James Bond - Characters, Actors, Movies and Gadget

James Bond is an English secret agent who was created by the British novelist Ian Fleming. The character of Bond became popular not only through Fleming’s books but through many movies. Bond, also known as agent 007, is an attractive man who likes women. Fleming introduced Bond in his first novel Casino Royale in 1953 .

Ian Fleming

Fleming was born in 1908 into a wealthy Scottish family. His grandfather was a banker who, after his death, left Ian’s family a fortune. After going to school at Eton he attended the military academy at Sandhurst, but he didn’t like it there and left without becoming an officer. He continued his education in the Austrian town of Kitzbühel , where nobody his real identity.

After coming back to Britain Fleming got a job as a journalist with the news agency Reuters and then went into banking. Both jobs did not please him very much, so in May 1939 he started working for the Foreign Office. There he became the assistant of one of Britain’s top spymasters.

During the last year of the war Fleming travelled to Jamaica to a naval conference. He fell in love with the island and built himself a house, which he called Goldeneye. For six years he travelled back and forth from Britain to Jamaica, where he spent the winter, met lovely women, and enjoyed the sunset.

He quit the Foreign Office and turned to writing. He spent his time developing the Bond character and leading the life that he desired. In the late 1950s Fleming started to suffer from bad health, probably because he was a heavy drinker and smoker. He died in 1964.

James Bond

James Bond is probably one of the most famous and longest running characters in film history. Since his first appearance in Dr. No (1962) the Queen’s number one spy has travelled to more places, romanced more women, escaped from more dangerous situations and saved the world more times than any other secret agent in history.

After the war he entered the British Secret Intelligence Service, known as MI6, where he became a “double-0” agent with a license to kill. His assignments have taken him to volcanic islands, India, Las Vegas and even a space station in orbit. He has charm, loves beautiful women, and likes martinis - shaken, not stirred-, fine suits and fast cars. Most of Bond’s missions bring him into contact with shadowy figures of the underworld.

Some of James Bond’s enemies

Dr. Julius No - an atomic scientist who lost both of his hands.
Auric Goldfinger – a smuggler who wants to obtain all the gold in the world.
Oddjob – Goldfinger’s henchman
Jaws – a strong man with steel teeth
Elliot Carver – a media mogul who wants to control the world

MI6 servants

M is the head of MI 6. In the first films M was a man but in the last ones Bond’s boss is a woman (played by Judy Dench). M finds Bond’s habits frustrating but respects his many talents and sends him on missions where all other agents have failed.
Q is the head of the service’s research centre. He develops the gadgets and weapons that often save Bond’s life.
Moneypenny is M’s personal secretary, known for her flirting encounters with Bond.

History of Bond films

Starting in 1962, Fleming’s novels have been made into successful films. All 22 of them have made a net profit of over $4 billion. Sean Connery was the first, and for many true followers of the series the best, Bond. He played the role in six movies from 1962 to 1971. George Lazenby took over the role for one film “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” , but gave it back to Connery for one more film.

From 1973 to 1985 Roger Moore portrayed Bond in more like a playboy way, with more humor and less determination than Connery. Timothy Dalton played James Bond in two movies and Pierce Brosnan starred in four movies from 1995 to 2002. Daniel Craig is the present Bond, starring in Casino Royal in 2006 and A Quantum of Solace in 2008.

Bond films always have the same ingredients: a lot of action, car chases, leaps from high mountains, gunfights and narrow escapes.

The selection of a Bond girl is almost as important as the choice of the main character himself. She is not only beautiful but also a woman that causes Bond great trouble when he finds himself attracted to her. Some of them are real villains while others have their own tragic background. Bond usually wins the girl but sometimes she betrays him and dies.

James Bond always drives in extravagant cars that have included an Aston Martin, a BMW Z3 and a Lotus Esprit. He also is the first to test MI5s latest inventions- deadly darts, watches that explode and special guns.

The Bond films

Movie	Year	Main actor
Dr. No	1962	Sean Connery
From Russia with Love	1963
Goldfinger	1964
Thunderball	1965
You Only Live Twice	1967
On Her Majesty’s Secret service	1969	George Lazenby
Diamonds are forever	1971	Sean Connery
Live and Let Die	1973	Roger Moore
The Man with the Golden Gun	1974
The Spy who loved me	1977
Moonraker	1979
For your Eyes Only	1981
Octopussy	1983
A View to Kill	1985
The Living daylights	1987	Timothy Dalton
License to Kill	1989
Golden Eye	1995	Pierce Brosnan
Tomorrow Never Dies	1997
The World is not Enough	1999
Die Another Day	2002
Casino Royale	2006	Daniel Craig
Quantum of Solace	2008

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Words

appearance = to show for the first time
assignment = job, mission
assistant = helper
betray = to be disloyal to someone who trusts you
billion =one thousand million
charm = something that you have that makes other people like you
chase = to go after someone or follow someone
create = make
dart = a pointed object that you throw or shoot as a weapon
desire = like
determination =to try to do something even when it is difficult
develop = design, make, plan
encounter =to meet, come across someone
enjoy = like
extravagant = something that is expensive and costs a lot of money
fail = opposite of succeed
followers = here: a real fan
Foreign Office = the British government department that is responsible for dealing with other countries
fortune = a lot of money
gadget = a small, cleverly made machine
habit = the things you normally do
head = boss
henchman = the helper of someone who also does criminal or illegal things for him
ingredient =the qualities you need to do something
introduce = show for the first time
invention =a machine or a tool that someone makes for the first time
leap = jump
license = if you are officially allowed to do something
mission = job
mogul = a businessman or –woman who has great power in a special industry
naval = having to do with the navy
net profit = the money that you get from something after all the expenses are paid
news agency = an organization that collects news and gives it to radio, TV or newspapers
novel = a long written story with fictional characters
novelist = a person who writes a novel
obtain = get
orbit = to go around something
please = like
popular = liked by a lot of people
portray = to be shown as
quit = stop working as
research = to study something and find out new things about it or develop something new
romance = to try to make someone love you
scientist =a person who is trained in science
secret = something that only few people know about
Secret Intelligence Service = British organization whose job it is to keep Britain safe from attack by enemies in the country
shadowy = unclear, mysterious
smuggler = someone who brings things illegally from one country to another
space station = a large spaceship that stays in orbit around the earth
spy = someone who has the job of finding out secret information about another country
spymaster = big and important spy
star = to have a leading role in a film
stir =to move water or another drink in a glass around with a spoon
suit =a set of clothes consisting of a jacket and trousers, normally made of the same material and in the same colour
villain = the main bad character in a film
wealthy = rich
weapon =something you use to attack someone with , like a knife, gun or bomb

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