Bond - The Films vs The Books

[Darren]

I've just seen the new Bond film, Die Another Day. It's typical of the later Bond films with lots of action, gadget, fast cars, beautiful women and corny one-liners.

Has anybody read Flemming's original books? I read The Man With The Golden Gun a while ago, and was quite shocked at how different the stories and characters are. The story is completely different, and even Bond has the feel of a different character.

Several authors have written Bond books, but of the couple I've read, they seem to be more in keeping with the movie Bond.

Darren.

 

[daveb75]

He's much nastier, isn't he, in the books? Some of the stories are really quite sadistic at times. And the product placement is amazing - I don't think anyone can complain about it in the films after reading Fleming's books!

Cheers,
David.

 

[Oberon]

As I understand it, Fleming wrote for travel magazines, even published a book of his articles on exotic locations, so he was among the first writers to do product placement as part of authenticating his stories. Stephen King is a master of the art and probably was influenced...

I have wondered if anyone would dare do remakes that tried to present the actual plots of the books? Other than From Russia With Love and Goldfinger, most of the movies depart radically from the novels. They would be almost entirely original! Period pieces, darker, and done for a more mature audience...

Naaaaahhhhhh!

O

 

[Ashlea]

My husband loves the Fleming books and thinks that Timothy Dalton is the best Bond b/c he most closely resembles the book character. I'm more of a Roger Moore girl myself.

I've picked through some of the books myself and a few that I've read have some serious misogynistic overtones.

 

[Martin]

There's only one Bond. Sean Connery!! I love that Scottish accent!

"Bond... Jamesh Bond"

Cheers, Martin

 

[Dalziel]

Goldfinger!
Best book!
Best film!
Best Bond!
Best Villain!
Best Hunchman!
Best Bond Girl (with a double entendre for a name)!

 

[eking]

I have not seen any film completely ....

 

[Sparhawk]

You have to keep in mind when the Bond books were written when you read them. Once you do that you can start to enjoy the books themselves as fun action spy books. I think that you learn more about who James bond is and what makes him James bond in the books than in the movies.

 

[Meadow337]

I am a fan of both, but I have to say that the movies must be viewed as an entirely separate beast to the books.

 

[Sparhawk]

True, the stories in the movies are so different from the books you kind of have to view them as new/different stories.

 

[sparkchaser]

I had no idea there was such a difference between the book and movies.

 

[Sparhawk]

Yes in many ways they are, in how the characters behave and in what order things happen. A lot of scenes were left out throughout the movies that were based on the books.

 

[Meadow337]

Apart from anything else Bond is a very different person in the books to the movies. In the books he is a East End thug who goes into the army and then gets recruited by Mi6 and taught all the refinements of a gentleman, but it's a thin veneer on top of very rough character. And he gets even tougher and amoral after the death of his wife in On Her Majesty's Secret Service

They have tried to get back to that rough Bond with the new series of Bond films with Daniel Craig.

 

[Sparhawk]

Just not very well

 

[Meadow337]

Just not very well

agreed