From: bedford@asterix.gaul.csd.uwo.ca (Darryl Bedford)
Subject: a.f.j-b FAQ
Reply-To: bedford@asterix.gaul.csd.uwo.ca (Darryl Bedford)
Organization:  Universal Exports
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 14:50:09 GMT
Followup-To: alt.fan.james-bond
Keywords: bond faq


A really, really rough draft compiled from articles on
this newsgroup.  Not yet available on an FTP site.

Unfortunately, all of the good trivia questions have "scrolled
off" this server before I had the chance to save them.  I would
appreciate it if someone could mail me the ones they had saved
off.

Yes, I know there's gaping holes in the list of Bond-related
books.  I'd also like the names (and if possible, authors) of
the role playing game manuals.

I would also like to edit out personal opinions and stick to facts
but I haven't gotten around to that yet.

Contributions encouraged!  This is an evolving list.


Darryl




ALT.FAN.JAMES-BOND
FAQ List
November 18, 1992
------------------

Thanks go to the many contributors and to those
who have forwarded in the information in this file.



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INDEX
=====

 1. List of Bond Films
 2. Movie Summaries
 3. The John Barry Bond Scores
 4. Bond Books
 5. Ian Fleming Related Questions
 6. Future of Bond



==========================================================================


 1. List of Bond Films
----------------------

(supplied by Craig Webb)

 Here's the complete list of 007 features and release year:

 Dr. No (1962)
 From Russia With Love (1963)
 Goldfinger (1964)
 Thunderball (1965)
 You Only Live Twice (1967)
   Casino Royale (1967)
 On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
 Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
 Live And Let Die (1973)
 The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)
 The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
 Moonraker (1979)
 For Your Eyes Only (1981)
 Octopussy (1983)
   Never Say Never Again (1983)
 A View To A Kill (1985)
 The Living Daylights (1987)
 Licence To Kill (1989)




 2. Movie Summaries
-------------------

From: mawillia@eos.ncsu.edu (MICAH ANTHONY WILLIAMS)

(Note: opinions and ratings are those of the author.)



                           THE JAMES BOND 007 FILE (Ver 2.0)
                               Micah A. Williams

                        North Carolina State University
                               Computer Science


          THE FILMS


          DR. NO (1962) - Directed by Terence Young.  The first (official)
          Bond, and still a standout in the series.  Connery is a terrific
          embodiment of Ian Fleming's suave and deadly secret agent and
          Joseph Weismann turns in a superb performance as the title
          character. Ursula Andress is quite titillating as Honey Wilder,
          and Jack Lord makes a fine Felix Leiter. The dinner scene
          between Bond and Dr. No   is a fine example of the wit, humor,
          danger, and fine acting that made the first few Bond films quite
          sensational.  B+

          FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963)   - Directed by Terence Young.
          The most "serious" and realisitc of the Bond films,
          FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE is a gritty and suspenseful tale of espionage.
          Although the first gadget (The gas-spitting briefcase) from 
          Q branch is introduced in the film, it never bogs the script 
          down as much as the gadgets did in the later Moore films. Instead,
          the supporting cast enhances the film, making it a lean, solid,
          and well-paced effort. Loyetta Leyna and especially Robert Shaw
          shine as SPECTRE operatives, and John Barry provides his first of many
          impressive Bond scores.  This is really the only Bond film that
          can be called a true "spy thriller", and the integrity of this
          film remains constant even after repeated viewings. A class
          act. A
          
          
          GOLDFINGER (1964)  - Directed by Guy Hamilton.  007 at his
          best. This is perhaps the most memorable Bond film. Sean Connery
          is at his best, as are the writers  in this fast-paced and
          entertaining Bond film highlighted by a remarkable theme song
          (and John Barry's score as well), a great performance
          by Gert Frobe as Auric Goldfinger, and the usual elements that
          would go on to define the Bond formula: Beautiful Women, bizzare
          hencmen(namely OddJob), fast action, and top-notch production
          values. A template Bond movie if there ever was one. A-

          THUNDERBALL (1965)  - Directed by Terence Young.  The
          followup to Goldinger is somewhat uneven. About half of the film
          is on par with  Goldfinger and Connery's performance loses none
          of its sparkle, but the movie is marred with uninteresting
          underwater footage and a villian (Adolfo Celi) who just goes
          through the motions. Among the high-points are what is perhaps
          the best Pre-title sequence of the series, the scenes at the
          health club, Luzziani Pauzilli, who is steamy and riveting as
          SPECTRE assasin Fiona Volpe, and John Barry's score  - his best
          for the series, in my opinion. B+

          YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967)  - Directed by Lewis Gilbert. A sort
          of transitional film in the Bond series. It was the first of
          three "epic-in-scope" Bond films.(  The Spy Who Loved Me and
          Moonraker being the other two- all three films, coincidentaly,
          were directed by Lewis Gilbert). It was also the first
          screenplay without Richard Maibaum's name attached. Roland Dahl
          (The Witches) wrote the script, which uses almost nothing from
          Fleming's original novel - except for the character names and
          the Japanese locales. I also consider  You Only Live Twice to be
          the first film in the 'Blofeld trilogy' (You Only Live Twice, On
          Her Majesty's Secret Service  , and  Diamonds Are Forever ) The
          movie seems to lag a bit during Bond's travels through  Japan,
          but it's no-holds-barred, spectacular climax in Blofeld's hidden
          volcanic fortress redeems it. As for the first on-screen glimpse
          of Blofeld ---not what I expected. Donald Pleasance is a wimpy,
          shaky, personification of the slick, and devious SPECTRE
          mastermind.B

          ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969) - Directed by Peter Hunt.
          This film comes close to being the best of the series, but Sean
          Connery's absence is felt somewhat in George Lazenby's one and
          only performance as Bond. Don't get me wrong - Lazenby  wasn't
          bad.. in fact, had he continued to play Bond, he would have made
          a rather fine replacement,,but he's flat and neutral here.  But
          this by no means makes the film unwatchable. The rest of the
          movie is quite wonderful - except for a huge continuity error as
          Blofeld does not recognize Bond, after they came face to face in
          the previous film - this aside, the script is well written,
          following Fleming's book almost down to the tee (which is
          probably why they failed to recognize the continuity error.   On
          Her Majesty's Secret Service  was written right before  You Only
          Live Twice.),the characters are well-developed, and Peter Hunt's
          pacing is brisk - even though this is the longest Bond film
          (clocking in at about 2 hrs. 30 min.). Diana Rigg, as Bond's
          ill-fated bride, is the best Bond woman since       Goldfinger's
          Honor Blackmon - and would hold this title for quite  a while.
          Telly Savalas makes a much better Blofeld, John Barry's score is
          masterful, and the pre-title scene is elegantly-shot and
          memorable. Many people look this film over when they  learn that
          neither Connery nor Moore star in it.  To pass up        On Her
          Majesty's Secret Service would be the biggest mistake a Bond fan
          could make. A-

          DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971)    - Directed by Guy Hamilton.
          It hurts me somewhat to watch this film, because after a rugged,
          ruthless, pre-title sequence in which a vengence-driven Bond
          relentlessly pursues Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the movie turns into
          a light-hearted, Roger Moore-type Bond adventure. On the whole,
          it is entertaining, but a little painful to watch, since it is
          the last "official" Bond film to star Sean Connery. Connery is
          good here, though - and so is Charles Gray as Blofeld. The film
          introduces an intriguing concept of multiple Blofeld's acheived
          through plastic surgery - but it doesn't take it further than
          the great scene atop a Las Vegas hotel where Bond is confronted
          by two identical Blofelds (and two white pussies). Another nice,
          but once again campy, touch are the homosexual bad guys, Mr
          Wint and Mr.Kidd. Overall, an acceptable Bond adventure. B-

          LIVE AND LET DIE (1973) - Directed by Guy Hamilton. Roger Moore
          now takes over as 007, and this Bond effort is simply a
          big-budget blaxploitation picture. Yaphet Kotto is above-average
          as the film's villan, but otherwise this film has very few
          distinguishing characterisitics - aside from the hit title song
          sung by Paul McCartney.C+

          THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (1974)  - Directed by Guy Hamilton.
          A very unimpressive, uninteresting Bond film. The title song is
          pretty bad, as is the rest of the movie. It gets you wondering -
          what is this stuff?? It certainly isn't Bond. The  un-welcome
          cameo of the Lousiana sheriff from Live and Let Die reflects how
          low the series' quality was falling-  the action was getting
          reduced to a comical level, lacking the immediacy and sense of
          danger of the Connery films. Perhaps if they had stuck more to
          Fleming's original book, the film wouldn't have been such a
          mess. D+

          THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977)     - Directed by Lewis Gilbert.
          After The Man With The Golden Gun the producers knew they had to
          make a hit, or the Bond series would be dead in the water.
          Perhaps it was this pressure that made    The Spy Who Loved Me
          work. Roger Moore gets to cut loose as Bond. No longer expected
          to be Connery, he could put his own signature into the role. And
          so he did, and quite nicely this time around. Richard Kiel is
          introduced as Jaws, the steel-toothed villian, clearly in the
          tradition of  Goldfinger's irreplacable Odd-Job. Barbara Bach is
          beautiful, and somewhat appealing as Bond's love interest. The
          plot is almost a replica of You Only Live Twice, but this film's
          chases, special effects, and comedy make it an anti-Fleming, yet
          entertaining peice of escapism--enhanced by Marvin Hamlicsh's
          Oscar-Nominated score and a nice title song sung by Carly Simon.
          The movie also boasts an incredible and breathtaking stunt in
          its pre-title sequence that many movie critics (myself included)
          consider to be the best one-man stunt ever performed.B

          MOONRAKER (1979) - Directed by Lewis Gilbert. The Bond series
          jumped onto the space band-wagon following the success of   Star
          Wars - unfortunately.  Moonraker isn't entirely dismal.  John
          Barry's music is once again a plus and the villian, Drax (played
          by Michael Lonsdale), has some of the best 1-liners in the
          series("Take care of Mr. Bond. See to it that some harm comes to
          him."). Nonetheless, Moonraker is contrived and sloppy. Some of
          the scenes are just plain silly. Especially the climax in Drax's
          space station- an overt attempt to add some flashy space-action
          that has no business being in a Bond film(not in this century at
          least). Surprsingly though, these minuses didn't stop  Moonraker
          from becoming the highest-grossing film of the Bond series. C

          FOR YOUR EYES ONLY (1981) - Directed by John Glen. This welcome
          addition to the series is Roger Moore's best 007 outing-
          ironically because it was written in the Connery mold. It also
          marks the first film to be directed by John Glen, previously an
          editor of the Bond films.The plot is no longer an epic,
          save-the-world romp, but a medium-scale, balance-of-power
          preserving  mission that could be compared to   From Russia With
          Love. Moore can't quite handle the rugged touches of Bond that
          this film tries to get out of him, but he makes a worthy try.
          The villians this time are  more beleivable and accessible, and
          Bond's love interest  (Carole Boquet) is exotic and
          strong-willed. All in all, a good show, except for the terrible,
          out-of-place score by Bill Conti.B

          NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (1983)    - Directed by Irvin Kershner.
          This rogue Bond film is a  Thunderball remake whose only saving
          grace is Sean Connery and its supporting cast - especailly Klaus
          Maria Brandauer as Largo.B-

          OCTOPUSSY (1983) - Directed by John Glen. Another small triumph
          for Roger Moore. This is his last respectable Bond film, and it
          works out fairly well.   Octopussy sports an interesting plot,
          good action sequences , engaging (yet very fictional)
          characters, and a kick-ass pre-title sequence. A big deal is
          always made of Moore's "clown" sequence in the film and how it's
          symbolic of his impact on the series. In actuality, the clown
          scene is rather effecitve, as is a good portion of this
          underrated film. Octopussy is witty, dependable entertainment.B

          A VIEW TO A KILL (1985)   - Directed by John Glen. Atrocious.
          Roger Moore pokes around as Bond this time, and the movie
          doesn't help one bit. Part of the plot comes from     Superman -
          and there are peices of  Goldfinger amist as well.  Christopher
          Walken over-does his role as the villian Max Zorin, and Tanya
          Roberts'(as Bond's squeeze) acting is nearly abysmal.  Making
          May Day (Grace Jones), initially Bond's enemy, go  turn-coat at
          the end was corny and just plain stupid. This is the worst Bond
          film. Well..Ok, Duran Duran's title song was good.D

          THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS (1987)   - Directed by John Glen. Timothy
          Dalton's debut as Bond revitalizes the series, in this fairly
          competent Bond adventure. Dalton, a  100% improvement over
          Moore, is closer to the Fleming Bond than ever, and comes ohh-so
          close to matching Connery. He's tough, rugged, and dangerous
          (though lacking in charm just a bit) --  bringing back that much
          needed edge the series lacked for so long. (  For Your Eyes Only
          was nice try, though). Jaroeen Krabbe, Joe Don Baker, and Andrew
          Weinksi make appealing villians, but Mary'm D'abo as Bond's
          lady, is a little air-headed. The plot  is interesting , but
          pacing seems to be bit of a problem. Nevertheless,    The Living
          Daylights ushers Bond into a new age. B

          LICENCE TO KILL (1989) - Directed by John Glen.  Finally,
          Finally, Finally -- a Bond film that can be compared to the
          early Connery efforts and On Her Majesty's Secret Service . It's
          a shame that this Bond preformed below-average at the box
          office, for it deserves much more attention than it initially
          got. This is the most contemporary of all Bonds as it is
          literally out of today's headlines. The villian, portrayed with
          a suave and  icy resolve by Robert Davi, is a pock-faced
          Panamanian drug lord who kills Felix Lieter's wife shortly after
          their marraige, and feeds Felix himself to the sharks. (It's
          amazing how he survives.) Dalton comes full circle as Bond,
          giving him a determined and hard-boiled urgency as he seeks
          vengeance for Sanchez's (Davi)  injustice. Carey Lowell is the
          love interest and her gung-ho, just-as-good-as-any-man attitude
          plays off well against Bond's chauvinism. Desmond Lleywyn is
          delightful as the gadgetman Q, in his largest role ever in the
          series. Talia Soto, as Sanchez's woman, delivers her lines with
          a strangely appealing flatness, that makes her seem even more
          beautiful. The action scenes are thrilling, the characters are
          well  developed, the story is unnervingly beleivable (Although
          the climax goes a little over-the-top), the humor is wicked, and
          the villian is excellent. All this, mixed in with the usual
          amount of  gagetry, production values, and special effects expected
          in every Bond film makes for some solid entertainment.   Licence
          To Kill is the best Bond since  On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
          Bond enthusiasts had to wait 20 years for it, but     Licence To
          Kill is the Bond film we've all been waiting for. Let's just
          hope they can keep it up. B+


          NOTABLE PRE-CREDIT SEQUENCES

          What would a Bond film be without the initial fan-fare,
          gun-barrel tease, and an opening action scene to get an audience
          pumped up?  Here are the finest examples, listed from finest to
          least finest.

                                     THUNDERBALL (1965)
                           ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE (1969)
                                      OCTOPUSSY (1983)
                                DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971)
                                THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977)


           Honorable Mentions: MOONRAKER (1979), GOLDFINGER (1964)



 3. THE JOHN BARRY BOND SCORES
------------------------------


           John Barry, my third favorite film composer, taking a back seat
          only to John Williams and Jerry Goldsmith, has provided scores
          for 11 of the 16 "official" Bond films. Although the easily
          recognizable Bond theme was written by Monty Norman, it was
          Barry's scores that would later define the Bond sound. Marvin
          Hamlisch (The Spy Who Loved Me  ), Monty Norman ( Dr. No ), Bill
          Conti (For Your  Eyes Only ), George Martin ( Live And Let Die),
          and Michael Kamen ( Licence To Kill), aside, here are the John
          Barry  Bond scores, in order from best to worst.

          THUNDERBALL - A truly rich and masterful score as Barry utilizes
          the orchestra with finesse and detail..

          ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE   - There are some electronic
          peices here, but Barry uses them to good intent. The love theme
          is especially beautiful, and you'll find yourself humming the
          great main-title tune. A well-rounded, exciting score.

          MOONRAKER- No matter how mediocre the film may be, Barry's score
          here is captivating, majestic, and at times, quite beautiful.
          He even brings back his own 007 theme (in a brief action
          sequence), which hadn't been in any of the previous scores since
          Thunderball. This is not a score to be missed.


          GOLDFINGER- This movie has an unforgettable theme song, and
          Barry  incorporates it well into the score. On the whole, a very
          dynamic score This can be supported by the jazzy fanfare that
          plays during the films Miami opening after the main credits.

          YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE-This score can be both banal and thrillingly
          operatic at the same time. Half of it is pretty damn good -
          especially the "rocket-capture" scoring and the music while Bond
          is in Blofeld's volcano. But sometimes the score appears
          lifeless and dull. The reason I like this score, though, is that
          it is so unlike any of the others. It's epic in scope-like the
          movie. Hearing Barry's ensemble of strings and brass play in the
          brief scene where Bond is shot out of the submarine is
          exhilarating.

          FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE-Barry introduces his own brass-heavy Bond
          theme in this film.  This score and    You Only Live Twice   are
          pretty much tied.  Barry's work for this film is solid, and
          makes for some good listening.

          THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS -Barry's score here qutie nifty, as he is
          able to use synthesizers and drum machines in conjuction with
          the usual orchestral passages and keep it all under his unique
          musical signature.

          DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER-This score is average. Nothing particularly
          novel here or interesting here.


          A VIEW TO A KILL - The title song is good --- but the score ,
          while not bad, is nothing to brag about.

          OCTOPUSSY- There is very little original material here. Barry
          uses the Bond theme in a lot of cues, and it comes across as
          somewhat rushed.

          THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN   - As you can see, this film had
          almost no saving graces. The score reflects the movie.


          Many, if not all, of these soundtracks should be available on CD
          format.


-- 
                                                Micah A. Williams
                                                North Carolina State University
                                                Computer Science
                                                mawillia@eos.ncsu.edu
                                                willi-ma@aza.csc.ncsu.edu
                                                vega@garfield.catt.ncsu.edu


 4. Bond Books
--------------

Pearson, John.
    Unauthorized Biography of James Bond

Wood, Christopher. (based on movie versions)
    Moonraker
    The Spy who Loved Me 




 5. Ian Fleming Related Questions
---------------------------------

Q: Who was the ornithologist who wrote "Birds of the West Indies"?
A: James Bond.  Fleming wrote to the ornithologist to ask permission to use his
   name, offering in return permission to use the name "Ian Fleming"
   to describe any particularly ugly bird that Bond might discover.
   Gabe (nahigian@athena.mit.edu)



 6. Future of Bond
------------------

Q: Are there any Bond stories in the works?
A: petitc@nuge110.its.rpi.edu (Christopher Jon Petit) writes:
   I'm writing a Bond story right now---one that pulls all the other's "loose
   ends" together.  It involves a corporation trying to set up shop in the
   Ukraine, and is called "Into Darkness I Fly"