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For the bloggosphere geek record, and because I feel many of my fellow film bloggers and readers haven't grown up with 007 like I have, here's my favorite films featuring the original international man of mystery:

1. FROM RUSSIA
WITH LOVE (Dir.Terence Young, 1963) Despite the heavily derived from Hitchcock's NORTH BY NORTHWEST helicopter chase sequence (pictured), the fight scenes, and the now obligatory boat chase this is more of a straight thriller laced with romance and that's how I like Bond best. Sean Connery's 2nd

performance as 007 captures him in suave stride as he romances a Russian agent (Daniela Bianchi) while battling SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion). Filled with finesse from the first frame to the last and still as sharp today as Rosa Clebb's poisoned shoe spike was back in the Kennedy Camelot era.

2. GOLDFINGER (Dir. Guy Hamilton, 1964) It's close to a tie between this and #1, GOLDFINGER was the fine tuning of a formula that served the series well. A megalomaniac (Gert Frbe) sets out to commit "the crime of the century" by literally going for the gold (Fort Knox) but Bond (Connery) foils his plans and gets Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman) in the process (also literally).

3. THE SPY WHO LOVED ME http://www.imdb.com/title/tt00 76752/ (Dir. Lewis Gilbert, 1977) There's a bias here because this was the first one I saw as a kid at the theater but it's certainly considered the best of the Roger Moore Bond movies (Moore himself agrees). It has one of the best Bond babes (Barbara Bach), one of the best Bond theme songs (Carly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better"), and one of the best Bond vehicles (the Lotus Esprit that can convert to a submarine car). It also has the infamous overlarge henchman "Jaws" (Richard Kiel) who was popular enough to be shamelessly trotted out again in the next movie (see below).

4. DR. NO (Dir. Terence Young, 1962) Yep, like the first 3 Elvis Costello albums the first 3 Bond movies are essential IMHO. Connery assumes the role immediately and this has much evidence of the cold cunning killer that folks these days seem to think Craig created. The shot of Ursula Andress emerging from the water in a white cotton bikini with a knife holster is forever etched into my psyche and into film history. Fittingly the scene was recreated with Hallie Berry
in DIE ANOTHER DAY and to show the tables have been turned in terms of sexual objectification nowadays Daniel Craig did the honors at the beach in CASINO

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