Veteran film journalist Bill Desowitz chronicles the 50-year evolution of 007 on the big screen in James Bond Unmasked (Spies), featuring interviews with all six Bond actors. Now available on Amazon, this insightful book contextualizes the experience in a way that helps us fully understand and appreciate the contributions of each actor:
The effortless physicality of Sean Connery that launched a phenomenon and propelled the Scot to superstardom; the swaggering, one-off by Aussie George Lazenby, who nonetheless put a human face on Bond; the fun absurdity of Roger Moore, who’s had the longest reign; the Shakespearean-trained Timothy Dalton, who brought Bond back to reality; the neo-classical Pierce Brosnan, who was confronted with a changing world; and the post-modern Daniel Craig, who’s come full circle back to the gritty humanity of Fleming.
What’s it like being part of this League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? How is each Bond different yet the same? “An elegant orgy of all things Bond,” asserts William Joyce (director of the Oscar-winning animated short, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore) in his advance praise. “As essential, cool, and satisfying as one of Mr. Bond’s martinis.”
Desowitz is owner of the Immersed in Movies blog (www.billdesowitz.com) and a columnist for the Thompson on Hollywood blog at Indiewire. He has contributed to The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, and Variety, among others.
For more info or to order a copy, go to: www.jamesbondunmasked.com.
