Created by best-selling author Ian Fleming in the early 1950's, James Bond made his first appearance on film in Dr No. From heroes and villains to cars, fantastic gadgets and exotic locations, the Bond series quickly set cinematic standards for high-action adventure movies. Bond films have always moved with the times but remained true to the essence of the 007 character.
Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan each brought a unique style to Bond without ever betraying the special agent's mix of charm, quirky sense of humour and heroism. Though his appearance might change over the years, he will always be Special Agent 007.
Bond villains are unlike any other. From the evil Goldfinger to the duplicitous Alec Trevelyan, these characters have become ones we love to hate. Of course, no Bond film would be complete without the sexy 'Bond Girls' - and in the past four decades we've met the best cinema has to offer. Sometimes deadly, sometimes smart but always beautiful, gorgeous actresses Ursula Andress, Jane Seymour, Grace Jones and Halle Berry have all been 'Bond Girls'.
On Sunday we kick off the festival with The Living Daylights, featuring Timothy Dalton in his first performance as James Bond. Filmed on location in Gibraltar, Austria, Morocco, the USA, Italy and England, and combining all the explosive action, heart-stopping stunts and trademark humour of a Bond film, this dizzying tale of counter-intelligence, romance and deception takes us from the top of the Rock of Gibraltar, to an ornate Czechoslovakian concert hall, from the fleshpots of a casbah in Tangiers, to the battlegrounds of Afghanistan.
The film features the trademark Bond theme-song composed by John Barry while A-ha performs the title track. Portraying the film's cast of heroes and villains are Maryam D'Abo as a lovely but lethal cellist, Jeroen Krabbe as a KGB official and series regulars Robert Brown as M and Desmond Llewellyn as Q. Caroline Bliss portrays the amorous Miss Moneypenny for the first time.
Get ready to be seduced by the charismatic secret agent, charmed by beautiful settings, amazed by the wonderful gadgetry and stunned by cinema's most exciting action sequences.
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