When we think of the meanest, deadliest James Bond, which of your favourite 007's come to mind?
As the famous film franchise turns 50 today, it is soft-spoken Pierce Brosnan who has totted up the highest number of kills of the six actors who have taken the iconic role.
Roger Moore and Sean Connery follow with 51 kills each, and Craig trails in fourth place with 25, despite his movies being oftenn described as grittier and more violent.
As well as proving himself most lethal, Brosnan brought the Bond series to its then highest box office takings in 1995 when he starred in Goldeneye.
His next two Bond films, Tomorrow Never Dies in 1997 and The World Is Not Enough in 1999, fell below the success of the first. That record was then smashed when Daniel Craig took the mantle in 2006 for Casino Royale, which made $594,239,066 at the Box Office.
Incredibly, Craig has only ever uttered the famous phrase: 'Bond. James Bond', once in all of his three films - which include Quantum of Solace and Skyfall.
Unsurprisingly, Roger Moore has said it far more than any other Bond - ten times over the course of his seven movies.
The most lethal Bond: Pierce Brosnan, pictured with Halle Berry in the 2002 film Die Another Day, killed 76 people during his four films
Lucky with the ladies: Roger Moore, pictured with Gloria Hendry in the 1973 film Live And Let Die, had the highest number of kisses with 20
Serial smoocher: Sean Connery, pictured as James Bond in the 1963 film From Russia With Love, had a total of 18 kisses in his six films
He also holds the record for the highest number of kisses with 20 onscreen clinches, closely followed by Connery with 18, and then Brosnan with 12.
Craig and Timothy Dalton both shared a measly four kisses with their various Bond girls while George Lazenby managed three in one and only Bond film - On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
The statistics correlated today for the 50th anniversary of the Bond films come just a few weeks before the latest installment Skyfall is set to hit big screens.
But while the movie is sure to be another success for the long-running franchise, a documentary released today shows it has had its ups and downs.
Everything or Nothing, the documentary directed by Stevan Riley that charts Bond’s passage through studio collapses, personality clashes and the end of the Cold War which could have spelled disaster for the series.
Instead it has adapted to the modern era with a female spymaster M, played by Judi Dench, and a tough and serious 007 in the form of Craig.
Successful: Daniel Craig, pictured with Eva Green in the 2006 film Casino Royale, has been a bit hit as Bond
Action packed: The latest Bond film Skyfall, starring Daniel Craig pictured fighting Ola Rapace, is due out in a few weeks
Constant reinvention has been one of the franchise’s greatest strengths, with six actors playing the role in the official Bond movies.
Asked what he thought was the key to Bond’s survival, producer Michael G. Wilson, the stepson of Broccoli who now co-produces the films, said it was the source material - Ian Fleming’s novels.
He said: 'It comes first of all from Fleming writing a character that has many aspects, so that when we turned them into film, different actors could take on different aspects of the character.
'And it’s really been our great fan base we’ve kept faith with over the years and they’ve kept coming back. It’s really the public that makes it more than anything else.'
Over five decades, EON Productions, formed by the central partnership of Albert 'Cubby' Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, has made 22 Bond movies which have amassed around $5 billion at the global box office.
George Lazenby, pictured left as James Bond getting married in the 1969 film On Her Majesty's Secret Service, replaced Sean Connery for one film before Connery returned to star in the 1983 film Never Say Never Again
Classic: Roger Moore pictured as Bond and Richard Kiel, right as Jaws, in the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me
Bond number four: Timothy Dalton and Maryam D'Abo in the 1987 film The Living Daylights
Happy anniversary: Roger Moore celebrates 50 years of the Bond film franchise with a book signing in Paris
THE FILM THAT STARTED IT ALL ... AND THAT IMAGE OF URSULA ANDRESS
Iconic: Ursula Andress famously emerged from the sea in her white bikini in Dr No
n 1958 Ian Fleming wrote the sixth book in his series of James Bond novels - It was called Dr No.
It was published on March 31 of that year, and four years later it spawned the franchise that is still going strong today.
For the big screen version, it was adapted by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood, and Berkely Mather and was directed by Terence Young.
The film was produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli, a partnership that would continue until 1975.
Perhaps the most memorable scene was Ursula Andress emerging from the sea in her white bikini in her role as Honey Ryder- spawning a poster that still adorns the rooms of students today.
A further legacy saw the sales of Fleming’s books rise sharply after the release of Dr. No and the subsequent Bond films. In the seven months after Dr. No was released, 1.5 million copies of the novel were sold.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2213363/James-Bond-50th-anniversary-Pierce-Brosnan-deadliest-Roger-Moore-kisses.html#ixzz28S09VTF0
No comments:
Post a Comment