MI6, the James Bond web site, not the British intelligence service, offers a look at the Bond film producers' press release regarding the upcoming James Bond film. The title of the film will be called SPECTRE.
SPECTRE, the Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion, is the international criminal organization created by Ian Fleming in his James Bond novel Thunderball. The organization was run by the mad, evil genius Ernst Stravo Blofeld, who appeared in the next two Fleming thrillers, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and You Only Live Twice. SPECTRE was the principal villain in the early Bond films.
PRESS RELEASE: James Bond Producers, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli today released the title of the 24th James Bond adventure, SPECTRE. The film, from Albert R. Broccoli's EON Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, is directed by Sam Mendes and stars Daniel Craig, who returns for his fourth film as Ian Fleming's James Bond 007.
SPECTRE begins principal photography on Monday, December 8, and is set for global release on November 6, 2015.
Along with Daniel Craig, Mendes presented the returning cast, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw and Rory Kinnear as well as introducing Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Dave Bautista, Monica Bellucci and Andrew Scott. Mendes also revealed Bond's sleek new Aston Martin, the DB10, created exclusively for SPECTRE.
A cryptic message from Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.
You can read the rest of the press release via the below link:
http://www.mi6-hq.com/sections/articles/bond-24-spectre-title-announcement
You can also read Ryan Smith's piece in the Daily Mail and watch videos of the Bond film announcement via the below link:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2860541/Daniel-Craig-set-joined-star-studded-cast-anticipated-James-Bond-movie-Spectre-sleek-new-Aston-Martin-unveiled.html
And you can read my Crime Beat column on the Ian Fleming and the James Bond phenomenon via the below link:
http://www.pauldavisoncrime.com/2010/06/casino-royale-revisited-film-that.html
I look forward to the new film, but at the same time I wistfully long to watch the first few original Bond films (i.e., the Connery films). They were truly knock-your-socks-off entertainments. And they did not pretend to be anything else. Sean Connery was awesome as Bond. IMHO, no other actor has come close.
ReplyDeleteRT,
ReplyDeleteI too look forward to the film. Clever of the producers to go "retro" with SPECTRE and, perhaps, Blofeld.
I watch and rewatch all of the Bond films, but like you and millions of other film viewers, Sean Connery will always be James Bond to me.
I was quite alone, almost, I believe, in thinking that the previous Bond film, "Skyfall," was overblown and not as good a Bond film as most people believe.
I can't believe some commentators claimed "Skyfall" was the best Bond film. Better than "Goldfinger?" - better than "From Russia From Love?" Not in my book.
"Skyfall" had it's good moments, to be sure, but I thought the villain, portrayed by a very good actor, looked the Joker from Batman.
And when I saw Craig/Bond crying when M was killed, my thought was that Bond didn't cry when his bride was killed in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," would he cry over the death of his boss?
I love the Bond films from the 1960's, including 1969's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service."
The editor of the previous Bond films, Peter Hunt, directed a first class Bond film, stayed faithful to Ian Fleming's novel. (I have always said that the closer they stay to the Fleming novel, the better the film).
Hunt had to use George Lazenby for James Bond, but I think that Hunt used the cameras and the editing equipment well to give us a good performance, all things considered - Lazenby had never acted before and he was following Sean Connery.
But I thought Lazenby looked like Fleming's Bond (Daniel Criag does not) and he handled the fight and action scenes well. Had he stayed on and portrayed Bond in a couple of more films, he would have gotten better.
OHMSS also had the great and beautiful Diana Rigg as Bond's future and tragic wife, and I thought that Telly Savallas was quite good.
He had the commanding voice and presense of the evil, mad criminal genius Ernst Stravo Blofeld. Let's see what Blofeld will look like in the new film.
Lastly, I think that Timothy Dalton was the second best Bond, coming behind the Great Scot, Sean Connery.
Dalton reread all of the Fleming novels and he portrayed Fleming's Bond in "The Living Daylights" and "License To Kill."
The films had a few silly moments, but I liked them, and I liked Dalton as Bond.
But yes, Sean Connery is my James Bond.
Paul