James
Bond. 007. Thrilling audiences for almost four decades, these 19 films
represent perhaps the most successful and long lived movie franchise. All of the
films have been re-issued by MGM/UA on DVD as collectors editions, many with a wealth of
new extras. The October 17th, 2000, release of Volume 3 marks the availability of all the
James Bond titles, including an unofficial one, for purchase individually or over three
volumes.
Join me, as Secrets embarks on an epic exploration of the entire
collection of DVDs.
The Bond film series exudes such originality and distinction as to
create its own genre, capturing the favor of millions of moviegoers literally for
decades. The credit for dreaming up the James Bond persona goes to Ian
Fleming,
English novelist. A retired military man, Fleming always felt his spy books would
make for good cinema. In 1960, Producer Harry Saltzman bought a 6 month option on
the then 7 available novels (which did not include "Casino Royal") and future options on any
future Bond novels. Yet, bringing Bond to the big screen was not quite a sure thing,
as Saltzman had trouble getting any studio to buy into the the project. It is the
fortuitous meeting of Harry Saltzman and Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli in 1961 that launched
the making of the first Bond film, "Dr No". Together, they cut a six movie deal with
United Artists and formed EON Productions, the continuing owner's of the production rights
to James Bond films.
Bond has proven to be timeless in its appeal.
Characterized by
its suave, debonair hero 007, the films represent cinema adventure at its best, one
might even say
defining it. At its core, it is pure escapism, an opportunity to get away from life
and live a thrilling adventure for a couple of hours. Bond remains light, enjoyable
fare, and yet over the years, still manages to adapt to the times by keeping its villains and
plots relevant. The key aspects include the cool demeanor of its main
character, neat gadgets,
outrageous action, and of course the Bond women. More than just eye
candy though,
the Bond women are always sensual, and they are always smart.
Dubbed the "world's favorite gentleman spy", 007 has thus
far waded though 5 actors and 8 directors. The films have always been on the
cutting edge of cinema technology, thrilling audiences with wide frame formats and multi
channel sound as soon as it became available.
Here is a list of the films we will cover in our reviews:
In an effort to bring you quality cover art and
screen shots, yet still make loading the pages reasonable, we present the collection in chronological
order over three sections, plus our own extras page where we look at the unofficial
film as well as give you some Martini recipes and the rules to 007's favorite casino
game. To begin, click on Part 1 below or use any of the titles above to take you
directly to a particular film.
