Best Bond Moments

His suits are tailor-made in Savile Row, he likes his Vodka Martini shaken, not stirred and he's a skirt-chasing confirmed bachelor. Oh, James! And when it comes to the movies, Bond aficionados have been spoilt over the past forty-plus years since the release of 1962's Dr No. We've had a varied selection of Bonds, loads of nubile females, dastardly villains, cars that would make Jeremy Clarkson drool (maybe), double entendres that put the Carry On movies to shame and eye-popping gadgets. Question is, how do you pick the top 10 Bond movie moments from all that? Answer: with great difficulty…

 

The Lotus Esprit Makes Waves 
Q and his boffins excelled themselves when they took on the project of making over the Lotus Esprit S1. Apart from the Aston Martin DB5, the white car from Roger Moore's The Spy Who Loved Me is one of the most recognised Bond motors. In the movie, Bond is being pursued by a missile-firing helicopter. To escape, he launches the car off a pier and into the sea in what appears to be a fit of utter madness. But it's what happens next that is even more unbelievable. The Lotus sprouts fins, the doors and windows seal tight and the Esprit turns into a submarine. Bond then fires a rocket and knocks the helicopter out of the sky before zooming off to fight more underwater baddies. The waterproof Esprit emerges on a packed beach and a very smug (and dry) Bond drives off. Classic stuff.

A Taste Of Honey

Come on, did you really think we'd leave this one out? It frequently tops movie polls of all kinds when the question seeks the sexiest Bond girl or an iconic Bond moment.

 

As Honey Ryder, Swiss-born actress Ursula Andress remains the most celebrated Bond Girl and anyone who's seen Dr No will never forget the moment she emerges from the waves in that white bikini singing 'Underneath The Mango Tree' (in the original Ian Fleming novel, Honey is described as completely nude when she leaves the water). "What are you doing here? Looking for shells?" she asks Sean Connery's Bond. "No," he replies ogling her, "I'm just looking."

 

London Calling

In The World Is Not Enough, a bomb hits the MI6 building; Pierce Brosnan's Bond spots an assailant, a mysterious assassin known only as 'Cigar Girl'. He'd first met the dangerous beauty in Spain and now she'd tried to kill him...naturally, he chases after her. In the process, he commandeers a hi-tech mini-boat first glimpsed in Q's workshop. The water jet powered speed boat comes complete with all the usual 007-type gadgets so it's a case of hold on tight - it's gonna be a bumpy ride.

 

Bond takes it for a spin around London in a sequence that alternates between sight gags and thrilling chaos. By the end, he's left in pain on the Millennium Dome, and the Cigar Girl dies spectacularly.

 

"We Have All The Time In The World"

In the original novel and the film, these are the words James Bond utters to his murdered wife Countess Teresa di Vincenzo. In the film On Her Majesty's Secret Service starring George Lazenby, 007 is on the tail of Stavro Blofeld. He rescues Tracy, played by Diana Rigg, from suicide and falls in love with her. They get married but as they set off on honeymoon, tragedy strikes: Blofeld's henchman sprays the car with machine-gun fire. A heartbroken Bond cradles the only woman he has truly loved in his arms. Even today, the scene still resonates and We Have All The Time In The World, the beautiful composition sung by Louis Armstrong, is timeless.

Bond's Close Shave

It's a case of 'take your pick' when it comes to Goldfinger and the selection of some of the finest moments in the Bond movie franchise. How about the classy pre-title sequence?

 

Bond's on a mission and slips out of his wetsuit to reveal a pristine white tuxedo underneath (not one crease, no iron needed). He pauses only to slip a red carnation into his lapel. How's that for cool? It was imitated in countless movies (including True Lies, but Arnie's no Connery) and significantly, it was nicked by the writers of TV detective show Remington Steele for the episode 'Steele At It'. The star of that show? Pierce Brosnan.

 

More Goldfinger moments? How about the fate of Jill Masterson (played by Shirley Eaton). She aids Auric Goldfinger's card cheating, but Bond discovers this and seduces her. Goldfinger sends his henchman Oddjob to deliver a warning to 007. When Bond comes round, after being knocked unconscious, he sees Jill painted from head-to-toe in gold, suffocating her in the process.

 

But the scene that we've chosen, even above all the aforementioned, is a much-parodied piece of celluloid folklore. Lasers did not exist in 1959 when the book Goldfinger was written, and they were a novelty by the time of the movie. However, that doesn't stop Auric Golfinger. As Bond is strapped on a table spread-eagled, a laser beam inches towards his crown jewels. "Do you expect me to talk?" he asks, eyes fixed on the approaching laser. "No Mr Bond, I expect you to die!" Goldfinger answers. Brilliant.

 

Bye, Bye Q
It had to happen sometime, but it was still sad when it did. In The World Is Not Enough, Desmond Llewelyn's Q gave Pierce Brosnan's Bond a final scolding over the gadgets. It's the way he's lowered through the floor that packs an emotional punch, but what a fitting farewell to a true Bond legend. For many years, he was the constant figure in the franchise. Shortly after the premiere of this film, Desmond Llewelyn died in a car accident; his 007 goodbye now has real poignancy.

We've Been Expecting You…

Dr No. 1962. A busy casino. An immaculately attired man. A woman introduces herself to the gambler across the table and he answers: "Bond. James Bond." Everything about it is memorable: Sean Connery's nonchalant delivery of the line, the cigarette smoke, the lighter, the ambiance. For my money, one of the best introductions to a movie character ever.

 

From Russia With Love

Pierce Brosnan's GoldenEye begins with a breathtaking pre-credits sequence featuring Bond's spectacular bungee-jump from the top of a 750ft long dam. He then fires a piton into the ground and reels himself down, gaining entry to a top-secret facility. What a start! However, the scene we're concerned with is 007's jaw-dropping chase through the streets of St Petersburg inside a Russian tank stolen from a Russian military building. A tank?!? It's just soooo Bond.

 

And you've got to admire the cheek of the product placement: at one point, the tank smashes into a lorry carrying bottles of Perrier.

Murder On The Orient Express 

If you like to see Bond scrap it out in a good fight, look no further than 1963's From Russia With Love; the action is non-stop, brutal and realistic. Robert Shaw is excellent as the ruthless psychopathic villain Red Grant, a deadly assassin trained by SPECTRE with instructions to dispose of Bond. He trails 007 to the Orient Express and knocks him unconscious.

 

When Bond comes around, he appears doomed but Grant is duped into opening the booby trapped attaché case and the mother of all fights breaks out. It's an unforgettable, adrenaline-fuelled showdown and over forty years later, it's rarely been bettered.

 

For Queen And Country 
In The Spy Who Loved Me's pre-title sequence, Roger Moore's James Bond escapes from his pursuers by skiing off a mountain. In the process, his parachute unfurls revealing a Union Jack - it's a moment of sheer class and genius that makes yer proud to be British mate. Fast forward 25 years to 2002, and in a stunt from dumb action flick xXx, Vin Diesel opens up a parachute patterned with the Stars And Stripes of America; the overall effect is pure Gorgonzola. 

 

Any Bond fan (or any Brit come to that) who's seen both versions will rightly feel a sense of smug superiority - it was funnier and more majestic when 007 did it. Nobody does it better.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gallery: Top Bond Girls including Britt Ekland and Honor Blackman

 

 

 

 

By Lorna Cooper, Entertainment Editor - Feedback  - Discuss - Blog