5 replies to this topic

[SecretAgentFan]

Not exactly news but worth mentioning anyway:

On September 6 there´s a bunch of new Fleming audiobooks out, complete and unabridged, read by pretty famous actors (interesting choices as well).

CASINO ROYALE (read by Dan Stevens)

LIVE AND LET DIE (read by Rory Kinnear)

MOONRAKER (read by Bill Nighy)

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (read by Damian Lewis)

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (read by Toby Stephens)

DR. NO (read by Hugh Quarshie)

GOLDFINGER (read by Hugh Bonneville)

THUNDERBALL (read by Jason Isaacs)

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (read by Rosamunde Pike)

ON HER MAJESTY´S SECRET SERVICE (read by David Tennant)

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (read by Martin Jarvis)

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (read by Kenneth Branagh)

Edited by SecretAgentFan, 03 September 2012 - 12:14 PM.

[Guy Haines]

I've bought five so far - MR, FRWL, DN, GF & TB. Only just started listening to them - in the car mostly, and I've started with Moonraker. Bill Nighy's narration is quite precise, and he has Sir Hugo Drax down to a tee, I think - thoroughly obnoxious at the gaming table, overbearing and arrogant.

What is interesting is that the final track on each has an interview with the actor concerned about his/her view of the book narrated. Bill Nighy has a curious view of MR - Fleming's "most romantic" Bond novel. I suppose he may mean it's the one novel where Bond's affection for the girl, Gala, in unrequited, for reasons which become obvious at the very end.

I've tried out little snippets of the other four, and it's going to be interesting to hear how different actors interpret Fleming, Bond and all the other characters concerned.

[SecretAgentFan]

Just finished Rosamunde Pike´s "THE SPY WHO LOVED ME". Which works pretty well, especially in making the in today´s word awkward lines about female thoughts on sexual matters palatable.

I had not read the novel in ages. Which makes this re-acquaintance with it even more interesting since the novel offers many ideas that appear in the movies again and again (i.e. Bond showering together with his women - which he does in SKYFALL again, btw). The interview with Pike is a bit of a letdown ("I always loved the book, it´s so interesting because of the female perspective, etc.")

Now I´ll start David Tennant´s "OHMSS". Also bought Branagh´s "TMWTGG".

[indy_chic]

I've got David Tennant´s "OHMSS" and have just started on that one, it's nice to relax and listen to.

[Guy Haines]

I've now finished listening to Moonraker and one or two things strike me about it. First, if we get another one of those Radio 4 adaptations starring Toby Stephens as Bond, and it's MR, then Bill Nighy would be my choice to play Sir Hugo Drax. As I mentioned in my previous post, his portrayal has the obnoxious arrogance of Drax down to a tee. He could also play Drax's sidekick Willy Krebs - a creepy performance.

The other point is about the story. The clues are all there about Drax, and yet throughout Bond doesn't so much miss them as refuses to recognise them until it is almost too late. A classic case of misdirection - Bond thinks he is assigned to prevent the rocket being sabotaged, and even when he and Gala Brand have some of the White Cliffs Of Dover collapse on them, he still doesn't get it. There is no sabotage attempt - Drax wants him dead.

That said, Drax falls for the usual Bond villain trope. He could have killed Gala and Bond after 007's car is sent off the road. Instead he takes them back to headquarters for the inevitable lecture - one of my favourites' I admit - about what his real plans are. And he lets himself be well and truly wound up by Bond. And the rest, as they say.......

[freemo]

The other point is about the story. The clues are all there about Drax, and yet throughout Bond doesn't so much miss them as refuses to recognise them until it is almost too late.

I was flipping though Moonraker a week or so ago (just dipping in and out - there was something I wanted to check, but once you start reading it's hard to stop) and I too was taken by this. It was an interesting idea to have Bond just as taken with Drax as the general public apparently is. Most stories of this type would have cast the hero as "the one guy who sees through the charade from the beginning".

But for a while Bond feels a genuine "glow of admiration and almost reverence for this man and his majestic acheivement" to the point of even making excuses for those early red lights, or "clues" you mention: "even the greatest men have their weaknesses. Drax must need an outlet for the tension of the fantastic responsibility he was carrying".