Anticipating Quantum of Solace

With the world premiere of Quantum of Solace taking place last night, anticipation for the new James Bond film is at fever pitch. Fans in the UK will have their curiosity satisfied shortly as the new film is released there tomorrow. As for South Africa, we will be waiting an extra three weeks for the new Bond.

So what are my expectations and hopes for Quantum of Solace? As far as the plot goes, I have tried to avoid spoilers and at this point know very little apart from the fact that Bond is going after the organisation that was behind Le Chiffre in Casino Royale.

I have also heard that the film is the shortest Bond film ever, clocking in at just 106 minutes. And having seen the amount of action in the trailer I am a little concerned that there will be too much action and not enough plot. Still, from what I have gathered about the director, he should make it interesting character and story-wise.

I have also had a listen to David Arnold’s score, and while not sounding very Bondian in the traditional sense, as there are only a few subtle interpolations of the James Bond Theme, it refers to the themes from the Casino Royale score which I enjoyed very much.

I am greatly looking forward to seeing where Daniel Craig takes the Bond character in his second film. His first performance was fantastic and showed great potential to possibly be the best Bond ever. If he can consistently perform as well as he did in Casino Royale, then this might just happen! Roll on 21 November!

007 Profile #3 - Roger Moore

The third actor to portray James Bond in the official film series was Roger Moore, who made his debut is 1973’s Live And Let Die. Currently, he has appeared in the highest number of official films – 7.

Moore attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1945, where one of his classmates was future Miss Moneypenny, Lois Maxwell. Moore was contracted to MGM in the 1950s, but it was not until he began to appear in television that he achieved success. His defining role was as Simon Templar in The Saint from 1961-1969. He also starred in The Persuaders with Tony Curtis. He appeared as James Bond on television in 1964, in a James Bond spoof sketch. Moore always looked young, even though he was older than Sean Connery - in his TV appearance, he looks almost boyish.

Moore’s turn as Bond came in 1973 after Sean Connery finally left the role of Bond. Moore’s performance was more light-hearted than Connery’s, and it was decided to have Roger Moore’s Bond avoid doing the famous things that Connery did. For example, in all his 7 Bond films, Moore is never seen ordering a vodka martini, shaken not stirred. Live And Let Die successfully launched Moore, and he returned in The Man With The Golden Gun.

After a brief hiatus, due in part to the departure of Harry Saltzman from the production team, Moore returned in The Spy Who Loved Me – widely regarded as Moore’s best Bond film. Moore also regards it as his best. Moonraker followed, taking Bond into space and beyond the limits of plausibility. For Your Eyes Only was a more serious, harder edged film which Moore handled surprisingly well. Octopussy continued the more serious trend, although it did have some very light-hearted moments.

In between his Bond films, Moore regularly appeared in other films, including several for former Bond director and editor, Peter Hunt. He also appeared in the memorable mercenary adventure, The Wild Geese, along with Richard Burton and Richard Harris.

At the age of 57, Moore made his final appearance as Bond in A View To A Kill. Many felt that Moore was too old by this stage. Indeed, Moore pointed out that the women he was portrayed as sleeping with were sometimes young enough to be his daughter! After retiring as Bond, the focus of Moore’s career has been as an ambassador for UNICEF, and in 2003 he was knighted for his humanitarian efforts.

Roger Moore’s portrayal of Bond has long divided opinions from fans. Some enjoy his tongue-in-cheek portrayal, while other find it too light. Moore was the first Bond that I saw (despite growing up in the Brosnan era), and for a long time he was my favourite. Now, I tend to enjoy the more serious Bond films, but I will always enjoy Moore’s Bonds for their sheer entertainment value.

The Director's Chair - Guy Hamilton

The second director of the James Bond film series was Guy Hamilton, who took over from Terence Young to direct the third Bond film, Goldfinger. Hamilton later returned to direct three more Bond films.

Guy Hamilton is one of my personal favourite Bond directors, not only for his 007 films, but also for his non-Bond work. Goldfinger is considered by many to be the definitive Bond film. It marks the first time in which gadgetry plays a major role in a Bond film, which the introduction of Bond’s gadget-laden Aston Martin DB5. The film was also more light-hearted in tone than the previous two films.

At the end of Goldfinger, Hamilton said that he felt drained of ideas and elected not to return as director of the next film. However, for the 7th Bond film, Diamonds Are Forever, Hamilton returned. He felt that he had had a sufficient break from Bond to come back refreshed. Diamonds Are Forever saw the return of Connery after a one-film hiatus, as well as a return to the tone of Goldfinger after the more serious On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. In fact, at one point, the villain was going to be Goldfinger’s twin brother which illustrates how the producer’s wanted to do another Goldfinger style film. The next film, Live And Let Die, saw the introduction of Roger Moore as James Bond. Hamilton returned to helm Moore’s debut, and increased the humour to another level in order to suit Moore’s lighter portrayal of Bond. The film was potentially controversial, featuring entirely black villains, as well as numerous racial caricatures, although on the whole these are handled well by Hamilton and the film is extremely enjoyable. Hamilton’s last Bond film was The Man With The Golden Gun, which was made in a similar tone to the previous film, although the production as a whole seems a little uninspired, although the villain is a true classic.

Beyond Bond, Hamilton directed many films which are amongst my favourites. Before he started directing his own films, he worked as an assistant director on such classics as The Third Man and The African Queen. His early films as director include An Inspector Calls and the classic prisoner of war drama, The Colditz Story. After directing Goldfinger, Hamilton was hired to direct another Harry Saltzman spy film, Funeral In Berlin, the sequel to the great The Ipcress File, starring Michael Caine as the working class cockney spy, Harry Palmer. Michael Caine described the experience as playing Harry Palmer while being directed by James Bond. He directed for Saltzman once again in 1969 with the World War II epic, Battle of Britain. He continued to show an aptitude for action-adventure films into the 1970s with Force 10 From Navarone, a film which I feel is vastly underrated. His last film was Try This One For Size, released in 1989.

Guy Hamilton’s body of work is very impressive, and includes some of my all-time favourites. His Bond movies were exciting and fast-paced, if a little over the top and silly at times. He will remain one of the most highly respected Bond directors.

Ian Fleming's Quantum of Solace

James Bond said: “I’ve always thought that if I ever married I would marry an air hostess.”

These are the opening words of Ian Fleming’s short story, Quantum of Solace. The story was originally published in 1960 as part of the short story anthology, For Your Eyes Only. The story is surely Fleming’s most unusual and unique, as it is not an espionage story, nor does Bond play much of a role in it. The tale is set at a dull dinner party hosted by the Governor of Bermuda. After dinner, the Governor tells Bond the story of a young man he knew, who fell in love with and married an air hostess. After she has an affair the relationship dissolves into one of bitterness and hate.

The title, Quantum of Solace, refers to a theory which the Governor calls the “Law of the Quantum of Solace”. This is that human relationships last only as long as a level of basic humanity exists between them. As Bond points out in the text, the phrase means “the amount of comfort”. Fleming’s departure in style with this story was apparently to emulate the famous writer, W. Somerset Maugham.

The 22nd James Bond film is also entitled Quantum of Solace, although only the title is being used for the film. The film is a direct sequel to the 2006 film of Casino Royale and is being released in the UK on 31 October 2008. To tie in with the film's release, Penguin have published the complete short stories of Ian Fleming under the title Quantum of Solace, which is available in both hardback and paperback.