Books in Brief: James Bond in the Cinema

James Bond in the Cinema, by John Brosnan (Barnes/ Tantivy, 309 pp., $12.95). I have waited a long time to read a good, solid book of criticism on the James Bond phenomenon, and from the looks of this one I’m going to be waiting a bit longer. James Bond in the Cinema simply does not deliver what it promises and that is a shame, because this field is a rich vein which has so far gone unworked. I opened this book in eager anticipation that Mr. Brosnan had done for the film Bond what Kingsley Amis had done for the literary Bond in his superb The James Bond Dossier; what 1 got instead was plot recapitulation and trivia. Mr. Brosnan fails to explain Bond’s steady box-office durability after two decades, in a chapter in which he is supposed to be doing just that. We learn nothing here of Bond’s role as a mythic or archetypal figure, and how this may have contributed to his present position in the pantheon of popular culture gods. The book is also atrociously edited. On one page, Bond is being chased through the “Louisiana bayous,” on the next page, he is being pursued through the “bayous of Florida”; in another place, Mr. Brosnan cannot decide if a Russian agent’s name is Amisova or Asimova; whether or not the heroine of Doctor No is named Honey Rider or Wilder. The book is not a total loss, however. Mr. Brosnan is possessed of a fine critical wit and he often uses it to devastating effect, especially with regard to hapless Roger Moore. (Referring to a wax figure of Moore/Bond in the villainous Scaramanga’s shooting gallery, he says, “Roger Moore is one of the few actors who looks as lifelike as a wax dummy as he does in reality . . .”) Treating each film separately, Mr. Brosnan leisurely recounts the plot, while along the way explaining how much a certain set cost or how a particular special effect was achieved. These asides are by far the most interesting things in the book and, on this level, it is certainly entertaining enough, but don’t go looking for real criticism.

JA

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John A. Barnes

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James Bond in the Cinema, by John Brosnan (Barnes/ Tantivy, 309 pp., $12.95). I have waited a long time to read a good, solid book of criticism on the James Bond phenomenon, and from the looks of this one I’m going to be waiting a bit longer. James Bond in the Cinema simply does not deliver what it promises and that is a shame, because this field is a rich vein which has so far gone unworked. I opened this book in eager anticipation that Mr. Brosnan had done for the film Bond what Kingsley Amis had done for the literary Bond in his superb The James Bond Dossier; what 1 got instead was plot recapitulation and trivia. Mr. Brosnan fails to explain Bond’s steady box-office durability after two decades, in a chapter in which he is supposed to be doing just that. We learn nothing here of Bond’s role as a mythic or archetypal figure, and how this may have contributed to his present position in the pantheon of popular culture gods. The book is also atrociously edited. On one page, Bond is being chased through the “Louisiana bayous,” on the next page, he is being pursued through the “bayous of Florida”; in another place, Mr. Brosnan cannot decide if a Russian agent’s name is Amisova or Asimova; whether or not the heroine of Doctor No is named Honey Rider or Wilder. The book is not a total loss, however. Mr. Brosnan is possessed of a fine critical wit and he often uses it to devastating effect, especially with regard to hapless Roger Moore. (Referring to a wax figure of Moore/Bond in the villainous Scaramanga’s shooting gallery, he says, “Roger Moore is one of the few actors who looks as lifelike as a wax dummy as he does in reality . . .”) Treating each film separately, Mr. Brosnan leisurely recounts the plot, while along the way explaining how much a certain set cost or how a particular special effect was achieved. These asides are by far the most interesting things in the book and, on this level, it is certainly entertaining enough, but don’t go looking for real criticism.