Fleming and Lee were related. Both saw active service inww2. Fleming in Naval Intelligence and Lee in SOE. That's why this is one of the best Bond films. Authenticity.
Hmmm. I think you will find that Christopher Lee was attached to RAF intelligence- a very different thing from SOE... but, I have a feeling that we may need to take Lee's alleged wartime career with a pinch of salt. Fleming, as you say, was of course an RNVR officer in Naval Intelligence.
The Captain's Bar is stiil going at the MO (or at least it was a few years ago). Does excellent Bullshots to stave off the surprising chill of an HK winter
Because of this, I dreamed of Halong Bay for years. Finally went there 8 years ago. Sadly it was nowhere as blue and sunny as in the movie, but with mist all over, the Skull Island feel could not be denied. Still beautiful, in a different way. Aaahhh, James made us travel, didn't he?
Maud Adams; Christopher Lee; Britt Ekland (who really should have been the main Bond girl at least once in another film); Lulu; Black and Barry’s terrific main title song (waddya mean, ‘you couldn’t make it up?’ Don Black did exactly that!); and all those fabulously exotic locations…and yet?
A long way off from being one of my favourites, and though Roger Moore made a couple of worse Bond films than this one, it was such a disappointment after his brilliant start the year before with Live and Let Die.
Perhaps I’ll revisit and see how posterity views it.
And your description of pre-handover Hong Kong is pretty spot on, Luke. A truly fascinating place, it almost defies any kind of earth-bound geo-political or, indeed, geographical boundaries. It just IS…
Happy 100!
But you missed out my favourite banal, concluding line from John Barry's theme:
'The man with the golden gun
Will get it done...
With his golden gun'
The whole saucy mess of which is practically a single-entendre.
It was high time they gave Lulu a Bond theme. And this has to be the last of the classics, albeit one with a twist as cynical as Roger's eyebrow.
Fleming and Lee were related. Both saw active service inww2. Fleming in Naval Intelligence and Lee in SOE. That's why this is one of the best Bond films. Authenticity.
Hmmm. I think you will find that Christopher Lee was attached to RAF intelligence- a very different thing from SOE... but, I have a feeling that we may need to take Lee's alleged wartime career with a pinch of salt. Fleming, as you say, was of course an RNVR officer in Naval Intelligence.
https://www.forcesnews.com/services/army/sas-gurkhas-story-sir-christopher-lee
Entirely possible. I read the latest bio on Fleming last year. Thoroughly recommend it.
Sock it to 'em, JB!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LFHFeJ0XaI&list=PLexoNUKqpjdYlinKtQaEB840OJFszs9g1&index=7
Huge congratulations on 100 Luke!! And so the festive season approaches and it feels like perfect timing for some Bond. early of course!
When talking about James Bond's Asian adventures, who can forget Sean Connery speaking Japanese with a Scottish accent?
https://giannisimone.substack.com/p/mai-naimu-iz-bondo-jemuzu-bondo
Thanks Luke - and great to reach 100! My brother was over there during the hand-over; and Alan Wicker was spotted in the Captain’s Bar, blazer an all.
Happy 100th indeed, Luke.
The Captain's Bar is stiil going at the MO (or at least it was a few years ago). Does excellent Bullshots to stave off the surprising chill of an HK winter
That's a fabulous cocktail...
Because of this, I dreamed of Halong Bay for years. Finally went there 8 years ago. Sadly it was nowhere as blue and sunny as in the movie, but with mist all over, the Skull Island feel could not be denied. Still beautiful, in a different way. Aaahhh, James made us travel, didn't he?
Maud Adams; Christopher Lee; Britt Ekland (who really should have been the main Bond girl at least once in another film); Lulu; Black and Barry’s terrific main title song (waddya mean, ‘you couldn’t make it up?’ Don Black did exactly that!); and all those fabulously exotic locations…and yet?
A long way off from being one of my favourites, and though Roger Moore made a couple of worse Bond films than this one, it was such a disappointment after his brilliant start the year before with Live and Let Die.
Perhaps I’ll revisit and see how posterity views it.
And your description of pre-handover Hong Kong is pretty spot on, Luke. A truly fascinating place, it almost defies any kind of earth-bound geo-political or, indeed, geographical boundaries. It just IS…
But then I like it for all the wrong reasons...
Yes, you said…ha-ha!