He is one of the greatest heroes of the big screen and has been in Her Majesty’s Secret Service for almost 60 years: the British agent James Bond, also known as 007. Conceived as a fictional character by author Ian Fleming in 1952, James Bond is today one of the most successful and longest running film series . The first film starring Sean Connery was released in 1962 and was entitled “James Bond – 007 Chasing Dr. No”. Connery played the secret agent until 1967 and was brought back for another film after a hapless appearance by George Lazenby.
It was followed in 1973 by the Briton Roger Moore, who played James Bond a total of seven times – more often than any other actor. In the late eighties Timothy Dalton slipped into the role of James Bond in two films, followed by Pierce Brosnan and finally Daniel Craig. “No Time to Die” is the title of the fifth and final film with Craig, which was released at the end of September.
Updated edition of “The James Bond Archives”
To mark the occasion, Taschen Verlag has published an updated edition of its illustrated book “The James Bond Archives”. The compendium, which is around 650 pages long and weighs over six kilograms, is a gold mine for all 007 fans. Over 1000 images, including numerous previously unpublished still and set photos, secret memos and documents, provide a glimpse behind the scenes of the Bond films. All relevant actors have their say, it is shown how scenes are created that later look either effortless or spectacular on the screen.
In addition to the 25 Bond films, the two strips for which the production company Eon Productions Limited was not responsible are also discussed: the parody “Casino Royale” from 1967 and the 1983 film “Never Say Never” with Sean Connery as James Bond and Kim Basinger as a Bond girl.
The illustrated book “The James Bond Archives. ‘No Time To Die’-Edition” has been published by Taschen Verlag and costs 150 euros – a worthwhile investment in a piece of film history.