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Study, work or travel in the UK. British
culture and life.
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James Bond (007) films
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INTRODUCTION
James Bond is the top spy in Britain. He is sent by M, the leader of the British
secret service, on dangerous missions to defeat villains who threaten the peace
of the world. To help him he uses gadgets created for him by Q, a top British
scientist. His one weakness is his love of beautiful women, who are often used
to try to trap him.
James Bond films, based on characters created by the British writer Ian Fleming,
have been made over the last 40 years. They have become famous throughout the
world.
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QUANTUM OF SOLACE
- Quantum of Solace is the 22nd official film in the James Bond series.
- Daniel Craig plays James Bond for the second time. The Ukrainian actress Olga
Kurylenko plays the leading lady Camille. French actor Mathieu Amalric plays the
villain.
- There were a number of accidents while filming a car chase scene in Italy.
- The film goes on general release in the UK on Friday 31 October 2008.
- Further information about the film can be seen on the official James Bond website:
http://www.jamesbond.com.
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CASINO ROYALE
- Casino Royale is the 21st official film in the James Bond series, and
is based on Ian Fleming's first bond book.
- The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, some of the stars from the film and other celebrities,
will attend the film's world premiere in London on Tuesday 14th November 2006.
The main event will be at the Empire cinema, but other cinemas in Leicester Square
will also be showing the film at the same time and will also have red carpets
and celebrity guests. Crowds are expected to gather from the middle of the afternoon.
- This is the first film starring Daniel Craig as 007. He is the 6th actor playing
James Bond, and is only the second one who is English.
- Other stars include Eva Green (as Vesper Lynd), Judi Dench (as M), Giancarlo
Giannini (as Mathis), Jeffrey Wright (as Felix Leiter), Mads Mikkelsen (as Le
Chiffre), Simon Abkarian (as Alex Dimitrios) and Catarina Murino (as Solange).
- The theme song is written and performed by Chris Cornell, who currently heads
the group Audioslave and previously founded Sound Garden.
- The film goes on general release in the UK on Friday 17 November 2006.
Daniel Craig |
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DIE ANOTHER DAY
- Die Another Day is the 20th film in the James Bond series. The first
film (Doctor No) was made 40 years ago, in 1962.
- The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attended the film's world premiere (first
showing) on Monday 18th November 2002 at London's Royal Albert Hall.
- The film opened in cinemas across the UK on Wednesday 20th November 2002.
- Further information about the film can be seen on the official James Bond website:
http://www.jamesbond.com.
Empire cinema,
Leicester Square, London |
Die Another Day premiere,
Royal Albert Hall, Kensington |
Pierce Brosnan,
James Bond ("007") |
Who are the main characters?
James Bond - a British spy (secret agent) known as "007" (pronounced:
"double-oh-seven"). His most famous saying is "My name's Bond.
James Bond".
M - the head of MI6, the British "Secret Intelligence Service"
which gathers information outside the UK (MI is the Ministry of Intelligence)
Jinx (the "Bond Girl") - a highly trained female US agent
Miranda Frost - another female agent who Bond meets in the film
Gustav Graves - the power-hungry villain of the film
Zao - the fierce assistant of Gustav Graves
Q - chief scientist working for the British secret service, inventing
gadgets for James Bond to use
Miss Moneypenny - M's secretary, with whom James Bond often flirts
Who are the main actors and actresses?
Pierce Brosnan - James Bond (007)
Pierce Brosnan plays 007 for the fourth time. The previous films were GoldenEye,
Tomorrow Never Dies and The World Is Not Enough.
Halle Berry - Jinx
The "Bond girl" in the film is the actress Halle Berry, playing a
US agent called Jinx. Earlier in 2002 Halle Berry won the Oscar for Best Actress
for her role in the film "Monster's Ball".
Dame Judi Dench - M
Dame Judi Dench is a famous British actress who has played M (the head of the
foreign military intelligence service MI6) in the last four Bond films. She
recently starred in the film "Iris", about the life of the British
author Iris Murdoch, and won an Oscar in 1999 for her role in "Shakespeare
in Love".
John Cleese - Q
A famous British comedian. He was part of the "Monty Python" team
of comedians. He created and starred in the comedy series "Fawlty Towers"
in the mid 1970s: this is perhaps the most popular comedy series in Britain,
and is often repeated on television.
Halle Berry ("Jinx"),
Pierce Brosnan ("007") |
Dame Judi Dench
("M") |
Samantha Bond
("Miss Moneypenny") |
John Cleese,
("Q") |
Vocabulary
Before going to see the film, you may want to study the meanings of these words
or phrases:
conflict diamonds (diamonds sold outside the official system by a country
which is at war); demilitarised zone (DMZ; an area without any soldiers);
a landmine (weapon); saved by the bell; concierge (an assistant
in a hotel); out of my hands (not under my control); firing squad
(a group of people used to shoot someone); ally (a friend or partner);
cyanide (a poisonous gas); double-O status (a spy who has a licence
to kill, like 007); rescinded (taken away); cardiac arrest (a heart
attack); to check out (to sign out when leaving a hotel); kiss of life
(giving oxygen to someone who has stopped breathing, from one mouth to another);
Bollinger (a type of champagne); to get even; friends in high places
(friends who have important positions in society); gene therapy; to have
a jinx (to have lots of bad luck); a predator (a hunter); prey
(someone who is hunted); ornothologist (a person who studies birds); frisky
(randy, wanting sex); DNA; to bankroll (to provide money for something);
fencing (sword-fighting); to settle a wager (to pay a bet you have
lost); torso (chest/upper part of the body); a publicity stunt (something
down to attract the attention of television or other media); laundering
(trying to make money obtained through crime appear to have been earned legally);
a marksman (a person who is trained to use guns); cryptology (the
study of coded messages); something to die for (something that is really
desirable); side effects (medical problems caused by a medicine or an operation);
to mourn (to grieve for a dead person); Big Bang theory (the main
theory about the creation of the universe); to get the thrust of something
(to understand the main idea about something); shards (sharp pieces of
glass); a laser (a beam of light); to be tied down (not to be free,
for example because of a relationship); colonel (pronounced like "kernel":
a senior person in an army); swagger; quips (short jokes); to betray
someone; an occupational hazard (a danger that arises from doing your job);
a sparkling personality; a punchline (the funny end of a joke);
to draw the line; global warming; tailoring; to shrink
(to become smaller); to wrap something up (to finish something); thermal
imaging (using heat t make a map of something); to camouflage (pronouned
as a rhyme to "large": it means to hide something by making it look
like its surroundings); an ejector seat (a seat which throws someone out
of an aeroplane if there is an accident); ergonomics (the study of people
and their working conditions to improve efficiency); a bunker (a strong
safe building); a (military) coup (an attempt to change the government
using the army); to implicate someone in something; an incursion;
a switchblade (American English for a flick knife); a big shot;
the 38th parallel (a line used to determine the border between North and
South Korea); a bug (a small insect); to squash (to crush); to bail
out (to leave a sinking ship or similar difficult situation); autopilot
(flying an aeroplane by computer); to drown (to die in water); to the
point; to read your every move (to anticipate everything you do in
advance); oops (a word that is said when you do something accidentally);
to go down together (to die together); a perfect fit
Icarus was a character in Greek mythology (many Bond films and characters
in literature refer to characters in old stories such as this). Daedalus and Icarus
tried to escape from somewhere by making wings from feathers and wax, but Icarus
ignored his father's advice about not flying too close to the sun, so his wings
melted and he died.
Places
The film's story starts and ends in Korea, with visits to Hong Kong, Cuba, London
and Iceland. Filming was mainly in England, Spain, Iceland and Hawaii.
Among the English places shown are:
- The MI6 headquarters in Vauxhall, London
- The underground station at Vauxhall Cross, which is not used any more
- Buckingham Palace (the main home of Queen Elizabeth the Second) and the
Victoria Memorial.
- The Houses of Parliament (including Big Ben, the clock tower shown on
the home page)
- The Eden Project, in Cornwall (see: http://www.edenproject.com)
Secret Intelligence Service,
Vauxhall Cross, London |
Victoria Memorial,
Buckingham Palace |
Buckingham Palace,
London |
Jokes
There are many jokes in the film, but they may be hard for a non-English speaker
to understand. Many of these are puns (playing with words which have two meanings).
Some examples:
- The phrase "saved by the bell" is used when someone is in trouble
but is rescued by a bell ringing (for example, in a boxing match, or at the end
of a class at school). The second meaning in the film is the literal (direct)
meaning of the words - being rescued by a bell (the object itself, not its sound).
- "I'm just here for the birds" could be said by someone who
enjoys the hobby of bird-watching. However, a "bird" is also a slang
word for a girl (used by some British men), so the second meaning is someone who
likes looking at women (like James Bond).
- "Come, father - watch the rising of your son". The son is asking
his father to watch his moment of becoming powerful. But it sounds like the phrase
"the rising of the sun".
The second meaning in many of the puns in a James Bond film is sexual - this type
of humour is known as "double entendre".
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BOND FILMS
GoldenEye |
Tomorrow Never Dies |
The World Is Not Enough |
Below is the full list of Bond films which have been made. For each film, the
year in which the film was made and the name of the actor who played James Bond
is shown. You can buy the DVD, video or book by clicking on the link underneath
the picture (if you are living outside the UK be careful to make sure that you
can play the DVD
or video format
in your country). It is also possible to buy a special collection box containing
all 20 DVDs (see: The
James Bond Collection 2002).
Doctor No (1962), From Russia With Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball
(1965), You Only Live Twice (1967), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Diamonds
Are Forever (1971), Live And Let Die (1973), 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 A Kill (1985), The Living Daylights (1987), Licence To Kill
(1989), Goldeneye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough
(1999) and Die Another Day (2002).
In 2006 the 21st James Bond film will be released: Casino Royale, starring Daniel
Craig. For more details about Daniel Craig, see: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0185819.
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Doctor No
(1962)
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From Russia With Love (1963)
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Goldfinger
(1964)
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Thunderball
(1965)
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You Only Live Twice (1967)
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Sean Connery |
Sean Connery |
Sean Connery |
Sean Connery |
Sean Connery |
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On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
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Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
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Live And Let Die
(1973)
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The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)
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The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
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George Lazenby |
Sean Connery |
Roger Moore |
Roger Moore |
Roger Moore |
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Moonraker
(1979)
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For Your Eyes Only (1981)
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Octopussy
(1983)
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Never Say Never Again
(1983)
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A View To A Kill
(1985)
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Roger Moore |
Roger Moore |
Roger Moore |
Sean Connery |
Roger Moore |
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The Living Daylights
(1987)
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Licence To Kill
(1989)
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Goldeneye
(1995)
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Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
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The World Is Not Enough (1999)
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Timothy Dalton |
Timothy Dalton |
Pierce Brosnan |
Pierce Brosnan |
Pierce Brosnan |
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Die Another Day
(2002)
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Casino Royale
(2006)
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Pierce Brosnan |
Daniel Craig
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BOND MUSIC
A famous singer is often used to sing the title music from the James Bond films.
Madonna sings the theme to "Die Another Day" (she also appears in
the film, in the sword-fighting (fencing) scene). The song "London Calling"
by The Clash (a song made in the 1970s) is also heard. Below are CDs containing
the music to this film, and a CD containing some of the most famous songs from
previous films.
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LINKS
British films: Britain/Films
Guide to "Johnny English": Britain/Films/English
Entertainment in London: Life/Entertainment/London
Home page: Home
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© UK Student Life 2002-2009
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