Hop on the James Bondwagon

This Friday, the newest James Bond hits movie screens everywhere. Here's the theatrical trailer:



The buzz is extremely positive and loud. I'm just hopping on the bandwagon, as James Bond is a panel in our popular culture's fabric. Here's the art from the 1960's version:


The first Bond film I ever remember seeing in theaters was Moonraker, which is so camp by today's standards it's almost, nay,is very silly.



But my first Bond experience was the repeated airings in the early days of HBO of Live and Let Die. It is perhaps due to this early repeated exposure that it remains my favorite film in the series. That, and an awesome theme song.


Listen to all the 007 theme songs and see the movie posters here. Or "Live and Let Die" here. That one's the original by Wings. Thanks to Anablog for the tunes.

On a side note that I can't resist relaying, I once played a Bond villain of sorts in a performance in the quad at Occidental. Our dorm staged a skit in something of a Bond homage, with me in a green dress and wig, seated in a wheelchair, with large balloons placed under the dress to represent a gigantic bosom. I stroked a live cat, which lived in the room next to me, illegally, with the live-in girlfriend of a classmate, Doug Copely. I was in the role of Brigida Blofeld, the bond villain melded with our Dean of Students, Brigida Knauer.

The skit ended with our resident Sikh, Hardeep "Sherry" Thind, as the uber-Bond hero, with his hair unwound into a long-flowing mane, puncturing the balloons, which were the source of my "power". Apparently, it was quite a sight, as Sherry took several jabs at my balloon-bosoms with a blunt dagger, as I struggled mightily in the wheelchair to hold on to the cat, who was already freaked about being outside, but was doubly traumatized by the wild-haired and bearded Sikh gentleman making violent gestures and causing loud noises to erupt from my chest.

I believe Doug had "borrowed" the cat without asking his girlfriend, and that she was none too pleased when she found out later what had transpired with her precious feline. The scratch marks on my neck and shoulders did not console her, unfortunately.

Anyway, if that image isn't seared into your afternoon, enjoy this treat, courtesy of the film site Cinematical, which has accumulated every Bond trailer made going back to the poor quality of Dr. No, all the way up to the present. Check it out here.