James Bond retrospective to feature in British Film Festival

By ELLIOT HEATH

One of the biggest film franchises of all time, the James Bond series, will get a retrospective screening at this year’s British Film Festival.

James Bond is a fictional Cold War-era operative created by Ian Fleming in his 1953 novel, Casino Royale.  He proved popular and Fleming featured him in an ongoing series of spy novels. Ten books and nine years later, in 1962, the first James Bond film was released, Dr No directed by Terence Young.

Decades later, the James Bond franchise now encompasses twenty-seven films. A total of thirteen different directors have worked on the films, some having directed two, three, or four film. John Glen has directed the most Bond films with five under his belt. The series has drawn approximately twenty billion dollars in box office revenue since it started, making it one of the highest-grossing movie franchises of all time.

The first ever man to play the character James Bond, was Scotsman Sean Connery, who was responsible for one of the most famous quotes in movie history:  “Bond. James Bond”. Connery is one of only seven actors who have played James Bond throughout the franchise’s history.

The other Bonds include, David Niven, Geroge Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig.

Speculation over the next Bond is well underway, with the news that Daniel Craig will no longer fill the role. Many pundits believe we could see a woman play the James Bond character for the first time,  however, the franchise has been very tight lipped over who the next Bond will be.

The famous James Bond theme was composed by Monty Norman in 1962 for the film, Dr No. Each movie also features its own theme song, with many popular hits being produced by the franchise over the years. The theme songs have been recorded by well-known artists including Frank Sinatra, Sheena Easton, Louis Armstrong, Duran Duran, Madonna, Paul McCartney, and more recently, artists such as Adele, Sam Smith, Alicia Keys, and Billie Eilish.

Many people believe Shirley Bassey’s classic Goldfinger theme song is still the best in the franchise’s history.

The Cunard British Film Festival will be holding a Bond retrospective, with seven separate double feature screenings to occur between the 19^th of October and 16^th of November over four different Sydney locations. The movies that will be screened are Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Live And Let Die, The Man With The Golden Gun, The Living Daylights, Licence To Kill, Goldeneye, The World Is Not Enough, Casino Royale, and Skyfall.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit: britishfilmfestival.com.au