Customer Reviews

The Essential Bond: The Authorized Guide to the World of 007

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Everyone knows that there have been 5 actors to play Bond in the movies (Sean, George, Roger, Timothy, and Pierce), but quick!

1) How many different actors have played Ernst Blofeld?
2) In how many movies does the evil organization SPECTRE appear?
3) Which is the only Bond film in which the character of M does not appear?
4) Who was the oldest Bond girl?
5) And who was the only actress to play a Bond girl in two different Bond movies?

If Bond trivia like this interests you, then this book is for you. If not, you might be interested in it anyways just for the overview of cultural history it provides. I bought this book in order to brush up on my Bond history, and while I was impressed with the breadth of knowledge represented therein, I was also dissappointed by the fact that some Bond movies are glossed over in setences (Never Say Never Again) or ignored completely (Die Another Day). Granted the former was "merely" a remake of 1965's Thunderball, and the latter presumably too recent, but it would be nice to have a complete Bond reference that was up to date. That said, here's what I liked: all the Bond films (excepting only the above) are discussed methodically and in chronological order. After a short introduction to each film and how it fits into Bond history (years between each film, searches for new Bonds, etc), the plot for each film is summarized, which is followed by character summaries for each of Bond's women, allies, villians, vehicles, and gadgets. The 6-10 pages on each movice (complete with great photos) then concludes in each case with comments on the music, marketing and merchandising, and box office sucess (or lack thereof). Multiply that formula by 19 movies (exempting the two above, of course), and throw in an introduction, dedication to Cubby (Albert Broccoli, who produced every Bond movie until the Pierce Brosnan era - he died in 1996) and a conclusion that pays homage to Ian Fleming (finally!), those who have worked behind the scenes on several Bond movies (from directors to stunt men) and various spoofs, and presto, instant book! The reviews for each movie are succinct, sometimes a bit too much so, but at least the book does include mentioning many of Bond's infamous one-liners, and the authors are candid in their assesments of the various characters and actors who played them, never afraid to lambast one or the other (or sometimes saying that while the part was well acted, no one could do justice to this pathetic role, for example). Handy as a ready resource for trivia fans, this book also provides an excellent (albeit incomplete) overview of Bond movie history.

Answers to the opening questions:
1) 4, in 5 different movies: Anthony Dawson in From Russia With Love and Thunderball, Donald Pleasance in You Only Live Twice, Telly Savalas in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and Charles Gray in Diamonds Are Forever
2) 6 - the five mentioned in #1 plus Dr. No.
3) For Your Eyes Only
4) Honor Blackman filmed Pussy Galore in Goldfinger at the age of 37
5) Maud Adams played the title role in Octopussy and Andrea Anders in The Man With the Golden Gun - no wonder those Bond girls all look the same!

This book got me hooked on the James Bond phenomenon. It goes into great detail about 007's villains, allies, gadgets, vehicles and of course, the women. It is witty and informative and looks at every film from Dr. No to Tomorrow Never Dies. The only criticisms are that the book omits minor characters and at times, the authors include too many of their own opinions which does not allow the reader to make their own mind up about the films. In summary, an excellent book worth the money with loads of colour pictures (some never seen before).

This book is the "official authorized guide" to the world of 007. It's just a pity that the authors are obviously not real Bond fans. The book casually glides past Fleming;s novels and the Bonds themselves and instead does a film-by-film recap. This would be nice were it not for the fact that you often get the sense that the authors were trying to divide Bond fans into 2 distinct camps rather than prasing the series as a whole. My personal tastes were also insulted as brilliant movies like "man With The Golden Gun" and "A View To A Kill" are slammed, mocked, and scorned, while later on they gush and sing the praises of the dull villain Carver from "Tomorrow Never Dies", and stop just short of calling George Lazenby the best Bond ever. I couldn't help getting a sense that this book was written to be deliberatley provocative and irritating, and really that's not what you want in a book called "The Essential Bond".

I don't have the most recent edition of this book, as there have been many. However, I did get a kick out of the reviewer called "The Rectifier" who posted a review in January, 2003 in which he claimed to be "astonished" that the character of Blofeld was not properly identified in the chapter for "For Your Eyes Only". If "The Rectifier" knew what all Bond fans did, he would realize that the character of Blofeld had been tied up in legal rights issues for years. Even in the film's credits, the character is not identified, nor is the actor who played him. The producers have long officially denied the character is Blofeld, even though the joke is that he is "coincidentally" a bald megalomaniac with a cat on his lap. Had they officially identified him as Blofeld, legal problems would have ensued.I wish old Blofeld would make a welcome return to the series, but it appears as though the legal battles will continue to keep him off screens for some time to come.

Everyone knows that there have been 5 actors to play Bond in the movies (Sean, George, Roger, Timothy, and Pierce), but quick!

1) How many different actors have played Ernst Blofeld?
2) In how many movies does the evil organization SPECTRE appear?
3) Which is the only Bond film in which the character of M does not appear?
4) Who was the oldest Bond girl?
5) And who was the only actress to play a Bond girl in two different Bond movies?

If Bond trivia like this interests you, then this book is for you. If not, you might be interested in it anyways just for the overview of cultural history it provides. I bought this book in order to brush up on my Bond history, and while I was impressed with the breadth of knowledge represented therein, I was also dissappointed by the fact that some Bond movies are glossed over in setences (Never Say Never Again) or ignored completely (Die Another Day). Granted the former was "merely" a remake of 1965's Thunderball, and the latter presumably too recent, but it would be nice to have a complete Bond reference that was up to date. That said, here's what I liked: all the Bond films (excepting only the above) are discussed methodically and in chronological order. After a short introduction to each film and how it fits into Bond history (years between each film, searches for new Bonds, etc), the plot for each film is summarized, which is followed by character summaries for each of Bond's women, allies, villians, vehicles, and gadgets. The 6-10 pages on each movice (complete with great photos) then concludes in each case with comments on the music, marketing and merchandising, and box office sucess (or lack thereof). Multiply that formula by 19 movies (exempting the two above, of course), and throw in an introduction, dedication to Cubby (Albert Broccoli, who produced every Bond movie until the Pierce Brosnan era - he died in 1996) and a conclusion that pays homage to Ian Fleming (finally!), those who have worked behind the scenes on several Bond movies (from directors to stunt men) and various spoofs, and presto, instant book! The reviews for each movie are succinct, sometimes a bit too much so, but at least the book does include mentioning many of Bond's infamous one-liners, and the authors are candid in their assesments of the various characters and actors who played them, never afraid to lambast one or the other (or sometimes saying that while the part was well acted, no one could do justice to this pathetic role, for example). Handy as a ready resource for trivia fans, this book also provides an excellent (albeit incomplete) overview of Bond movie history.

Answers to the opening questions:
1) 4, in 5 different movies: Anthony Dawson in From Russia With Love and Thunderball, Donald Pleasance in You Only Live Twice, Telly Savalas in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and Charles Gray in Diamonds Are Forever
2) 6 - the five mentioned in #1 plus Dr. No.
3) For Your Eyes Only
4) Honor Blackman filmed Pussy Galore in Goldfinger at the age of 37
5) Maud Adams played the title role in Octopussy and Andrea Anders in The Man With the Golden Gun - no wonder those Bond girls all look the same!

"The Essential Bond" is extremely well researched and very informative. It provides detailed information on the assignment, 007's women, 007's villains, 007's allies, vehicles, gagets & weapons, music, marketing & merchandising, and the box office in every Bond film from Dr. No to Tomrrow Never Dies. It also includes a short but sweet foreword, tribute to Albert R. Broccoli or "Cubby", a chapter devoted to the literary 007, the James Bond family, 007 and popular culture, the other James Bonds, and the 007 phnomenon. Over all this is a extremely informative book that is a must have for any Bond fan.

This book gives a terrific look at the details of each James Bond movie. It's a fantastic reference source and should be required reading for any fan of the greatest secret agent ever.

This is a fairly comprehensive volume that will make most Bond fans happy. However, as an "authorized" history, it's missing an objective voice. It would have been nice to read some meaningful criticism of some of the dreadful flicks.

This book, though attractive looking is substantially lacking in substance. It is very subjective in its approach. The inside photos and cover are good but the text should have been more informative from a filmmaking perspective.

I did want to get this book, simply because it does contain the BASICS to all the Bond movies up to THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH. It covers plots, characters, women, gadgets, etc.

It's rather rote with the facts, and there are a few inconsistencies (Fleming himself was a tad guilty in that respect), so it's not a real big deal...the genre and the "legend" does (and will) live on.

I found the movie "tie-ins" products the most intriguing, as I remember buying some of those when they first came out (wish I still had them too). Heck, I practically grew up with James Bond.

While you might not agree with the author's point of view in some cases, you will still find this volume a good study in not only the basic facts & figures of each movie, but production tidbits, revenue returned on each movie, and the like.

ALthough I wouldn't pay the full retail price for this, when it's at a SALE price...it's a darn good bargain!