"For over six decades, James Bond has been a fixture of global culture, universally recognizable by the films' combination of action set pieces, sex, political intrigue, and outrageous gadgetry. But as the British Empire entered the final stages of collapse, as the Cold War wound down and the ""War on Terror"" began, and as the visions of masculinity and femininity the series presented began to strike many viewers as outdated, the Bond formula has adapted to the changing times. Spanning the franchise's entire history, from Sean Connery's iconic swagger to Daniel Craig's rougher, more visceral interpretation of the superspy, James Bond Will Return offers both academic readers and fans a comprehensive view of the series's transformations against the backdrop of real-world geopolitical intrigue and sweeping social changes.
Leading scholars consider each of the twenty-five films in the series, showing how and why Bond has changed and what elements of the formula have stood the test of time. Each chapter examines a single film from a distinct position, giving readers a full picture of the variety and breadth of the longest-running series in cinema history. Close formal readings; production histories; tracings of the political, social, and historical influences; analyses of the series' use of then-new filmmaking technologies; reflections on the star personas that have been built around the character-these and many more approaches combine to produce a wide-ranging view of the James Bond film franchise. Essential reading for Bond scholars and aficionados alike, James Bond Will Return brings out the many surprising complexities of an iconic character."
Edited by:
Claire Hines,
Terence McSweeney,
Stuart Joy
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 235mm,
Width: 156mm,
ISBN: 9780231207409
ISBN 10: 0231207409
Pages: 344
Publication Date: 09 January 2024
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Acknowledgments Introduction: James Bond—Agent of Continuity and Change, by Claire Hines, Terence McSweeney, and Stuart Joy 1. Bond and the New Elizabethans: Tradition and Modernity in Dr. No (1962), by Laura Crossley 2. “A Real Labour of Love, as They Say”: James Bond as a Sexual Plaything in From Russia with Love (1963), by Lucy Bolton 3. The Midas Touch: Eastmancolor, the Bond Franchise, and Goldfinger (1964), by Keith M. Johnston 4. The Popular Geopolitics of Thunderball (1965): Look Up, Look Down, and Look Everywhere!, by Klaus Dodds 5. Bond in the East: Orientalism and the Exotic in You Only Live Twice (1967), by Robert Shail 6. The Other Fellow: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), by James Chapman 7. Diamonds Are Forever (1971): 007 and Transatlantic States of Emergency, by Ian Scott 8. From Harlem to San Monique: Spatial Dichotomies, Voodoo, and Cultural Identity in Live and Let Die (1973), by Fran Pheasant-Kelly 9. “We All Get Our Jollies One Way or Another”: The Perversity and Pleasure of Christopher Lee in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), by Julie Lobalzo Wright 10. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)—Nobody Does It Better: “Keeping the British End Up” at a Time of National Crisis, by Terence McSweeney 11. Moonraker (1979) and the Canvas of Escapism, by Steven Gerrard 12. The Spectre of Death: Revenge and Retribution in For Your Eyes Only (1981), by Stuart Joy 13. The (Clown) Suited Hero: James Bond, Costume, Gender and Disguise in Octopussy (1983), by Claire Hines 14. Scowls and Cowls: Grace Jones, Costume Design, and A View to a Kill (1985), by Randall Stevens 15. “A Time When Indiscriminating Bed-Hopping Is Definitely Not Advisable”: Safe-Sex References in the UK Press Reception of The Living Daylights (1987), by Stephanie Jones 16. Bond in the New World Orders: Licence to Kill (1989), by Stacey Peebles 17. Cold War Nostalgia, (Geo)Political Progress, and James Bond in GoldenEye (1995), by Tatiana Konrad 18. Bond by the Numbers: Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), by Llewella Chapman 19. Bond at the Crossroads: The World Is Not Enough (1999), by Tobias Hochscherf 20. The Digital Domain of Die Another Day (2002), by Christopher Holliday 21. What Matters More: Hierarchies of Value in Casino Royale (2006), by Christine Muller 22. “Like a Bullet . . .”: Speed, Economy, and Canonical Continuity in Quantum of Solace (2008), by Estella Tincknell 23. “Sometimes the Old Ways Are the Best”: Technology and the Body in a Gothic Reading of Sam Mendes’s Skyfall (2012), by Monica Germanà 24. “It’s Always Been Me”: Spectrality, Hauntings, and Retcon in Spectre (2015), by James Smith 25. No Time to Die (2021) and The Spy Who Loved #MeToo?, by Terence McSweeney and Stuart Joy Selected Bibliography Contributors Index
Claire Hines is lecturer in film studies at the University of East Anglia. She is the author of The Playboy and James Bond: 007, Ian Fleming and Playboy Magazine (2018). Terence McSweeney is senior lecturer in film and television at Solent University. He is the author of Black Panther: Interrogating a Cultural Phenomenon (2021). Stuart Joy is the course leader for film and television at Solent University. He is the author of The Traumatic Screen: The Films of Christopher Nolan (2020).
Reviews for James Bond Will Return: Critical Perspectives on the 007 Film Franchise
With a stellar lineup of authors offering sharp, original analysis of every James Bond film to date, this book delivers a fascinating retrospective of the 007 franchise at a critical moment in the extended life of the series. -- Christoph Lindner, editor of <i>The James Bond Phenomenon</i>, <i>Revisioning 007</i>, and <i>Resisting James Bond</i> Featuring established Bond scholars and new voices, this collection offers new and exciting perspectives on the film franchise. While each of the Bond films are a product of the time they were made, these essays tell us that the series has relevance to the world we live in today. Well written and fun to read, James Bond Will Return will excite even the most seasoned Bond scholar and fan. -- Robert G. Weiner, coeditor of <i>James Bond in World and Popular Culture</i> James Bond Will Return takes a chronological, anthological approach to the study of the cinematic Bond, enabling a totalizing view of the so-called ‘Bond experience.’ This is the most expansive and well-organized coverage of the Bond cinematic universe to date, representing film and cultural history par excellence. -- Ian Kinane, author of <i>Ian Fleming and the Politics of Ambivalence</i> and general editor of the <i>International Journal of James Bond Studies</i>
