Features

Jamaica is probably the country that should be associated with 007; it is at his house there named Goldeneye that Ian Fleming wrote all the James Bond stories.

The Bond series frequently follows the same pattern.  Films get ever more action-packed and begin to feature increasing numbers of gadgets and explosions.  That is, until a director decides to change direction and revert back to a more subdued affair, more faithful to Ian Fleming’s books.  It happened with On Her Majesty’s Secret Service as […]

Due to a high level of taxation in the UK at the time, the production of James Bond XI was primarily moved to France.  In addition to the construction of some of the biggest ever sets that France had seen, the relocation of Moonraker to the continent also meant that John Barry could return to […]

By the time the next instalment of the James Bond series was due to be released, much had changed. Despite the relative success of Live and Let Die and The Man With The Golden Gun, 007 was in danger of being overtaken by new, spectacular summer blockbuster films including cinema’s latest phenomenon: Star Wars. With […]

James Bond arrives in Sardinia in The Spy Who Loved Me, where he and Anya Amasova – agent XXX of the KGB – check into Hotel Cala di Volpe on the Costa Smeralda. After visiting the base of Stromberg they are chased by his henchmen, culminating in Bond driving his Lotus Esprit into the water, […]

After the success of Roger Moore’s debut as James Bond in Live and Let Die, the English actor returned in 1974 to film the ninth instalment of the 007 series, The Man With The Golden Gun.  Based on Fleming’s novel – the last written before his death in 1964 – Bond heads to Asia to […]

In Skyfall (2012), a mission in Turkey goes badly wrong after a hard disc containing details of MI6 agents falls into the hands of a gun for hire. While attempting to retrieve the disc James Bond goes missing, presumed dead. In fact he has gone to ground while trying to exorcise his demons and coming […]

When Casino Royale was released in 2006, many Bond fans complained that it was missing the traditional gunbarrel sequence at the beginning. This bit of Bond-lore had been introduce with Dr No in 1962, although in that first film Bob Simmons stood in as James Bond when he walked across the stage. While later versions […]

Part of the charm of the Bond series is that although the basic ideas and characters have remained consistent throughout, aspects of the films have changed during its unprecedented forty year success. This was certainly the case in 1973.  Not only did the Bond series welcome a new lead actor in Roger Moore, but for […]

In the photo above, Vesper’s Algerian Love Knot has been placed on top of the nine of hearts – according to Ian Fleming, known in gipsy magic as “a whisper of love, a whisper of hate”. The Algerian Love Knot didn’t appear in the book, although James Bond’s drink certainly did; three measures of gin, […]