The James Bond Story (1999)
by Chris Hunt
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: George Lazenby, Michael G. Wilson, Roger Moore, Sean Connery, Tom MankiewiczDirector: Chris Hunt
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Anamorphic, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 52 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-04-25
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: Winstar
Movie Reviews of The James Bond Story (1999)
Movie Review: Story about a secret agent who likes his Martinis stirred and not shaken (or is that shaken and not stirred?)
Summary: 4 Stars
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This action-packed documentary is a behind-the-scenes look at everything that makes people like the James Bond or 007 movies. (For those into trivia, there was a 1954 James Bond TV episode and a 1956 Bond radio program.) It includes brief film clips (and a few longer clips that highlight dialogue) from all the 007 movies (meaning from 1962's "Dr. No," the first Bond movie to 1999's "The World is Not Enough," the last Bond movie that was still in production as this documentary was being made).
There are ten scenes in this brief documentary covering everything from the origins of the series, sex and girls, violence, gadgets to the five actors who up to 1999 portrayed James Bond, locations, Ian Fleming (the author who created 007 in 1952), and the predicted future of the movie series.
The initial interviews with the five Bond actors (Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan) as well as their comments throughout are, I found, very interesting. Be aware that at the beginning Connery mentions that there were a total of 20 Bond movies made. But as the documentary proceeds it shows printed on screen how many Bond movies each of these actors made. Respectively, these are {6,1,7,2,and 3 (as of 1999)}. The total is 19. Why the difference in totals?
The difference is due to the fact that Connery is including the movie titled "Never Say Never Again" (1983) in which he starred as Bond. However, the documentary is counting only those Bond movies made by `EON Productions' and "Never Say Never Again" was a non-EON production. Unfortunately, this fact is not mentioned by the narrator (actress Miranda Richardson) and this may cause confusion for some. (Another piece of trivia--there was a 1967 comic Bond movie made that was a non-EON production.)
Besides comments made by the Bond actors, there are also comments made by others involved with some of the Bond movies such as directors and producers. Comments are also made by "Bond girls" such as Maud Adams and Jane Seymour. (You will also see other Bond girls in brief film clips that are shown.) There is excellent archival footage of Ian Fleming and his James Bond writings. I also enjoyed the interviews with the Bond "gadget man" named "Q" (the late Desmond Llewelyn--who was in, count them, 17 Bond movies). These are some highlights. Much more interesting stuff is included.
The last scene of this documentary is called "The Furture" where the future of the James Bond movie series is discussed. It was predicted that Brosnan would make one more Bond movie and, as is known now, he did in 2002 (bringing the total EON Bond productions to 20). After that, they felt sure the series would continue. This documentary was right again! We now have a sixth James Bond portrayed by actor Daniel Craig who made his first Bond movie in 2006 (bringing the total EON Bond productions to 21 as of the date of this review).
I did have some minor problems with this documentary:
(1) I feel that, as discussed above, it should have been mentioned that the official Bond movies for this documentary were those made by EON productions. By not doing so, confusion in movie count was created.
(2) This documentary implies that all Bond movies were based on the writings of Ian Fleming. This is untrue. After Fleming died in 1964, there were other writers that took up the Bond saga and on whose writing some movies are based.
(3) On the DVD front case for this documentary (displayed above by Amazon), it says as of 1999, that there are "5 bonds; 19 films; over 30 years." The first two facts are correct. However, this documentary goes to 1999 so it would be more accurate if it read "over 35 years."
There is one major problem with this documentary. It does not discuss anything about the unique Bond theme music. This music is an essential ingredient of all the EON Bond movies. I thought this was a major oversight.
Finally, the DVD itself (the one released in 2000) is perfect in picture and sound quality. I found that some of the scene selections did not match the sections in the documentary. There is also one major extra--a multiple-choice twenty-question interactive trivia game. I found this interesting and fun but did find that the dates following some Bond movie titles were incorrect.
In conclusion, despite some minor problems and one major problem, I found that this documentary is a good way to increase your "Bond, James Bond" I.Q.
(1999; 50 min; full screen with wide screen sections; made for TV)
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Summary of The James Bond Story (1999)
Has it really been decades since the first James Bond film? Over the course of 19 films and 5 Bonds, the beloved film spy has evolved to keep up with the times, but James Bond is at heart still the same suave, urbane tough guy that Sean Connery established in 1962's Dr. No. The James Bond Story traces the development of the character, interviewing Bond leading ladies Maud Adams and Jane Seymour and Bond actors Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, and Pierce Brosnan and exploring the ups and downs of the filmic franchise over the years. Also, director Terence Young, producer Cubby Broccoli, and, of course, Ian Fleming follow the progression of the Bond character from its first onscreen realization through the 2000-model Bond. There's lip service paid to his progress from a womanizing, Martini-swilling Neanderthal in a tux to a somewhat more politically correct man, and the traditional Bond killing gadgets get treatment as well (complete with outtakes and flubs). This is just the thing for Bond fans and of the spy genre in general; an affectionate look at 40 years worth of James Bond. --Jerry RenshawDocumentary DVD Video
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