The James Bond film franchise turned 50 on Friday with the release of a revealing new documentary about its turbulent past and the first listen of the new theme tune performed by Adele.
The premiere of the first Bond film, Dr. No, was held in London on Oct. 5, 1962, and starred Scottish actor Sean Connery as the suave and brutal super-spy working for British intelligence to thwart the plans of an evil megalomaniac.
By the time the third movie in the franchise, Goldfinger, hit the screens two years later, Bond was a cultural phenomenon generating the kind of public excitement more often associated with British pop group the Beatles.
The character was quickly adopted by the British public and further afield as the embodiment of sophistication and courage, and his dress sense, taste in fast cars and beautiful women and catch phrase “shaken, not stirred” entered mainstream culture.
Not everyone liked Bond. The films have often been dismissed as sexist for the seemingly endless line of scantily clad women who fall into bed with Bond, and several have been panned by the critics.
However, Bond’s lasting appeal was underlined this summer when actor Daniel Craig, as 007, and Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II appeared together in a short, comic scene at Buckingham Palace in a highlight of the London Olympics opening ceremony.
Over the past five decades, EON Productions, formed by the central partnership of Albert “Cubby” Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, has made 22 Bond movies which have amassed around US$5 billion at the global box office.
The 23rd film, Skyfall, gets its world premiere in London later this month and Adele’s theme tune for the movie starring Craig on Her Majesty’s secret service hit the airwaves on Friday to mixed reviews.
Also released on Friday was Everything or Nothing, the documentary directed by Stevan Riley that charts Bond’s passage through studio collapses, personality clashes and the end of the Cold War which could have spelled disaster for the series.
Instead it has adapted to the modern era with a female spymaster M, played by Judi Dench, and a tough and serious 007 in the form of Craig.
That constant reinvention has been one of the franchise’s greatest strengths, with six actors playing the role in the official Bond movies.
Meanwhile, James Bond lovers have spent thousands of pounds for pieces of memorabilia from the spy movies at a London auction.
Christie’s auction house is selling the items to coincide with the 50th birthday of the Bond movies.
Among the items under the hammer Friday in London was the complete works of Ian Fleming, Bond’s creator. That fetched £91,250 (US$147,197), handily beating estimates of between £10,000 and £15,000.
A navy, wool Tom Ford suit worn by Daniel Craig in the new Skyfall film sold for £46,850. It was estimated to sell for between £2,000 and £3,000.
Proceeds will go to several charities, including the UN children’s fund, UNICEF.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was