As EON Productions celebrate 50 years of Bond, it’s worth remembering that Sean Connery was introducing himself as 007 long before man went to the Moon. As part of their ongoing celebrations, EON have granted TASCHEN editor Paul Duncan unparalleled access to their immense archives of photos, designs, storyboards and production materials to produce the new book, The James Bond Archives. After two years diligently sifting through over a million images and 100 filing cabinets of documents, Duncan’s collation of previously unpublished photography and artwork is a definitive and comprehensive pictorial tribute to 007, and the complete account of the story of Bond, beginning with DR. NO (1962) and ending with the upcoming SKYFALL (2012). Over 600 pages deep and packed with the anecdotes and recollections of 150 cast and crew members, TASCHEN’s new arrival equates to half a century of Bond’s adventures.
The James Bond Archives is priced at $200, but at the moment it's discounted 37% on Amazon. So far it's only available on the U.S. Amazon website.
I hope the rest of the book looks more interesting than the current sample pages illustrated, which are commonly seen images.
ReplyDeleteYeah, actually, I was thinking the same thing when I saw the preview.
DeleteSomeone asked me the other day, "If the editor of this book is not a James Bond 'expert' how would he know what a commonly seen image is or not?" "He wouldn't," I replied.
ReplyDeleteHaving worked with Paul, I can categorically state that he seriously knows his 007 - and doing precisely this book has been a longtime professional ambition. Given that he spent more than two years trawling the EON archives for pictures, I'd say that he's in an eminent position to discern the rarity value of the books imagery.
Delete$200? And people bitched about the price of Charles' book? That I could afford.
ReplyDeleteI like TASCHEN. I've got a couple of their "Movies of the [Insert Decade Here]" books. Good coffee table fare.
ReplyDeleteNot sure I'd pay $130 for it (seems more like a $70 book to me), but I'll definitely have a look at one if I get a chance.
I have Taschen's books on MAGIC and The Circus. Both magnificent. But not cheap.
DeleteI own both the like-bound Stanley Kubrick Archives and Ingmar Bergman Archives. Both are huge, heavy, and well worth the price tag. Pre-ordered!
ReplyDelete200 dollars?? I'd expect a Goldfinger gold bar thrown in! The cover is also very, very dull.
ReplyDeleteI was part of the team that wrote this book - I wrote the chapters on For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy and Tomorrow Never Dies - and it was a deeply fascinating project to work on. The initial samples really give you an idea of the inner layout and the cover is meant to be consistent with Taschen's other "Archives" books on Kubrick, Bergman and Amoldovar. Really, if you own any of them, you'll know that you're paying for a book of outstanding quality. There will be more previews over the next few months and you'll get to see more of the interior, but I can assure you that PD has divined a real trove of visual rarities and the Eon Archives material, from which we wrote the chapters, provided a huge amount of fantastic detail. I may be biased as a contributor, but as a lifelong Bond fan, I would be all over this no matter what!
ReplyDeleteSensational! Thanks for the info, Danny.
DeleteThe "Golden Editions" signed by a certain Mr. Craig and featuring a signed-by-the-artist Ken Adam art print are going fast...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/film/all/03104/facts.the_james_bond_archives_golden_edition_a_no_1250.htm
http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/film/all/03103/facts.the_james_bond_archives_golden_edition_b_no_251500.htm