Written by Simon Hugo, Will Lawrence
Forewords by Daniel Craig,
Michael G. Wilson, Marek Reichman
Published by Hero Collector
Are you a car buff or a film buff?
Me, I’m just a film buff.
If, however, you are either one, you’re likely to enjoy the new book, James Bond’s DB5. If you happen to be both, then you’ll doubly enjoy it!
Listing no actual author, this celebratory picture history boasts no less than three brief Forewords—one from an Aston-Martin exec, one from a Bond film producer, and one from the current 007 himself, Daniel Craig.
The rest of the book is a fairly even mixture of detailed automobile porn and behind the scenes filmmaking anecdotes. I skipped over much of the former but devoured the latter.
Daniel Craig acknowledges right at the beginning that one of the most recognizable stars of the long-running James Bond series is the Aston-Martin DB5 that made its debut in 1965’s Goldfinger and has turned up in one form or another in many a 007 film since, as well as even some non-Bond movies!
This is its story.
From the automaker’s originally reluctant collaboration with the filmmakers through long solo tours of the gadget-filled car throughout various countries, merchandising in the form of everything from models to lunchboxes, and seemingly endless homages and comebacks in later franchise films, it’s all here, and it’s all surprisingly riveting.
The text offers behind the scenes car-centric details of the shooting of Goldfinger, Thunderball, and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service that I don’t recall from the various other James Bond histories I’ve read. Turns out the car even had a cinematic life away from the Bond films, with much trivia here on all that as well.
Lots of high-quality images of the various DB5 cars used through the years but also actual set photos with Craig, Judi Dench, Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, and Timothy Dalton, all posing with or in the famous co-starring car.
As I said, I am far from a car buff, although I do like a good chase scene in a movie and I’ve always been fond of the souped-up special movie and TV automobiles such as the Batmobile, the Monkeemobile, or, as here, The Bondmobile.
Kick back with James Bond’s DB5, cue up the John Barry music in your head, and get set for a fun, fast ride.
Booksteve recommends.
