James Bond 007 Files

DVD / BLUE RAY 007 Movie Box Set

LIFE MAGAZINE 50 Year Retrospective

50 YEARS OF JAMES BOND

James Bond is the most famous fictional spy in the world. There are not many  people on the planet that haven't heard of him, and very few that have not seen  at least one James Bond film. Bond is a secret service agent with the code  number of 007 who lives in London and has been around for 50 years.

The character was created by Ian Fleming in 1953 that went on to write twelve  Bond novels and a couple of short stores before he died in 1964. Ian came from a  wealthy family with his father being a member of parliament. Ian was educated at  Eton and had a number of jobs before becoming a writer. He was a journalist and  naval intelligence officer. It was while he was in the British naval  intelligence during the Second World War, that he was involved in the planning  stages of a number of operations which gave him the background needed to write  convincing spy novels.

The name James Bond came from the American ornithologist with the same name.  Fleming was a keen birdwatcher and had a copy of the ornithologists James Bonds  guide 'Birds of the West Indies'. Fleming thought it was a masculine but simple  name perfect for his spy character.

Fleming wrote about a number of character traits which are still true to form  in recent stories and films. Bond had a serious love of cars, food and drink and  was a heavy smoker until the 80's when he quit. He was also a bit of a womaniser  and always got the ladies he wanted.

Over the years there have been a few James bond. Sir Sean Connery played the  agent from 1962 to 1983, then George Lazenby took over in 1969. From 1971 to  1985 my favourite Bond Sir Roger Moore did a stunning job. Next up was Timothy  Dalton from 1987 to 1989, next up was Pierce Brosnan from 1995 to2002. Currently  James Bond is being played by Daniel Craig and he has done since 2006. The  latest film Skyfall was the 23rd installment and has proved to be a box office  smash as it went straight to No 1 in 25 markets.

Gadgets have played a major part in the films over the years and they seemed  to take over at one point but now they are less featured. There have been some  great gadgets over the years including X-ray Glasses which were featured in 'The  world is not enough'. The spy hook and rocket pack was featured in 'Thunderball'  and a voice changer was in 'Diamonds are forever'. There were cigarette darts in  'You only live twice' and who can forget the steel teeth in 'The spy who loved  me', although I don't think these qualify as a gadget.

Music has always played a part in the James Bond films and has caused much  controversy over the years. Top musicians have been drafted in to record the  theme tune over the years and the song is pretty much guaranteed to be a number  1 hit.

Today fans of James Bond can go on tours around London and get an insight  into the British secret service as well as seeing some of the filming locations.  There are also lots of fan websites and communities which fans can join.

The popularity of James Bond looks set to continue. With filming technology  evolving, you can be sure that there will be plenty more Bond films with  spectacular special effects to draw in new audiences. Fans can look forward to  the next 50 years of Bond.

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