31 replies to this topic

[Righty007]

A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway was in the group of books my English teacher allowed us to pick from. I chose it because of Bond's line in Licence To Kill. I'm going to start reading it tonight.

[Problem Eliminator]

I read the book early in high school, coincidentally around the same time my interest in 007 took flight. Having this background helped me appreciate the line at Hemingway House as one of the great "asides" in the series and definitely classic Dalton. I disagree that you "need a degree in English" to "get" the line. When taken strictly literally, with no knowledge of the literary/physical inspiration, it still "works." 007 is about to give up his gun, so he is indeed about to say farewell to his sidearm. But with the added knowledge of the comment's "connection" to the balcony on which it is uttered, one gains a greater appreciation for the crafty mind that thought to use it in the sequence. Cheers to the screeenwriter and Tim's spot-on delivery.