James Bond is back with "Skyfall," and the earlier reviews are as strong as one of 007's signature martinis.
"'Skyfall' is a great British bulldog of a movie," wrote Kate Muir from The Times of London. "From the moment the orchestral sound of Adele belts out, sending a nostalgic shiver down the audience’s collective spine, we know this will be a triumphant return to classic Bond."
Directed by Sam Mendes, an Oscar winner for "American Beauty," "Skyfall" premieres in the U.K. starting on Oct. 23, meaning members of the British press -- and those American critics lucky enough to spy the film as well -- had the chance to review the 23rd Bond feature before anyone else. ("Skyfall" is out in the U.S. on Nov. 9.)
In his write up of the "Skyfall" premiere for The Daily Mail, famed columnist Baz Bamigboye quoted Bond historian Graham Rye...
"'Skyfall' is a great British bulldog of a movie," wrote Kate Muir from The Times of London. "From the moment the orchestral sound of Adele belts out, sending a nostalgic shiver down the audience’s collective spine, we know this will be a triumphant return to classic Bond."
Directed by Sam Mendes, an Oscar winner for "American Beauty," "Skyfall" premieres in the U.K. starting on Oct. 23, meaning members of the British press -- and those American critics lucky enough to spy the film as well -- had the chance to review the 23rd Bond feature before anyone else. ("Skyfall" is out in the U.S. on Nov. 9.)
In his write up of the "Skyfall" premiere for The Daily Mail, famed columnist Baz Bamigboye quoted Bond historian Graham Rye...
- 10/13/2012
- by The Huffington Post
- Huffington Post
The plot thickens: we're now told that Jerry Goldsmith's score for The Last Hard Men also incorporated some of his work from the 1965 spy movie Morituri! Graham Rye's letter regarding Jerry Goldsmith's score for 100 Rifles which was recycled for The Last Hard Men, has drawn a number of comments from readers, some of whom have shed some light on the mystery of why such a revered composer might want to use a previous score in a new movie:
Hi Lee
Well Graham is both correct and incorrect about the soundtrack for the above. The story of The Last Hard Men score is that a score by Leonard Rosenman was rejected and, whether due to time constraints or cost, Fox simply chose to track the movie with cues from three Jerry Goldsmith Fox westerns (100 Rifles, Rio Conchos and the remake of Stagecoach) and also his score for the thriller Morituri.
Hi Lee
Well Graham is both correct and incorrect about the soundtrack for the above. The story of The Last Hard Men score is that a score by Leonard Rosenman was rejected and, whether due to time constraints or cost, Fox simply chose to track the movie with cues from three Jerry Goldsmith Fox westerns (100 Rifles, Rio Conchos and the remake of Stagecoach) and also his score for the thriller Morituri.
- 3/2/2009
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Issue #4 covers the filming of 100 Rifles in our tribute Jim Brown: The First Black Action Hero. Here, big Jim gets up close and personal with Raquel Welch in their groundbreaking love scene. Following our recent reference to the 1976 western The Last Hard Men, Graham Rye wrote to tell us that Jerry Goldsmith's score for the film was primarily lifted from his earlier work on 100 Rifles.
See if you agree with Graham's observations:
"It was more or less the same score, slightly differently arranged, but the main them was the same. I remember from when I originally saw The Last Hard Men in the cinema. As I sat watching it, I thought, "Blimey, he's used the same score from 100 Rifles (a score I particularly enjoyed in 1969) - crafty bugger!" I had a LeRoy Holmes LP that covered a number of western themes, one of which was 100 Rifles. I think...
See if you agree with Graham's observations:
"It was more or less the same score, slightly differently arranged, but the main them was the same. I remember from when I originally saw The Last Hard Men in the cinema. As I sat watching it, I thought, "Blimey, he's used the same score from 100 Rifles (a score I particularly enjoyed in 1969) - crafty bugger!" I had a LeRoy Holmes LP that covered a number of western themes, one of which was 100 Rifles. I think...
- 3/1/2009
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Excited about seeing Quantum of Solace? Silly question. Okay, I’ll re-phrase it: How excited are you about seeing Quantum of Solace? As excited as you were about Casino Royale two years ago or maybe you prefer vintage Bond to the modern MI6 agent? Now that he’s storming into cinemas everywhere this weekend, fans of the super-spy have been quizzed about their favourite ingredients in the 007 arsenal and it’s good news for Sean Connery, Ursula Andress and thigh-crushers.
Scottish smoothie Sir Sean who flaunted his double-0 status in five outings from 1962’s Dr. No to Diamonds are Forever nearly a decade later was voted the ultimate James Bond, winning nearly half of the votes. Current star Daniel Craig placed second with 25-per-cent of votes, despite only having been seen in Casino Royale at the time of voting. In this ideal line-up, Connery’s Bond would star opposite Ursula Andress...
Scottish smoothie Sir Sean who flaunted his double-0 status in five outings from 1962’s Dr. No to Diamonds are Forever nearly a decade later was voted the ultimate James Bond, winning nearly half of the votes. Current star Daniel Craig placed second with 25-per-cent of votes, despite only having been seen in Casino Royale at the time of voting. In this ideal line-up, Connery’s Bond would star opposite Ursula Andress...
- 10/28/2008
- Boxwish.com
Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster told The Independent that one of the most famous catchphrases in all of moviedom won't be heard from in the next 007 movie.
This is just an extension of doing away with tradition in the current direction of the Bond franchise. In Casino Royale, he's blond, there was no Q nor Miss Moneypenny loitering about, and as The Independent astutely points out, the dude drives a Ford for a few minutes.
Bond expert Graham Rye believes all the moves the filmmakers have made so far in reinventing the franchise are a lot closer to the Bond of Ian Fleming's creation.
"The Bond films had become tired and needed reinvigorating," he said. "Rather than going away from Fleming I think the producers have gone back to him."
Adds Rye wryly, "His announcing of himself had become a bit corny. Casino Royale gets back to the spirit of the books,...
This is just an extension of doing away with tradition in the current direction of the Bond franchise. In Casino Royale, he's blond, there was no Q nor Miss Moneypenny loitering about, and as The Independent astutely points out, the dude drives a Ford for a few minutes.
Bond expert Graham Rye believes all the moves the filmmakers have made so far in reinventing the franchise are a lot closer to the Bond of Ian Fleming's creation.
"The Bond films had become tired and needed reinvigorating," he said. "Rather than going away from Fleming I think the producers have gone back to him."
Adds Rye wryly, "His announcing of himself had become a bit corny. Casino Royale gets back to the spirit of the books,...
- 9/23/2008
- by Colin Boyd
- GetTheBigPicture.net
First Casino Royale drops the majority of all the silly gadgets and presents Bond girls with relatively normal names. And now we learn he also won't be uttering that famous catchphrase... "Bond, James Bond"? Not even "shaken not stirred"? What is going on here? Are they actually trying to make another good movie? "There was a 'Bond, James Bond' in the script," director, Marc Forster told The Independent. "There are several places where we shot it as well, but it never worked as we hoped. I just felt we should cut it out, and Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson [the film's producers] agreed, and Daniel [Craig, who plays Bond] agreed, too. It's nice to be open-minded about the Bond formula. You can always go back to them later on." The decision for Quantum of Solace to continue the excising of several Bond staples is a good one if you ask me. It continues to make the films feel fresh and new,...
- 9/22/2008
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Some of James Bond's leading ladies were inspired by the quirky names of farms in South East England, according to 007's leading historian.
Spurred on by a comment author Ian Fleming made about the names of his Bond girls when superfan Graham Rye was a child, the editor of 007Magazine.co.uk has spent years studying maps of Kent, where Fleming once lived.
As well as discovering Fleming used the county countryside, pubs and buildings as settings for Bond segments, Rye also discovered what his hero meant when he said, "I go out into Romney Marsh and hope to find one there," when asked how he created his heroines in a 1960s interview.
Rye says, "While this may sound rather fanciful, it was something that lingered in my memory from that day forward.
"Ian Fleming loved the Kent countryside... He purchased White Cliffs Cottage (in Dover) from his good friend Noel Coward."
Rye's investigation has led the 007 historian to believe Fleming's travels around his beloved Kent gave the author inspiration for characters like Miss Moneypenny and Honeychile Rider.
He adds, "Scrutinising the Ordnance Survey Maps of Kent... I was amazed to discover that on Romney Marsh there was in fact a Moneypenny Farm, a Honeychild Manor Farm (still a fully working arable farm with a dairy herd of 250 cows).
"And a few miles away near Rye, East Sussex was The Hammonds Country Hotel... The Hammonds (were) the married couple who acted as housekeepers for M, the head of British Intelligence and 007's chief.
"Suddenly I could picture Ian Fleming running an eyeglass over these Ordnance Survey maps of the area with a wry smile while looking for likely other input for his James Bond novels.
"Coincidentally, there's even a small village near Staple called Flemings!"
Rye has documented his findings in the latest online magazine.
Spurred on by a comment author Ian Fleming made about the names of his Bond girls when superfan Graham Rye was a child, the editor of 007Magazine.co.uk has spent years studying maps of Kent, where Fleming once lived.
As well as discovering Fleming used the county countryside, pubs and buildings as settings for Bond segments, Rye also discovered what his hero meant when he said, "I go out into Romney Marsh and hope to find one there," when asked how he created his heroines in a 1960s interview.
Rye says, "While this may sound rather fanciful, it was something that lingered in my memory from that day forward.
"Ian Fleming loved the Kent countryside... He purchased White Cliffs Cottage (in Dover) from his good friend Noel Coward."
Rye's investigation has led the 007 historian to believe Fleming's travels around his beloved Kent gave the author inspiration for characters like Miss Moneypenny and Honeychile Rider.
He adds, "Scrutinising the Ordnance Survey Maps of Kent... I was amazed to discover that on Romney Marsh there was in fact a Moneypenny Farm, a Honeychild Manor Farm (still a fully working arable farm with a dairy herd of 250 cows).
"And a few miles away near Rye, East Sussex was The Hammonds Country Hotel... The Hammonds (were) the married couple who acted as housekeepers for M, the head of British Intelligence and 007's chief.
"Suddenly I could picture Ian Fleming running an eyeglass over these Ordnance Survey maps of the area with a wry smile while looking for likely other input for his James Bond novels.
"Coincidentally, there's even a small village near Staple called Flemings!"
Rye has documented his findings in the latest online magazine.
- 6/24/2008
- WENN
A previously unseen photograph of James Bond star Sean Connery wearing nothing but his underwear has emerged after it was bought from a private collection.
The black and white snap shows the actor on the set of 1963 007 movie From Russia With Love wearing a pair of tight white underpants.
The picture was bought from a collector by Graham Rye, editor of Bond fanzine 007 magazine.
And he is glad to share the image with the public, publishing it for the first time since it was taken.
He says, "It's not the sort of picture you would expect to see of him (Connery), even then, and hopefully he will see this again and have a good laugh."...
The black and white snap shows the actor on the set of 1963 007 movie From Russia With Love wearing a pair of tight white underpants.
The picture was bought from a collector by Graham Rye, editor of Bond fanzine 007 magazine.
And he is glad to share the image with the public, publishing it for the first time since it was taken.
He says, "It's not the sort of picture you would expect to see of him (Connery), even then, and hopefully he will see this again and have a good laugh."...
- 4/28/2008
- WENN
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