The James Bond Movie List

Hello everyone and thank for coming back for another one of my blog entries. Like the James Bond Book List I posted earlier, this is just going to be a quick and dirty list of all of the 007 films, listed in the order they were released, with a couple glowing exceptions: there are 26 James Bond films BUT only 24 of them are by Eon Productions and therefore are considered canon films. The other two will be covered at the end of this post. I will eventually cover all of the movies individually and in depth, so please just use this as a reference.

Sean Connery

Scottish born Sir Sean Connery KBE starred in the original five James Bond films. Originally hesitant about the choice of Connery, Ian Fleming was quite pleased with Connery's performance. So much so that in Fleming's later novels, James Bond was given a Scotch-Swiss heritage. Connery went on to a long, successful career after the Bond films. For those of you keeping tabs, Dr. No is my favorite Bond film. 

Dr. No (1962)

From Russia With Love (1963)

Goldfinger (1964)

Thunderball (1965)

You Only Live Twice (1967)

George Lazenby

A lot of things set George Lazenby apart from the other actors who have played James Bond. At 29 years old, he was the youngest to portray 007. As a native Australian, he was the first Bond from outside the United Kingdom. He had also never acted before, aside from modeling. Probably most unique of all is the fact that he only starred in one film. He hated being micro-managed by people who knew the film business and they reportedly said he was a very difficult person to work with. Either way, after deciding not to continue with the Bond films, Lazenby sort of faded away and became a businessman.

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

Sean Connery (again)

He had grown tired of the role and the fact that not a single movie had been completed in time, causing Connery's other commitments to suffer. But with George Lazenby's departure, United Artists was desperate and they wanted Connery back, price was no object. So Sean Connery was paid a then unheard of £1.25 Million pounds to reprise the role. That was more than the ENTIRE BUDGET for Dr. No. He donated a vast majority of his pay to a Scottish charity he founded.

Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Roger Moore

Picking up from Sean Connery in 1973, Sir Roger Moore KBE went on to play 007 in seven films, spanning 12 years. This makes him the record holder for most films. At 57 years old when License to Kill came out, Moore is by far also the oldest person to play Bond.

Live and Let Die (1973)

The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Moonraker (1979)

For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Octopussy (1983)

A View to a Kill (1985)

Timothy Dalton

After Roger Moore was put out to pasture, Eon Productions and United Artists went shopping for a new James Bond. Eventually, they settled on Welshman Timothy Dalton. While contracted for three movies, Dalton would only star in two James Bond films. Before Movie #3 (presumably GoldenEye) could come into being, MGM and United Artists, now merged into MGM/UA planned to sell certain 007 film rights to a French company which touched off a lengthy legal battle and delayed GoldenEye for 6 years, during which time, Timothy Dalton's contract expired.

The Living Daylights (1987)

License to Kill (1989)

Pierce Brosnan 

With MGM/UA and Albert Broccoli's legal troubles behind them it was time to make another Bond film. Enter Irishman Pierce Brosnan OBE. Originally considered for The Living Daylights before losing out to Dalton (partly due to scheduling issues) Brosnan was tapped in 1995 to be the new James Bond and went on to be one of the best.

GoldenEye (1995)

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

The World Is Not Enough (1999)

Die Another Day (2002)

Daniel Craig

And last but not least, we come to Daniel Craig. To date, Craig has starred in four James Bond films. Craig's Bond has been extremely popular and has served to "reboot" the series. His future as James Bond is currently up in the air. Everyone wants him to stay, but he has stated that the James Bond films simply take him away from his family to much. In an attempt to rectify this, Eon executives have reportedly offered to shoot the next two Bond films back to back, making the production time significantly shorter.

Casino Royale (2006)

Quantum of Solace (2008)

Skyfall (2012)

Spectre (2015)

The Non-Eon Films

Due to the sale of rights to Casino Royal, as well as collaboration, which gave the rights to Thunderball to another non-Eon entity, there were two independent films released. Casino Royal was a comedy, while Never Say Never Again was a rehashing of Thunderball with Sean Connery reprising the role of James Bond. I'll speak more about these in a separate, more specific article.

Casino Royale (1967, starring David Nevin)

Never Say Never Again (1983, starring Sean Connery)

Sir James Bond(s)

Toward the end of Ian Fleming's novel The Man With the Golden Gun, James Bond refuses a knighthood offered to him by M, stating "I just refuse to call myself Sir James Bond. I'd laugh at myself every time I looked in the mirror to shave." So if the film series remains true to the original books, it is highly unlikely that James Bond the character will ever be created as Sir James. Despite that, three out of six of the actors who have portrayed James Bond have been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II over the years. While Daniel Craig hasn't been knighted... YET... he did participate in the Queen's spectacular entry into the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics.

Sir Thomas Sean Connery KBE

Sean Connery is a member of the Scottish National Party and a lifelong advocate of Scottish independence. This led to Scottish politician Donald Dewar vetoing Connery's nomination for knighthood in 1997 and 1998. Despite this, on July 5, 2000 Sean Connery, clad in full highland dress and a kilt of the MacLeod klan, knelt before Queen Elizabeth II at Holyrood Palace in Edinburg, Scotland and was created a Knight Bachelor. The citation for his knighthood stated it was in honor of his dramatic roles and service to the benefit of the British film industry. 

Sir Roger Moore KBE

Roger Moore was actually created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1999. This lesser class of the Order, while still quite prestigious, does not allow the recipient to be called Sir but does allow one to use the post-nominal CBE after their name. 

In 2003, Roger Moore was advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in honor of his work with the many charities he involves himself with. 

According to an article in the Telegraph, when Sir Roger Moore attempted to renew his passport and change "Mr" to "Sir" He was asked why, to which he replied that he had been knighted since he last updated his passport. When asked for proof, Moore said "What would you like? A letter from the Queen?" 

Pierce Brosnan OBE

A month after Sir Roger Moore was advanced to KBE, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw announced that Pierce Brosnan would be awarded an Honorary OBE for "services to Drama and the British film industry."

Pierce Brosnan's award of Officer of the Order of the British Empire is Honorary because he is an Irish citizen and the Queen cannot legally confer a knighthood (called a Substantive Award) upon someone who is not her subject. While Brosnan cannot use the title "Sir," he is legally allowed to place the post-nominal letters "OBE" after his name.