MI6 previews the newly updated book "Licence To Thrill", a cultural history of the James Bond films by James Chapman...

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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"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)