Month: November 2015

2015.11.10

“Dr. No”: Politiken’s film review (1963)

Bang on Jamaica

”Agent 007, Operation Murder” [sic], adapted from Ian Fleming's eponymous detective novel, starts out with a terrific bang, but quickly turns silly before ending in utter balderdash.

The agent James Bond, 007 to his friends and colleagues, is sent to Jamaica partly to investigate the homicide of a few English security men, partly to figure out who have been thwarting the American rocket launches from Cape Canaveral through mysterious radiation.

The perpetrator of all this evil-doing is a mad half-Chinese who has built a nuclear station so huge that it makes Risø [a Danish atomic research facility opened in 1958, ed.] look like a village school. Bond solves all of this in stride; the Americans finally manage a successful launch; the nuclear man and his extensive staff go up with a loud uranium bang, and the hero celebrates by being indecent towards a cute lass in a bikini.

007 is played by Sean Connery, who isn't half bad an actor. In America, they call him the new Lemmy; he plays the lead in a series of adaptations of Ian Fleming's other books. May they be somewhat more substantial than the film mentioned.

Written by "fano"
Translation: James Bond•O•Rama.dk

2015.11.08

43 hours of Bond: Diary of a record attempt (1999)

During the weekend of 5 to 7 November 1999, BioCity Odense screened all of EON Productions' by then 18 Bond films in a row. The goal was to secure an entry in Guiness' Book of Records, and this writer ["Brie" from James Bond•O•Rama.dk] perservered to the bitter end with notepad in hand

By Brian Iskov

Friday, 5th November, 7:08 PM – The screen in BioCity's Cinema 1 is said to be the largest in Denmark, even bigger than the one in Imperial in Copenhagen. On the other hand, the theatre only seats 433 people, and around a fifth of the seats are empty to ensure proper spacing between the audience members. It's a sound arrangement.

The manager of the cinema informs us that 55 kilometers of celluloid await us, that free coffee will be served ad lib, and that a local brewery is serving Christmas beer (the latter bit of news sets off the weekend's first roar of approval). Two Funen reporters will be present as adjudicators for the Guiness' Book of Records. Along with the projectionist and two customer service assistants, they will show solidarity with the paying customers and hang around until the projector spits out the last bit of film on Sunday afternoon.

9:07 PM – "Dr. No" (1962). The very first glimpse of Sean Connery's tuxedo-attired back makes the crowd go wild, and the applause thunders as he introduces himself for the first time: "Bond ... James Bond". It turns out that every time this line is repeated, it has the exact same effect. During the intermission, jaunty renditions of ”The James Bond Theme” are whistled in corners, and in a small group by the door, someone asks the question: "When does Q turn up?"

11:14 PM – "From Russia with Love" (1963). And then he came. Q, the quartermaster with the delightful technological gadgetry, receives a hearty welcome. In the span of just one year, Connery has improved significantly as an actor; Terence Young's staging is a lot more refined too than in the previous film. Even now, the audience tends to cheer the male chauvinist remarks that once in a while pass Bond's lips up there on the screen.

Ticket for the James Bond maraton showing at BioCity Odense 5 November 1999 — Ticket for the James Bond maraton showing at BioCity Odense 5-7 November 1999

2015.11.07

“SPECTRE”: Nohrlund Limited Bond Edition cocktail (2015)

This potent cocktail of tequila, orange liqueur and ginger was served at the Danish gala premiere of "SPECTRE", held at the Imperial cinema in Copenhagen on 27 October 2015.

Nohrlund Limited Bond Edition was produced exclusively for this event. Only 1000 bottles were made.

The drink was developed and manufactured by Danish drinks company Nohrlund, who specializes in original bottled cocktails made from all natural ingredients.

Nohrlund bucket at Bond galla _FB-photo — At the Danish "SPECTRE" gala premiere in Copenhagen, 27.10.2015 (photo © Nohrlund)

Bartender and Nohrlund CEO Søren Aamand says to James Bond•O•Rama that SF Film, who distributes "SPECTRE" in Denmark, asked them to make a special James Bond variant for the gala event.

"It couldn't just be a vodka martini," Søren Aamand says. "The drink had to appeal to both feminine and masculine tastes. That's why it's a neutral white cocktail."

Søren Aamand and his colleague Anders Houmann developed the recipe without having seen ”SPECTRE”.
"We knew that the first act of the film takes place in Mexico, which made tequila the natural choice for us," Søren Aamand says.

"The tequila is flavoured with lime, sugar and ginger. The ginger gives warmth and some spice, which fits perfectly with the Bond theme. It has a little kick in it."

2015.11.04

“Dr. No”: Berlingske Tidende’s film review (1963)

Childish cynicism

English detective film at Nørreport [Cinema]

The most amazing thing about the screen version of Ian Fleming's ”Dr. No” is really that it was made in England. Its shameless exploitation of violence and sex, and the pulpiness of its whole approach, differs substantially from the many recent British detective films dealing with serious problems.

”Dr. No” is entirely devoid of that kind of ambition. The protagonist is the unscrupulous Secret Service agent James Bond, a hard-boiled and hard-hitting comic book hero. He divides his time equally between vodka martinis, forthcoming girls and the disarmament of nasty gangsters, and his gamut of emotions is exceptionally limited. This superman for all immature souls is confidently played by Sean Connery, although his steely lack of conscience is by no means a match for Ralph Meeker's unforgettable Mike Hammer in ”Kiss Me Deadly”.

The skilled director Terence Young places Connery in a long series of effectively hair-raising situations without skimping on the semi-sadistic seasoning. The tone of the entire film is so incredibly cynical that it borders on the harmlessly infantile, so shamelessly ”pulpy” in its effects that it almost becomes entertaining.

By pim (Morten Piil)
Translation: James Bond•O•Rama.dk

2015.11.03

“The Living Daylights”: Timothy Dalton interviewed on Danish TV (1987)

At the time of the Danish release of "The Living Daylights" in August 1987, TV host Hans Otto Bisgaard interviewed Timothy Dalton (James Bond) and Maryam d'Abo (Kara Milovy) as well as the film's producer Albert R. Broccoli for Danish national television, DR TV.

(Broccoli's co-producer and the film's co-writer, Michael G. Wilson, is seated next to Broccoli in the beginning of the clip).

The segment was broadcast as part of Bisgaard's Friday night show "Under Uret" [Under the Clock] and is in English with Danish subtitles: