Eternal hero

History of the movie Bondian

In the UK , the book "Such a hero was published: a wonderful story of the films about James Bond: Remarkable Story of James Bond Films ). Its authors are journalists and film critics Matthew Field and Aja Chaudri - the largest British experts on the history of the film Bondian.

Fild is a consultant of a series of documentaries about James Bond, one of the directors of The Ian Fleming Publications, which has the right to publish the literary heritage of the creator of the image of agent 007 Ian Fleming. Aja Chaudri is a film critic, the head of the international fan club James Bond, the editor of the club magazine. For almost twenty years, they collected material for a book in which all 26 films are commented on the unsinkable British supergraduate 007, starting with the Doctor of the Nou (1962) and ending with the “spectrum” (2015). In addition, the authors affect the history of the creation of the production company Eon Productions, which has the rights to film films about Bond, write in detail about the reasons for the huge commercial success of one of the most grandiose projects in the history of world cinema.

The history of the movie Bondian has 54 years. Over the age of half a century, the name of James Bond became a household name, and hundreds of millions of viewers around the world watched films about him. The saving world from the death of the hero, about which Field and Chaudri is written, has long become a cult brand. Films about him had a huge impact on the household culture of the United Kingdom: lifestyle, fashion, music, advertising, tourism, design, and the production of luxury items. Kinobondian had no less influence on film production, as it became the most successful commercial project in the history of cinema. The author of the seven books about James Bond, the writer and screenwriter of the films of Bondiana Charlie Higson in an interview with Radio Liberty explains the reason why the image of Bond became a cult for the British: “I think that Bond reflects our idea of who we, the British, want to be. His image is our message to the world about what we would like to appear in his eyes: elegant: elegant A gentleman with beautiful manners who know how to defeat evil and save the world. " Another researcher of Bondiana, Simon Windder, in the book "The Man who saved Britain" claims that the main reason for the fantastic success of the Bond image is that he has become a kind of psychotherapeutic tool for the British injured by the crash of the British Empire. Bond revived their faith in the power of the United Kingdom and self -confidence.

However, what explains the incredible popularity of the image of Bond and films about him outside the UK? The co -author of the book "Such a hero" Aja Chaudrei explains this in an interview with Radio Liberty.

In every new film, James Bond does not appear as an anachronism of the 60s, but a man of his time

- The popularity of James Bond can be explained by three reasons. First: his image is incredibly attractive: men want to become him, women - to be with him. In the dangerous and criminal world where he acts, Bond retains courage and incorruptible devotion to the country and the crown. In addition, his numerous abilities, knowledge and skills work for this attractiveness: how he drives Aston Martin, how he wears a suit, how skillfully understands weapons, wines, cocktails, prestigious brands. All this was in the books of Ian Fleming and passed into films. The second reason for popularity is the openness of the culture of other countries. Bond is an English gentleman, the embodiment of English, but traveling around the world, he speaks in the local language everywhere, understands and accepts local customs and culture, finds friends and friends. This makes him a favorite movie hero far beyond the borders of Britain. The third reason: the ability of films about Bond to appeal to the audience of different generations and ages - both young and elderly people find echoes of their own obvious and secret dreams and lusts in films about agent 007. Despite the fact that for 54 years of the existence of Kinolondiana, James Bond acted in various historical and political circumstances, the main, essential features of his personality were able to withstand the test of time. That is why the films about the adventures of agent 007, shot half a century ago, have not lost their attractiveness and look in our time as new.

- Nevertheless, James Bond, who had played six actors for fifty years, inevitably had to change the image, consistent with the individuality of these actors and the changing world: one thing is the Age of the Cold War, the other - the time of globalization and international terrorism. Can we talk about some evolution of the image of agent 007?

Fleming was a convinced anti -communist, but his anti -Soviet beliefs did not apply to the Russian people

- In the twelve novels and nine stories of Ian Fleming, who became the basis of the film Bondian, their author places his hero in the thick of the modern world, which is threatened with mortal danger. Fleming was a convinced anti -communist, but his anti -Soviet beliefs did not apply to the Russian people. He visited Russia and spoke Russian. James Bond was his alter ego and during the Cold War fought with the Soviet system. However, over time, Fleming is perspicacious - long before the fall of communism - switched his hero from the confrontation of communism to the fight against terrorism, or rather, with the international terrorist cartel spectrum. So the evolution of agent 007 was performed simultaneously with a change in the situation in the world and as the priorities in the work of the MI6 - the organization in which it serves. That is why in every new film James Bond does not appear to be an anachronism of the 60s, but a man of his time.

-You write in the book about the 14th film of Bondiana "The View of the Murder", in which Bond is played by Roger Moore. In this film, agent 007 is awarded the Order of Lenin by the Soviet government. What do you see the relationship between James Bond and Mid with the KGB?

- Bond’s relationship with the KGB underwent a noticeable evolution. In the early novels of Fleming and, accordingly, in the films made by them, James Bond was opposed by agents of the ominous Soviet organization Smersh. Fleming knew Russia and its people well and, in my opinion, was Russophile. The evolution of the Bond image consisted, in particular, also that gradually the attitude of the hero of Fleming to the Soviet Union, as well as the creators of the film Bondian, changed. Already somewhere in the middle of the epic about Bond, one could notice certain positive glimpses in relation to the absolute evil, which depicted the Soviet Union in Bond films. This trend has become especially noticeable with the advent of the head of the KGB on the screen of General Gogol, who favored Bond. The Order of Lenin Bond received, as it means in a decree on his award, "for heroism in the joint operation of the KGB and MI6 to prevent the destruction of the world computer center in Silicon Valley." The terrorist and former KGB agent Max Zorin intended to flood the valley, which would lead to huge victims. Do not forget that in the Soviet Union films about Bond were prohibited. But the "Murder View" was shot in 1985, when the so -called "perestroika" began in Russia. Political changes rushed in the air, and the rewarding of Bond no longer seemed implausible. In general, the history of Bond relations with the KGB can be described as a movement from a strict confrontation to restrained optimism.

“ In your book, you quote the producer of the film Bondian Michael Wilson, who compares Bond with two other fictional characters that became common areas, Sherlock Holmes and Batman.” Wilson believes that Bond, like them, has become a modern cultural hero. Do you agree with this?

Agent 007 has become an integral part of our life. And in this sense, he is often more living than real historical personalities

-James Bond has gone from a common character in pop culture to the classic hero of world cinema. Now he already lives outside the books of Fleming and Bondian films. I think that Wilson is right: in our time, Bond has turned into a cultural hero for many generations. Sherlock Holmes, Batman, Tarzan, James Bond gave rise to thousands of variants of his image and a whole cultural industry associated with their brand. Agent 007 has become an integral part of our life. And in this sense, he is often more living than real historical personalities. The most amazing thing in this image is its potential ability to cultural mimicry: like a chameleon, James Bond is able to accept the guise of that cultural environment, that civilization and that generation where his time and fate are thrown. It is difficult to predict what kind of James Bond can take in the future.

- I will give another quote from your book: "We have gone from the enthusiastic fans of Bond to the researchers of his identity." Does this mean that Bondiana has a certain philosophy or ideology?

Neither Bond nor his chefs considered the Russian people as an unconditional evil. They saw in him the victim of their own rulers

- In the book, Matthew Field and I note that the story of Bondiana has gone from the enthusiasm of the Bond fans to the revelations of the scientists studying him. Spectators around the world perceive films about Bond as easy entertainment with action elements. They watch these films, enjoy, and then stop thinking about them. However, if you retrospectively look at their content more attentively, then interesting historical and cultural signs of the era will be found. Given that this retrospective takes 54 years, it has a lot of information, interesting historians and culturalists. We are talking about problems that at different times bothered people, about geopolitics, lifestyle, technology, fashion, international contacts, prestigious brands of different periods of recent history. In addition, they reflect a wide panorama of the life of post -war and post -Persian Britain. A lot of scientific works have been published about the phenomenon of Bond, including the semiotic study of Umberto Eco. An interesting nuance of Russian-British relations also stems from these films: either Bond or his chefs turned out to be the Russian people as an unconditional evil. They saw in him the victim of their own rulers And the same sacrifice of international terrorists as the British and Americans were. All this may not be understood by a wide viewer, but attracts researchers. And if you look under the superficial layer of Bond's adventures, you will find a double bottom - a deeper and often not even planned by the director and screenwriter understanding the motivation of the hero of Bondiana. Another thing is whether the viewer will have a desire to delve into the underlying layer of the film.

- Initially, the films about Bond were shot from the novels and stories of Ian Fleming. However, over time, this plot source was exhausted, and the creators of the film Bondian involved new, original scenarios. Could you compare the first, so to speak, “classic”, films with Son Connery with the last films about Bond with Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig?

- First of all, it is necessary to dispel the most common idea that initially the novels about James Bond were supposedly almost copied in films about agent 007. Despite the similar names and names of the characters, the films were shot, as they say, “based on“ books of Fleming's books. The plot and the nature of the characters changed in them. For example, in one of the early films of Bondiana, “Live only twice” in 1967, the plot of the film has nothing to do with Fleming’s novel under the same name, and the main villain, the leader of the spectrum Ernst Stavro Blofeld is very different from his novel prototype. Even the first film about Bond "Doctor Nou" is not very similar to Fleming's novel. So "classic" films with Connery, like late films with Brosnan and Craig, included a new, original material and did not follow the plot of Fleming’s novels. In the era of Pierce Brosnan, the creators of the films almost completely moved away from the heritage of Fleming, using, however, sometimes related images and associations. So, the name of the first film with Brosnan "Golden Eye" is the name of the Fleming House on Jamaica, and the name of his other film, "And the whole world" is borrowed from the motto of James Bond. As for the qualitative comparison of early and late films, the technical quality of late films is clearly higher. However, their artistic quality is largely due to the time of their creation, the request of the audience of their time. So, over time, the humor inherent in early films in late films began to blacken, and episodes with action in later films using computer technology became virtuoso and more extreme. But in any case, Fleming’s novels were not so much staged as inspired by the creators of the film Bondian.

- The preface to your book was written by George Leisenby, who played Bond in the film "In the Secret Service of Her Majesty" in 1969. He compares his film with sustained wine, believing that he is not at all outdated. Do you think that the films made during the Cold War are not outdated in our time?

- When George Leisenby was so courteously compared "in the secret service of Her Majesty" with sustained wine, he, of course, had in mind not only his own, but all the films of the classic series. In this series, the first three films of Bondians are distinguished, shot during the lifetime of Fleming: “Doctor Nou”, “From Russia with Love” and “Goldfinger”. In my opinion, the talents and qualifications of the directors of the films that are reckoned today by the classic - Terents Yang, Guy Hamilton, John Glen - are in no way inferior to the products of Martin Campbell, Mark Forster or Sam Mendes who shot Brosnan and Craig. Sooner or later, the Ruayal Casino, like "007: the coordinates of Skyfall will also be recognized as classic. The early films of Bondians are in demand by the modern viewer, they are watching, DVD continue to be sold with them. I think that the films of the Cold War era have the property of turning into the classic category over time, however, this property is inherent in all Bondian films.

- In polls of moviegoers, the best performer of the role of Bond is invariably called Sean Connery. However, it is known that Ian Fleming did not approve Konneri's choice of agent 007. What confused him?

- They began making films about Bond in 1962, and Fleming's novel “Doctor Nou” was chosen for the first film. By this time, the novels of the creator of agent 007 were widely and very successfully sold around the world. Fleming wanted the actor playing Bond to look like him the image of the commander James Bond, an officer and a gentleman, one of the prototypes of which was his intelligence colleague Wilfred Dandermale. For this role, he forgave such actors such as David Niven or Stewart Granger. However, the low -budget film "Doctor Knou" could not afford such expenses, inviting stars. The choice fell on Sean Connery’s practically unlikely acting experience. Naturally, Fleming was outraged by his proletarian origin and image of a person far from his social environment. However, subsequently he changed his opinion about Connery, who, of course, resembled a little bond, but satisfied two features of this image: his Scottish origin and masculinity of character. And although Fleming did not arrange Connery as a hypostasis Bond, he recognized his huge role in ensuring the commercial success of the first two films of Bondiana. They met several times during the filming and made a favorable impression on each other. So, although Connery did not satisfy all the requirements of the creator of agent 007, ultimately Fleming recognized his huge success with the audience.

- You have dedicated individual chapters to the first producers of the movie Bondian Albert Brockoli and Harry Saltsman. Which of them we owe to the idea of creating a movie epic about agent 007?

- The idea of creating a movie epic about Bond, we owe Harry Salzman, who convinced Fleming to sell the rights to film novels. However, he needed a partner who could divide the financial burden and responsibility for the production of films, and he became Albert "Cabbie" Broaclori. Together they brought the hero of Fleming to the screen. Soon, Salzman left the business and in the mid-70s sold his assets in a joint enterprise Broccoli. Kabby was left alone. Eon Productions of the Eon Production, which he founded, still exists and continues to produce Bondian films. She still belongs to the Broccoli family. She is led by the daughter of the founder of Barbara Broccoli and his adopted son Michael Wilson. It is pointless, even incorrectly, in my opinion, to calculate which of the first two producers made more for the success of the film Bondian. One thing is obvious: without the joint efforts of Harry and Kabby, one of the most successful projects in the history of the cinema would not be implemented.

- And how do you evaluate the efforts of Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson to update the movie Bondian and their role in ensuring the huge commercial success of the latest films with Danel Craig?

- The role of Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson in creating films about Bond is difficult to overestimate. Wilson began his career in the cinema as an assistant to the foster father. Он активно участвует в создании фильмов и был соавтором пяти сценариев. Уилсон курирует техническую сторону производства, у него инженерное образование. Барбара Брокколи также начинала помощницей продюсера, пока в 1995 году не возглавила вместе со сводным братом EON Productions. Она ответственна за кастинг, музыку, титры, другие творческие аспекты кинопроизводства. Совместно они решают административные и финансовые проблемы, занимаются пиаром и подбором кадров. Их тандем – один из самых талантливых, креативных и опытных в современном кино по обе стороны Атлантики. Огромный успех кинобондианы – во многом их заслуга. Нужно отметить, что они участвуют в создании фильма от начала до конца. Их не назовешь продюсерами с дистанционным управлением.

– Появились слухи, что Дэниел Крейг якобы отказался сниматься в очередной серии бондианы, прописанной у него в контракте. Слухи эти крепнут, но сам Крейг эти слухи не опровергает...

– Сейчас, действительно, возникли слухи по поводу возвращения Дэниела Крейга к роли Бонда. Пока невозможно судить, насколько они оправданны. Такие же слухи и спекуляции возникли перед съемками "Скайфола" – писали, что Крейг якобы устал, что у него травма и что он не будет сниматься. Однако в результате он снялся в очередной раз. Дело в том, что на данный момент неизвестны ни студия, где будет сниматься новый фильм, ни имя режиссера, ни сценарий. Как только все это станет известно, можно будет говорить о кандидате на роль Бонда, и я надеюсь, что Крейг продолжит сниматься. Существующий вакуум заполняется непроверенными и часто недостоверными слухами. Я могу понять, если Крейг по чисто творческим причинам не вернется к роли Бонда. Созданный им образ Джеймса Бонда будет трудно повторить, трудно превзойти. Это же говорили после ухода Пирса Броснана. Но Крейгу удалось это сделать, создав собственный, только ему присущий образ агента 007. Однако, согласно контракту, Дэниел Крейг должен сыграть еще в одном фильме, и я не удивлюсь, если он вернется к этой роли.

–​ В прессе с уверенностью называют даже предполагаемого актера на роль Бонда после ухода Крейга: Том Хиддлстон, сыгравший главную роль в популярном сериале "Ночной менеджер". Это тоже слухи или же он получил приглашение от продюсеров?

– Действительно, в качестве возможного преемника Крейга называют Тома Хиддлстона – замечательного молодого британского актера, снявшегося в киноадаптации романа Джона Ле Карре "Ночной администратор". Именно эта роль превратила его в потенциального кандидата на замещение Крейга. Я бы обратил внимание на любопытное совпадение биографии Тома Хиддлстона, Джеймса Бонда и самого Иэна Флеминга: все трое учились в Итоне – престижной частной школе, прибежище аристократии. У Хиддлстона подходящая внешность и манеры для этой роли. Если его выберут на роль Бонда, это станет триумфом его артистической карьеры. Кроме него существуют и другие потенциальные кандидаты на роль нового агента 007, в частности Генри Кавилл, сыгравший Супермена в фильме "Бэтмен против Супермена: На заре справедливости". Он уже пробовался на роль Бонда перед тем, как ее получил Крейг. Есть и другие кандидаты. Но Том Хиддлстон, на мой взгляд, обладает приоритетом. Wait and see.