General Public Perceptions of Bond

edited May 2013 in Bond Movies Posts: 3,236
Over on the "love to hate" thread, there was a bit of a side discussion about the Connery films and who remembers what from the Bond movies. So I thought it would be good to make a thread about the general public/casual fans' perceptions of the series, whether it's which films they remember, what they remember from the films, what they think of the actors or what they think of the films.

Any interesting perceptions or misperceptions encountered over the years?
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Comments

  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    edited May 2013 Posts: 13,350
    I've just posted this in that very thread but might as well repost here:

    For what it's worth I had a conversation with someone recently who swore blind Roger Moore starred in You Only Live Twice. Their reasoning, for themself, was that it's a "Roger Moore type film" and it is.

    This I think helps strengthen the idea of 'once you've seen one, you've seen them all'. To the public, Bond is really one large blur.
  • Posts: 14,800
    Samuel001 wrote:
    I've just posted this in that very thread but might as well repost here:

    For what it's worth I had a conversation with someone recently who swore blind Roger Moore starred in You Only Live Twice. Their reasoning, for themself, was that it's a "Roger Moore type film" and it is.

    This I think helps strengthen the idea of 'once you've seen one, you've seen them all'. To the public, Bond is really one large blur.

    That is my feeling too. And people have many false perceptions about Bond as well, like that every villain wants to invade the world. Only two ever tried: Stromberg and Drax. Blofeld in YOLT was a gun for hire by the Chinese and if Dr. No mentions world domination (actually Bond does), it remains a vague ideal.
  • saunderssaunders Living in a world of avarice and deceit
    Posts: 987
    I always liked it in the Roger Moore era when people used to question why Bond never gets any older and I could smugly reply that actually Moore was older than Connery, of course since 1987 I haven't been able to use that one.

    The other misconception that gets batted around in the media is that The world is not enough is Bond's family motto.
  • edited May 2013 Posts: 11,189
    saunders wrote:
    I always liked it in the Roger Moore era when people used to question why Bond never gets any older and I could smugly reply that actually Moore was older than Connery, of course since 1987 I haven't been able to use that one.

    The other misconception that gets batted around in the media is that The world is not enough is Bond's family motto.

    Didn't James find out that Sir Thomas Bond, a possible ancestor, used the motto and then adopted it as his own? I suppose if you buy that Thomas Bond was his ancestor then it could be true.
  • BAIN123 wrote:
    saunders wrote:
    I always liked it in the Roger Moore era when people used to question why Bond never gets any older and I could smugly reply that actually Moore was older than Connery, of course since 1987 I haven't been able to use that one.

    The other misconception that gets batted around in the media is that The world is not enough is Bond's family motto.

    Didn't James find out that Sir Thomas Bond, a possible ancestor, used the motto and then adopted it as his own? I suppose if you buy that Thomas Bond was his ancestor then it could be true.

    Yes, that's how I remember it. Although I suppose the motto is actually "orbis non-sufficit" and "the word is not enough" is just the translation.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,729
    I once had a very successful thread on just this subject on CBn way back in 2003-2004. It got over 100 replies!

    Here's a few I've heard of:

    The first Bond film was OHMSS.
    The first Bond film was in B/W.
    Auric Goldfinger had a...gold finger(!)
    In Moonraker Bond goes to the moon (Mariella Frostrup)
    GoldenEye had a character with a...golden eye(!)
    Sean Connery was the first ever James Bond actor.
    Ian Fleming was a gay man.
    James Bond dies at The End.
    Are all those actors playing the same Bond? What age must he not be by now?
    Who's George Lazenby?
    I don't understand the end of Skyfall with all the old staff back - was it time travel?!

    etc. etc. etc. ad infinitum.


  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,729
    BAIN123 wrote:
    saunders wrote:
    I always liked it in the Roger Moore era when people used to question why Bond never gets any older and I could smugly reply that actually Moore was older than Connery, of course since 1987 I haven't been able to use that one.

    The other misconception that gets batted around in the media is that The world is not enough is Bond's family motto.

    Didn't James find out that Sir Thomas Bond, a possible ancestor, used the motto and then adopted it as his own? I suppose if you buy that Thomas Bond was his ancestor then it could be true.

    Yes, that's my reading of it too. it seems also that Fleming based this on a real Bond family. I have the newspaper cuttings to prove just that somewhere.
  • edited May 2013 Posts: 3,236
    Dragonpol wrote:
    I once had a very successful thread on just this subject on CBn way back in 2003-2004. It got over 100 replies!

    Sean Connery was the first ever James Bond actor.

    In fairness, I doubt most people have heard of an obscure TV production of Casino Royale. He was the standard-setter at any rate, and not Barry Nelson.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,729
    Dragonpol wrote:
    I once had a very successful thread on just this subject on CBn way back in 2003-2004. It got over 100 replies!

    Sean Connery was the first ever James Bond actor.


    In fairness, I doubt most people have heard of an obscure TV production of Casino Royale. He was the standard-setter at any rate, and not Barry Nelson.

    Yes, I know, but it's a very common one, isn't it?
  • Posts: 14,800
    Another common misperception: Bond must sleep in one bad Bond girl and one good Bond girl in every movie. I have heard that one often.
  • Dragonpol wrote:
    Dragonpol wrote:
    I once had a very successful thread on just this subject on CBn way back in 2003-2004. It got over 100 replies!

    Sean Connery was the first ever James Bond actor.


    In fairness, I doubt most people have heard of an obscure TV production of Casino Royale. He was the standard-setter at any rate, and not Barry Nelson.

    Yes, I know, but it's a very common one, isn't it?

    It is quite common. But I'd rather think he was the first actor anyway.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited May 2013 Posts: 17,729
    Ludovico wrote:
    Another common misperception: Bond must sleep in one bad Bond girl and one good Bond girl in every movie. I have heard that one often.

    This comes from an article written by Roald Dahl that featured in Playboy in 1967 (entitled "007's Oriental Eyefuls". It really only happens this way in TB and YOLT, the latter of which Dahl himself of course wrote the screenplay for.
  • edited May 2013 Posts: 11,189
    In the eyes of the public there are 4 Bond actors - not 6.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,729
    BAIN123 wrote:
    In the eyes of the public there are 4 Bond actors - not 6.

    So true, BAIN.
  • Posts: 11,189
    True story: I went for a job interview with an entertainment news agency recently and had to take a test on celebrity culture general knowledge. One question was "name 5 Bond actors". Obviously naming all 6 would be a bit of a tall order.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,729
    BAIN123 wrote:
    True story: I went for a job interview with an entertainment news agency recently and had to take a test on celebrity culture general knowledge. One question was "name 5 Bond actors". Obviously naming all 6 would be a bit of a tall order.

    Indeed. For some, yes. Extra brownie points for Lazenby, I'm guessing.
  • Posts: 11,189
    Dragonpol wrote:
    BAIN123 wrote:
    True story: I went for a job interview with an entertainment news agency recently and had to take a test on celebrity culture general knowledge. One question was "name 5 Bond actors". Obviously naming all 6 would be a bit of a tall order.

    Indeed. For some, yes. Extra brownie points for Lazenby, I'm guessing.

    I showed off a bit and not only named 6 but also included David Niven.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,729
    BAIN123 wrote:
    Dragonpol wrote:
    BAIN123 wrote:
    True story: I went for a job interview with an entertainment news agency recently and had to take a test on celebrity culture general knowledge. One question was "name 5 Bond actors". Obviously naming all 6 would be a bit of a tall order.

    Indeed. For some, yes. Extra brownie points for Lazenby, I'm guessing.

    I showed off a bit and not only named 6 but also included David Niven.

    I'd have done the same (maybe). Did you get the job, then?
  • edited May 2013 Posts: 11,189
    Dragonpol wrote:
    BAIN123 wrote:
    Dragonpol wrote:
    BAIN123 wrote:
    True story: I went for a job interview with an entertainment news agency recently and had to take a test on celebrity culture general knowledge. One question was "name 5 Bond actors". Obviously naming all 6 would be a bit of a tall order.

    Indeed. For some, yes. Extra brownie points for Lazenby, I'm guessing.

    I showed off a bit and not only named 6 but also included David Niven.

    I'd have done the same (maybe). Did you get the job, then?

    No :(

    (There were some other questions I couldn't answer. I could name all the Bond actors but not all the members of The Saturdays)
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,729
    BAIN123 wrote:
    Dragonpol wrote:
    BAIN123 wrote:
    Dragonpol wrote:
    BAIN123 wrote:
    True story: I went for a job interview with an entertainment news agency recently and had to take a test on celebrity culture general knowledge. One question was "name 5 Bond actors". Obviously naming all 6 would be a bit of a tall order.

    Indeed. For some, yes. Extra brownie points for Lazenby, I'm guessing.

    I showed off a bit and not only named 6 but also included David Niven.

    I'd have done the same (maybe). Did you get the job, then?

    No :(

    (There were some other questions I couldn't answer)

    Oh, that's always the way. Better luck next time.
  • Posts: 11,189
    Dragonpol wrote:
    BAIN123 wrote:
    Dragonpol wrote:
    BAIN123 wrote:
    Dragonpol wrote:
    BAIN123 wrote:
    True story: I went for a job interview with an entertainment news agency recently and had to take a test on celebrity culture general knowledge. One question was "name 5 Bond actors". Obviously naming all 6 would be a bit of a tall order.

    Indeed. For some, yes. Extra brownie points for Lazenby, I'm guessing.

    I showed off a bit and not only named 6 but also included David Niven.

    I'd have done the same (maybe). Did you get the job, then?

    No :(

    (There were some other questions I couldn't answer)

    Oh, that's always the way. Better luck next time.

    Thanks :)
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,729
    My pleasure.
  • Posts: 14,800
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    Another common misperception: Bond must sleep in one bad Bond girl and one good Bond girl in every movie. I have heard that one often.

    This comes from an article written by Roald Dahl that featured in Playboy in 1967 (entitled "007's Oriental Eyefuls". It really only happens this way in TB and YOLT, the latter of which Dahl himself of course wrote the screenplay for.

    Well, in DAD too, and to a lesser extend AVTAK. That said in DAD it was triggered by this false perception, just like in YOLT it was a pale copy of TB.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,729
    Ludovico wrote:
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    Another common misperception: Bond must sleep in one bad Bond girl and one good Bond girl in every movie. I have heard that one often.

    This comes from an article written by Roald Dahl that featured in Playboy in 1967 (entitled "007's Oriental Eyefuls". It really only happens this way in TB and YOLT, the latter of which Dahl himself of course wrote the screenplay for.

    Well, in DAD too, and to a lesser extend AVTAK. That said in DAD it was triggered by this false perception, just like in YOLT it was a pale copy of TB.

    Well, you knew what I meant. Dahl saw it as a hard and fast rule that 3 women were needed - the sacrificial lamb, the villainess and the good girl when it had only really ever featured in one film - TB.
  • Dragonpol wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    Another common misperception: Bond must sleep in one bad Bond girl and one good Bond girl in every movie. I have heard that one often.

    This comes from an article written by Roald Dahl that featured in Playboy in 1967 (entitled "007's Oriental Eyefuls". It really only happens this way in TB and YOLT, the latter of which Dahl himself of course wrote the screenplay for.

    Well, in DAD too, and to a lesser extend AVTAK. That said in DAD it was triggered by this false perception, just like in YOLT it was a pale copy of TB.

    Well, you knew what I meant. Dahl saw it as a hard and fast rule that 3 women were needed - the sacrificial lamb, the villainess and the good girl when it had only really ever featured in one film - TB.

    The Playboy interview is very funny. I have the impression that Dahl's tongue was at least partway in his cheek
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,729
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    Another common misperception: Bond must sleep in one bad Bond girl and one good Bond girl in every movie. I have heard that one often.

    This comes from an article written by Roald Dahl that featured in Playboy in 1967 (entitled "007's Oriental Eyefuls". It really only happens this way in TB and YOLT, the latter of which Dahl himself of course wrote the screenplay for.

    Well, in DAD too, and to a lesser extend AVTAK. That said in DAD it was triggered by this false perception, just like in YOLT it was a pale copy of TB.

    Well, you knew what I meant. Dahl saw it as a hard and fast rule that 3 women were needed - the sacrificial lamb, the villainess and the good girl when it had only really ever featured in one film - TB.

    The Playboy interview is very funny. I have the impression that Dahl's tongue was at least partway in his cheek

    Yes, I've never read the full thing - only an excerpt.

  • edited May 2013 Posts: 3,236
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    Dragonpol wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    Another common misperception: Bond must sleep in one bad Bond girl and one good Bond girl in every movie. I have heard that one often.

    This comes from an article written by Roald Dahl that featured in Playboy in 1967 (entitled "007's Oriental Eyefuls". It really only happens this way in TB and YOLT, the latter of which Dahl himself of course wrote the screenplay for.

    Well, in DAD too, and to a lesser extend AVTAK. That said in DAD it was triggered by this false perception, just like in YOLT it was a pale copy of TB.

    Well, you knew what I meant. Dahl saw it as a hard and fast rule that 3 women were needed - the sacrificial lamb, the villainess and the good girl when it had only really ever featured in one film - TB.

    There had only been four movies, at least.

    And I think the general public does remember Lazenby, if only as a punchline. It's also just occurred to me that it's kind of weird that we're sitting talking about "the general public" like they're some kind of mystifying other, when we're "the general public" for a great many things. Yes, I know I started the thread.
  • edited May 2013 Posts: 1,637
    Hmm , I thought Blofelds plot was to take over the world himself as a quasi-Hitler in YOLT and not the Chinese , that was the impression I get when I see the movie anyway.
  • edited May 2013 Posts: 4,622
    My general sense of the public perception is that the Connery and Moore Bonds are the archetypes...the accepted established Bonds. These are the two that unashamedly deliver the Bond tropes. Lazenby is a mere footnote.
    Bond, post-Moore, (Dalts and Broz) is somewhat experimental, relative to the Connery and Moore eras.
    Craig of course is dutifully hailed as ushering in a new era.
    This is my sense of public perception, not my own opinion.......which of course is that the Connery era emphatically trumps and squashes everything that has followed. :D
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,729
    Tracy wrote:
    Hmm , I thought Blofelds plot was to take over the world himself as a quasi-Hitler in YOLT and not the Chinese , that was the impression I get when I see the movie anyway.

    No, I think Blofeld in YOLT was an agent through which the Red Chinese could operate - much like the modern-day Quantum of the Craig era.

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