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MI6 previews the newly updated book "Licence
To Thrill", a cultural history of the James
Bond films by James Chapman...
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Book Preview: Licence To Thrill
17th January 2007
Licence to Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond
Films by James Chapman (updated)
"Licence to Thrill" follows
Bond from the 1962 'Dr No', through all the subsequent Bond films,
exploring them within the culture and politics of the times,
as well as within film culture itself. When James Chapman's rip-roaring
journey through the annals of celluloid Bond first appeared in
2000, the London "Evening Standard" said, 'Chapman
demonstrates that there is more to the 007 franchise than just
girls, guns and globe trotting', and Stephen O'Brien, writing
in "SFX" magazine called the book 'thoughtful, intelligent,
ludicrous and a bit snobby. Bit like Bond, really.' "Licence
to Thrill" went on to establish itself as one of the best
books on Bond, and one that has made readers think in new ways
about 007. For this new edition, Chapman has now brought the
story right up to the present, with a revised Introduction, a
new Chapter One and, most importantly, full coverage of Brosnan
as Bond in "The World is Not Enough" and "Die
Another Day", as well as, of course, a brand new chapter
on "Casino Royale" and Daniel Craig's new-look Bond.
| "The James Bond" epic
is the most popular film series in silver screen history:
it is estimated that a quarter of the world's population
has seen a Bond feature. The saga of Britain's best-loved
martini hound (who we all know prefers his favourite drink "shaken,
not stirred") has adapted to changing times for four
decades without ever abandoning its tried-and-true formula
of diabolical international conspiracy, sexual intrigue,
and incredible gadgetry. James Chapman argues that the
enormous popularity of the series represents more than
just the sum total of the films' box-office receipts and
involves questions of film culture in a wider sense.
"Licence to Thrill" chronicles
how Bond, a representative of a British Empire that no
longer existed in his generation, became a symbol of his
nation's might in a Cold War world where Britain was no
longer a primary actor. Chapman describes the protean nature
of Bond villains in a volatile global political scene -
from Soviet scoundrels and Chinese rogues in the 1960s
to a brief flirtation with Latin American drug kingpins
in the 1980s and back to the Chinese in the 1990s. The
book explores how the movies struggle with changing societal
ethics - notably, in the evolution in the portrayal of
women, showing how Bond's encounters with the opposite
sex have evolved into trysts with leading ladies as sexually
liberated as Bond himself. |
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 Pre-Order
Amazon UK (Paperback)
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"Chapman offers a thorough and lucid account
of the Bond phenomenon." -- Alexander Star, Civilization
"There are two kinds of academic texts: the kind that
contains photographs of Ursula Andress wearing a bikini, and
the kind
that do not. Licence to Thrill falls, fortunately, into the first
category." -- Giles Coren, The Times (London)
Datastream
Publisher: I B Tauris & Co Ltd
Format: Paperback
Pages: 336
RRP: £12.99 / $ 19.95
ISBN: 1846051142
Released: 30th January 2008 (UK) / 5th February 2008 (USA)
