The Bond Style And The Sound Of 007: A Documentary Celebrating 60 Years Of James Bond Film Music

As I’ve noted here before, I’ve been an Ian Fleming aficionado and a huge fan of the James Bond films since I first saw Dr. No when I was a kid. 

An important element of the successful Bond film series has been the music, especially the lush, orchestrated music of composer and conducer John Barry.

From the James Bond theme in Dr. No to Goldfinger and beyond, John Barry’s film scores evoke suspense, thrilling action and romance. Successors to Barry have carried on the James Bond musical tradition.

I just watched Amazon Prime Video’s most interesting documentary about the 60 years of Bond film music.  

“It’s not the melody, It’s an attitude...That became the Bond style.” John Barry.

 The Sound of 007 pulls back the curtain on the remarkable history of six decades of James Bond music, taking viewers on a journey from Sean Connery’s Dr No through to Daniel Craig’s final outing in No Time to Die.

 

From Ventureland and EON Productions, The Untold Story of 007, charts the incredible history of the music, enthralling true tales behind the tunes and famous faces who have recorded some of the most beloved soundtracks in cinema. 

 

Directed by BIFA-winner and BAFTA-nominee Mat Whitecross (The Kings, Supersonic, The Road to Guantánamo) for Prime Video and MGM, the documentary will make its global debut on Prime Video to mark the 60th anniversary of the James Bond film series on October 5, 2022.

 

You can watch the trailer for the documentary via the below link:

The Sound of 007 – Official Trailer | Prime Video - YouTube

Bond fans and fans of fine film musical scores will enjoy this documentary as I have.

 

Note: You can listen to the James Bond theme songs via the below link:

Dr. No Theme Song - James Bond - YouTube

Why Men Bond With The 007 Theme

Marc Myers at the Wall Street Journal offers an interesting piece on why men bond with the James Bond theme.

Maybe it's the stealthy bass line. Or the machine-gun guitar solo. Or the swaggering wail of the horns. Or maybe it's all three shaken together. Whatever the reasons (and there are many), the "James Bond Theme" still has a way of making guys feel, well, more guy-ly.

Fifty years after appearing in "Dr. No"—the first James Bond film, which had its premiere in London on Oct. 5, 1962—the jaunty theme is back with a vengeance. At the Olympics' opening ceremony, the theme played as Britain's "queen" parachuted from a helicopter. On Oct. 5, Vic Flick, the theme's original guitarist, will perform his signature solo during "The Music of James Bond: The First 50 Years" at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. And it will be laced throughout the latest Bond film, "Skyfall," opening on Nov. 9.

For millions of baby-boomer males who saw their first car chase and sex scene in a Bond film in the '60s, the theme song stirs powerful psychological coals, flipping a primal switch as images of silencers, casinos, bikinis, gin and gadgets flood the male brain.

 

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444358804578018422429741896.html

 

And you can listen to the 007 theme via the Dr No intro via the below link:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5jjYLsh1V4  

On The Late John Barry's Distinctive And Enduring Bond Movie Music

Josh Rothman at The Boston Globe wrote an interesting piece about John Barry, the composer of the distinctive and enduring James Bond film music who died this week. Barry was 77.

Rothman provides links to some of Barry's best songs.

You can read the piece via the below link:

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/brainiac/2011/02/john_barry_rip.html

You can also read Adam Bollard's take on John Barry at the James Bond web site MI6 via the below link:

http://www.mi6.co.uk/sections/articles/opinion_john_barry_music_master.php3?t=&s=&id=02783

The Dean Of Movie Music, James Bond Composer John Barry Dies Age 77

Reuters is reporting that composer and conductor John Barry died. He was 77.

Barry is best known for composing the music for the early James Bond films like Goldfinger, From Russia With Love and Dr No, as well as other films like Midnight Cowboy, The Lion in Winter and Born Free.

You can read the Reuters' piece via the below link:

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/01/31/uk-music-johnbarry-idUKTRE70U1L420110131

Barry is seen in the photo above portraying a conductor in The Living Daylights, a James Bond film.

Below is a link to a video of John Barry conducting an orchestra performing the James Bond theme and music from Goldfinger:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLh8oDnWHHw

Below is a link to an orchestra performing The Lion in Winter Suite:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyNTfaifS2Y