Home Media Magazine - Agent DVD - July 2008 - (Page DVD4) *ACTIONFILES The Ties That BOND TRACKING THE LEGACY OF CINEMA’S GREATEST HERO BY JOHN LATCHEM I an Fleming could scarcely have imagined the longevity and influence of his most famous literary creation, a British superspy named James Bond. Three generations of fans have enjoyed Agent 007’s adventures in books, on the big screen and on home video. “The action-film genre was reinvented when Dr. No was released in 1962,” says Lee Pfeiffer, author of The Essential Bond and editor in chief of CinemaRetro.com. “But it wasn’t until Goldfinger in 1964 that the Bond movies exploded into a pop culture phenomenon.” The cinematic exploits of Bond flowed from the fateful partnership between producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman. Their company, Eon Productions, remains the creative force behind the Bond epics to this day, with a 22nd film on the way and no signs of slowing. “It really shows the ability of the franchise to refresh itself,” Pfeiffer says. “I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that the films are still being made by the same family.” Saltzman sold his Eon shares to Broccoli in 1975, and when Broccoli died in 1996, the reins of Eon passed to his daughter, Barbara Broccoli, and his stepson, Michael G. Wilson. “They realize when the series needs to be reinvented,” Pfeiffer says. “Other productions such as ‘Batman’ run the franchise into the ground, and then a new team comes in to start over.” THE EON BONDS DR. NO FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE GOLDFINGER THUNDERBALL YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE 1962 The first film effectively establishes many of the elements that define the series: a largerthan-life villain, an outlandish scheme, a fantastic criminal hideaway, exotic locales and a beautiful ally for the sly and methodical Bond, the role for which Sean Connery will forever be remembered. 1963 A classic spy thriller, with Bond romancing a gorgeous young Russian agent with hopes of obtaining a secret decoder device, not realizing he is playing into criminal syndicate SPECTRE’s cat-and-mouse games. Bond’s train brawl with Red Grant (Robert Shaw) remains one of the all-time classic film fights. 1964 It’s literally the gold standard for Bond, by which all the other films are measured. The movie maintains the perfect balance of wit and tension. Highlights include the golf game between Bond and Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe), and that Aston Martin DB-5 with modifications, the greatest of all Bond cars. 1965 A huge adventure indicative of the franchise going perhaps too far in trying to top itself. SPECTRE’s blackmail scheme involving stolen nukes makes for a fitting dilemma for Bond and sets up a spectacular underwater battle. Claudine Auger’s Domino remains one of the sexiest Bond Girls in history. 1967 Many Bond parodies gain inspiration from this film, in which SPECTRE operates from a hollowed-out volcano base and Bond meets main baddie Ernst Stavro Blofeld for the first time. Features a beautiful musical score by John Barry. Sorry, but the best makeup in the world won’t help Connery pass as Japanese. ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE 1969 A surprising human drama emerges from George Lazenby’s debut as Bond, as he falls in love, quits the service and d a marries Tracy (Diana Rigg) only to see . her killed by Blofeld. Bond’s mountain-escape chase may be the finest and most-exciting ski sequences y ever put on film. The film only gets better with age. Bond: Sean Connery Bond: Sean Connery Bond: Sean Connery Bond: Sean Connery Bond: Sean Connery Bond: George Lazenby 4 AGENTDVD JULY 2008 AgentDVD.com http://CinemaRetro.com http://agentdvd.com
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