Born in 1930, Sean Connery was a relatively unknown actor, starring in smaller budget pictures like Disney's Darby O'Gill and the Little People in 1959, when he was chosen by producers Albert R Broccoli and Harry Saltzman as the protagonist James Bond for the big screen. In October 1962 audiences were able, many having read Fleming's novels, to determine whether the gamble of the producers on Connery would be a successful one. Dr No would prove to be a major motion picture release, determining Connery's return in From Russia With Love in 1963.
The Launch Of Bond Mania And The Bond Character
It was arguably not until Goldfinger (1964) and Thunderball (1965) that the screen persona of James Bond would become a cultural phenomenon with fans queuing for hours to see the latest release and escape into the Bond world for another 2 hours. Bond and the Beatles were the big crazes for the British public in the 1960s. When you saw the gun barrel on the screen and heard Monty Norman and John Barry’s collaborative James Bond theme bursting into life one could tell that they were watching something that had never been seen before in film history. Connery's Bond is agile, rugged and to the point. In his first outing in Dr No he waits for assassin Professor Dent (Anthony Dawson) in the dark, gun in hand, ready to kill him. He does so in cold blood, blowing the smoke from the gun cartridge when it is done.
Connery Says 'No' To More Bond
With the departure to outlandish sets and more maniacal villains in You Only Live Twice (1967) Connery felt that he was himself becoming a product of the 007 franchise and after shooting was completed on his 5th film in the space of 5 years, he announced to the media and to the Bond producers that he would be hanging up his Walther PPK. This would leave Broccoli and Saltzman with the uneviable task of casting 007 again. Connery would return in 1971 for Diamonds Are Forever after a four year break for one final official Bond film.
The Emergence Of Humour As Bond Creeps Into The Seventies
With Diamonds Are Forever Connery's Bond is no longer taken seriously by audiences. There is a great reliance on humour to elevate the story. The 'swinging' sixties became the even more liberal seventies and Bond as a mobile signifier of the zeitgeist would have to change with society. Fans had to prepare themselves for a new kind of Bond altogether in the form of Australian model George Lazenby in 1969 before Roger Moore would bring us his interpretation of Bond throughout the 1970s.
Author Sunil S.
The Launch Of Bond Mania And The Bond Character
It was arguably not until Goldfinger (1964) and Thunderball (1965) that the screen persona of James Bond would become a cultural phenomenon with fans queuing for hours to see the latest release and escape into the Bond world for another 2 hours. Bond and the Beatles were the big crazes for the British public in the 1960s. When you saw the gun barrel on the screen and heard Monty Norman and John Barry’s collaborative James Bond theme bursting into life one could tell that they were watching something that had never been seen before in film history. Connery's Bond is agile, rugged and to the point. In his first outing in Dr No he waits for assassin Professor Dent (Anthony Dawson) in the dark, gun in hand, ready to kill him. He does so in cold blood, blowing the smoke from the gun cartridge when it is done.
Connery Says 'No' To More Bond
With the departure to outlandish sets and more maniacal villains in You Only Live Twice (1967) Connery felt that he was himself becoming a product of the 007 franchise and after shooting was completed on his 5th film in the space of 5 years, he announced to the media and to the Bond producers that he would be hanging up his Walther PPK. This would leave Broccoli and Saltzman with the uneviable task of casting 007 again. Connery would return in 1971 for Diamonds Are Forever after a four year break for one final official Bond film.
Movie Review: You Only Live Twice (Sean Connery as James Bond)
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The Emergence Of Humour As Bond Creeps Into The Seventies
With Diamonds Are Forever Connery's Bond is no longer taken seriously by audiences. There is a great reliance on humour to elevate the story. The 'swinging' sixties became the even more liberal seventies and Bond as a mobile signifier of the zeitgeist would have to change with society. Fans had to prepare themselves for a new kind of Bond altogether in the form of Australian model George Lazenby in 1969 before Roger Moore would bring us his interpretation of Bond throughout the 1970s.
Author Sunil S.
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