'Goldfinger' Score Included In The Hollywood Reporter's Top 100

Entertainment industry trade paper The Hollywood Reporter have assembled their list of the top 100 film scores throughout the past 100 years and James Bond has made the cut.

Coming in at #25 is John Barry’s popular score for probably the most iconic 007 film of all, Goldfinger. The Hollywood Reporter states:

John Barry

‘The third time was the charm for John Barry, who worked out the famous arrangement of the James Bond theme on the first movie, Dr. No, wrote a terrific score for the sequel, From Russia With Love, then created the most iconic Bond score of all for 007’s face-off with arch villain Auric Goldfinger. From the arresting Shirley Bassey title song to the glittering orchestral strings that characterize gold itself, Barry’s Goldfinger epitomizes the shaken, not stirred, style of the Bond series.’

The number one score on the list was Nino Rota’s music for The Godfather. To view the entire listing online, click here.

Besides working on Goldfinger, Barry was the credited composer on 10 other James Bond films, beginning with 1963’s From Russia With Love and finally ending with 1987’s The Living Daylights.

As always, keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page—and our brand new Twitter feed—for all the latest on James Bond.

'My Word Is My Bond' Paperback Out Now

James Bond fans can now pick up Sir Roger Moore’s superb biography My Word Is My Bond in paperback format.

Published as a hardcover release late last year, Sir Roger’s frank, funny and fascinating biography sees the actor recounting his life’s experiences, including, naturally, his years portraying Ian Fleming’s secret agent 007.

The paperback edition is published by Michael O’Mara Books and retails for £8.99, but if you buy now from Amazon.co.uk, you can pick it up for the bargain price of £4.50.

The quintessential suave hero, Roger Moore has had an extraordinary career that has spanned seven decades, from early television to the golden age of Hollywood and on to international superstardom.

Dashing, handsome and every inch the archetypal English gentleman, he is unforgettable as The Saint, as Lord Brett Sinclair in The Persuaders! and, of course, as James Bond, making seven blockbusting films as arguably the most debonair of the 007s.

For the first time, Roger shares his recollections of playing some of the world’s most famous roles alongside a host of legendary stars. With myriad stories from his personal life–from his childhood in London and experiences during the Second World War, to the happy and turbulent times in his later life. Along with anecdotes about his encounters with the stars and his wonderful memories from the heyday of Hollywood, My Word is My Bond is as frank, funny and disarmingly charming as the legend himself.

• Order the UK paperback edition of My Word is My Bond from Amazon.co.uk

Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page – and our brand new Twitter feed – for the most up-to-date literary James Bond coverage on the web.

Two Latest James Bond Blu-ray Discs Reviewed

The Man with the Golden Gun

The two latest James Bond films to hit the Blu-ray format–Roger Moore’s The Man with the Golden Gun and Timothy Dalton’s Licence To Kill–have now been reviewed online at Blu-ray.com.

The 1974 Bond film received an overall score of 2.5 (out of five). The film by itself scored 2.0, while the video and audio quality scored 3.5 and 2.5, respectively. The extensive selection of accompanying special features scored 3.0.

The reviewer states: ‘Like it or not, the history of 007 on the silver screen does include such lemons as The Man with the Golden Gun and MGM therefore deserves praise for doing an above average job with the picture…’ [click here for the full review].

Licence To Kill

Dalton’s second 007 film fared better, coming in with a final score of 3.5 overall. A 3.0 was given to the film itself, while the video and audio scored 4.5 and 3.5. The extras received a 4.0.

‘In addition to the fine Blu-ray quality, the story, acting and production values of Licence to Kill are all fairly solid, but I find myself held back by the styles and music of the 1980s…’ [click here for the full review].

The Man with the Golden Gun and Licence To Kill on Blu-ray are due for release on 12 May in the US. Oddly, there is still no indication of their upcoming release in the UK. When we hear more, we’ll update you.

CommanderBond.net will keep you updated with complete coverage on all the latest James Bond Blu-ray news.

James Bond On Blu-ray
Complete CommanderBond.net Coverage
Latest news, cover artwork, ordering details, worldwide release dates, special features, technical specifications, special collections and more.

'James Bond – Shaken, Not Stirred' Concert At Hever Castle In August '09

The music of 007 is set to shake and stir at the audience at the Festival Theatre at Hever Castle in Kent this August.

Scheduled to take place on Sunday, 16 August 2009 is the ‘James Bond – Shaken, Not Stirred’ concert.

The event will showcast a fabulous band led by Musical Director Tansy Aked, two glamorous Bond Girl singers, a “James Bond” compere, and a great night of music and songs from the films.

The show celebrates the music of the world hottest secret agent including the James Bond Theme, Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, The Man with the Golden Gun and many more.

The Festival Theatre at Hever Castle is located at Hever Castle, Edenbridge, Kent. TN8 7NG.

Tickets to this Bond event range in price from £11 – £21. For further details, phone 01732 866114 or visit the official website.

As always, keep watching CommanderBond.net for all the latest on James Bond-related events happening around the world.

'The Girl Machine' 007 Collection Pushed To July In US

Titan’s The Girl Machine James Bond collection

Titan’s latest James Bond comic strip collection, The Girl Machine, has been pushed back to a late-July release in the United States. Available for pre-order at Amazon.com now, the collection is now slated to be released on 21 July 2009.

The UK release of this title is also slated for July.

The Girl Machine brings together the Beware Of Butterflies and The Nevsky Nude adventures in addition to the title story. All three were penned by Jim Lawrence and drawn by Yaroslav Horak and originally syndicated in 1973/74.

Scroll below for CommanderBond.net’s full list of all the Titan collections currently available to order.

Note that cover artwork is not yet confirmed as being final by Titan Books and may change before publication.

'By Royal Command' Unabridged Audiobook Now Shipping

The unabridged By Royal Command audiobook is now shipping from the BBC Audiobooks website.

By Royal Command paperback artwork

The latest Young Bond audiobook is published by Chivers Audiobooks and is read by actor Nathaniel Parker. The 8-CD set retails for £36.60.

Higson’s four previous Young Bond novels – SilverFin, Blood Fever, Double or Die and Hurricane Gold – are all to available to purchase as unabridged audiobooks from the BBC Audiobooks website. All five novels are also available in more affordable abridged versions, which can be bought from numerous sellers.

By Royal Command is the fifth book in Charlie Higson’s bestselling series, which explores James Bond’s roots. It was first published as a hardcover in September 2008. A paperback edition is due out next month.

• Order the By Royal Command unabridged audiobook from BBC Audiobooks

Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page – and our brand new Twitter feed – for all the latest literary James Bond news.

Discuss this Young Bond news in this thread on the CBn Forums, the largest James Bond 007 forum in the world.

SilverFin – Literary 007 Coverage

Blood Fever – Literary 007 Coverage

Double or Die – Literary 007 Coverage

Hurricane Gold – Literary 007 Coverage

By Royal Command – Literary 007 Coverage

The Charlie Higson CBn Interview

The Charlie Higson CBn Interview II

CBn Reviews Young Bond #1: SilverFin

CBn Reviews Young Bond #2: Blood Fever

CBn Reviews Young Bond #3: Double Or Die

CBn Reviews Young Bond #4: Hurricane Gold

CBn Reviews SilverFin: The Graphic Novel

Meet Jaws and Dolly at the Vintage Magazine Shop

James Bond fans have the chance to meet Moonraker‘s Jaws and Dolly at London’s Vintage Magazine Shop on Saturday, 9 May, 2009.

Richard Kiel and Blanche Ravalec will be appearing at the Soho store from 12 noon to 2 p.m. to sign autographs and meet with fans.

Kiel played Jaws in both The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker.

The Vintage Magazine Shop is located at 39-43 Brewer Street, Soho. Further information is available from the Vintage Magazine Shop by email or telephone (020 7439 8525).

Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page – and our brand new Twitter feed – for all the latest James Bond event news.

CommanderBond.net on Twitter

CommanderBond.net is now on Twitter!

Keep up to date with all the latest James Bond news on the micro-blogging website phenomenon.

Twitter is a free social networking tool that allows users to post updates of up to 140 characters (known as “tweets”). People can “follow” other users’ tweets, post their own and even “retweet” updates they want to share.

Twitter is currently the fastest growing social networking site on the web with millions of visitors “tweeting” each month. Users can post and follow updates via the Twitter website, SMS or through a number of applications freely available for download.

Twitter is perhaps most well-known for the numerous public figures that have accounts, including comedian Stephen Fry (who co-hosted last year’s terrific Tribute to Ian Fleming gala) and our very own Q, John Cleese.

Now, you can follow all the latest 00-updates with CommanderBond.net on Twitter.

Twitter users who would like to share a particular article on CBn with their followers, can do so simply by clicking on Twitter in the button at the bottom of every CBn story.

If you’re not already a Twitterer, you can sign up, or find out more, on the Twitter website.

Social networking fans can also follow CommanderBond.net on MySpace and Facebook.

Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page for all the latest site news and updates.

'Casino Royale' US Cable Premiere Scheduled For 5 June

Casino Royale

Daniel Craig’s debut James Bond film, Casino Royale, is scheduled to make its US cable premiere this June on the USA Network.

As reported by CommanderBond.net back in late 2006, the network won the rights to the 21st 007 film following a heated bidding war with Spike TV, TNT and FX. The premium cable premiere took place in early 2008 on Showtime.

Casino Royale will air on Friday, 5 June at 8:00pm EST. Bond fans will also be able to catch it at 8:00pm and 6:00pm, respectively, on the following Saturday and Sunday.

For further details, visit the official USA Network website.

Stay tuned to the CBn main page for all the latest 007-related news.

Casino Royale to be reprinted as a Popular Penguin paperback

Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel, Casino Royale, will be reprinted as a Popular Penguin paperback this June.

Casino Royale

Casino Royale is one of 50 classic Penguin titles to be reprinted in the second wave of the bargain Popular Penguin series.

The Popular Penguin series was created to celebrate the publisher’s literary legacy. Each book in the series is adorned with artwork that recreates the style of the publisher’s earliest reprints.

Fleming joins numerous other celebrated authors, including Ernest Hemingway, Roald Dahl, Anthony Burgess, Raymond Chandler, F Scott Fitzgerald and Truman Capote.

The new edition can be pre-ordered at the Penguin Books Australia for the bargain price of $9.95. The book will be published on 29 June, 2009.

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for the most up-to-date literary James Bond news on the web.