Motifs in the James Bond film series

Motifs in the James Bond film series
The numbers 007, with a gun barrel and trigger attached to the 7 to make it resemble a handgun.
The current official logo of the James Bond (007) Eon series
Based onJames Bond
by Ian Fleming
Produced byHarry Saltzman (1－3, 5－9)
Albert R. Broccoli (1－3, 5－16)
Kevin McClory (4)
Michael G. Wilson (14－)
Barbara Broccoli (17－)
StarringSean Connery
George Lazenby
Roger Moore
Timothy Dalton
Pierce Brosnan
Daniel Craig
(Full list below)
Music byMonty Norman
John Barry
David Arnold
Thomas Newman
Others
Production
companies
Distributed byUnited Artists
(1－12)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
(13－20, U.S. only)
United International Pictures
(13－19, international)
20th Century Fox
(20, international)
Sony Pictures Releasing
(21－24)
Universal Pictures
(25－, international)
United Artists Releasing
(25－, U.S. only)
Release date
5 October 1962 – present (Eon series)
CountriesUnited Kingdom
United States
BudgetTotal (24 Eon films):
$1,400,000,000
Box officeTotal (24 Eon films):
$6,838,530,927

The James Bond series of films contain a number of repeating, distinctive motifs which date from the series' inception with Dr. No in 1962. The series consists of twenty five films produced by Eon Productions featuring the James Bond character, a fictional British Secret Service agent. The most recent instalment is No Time to Die, released in UK cinemas on 30 September 2021. There have also been two independently made features, the satirical Casino Royale, released in 1967, and the 1983 film Never Say Never Again.

Whilst each element has not appeared in every Bond film, they are common threads that run through most of the films. These motifs vary from integral plot points, such as the assignment briefing sessions or the attempts to kill Bond, to enhancements of the dramatic narrative, such as music, or aspects of the visual style, such as the title sequences. These motifs may also serve to enhance excitement in the plot, through a chase sequence or for the climax of the film.[1] Some of these—such as "Bond girls" or megalomaniac villains—have been present in all of the stories, whilst others—such as Q's gadgets or the role of M—have changed over time, often to shape or follow the contemporary zeitgeist.[2] These elements are formulaic and the Bond films tend to follow a set pattern with only limited variety, often following within a strict order.[3] A number of the elements were altered or removed in 2006 with the reboot of the series, Casino Royale.[4]

Some of the elements involved are a result of the production crew used in the earliest films in the series, with the work of Ken Adam, the original production designer, Maurice Binder, title designer, and John Barry, composer, continually updated and adapted as the series progressed.

  1. ^ Jütting 2007, p. 26-28.
  2. ^ Sutton, Mike. "James Bond". Screenonline. British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 7 April 2019. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
  3. ^ Jütting 2007, p. 26.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Variety070906 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).