The essential bluffer's guide to Bond
Do you struggle to remember which film was the one with the Union Jack parachute, or which Bond girl belongs with which Bond? Well, fear no more - Empire's cut-out-and-keep* guides to the Bond films will remind you which villain plotted which insane world-dominating scheme, and who sang those pesky theme tunes. It's the definitive bluffing guide to Bond...
Dr No
Year: - 1962
Bond: - Connery
Villain: - Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman)
Henchman: - None
Bond Girl: - Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress)
Plot: - Dr. No and SPECTRE plan to disrupt the US Space Program with an attack on Cape Canaveral.
Car: - None
Gadgets: - None
Set Pieces: - Car chase at the beginning, reactor explosion at the end.
Theme: - James Bond Theme by John Barry
Trivia: - Production designer Ken Adam had just £20,000 to build the set
Kills: - 4
Shags: - 3
From Russia with Love
Year - 1963
Bond - Connery
Villain - Kronsteen and Blofeld, of SPECTRE
Henchman - 'Red' Grant (Robert Shaw)
Bond Girl - Tatiana Romanova (Daniela Bianchi)
Plot - SPECTRE plans to steal a Lektor cipher machine from the Russians, sell it to the British but then steal it back, teaching the British a lesson and setting the West and Russians at each other's throats.
Car - A green Bentley
Gadgets - Exploding briefcase, sniper rifle, tear-gas.
Set Pieces - Helicopter/boat chase
Theme - The James Bond Theme by John Barry
Trivia - Connery was almost killed when a helicopter flew too close.
Kills - 8
Shags - 4
Goldfinger
Year - 1964
Bond - Connery
Villain - Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe)
Henchman - Odd Job (Harold Sakata)
Bond Girl - Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman)
Plot - Goldfinger plans to irradiate the US Gold Reserve at Fort Knox, putting it out of use for 58 years, which will increase the value of his own gold reserves and destabilise the Western economies.
Car - Aston Martin DB5 - bulletproof screens, homing-device detector, smoke screen, oil-slick reservoir, wheel blades, guns, ejector seat.
Gadgets - Homing device in his shoe links to a locater in the DB5.
Set Pieces - Goldfinger tries to cut Bond in half with a laser.
Theme - Goldfinger sung by Shirley Bassey
Trivia - Producers wanted a Jaguar E-Type, not a DB5.
Kills - 6
Shags - 2
Thunderball
Year - 1965
Bond - Connery
Villain - Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi)
Henchman - Vargas
Bond Girl - Domino (Claudine Auger)
Plot - SPECTRE plans to steal two atomic bombs from a bomber on a training mission, using surgically-altered pilots.
Car - DB5, similar to one used in Goldfinger.
Gadgets - Jet-pack, Geiger-counter watch, scuba propeller w/ harpoons, radioactive tracer pill, miniature air cylinder, underwater camera, mini-flare.
Set Pieces - Jet-pack escape in the opening sequence.
Theme - Thunderball by Tom Jones
Trivia - Was intended to be the first Bond film.
Kills - 9
Shags - 3
You Only Live Twice
Year - 1967
Bond - Connery
Villain - Blofeld (Donald Pleasance)
Henchman - Mr. Osato, Helga Brandt, Hans
Bond Girl - Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi), Kissy Suzuki (Mie Hama)
Plot - SPECTRE tries to start WW III by using a secret rocket base to launch a rogue spaceship that attacks both Russian and US ships, pitting the superpowers against each other.
Car - Toyota 2000GT
Gadgets - Little Nelly autogyro with guns, heat-seeking missiles, flame throwers, smoke and aerial mines. Rocket-firing cigarettes.
Set Pieces - Ninja's invading the crater at the end.
Theme - You Only Live Twice by Nancy Sinatra
Trivia - Roald Dahl wrote the screenplay.
Kills - 14
Shags - 2
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Year - 1969
Bond - Lazenby
Villain - Blofeld
Henchman - Irma Bunt (Ilse Steppat)
Bond Girl - Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo (Tracy) (Diana Rigg)
Plot - Blofeld brainwashes women to unwittingly deliver a bacteriological agent through the world, which will destroy the world's agriculture.
Car - Aston Martin DBS
Gadgets - Radioactive lint? Safe cracker/photocopier, mini camera.
Set Pieces - Avalanche ski chase.
Theme - James Bond Theme by John Barry
Trivia - Fleming wrote the novel while Dr. No was filming.
Kills - 7
Shags - 3
Diamonds Are Forever
Date - 1971
Bond - Connery
Villain - Blofeld (Charles Gray)
Henchman - Mr. Wint (Bruce Glover) and Mr. Kidd (Putter Smith)
Bond Girl - Tiffany Case (Jill St. John)
Plot - Blofeld builds a diamond-encrusted satellite laser system to destroy the world's nuclear arms and provide the ultimate weapon.
Car - Q fits missiles to the DB5, which is never used. Red Mustang.
Gadgets - Piton-firing gun, voice-changer, slot machine-fixing electro-magnet
Set Pieces - The final assault on Blofeld's oil-rig.
Theme - Diamonds Are Forever by Shirley Bassey
Trivia - The original plot had Goldfinger's identical twin seeking revenge.
Kills - 6
Shags - 1
Live And Let Die
Year - 1973
Bond - Moore
Villain - Kananga (Yaphet Kotto)
Henchman - Tee Hee (Julius Harris)
Bond Girl - Solitaire (Jane Seymour)
Plot - A Caribbean dictator plans to distribute heroin for free, increasing demand, driving his competitors out of business and giving himself a monopoly.
Car - None
Gadgets - No Q, but a radio hairbrush, bug detector, shark gun, and electro magnet-watch with buzz-saw.
Set Pieces - The alligator jump scene.
Theme - Live and Let Die by Paul McCartney & Wings
Trivia - Producer's tried to distance this from previous films, hence no Q, no car, no vodka martini and cigars instead of cigarettes.
Kills - 6
Shags - 3
The Man with the Golden Gun
Year - 1974
Bond - Moore
Villain - Scaramanga (Christopher Lee)
Henchman - Nick-Nack (Herve Villechaize)
Bond Girl - Mary Goodnight (Britt Eklund)
Plot - Scaramanga, the world's best assassin, targets Bond as a worthy adversary - and incidentally steals a "solex agitator" that can power either a solar plant to solve the world's energy crisis or a big solar gun.
Car - None for Bond, but Goodnight has an MG.
Gadgets - Rocket launcher camera, rubber third nipple.
Set Pieces - Car chase along the river, with a twisting ramp jump.
Theme - The Man with the Golden Gun by Lulu
Trivia - Christopher Lee is Ian Fleming's cousin.
Kills - 1
Shags - 1
The Spy Who Loved Me
Date - 1977
Bond - Moore
Villain - Carl Stromberg (Curt Jurgens)
Henchman - Jaws (Richard Kiel)
Bond Girl - Major Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach)
Plot - Stromberg plans to use stolen nuclear missiles to start WW III, which he will sit out in his underwater base before establishing a new civilisation.
Car - Submersible Lotus Espirit
Gadgets - A watch that receives and prints messages, ski-stick rocket, water-cycle.
Set Pieces - Union-Jack parachute ski-jump, Jaws versus a shark, underwater car against the frogmen.
Theme - Nobody Does it Better by Carly Simon
Trivia - Due to extreme discomfort, Kiel could only wear the metal teeth for about 30 seconds.
Kills - 18
Shags - 3
Moonraker
Date - 1979
Bond - Moore
Villain - Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale)
Henchman - Jaws (Richard Kiel)
Bond Girl - Dr. Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles)
Plot - Drax plans on spreading a toxin deadly to humans from space, before repopulating the globe with genetically perfect humans he's saved.
Car - None
Gadgets - Wrist gun, cigarette case x-ray, mini camera, motorised gondola, laser pistol, Q-craft.
Set Pieces - Gunfight in space with jetpacks and laser guns.
Theme - Moonraker by Shirley Bassey
Trivia - The role of Drax was offered to James Mason.
Kills - 15
Shags - 2
For Your Eyes Only
Date - 1981
Bond - Moore
Villain - Ari Kristatos (Julian Glover)
Henchman - Locque (Michael Gothard)
Bond Girl - Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet)
Plot - Greek businessman Kristatos plans to sell a stolen British targeting system, which could be used to fire the West's own submarine missiles against their cities, to the Russians.
Car - Lotus. Citroen 2CV.
Gadgets - Walkie-talkie wrist watch, identograph.
Set Pieces - Ski chase with motorbikes.
Theme - For Your Eyes Only By Sheena Easton
Trivia - Easton is the only title-theme artist to appear in the opening titles.
Kills - 10
Shags - 1
Octopussy
Date - 1983
Bond - Moore
Villain - Kamal Khan (Louis Jourdan)
Henchman - Gobinda (Kabir Bedi)
Bond Girl - Octopussy (Maud Adams)
Plot - A renegade Soviet general means to detonate a nuclear bomb at a circus show on a NATO base, leading to unilateral Western disarmament and leaving the West defenceless against the Warsaw Pact countries.
Car - No car, but an Acrostar miniature jet, rickshaw.
Gadgets - Exploding briefcase, acid-ink pen, mechanical crocodile, TV watch.
Set Pieces - Elephant chase, Indian-cabbie chase.
Theme - All-Time High by Rita Coolidge
Trivia - A pair of 8's in poker is an known as an 'Octopussy'
Kills - 13
Shags - 2
A View to a Kill
Date - 1985
Bond - Moore
Villain - Max Zorin (Christopher Walken)
Henchman - May Day (Grace Jones)
Bond Girl - Stacey Sutton (Tanya Roberts)
Plot - Zorin wants to destroy Silicon Valley in a man-made earthquake, thereby gaining a monopoly on the microchip market.
Car - 1962 Rolls-Royce, Renault 11 Turbo taxi-cab.
Gadgets - Iceberg submarine, credit-card lock-pick, ring-camera, mini photocopier, bug-detector.
Set Pieces - Airship finale culminating in a fight atop the Golden Gate Bridge.
Theme - Dance into the Fire (A View to a Kill) by Duran Duran
Trivia - David Bowie was the original choice for Max Zorin.
Kills - 4
Shags - 4
The Living Daylights
Date - 1987
Bond - Dalton
Villain - Brad Whittaker (Joe Don Baker)
Henchman - Necros (Andreas Wisniewski)
Bond Girl - Kara Milvoy (Maryam d'Abo)
Plot - An arms dealer sells a rogue Soviet general (it's always a rogue) advanced weaponry in return for opium.
Car - Aston Martin Volante/Vantage
Gadgets - Keyring which releases gas or explodes when whistled to. Set Pieces - Car chase on ice.
Theme - The Living Daylights by A-Ha
Trivia - Joe Don Baker went on to play CIA Agent Jack Wade in Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies.
Kills - 1
Shags - 1
Licence to Kill
Date - 1989
Bond - Dalton
Villain - Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi)
Henchman - Dario (Benicio Del Toro)
Bond Girl - Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell)
Plot - A thoroughly bad guy drug dealer attacks Felix Leiter and his new bride, smuggles cocaine in petrol tanks and threatens to shoot down American passenger jets if anyone interferes with his operation.
Car - None
Gadgets - Exploding toothpaste, laser camera, manta ray disguise, rappelling cummerbund.
Set Pieces - Oil-tanker chase finale
Theme - Licence to Kill by Gladys Knight
Trivia - The original title of the film was Licence Revoked.
Kills - 7
Shags - 2
Goldeneye
Date - 1995
Bond - Brosnan
Villain - Alec Trevelyn (Sean Bean)
Henchman - Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen)
Bond Girl - Natalia Simonova (Izabella Scorupco)
Plot - A rogue MI6 agent plans to steal the contents of the Bank of England, before using the electromagnetic pulse of a GoldenEye satellite to wipe the Bank's records of the theft and destroy the UK economy.
Car - Aston Martin DB5, BMW Z3
Gadgets - Grenade-pen, rappelling-belt, code-cracking device, piton laser gun, laser watch.
Set Pieces - The bungee-jump opening, Bond in a tank.
Theme - Goldeneye by Tina Turner
Trivia - The theme tune was written by Bono and The Edge, of U2.
Kills - 25
Shags - 2
Tomorrow Never Dies
Date - 1997
Bond - Brosnan
Villain - Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce)
Henchman - Stamper (Gotz Otto)
Bond Girl - Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh)
Plot - A media mogul plans to start a war between China and the UK using a stealth ship and stolen missiles, eliminating the Chinese leadership who deny his company exclusive broadcasting rights.
Car - BMW 750
Gadgets - Cell phone with fingerprint scanner, laser, lock pick, remote for car, high voltage security system.
Set Pieces - Car park chase, Motorcycle chase through Vietnam, finale aboard Carver's stealth boat.
Theme - Tomorrow Never Dies by Sheryl Crow
Trivia - The original was Tomorrow Never Lies.
Kills - 23
Shags - 3
The World is Not Enough
Date - 1999
Bond - Brosnan
Villain - Elektra King (Sophie Marceau)
Henchman - Renard (Robert Carlyle)
Bond Girl - Dr. Christmas Jones (Denise Richards)
Plot - An heiress plans to cause a nuclear explosion in Istanbul, which will leave her new pipeline with a monopoly on Europe's oil from the Caspian Sea.
Car - BMW Z8 w/surface to air missiles, remote control.
Gadgets - X-ray specs, grappling watch, ski coat air bag, credit card lock-pick
Set Pieces - Boat chase opening, Helicopter chainsaw car chase, ski chase, bomb in pipeline.
Theme - The World is Not Enough by Garbage
Trivia - First James Bond movie where the main villain is female
Kills - 21
Shags - 2
Die Another Day
Date - 2002
Bond - Brosnan
Villain - Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens)
Henchman - Zao (Rick Yune)
Bond Girl - Jinx (Halle Berry)
Plot - A mirror satellite system can either provide year-long sunshine to grow crops, or destroy the minefields of the Korean demilitarised zone, leaving the way open for invasion from North Korea.
Car - Aston Martin Vanquish with invisibility cloak!
Gadgets - Laser watch, re-breather, glass-shattering ring.
Set Pieces - Hovercraft chase, car chase on ice.
Theme - Die Another Die by Madonna
Trivia - Tourists turned up at the Iceland location, hoping to stay at the ice hotel, which doesn't exist.
Kills - 14
Shags - 2
Casino Royale
Date - 2006
Bond - Craig
Villain - Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelson)
Henchman - None
Bond Girl - Vesper Lynd (Eva Green)
Plot - A banker to the world's terrorists tries to recoup the loses that Bond caused him by foiling a stock manipulation scheme by holding a high-stakes poker tournament.
Car - Aston Martin DBS
Gadgets - Only the defibrillator in the glove box of the DBS
Set Pieces - Free-running foot chase, sinking building finale.
Theme - You Know My Name by Chris Cornell
Trivia - Daniel Craig is the first actor to play bond who is younger than the series itself. Craig was born in 1968, 6 years after Dr. No.
Kills - 25
Shags - 1