Sex scenes

CASINOROYALECASINOROYALE Somewhere hot
in Literary 007 Posts: 1,003
How graphic are the sex scenes compared to the films?
I know the films normally cut things short but I have heard the books can be quite umm descriptive.
I remember reading LALD when I was like 13-14 and I swear it was super graphic.

I am debating on reading trigger mortis
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Comments

  • ChriscoopChriscoop North Yorkshire
    Posts: 281
    Probably graphic for the time they were written but quite tame by modern standards.
    I'm reading trigger mortis at the moment it's not bad at all so far, quite enjoyed solo also more than carte blanche which I was a little disappointed with. :-S
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    I think it's in TMWTGG , an act where a young lady writhes around a giant hand. Which
    Was very erotic ;) made a big impression on me as a lad.
  • ChriscoopChriscoop North Yorkshire
    edited July 2016 Posts: 281
    Big impression or big expression? :^o
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,687
    I thought this was a porno film thread. 8-|
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    Thought or Hoped ? :D
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,687
    Thought or Hoped ? :D
    Yes.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited July 2016 Posts: 17,728
    Chriscoop wrote: »
    Probably graphic for the time they were written but quite tame by modern standards.
    I'm reading trigger mortis at the moment it's not bad at all so far, quite enjoyed solo also more than carte blanche which I was a little disappointed with. :-S

    Yes, that's how I'd put it too. I think Raymond Benson sexed things up a lot more in his Bond novels though, but that is the effect of time.
    chrisisall wrote: »
    I thought this was a porno film thread. 8-|

    Yes, perhaps @CASINOROYALE could change the title of this thread to something like 'Sex scenes in the James Bond Novels' so as to avoid confusion. :)
  • TheWizardOfIceTheWizardOfIce 'One of the Internet's more toxic individuals'
    Posts: 9,117
    chrisisall wrote: »
    Thought or Hoped ? :D
    Yes.

    Disappointing indeed.

    I was all set for an in depth discussion of Eva's work in The Dreamers.
  • Posts: 5,772
    Not as graphic as what we see right now, that's for sure. Yes, Bond slept around (a lot less in the novels that in the movies), but the scenes were cut just as they were becoming interesting (the most I've read was in GF, at the end, where Pussy's nipple hardened when Bond stroked it). Now, the descriptions of naked beauties focused on the breasts, but apart from the above-mentioned scene in TMWTGG, and the strip number in LALD, all of that where pretty tame, although I can understand why they were scandalous for the time. Benson went further than that in "Never Dream of Dying", IMHO.
  • Posts: 322
    Too graphic for the films…especially in our puritan 21st century
  • Posts: 988
    For me, Benson went too far in Never Dream of Dying. I'm purist (and possibly pious) enough to never want the word clitoris in a Bond novel ever again, thanks.
    But more importantly, you've got to be a very good writer to put a sex scene in a novel without it becoming tawdry. And Benson, whilst he had his strengths, wasn't up to classy erotica.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    edited August 2022 Posts: 23,448
    Oh yes, this thread.

    If the first Bond film had been made in the '70s, there's a small chance the series would have included more graphic sex scenes, or at least more explicit nudity. But, as @Troy correctly points out, they probably would have had to "clean up" their affairs in more recent times. (Remember how Bond used to smoke... a lot?)

    Personally, I can easily do without graphic sex in my Bonds. Yes, Fleming described certain instances of love making in a rather juicy way, but the film medium would use images instead of words, and that might have submitted the films to harsher age restrictions. (Remember, there's an odd subset of the audience that doesn't mind guns and blood but simply cannot handle a naked bosom for reason beyond my understanding.) Also, teasing the fruits of love can heat things up almost as much if not more than going full-on anatomical. Lastly, the Bond films have so much to offer already, we don't really need additional content to spice things up.

    The sexy playfulness of the Bonds is now an integral part of the seductive cocktail of the films. If the violence, sex, politics, or comedy in the Bonds crossed a certain line into far more exploitative territory, it might ruin the fun.

    Also, those who are hoping for "a glimmer", can always look up our beloved actresses in certain Internet archives. A surprising number of them took off their clothes in front of a camera or engaged in sex scenes in other films.
    For me, Benson went too far in Never Dream of Dying. I'm purist (and possibly pious) enough to never want the word clitoris in a Bond novel ever again, thanks.
    But more importantly, you've got to be a very good writer to put a sex scene in a novel without it becoming tawdry. And Benson, whilst he had his strengths, wasn't up to classy erotica.

    @ColonelAdamski, I suppose it depends on the context but yes, "clitoris" doesn't sound like a word that rhymes well with a Bond novel. Fleming presented a rather "sweaty" moment in TMWTGG, when describing a girl dancing naked and performing all sorts of pelvic motions in front of several aroused men. I still think he kept things tasteful by using colourful words rather than medical terms. Also, while I can appreciate a good sex scene in a film that knows how to handle it, I'm not so sure I need it in a book. Most sex scenes I have "read" in books come off as absurd attempts by an author to find some elevated poetry. It's not my thing, usually.
  • VenutiusVenutius Yorkshire
    edited August 2022 Posts: 2,895
    Yeah, you have to commiserate with Daniel Craig when you realise that he's probably the only leading actor that Eva Green hasn't done a nude scene with... ;) I dunno, on the one hand, it seems like an awful waste not to, er, see more of the Bond girls...but on the other hand it's not as if there aren't plenty of non-Bond films where you can pretty much see as much as you'd like of Eva, Olga Kurylenko, Gemma Arteton, Berenice Marlohe, Monica Belucci and Lea Seydoux, for eg. Be very careful about watching The Dreamers, though - she'll take your soul, man!
  • Posts: 322
    I remember an old interview with someone from EON, saying in the 1960s EON had problems with US censors complaining about too much sex, and British censors complaining about too much violence. And they said one of the reasons behind Connery’s quips was to lighten the mood and distract from the violence.

    Given how global modern audiences are, no doubt EON are very aware of the differing cultural standards around the world
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,448
    Censors will always complain. Otherwise they would have nothing to do. I watched the pre-Code film BIRD OF PARADISE (1932) yesterday. Not sure that film would be so easy to get an all-ages release today. For the record, I think censors are a leftover from past times. I wish they would just go away.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,009
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    Censors will always complain. Otherwise they would have nothing to do. I watched the pre-Code film BIRD OF PARADISE (1932) yesterday. Not sure that film would be so easy to get an all-ages release today. For the record, I think censors are a leftover from past times. I wish they would just go away.

    I often do wonder what the age-group of those who are censors is. I mean, do kids grow up thinking "man, I'd love to be a censor?"
  • George_KaplanGeorge_Kaplan Not a red herring
    Posts: 539
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    Censors will always complain. Otherwise they would have nothing to do. I watched the pre-Code film BIRD OF PARADISE (1932) yesterday. Not sure that film would be so easy to get an all-ages release today. For the record, I think censors are a leftover from past times. I wish they would just go away.

    I often do wonder what the age-group of those who are censors is. I mean, do kids grow up thinking "man, I'd love to be a censor?"

    Elderly busybodies.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,448
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    Censors will always complain. Otherwise they would have nothing to do. I watched the pre-Code film BIRD OF PARADISE (1932) yesterday. Not sure that film would be so easy to get an all-ages release today. For the record, I think censors are a leftover from past times. I wish they would just go away.

    I often do wonder what the age-group of those who are censors is. I mean, do kids grow up thinking "man, I'd love to be a censor?"

    At the risk of sounding ageist, I presume the older some people get, the more "censory" they become. While some of us grow more relaxed, others tense up. They become scared, forget who they once were, fail to understand the "new world", see a few kids play loud music and think society is in full decay. Moral panic ensues... That said, youth can be easily startled and shocked too.

    Huh. Now I'm not sure anymore. My ageism may be a knife cutting two ways. Okay, I'll just say, my generation is the more tolerant. :-D
  • Posts: 6,682
    This seems like a very interesting subject to me, sex scenes. I'm gonna go do some research and I'll get back to you.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,448
    mattjoes wrote: »
    This seems like a very interesting subject to me, sex scenes. I'm gonna go do some research and I'll get back to you.

    Make sure to take notes and copy down all conditions (temperature, pressure, ...) for the sake of reproducibility of your research. Oh, and share your findings with us.
  • Creasy47Creasy47 In Cuba with Natalya.Moderator
    Posts: 40,371
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    mattjoes wrote: »
    This seems like a very interesting subject to me, sex scenes. I'm gonna go do some research and I'll get back to you.

    Make sure to take notes and copy down all conditions (temperature, pressure, ...) for the sake of reproducibility of your research. Oh, and share your findings with us.

    Pictures and video, pictures and video...for research, of course, and thorough analysis.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,448
    Creasy47 wrote: »
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    mattjoes wrote: »
    This seems like a very interesting subject to me, sex scenes. I'm gonna go do some research and I'll get back to you.

    Make sure to take notes and copy down all conditions (temperature, pressure, ...) for the sake of reproducibility of your research. Oh, and share your findings with us.

    Pictures and video, pictures and video...for research, of course, and thorough analysis.

    I'm really looking forward to @mattjoes' Law of Conservation of Sex Scenes.
  • Posts: 6,682
    I predict an exponentially-increasing temperature curve, but then again, I might be biased, so it's good to know my work will be peer-reviewed. Nothing like properly conducted scientific research.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,728
    mattjoes wrote: »
    This seems like a very interesting subject to me, sex scenes. I'm gonna go do some research and I'll get back to you.

    I've heard there's some on the internet but I'm not sure if it's true.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,448
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    mattjoes wrote: »
    This seems like a very interesting subject to me, sex scenes. I'm gonna go do some research and I'll get back to you.

    I've heard there's some on the internet but I'm not sure if it's true.

    Everytime my, uh, scientific curiosity takes me there, my wife looks at me funny. I don't get it. My interest in these things is purely professional.
  • QBranchQBranch Always have an escape plan. Mine is watching James Bond films.
    Posts: 13,879
    2846d35b2cdddd2849c953c1bd8a7260--pierce-brosnan-james-bond.jpg

    What is this 'sex' you speak of?
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 23,448
    QBranch wrote: »
    2846d35b2cdddd2849c953c1bd8a7260--pierce-brosnan-james-bond.jpg

    What is this 'sex' you speak of?

    Put on something nice and I'll buy you some ice cream.
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,882
    amy-and-amiability444.jpg
  • edited August 2022 Posts: 322
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    DarthDimi wrote: »
    Censors will always complain. Otherwise they would have nothing to do. I watched the pre-Code film BIRD OF PARADISE (1932) yesterday. Not sure that film would be so easy to get an all-ages release today. For the record, I think censors are a leftover from past times. I wish they would just go away.

    I often do wonder what the age-group of those who are censors is. I mean, do kids grow up thinking "man, I'd love to be a censor?"

    At the risk of sounding ageist, I presume the older some people get, the more "censory" they become. While some of us grow more relaxed, others tense up. They become scared, forget who they once were, fail to understand the "new world", see a few kids play loud music and think society is in full decay. Moral panic ensues... That said, youth can be easily startled and shocked too.

    Huh. Now I'm not sure anymore. My ageism may be a knife cutting two ways. Okay, I'll just say, my generation is the more tolerant. :-D

    Oh, I don’t know about that. When I grew up in the 1970s, there was far more tolerance. - eg naked breasts were commonplace on prime time tv, whereas now it’s seems to be banned on the grounds it’s exploitation.

    In the 70s, one of the few things to be banned was swearing, now there are far more ‘problematic’ issues. Just think about how many 20th century tv programmes are no longer allowed to be shown.

    In reality, every generation seems to have its own hang ups.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    edited August 2022 Posts: 23,448
    I spent my teenage years in the '90s. I too have the sense that naked breasts were far from taboo. Friends of mine took their tops off when we went to the beach, just like that. I don't think that's happening a lot anymore, for better or worse. Maybe it all depends on what part of the world we live in. ;-)
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