Ian Fleming, just a guy who wrote some books.
The other day I made the mistake of wandering into the forums of those bastions of Bond fandom that are MI6-HQĀ and CommanderBond. Why you ask? I don’t know, I guess I’m just a glutton for punishment. Maybe I was curious to see, given the dearth of excitement surrounding No Time To Die, if Craig was still “da BEST Bond evaaa!” Spoiler alert, he is.Ā
All hail His Majesty!
The reason I bring this up, the term “Fleming’s Bond” was getting tossed around quite liberally. Some of them were even spelling his name correctly!
Exactly!
Here’s the rub, the thread that caught my eye wasn’t about thespianic interpretation, film tone or even actor appearance, but rather a poll asking the participants if they subscribe to the notion Rami Malek’s character “Safin” will turn out to in fact be Dr. Julius No.
Obviously!
I’ve already expressed my thoughts on this ridiculous idea, so I won’t be adding any more fuel to that dumpster fire here, I just mention it because the comments were full of delusional folks who believe EON should remake all of the films based on Fleming’s works in much more rigid adaptations. Now if you were talking about over the top films such as You Only Live Twice or Moonraker you’d have an argument, a weak one, but an argument none the less. However what these chaps said was quite hysterical, we’ll circle around to it in a moment, but first, all this talk about “Fleming’s Bond” got me thinking. We’ve been talking about “Fleming’s Bond” for years, in fact this current schism in the fandom surrounding his holiness Craig was born out of a debate over the very subject. Yet here I am, dozens of articles under my belt and I have neglected to address it.
Almost as monumental as the divide between Bond fans.
What is “Fleming’s Bond,” which actor most closely encompasses it, should we even care? Bond as written by Fleming is a rather intriguing character. He’s an introspective chap, a consummate professional, sitting on a beach meditating on life’s little inconsistencies (OHMSS) one moment and feeling remorse for the killing of a rival organization’s hitman the next (GF).
Pictured: Not Fleming’s Bond apparently.
Which actor comes closest to this elusive title? Well lets start with who isn’t, much as it pains me, as I am a huge fan and he holds a special place in my heart, Roger Moore must be eliminated right away. He certainly has flashes of the literary style at times but if we’re intellectually honest, thanks to his films taking place in and encapsulating the “feel good 70’s” and “Reagan era 80’s” it’s quite obvious he’s furthest from the “truth.”Ā
A sad clown indeed.
Lazenby must be knocked out next, just for the fact he never really got the chance to place his own stamp on the series. He was just instructed to ape Connery and kind of just, for lack of a better term, “fumbled” his way through it.
Don’t worry about me old boy, I’m doing just fine!
Brosnan must go next for sort of the same reason, he admits as much in interviews where he states “Sean and Roger were over my shoulder (in his mind when envisioning Bond) and in the end I just let them in.”Ā
Those are fighting words there Benny!
Now for the man, the myth, the legend Dan Craig (the myth and legend is the belief this guy is Bond), the “best actor to ever play Bond” and the “closest to Fleming’s Bond” as declared by EON’s massive public relations machine. I have yet to see any actual arguments as to why Daniel is the “anointed one of all things Fleming” I’ve only seen such nebulous phrases as “gritty” and “realistic” bandied about unironically. Just because Casino Royale was more grounded than Die Another Day (no great feat) doesn’t make it Flemingesque.
No…
Quite…
Obviously…
It does!
Fleming famously said of his creation: “I have no message for suffering humanity…” and “The target of my books, lay somewhere between the solar plexus and, well, the upper thigh.”Ā
He also had this to say about a conversation he had with a relative who also practiced the literary arts: āI bet you call yourself an Author,ā I said. He agreed, with a shade of reluctance, perhaps because he scented sarcasm on the way. āJust so,ā I said. āWell, I describe myself as a Writer. There are authors and artists, and then again there are writers and painters.ā
So you see all this mumbo-jumbo and claptrap concerning Craig’s great skill as a thespian and “deep plots” about brotherly love etc. is just that, vacuous gum flapping from pseudo-intellectuals who want to sound more cultured than they are.Ā Ā
Well, back on track…
All Aboard!
Timothy Dalton is most definitely the “intentional” interpretation of “Fleming’s Bond.” Tim set out to be the literary rendition on film. From the beginning he wanted his execution to encapsulate the brooding introspection alluded to earlier. Unfortunately this proved to be unpopular at first but has gained a renaissance since. However, Timothy is the hands down undisputed “Fleming Bond.”
Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
Wait a minute old boy!
Easy there Sean, I hadn’t forgotten you! You see I left Connery to the end because he is at once the closest and the furthest to “Fleming’s Bond” of the lot. Unfortunately, by the end of his run the producers had decided to embrace kitsch and the slapstick that plagued Moore had already started to creep in, but early Connery especially Dr, No,Ā From Russia With Love and Goldfinger are by definition Fleming’s Bond, how you ask?
He was on set!
Right up through Goldfinger!
Fleming was there during filming, presumably giving notes to Broccoli and Saltzman who were enamored by the author and his creation, in those early days EON was obsessed with getting the details right, even such minutia as to the make and model of car Bond borrows in Jamaica.
Literary and cinematic Sunbeam Alpines.
And it seems Fleming approved, as he “retconned” his creation to have Scottish roots in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. In those first couple films Bond is, or at least reasonably close to, how Fleming would have filmed him.
Action!
So back to our friends in the forum. When one chap was asked in a thread, why he wanted the old films remade, he responded:
“Itās not that Iām clamoring for it, I just would be fine with it if thatās the route they went down. Thereās something to be said for having an interest in seeing how something written in the 50ās/60ās would translate to modern sensibilities.
Look at a character like Moneypenny. The way she is written in 2020 is much different than she was in 1962, and I enjoy both. Iām glad they didnāt leave her in the past and brought her along. I wouldnāt mind seeing the same thing happen with a Goldfinger or a Red Grant.
Or look at Casino Royale. Letās pretend that book had been filmed as a movie in 1960 as Conneryās 1st. Itās a very simple book and probably would have been a simple movie, much like Dr. No turned out.
Now look at what a modern telling of that turned into in 2006. The plot was expanded and updated and fans loved it.
If CR ā06 had been a reboot, wouldnāt you have enjoyed the new telling of it?”
No old boy, no I wouldn’t. Dr. No a simple movie?! Compared to Casino Royale (06)?! Which was a good 45 minutes too long and can be summed up as fight, chase, fight, ‘splosions, poker, chase, more ‘splosions, train ride, poker, more poker, car chase (more like a glorified car wreck), sailing, finally even more ‘splosions, all draped over by a maudlin love story. This chap seems to think the measure of a film is how much extraneous bullshit one can pack in above and beyond the original story.
Following this, another Brainiac chimes it with this jewel:
“Indeed, when theyāve been adapted, such as in the scenes you mention the results are great. So why not do that more and with not just a select scene or two.
I get the impression that this was the thinking behind Craigās CR (perhaps inspired by Tarantinoās pitch).
Their problem may seem to be that thereās no Flemingās left to adapt. My argument would be that theyāve in the main only appropriated titles, characters and select scenes. But serious adaptations of the books, rather than their parts, there are only three (as you corrected me thereās OHMSS).
These three movies vs the rest seem the best reason possible to have another go at Dr No, deadly assault corses, giant squids and all.”
So, his argument is EON does it so much better now than before, I assume because they are much more “grittier.” I wonder what this fellow thinks of Die Another Day as it was a closer and more modern adaptation of Moonraker?Ā Never mind the fact Dr. No is an extremely faithful adaptation of the source, only omitting those outrageous scenes this gent is so strangely pining for. He seems to be a fan of the “Craigification” of the series yet wants a giant squid? Not particularly “gritty and realistic” unless you believe 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea is a documentary! Ā
The grounded documentarian style sorely lacking from Dr. No.
Is a very literal interpretation of “Fleming’s Bond” necessary or even beneficial?Ā He makes for a fascinating read, but I’m not sure how a rigorous adaptation would play out on screen? To truly depict this individual the producers would need to rely on film noir voice over where Bond criticizes his foe’s clothing, describes how he prefers his scrambled eggs and how his relationship with the previous story’s female protagonist ended, not to mention use outdated racial terms.Ā
“Of all the scrambled egg joints in all the world she had to walk into mine.”
What Broccoli and Saltzman did in the early films was condense Bond’s essence down. A man among men, who enjoys high adventure, fine living, bespoke clothing, craft cocktails, exotic travel and beautiful women among other things. Fleming’s conceptualization of the man is what’s important here, not absolute ridged adaptation (which they don’t do anyway) and judging by Fleming’s ringing endorsement of those first three films, I think the old boy would agree. What we need is a lot fewer messages to “suffering humanity” and a lot more aiming for that area “somewhere between the solar plexus and upper thigh.”
Great post, DB! Interestingly, Christopher Lee, who knew Fleming well, said that Pierce Brosnan was the Bond who was closest to the character that Fleming had in mind. Maybe Pierce’s Bond was more reminiscent of the daring sort of personalities that Fleming encountered during the war.
I have heard the line of argument that you mentioned – why not remake all of the previous Bond movies in the current vein of the ‘gritty’ Bond movies? I totally understand that good new ideas are hard to come by and so just remaking old Bond movies would seem to be an easy option. But I think we’d probably just end up with dour, humourless and turgid re-makes of ‘Goldfinger’, ‘Live and Let Die’, ‘The Living Daylights’? A lot of the elements that made those kind of movies so memorable – the wit and humour, the jaw-dropping stunts and wonderful music – have fallen by the wayside in the current crop of Bond movies.
I agree that any actor playing Bond doesn’t necessarily need to slavishly copy the literary Bond. Each of the actors, including the much-maligned Sir Roger, have used parts of the literary Bond but then added a lot of their own style to Bond. But if Ian Fleming were alive, I think he’d be quite perplexed by the Craig interpretation. It’s almost as if one of the henchmen that Bond used to encounter has become Bond himself.
Does the interpretation of Bond need to change with the times? Probably. But I think Timothy Dalton showed that you can have a more realistic Bond but still keep the elements that set him apart from other action heroes.
Thank you Gareth, as always I appreciate your kind words!
I knew Lee was related to Fleming in some way but hadn’t heard the quote before, that is rather interesting.
Your second point is spot on and precisely what is currently wrong with the series and why we don’t need any remade films!
I agree each actor brings their own Flemingesq aspects to their portrayal, Roger’s for example was concentration on the “Byronic hero” aspect. I think some how Craig got confused and though Red Grant was the hero of FRWL.
One of my favorite films is TLD as it was written for Roger but acted by Tim, striking a perfect balance between the light and the dark sides of the character.
My take may be a bit controversial here, but I don’t really care for the literary Bond. I’ve only read CR and LALD so far (maybe the characterization evolves) but I think the literary Bond mostly comes across as a misanthropic sourpuss, so maybe Craig is the most loyal interpretation (although the literary Bond is introspective and contemplative in a way Craig never could be). I’m grateful to Ian Fleming for getting the ball rolling, but I much prefer the character as shaped by Terence Young and his directorial successors. Obviously film and novels are a very different medium, but the film Bonds from Connery to Brosnan all have an intoxicating joie de vivre that feels missing from the literary Bond (and Craig).
As for remaking the films, God help us all….
There was a time not that long ago when I would have whole-heartedly agreed with you Roger, so I know how you feel, however after re-reading the material several times and studying works from Fleming scholars I began to gain a greater appreciation for Fleming’s work and not just my favorite films.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW2YTmUT06o
Hello Mario, that video pretty much sums up how I feel about the situation!
I can say that I think every actor brought some characterization of the literary Bond. I own all of the originals including a few by Anthony Horowitz and Colonel Sun ( title). Craig is the ā Leftist Dreamā to making Bond as ā wokeā as possible. No my favorites will be 1. Connery 2. Brosnan 3. Dalton ( couldāve done 1 more Bond flick)
Hey DB, couldn’t agree more. Dalton was Flemings Bond. It seems to be a more and more popular interpretation. https://screenrant.com/james-bond-most-popular-actor-timothy-dalton-study/
Dalton made Bond serious without making him dull like Babz and Craig have done. Cubby must be rolling around in his grave.
Yes Jason, that is the trick, making Bond serious without losing his soul, Dalton did it, Craig with Babz, just went through the motions with a dour face and a handful of “memerberries” (read homages) to plant in the audience’s mind!