James Bond
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James Bond is a fictional British spy created by Ian Fleming in 1953.
[edit] History
In 1953, Fleming wrote Casino Royale, the very first James Bond novel. The novel made a quite good amount of money, and he continued to write one James Bond novel each year until he died in 1963. In 1962 Albert. R. "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman started to produce the first James Bond film, Dr. No, starring Sean Connery as James Bond. The film became extremely popular, and they continued to make more Bond films.
In the end of the 1960s Connery did not want to do any more films, and many thought that Bond was now dead. But after one less popular film starring George Lazenby as Bond, they came up with Live and Let Die, starring Roger Moore as Bond. The film became an enormous success. The series continued throughout the 70s and 80s.
In the 80s things were starting to go bad. Unlike the 60s and 70s, many other films were produced that could compete with the Bond series. With Moore leaving the role as Bond, being replaced with Timothy Dalton, things went even worse. Dalton tried to make a serious, "down to earth" Bond, closer to the Fleming novels. This the fans was not ready for, and the films made little money.
As if all this was not enough, the Cold War ended in 1991, and since Bond almost always fought Communists, many now thought that Bond was finally dead.
Luckily the producers came up with Goldeneye in 1995, starring Pierce Brosnan as Bond. This film saved Bond and made him more popular than ever before.
In 2002, James Bond celebrated his 20th film, Die Another Day, the 40th anniversary of the films and the 50th anniversary since Fleming wrote his first Bond novel.
[edit] Films
No. | Title | Year | James Bond | U.S. Box Office Gross | Total Box Office Gross |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dr. No | 1962 | Sean Connery | $16,100,000 | $59,600,000 |
2 | From Russia with Love | 1963 | Sean Connery | $24,800,000 | $78,900,000 |
3 | Goldfinger | 1964 | Sean Connery | $51,100,000 | $124,900,000 |
4 | Thunderball | 1965 | Sean Connery | $63,600,000 | $141,200,000 |
5 | You Only Live Twice | 1967 | Sean Connery | $43,100,000 | $111,600,000 |
6 | On Her Majesty's Secret Service | 1969 | George Lazenby | $22,800,000 | $87,400,000 |
7 | Diamonds Are Forever | 1971 | Sean Connery | $43,800,000 | $116,000,000 |
8 | Live and Let Die | 1973 | Roger Moore | $35,400,000 | $161,800,000 |
9 | The Man with the Golden Gun | 1974 | Roger Moore | $21,000,000 | $97,600,000 |
10 | The Spy Who Loved Me | 1977 | Roger Moore | $46,800,000 | $185,400,000 |
11 | Moonraker | 1979 | Roger Moore | $70,300,000 | $210,300,000 |
12 | For Your Eyes Only | 1981 | Roger Moore | $54,800,000 | $195,300,000 |
13 | Octopussy | 1983 | Roger Moore | $67,900,000 | $187,500,000 |
14 | A View to a Kill | 1985 | Roger Moore | $50,300,000 | $152,400,000 |
15 | The Living Daylights | 1987 | Timothy Dalton | $51,200,000 | $191,200,000 |
16 | Licence to Kill | 1989 | Timothy Dalton | $34,700,000 | $156,200,000 |
17 | GoldenEye | 1995 | Pierce Brosnan | $106,400,000 | $353,400,000 |
18 | Tomorrow Never Dies | 1997 | Pierce Brosnan | $125,300,000 | $346,600,000 |
19 | The World Is Not Enough | 1999 | Pierce Brosnan | $126,900,000 | $390,000,000 |
20 | Die Another Day | 2002 | Pierce Brosnan | $160,900,000 | $456,000,000 |
21 | Casino Royale | 2006 | Daniel Craig |
The James Bond films were massive hits. However, there are two films classed as unofficial Bond films and not recognised as part of the series. The 1967 version of Casino Royale was a spoof, featuring "Jimmy Bond". Also, Never Say Never Again was not made by Albert R. Broccoli's production company, EON Productions.
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