Book Description

The Bond films are the longest-running and the most financially successful movie franchise in the history of cinema and have entered popular culture. James Bond's answer to a request for his name, Bond, James Bond, topped a poll of the greatest film quotes of all time, and if you mention a Martini to anyone old enough to drink one, they're bound to come out with the immortal line shaken not stirred. From Dr No in 1962 through to Die Another Day in 2002, this film guide covers the 20 Bond films, 40 years of film-making and five actors in the starring role (six if you count David Niven in Casino Royale). Each film was a product of its time - Moonraker, for example, was made because of the success of Star Wars - and was influenced by whichever director was drafted in to move James Bond through his many assignments. This book is also the story of two eastern European immigrants, Saltzman and Broccoli, who acquired the rights to Ian Fleming's character of James Bond and built an empire out of the sexist spy. The guide includes categories such as source to screen, set peices and gadgets, and ongoing counters of on-screen deaths, martinis ordered and successful seductions.