Geek Syndicate
007 - Walther PPK Not so much a gadget but certainly one of Bond’s biggest lifesaving tools. I always like the fact that when Bond is given the weapon In Dr. No that he kinda turns his nose up at it even when he is told how bad ass it is. In today’s action movies where the hero always seems to be carrying a handgun bigger than his head. The PPK stands proud as a testament that bigger does not always mean better.
Bond Soundtracks
Now we have left the world of gadgets behind, let’s plug in our headphones and listen to my top seven pieces of Bond music. 001. GoldFinger (Goldfinger) An iconic theme that sets the standard for the Bond themes and their performers for decades to come. Although most of the Bond films use elements of the title theme, Goldfinger was a masterclass in how to do it effortlessly. 002. Diamonds Are Forever (Diamonds Are Forever) Even though Connery is starting to show his age a little here, Bassey’s haunting theme still has more than enough life to carry the old British bulldog through. 003. 007 - (Thunderball) When I refer to Bond having an “anthem” people will think of that iconic opening theme that plays while Bond walks onto the screen being watched through the barrel of gun. However it is this balls to the wall theme that I think of as Bond’s signature tune. His “saving the world again” theme. It is used several times in Bond’s career but no more so than in Connery’s tenure. Look out for it in the underwater fight in Thunderball, the speedboat chase in Moonraker (yes I know that’s Moore), the climax scene in Diamonds are Forever and elsewhere. 004. Fight at Kobe Dock (You Only Live Twice) This is the piece of music that plays in one of my “Bond moments”. I won’t say too much about the scene itself as I will talk about it later. What I will say, is this is one of the best pieces of music accompanying an action sequence that these ears have heard. Not only does it use elements of the main theme but fits the scene so well it gets me every single time I hear it. The only other piece of music which gets me like that is Sky Chase in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. 005. Bond Averts World War Three (You Only Live Twice) Ominous and thematic is how I would describe this bombastic track. The stakes are never higher for Bond and this piece of music highlights that for. It is able to balance the action of Bond’s fight with Blofield’s towering bodyguard with the vastness of the outer space sequence it intercuts with. No small feat but John Barry once again comes up with the goods.
55