The new season of classic films at the British Film Institute in London this month comes with an alarming warning. Every film has a soundtrack by the great British composer John Barry, including some James Bond films, but some, the BFI says, “contain language, imagery or other content that reflects popular views of the time, but today (as then) is offensive.” )”.
The frantic typing sound you may be hearing is most likely caused by Ricky Gervais adding a little extra to his recent post. Armageddon The show is for Netflix, but that’s where we are now: preparing modern and seemingly sensitive audiences for period films from decades past and reminding them that things were different back then, okay?
But isn’t it completely redundant to say that 1960s films were “of their time”? And wouldn’t it be more appropriate to simply warn about the terribleness of Bond films in general?
As a nation, we’ve long had a strange relationship with our favorite spy, always hesitant to let him go completely, no matter how many times he insists on returning.
Author Ian Fleming, a man whose social mores would trouble even Jordan Peterson, was first conceived in the 1950s as a series of Wasp novels. When they were adapted for the big screen in the 1960s, they acquired a certain thrill.
Here was a post-war hero that Britain could support, someone who could make Johnny Foreigner wise again and remind him of all things Empire. And what a dish it was! Sean Connery made it tough and sexy, Roger Moore made it funny and camp.
But the films themselves were anachronisms long before trigger warnings existed, and they were also the worst thing a thriller can be: stupid. Kids of the 1970s and 1980s may have cringed at the countless Bond villains like Jaws and Blofeld, but watch them today and all you’ll see is some pretty terrible acting from some of them, giving the worst dialogue a sloppy still life. her time.
“My dear girl,” Bond says to one of the many and varied teenagers. Golden finger“There are things you just don’t do, like drinking Dom Perignon ’53 when the temperature is above 38 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s as bad as listening to the Beatles without headphones!
You will also witness heinous crimes against fashion. While Daniel Craig may have had Savile Row on speed dial, his predecessors all wore bow ties and powder blue jumpsuits.
The only thing that remains from these films is the amazingly absurd technology in each film, with Q 007 showing exactly how to extract the spleen from his new enemy – using a watch that turns into an opening knife and a vial of deadly poison. explodes at close range, bam. Otherwise, the spy will remain in sepia tones.
Two Bond films screened during BFI season Golden finger AND You only live twice. Collectively, they contain “outdated racial stereotypes” and “cartoonish sexuality” – accusations that, let’s face it, could be leveled against any number of Bond performances.
In one, Sean Connery dresses up as a Japanese man with eyeliner; in another, he essentially rapes his latest conquest, Pussy Galore (played by Honor Blackman). In a 1959 letter, Ian Fleming attempted to explain his character’s motives, namely that Bond was simply trying to “cure” her “psychopathological illness” of lesbianism. Different times, people.
Anyone who visits old Bond today knows exactly what he does. And yes, the films do generate interest, but not just for the reasons the BFI says.
Source: I News
I am Mario Pickle and I work in the news website industry as an author. I have been with 24 News Reporters for over 3 years, where I specialize in entertainment-related topics such as books, films, and other media. My background is in film studies and journalism, giving me the knowledge to write engaging pieces that appeal to a wide variety of readers.