56 replies to this topic

[ChickenStu]

Thought this could be an interesting discussion. I touched on this subject in another thread. I'm pretty sure the members in here range from all ages - and I'm pretty sure each one of us has "our" Bond.

 

Anyone in here who's familiar with my particular tastes knows that I firmly consider Pierce Brosnan to be my Bond.

 

I was 17 when Goldeneye came out. At the time of the release the movie was a very big deal. Now of course I was aware of James Bond movies before this and had seen many of them. To me however, they were sort of a bit like the Carry On films. Bank Holiday and Christmas television fare. I can safely say that I think I'd seen them at some point or other in my first 17 years. I owned a cassette tape with some of the songs on it but that was about as far as my fandom went. Although I do remember seeing Moonraker at a very young age. I can also remember The Living Daylights coming out when I was about 9 and wanting to see it - but for some reason or other my parents didn't end up taking me. I was 11 when Licence To Kill came out - so it's 15 rating automatically made it a no-no (and since that was the year Batman came out I wasn't really that concerned about it - although that is the Dalton one I saw first ironically)

 

When Goldeneye came out I have to admit I was a little bit skeptical. I remember thinking "wow, they've made another one of THOSE?!?!"

Yet it was a big deal in the media. It was all over the telly, Tina Turner's song was in the charts and Pierce Brosnan was appearing on all the chat shows. When I was 17 I was dating my first ever "real" girlfriend - she was spending saturday at my house. We went out Christmas shopping during the day and fancied a trip to the cinema that night. That was the big movie that was out - so we went to see it. I enjoyed it but didn't really think anything more of it. Two years later when Tomorrow Never Dies came out I went to see it with a female friend (NOT a girlfriend) and had an absolutely GREAT time with it, REALLY enjoyed it. I just remember walking out of that one thinking "Pierce Brosnan is COOL!"

 

A year after that when I was 20 my parents got me a Nintendo 64 for Christmas with the Goldeneye 007 videogame which I was just OBSESSED with. I think it was that game that pretty much did it. Before the next Christmas I bought the first 18 movies on VHS just in time for when The World Is Not Enough came out at cinemas. The year Die Another Day came out my parents got me the complete collection on DVD as a present. 

 

It was Brosnan who made me interested in Bond and through him I decided to check out the others again and from there became a fan of ALL things Bond. I was very hurt and dissapointed when he (for whatever reason) stopped playing the role. I was even feeling that dissapointment when I was queing up to watch Casino Royale!

 

When I got that one on DVD we decided to upgrade our DVD collection so I bought the boxed set of the two disc editions and gave my old boxed set to my step-boy. I sort of lost interest in Bond a bit. Quantum Of Solace just came and went without much fanfare for me. Although with Skyfall I finally jumped on the Daniel Craig train - I thought it was wonderful.

 

Last year I got the blu-ray set of the movies, aswell as Skyfall and finally got round to reading Ian Fleming's original books.

 

2014 is about collecting and reading all the OTHER books (I've read the Robert Markham/Kingsley Amis) one, and all of the soundtrack albums (I've got about ten left to go). I want to put together an ULTIMATE Bond collection to have ready for if/when my kids take a bit more of an interest and to leave for them when I die.

 

I credit all this to the Pierce Brosnan movies. I know many love Daniel Craig (and he is awesome) but I was a bit disappointed to see a Brosnan backlash. People seem to forget that when he did Goldeneye people where unsure of whether these movies or this character could be relevent again in a post cold-war world. Also there had been a rather long hiatus between installments. Goldeneye was a pretty big risk but it came off. I think a lot of that had to do with the fact they had the right man for the job. I honestly think that we wouldn't be enjoying the Daniel Craig films today if it wasn't for Brosnan. It's HIM who made me a fan. He will always be my favourite. He will always be MY Bond.

 

So what about you?

Edited by ChickenStu, 19 February 2014 - 10:45 PM.

[Guy Haines]

I was a "child of the sixties" - by which, I mean, I really was a child and not an adolescent or twenty something "flower child". And as much as I liked children's television on the BBC or the ITV channels, I liked stuff like "The Saint", "Danger Man", "The Prisoner", "Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)", "Department S", "The Avengers", "The Man From Uncle", "The Champions" and so on even more. Fortunately, my Mum and Dad didn't mind me staying up an extra hour or so to watch.

 

Given my viewing habits, graduating from John Drake and Simon Templar to James Bond was merely a matter of time and persistent nagging, when a children's TV quiz called "Screen Test" came on the air one tea time, and featured the famous bob sleigh chase between Bond and Blofeld in "OHMSS". That was it. The nagging paid off and Mum and me went to see George Lazenby as Bond, sometime in early 1970.

 

Between 1970 and 1972 I managed to see the Bond films more than once at my local "fleapit", The Portland - later known as The Savoy, and now, as is the way with these things, a car park. Then I started buying second hand Bond paperbacks in my early teens from the local outdoor market. I dare say my dear old Mum didn't know what she'd started until it was too late, but she admitted that the content of Mr. Fleming's rather salacious novels was probably no worse than some of the 1940s pot boiler detective novels that were all the rage in her youth.

 

My Bond ought to be George Lazenby, but it's actually Sean Connery, although Daniel Craig is giving him more than a run for his money. Connery had the good fortune to be the right man in the right place at the right time, and played Bond in the adaptations of some of Fleming's most prominent books. (Example - From Russia With Love, allegedly one of President Kennedy's top ten reads.) My first Bond book was the short story compilation "For Your Eyes Only", which I bought for no better reason than I'd seen the films of DN, FRWL, GF etc., but had never heard of this title.

 

One other obsession started with Bond, and that was my appreciation of the music of the late John Barry. It is hard to over-estimate his contribution to the Bond films. It was enormous. Like Connery, he was the right man in the right place at the right time. I love all his Bond scores, but particularly his work from the 1960s Bonds, and in 1972 one of the first LPs I bought featured his Bond themes to date, plus the themes from "The Persuaders", "Midnight Cowboy" and "The Chase". I still have it. And it also featured the two themes I remembered from a long forgotten BBC crime series called "Vendetta", and the "Sunsilk" advertisement theme "The Girl With The Sun In Her Hair" - all three of which I'd heard as a child and didn't realise John Barry had written.

[Janus Assassin]

I was 10 when I received an N64 and GoldenEye for Christmas. I played it non stop, loved it and played it consistently for years. About a year or so later, I was watching something on NBC and a TV spot came on about they were broadcasting the movie on Saturday night. This was, as I recall November of 99. I sat down with my brother and we watched it, and was completely blown away after the PTS, because of how closely the game interpreted it. Loved every moment of it. About a week or so later, TBS did a Bond marathon and I watched Moonraker with my dad. I loved that too because I was like "hey that's Jaws from the Aztec level." And then when I saw the movie part of where the level was based, again I was in awe. I watched most of the movies on that marathon and the rest is history. I guess my Bond would be Brosnan, just because.

[ChickenStu]

Wow, great to read these! A great memory I have is of when I first bought the movies on VHS which I think was in 1999 when I was 21 (shortly before I saw The World Is Not Enough). I was still in college at the time and had a part time job. I was able to buy them all because the local MVC was doing a "buy one get one free" deal so that's what spurred me onto getting them all. I still had quite a bit of money left over from my paycheque that month so I bought a big coffee table book (which I still have somewhere) which charted the history of the movies from Dr. No to The World Is Not Enough. I forget the name of this book but I'm aware they did an updated version of it for Die Another Day. I would love to see a new updated version of it which takes into account the Craig era.

 

Anyway I had this book and I had the David Arnold Shaken And Stirred album. I still lived with my Mum and Dad then and can remember sprawled out on my bed in my bedroom listening to that album and just gazing at the black and white photos in that book. All snug and warm with a steaming mug of tea - a contrast to the bitterly cold November night outside. Ahh those were the days. 

[Krest]

Wow! What a brilliant thread!!

 

I was a kid in the 80's so I grew up on Roger Moore and Sean Connery movies being shown on Bank Holidays and Christmas, but it was Licence to Kill and Timothy Dalton that turned me into a fan.  The earlier films were (are!) great, but it was LTK (and probably TLD, though I missed out on that one) that really turned me on to Bond - almost like someone said "this is a series you and everyone you've ever known loves, now let's bring it right up to date and make it edgier, modern and relevant to you"  Sounds familiar? all you new Bond fans!!

 

I was 14 when I managed to get into my local cinema with my buddy to see LTK, and I can honestly still remember the excitement I felt when the gunbarrel rolled.  I still remember that excitement today - it never leaves you and each new Bond film takes me back to that June day in 1989!!

 

So it all began from there really.  Craving information and goodies on this series that I thought I already knew but clearly didn't.  Bear in mind this was pre-internet days so it all came from books from the local library and "007" magazine.  Imagine that!! Suddenly 007 videos (not DVDs, remember this was the early 90's!) were on Christmas lists (my original VHS collection that I've got packed away still gives me a geeky tingle to this day when I look at them) and watching them was like discovering something wonderful - like playing another new Bond movie!!  Hunting round second hand book shops and Jumble Sales in those pre-Ebay days for Bond goodies was just the best - I'm still proud of my Man With The Golden Gun original brochure that I picked up for 10p from a second book shop!  And I'm still collecting today much to the dismay of my other half.  Only a true Bond fan can understand the feeling of sheer excitement when you win that rare Lobby Card Set on Ebay, or spotting that "oh-so-rare" 1960's PAN cover as you're passing a charity shop.

 

And don't get me started about the time I went on holiday to Key West!!  Bond/LTK heaven!!!!

 

The worst thing about joining the party with LTK was the 5 year (!!) wait until the Goldeneye.  I remember being GUTTED when I found out that Tim wouldn't be returning, but Pierce was of course great and rejuvenated the franchise (although arguably he was a little "generic"), and of course Daniel brings something new and brilliant to the role.  The guys who went before were brilliant in their own ways, but for me it was Timothy Dalton who turned me on to the Bond movies.  He was arguably ahead of his time in the role, and if you love Daniel Craig in the role then you should love the two Dalton pictures.

 

There's far, far, FAR too many great things to write in this small space about being a Bond fan. For me however, I'm a Dalton Man!!

 

Great thread ChickenStu!! :-)

[ChickenStu]

Thank you for your kind words Krest! (Don't own a vessel called the Wavekrest do you? If so, stay away from pressure tanks and tropical fish called Hildebrant Rarities!) 

Bond is something that is very personal and generational. Every fan has their era, every fan has their Bond. Each Bond is different to suit the time we were born in or the time we were of an age to appreciate the movies. 

 

Case in point: I've not long ago had a heated discussion with a friend of mine. I'm 36 and he is 67. We got into quite an animated discussion that almost turned into a row! I told him that I consider Brosnan to be my Bond. He said Connery was his but he liked Brosnan too. He said he felt that he could buy Connery and Brosnan because they had the right "look" about them. He said he felt that he couldn't say the same for Daniel Craig. He just thinks he's all wrong and they should be something else other than Bond films cause he feels the manner of Craig's portrayal, his look, and the subject matter of his movies stray too far from the original established template. 

 

I responded to this by saying that whilst I could see where he was coming from - the movies change to accommodate the expectations and desires of the audience. Audiences today prefer that kind of secret agent and that kind of action movie. The whole suave thing doesn't really work any more and they want tough character driven movies and want tough guys to actually BE tough guys! I then pointed out that this is probably the secret to how the series has lasted 50+ years and STILL packs out cinemas! 

 

He still wouldn't have it. My Mum's the same. For her it is ALL about Connery. She just refuses to acknowledge any other actor in the part. I'll express my love for Brosnan and explain it was the era I grew up on and the one I was there to see which is WHY he's my favourite... she just looks at me like a dog who'd been shown a card trick.

 

Whilst I like Daniel Craig he isn't MY Bond. BUT I'm still young and savvy enough to appreciate that this is what today's audience wants.

 

My generation I guess wanted the end of the cold war and certain social advancements to be acknowledged - YET STILL wanted some of the classic elements there. I feel I totally got the best of both worlds. Whilst the end of the cold war was dealt with, M was a woman - all that progressive stuff... he STILL wanted his Vodka Martini shaken and not stirred, still hung out in Casinos, we still got the famous gun-barrel opening... that's the Bond I got! 

 

Today's generation I guess want something that is post 9/11 and set in a darker more serious world. Want a tougher Bond and are not particularly worried if some of those "classic" elements get thrown out to make that happen. Hence a reboot... which wasn't necessary in my day but totally was for now. 

 

I can pine for how "great things were in my day" as much as I want. The thing is I still have my memories and still have those movies on DVD and Blu-Ray to revisit ANY time I feel like it! Times change though. I'm cool with that. 

[ChrissBond007]

Like Janus Assassin, the Goldeneye '64 game was what got me into Bond. I was addicted to the game and would play it daily. Then my father, who is also quite a Bond fan, found out about a channel where they would show a Bond movie every weekend and he saw Goldeneye was on, so he recorded it and I would watch it the next day and I absolutely loved it. I think I could defenitely call myself a Bond fanatic from that moment. 

 

After that I would watch a Bond movie on that same channel every weekend and record it. I have such great memories of that time. It was very exciting having a brand new Bond adventure every week and I remember how much I was looking forward all the time to the next one. It soon became an obsession. Goldeneye was my favourite one for quite some time until I first saw OHMSS.

 

As for my Bond, that would be Brosnan then as he introduced me to the 007 universe. 

Edited by ChrissBond007, 21 February 2014 - 04:14 PM.

[tdalton]

I guess I was introduced to the Bond franchise through the GoldenEye teaser trailer.  I remember how that trailer got a huge response from the theater I was sitting in (and this was back when people were generally courteous and didn't talk during movies), and I thought that I had to see the film.  I think I saw a couple of the others before seeing GoldenEye.  The Living Daylights is the first Bond film that I remember seeing, which was actually quite a while before GoldenEye, but I didn't recognize that it had been a Bond film until I saw it some years later.

 

As to who "my" Bond is, I'm not sure that I can say that I have one.  I was too young for the franchise when Dalton was at the helm.  If that question had been asked in the 1990s, I would have said that Brosnan was "my" Bond, but I can't really say that now, as having looked back on it I don't really care for any of his films and thought that he was not particularly good in the role (a realization that I came to very quickly after eventually sampling the entire catalogue of films), even though I do enjoy some of his comedic work outside of the franchise.  So, with that in mind, I guess I don't really have a Bond actor that I could declare as "my" Bond.

[Iceskater101]

I started watching Bond with Pierce Brosnan was introduced into the role. I was in 2nd grade when Die Another Day came out so I was too young to see it in theaters. 

 

To answer the question my Bond actor that I started with was Pierce but my favorite is Dalton.

[Colossus]

Goldeneye

But i watched the tapes before of past Bonds. Mine is Moore.

[Major Tallon]

I became a Bond fan in 1963, when I saw that iconic poster for "Dr. No" in the Chicago Sun-Times.  I didn't see a Bond movie for almost two years, but I started reading the Fleming novels in mid-1964 and was blown away.  Connery was my first Bond, but he wasn't the guy I'd pictured.  I liked Lazenby a lot, but Moore not so much.  It was Timothy Dalton who for me really embodied the part of James Bond, whereas Brosnan just didn't.  Craig is terrific and captures the spirit of the role, even if he doesn't resemble Bond physically.  Overall, I like Lazenby and Craig a lot, and I accept Connery, Brosnan, and Moore (in that order).  My Bond, however, is Timothy Dalton.

[ChickenStu]

Yeah, having read the books - I think performance wise Dalton is the man who really nails it. Especially in The Living Daylights (which I think is a wonderful movie). Licence To Kill is great for what it is - but Dalton in that one portrays our man a bit like an unhinged sociopath. Gets increasingly difficult to tell the good guys from the bad in that one. A challenging movie to be sure. 

[Call Me Hilly]

The first Bond I saw at the cinema was The Spy Who Loved Me. Id probably seen some of the earlier ones on TV. Seeing as Dr No premiered in 1975 I would have certainly seen some Connery's, but this was the first one which really got my attention. It wasnt until For Your Eyes Only though that I would class myself as a real fan. I joined the fan club and my interest just snowballed. I didnt really like the Brosnan films, Die Another Day is terrible, although he was a great Bond. Hes also the only Bond ive met, which puts him up the list. I havent really got a favourite Bond, although I think the best films are generally those who stick the closest to Fleming. Having said that though, I love Moonraker!

[ChickenStu]

EDIT

 

I have deleted the content of this post as to not steal the thunder of another thread I have started. I would've deleted the comment completely but an option to do so does not seem to be available at this time. 

Edited by ChickenStu, 22 February 2014 - 10:56 PM.

[Orion]

1999 - I was nine. In preparation for the release of The World Is Not Enough ITV where showing one Bond movie a week in preparation. I watched every single one and loved them all then went to the cinema to see The World Is Not Enough. It was the chase at the caviar factory where I became a full fledged Bond fan, where the Bond theme plays bombastically then Brosnan casually walks up "Now, where were we?". Ive made a point of seeing every Bond film on its opening day since. It was 4 years later before I read the books - I was on a trip to Edinburgh with my family and I came across Casino Royale in Waterstones. I then sat in the portrait gallery and read it straight through. Have since passed on my love of all things James Bond to my son, who just after his first birthday, came with me to see Skyfall at an Odeon newbies screening. He loved every second and will still giddily watch it all the way through with a smile on his face.

 

In terms of "my bond", despite coming to Bond when Brosnan was in the role, it'd be Daniel Craig. His performance is exactly how I imagine Bond in the books, and tonally perfect for now, giving him the right level of suaveness without ever loosing the idea that this is a very dangerous man - something I never quite bought with Brosnan, and is the one thing that lets him down for me.

[S K Y F A L L]

GOLDENEYE 64 form the Nintendo introduced me to the character. This was also around the time they re-released all the films on VHS, I think there was 3 releases of several films. Anyway collected them one at a time and the rest is history.

[Catching Bullets]

OCTOPUSSY. June 1983. Thirty years later and about two hundred metres from the very same cinema spot I finally met Roger Moore. That film had a great impact on my life. More so now than ever.

[elizabeth]

GOLDENEYE 64 form the Nintendo introduced me to the character.

I think this was my introduction too.  My Bond is Sean, but I grew up playing as Brosnan 24/7 whenever I was at my aunt's house.

[Professor Pi]

Spy Who Loved Me.  I've always liked Moore, even preferred to Connery for many years.  Then I read the books and when Dalton came out he was my favorite, especially after Licence to Kill.  I think Pierce looks more like Bond, but Craig definitely embodies the character. 

[plankattack]

Was taken so to see LALD by my father - knew Sir Rog from The Saint and The Persuaders (and recognized Felix from Voyage to The Bottom of the Sea) and was hooked. Films, then books, and now chat rooms.....!!!!

I would say that for the longest time SC was my Bond, but in all honesty I'm tempted to now claim DC as mine - not that I think that his interpretation is definitive or anything - but the overall tone of the current run of EON films is exactly what I always wished for, especially during the 80s.

[Grard Bond]

In the summer of 1981 I was hit by a car, when I was riding on my bicycle, just a week before my summervacation.

The first thing I did, when I was on my feet again after two weeks in bed, was going to my local cinema and watch For your eyes only.

I had never seen a Bondfilm in my life (the Bondmovies were only shown on Dutch TV since the beginning of the 1990's) and also never seen such a cool character like Bond and such a fantastic action- and adventures movie.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Since then I'm hooked and a big J.B. fan and Roger Moore is my favorite actor and moviestar.

Edited by Grard Bond, 03 March 2014 - 05:31 PM.

[DamnCoffee]

October 1996. I don't know what it was, I'd never heard of Bond. I was blissfully unaware. Like anyone, I'd eventually know of the franchise, but if it wasn't for my Grandparents I don't think I'd have the connection I do with the series now.

 

Every year, my Grandparents would go to Blackpool for a few days. Being a kid at the time, I was spoilt rotten. They'd often come back with a horde of stuff for me and obviously, being a child, going to visit after the annual Blackpool trip was bloody well exciting. So there I was, sitting in my Grans house, pretending not to burst with excitement at what she bought me. I got loads of stuff ranging from toys to sweets, and then she gave me a plastic bag, it wasn't see through but I could feel something in there. It was obviously a VHS. I didn't know what it was though, so I opened the bag and I was greeted with this...

 

 

I had no idea what it was, I was just so drawn to it. I remember asking what it was, and my Gran said. "This is a James Bond film. James Bond fights bad people and saves the world." That's where it all started really. I watched the film as soon as I got home. I remembered seeing the GoldenEye trailer at the start of the VHS. I wasn't really taken by it. Then the big trailer came afterwards, this trailer. 

 

 

I was completely amazed that there was another 16 Bond films out there, but at the same time, not really too bothered because Jaws was the first character I was really taken with. I remember being terrified by him. Not so much with Moonraker though, which I saw the following year. I got The Man With The Golden Gun sometime after but I thought it wasn't too great. Other than that getting into Bond was a bit of a slow burner. Buying the films when I could afford it, seeing them on TV when I could. I think the first time I saw them in order was when ITV did that '00 Heaven' season. I could only watch half and record the other. Damn strict bedtimes. However, it all payed off and was worth it completely. 

Edited by DamnCoffee, 07 March 2014 - 07:36 PM.

[ChickenStu]

DamnCoffee - thanks for posting that trailer video! I've never seen that one before! Like I said Pierce Brosnan is my man, and Goldeneye is probably my favorite of the films (I say probably cause I don't know if any true fan can really have a "favorite" so to speak...)

 

As I indicated before - I was a bit skeptical when seeing it cause it had been rather a long time since the previous entry - and was wondering if it was a bit old hat. However, there is NOTHING like a good teaser trailer. 

 

 

That trailer "You were expecting someone else?" is what made me decide I was going to see the film and give it a shot. 

 

I actually think Goldeneye had an extremely clever marketing campaign. They addressed the fact it had been many years since the last one in a very clever way. Rather than "Bond is back!" it was more "Bond has never been away!". All the posters with the tagline "You know the name, you know the number". Very ballsy, very confident. I like it. 

 

Seeing that trailer... that really takes me back to when I was a kid. Has it really been that long? I can hardly believe it's 20 years old next year... it really does not seem that long ago...

Edited by ChickenStu, 07 March 2014 - 10:30 AM.

[Turn]

GE had a great marketing campaign that it won an award for, as did TND I believe a couple of years later.

 

They couldn't take any chances with what was on the line and they did it right, probably learning lessons from the lack of such with LTK. It was a great time to be a fan with promo ads and commercials, Brosnan on magazine covers and doing interviews and new merchandise.

 

I hadn't seen that video promo before. It was cleverly done. At the time GE was going to be launched, we had a similar campaign here in the U.S. for the rerelease of the VHS collection. They had a half-hour informercial that ran several times I was able to tape.

[ChickenStu]

 It was a great time to be a fan with promo ads and commercials, Brosnan on magazine covers and doing interviews and new merchandise.

 

Oh yes. Totally. There was something so special about it. I've such wonderful memories of that time. Pierce Brosnan's face just seemed to be EVERYWHERE. Great, great memories. I remember one of the most wonderful things about it - was not only were people excited that Bond was back - I think everyone was genuinely happy for Pierce Brosnan. There was a lot of goodwill toward him, cause it was no secret that he'd been linked to the role for many years. It was fairly common knowledge that he was originally going to play the role in The Living Daylights but that got screwed up thanks to Remington Steele. People were happy to see him get the gig. The audience was very much on his side and in his corner. I'm willing to bet that was a big factor in its success.

 

I'd love to read Pierce Brosnan's autobiography. It's like his whole life was leading to him playing that role. It's an amazing story. The first film he saw at the cinema as a kid was Goldfinger and years later his wife at the time was in For Your Eyes Only. That is of course how he first met the Broccolis. Him playing Bond was a dream he shared with his wife, and both were devastated when he lost out on The Living Daylights. Her tragic loss adds a bittersweet note to the tale. Cause when he finally got the dream gig - she wasn't around to see it. However, he did meet someone else and have more kids with her. So that's a happy ending right there.  With all that in mind, it's a shame the three following films didn't live up to his potential. It's also a shame that because of changes in the world a new approach needed to be taken which meant he had to be let go from the part. Brosnan could write a hell of a book. I hope he does it. 

[DamnCoffee]

I agree. The GoldenEye teaser has got to be one of the strongest ones in the franchise. I see that completely now, and the film itself is definitely one of my favourites. I guess at the time, being completely unknowing of how vast the series actually was, the prospect of 'the new Bond film' felt so alien to me, and felt completely different in tone than Bond films I was used to seeing. It took me a while to take to Brosnan actually. I know I was definitely anticipating The World is Not Enough when it was released, but I remember watching Tomorrow Never Dies and not being too taken by it. I remember buying the VHS, and as the credits rolled I was just thinking to myself "This is not a Bond film." The game however, now that's a different story. It isn't exactly brilliant, but at the time, for a 8 year old boy with a brand new PS1, it was one of the highlights of my childhood. I guess the game really eased me into the Brosnan era. So I'll always have a bit of a soft spot for it. 

Edited by DamnCoffee, 07 March 2014 - 10:33 PM.

[tdalton]

The GoldenEye teaser trailer was brilliant.  It was my first real exposure to the Bond films (I had seen The Living Daylights a few years before but had no idea it was a Bond film), and I remember the big reaction the trailer got when Brosnan walked towards the camera and asked "Were you expecting someone else?".  It's a shame that the film couldn't live up to the anticipation, but then again, most films that are that anticipated can't.  Still, I might not have gotten into the Bond films had I not seen that trailer.

[saint mark]

When I was 10 years old I discovered my dads books and he had this series with this character called the Saint, and when I finished with the Leslie Charteris novels in my dads collection I moved on to this chap called Ian Fleming and read all the books my dad had. As my father had some gaps in his collection I bought through 2nd hand bookstores the remaining Flemings and one novel called Colonel Sun of which the owner of the shop said belonged to the series. While I loved the Fleming novels I did not like the Sun book, I was way too young to even understand it, I guess, That said it is still for me one of the lesser attempts.

We moved house and ended up in a city with a cinema. And like all kids my age we loved scifi, a lifelong fan of Kirk, Spock and the Enterprise bunch. So I got to see a movie called "The Empire strikes Back" which I loved so much I saw it several times. being low on budget I decided to sneak after one showing in another theater and wait for the movie to start again and sneak back in. And the movie that sstarted in the cinema I was hiding just started and turned out to be Moonraker, I was immediately a big fan of the Saint playing 007, heck I had seen the Saint on the telly.

It was after having seen Moonraker I discovered that there was series with 007 as character, the cinema handed out flyers advertising them showing double bills of 007 movies. So before the year was over I had seen all 007 adventures in the cinema.

My seeing the Sean Connery movies explained the drawing on the backside of my pockets which clearly was the young Connery in the role, but as I was a cinematic newbie I had heard of the 007 series.

 

My favorites today remain Connery and Moore both being original and true to Ian Flemings character. ANd indeed Brosnan is for me a runner up, sadly he never got his swansong after DAD.

The current actor and his interpretation is less my cup of tea, but he'll be moving on surely and then perhaps we get another one closer to my liking.

 

But I became a James Bond fan through the novels, and still enjoy them even the newer ones get a reading.

[Mr. Somerset]

Although MR was the 1st one I ever saw and had seen TSWLM many times on HBO(as well as the Connerys on ABC), it was a summer airing on ABC of DR NO in '83 that did it for me. Then about a week or so later my folks and I went to see Octopussy and I was hooked. Before long NSNA was out and I was surfing TV guide each week to see if when another Bond would be airing. So I guess both Connery and Moore are my Bonds really- though Moore was the Bond of my generation.

[FlemingBond]

Moonraker was the first Bond film I saw. I mean being a boy how could you not love Bond? The action, the title sequence with women floating across the moon...sigh

After that I saw each one with my parents. For some reason my younger brother never went with us and never became a Bond fan. When I watched the Connery films I loved them! When Moore retired of it I remember talking to my dad about who would be the next Bond and I brought up Pierce Brosnan, probably 3 or 4 months before it came out that he was being signed on to play Bond.

I saw the Dalton films and liked them well enough. When Bond returned with Brosnan after 6 years it was like heaven sent to have him back. I wasn't totally pleased when they parted with Brosnan, feeling he had one more film in him. As I watched Daniel Craig in Casino Royale I accepted him quickly. So I really don't have one actor that I see as Bond. Not sure why. It's kind of remarkable how many actors have played the role now. the media always wants to pit one against the other and ask 'who was the best Bond?", but most people have accepted them all.