One of the best Bond documentaries I've seen - it gives a very in-depth, very personal viewpoint of how Ian Fleming lived his life and how his own individualism and approach to life shaped his creation of the world's greatest spy - excellent!
For anyone interested in Fleming I highly recommend The Life Of Ian Fleming by John Pearson, one of the most complete and readable biographies I've ever encountered. I'm re-reading it right now for the third time.
Ian Fleming was actually issued a Colt 1908, .25 in WWII. He kept it after the war and it is listed in his estate. Serial number 257024 . See COLT FORUM for details. The gun is listed as a Browning .25 , however the serial number does not match a Browning. I does match a Colt made in 1920. However Flemings gun could have been a FN, made in Belgium with an identical serial number as the Colt .25 ...
At this same Casino Ian Fleming is talking about in Lisbon was a double agent by the name of Dusko Popov. He is the one who was gambling and beating the Germans for their money. James Bond is an amalgamation of a number of people I think but the sophisticated parts of him I believe come from Dusko Popov. He spoke numerous languages....was a ladies man and operated for British Intelligence during WWII and after. He actually gave J. Edgar Hoover and the Americans information about Pearl Harbour before it happened. They either ignored it or allowed it to happen much like many people think of 911. He was a double agent during WWII supposedly working for German Intelligence but actually working for Mi5.
Pop-culture mavens, Bondians, etc., absorb this: This is PURE GOLD. Advisory: This is as much about Fleming as it is about his creation; if you're open to the possibility that his real life could be as fascinatingly riveting as Bond's fictional one (it is), you will love this. A special treat: At 14:17 you get to see the very first Bond-on-film, made for American television, and with two casting surprises, one of them HUGE, when you realize by whom the very first on-screen Bond Villain was played...
Royale les Eaux is actually based on Le Touquet. This is born out by the descriptions of the outside of the casino, opposite the hotel Hermitage, the drive through the corniche to try and get Vespa. And in 1932 it was the highest revenue casino in the world. The general location and name and possibly inside the casino are based on Deauville.
Vesper Lynd was based on Countess Krystana Skarbek who he allegedly had an affair with. I tried to get a plaque put up via EH at the hotel where the Countess lived throughout WW II and the 1950's and where she was eventually murdered, but sadly it wasn't to be!
That was really enjoyable, I find myself wishing there was more, what a fascinating life. I wonder what he'd think if he could see just much longevity and success his character has achieved all these years later. I'll bet he'd be surprised Bond was still going strong 67 years later and counting. It would also be interesting to see what he might think if he could see Craig's Bond today, I'll bet he'd be very happy with the current Bond, James Bond.
13:00 I laughed with surprise when he said Deauville. As a Canadian air force military brat living in Paris from '56 to '60 (S.H.A.P.E. HQ), we camped on weekends on the Normandy shoreline at Deauville, and Trouville, and Cabourg. Small world indeed.
Good doco. I started on Bond, James Bond that is, in my early teens back in the seventies. 1970's that is. Casino Royale is my favorite Bond book. I loved Ian's prose, the description of how baccarat is played. Read that book a couple dozen times over the years. It was a big disappointment that no one had made a serious Casino Royale until the recent Craig version, which is a pretty good movie. The earlier Niven version was a comedy, and a good one, just not a take of the book at all.
When I walked out of the theater after watching Casino Royale I said to myself "I can't believe I just saw an actor playing Bond that moved Rodger Moore into 3rd place".
And the incident in the book in which the two youngest loves working for the Soviets or killed when the camera case with the explosive and it goes off was based on a true incident that Fleming was aware of. I’m surprised no documentary ever mentions this but one of the early books about Fleming and the bond books talks all about it. Sorry about the run-on sentence chaps!
The best Casino Royale is the 1967 comedy starring Peter Sellers, David Niven, Ursela Andress, Orsen Wells, Joanna Pettet etc - more stars in this movie than any other I have ever watched including Woody Allen's first starring role. Oh, and soundtrack by Herb Alpert....
An idol of my generation , I had all the books and a model of a Walther PKK. The origin of all his stories where based on real people and situation of ww2. And .... I also had been in the Lisbon casino as a tourist many years later
August 12, 2019 is the 55th anniversary of British author/naval officer Ian Fleming ( 1908 - 1964 ) creator of the James bond novels Visited all the Ian Fleming sites, Belgravia London, obelisk grave at St James church in Sevenhampton, southwest of Highworth, his house on the beach of St Margaret bay at Kent coast and the Royal St George club near Sandwich...
On Her Majesty` s Secret Service - and this one: Casino Royale (2006) are for me the best Bond films.. BTW thanks for this documentary.. very interesting & entertaining
Fleming introduced many new innovative cultural firsts: 1. Fleming used to report in the situation while happening rather than about the situation: beginning of Gonzo Journalism which Hunter Thompson lifted. 2. Flemings careful attention to "brands" like Bentley, Ritz Carlton, Ronson lighters, Dior dresses, was the beginning of brand positioning in art. 3. Flemmings casual sexual escapades and misogyny surrounded by gadgets was inspiration for Hefner and Playboy magazine. He was at the forefront of a cultural sexual revolution.
That's "The Look of Love", composed by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, and originally popularized by English pop singer Dusty Springfield, although many other vocal & instrumental artists have covered the song over the years. It was part of the original 1967 "Casino Royale" soundtrack.
Very good documentary. It mentions how bothered Brits were by the decline of British power and influence. I think this was manifested most strongly in You Only Live Twice, in which the Brits show resentment towards America for viewing Asia as under their sphere of influence, not Britain's. Tiger Tanaka doesn't hesitate to point out the decline of the British Empire to Bond. Bond replies defensively that it was a Brit who had conquered Everest, and Brits were still winning Olympic medals. Fleming didn't think much of the CIA, Felix Leiter notwithstanding.
@@MOOSEDOWNUNDER Popov was MI6's TOP agent in WW2 & coincidentally many incidents in his under cover life EXACTLY match those of JB's character and he worked directly with IF.
Bond was an amalgam of several men that Fleming worked during his counter espionage headquarters during WW2. Fleming had the rank of Commander at the time
I believe that's from the Michael Mann film "Heat". The music is played near the end of the film (and possibly elsewhere) after the final confrontation between De Niro's and Pacino's characters.
Fleming’s golf club was Huntercombe, which is just a mile or so from the House in Nettlebed. I think it’s the case that in Goldfinger, Goldfinger and Bond play their golf match at Sandwich in Kent but Bond say that he keeps his handicap at Huntercombe.
+D.E.B. B Well, it is a great soundtrack. More memorable than any of the recent Bond soundtracks, to be honest. Like John Barry, Burt Bacharach is a giant in his field.
According to his letters, Fleming intended The Man With the Golden Gun to be the very last Bond novel. He was extremely ill at the time and in a depressed state, but felt he owed the public one last book. If he was in better health, I suspect that like Conan Doyle he would have returned to Bond after a break. Before his final illness he wanted to visit the Panama Canal, so it's likely the next Bond novel would have taken place there.
The inspiration for Casino Royal came from his stay at the Palacio in Estoril the casino Estoril was next door I have stayed many times over the last 30 years
Yes it is. Thank you, I've been going nuts trying to place it and came here to the comments hoping someone would mention it. I can resume my life now. 😎
An incident related by one of the pioneer quants who gambled looks a lot like when Bond was poisoned. The house it would appear drugged Edward Thorp as he had figured a way to tip the odds in his favour. The incident is retold in Scott Patterson's book The Quants.
does anyone realize that the physical description and partial background description are based on Fleming best friend David Niven who was a Lt Col in the British Army WW2 as well as a Hollywood actor and member of the aristocracy,
You'd have perfered "You know my name" from the late Casino Royal? Thunderball describes the character and has the James Bond's theme as a leitmotiv. Also it has something a bit of a vintage feeling which suits well to this travel in time.
@@remoraexocet Yeah,exactly! The Chris Cornell one certainly wasn't a bad song, but the Thunderball theme as well as the unused Shirley Bassey one that appears in the film as an instrumental have always been the most Bondesque pieces of music in my opinion. Perfect for transporting one back to the Connery era (the only one endorsed by Fleming himself).
+IAN PAYNE Baccarat is still frequently played in casinos, even American ones (as I've seen in Lake Tahoe and Vegas). It was changed to poker in the Craig film because poker was trendy at the time. I think that was a mistake, since baccarat is a much easier game to follow and explain to viewers.
+I. Amanatullah I once played Baccarat at a Casino and didn't realise what I was playing. I didn't know the rules and I couldn't understand why I was losing.
+I. Amanatullah Not only was/is it trendy, but the "Texas Hold-Em" type of poker used in the movie lends itself to movies and TV use than baccarat; it was used to great dramatic effect on the final hand as each person looked to have the top hand upon each reveal.
+Jeff Gorham I'm afraid the great dramatic effect was only felt by poker fans. Baccarat by contrast could be easily explained in less than a minute of screen time, thereby involving the entire audience, and would have produced a greater dramatic effect when Bond is cleaned out, as well as when he wins. Fleming's original card game is one of the greatest gambling scenes in fiction and could have been easily translated to film, which makes the film's choice of poker (a game Bond has never played in the books or any of the previous films) doubly regrettable.
If the word "real" in the title is to be believed then the only one we should be hearing from is Fleming. Actors who haven't done shit with their lives except read from a script are all sizzle *NO STEAK* .
"most famous fictional character of all time" other than Santa Claus, Dracula. Mickey mouse, Mario, Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, Superman.... I'm not sure if James Bond even cracks the top 20 of this list
For the record: I would rank James Bond at fifth in "most famous fictional human British males": 1 - King Arthur (and Merlin, limiting it to one per fictional universe) 2 - Robin Hood 3 - Sherlock Holmes (plus Watson/Moriarty) 4 - Macbeth 5 - James Bond 6 - Harry Potter 7 - Dr. Jekyll 14 - Ali G
Ian Fleming Had To Have Lived A Life Simular To James Bond 007 To Write About Him And The Second World War Was A Perfect Time In His Incredible Life To Write About A Legend. Right!
la maquina de escriir que se ve en este video don de ian fleming, escribio en su casa de veano en jamaica, goldeneyer. es una maquina portatil inglesa maquina escribir inglesa triumph TENGO EN MI COLECCION BONDIANA/FLEMING una igual...del mismo colores abajo beinge y arriba un poco mas clar...
