Recipe for James Bond Thrillers

Today we talked about the recipe used when making a James Bond film like characteristics and effects.

James Bond is a fictional character name coded as 007 created from the writer Ian Fleming in 1953 who featured the character in 12 novels and 2 short stories, After Fleming's death in 1964 six other authors were authorised to write more James Bond novels. In the cinema world there has been 23 James Bond Films and 6  Bond actors.

Sean Connery 1st James Bond 

Roger Moore 3rd James Bond 

George Lazenby 2nd James Bond

Timothy Dalton 4th James Bond

Pierce Brosnan 5th James Bond 

Daniel Craig 6th James Bond

The first characteristic that is used in all James Bond films is hero this is the character we look up to, Men and boys want to be him Women and girls want to be with him and every time this role is chosen they have a characteristics they need to incorporate into the film.
Within Every James Bond film there are consistent aspects of the film that are in the following others for example they are (you can see the 6 James Bonds above, they do fit all these characteristics):

• A dashing, sexy, and heroic secret agent
• An eccentric Villain of equal/greater strength 
• A number of gorgeous women Bond will be with 
• Exotic locations and Plot Devices 
• Exciting stunt-driven action (often absurd as it is mostly unlikely)
• The John Barry music 
• A "pop song" that will promote the film  
• An opening action sequence 
• Bond being given his "mission" (this includes gadgets)
• Fights and Car chases 
• Bond being trapped 
• The final scene is normally on a island but this is where Bond overcomes the odds and triumphs

Analysing James Bond Openings

"The opening Scenes which are often eye-popping, stunt-driven action from the top shelf bottle of absurdity."

When looking at the following James Bond openings we have to take into account the quote above and how it applies the following James Bond openings.

Casino Royale

This is the opening to "Casino Royale" which is the first Novel but the 21st film made in 2006 played by the current actor playing James Bond, Daniel Craig.

The opening to "Casino Royale" has all of the characteristics of the quote above, first you see that this scene is set in a exotic setting which makes it eye-popping as it is not only a good use of setting but also the dramatic norm for example you see a house/cabin and then its torn down this is very eye-popping as you don't expect something like that to happen in a normal day or even in a normal action scene. This scene is "stunt driven action" as it is thrilling for example you have the chase scene on the Scaffolding and this is a good example of the absurdity because realistically it is not possible for this scene to happen and in that case making it absurd but also full fills the ideals of a thriller and a James Bond agent as we want James Bond to change the the attempts and beat  the enemy but also to do what his task asks of him.

Posters and Advertisement

Posters are used a lot in the advertisement of films, Casino Royale's posters have the theme of gambling for example the Dice and playing cards in the second picture which links into the title this represents and sells James bond to viewers and fans as when you think of a Casino you think of adventure and thrill   the use of "Casino Royale" being in gold also represents the richness and the bated gambling scheme which is undoubtably what the film is about.Also in the first picture the actor has his fist on his heart and a side of his body has a read light shining on it I believe that the hand in red signifies his heart which also plays into the idea of gambling and this suggests  that he is the king of hearts within playing card or just a man with loyalty.The use of red, black and white can also represent the casino aspect of the film but I also think it signifies the formality of James Bond and the charisma of James Bond and his role and to highlight the roles blatant manliness that is so attractive to the Fem fatale and female viewers.  

The spy who loved me
"The spy who loved me" is the 10th novel in the series and is also the 10th film played by Roger Moore and was made in 1997. The spy who loved me is another over the top opening scene as you will see it just tests all common sense. 

All the points above in the quote relate to the clip and the opening of this film, the opening a clip are indeed "eye-poping" as Roger Moore is in a bright yellow and red track suit which is used to draw our attention to him and to maybe make a contrast to him and the cabin the cabin is brown which is normally generalised with being boring and he is in Red and yellow that are both colours used to not only get your attention but can be construed as danger and warn you. As you can see in the clip from 0:33 onwards there is constant action and stunts, actions and stunts are designed to make you thrilled and excited for the character  for example the flip from the mountain clip and within James Bond films  the action is always absurd as you could imagine a normal person being able to do half of the stunts you see but this is also the reason these stunts are done in Bond films aim to take you out from the ordinary and aims to throw you into the extreme.

Posters and Advertisement

Posters are used a lot in the advertisement of films,The spy who loved me's Posters both integrate Danger and Seduction, on the left you have the later James Bond: Roger Moore with the gun and squinting this links with danger and a kind of seduction as he is obviously dangerous as he has a gun but the squinting makes him look mysterious and cryptic which can also be seductive to some people. The poster on the right is entirely seductive as its aim is to highlight the love interest in the film as red is identified as being an expressive colour and is normally expressed as love this is also supported by the woman on the poster being a Red haired lady it is sometimes said that women with Red hair are passionate, Also the Typography also suggests that there is going to be some form of seduction in the film or it can be perceived as a type of foreboding that maybe the cryptic spy will fall in love and be involved with a woman like the one on the poster.  

Skyfall
"Skyfall" is the most Current James Bond Film although it is not a novel on its own it was based on Ian Flemings James Bond's, "Skyfall" is the 23rd film that has been made in 2012 played by the current actor playing James Bond, Daniel Craig.
"Skyfall" delivers the incredible action we come to expect from a Bond Film.It also has a layer of character, depth and scope that the half-centurey series  has never seen before. Bond is more than just a comic book hero in this film.
Bond has always been about the same things, but now we also get a rich back story, In "Skyfall" Daniel Craig shatters the tongue-in-cheek stereotype, which has allowed many critics to believe and anoint "Skyfall" as the best James Bond film ever made.

I havent personally seen "Skyfall" or any James Bond film, but I haven't had the opportunity to not because I havent wanted to, I think they are very appealing and very interesting for everyone in any generation. "Skyfall" did very well by getting $1,108,348,855 in the Box office, On its opening weekend it earned $80.6 million in 25 different markets, which must mean it was very successful I think its success is due to it being a franchise and your need to watch all the James Bond films that come out  also I believe James Bond is a type of Escapism that everyone Craves that that is why it viewed because it acts as some adventure and action for all genders, ages and social groups overall it hasn't really got a target audience as it is interesting and thrilling for everyone.  

Title openings: Over the generation of Bond films
Over the generation of Bond films the title sequence grows more and more elaborate and relevant to the film, this highlights the development of James Bond films and the key themes of Bond which is the hint of danger and seduction.