Ian Fleming

Pazaz 21

Anybody here have an opinion on the JAMES BOND series by Ian Fleming ?

CJhaughey

I have to say I enjoy the novels much more than the cheesy and slightly rediculous movie adaptations.
The Bond character in the books is human with all the frailities that humans have.
Smoking Balkan cigarettes and drinking is all allowed not self censored and edited out

Pazaz 21

CJhaughey wrote:

I have to say I enjoy the novels much more than the cheesy and slightly rediculous movie adaptations.
The Bond character in the books is human with all the frailities that humans have.
Smoking Balkan cigarettes and drinking is all allowed not self censored and edited out

Exactley, in the movies he knows how to disarm nuclear weapons, fly a helicopter and can outrun a motorbike.

Unlike in the books ... In Moonraker (Book) bonds idea to distroy the rocket is to simply walk out into the rocket silo full of gas fumes and light a cigarette !!

He is human after all and that's what make's him such an incredible character / spy.

To see him go through the maze that Dr. No put him through, in the book of the same name, is heartbreaking.
The burning of flesh, the breaking of bones, the blood curdling screams and then the sweet feel of unconsiousness kicking in.
Now thats a guy going through hell, no time for a dry martini then !!!:D

Dades

The older movies were certainly truer than the new stuff.

I don't think the films would have had such success had they kept the tone of the books. Bond movies has always been family fun - not really something the books were. OHMSS went close to showing a Bond with emotions.

The PC stuff these days makes me fume.

Pazaz 21

The Atheist wrote:

I don't think the films would have had such success had they kept the tone of the books. Bond movies has always been family fun - not really something the books were.

The PC stuff these days makes me fume.

Fair Point, i suppose they might not have such a commercial success if they had stuck to the books. I hadn't really thought of it that way, i meant more of a " would people prefer a more original bond in a movie " kind of a thing, rather than " would they have been such a commerical success ".

Most people, including myself, got into James Bond by watching the Films as a kid, which i really enjoy.

The earlier ones are definetly better (from russia with love, Dr. No, Goldfinger, etc) and the newer ones are are definetly worse (Die another day),wwtt (what were they thinking)

Dades

Pazaz 21 wrote:

(Die another day),wwtt (what were they thinking)

Die Another Day was indeed a travesty.

Desmond Llewelyn said that of all the "Bonds" he worked with he thought Timothy Dalton would be the one closest to Ian Flemings creation. Shame he was only involved in a couple of forgettable 80s movies.

Pazaz 21

I gotta agree with you there, Timothy Dalton was pretty close the the james bond of the books, he had that kind of "love you one minute then shoot you in the head if you were in the way" look.

Excellent actor and he did a good job of showing that in The Living Daylights, which i think was a pretty good film, thanks in no small part to Daltons acting.

Who is your favourite bond ? ( I know everybody asks this question )

Nimrod's Son

I bought the entire series last Christmas but I haven't gotten around to reading any of them (mainly because I forgot). I'm not a huge fan of James Bond and only bought the series cos it was so cheap - A tenner and brand spanking new! I'll try to get round to reading Casino Royale after I get through all the other books waiting for me.

Dades

Pazaz 21 wrote:

Who is your favourite bond ? ( I know everybody asks this question )

I'm a big Lazenby fan. Whether that's because the one movies he stars in is my fav, I don't know. Always thought Dalton could have been one of the best too.

I read all the books too long ago, so no fav book comes to mind.

Pazaz 21

The Atheist wrote:

I'm a big Lazenby fan. Whether that's because the one movies he stars in is my fav, I don't know. Always thought Dalton could have been one of the best too.

I read all the books too long ago, so no fav book comes to mind.

Ya, Telly Savalas was the best Blofeld ever, he was a great baddie in that film, i also think that Diana Rigg (Tracy), was one of the best bond girls ever, well she was mrs. bond, for about 5 minutes anyway. Great film.

I gotta say i think Sean Connery was the best bond, mostly because the films he starred in were very close to the time when the books were set and reflect a lot of the style of the time, the Aston Martin DB5, the Jetpack, etc.