James Bond
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Bond is a fictional British spy created by Ian Fleming in 1953.
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[edit] History
[edit] 1950s-1960s
In 1953, Fleming wrote Casino Royale, the very first James Bond novel. The novel made a quite good amount of money, and he continued to write one James Bond novel each year until he died in 1963. In 1962 Albert. R. "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman started to produce the first James Bond film, Dr. No, starring Sean Connery as James Bond. The film became extremely popular, and they continued to make more Bond films. In the end of the 1960s Connery did not want to do any more Bond films, and many thought that Bond was now dead. In 1968, George Lazenby appeared in one film as the Bond character, but the film was not successful.
[edit] 1970s-1980s
In the 1970s, producers came up with the Live and Let Die movie, starring Roger Moore as Bond. The film became an enormous success. The series continued throughout the 1970s and 1980s with Roger Moore playing the role of Bond.
In the 1980s, Bond films were not as successful at the box office. Unlike the 1960s and 1970s, in the 1980s there were many other action films being produced that could compete with the Bond series.
After Moore left the role as Bond, he was replaced with Timothy Dalton in the late 1980s. Dalton tried to make a serious, "down to earth" Bond, closer to the Fleming novels. Fans did not like Dalton's interpretation of the Bond character, and the films made little money.
[edit] 1990s
The Cold War ended in 1991. Since Bond almost always fought Communists, many now thought that the Bond series of movies was finally dead.
In 1995, producers developed the Goldeneye movie, starring Pierce Brosnan as Bond. This film made the Bond character well-known in the 1990s.
[edit] 2000s
In 2002, the James Bond character was used in the 20th film, Die Another Day, the 40th anniversary of the films and the 50th anniversary since Fleming wrote his first Bond novel.
[edit] Films
No. | Title | Year | James Bond | U.S. Box Office Gross | Total Box Office Gross |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dr. No | 1962 | Sean Connery | $16,100,000 | $59,600,000 |
2 | From Russia with Love | 1963 | Sean Connery | $24,800,000 | $78,900,000 |
3 | Goldfinger | 1964 | Sean Connery | $51,100,000 | $124,900,000 |
4 | Thunderball | 1965 | Sean Connery | $63,600,000 | $141,200,000 |
5 | You Only Live Twice | 1967 | Sean Connery | $43,100,000 | $111,600,000 |
6 | On Her Majesty's Secret Service | 1969 | George Lazenby | $22,800,000 | $87,400,000 |
7 | Diamonds Are Forever | 1971 | Sean Connery | $43,800,000 | $116,000,000 |
8 | Live and Let Die | 1973 | Roger Moore | $35,400,000 | $161,800,000 |
9 | The Man with the Golden Gun | 1974 | Roger Moore | $21,000,000 | $97,600,000 |
10 | The Spy Who Loved Me | 1977 | Roger Moore | $46,800,000 | $185,400,000 |
11 | Moonraker | 1979 | Roger Moore | $70,300,000 | $210,300,000 |
12 | For Your Eyes Only | 1981 | Roger Moore | $54,800,000 | $195,300,000 |
13 | Octopussy | 1983 | Roger Moore | $67,900,000 | $187,500,000 |
14 | A View to a Kill | 1985 | Roger Moore | $50,300,000 | $152,400,000 |
15 | The Living Daylights | 1987 | Timothy Dalton | $51,200,000 | $191,200,000 |
16 | Licence to Kill | 1989 | Timothy Dalton | $34,700,000 | $156,200,000 |
17 | GoldenEye | 1995 | Pierce Brosnan | $106,400,000 | $353,400,000 |
18 | Tomorrow Never Dies | 1997 | Pierce Brosnan | $125,300,000 | $346,600,000 |
19 | The World Is Not Enough | 1999 | Pierce Brosnan | $126,900,000 | $390,000,000 |
20 | Die Another Day | 2002 | Pierce Brosnan | $160,900,000 | $456,000,000 |
21 | Casino Royale | 2006 | Daniel Craig |
The James Bond films were massive hits. However, there are two films classed as unofficial Bond films and not recognised as part of the series. The 1967 version of Casino Royale was a spoof, featuring "Jimmy Bond". Also, Never Say Never Again was not made by Albert R. Broccoli's production company, EON Productions.