With Casino Royale now out on DVD, we look back at some great
moments in the 007 series.
By Bryan
Reesman
Few film series are as celebrated as the
James Bond saga, which
encompasses 21 official movies, from the famous 1962 debut Dr. No
to last year's fantastic Casino Royale. Adapted from and inspired
by the spy novels of
Ian Fleming, the cinematic adventures of
British Secret Service agent 007 have left audiences shaken and
stirred bysinister nemeses, stunning "Bond women," cool cars and
contraptions, exotic locales, pithy one-liners, and nail-biting
action sequences. And there are the inevitable debates over who's
better. Sean Connery? Roger Moore? Pierce Brosnan?
The series got an upgrade last year when it brought lesser-known
actor
Daniel Craig into the fold. The dark-horse contender quickly
won audiences over with his gritty portrayal of a young Bond who
has just been promoted to 007 status. We see him make his first
kill and how it transforms him, watch him nearly get killed, and
witness him having his heart broken. Based on the first Bond novel,
Casino Royale is bloody good entertainment, and it returns the
series to more character-driven situations and subtler moments,
which had been overwhelmed by gadgetry during the flashy Brosnan
era.
MGM honored the return of Bond with the re-release of all his
movies in four box sets last fall, and I went back and watched them
all again to pull out some golden moments. Following are what I
consider to be the high points in the series. You'll no doubt have
your own. But that's the fun of it: so many great scenes, so many
memorable one-liners, so little space …
SPYING'S A GAS
About to be assassinated on the Orient Express by a cunning SPECTRE
agent (in From
Russia with Love), Bond tantalizes the agent by
mentioning the gold sovereigns located in his briefcase. His foe
falls for the gag, and tear gas explodes from the case, allowing
Bond to slam into him and fight for his life. (Thanks, Q!)
IT'S A MAN, BABY!
While Thunderball is notable for its shark bait and its underwater
battle sequences, its wacky inaugural scene finds Bond seemingly
attacking the widow of an enemy agent after the agent's funeral.
But we discover that the agent is in disguise, having faked his own
death. Bond quickly rectifies that.
IT'S NOT SIZE THAT MATTERS …
We've seen plenty of aerial fights before, but when Bond tests out
a gyrocopter in You Only Live Twice, four helicopters descend upon
him to take him out. It's a battle of wills and wits, high in the
sky over a
Japanese island, with our hero coolly maneuvering
through the cross fire.
MR. AND MRS. JAMES BOND
The only time 007 ever got married was at the end of On Her
Majesty's Secret Service, when he wed Tracy di Vicenzo (Diana
Rigg). Even Miss Moneypenny, with whom he flirted for years, was
teary-eyed. Sadly, after they leave the reception, Mrs. Bond is
gunned down by Blofeld's assistant, Irma Bunt. It's a devastating
loss that will be avenged.
DOUBLE VISION
The theme of the quirky Diamonds Are Forever is deadly team-ups,
from two Blofelds to the psycho assassins Wint and Kidd to the two
nasty gymnastic killers named Bambi and Thumper. It's not an easy
assignment for Bond.
PISTOLS AT DAWN
After landing on the island den of master assassin Francisco
Scaramanga (The Man with the Golden Gun), Bond faces a duel at
dawn. But what seems like a simple showdown on the beach turns into
a hunt through the killer's warped fun house, which is complete
with a statue replica of Bond - something that comes in very handy
for 007.
JAWS ON LAND
The gnarliest Bond villain has to be the silent Jaws, an imposing,
snarling hulk with metal teeth who chomps on his victims like a
vampire. When 007 and Major Anya Amasova pursue Jaws into a desert
temple during The Spy Who Loved Me, he ambushes them. But even
after rocks collapse on him, the inhuman killer emerges to slowly
rip apart their van by hand as they try to drive away.
LICK SHOT
Attempting to bump off Bond, sinister Moonraker entrepreneur Hugo
Drax invites him to shoot pheasant, with a hidden assassin waiting
to stage "an accident." Bond fires away. "You missed, Mr. Bond,"
declares Drax. The sniper falls out of the tree, dead. "Did I?"
quips 007.
CROWNING GLORY
In Octopussy, Bond races to defuse a bomb that's at a circus on a
U.S. military base in
West Germany. After stealing a car, he evades
Russian soldiers, German police, and, later, when he crashes onto
the base, American GIs. Then he dons a clown outfit in order to
infiltrate what could turn into a three-ring inferno. Not 007's
most dignified moment, but certainly one of his finest.
DYNAMIC DUO
While A View to a Kill was a rather tepid entry in the series, it
is notable for pairing two classic TV crime fighters together: The
Saint's
Roger Moore as 007 and The Avengers' Patrick Macnee as Sir
Godfrey Tibbett. A truly cool duo.
JUST SAY NO
At the climax of The Living Daylights, Bond and Russian killer
Necros clobber each other while clinging to a net full of bagged
drugs that has spilled out the back of a military transport plane
flying high in the sky. Devoid of digital trickery, it's one of the
most breathtaking fight scenes ever filmed.
IT'S NOT BUSINESS, JUST PERSONAL
In the finale to Goldeneye, Alec Trevelyan, the treacherous 006,
who sold out his country and abandoned his friendship with Bond,
clings to 007's hand for dear life, high up on a massive satellite
dish. Alex sneers, "For England, James?" "No," snarls Bond before
dropping him, "for me."
HELLO, HONEY
While Dr. No had its share of intrigue and clever quips, it is most
famous for the introduction of Honey Ryder, the seashell-collecting
snorkeler (and first official Bond girl) played by goddess Ursula
Andress.
ALL THAT GLITTERS…
Throughout Goldfinger, Bond matches wits more than muscle with the
titular villain. But the gold-obsessed tycoon knows how to make an
impression. When Bond steals his girlfriend, Goldfinger has her
killed: She's sprayed - and hence, suffocated - with gold paint.
And when 007 bests him in a game of golf, Goldfinger offers a
warning through his henchman Oddjob, who tosses his bowler hat at a
statue … and decapitates it.
CLASSIC QUOTES:
Goldfinger
Bond: "Do you expect me to talk?"
Goldfinger: "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!"
Octopussy
Kamal Khan (to Bond): “You have a nasty habit … of surviving.”
Diamonds Are ForeverBond (to Tiffany Case): “That’s quite a nice little nothing you’re almost wearing. I approve.”
The Man with the Golden GunBond: “Who’d want to put a contract on me?”
M: “Jealous husbands! Outraged chefs! Humiliated tailors! The list is endless!”