood add-ons. It seems to sell. Here are some Bond adventures new to Blu-ray and new to KCPL.
Dr. No (1962)
When in doubt, don’t just wear the tuxedo. Be the tuxedo. There is no denying that Sean Connery owned the role. He’s got the walk. He’s got the talk. He’s got the wardrobe. He’s got Ursula Andress. Bond does not prevail because he’s got the gadgets or the gunpower. The unflappable Bond foils Doctor Julius No in his ploy to subvert the U.S. space program because he is clearly the coolest human involved. Connery’s Bond radiated superiority. It’s a screen trait that has been scripted for others before and many times since but seldom accomplished so successfully. Notably, we meet administrative functionary Miss Moneypenny in this first film. Her character resembles and was installed in the Bond novels in homage to the woman who typed them for the author.
The Living Daylights (1987)
An overlooked gem, as is Timothy Dalton as a two-time (and apparently too normal) Bond. What does it tell us about ourselves when we become nostalgic for the Cold War—a known enemy, and what we now longingly refer to as symmetric warfare? What does it tell us about ourselves that we prefer action scenes to CGI? No doubt, something obliquely flattering. Never mind that the scenes took place before the cameras in fake snow using stunt doubles moving at a hundredth of the pace they were later edited to simulate. They were humans in a landscape, as are we. Anyone who considers spy thrillers tripe for the unwashed should probably see this. Dalton and Maryam d’Abo make a thrilling bobsled escape through the Austrian Alps nesting in her open cello case.
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Fleming based Bond on several real field-agent colleagues from his secret service days. There’s an archived drawing by Fleming of what the author imagined James Bond to look like. The subject of that portrait bears a striking resemblance to Roger Moore. Spy was Moore’s third outing as Bond. One reason the film endures and remains popular is that it introduces the enormous and menacing henchman Jaws (portrayed by the late Richard Kiel). It’s a pretty perfect time capsule, with a fax-machine watch, nuclear warheads on nuclear submarines, and sweet Carly Simon singing the theme song. For those of us who frequent libraries, Simon dates the whole business by having recently turned 70 and just publishing her entering-retirement memoirs. Agent 007 may envy her.
Chris Barrett's Shelf Life alerts readers to new arrivals at the Lawson McGhee Library's stellar Sights and Sounds collection, along with recommendations and reminders of staples worthy of revisiting. He is a former Metro Pulse staff writer who’s now a senior assistant at the Knox County Public Library.
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