The Flemingesque nature of Skyfall (or otherwise)?

Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
edited February 2013 in Skyfall - Bond 23 (2012)
As an AJB member who's tried hard to stay Spoiler Free (unless hearing the theme song counts and in my job that's impossible!) I'm curious about some things regarding Skyfall.

As a literary James Bond backwoodsman on AJB I wonder about the following, which probably doesn't include spoilers:

1. Are there any Flemingesque elements to Skyfall?
2. Are any Fleming novels or short stories used in the film?
3. Are there any Bond film elements reused/adapted/changed in the film?

I'd be very grateful for your various insights and sorry if this has been asked before, but remember all that I'm an amateur in the area of newly released James Bond films!

That's all folks!
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
«1

Comments

  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,619MI6 Agent
    Oi, that break was a short one. Only 7 days :D
    I guess that CBN was not that much enjoyable 8-)
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.
    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • Gala BrandGala Brand Posts: 1,172MI6 Agent
    Silhouette Man wrote:
    As an AJB member who's tried hard to stay Spoiler Free (unless hearing the theme song counts and in my job that's impossible!) I'm curious about some things regarding Skyfall.

    As a literary James Bond backwoodsman on AJB I wonder about the following, which probably doesn't include spoilers:

    1. Are there any Flemingesque elements to Skyfall?
    2. Are any Fleming novels or short stories used in the film?
    3. Are there any Bond film elements reused/adapted/changed in the film?

    I'd be very grateful for your various insights and sorry if this has been asked before, but remember all that I'm an amateur in the area of newly released James Bond films!

    That's all folks!



    It obviously borrows from YOLT in terms of theme.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    The idea of sending Bond on amission when he's not ready, I'd say is a nod
    to the novel, TMWTGG.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,467MI6 Agent
    Surely you should be asking about the Gardnerisation of Skyfall? :))
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Gassy ManGassy Man USAPosts: 2,972MI6 Agent
    From the details that have emerged there is quite a bit of Fleming in the story, from the notion that Bond is thought dead when alive to his sense of depression over his job to the idea that he is globetrotting to finish his mission. The plot seems to draw from You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, The Man with the Golden Gun, and Goldeneye. Though he is more dour than the Bond of the books and films, Daniel Craig's Bond comes close to embodying the complexity of the literary character while also approximating the masculinity of the character as suggested by Connery and Lazenby. Giving Bond a Scottish background is right out of the Bond novels as is perhaps the rather limited inclusion of characters like the Quartermaster in outfitting 007.
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,749Chief of Staff
    Bondtoys wrote:
    Oi, that break was a short one. Only 7 days :D
    I guess that CBN was not that much enjoyable 8-)

    Actually, it was only ONE day :))

    Answers....

    yes.
    no.
    yes.
    YNWA 97
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
    edited October 2012
    I'm back, kiddies, and this time I'm here to stay!
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
    Napoleon Plural wrote:
    Surely you should be asking about the Gardnerisation of Skyfall? :))

    By all means - if there are any links there, let me know!
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Could I ask why when you ask a question
    you never give any responces to members answers ?
    even if it just to say "What a crappy idea "
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
    Thunderpussy wrote:
    Could I ask why when you ask a question
    you never give any responces to members answers ?
    even if it just to say "What a crappy idea "

    I do usually reply to all posters who take the time to reply to my questions in the threads that I create - see the Gardner posts in the threads I made recently in the Literary 007 sub-section on AJB - not quite sure what you're getting at Thunderpussy? (Jonathan Ross-inspired name there - from an interview he did with Charloie Higson on his becoming Young Bond author in 2005).

    Anyway, nice to hear your views. :)
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    Jonathan Ross, Yes.

    It's not like I could of thought of it all by myself. :s
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
    Thunderpussy wrote:
    Jonathan Ross, Yes.

    It's not like I could of thought of it all by myself. :s

    No, of course not - Wossy beat you to it!
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    I wonder who used it before him.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
    Thunderpussy wrote:
    I wonder who used it before him.

    I'm guessing here...but you?
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy Behind you !Posts: 63,792MI6 Agent
    As teens in the 80's many of my mates were using "Thunderpussy " as a Title.
    For our own made-up Bond film. ( we were so innocent )
    People shouldn't put as much faith in mediocre TV personalities, many people
    come up with the same jokes in different parts of the country at the same time.
    Any joke I use which has been told by a comedian I always give a name check.
    Apart from my own.
    Still it's my user name I like it, If you don't . well I'm sorry I did think of a couple
    of others ( which I've posted before, so if some Talkshow host has used them it can't
    be helped.)

    Tamarra Neverdies and Diane Otherday

    I'm getting the impression that you have to be right all the time, so I'll concede.
    I'm a huge fan of "Wossy" and was just biding my time untill I could use the title
    thought up by the Worlds greatest living comedian.
    ( The last bit is from Blackadder 2 )

    So I'll call it a day with this, My final word.
    "I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
    Thunderpussy wrote:
    As teens in the 80's many of my mates were using "Thunderpussy " as a Title.
    For our own made-up Bond film. ( we were so innocent )
    People shouldn't put as much faith in mediocre TV personalities, many people
    come up with the same jokes in different parts of the country at the same time.
    Any joke I use which has been told by a comedian I always give a name check.
    Apart from my own.
    Still it's my user name I like it, If you don't . well I'm sorry I did think of a couple
    of others ( which I've posted before, so if some Talkshow host has used them it can't
    be helped.)

    Tamarra Neverdies and Diane Otherday

    I'm getting the impression that you have to be right all the time, so I'll concede.
    I'm a huge fan of "Wossy" and was just biding my time untill I could use the title
    thought up by the Worlds greatest living comedian.
    ( The last bit is from Blackadder 2 )

    So I'll call it a day with this, My final word.

    There's also Kingdom Come, of course!

    Don't quite know what the beef is - I apologise for any offence caused - it was certainly not my intention to do this!

    Let's go back to being mates again - much more fun!

    Plus, I'm rarely right as this proves! :)
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
    Any more Flemingesgue elements of Skyfall to report now that the film has probably been seen by (some) of the members of AJB?
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • lueth2048lueth2048 Posts: 120MI6 Agent
    I thought that Craig's performance was similar to the Bond of You Only Twice and The Man With the Golden Gun. Burned out, ready to leave his job and psychologically fragile.
  • kmartkmart Posts: 19MI6 Agent
    Pretty huge difference from the books in question due to context. Bond goes missing after YOLT because he doesn't remember who he is, as opposed to SF where he chooses to be dead. I'd call that a serious mischaracterization, but I'd say the same thing about nearly all of CR and SF.
    "Achievement is it's own reward - pride obscures it."
    Major Garland Briggs, in TWIN PEAKS
  • superadosuperado Regent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,656MI6 Agent
    Apart from the YOLT novel elements
    (Bond "dies," the obit and the reference to Bond's parents)
    , I think SF veered towards being more EON-nesque than Flemingesque if using CR as the baseline, in terms of plot, villain, Bond-M relationship, the Secret Service staffers, style/feel, etc.
    "...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
  • James SuzukiJames Suzuki New ZealandPosts: 2,406MI6 Agent
    Though I did feel that Bond,'the character' was close to Fleming's Bond.
    “The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning. "
    -Casino Royale, Ian Fleming
  • Gala BrandGala Brand Posts: 1,172MI6 Agent
    Patrice using a bullet that could be traced back to him was reminiscent of Scaramanga.
  • Gassy ManGassy Man USAPosts: 2,972MI6 Agent
    Having seen the film, I can say that it is plotted, too, like some of the Fleming books, including the more "personal" and less "big climax" ending despite some of the criticism to that effect from audiences.
  • Napoleon PluralNapoleon Plural LondonPosts: 10,467MI6 Agent
    Well, for me the WTF elements of SF are too many to mention but the Aston appearing with gadgets in one, and in Fleming's YOLT the idea that the hero's adventures have been documented by a Watson type character (referred to the Obit) is frankly a WFT moment by Fleming. I mean, eh?

    But the difference may be that they try to make London glam, whereas the big thing about Fleming's London was that a lot of it was 1950s ration book era, ok, not Blades, but otherwise, so making the exotic locales even more so. Now there's the sense that London is exotic to the makers, as it may have been to Deaver in Carte Blanche, as Bond spends a lot of time in London in that one. Actually, that's another link to CB, though the opener with the train really wasn't the same deal.
    "This is where we leave you Mr Bond."

    Roger Moore 1927-2017
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
    Just seen it - I know, late in the day. Excellent film agree about YOLT and TMWTGG refs - even Doubleshot comes in somewhere!

    Really great, minimalist Colonel Sun/Dr. No style Bond film!
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
    Bondtoys wrote:
    Oi, that break was a short one. Only 7 days :D
    I guess that CBN was not that much enjoyable 8-)

    I'm quite happy to say that on AJB v CBn I was TOTALLY WRONG. CBn sucks - it has sociopathic moderators and it's also a very cold place for the Literary James Bond fan, too. AJB is the best James Bond fan forum in the world. Period.

    Does that retraction of CBn satisfy you?

    Now, let's get back to discussing all things Bond!
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,749Chief of Staff
    No need to bash other sites...end of.
    YNWA 97
  • Silhouette ManSilhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
    Sir Miles wrote:
    No need to bash other sites...end of.

    I am sorry. Just wanted to get that off my chest. Won't do it again. Just had a really bad run-in with that CBn crowd. :#
    "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
  • Sir MilesSir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,749Chief of Staff
    Then leave it there...and move on...

    Back to topic please...
    YNWA 97
  • ChromeJobChromeJob Durham, NC USAPosts: 149MI6 Agent
    I immediately thought of TMWTGG (book) when seeing SF. Thought, "Hm, a bit early in their reboot series to introduce this, but then ... whatever. Let's see what they do with it." I thought it a really refreshing attitude to take with Bond in a film. And his frustration with his recuperation (or failure there of) in Macau(?) when he drops the guy, that was REALLY welcome on my part, the literary (Fleming) Bond curses his mistakes, and I got weary of never seeing that in the films since, oh, THUNDERBALL.
    20130316-5278_kingston_corvusbond_pussyposter_80x65.png
    “It reads better than it lives.” T. Case
Sign In or Register to comment.

Copyright ajb007.co.uk 1998 - 2024

James Bond TM 007 and related James Bond Trademarks © 1962-2024

Danjaq LLC and United Artists Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

This website is a fan site and is in no way related to the official production companies.

All users are responsible for the content of their posts, by using this website you agree to the terms of use.