It’s been 58 years since James Bond premiered in cinemas and with the upcoming No Time To Die, the franchise is celebrating its 25th film.
Since its inception with Dr No in 1962, there have been six dapper Bonds on the big screen including Sir Sean Connery, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and more recently Daniel Craig.
While we wait for the highly anticipated next instalment (which is being released in April 2021) and to celebrate over five decades of the franchise, we’re looking back at ten of the best classic Bond films of all time, beginning with the one that started it all.
1. Dr No (1962)
Synopsis: James Bond 007 (Connery) is Britain’s top agent, and is on an exciting mission, to solve the mysterious murder of a fellow agent.
The task sends him to Jamaica, where he joins forces with Quarrel (John Kitzmiller) and a loyal C.I.A. Agent, Felix Leiter (Jack Lord).
While dodging tarantulas, “fire breathing dragons”, and a trio of assassins, known as “the three blind mice”, Bond meets up with the beautiful Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) and goes face to face with the evil Dr No (Joseph Wiseman).
Cast: Sean Connery, Bernard Lee, Ursula Andress, Joseph Wiseman, Jack Lord
2. Goldfinger (1964)
Synopsis: James Bond (Sir Sean Connery) is back and his next mission takes him to Fort Knox, where Auric Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe) and his henchman are planning to raid Fort Knox and obliterate the world economy.
To save the world once again, Bond will need to become friends with Goldfinger, dodge killer hats, and avoid Goldfinger’s personal pilot, the sexy Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman). She might not have feelings for Bond, but will 007 help her change her mind?
Cast: Sean Connery, Honor Blackman, Gert Fröbe, Shirley Eaton
3. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Synopsis: James Bond (Moore) is back again and his new mission is to find out how a Royal Navy Polaris submarine holding sixteen nuclear warheads simply disappeared while on patrol.
Bond joins Major Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach) and takes on a web-handed mastermind, known as Karl Stromberg (Curd Jürgens), as well as his henchman Jaws (Richard Kiel), who has a mouthful of metal teeth.
Bond must track down the location of the missing submarine before the warheads are fired.
Cast: Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Curd Jürgens, Richard Kiel
4. For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Synopsis: James Bond (Moore) is assigned to find a missing British vessel, equipped with a weapons encryption device and prevent it from falling into enemy hands.
Bond must track down the location of the missing submarine before the warheads are fired.
Cast: Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Topol
5. The Living Daylights (1987)
Synopsis: James Bond (Timothy Dalton) is sent to investigate a KGB policy to kill all enemy spies and uncovers an arms deal that potentially has major global ramifications.
Cast: Timothy Dalton, Maryam d’Abo, Jeroen Krabbé
6. Goldeneye (1995)
Synopsis: Years after a friend and fellow 00 agent is killed on a joint mission, a secret space-based weapons program known as “GoldenEye” is stolen. James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) sets out to stop a Russian crime syndicate from using the weapon.
Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean, Izabella Scorupco
7. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
Synopsis: James Bond (Brosnan) sets out to stop a media mogul’s plan to induce war between China and the U.K in order to obtain exclusive global media coverage.
Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Jonathan Pryce, Michelle Yeoh
8. You Only Live Twice (1967)
Synopsis: Secret Agent James Bond (Connery) and the Japanese Secret Service must find and stop the true culprit of a series of space hijackings before a war is provoked between Russia and the United States.
Cast: Sean Connery, Akiko Wakabayashi, Mie Hama
9. Licence to Kill (1989)
Synopsis: After capturing a drug lord, Felix Leiter (David Hedison) is left for dead and his wife is murdered. James Bond (Dalton) goes rogue and seeks vengeance on those responsible, as he infiltrates an organisation posing as a hitman.
Cast: Timothy Dalton, Robert Davi, Carey Lowell
10. The World Is Not Enough (1999)
Synopsis: James Bond uncovers a nuclear plot while protecting an oil heiress (Sophie Marceau) from her former kidnapper, an international terrorist (Robert Carlyle) who can’t feel pain.
Cast: Pierce Brosnan, Sophie Marceau, Robert Carlyle, Denise Richards, Robbie Coltrane, Judi Dench.
HOYTS is serving up the best of classic Bond films. From Dr No to License to Kill, HOYTS is bringing back two Bond classics each week from Thursday, October 8. Find out more here.