Brosnan is absolutely ruthless in the scene where he kills elektra king in TWINE - he delivers it with a real sense of emotional menace. It's a scene that deserves more recognition for sure
Brosnan can really act only using his eyes. His eyes really shows how a man who have killed so many feels. Compare Craig to Brosnan you can really see which one of them is the greater actor, Brosnan is the real thing.
I remember when he tried to shoot Miranda Frost right on the spot with absolutely no hesitation after he found out she was the traitor responsible for his imprisonment.
I think people just make this shit up to troll, I havent even heard of this myth but it's clearly made up by someone who doesnt watch the films or really just wants to stir. Bond doesnt kill alot of women cos usually the target audience (men) want to see Bond up against great hulking male adversaries not murdering petite women in slim line dresses
@@theyellowlightsaber3193 but i guess to some guys cause she wouldnt look good in a bikini then she don't count as a girl "in the true read (sexual) sense of the word"
@@nifralo2752 She's not counted as a Bond girl no but then neither is Irma Bunt from OHMSS but that might also be cos to be a Bond girl youve got to be romancing Bond either to seduce him as a bad guy or as a love interest, which neither of those two women are doing since in From Russia With Love the blonde chick has been deliberately hired in the first place to do that job for her.
Perhaps not. But you'll quickly realize the ineffectiveness of said human shield when the bullet(s) exits the woman you're carrying and penetrates your body as well.
One of the best scenes in all the Bond movies, impressive considering (from a personal view) that it was in one of the more meh Bond movies. Great scene from an okay Bond movie.
It would have been interesting to see Living Daylights in this video, where he very pointedly chooses not to kill Kara even though that was his mission
Oh nooooooooooo!!... This is going to be like that "I'm hit" goof I made in my Nightfire review where I have comments correcting me until the end of time! I clearly just can't get Moonraker off my brain...
Agree with that as Drax is a lot more fun than the dull Stromberg. Oddly, both Stromberg and Drax actors are in John le Carré's 'Smiley's People' though they don't share any scene's together.
Weird that Roger moore is seen as the light hearted bond but he's the first i think of when it shows women getting killed directly or indirectly by him.
@@rankartde163 in his defence, the makers were making or trying to make him a Connery clone, but didn't suit Moore. Connery beat women that he thought were enemies or spies . but here Moore is beating an already abused and submissive mistress so that doesn't make him a hero
Yeh Moore was less than chivalrous with alot of the chicks he was involved with, the only time he showed serious concern for one was when he protected Stacey in A View to a KIll by actually not sleeping with her but instead waiting ready with an armed gun incase she was attacked. Quite out of character for Bond's usual modus operandi.
I find this topic very interesting. With Electra's death, you could tell that Bond didn't want to kill her but had no choice if it meant saving the lives of millions. I think we should have another female Bond villain for Bond to go up against and see how the films play them out. Would they play Bond as being more sympathetic towards them and give them a chance or would he straight up kill them if it means that millions of lives will not come to harm because of the villain's actions?
But of course , a real nuclear sub reactor explosion would just cause a big slash and pollute the water. Few movies have taken as many liberties with nuclear weapons
Corinne Dufour's death is one of the most harrowing in ANY film. Considering the fact that Moonraker is very tongue in cheek, her death is vicious and disturbing. I adore Fiona Volpe as a character. She is delightfully wicked as is her counterpart, Fatima Blush in Never Say Never Again. However, they both deserve the comeuppance they get. I really, really enjoy these videos. They always make me smile and you are so brilliantly eloquent. Thank you xxxx
I feel like Corinne’s death is somehow from a different movie ( something like a horror movie, even the effects around the camera and the fog makes it look very nightmarish dream like ) I sometimes wonder if John Landis took over directing on that day ! Very American Werewolf In London, this scene always put me out of the movie especially with the camp of Moonraker
@@captainbrodude8251 Yeah in Casino Royale we see something I can remember and it would have been cruel if they never make him smile or something but I always think that the Craig movies seem depressive and just not funny and entertaining to me
@@rankartde163 First time I encountered it was before Daniel Craig even was James Bond, but I'm quite sure Daniel Craig smiled plenty in Casino Royale.
What I want to know is where the bullet entered Fiona Volpe's body. Connery never moves his fingers, and the blood trickles out directly from between them.
Yeah was thinking the same thing. Bond is good, but expecting him to instantly cover up the bullet hole without looking or smearing of any sort is not at all convincing. Looks more like a cheap and amateurish way to pop the blood packet on camera. Not very bond worthy, more something you expect to see in a student film.
@@baronvonlimbourgh1716 What I find interesting is if you look closely, you can also see the blood coming out from the back of the dress as well. So I'm wondering where the packet would have been.
@@juliabrnssr behind the dress. Maybe a pointy thing glued to his finger. Or just made from weak plasic that needs little pressure to pop when pressed. Surely there are ways to do that. Anyway, that is the way it looks on camera to me. Not saying they actually do use blood packets or something. Not sure how these things are actually done in the movies. I asume they have professional techniques for this kind of stuff. Part of the movie magic in the end lol 😁
That was just a poorly executed scene. Sean was clearly meant to pop a blood capsule to make it look like she had been shot, but he didn't move his hand away quickly enough. I guess that dress was too expensive to allow them to do another take.
And now we shall count the number of women killed by Bond in the Fleming books ... Casino Royale: Vesper commits suicide. Bond not responsible. Live and Let Die: Zero female deaths. Moonraker: Zero female deaths. Diamonds Are Forever: Zero female deaths. From Russia With Love: Zero female deaths. Bond in fact saves one female life by pleading with the Gypsy chief to stop the fight between the two rivals. At the end, Rosa Klebb is not killed but is captured by Mathis, and although it is told in the next book that “Oh, she died”, it was certainly not at the hands of Bond who was closer to death than she for a time. Doctor No: Zero female deaths. There is no big explosive destruction of the Crab Key lair in the book, so the twitty reception staff presumably survive. Goldfinger: Two female deaths. Bond may, with a fairly long bow, be partly responsible for the death of Jill Masterton at Goldfinger’s hands (holding a brush) because he enabled and allowed her to return to Goldfinger. But he is not responsible for Tilly’s death - she chose to seek shelter with Pussy rather than with Bond, and paid the price. For Your Eyes Only collection: Zero female deaths. Thunderball: Zero female deaths. Fiona Vulpe does not appear in the novel. The Spy Who Loved Me: Zero female deaths but who bloody cares? On Her Majesty’s Secret Service: The sole female death is Tracy. Bond was less than his typical professionally observant self to fail to suspect the two following them in the red car, but that doesn’t mean he killed her. You Only Live Twice: Ambiguous. Bond’s sabotage causes the castle to blow up from the volcanic pressure beneath, but it is not stated whether or not Irma Bunt is killed. Likely yes, so that makes 1. The Man With the Golden Gun: Zero female deaths. Octopussy and The Living Daylights: Bond specifically, and insubordinately, chooses *not* to kill the female assassin. Given the character established by Fleming, is there anything at all strange about the paucity of deaths of females at the hands of Bond?
The Bond films were heavily influenced by Goldfinger, as Dr No and FRWL have all the girls surviving. After Goldfinger, it became customary to have one girl being killed off whether she is a sacrificial lamb or a villainess and in Thunderball and YOLT, you have both. I also see the later Bond novels written by authors such as John Gardner adopting this trope, but they are usually villainesses (Mary Jane Mashkin, Nena Bismaquer, Nannette Norrich).
The TSWLM kill.....here's how I interpret it: She's too physically close to Bond and is in danger of being killed too by the gunman. She screams out "No". This informs Bond. Bond being in this situation before (Thunderball), knows it very likely the gunman will shoot anyway. He then uses the same trick (human shield) and shoots at the gunman
They really got my hopes up when the rumour of Rachel Weisz being a Bond villain popped up. The notion of Craig's wife playing the role seems like a rather fun idea.
I remember a rumor for Bond 25 was Helena Bonham Carter as the villain which is....hard to picture but it might have worked. Angelina Jolie was also rumored but as Calvin once said she seems to be linked with every Bond film and never appears in them. The Weisz rumor pre-dated there marriage I think but it would be interesting to see.
Does look like it, but would make more sense that she was trying to get a way but yeah. With her shouting "No" and her movement it clearly looks like she put herself between Bond and the line of fire.
@@dvader518 Dalton's bond would've done in a heartbeat though- if he found her guilty that is(or kara wouldn't have been alive) Even lazenby, but not so much
I think Electra got actually the most harsh and personal death of really any Bond villain. Thing about a lot of the female villains, at least in older films, they tend to be evil... until they’re not because of Bond’s (censored). Honestly, I think it tends to make audiences uncomfortable if you have the main character, the good guy, kill a woman, especially if it was on the regular.
Given the recent trend in movies like Thor Ragnarok and the Star Wars sequels where female characters can"t even be DEFEATED, let alone killed by their opponentsn it's safe to say we won't see James Bond kill a woman any time soon... who knows, Elektra King might have been the final instance of that, ever !
How about Brosnons Bond brutal attempt to shoot Miranda Frost point blank in the face,,,if she had not removed his bullits it would have been “cold and very detached !”
And yet he then took the time (on a disintegrating plane!) and apparently mourned her death deeply, when it came at the hands of Jinx. 🤔 It's complicated with Frost.
Electra King is my favorite kill of the franchise. It shows the cold blooded ness that wasn’t seen except in Dalton’s bond but was seen heavily in the books.
There are plenty of cold blooded Bond moments before Dalton with Connery [killing professor Dent in cold blood] and Moore [kicking the car in Eyes, dropping the guy to his death by letting go of his tie in Spy].
In The Spy Who Loved Me, the henchmen is there to kill the woman ("Anyone who has come into contact with that microfilm is to be eliminated"); Bond just happened to be there. She might even have thought that Bond was setting her up to be shot the same way Fiona tried to set up Bond in Thunderball. Also, in Thunderball, Bond should totally have had his fingers shot off in that scene.
From the look on her face I got the impression she's having a crisis of conscience at setting up Bond as a target (her seduction seems way too sudden), especially as she's now met this charming man. The reality changes her feelings. Bond seems genuinely surprised, and I don't think "No" makes him think he's about to be shot, but it compels him to move.
@@davidjames579 She's seducing him because she's expecting him- he's there to meet her boss and he knew Bond was coming. It's just that her boss is off talking to Anya instead in order to make a deal with the Russians rather than the British, and she is meant to keep Bond busy while that happens. She got shocked and upset once Bond saw through her ruse, then she saw the shooter. I don't think she was working with the bad guys- there isn't really any reason for that. We know that Jaws and the bald guy have been tasked with hunting down and killing everyone connected to the stolen microfilm so it makes sense that he's there to kill her and not Bond. I know it isn't very clear, and that scene confused me for years, but I do think she was the intended target all along.
Bond: "Now that you're on MY side, sweetheart, I have a little job for you." May Day: "Oh sounds exciting, what do I have to do?" Bond: "You see that mine cart over there? Just pop outside with it will you, there's a dear."
One of the best Bond moments... just wish the movie itself was more memorable. It has great villains, some of the best but always found it a bit boring to watch. I don't know, it's a strange Bond movie for me.
Great topic! Dr. Lisa Funnell is brilliant and I'm always delighted to her her analysis. The one that always bothered me was Goldfinger where he gets both sisters of the same family killed. I would hate to be the one that has to explain to their father why.
I read somewhere that Electra was originally going to survive 'World is not enough' and the film was mean to end with her being treated for Stockholm syndrome and Bond visiting her. I guess this was lost when the Neil Purvis/Robert Wade/Dana Stevens treatments were re-written by Bruce Feirstein if it's true.
There HAD to be a first time for Bond exercising his "licence to kill" a female baddie, and not just a mere henchwoman. Since Electra is (so far) the only principal female villain...(the ending as presented far better reflects the take-no-prisoners character of a "paid assassin" than meekly handing her over to a law enforcement entity after disabling her)
I remember reading Roald Dahl being told for 'You Only Live Twice' that he had to put three Bond women in the film who were [in broad strokes] 1 who is a villain, 1 the sacrificial lamb and 1 he kisses at the end. So for that film, 2 would be killed off and neither at bonds hand. The rough rule of 3 [with at least one sacrificial lamb] would stay until the Dalton era where it would be cut to 2.
It's a hard one for me as Bond is in a profession where it's kill or be killed. Whether you are a secret agent, villain, henchman/woman, femme fatale etc, the same rules apply.
And in Die Another Day when Frost is revealed as the traitor, you see that Bond really wanted to kill her but unfortunately couldn't due to allowing his gun to be emptied EDIT: Seriously, that films second half was written poorly, wish they did it a bit more like License To Kill
7:10 This is excellent underling point about an unconscious effort by the Broccoli's to made Bond just likable enough, which never crossed the line into actively mistreating women. Think of the moment in The Man with the Golden Gun where Moore didn't like portraying his Bond as manhandling Maud Adams after she exited the shower. The characterization of Moore's Bond in his first two films are Connery-esqe. That seems like a big overcorrect after the Connery era.
I’m kind of surprised that Jill Masterson from “Goldfinger” wasn’t mentioned along with the other sacrificial lamb female Bond character, considering she had one of the most iconic deaths in the franchise of a Bond girl with her being painted in gold.
I suppose Sister Rose and Sister Lilly survived and continued to work for SPECTRE, ending up helping out at a so called clinic. Imagine an unused scene from the original script in On Her Majesty's Secret Service where Bond is introduced to them by Irma Bunt, initially panics, then thinks "Well it's okay, not even Blofeld will recognise me!"
The main issue that turns audiences off a hero is seeing him (or her) beating an adversary who has no chance. Then it becomes sadistic. That's not to say Bond or any hero can't fight back against a female adversary (esp one trying to kill him), but it's in keeping the execution from slipping into sadism. On that note, it does seem inane that Bond can't have a physical fight with Mayday but can with Dominic Green.
Brosnan's Bond trait of making a woman hurt was reused in his post Bond action flick The November Man (2014), where Devreaux (Brosnan) nearly killed Sarah (Eliza Taylor), his mentor's friends with benefits. At least Craig actually "sacrificing" her like Vesper and Severine
Very interesting video, Calvin. I, too, was surprised that Bond has only killed four (arguably three) women. However, the number that have died at the hands of others, usually one of the other villains (as pointed out by Dr Lisa Funnell) is enough for a series of videos in itself!
Nice French toast and coffee with a side of a Calvin Dyson new video with one helluva thumbnail.. I just recently watched your favourite bond film Thunderball and fionas death was great
Side note: At the very least, the killing of Elektra King became one of the more referenced in pop culture. Mass Effect 3 from Shepard to Tali during the Citadel DLC should Maya Brooks get shot rather than get arrested. It's also a borrowed one liner in Ion Fury (by 3D Realms, the original creators of Duke Nukem) for Shelly Harris.
Just imagine a Quentin Tarantino directed Bond film. You know there'd be at least one female villain whose death would be extremely violent and played for laughs.
I think Tarantino has a fantastic visual style, that would lend itself well to a Bond film, but his way of storytelling doesn’t really work for me in the series. This like star trek are two franchises, that would be better off not working with Tarantino, despite his talent as filmmaker.
Craig's Bond is also directly responsible for Vesper's death since he shoots out the inflatable supports to the building in Venice, causing it to collapse into the water and she drowns.
actually she chose to drown bond tried to save her but she told him i'm sorry then swam back further to elevator to keep him from Reaching her she chose to die
Of course, in Goldfinger Bond's cockiness and indifference managed to get TWO Masterson sisters killed within 45 minutes, which I'm sure went over well with their parents, while beginning that film by throwing a woman into the path of the goon with the billy club. That woman doesn't die, but it should remove all (inexplicable) doubt as to whether or not Bond deliberately swung Fiona into the path of that bullet.
Unpopular opinion but I still think M should have been the one to kill Elektra rather than Bond. Not that its mean spirited on Bond's part because he had every right to kill her, but M pulling the trigger would have been so much more impactful given how Elektra specifically targeted M, whereas Bond was just an obstacle.
Good catch, Jens! Not really deliberate more just that I didn't want to run thought every character that has died as a result of Bond's indirect actions. That did occur to me on my final watchthtrough before uploading though, dunno what subconsciously made me pick to mention Tilly over Jill!
@@calvindyson Makes sense. Considering this, Tilly might even be the better choice since the famous gold scene would distract more from from your main point, the four women getting killed directly by Bond.
I was a kid during the 90s, which is to say I was not paying attention, but I'm genuinely curious: was there some backlash to Xenia's and particularly Elektra's death? Nowadays Twitter would be set on fire if any female character would be killed in cold blood by a male counterpart, but was it the case pre-Internet ?
I think the fact that bond is a sexist masochist dinosaur from the cold war makes every argue about feminism worthless because it will (hopefully) not change too much. It's just too entertaining how many things about him change with every actor but that's just one of the few that is resistance
i dont believe it was an issue at all in the post-feminist 90's era, cause women were written as stronger counterparts to Bond and he didnt condescend to them. Therefore they were allowed to be treated in accordance to their actions, not their gender. If they were evil, they would be killed. Even Elektra's death, as she was unarmed in the scene, didnt make waves.
@@eva44940 it's sad to see that we're somewhat going backwards on this topic... Xenia, Fiona, Elektra or Mayday are some of the best characters in all of Bond media, but the politically correct appears to want to make them a thing of the past :/
@@b.chaline4394 it may just be about the character's likability. Brosnan's Bond was ruthless when pushed but wasnt as cavalier with other peoples lives as Craig; so if Brosnan killed a woman it was for good reason, whereas Craig's indirectly killed many more out of carelessness. Otherwise the pc culture would have them treated as they were in the 90's, as strong skilled women written as either good or evil and getting treated as such. The backlash w/killing female characters is usually tied to their lack of agency, writing them as just a plot point to motivate the male protagonist
Honestly I always theorized that Bond kills Irma between Majesty's and Diamonds. Just would feel uncharacteristic to me for him to let her get away. I mean he clearly still hadn't gotten over Tracy's death in Spy Who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only, or even in to License to Kill.
@@smiller3995 I'm sure he definitely would. Come to think of it I'm not sure why he's absent in both Diamonds are Forever and You Only Live Twice (the novel) in both universes he seems to just vanish after Majesty's. Honestly I think them teaming up to get revenge would make for a decent Bond adventure.
I just listened to Lisa’s views on killing female Bond characters on her podcast so it was great to get her perspective on this too. Looking forward to more Bond myth videos!
in the spy who loved me, its clear that bond didn't use Felicia as a shield that time, you can see the look on his face that he is clearly shocked, if he meant to have her in the way, he wouldn't looked shocked, he'd still have that cool and suave look on his face, though whether or not Felicia tried to purposely try to save him is unclear
A little known fact is that water is a villains greatest weakness. That's why Thumber & Bambi can't fight when they get into the pool. Why do you think that you don't really find the main villains swimming, at least when they're fighting? It's the kryptonite of the 007 universe.
@@csabaszabo6859 And did you see Largo actually win a fight under water? His henchmen put up more of a fight than he'd ever did. He never won a battle under water because the water made him lose his powers like Superman looses his powers to kryptonite and unable to absorb the power of the sun.
@@randomhuman97 , I do notice women being more in the background in Craig's movies. If it was Moore or Connery, there would not be a female staffer in sight. If there were, they would be "The Girls" in the credits.
So it sounds like they basically had May Day turn good and sacrifice herself to defeat her double-crossing boss because of the publc's generally accepted image of Bond at the time. Even though it seems to some, including myself, a senseless cop-out. May Day's redemption seems to come too easy. I've seen someone else say in a blog "Would Bond really just forgive her murdering of Tibbet and Chuck Lee so easy as that?"
Bond loves may day too You see Jenny flex in a movie a view to a kill imagine if may day practicing martial arts practice with Jenny flex who would win martial arts?
Did Calvin just say “Drax’s helicopter pilot, Naomi”? Great video as always though. Wonder what you would think about the women Drax had on the space station. Would they have made it out alive?
@@calvindyson Understandably so, Corinne’s death does factor into it. Should make a similar offer to what they mention on the “Goldfinger legacy” doco. “Congratulations, you’ve found one of six deliberate mistakes in this video. If you find the other five, we will invite you to Pinewood to have lunch with 007.” Of course, just a Skype call with Calvin would be great!
Having a licence to kill is equal opportunity. If anyone gets in the way of the mission, they must be dealt with, whether male or female, no matter how they die. I want to see more main female villains for sure.
If she hadn't attacked in the most telegraphed way possible she'd probably have landed a hit. Natalya is an awesome character, but the way she attacked Xenia was absolutely stupid. XD
It reminds me of an interesting quote that film critic Bob "Moviebob" Chipman made in a video essay from 2010 about Bond Girls and their relationship to the evolving feminist movement: "It's like James Bond went to bed Cary Grant and woke up Glenn Quagmire."
Ah myths like this are common around a lot of films like Star Wars has "Darth Vader doesn't(Or should I say 'does not?') use contractions" ...When he absolutely DOES use them in the films, it just FEELS wrong to read him using a contraction in a book or comic.
But Bond obviously uses Fiona Volpe as a human shield. He sees the gun, realises what's happening, and deliberately maneuvers Volpe into position, to take the bullet intended for him. I don't see how you could interpret that in any other way. My take on the death of Feliccia in The Spy Who Loved Me - she's trying to get information out of Bond, but Bond is obviously getting information out of her at the same time. Sandor arrives to silence Bond, and realises she's giving away information about her boss - Aziz - and goes to shoot. Now, whether he's trying to shoot them both, or just one or the other is the question; but Sandor seems to be aiming to his right, more toward Feliccia - so, I would contend that he's going to silence her. She realises she's about to die, and is trying to get away, but tends up taking the bullet anyway.
I heard there was talk around the time of TWINE that the villian was going to be a woman and an old flame of Bond’s. Now IMO that would be interesting. On another note, whom would you’d like to see play a female villian? My choice would be Katherine Waterston.
Sylvia Hoeks from Blade Runner 2049 springs to mind - she did a phenomenal turn as a henchwoman in that film. Diane Kruger is another actress that has been very hot and cold with me throughout her career, but I could see as a credible threat to Bond. Heck, I know it's not the 60s-70s anymore and they don't recast people like they did with the likes of Charles Gray and Maude Adams, but I would be down for it if Monica Bellucci came back as a villain !
@@b.chaline4394 A big yes to Hoeks👍 She was phenomenal in BR2049... the film also is a masterpiece, one of my top 10 favourites of the 2010s. Krugger is also a good choice, she can do both protagonist and antagonist. However, Monica Bellucci... I just cannot see her as a villian even though she has played a few of them in her career.
@@calvindyson Nice to meet an admirer. I actually find her to be somewhat underrated. She’s great as a heroine, but after seeing her in The Third Day (check the mini series out if you love occult horror)... won’t say more than that.
@@b.chaline4394 Syliva Hoeks showed that a female heavy could work in a Bond film [technically Xenia is a henchperson but has a lot more lines than most heavies]. Monica Bellucci coming back would have made up for here glorified cameo in Spectre!
Very interesting video and watching all the films you get more of an idea that Craig is the cold heartless one, even if Brosnan is more directly responsible, he seems to care more than Craig does about women in some ways. Which is an interesting way of showing the equality in who his licence to kill applies to, even if they haven't shown him killing women.
Anyone with a basic shred of understanding how movie direction works should see that Bond intentionally used Fiona as a human shield... Besides the intentional shot of Connery noticing the gun and realizing what was about to happen, look closely at his face as he twists. It's a deliberate and forceful expression. He was moving her *quickly* because he needed to reposition her precisely and only had half a second to do so. It is not up for debate.
There’s only two instances where Bond deliberately killed women by his hand IMO. And these are: Naomi in The Spy Who Loved Me, and Elektra King in The World Is Not Enough and both of these Bond girls are in my top 5 Bond girls. This is all not including Never Say Never
Fiona was killed by her own SPECTRE comrades. Thus he (directly) killed in #10 (1977), NSNA (1983), #17 (1995), and #19 (1999). A stunningky short list, I daresay 🤔
As a latin american, I can drop you obvious points or hints as to why Bond rarely kills women. It's because several countries around the world have this notion that English, French, and Japanese are more polite, civilized, or well behaved compared to most of the other countries. Whether this "myth" or notion is true or not, especially during the 20th and 21st Century Bond eras, is debatable. But what really matters is that the notion, the idea, was and possibly is still there. Bond film makers are likely aware of this and most of the time are trying to reinforce and sell audiences all over the world this notion through James Bond. After all, he's supposed to be an English gentleman. Well mannered, educated, elegant, and aware of proper etiquette. Combine this with old school English chivalry, and well, suddenly seeing Bond killing women feels off, especially since he's the face of England's espionage and an agent of the Queen. A modern knight. Not to mention that some prefer for Bond to win villainesses, female rival spies, or henchwomen as allies, through his charisma, charm, or cleverness. Because as a polite, intelligent, and very trained/experienced spy, he's supposed to be above the average man. Not be a barbaric, sadistic, UNGA BUNGA guy. And yes, that also includes winning over male rivals or enemies. It's satisfying to see a spy like him don't rely on his brawn alone to save the day. Bond killing women could be perceived by some as a last desperate tactic. As he has failed to win them over through his charm, diplomatic skills, or intelligence. Also, the age difference and how cute or beautiful a villainess is, can play a role in this. For example, it would have looked and feel so wrong for Bond in Die Another Day to actually kill Miranda Frost. Brosnan is a male actor that is old enough to be Pike's father, while she, in that movie, was way too young, innocent, green, and cute looking. Pike was honestly a very young woman during the production of that film, and in some scenes she even gave vibes of a late teenager. That's probably one of the reasons we even see him mourning and feeling sorry for Miranda's death, a villainess, for the first time ever. In the end, similar to Kazuma Kiryu, Majima Goro, and other protags across like 8 Yakuza games, the reason we see them and Bond trying their best to not hurt women, is because they are heroes, or anti heroes, supposedly raised with old school chivalry values. You need someone very strong, crazy, irredeemable, and evil like Xenia to justify Bond killing a woman in a more direct or face-to-face way. Like "damn, girl was too insane and a very big threat to win her over, and taking her life was the only way to save the day. No other way around it".
Random suggestion Calvin, but maybe (somehow?) for a video we could leave our suggestions for the future of Bond post NTTD (ie. new Bond actor, new Bond girls, tone, Fleming adaptations, etc) and you can respond to them. Maybe it would work better in your relatively longer and laid-back live streams
Brosnan is absolutely ruthless in the scene where he kills elektra king in TWINE - he delivers it with a real sense of emotional menace. It's a scene that deserves more recognition for sure
Brosnan can really act only using his eyes. His eyes really shows how a man who have killed so many feels. Compare Craig to Brosnan you can really see which one of them is the greater actor, Brosnan is the real thing.
@@samspencer582 I agree
I remember when he tried to shoot Miranda Frost right on the spot with absolutely no hesitation after he found out she was the traitor responsible for his imprisonment.
@@samspencer582 Pierce is my favorite Bond
@@nathanhold4755Mine too. I wish he could have done more Bond movies. I miss him as Bond.
I love how so far these myths have basically been debunked by saying, 'Have you seen the movies?'
I think people just make this shit up to troll, I havent even heard of this myth but it's clearly made up by someone who doesnt watch the films or really just wants to stir. Bond doesnt kill alot of women cos usually the target audience (men) want to see Bond up against great hulking male adversaries not murdering petite women in slim line dresses
@@theyellowlightsaber3193 unless they are old crones with knives in their shoes
@@nifralo2752 Well yeh but that was only the second film and that was straight from the book anyway, years before action films existed as a genre.
@@theyellowlightsaber3193 but i guess to some guys cause she wouldnt look good in a bikini then she don't count as a girl "in the true read (sexual) sense of the word"
@@nifralo2752 She's not counted as a Bond girl no but then neither is Irma Bunt from OHMSS but that might also be cos to be a Bond girl youve got to be romancing Bond either to seduce him as a bad guy or as a love interest, which neither of those two women are doing since in From Russia With Love the blonde chick has been deliberately hired in the first place to do that job for her.
What a 1,000 IQ play on Bond’s part. You can’t be accused of killing someone if you use them as a human shield to block yourself from an attack first.
I'd love to see if that would hold up in court!
Objection, your honor, that was a legitimate dance move!
Perhaps not. But you'll quickly realize the ineffectiveness of said human shield when the bullet(s) exits the woman you're carrying and penetrates your body as well.
Strange how Bond fingers escaped unharmed by that bullit to Fionas back.
He could have just pushed her away whilst leaping away.
Who started this myth " I never miss" is one of Bond's best moments
It's easy never to miss.....if you aim at everything at once.
@@SpaceCattttt That sounds like the name of a Bond spoof film, 'You Only Aim Once'.
Same with the lesser believed myth that Doctor Who never used a gun
@@bindgagger Another load of bullshit to anyone who watches the show, totally debunked now the War Doctor exists where he does nothing but kill.
I thought the way he handled Electra King was beautifully cold and sad. I loved his one liner afterwards 'I Never Miss'.
One of the best scenes in all the Bond movies, impressive considering (from a personal view) that it was in one of the more meh Bond movies. Great scene from an okay Bond movie.
@@leecroft1983 yeah i agree. I wasn't the biggest fan of the overall movie but it had nice scenes in it.
It would have been interesting to see Living Daylights in this video, where he very pointedly chooses not to kill Kara even though that was his mission
True. But that move was justified in a free minutes.
Had she actually been guilty, I doubt Dalton bond would've left her alive
As Bond says he only kills professionals. Or assassinates them at least.
Interesting that none of Dalton's girls (Kara, Linda, Pam, Lupe) gets killed. Narratively speaking, Lupe was so set up to be the sacrificial lamb.
"She didn't know one end of the rifle from the other." Bond is such a professional that he can spot an amateur right away.
@@PungiFungi It's probably because Bond once being married was a heavy reference during Dalton's time, so he made sure none died again.
*Drax's* helicopter pilot Naomi? At that moment Calvin knew he'd never hear the end of this. 😂 TSWLM would be a lot more fun with Hugo Drax! :D
Oh nooooooooooo!!... This is going to be like that "I'm hit" goof I made in my Nightfire review where I have comments correcting me until the end of time! I clearly just can't get Moonraker off my brain...
@@calvindyson PULL IT DOWN, PULL IT DOWN NOW.... THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!
@@calvindyson is it because unlike TSWLM which is science fiction, Moonraker is science fact?
Agree with that as Drax is a lot more fun than the dull Stromberg. Oddly, both Stromberg and Drax actors are in John le Carré's 'Smiley's People' though they don't share any scene's together.
@@jamesatkinsonja drax is the best villain of the whole series. Even goldfinger can't stand a chance
Weird that Roger moore is seen as the light hearted bond but he's the first i think of when it shows women getting killed directly or indirectly by him.
Yeah I was also shocked how he treated Andrea Anders in The Man with the golden Gun.
@@rankartde163 yeah no remourse what so ever
@@rankartde163 in his defence, the makers were making or trying to make him a Connery clone, but didn't suit Moore.
Connery beat women that he thought were enemies or spies .
but here Moore is beating an already abused and submissive mistress so that doesn't make him a hero
@@randomhuman97 yeah to me it also seemed so put-on. Glad they never did it again in my memories
Yeh Moore was less than chivalrous with alot of the chicks he was involved with, the only time he showed serious concern for one was when he protected Stacey in A View to a KIll by actually not sleeping with her but instead waiting ready with an armed gun incase she was attacked. Quite out of character for Bond's usual modus operandi.
I find this topic very interesting. With Electra's death, you could tell that Bond didn't want to kill her but had no choice if it meant saving the lives of millions. I think we should have another female Bond villain for Bond to go up against and see how the films play them out. Would they play Bond as being more sympathetic towards them and give them a chance or would he straight up kill them if it means that millions of lives will not come to harm because of the villain's actions?
You answered your own question. The World is Not Enough proved that 007 will indeed kill women if they plan to murder people.
Killing Elektra is basically Bond already having his priorities straight.
But of course , a real nuclear sub reactor explosion would just cause a big slash and pollute the water. Few movies have taken as many liberties with nuclear weapons
I agree!! The series needs more female main villains
Corinne Dufour's death is one of the most harrowing in ANY film. Considering the fact that Moonraker is very tongue in cheek, her death is vicious and disturbing. I adore Fiona Volpe as a character. She is delightfully wicked as is her counterpart, Fatima Blush in Never Say Never Again. However, they both deserve the comeuppance they get. I really, really enjoy these videos. They always make me smile and you are so brilliantly eloquent. Thank you xxxx
Maybe that inspired the game of thrones scene with Ramsey and his "gf" ??
I feel like Corinne’s death is somehow from a different movie ( something like a horror movie, even the effects around the camera and the fog makes it look very nightmarish dream like ) I sometimes wonder if John Landis took over directing on that day ! Very American Werewolf In London, this scene always put me out of the movie especially with the camp of Moonraker
Would love a "Myths of James Bond" episode on "James Bond never smiles."
Rather Daniel Craig's Bond never smiles. I think this could be a true myth.
@@rankartde163 he has especially in Casino and Skyfall
@@captainbrodude8251 Yeah in Casino Royale we see something I can remember and it would have been cruel if they never make him smile or something but I always think that the Craig movies seem depressive and just not funny and entertaining to me
@@rankartde163 he smiles with Vesper a bunch including the dinner scene and the password scene....
Tbh for Spectre and Quantum I lowkey agree with you
@@rankartde163 First time I encountered it was before Daniel Craig even was James Bond, but I'm quite sure Daniel Craig smiled plenty in Casino Royale.
What I want to know is where the bullet entered Fiona Volpe's body. Connery never moves his fingers, and the blood trickles out directly from between them.
Yeah was thinking the same thing. Bond is good, but expecting him to instantly cover up the bullet hole without looking or smearing of any sort is not at all convincing.
Looks more like a cheap and amateurish way to pop the blood packet on camera. Not very bond worthy, more something you expect to see in a student film.
@@baronvonlimbourgh1716 What I find interesting is if you look closely, you can also see the blood coming out from the back of the dress as well. So I'm wondering where the packet would have been.
@@juliabrnssr behind the dress. Maybe a pointy thing glued to his finger. Or just made from weak plasic that needs little pressure to pop when pressed.
Surely there are ways to do that. Anyway, that is the way it looks on camera to me. Not saying they actually do use blood packets or something. Not sure how these things are actually done in the movies. I asume they have professional techniques for this kind of stuff.
Part of the movie magic in the end lol 😁
That was just a poorly executed scene. Sean was clearly meant to pop a blood capsule to make it look like she had been shot, but he didn't move his hand away quickly enough. I guess that dress was too expensive to allow them to do another take.
Bond should have lost some fingers.
No wonder the villains can't just shoot him- bullets don't hurt him at all.
And now we shall count the number of women killed by Bond in the Fleming books ...
Casino Royale: Vesper commits suicide. Bond not responsible.
Live and Let Die: Zero female deaths.
Moonraker: Zero female deaths.
Diamonds Are Forever: Zero female deaths.
From Russia With Love: Zero female deaths. Bond in fact saves one female life by pleading with the Gypsy chief to stop the fight between the two rivals. At the end, Rosa Klebb is not killed but is captured by Mathis, and although it is told in the next book that “Oh, she died”, it was certainly not at the hands of Bond who was closer to death than she for a time.
Doctor No: Zero female deaths. There is no big explosive destruction of the Crab Key lair in the book, so the twitty reception staff presumably survive.
Goldfinger: Two female deaths. Bond may, with a fairly long bow, be partly responsible for the death of Jill Masterton at Goldfinger’s hands (holding a brush) because he enabled and allowed her to return to Goldfinger. But he is not responsible for Tilly’s death - she chose to seek shelter with Pussy rather than with Bond, and paid the price.
For Your Eyes Only collection: Zero female deaths.
Thunderball: Zero female deaths. Fiona Vulpe does not appear in the novel.
The Spy Who Loved Me: Zero female deaths but who bloody cares?
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service: The sole female death is Tracy. Bond was less than his typical professionally observant self to fail to suspect the two following them in the red car, but that doesn’t mean he killed her.
You Only Live Twice: Ambiguous. Bond’s sabotage causes the castle to blow up from the volcanic pressure beneath, but it is not stated whether or not Irma Bunt is killed. Likely yes, so that makes 1.
The Man With the Golden Gun: Zero female deaths.
Octopussy and The Living Daylights: Bond specifically, and insubordinately, chooses *not* to kill the female assassin.
Given the character established by Fleming, is there anything at all strange about the paucity of deaths of females at the hands of Bond?
The Bond films were heavily influenced by Goldfinger, as Dr No and FRWL have all the girls surviving. After Goldfinger, it became customary to have one girl being killed off whether she is a sacrificial lamb or a villainess and in Thunderball and YOLT, you have both. I also see the later Bond novels written by authors such as John Gardner adopting this trope, but they are usually villainesses (Mary Jane Mashkin, Nena Bismaquer, Nannette Norrich).
The TSWLM kill.....here's how I interpret it:
She's too physically close to Bond and is in danger of being killed too by the gunman. She screams out "No". This informs Bond. Bond being in this situation before (Thunderball), knows it very likely the gunman will shoot anyway. He then uses the same trick (human shield) and shoots at the gunman
They really got my hopes up when the rumour of Rachel Weisz being a Bond villain popped up. The notion of Craig's wife playing the role seems like a rather fun idea.
I remember a rumor for Bond 25 was Helena Bonham Carter as the villain which is....hard to picture but it might have worked. Angelina Jolie was also rumored but as Calvin once said she seems to be linked with every Bond film and never appears in them. The Weisz rumor pre-dated there marriage I think but it would be interesting to see.
"Drax's helicopter pilot; Naomi"?
From the feature film mash-up, The Spy Who Raked My Moon. 😉
The killing of Elecktra King was one of Bond's coldest kills
"Mind if my friend sits this one out? She's just dead."
4:00 She put herself in the way to save Bond. You can see the start of her motion at the end of that cut where she yells "No" before she is killed.
Does look like it, but would make more sense that she was trying to get a way but yeah. With her shouting "No" and her movement it clearly looks like she put herself between Bond and the line of fire.
Craig’s Bond has killed the least number of women, but I feel like his Bond is the most capable of doing so without breaking a sweat
What about Lazenby and Dalton?
@@dvader518 Dalton's bond would've done in a heartbeat though- if he found her guilty that is(or kara wouldn't have been alive)
Even lazenby, but not so much
Perhaps No Time To Die can make that happen, but we'll see
A lot of women have died around him and he only shed tears for M and Vesper.
@@alexlazzerly3677 Don't forget Tracy. He actually cried on screen for her.
Nice to have Dr Lisa Funell input into the debate.
I think Electra got actually the most harsh and personal death of really any Bond villain.
Thing about a lot of the female villains, at least in older films, they tend to be evil... until they’re not because of Bond’s (censored). Honestly, I think it tends to make audiences uncomfortable if you have the main character, the good guy, kill a woman, especially if it was on the regular.
It’s rather remarkable that the curtain twitching gun man in thunderball managed to put a bullet right between bonds fingers. Bravo curtain goon
2:58 = my big question is, how in the hell didn't Bond lose his fingers?!
Given the recent trend in movies like Thor Ragnarok and the Star Wars sequels where female characters can"t even be DEFEATED, let alone killed by their opponentsn it's safe to say we won't see James Bond kill a woman any time soon... who knows, Elektra King might have been the final instance of that, ever !
3:18 It’s an exploding rocket pen, so I guess it’s ballpoint-blank range!
...I’ll get my coat.
Good lord. I genuinely felt a need to stand up and applaud this. EXCELLENT work!!
@@calvindyson [bows] Thank you very much!
I also like “montblanc-range”, for when you’re firing rockets with fountain pens.
Ta-da-dum.........
Take my like and sod off!
How about Brosnons Bond brutal attempt to shoot Miranda Frost point blank in the face,,,if she had not removed his bullits it would have been “cold and very detached !”
Good point.
Who's Brosnon?
I do noticed that Brosnan's movies each featured a villainess except Tomorrow Never Dies.
And yet he then took the time (on a disintegrating plane!) and apparently mourned her death deeply, when it came at the hands of Jinx. 🤔 It's complicated with Frost.
@@PungiFungi Which extended to his video games too!
Electra King is my favorite kill of the franchise. It shows the cold blooded ness that wasn’t seen except in Dalton’s bond but was seen heavily in the books.
There are plenty of cold blooded Bond moments before Dalton with Connery [killing professor Dent in cold blood] and Moore [kicking the car in Eyes, dropping the guy to his death by letting go of his tie in Spy].
In The Spy Who Loved Me, the henchmen is there to kill the woman ("Anyone who has come into contact with that microfilm is to be eliminated"); Bond just happened to be there. She might even have thought that Bond was setting her up to be shot the same way Fiona tried to set up Bond in Thunderball.
Also, in Thunderball, Bond should totally have had his fingers shot off in that scene.
From the look on her face I got the impression she's having a crisis of conscience at setting up Bond as a target (her seduction seems way too sudden), especially as she's now met this charming man. The reality changes her feelings. Bond seems genuinely surprised, and I don't think "No" makes him think he's about to be shot, but it compels him to move.
@@davidjames579 She's seducing him because she's expecting him- he's there to meet her boss and he knew Bond was coming.
It's just that her boss is off talking to Anya instead in order to make a deal with the Russians rather than the British, and she is meant to keep Bond busy while that happens. She got shocked and upset once Bond saw through her ruse, then she saw the shooter.
I don't think she was working with the bad guys- there isn't really any reason for that. We know that Jaws and the bald guy have been tasked with hunting down and killing everyone connected to the stolen microfilm so it makes sense that he's there to kill her and not Bond.
I know it isn't very clear, and that scene confused me for years, but I do think she was the intended target all along.
Bond: "Now that you're on MY side, sweetheart, I have a little job for you."
May Day: "Oh sounds exciting, what do I have to do?"
Bond: "You see that mine cart over there? Just pop outside with it will you, there's a dear."
8:44-9:25 You forgot Cherise Litte in 007 Racing. She was killed by the neutron bomb Bond planted in the underwater virus factory.
I immediately think of Bond gunning down Elektra. That scene is awesome.
One of the best Bond moments... just wish the movie itself was more memorable. It has great villains, some of the best but always found it a bit boring to watch. I don't know, it's a strange Bond movie for me.
Yet if it was some bloke we’d forget about it.
Great topic! Dr. Lisa Funnell is brilliant and I'm always delighted to her her analysis. The one that always bothered me was Goldfinger where he gets both sisters of the same family killed. I would hate to be the one that has to explain to their father why.
I read somewhere that Electra was originally going to survive 'World is not enough' and the film was mean to end with her being treated for Stockholm syndrome and Bond visiting her. I guess this was lost when the Neil Purvis/Robert Wade/Dana Stevens treatments were re-written by Bruce Feirstein if it's true.
I’m happy we have the ending we get. Having her rehabilitated like that would have been a real double standard!
There HAD to be a first time for Bond exercising his "licence to kill" a female baddie, and not just a mere henchwoman. Since Electra is (so far) the only principal female villain...(the ending as presented far better reflects the take-no-prisoners character of a "paid assassin" than meekly handing her over to a law enforcement entity after disabling her)
@@bonghunezhou5051 true. Robert Carlyle says on an interview both him and Electra were villains.
So, him dying and her surviving doesn't make sense
I remember reading Roald Dahl being told for 'You Only Live Twice' that he had to put three Bond women in the film who were [in broad strokes] 1 who is a villain, 1 the sacrificial lamb and 1 he kisses at the end. So for that film, 2 would be killed off and neither at bonds hand. The rough rule of 3 [with at least one sacrificial lamb] would stay until the Dalton era where it would be cut to 2.
Fans: bond doesn’t kill women
Pierce Brosnan: so anyway I started blasting
It's a hard one for me as Bond is in a profession where it's kill or be killed. Whether you are a secret agent, villain, henchman/woman, femme fatale etc, the same rules apply.
And in Die Another Day when Frost is revealed as the traitor, you see that Bond really wanted to kill her but unfortunately couldn't due to allowing his gun to be emptied
EDIT: Seriously, that films second half was written poorly, wish they did it a bit more like License To Kill
7:10 This is excellent underling point about an unconscious effort by the Broccoli's to made Bond just likable enough, which never crossed the line into actively mistreating women. Think of the moment in The Man with the Golden Gun where Moore didn't like portraying his Bond as manhandling Maud Adams after she exited the shower. The characterization of Moore's Bond in his first two films are Connery-esqe. That seems like a big overcorrect after the Connery era.
Best Calvin's thumbnail yet!
That line from Goldeneye cuts deep
I’ve never liked the way the bullet that kills Volpe magically passes through his fingers
3:27 Drax's helicopter? Ok, didn't know he cameod in The Spy who loved me.
it was nice and interesting to include a voiced opinion of someone else in a manner like this
Different color on Fiona Volpes dress at 2:53 and 12:09. How colors can fade in old movie stock. Fortunately they can restore old movies today.
Irma Bunt! I really wish she'd been brought back. I adored her. Why is it that SPECTRE women are so enjoyable? xxxx
Great video Calvin... loved the cheeky Mrs Bell 🔔 at the start 😂😂
I’m kind of surprised that Jill Masterson from “Goldfinger” wasn’t mentioned along with the other sacrificial lamb female Bond character, considering she had one of the most iconic deaths in the franchise of a Bond girl with her being painted in gold.
And kicked off the trend for a sacrifical lamb [often female] in many other Bond films [Aki in Twice and Paris Carver in Tomorrow for example].
@@jamesatkinsonja the sacrificial lambs pre Goldfinger were Bond's allies like Quarrel and Kerim Bey.
3:24 Stromberg’s helicopter pilot. Not Drax.
"Refreshing to hear there’s one subject you’re not an expert on."
I suppose Sister Rose and Sister Lilly survived and continued to work for SPECTRE, ending up helping out at a so called clinic. Imagine an unused scene from the original script in On Her Majesty's Secret Service where Bond is introduced to them by Irma Bunt, initially panics, then thinks "Well it's okay, not even Blofeld will recognise me!"
Bond - makes love to women
Also Bond - pulls gun on her
Girl - you wouldnt shoot me... not after what we just did
Bond - I wouldnt shoot you BEFORE
The main issue that turns audiences off a hero is seeing him (or her) beating an adversary who has no chance. Then it becomes sadistic. That's not to say Bond or any hero can't fight back against a female adversary (esp one trying to kill him), but it's in keeping the execution from slipping into sadism. On that note, it does seem inane that Bond can't have a physical fight with Mayday but can with Dominic Green.
Brosnan's Bond trait of making a woman hurt was reused in his post Bond action flick The November Man (2014), where Devreaux (Brosnan) nearly killed Sarah (Eliza Taylor), his mentor's friends with benefits.
At least Craig actually "sacrificing" her like Vesper and Severine
Dude you deserve a million subscribers
"Bond doesn't kill women."
Bond: *I NEVER MISS.*
Very interesting video, Calvin. I, too, was surprised that Bond has only killed four (arguably three) women. However, the number that have died at the hands of others, usually one of the other villains (as pointed out by Dr Lisa Funnell) is enough for a series of videos in itself!
Quite enjoying your videos, Calvin, and your fresh and in-depth take on 007. Keep up the good work!
Calvin, I didn't realise The Spy Who Loved Me had Hugo Drax as it's villain. Seems a rewatch is in order.
Nice French toast and coffee with a side of a Calvin Dyson new video with one helluva thumbnail.. I just recently watched your favourite bond film Thunderball and fionas death was great
Death for Breakfast?
Side note: At the very least, the killing of Elektra King became one of the more referenced in pop culture. Mass Effect 3 from Shepard to Tali during the Citadel DLC should Maya Brooks get shot rather than get arrested. It's also a borrowed one liner in Ion Fury (by 3D Realms, the original creators of Duke Nukem) for Shelly Harris.
Just imagine a Quentin Tarantino directed Bond film. You know there'd be at least one female villain whose death would be extremely violent and played for laughs.
I think Tarantino has a fantastic visual style, that would lend itself well to a Bond film, but his way of storytelling doesn’t really work for me in the series. This like star trek are two franchises, that would be better off not working with Tarantino, despite his talent as filmmaker.
Craig's Bond is also directly responsible for Vesper's death since he shoots out the inflatable supports to the building in Venice, causing it to collapse into the water and she drowns.
actually she chose to drown bond tried to save her but she told him i'm sorry then swam back further to elevator to keep him from Reaching her she chose to die
@@marlonclark1896 Which wouldn't have happened if Bond didn't shoot out the supports to the building.
3:24 surely Drax hadn’t previously hired Stromberg’s helicopter pilot?!
Maybe she's on the books of the same recruitment agency as Jaws?
Of course, in Goldfinger Bond's cockiness and indifference managed to get TWO Masterson sisters killed within 45 minutes, which I'm sure went over well with their parents, while beginning that film by throwing a woman into the path of the goon with the billy club. That woman doesn't die, but it should remove all (inexplicable) doubt as to whether or not Bond deliberately swung Fiona into the path of that bullet.
Unpopular opinion but I still think M should have been the one to kill Elektra rather than Bond. Not that its mean spirited on Bond's part because he had every right to kill her, but M pulling the trigger would have been so much more impactful given how Elektra specifically targeted M, whereas Bond was just an obstacle.
Agree entirely!
i agree
What about Nicole Hunter in Blood Stone? He drove after her demanding answers and as a result, he indirectly got her killed.
You showed the death of Strawberry Fields, but I didn‘t see Jil Masterson. Deliberate choice?
Good catch, Jens! Not really deliberate more just that I didn't want to run thought every character that has died as a result of Bond's indirect actions. That did occur to me on my final watchthtrough before uploading though, dunno what subconsciously made me pick to mention Tilly over Jill!
@@calvindyson Makes sense. Considering this, Tilly might even be the better choice since the famous gold scene would distract more from from your main point, the four women getting killed directly by Bond.
3:23 i think you meant Stromberg, not Drax
I was a kid during the 90s, which is to say I was not paying attention, but I'm genuinely curious: was there some backlash to Xenia's and particularly Elektra's death? Nowadays Twitter would be set on fire if any female character would be killed in cold blood by a male counterpart, but was it the case pre-Internet ?
I think the fact that bond is a sexist masochist dinosaur from the cold war makes every argue about feminism worthless because it will (hopefully) not change too much. It's just too entertaining how many things about him change with every actor but that's just one of the few that is resistance
i dont believe it was an issue at all in the post-feminist 90's era, cause women were written as stronger counterparts to Bond and he didnt condescend to them. Therefore they were allowed to be treated in accordance to their actions, not their gender. If they were evil, they would be killed. Even Elektra's death, as she was unarmed in the scene, didnt make waves.
@@eva44940 it's sad to see that we're somewhat going backwards on this topic... Xenia, Fiona, Elektra or Mayday are some of the best characters in all of Bond media, but the politically correct appears to want to make them a thing of the past :/
@@b.chaline4394 it may just be about the character's likability. Brosnan's Bond was ruthless when pushed but wasnt as cavalier with other peoples lives as Craig; so if Brosnan killed a woman it was for good reason, whereas Craig's indirectly killed many more out of carelessness. Otherwise the pc culture would have them treated as they were in the 90's, as strong skilled women written as either good or evil and getting treated as such. The backlash w/killing female characters is usually tied to their lack of agency, writing them as just a plot point to motivate the male protagonist
I am more concerned about how Fiona's bleeding wound is even possible without the bullet injuring Bond as well.
Yeah, I think they tried to tone it down in the Dalton films, but then ramped it up again with Brosnan.
Calvin back with YET another great video! Keep it up 👍
Thanks very much! 😁😁 it’ll be the big NSNA review next week! 😁😁
@@calvindyson - You are joking! Cant wait!!
Honestly I always theorized that Bond kills Irma between Majesty's and Diamonds. Just would feel uncharacteristic to me for him to let her get away. I mean he clearly still hadn't gotten over Tracy's death in Spy Who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only, or even in to License to Kill.
Remember Tracy's dad is the head of a criminal syndicate most likely he hunted Irma down made her death rather quite painful
@@smiller3995 I'm sure he definitely would. Come to think of it I'm not sure why he's absent in both Diamonds are Forever and You Only Live Twice (the novel) in both universes he seems to just vanish after Majesty's.
Honestly I think them teaming up to get revenge would make for a decent Bond adventure.
I just listened to Lisa’s views on killing female Bond characters on her podcast so it was great to get her perspective on this too. Looking forward to more Bond myth videos!
in the spy who loved me, its clear that bond didn't use Felicia as a shield that time, you can see the look on his face that he is clearly shocked, if he meant to have her in the way, he wouldn't looked shocked, he'd still have that cool and suave look on his face, though whether or not Felicia tried to purposely try to save him is unclear
A little known fact is that water is a villains greatest weakness. That's why Thumber & Bambi can't fight when they get into the pool. Why do you think that you don't really find the main villains swimming, at least when they're fighting? It's the kryptonite of the 007 universe.
Have you seen Thunderball?
@@csabaszabo6859 And did you see Largo actually win a fight under water? His henchmen put up more of a fight than he'd ever did. He never won a battle under water because the water made him lose his powers like Superman looses his powers to kryptonite and unable to absorb the power of the sun.
The Elektra King one was fantastic.
Craig’s Bond hasn’t killed any women by his own hand yet has he? Huh.
Does that not include bombing facilities?
In that case, he definitely killed a bunch of women in spectre and quantum HQs.
@@randomhuman97 , I do notice women being more in the background in Craig's movies. If it was Moore or Connery, there would not be a female staffer in sight. If there were, they would be "The Girls" in the credits.
So it sounds like they basically had May Day turn good and sacrifice herself to defeat her double-crossing boss because of the publc's generally accepted image of Bond at the time. Even though it seems to some, including myself, a senseless cop-out. May Day's redemption seems to come too easy. I've seen someone else say in a blog "Would Bond really just forgive her murdering of Tibbet and Chuck Lee so easy as that?"
Bond loves may day too You see Jenny flex in a movie a view to a kill imagine if may day practicing martial arts practice with Jenny flex who would win martial arts?
Did Calvin just say “Drax’s helicopter pilot, Naomi”?
Great video as always though. Wonder what you would think about the women Drax had on the space station. Would they have made it out alive?
Indeed I did and now it’s going to be another one of those mistakes I never live down 😆😆 I think I just constantly have Moonraker on the brain
@@calvindyson Understandably so, Corinne’s death does factor into it.
Should make a similar offer to what they mention on the “Goldfinger legacy” doco. “Congratulations, you’ve found one of six deliberate mistakes in this video. If you find the other five, we will invite you to Pinewood to have lunch with 007.”
Of course, just a Skype call with Calvin would be great!
I gotta say, you sound like a Bond Villain yourself when you say 'ALGORITHM' in your subscribe monologue haha!
3:25 Drax’s helicopter pilot? Shouldn’t it be Stromberg
She moonlights.
10:11 Was Bond even aware of Corinne Dufour's death?
Only in the novelization where he gets quite down about it!
Having a licence to kill is equal opportunity. If anyone gets in the way of the mission, they must be dealt with, whether male or female, no matter how they die.
I want to see more main female villains for sure.
The biggest problem in Goldeneye is we never got to see Natalya’s turn against Xenia
If she hadn't attacked in the most telegraphed way possible she'd probably have landed a hit.
Natalya is an awesome character, but the way she attacked Xenia was absolutely stupid. XD
It reminds me of an interesting quote that film critic Bob "Moviebob" Chipman made in a video essay from 2010 about Bond Girls and their relationship to the evolving feminist movement: "It's like James Bond went to bed Cary Grant and woke up Glenn Quagmire."
Ah myths like this are common around a lot of films like Star Wars has "Darth Vader doesn't(Or should I say 'does not?') use contractions" ...When he absolutely DOES use them in the films, it just FEELS wrong to read him using a contraction in a book or comic.
But Bond obviously uses Fiona Volpe as a human shield. He sees the gun, realises what's happening, and deliberately maneuvers Volpe into position, to take the bullet intended for him. I don't see how you could interpret that in any other way.
My take on the death of Feliccia in The Spy Who Loved Me - she's trying to get information out of Bond, but Bond is obviously getting information out of her at the same time. Sandor arrives to silence Bond, and realises she's giving away information about her boss - Aziz - and goes to shoot. Now, whether he's trying to shoot them both, or just one or the other is the question; but Sandor seems to be aiming to his right, more toward Feliccia - so, I would contend that he's going to silence her. She realises she's about to die, and is trying to get away, but tends up taking the bullet anyway.
Sandor was there to silence Felicia. He had no idea that Bond would be there, but Felicia and her boss are on his his list; Jaws kills her boss later.
@@jonathancampbell5231 Yes, you're right. While since I've seen it.
I heard there was talk around the time of TWINE that the villian was going to be a woman and an old flame of Bond’s. Now IMO that would be interesting. On another note, whom would you’d like to see play a female villian? My choice would be Katherine Waterston.
I’d love Katherine Waterston too! She’s a great actress
Sylvia Hoeks from Blade Runner 2049 springs to mind - she did a phenomenal turn as a henchwoman in that film. Diane Kruger is another actress that has been very hot and cold with me throughout her career, but I could see as a credible threat to Bond. Heck, I know it's not the 60s-70s anymore and they don't recast people like they did with the likes of Charles Gray and Maude Adams, but I would be down for it if Monica Bellucci came back as a villain !
@@b.chaline4394 A big yes to Hoeks👍 She was phenomenal in BR2049... the film also is a masterpiece, one of my top 10 favourites of the 2010s. Krugger is also a good choice, she can do both protagonist and antagonist. However, Monica Bellucci... I just cannot see her as a villian even though she has played a few of them in her career.
@@calvindyson Nice to meet an admirer. I actually find her to be somewhat underrated. She’s great as a heroine, but after seeing her in The Third Day (check the mini series out if you love occult horror)... won’t say more than that.
@@b.chaline4394 Syliva Hoeks showed that a female heavy could work in a Bond film [technically Xenia is a henchperson but has a lot more lines than most heavies]. Monica Bellucci coming back would have made up for here glorified cameo in Spectre!
Very interesting video and watching all the films you get more of an idea that Craig is the cold heartless one, even if Brosnan is more directly responsible, he seems to care more than Craig does about women in some ways. Which is an interesting way of showing the equality in who his licence to kill applies to, even if they haven't shown him killing women.
Mr Dyson, do you really call the nodentivation bell Mrs Bell?😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Anyone with a basic shred of understanding how movie direction works should see that Bond intentionally used Fiona as a human shield...
Besides the intentional shot of Connery noticing the gun and realizing what was about to happen, look closely at his face as he twists. It's a deliberate and forceful expression. He was moving her *quickly* because he needed to reposition her precisely and only had half a second to do so.
It is not up for debate.
There’s only two instances where Bond deliberately killed women by his hand IMO. And these are: Naomi in The Spy Who Loved Me, and Elektra King in The World Is Not Enough and both of these Bond girls are in my top 5 Bond girls. This is all not including Never Say Never
Wonder if Ana De Armas's character in NTTD will play a villain?
What if they did get to recast Irma Bunt for *"Diamonds Are Forever",*
who do you think could've played her?
Fiona was killed by her own SPECTRE comrades. Thus he (directly) killed in #10 (1977), NSNA (1983), #17 (1995), and #19 (1999). A stunningky short list, I daresay 🤔
Loving the Nightfire soundtrack
Brosnan killed 2 and the 3rd one was Hally Berry's kill.
He shot Elektra point blank and was creative with Xenia
As a latin american, I can drop you obvious points or hints as to why Bond rarely kills women. It's because several countries around the world have this notion that English, French, and Japanese are more polite, civilized, or well behaved compared to most of the other countries. Whether this "myth" or notion is true or not, especially during the 20th and 21st Century Bond eras, is debatable. But what really matters is that the notion, the idea, was and possibly is still there.
Bond film makers are likely aware of this and most of the time are trying to reinforce and sell audiences all over the world this notion through James Bond. After all, he's supposed to be an English gentleman. Well mannered, educated, elegant, and aware of proper etiquette. Combine this with old school English chivalry, and well, suddenly seeing Bond killing women feels off, especially since he's the face of England's espionage and an agent of the Queen. A modern knight.
Not to mention that some prefer for Bond to win villainesses, female rival spies, or henchwomen as allies, through his charisma, charm, or cleverness. Because as a polite, intelligent, and very trained/experienced spy, he's supposed to be above the average man. Not be a barbaric, sadistic, UNGA BUNGA guy. And yes, that also includes winning over male rivals or enemies. It's satisfying to see a spy like him don't rely on his brawn alone to save the day. Bond killing women could be perceived by some as a last desperate tactic. As he has failed to win them over through his charm, diplomatic skills, or intelligence.
Also, the age difference and how cute or beautiful a villainess is, can play a role in this. For example, it would have looked and feel so wrong for Bond in Die Another Day to actually kill Miranda Frost. Brosnan is a male actor that is old enough to be Pike's father, while she, in that movie, was way too young, innocent, green, and cute looking. Pike was honestly a very young woman during the production of that film, and in some scenes she even gave vibes of a late teenager. That's probably one of the reasons we even see him mourning and feeling sorry for Miranda's death, a villainess, for the first time ever.
In the end, similar to Kazuma Kiryu, Majima Goro, and other protags across like 8 Yakuza games, the reason we see them and Bond trying their best to not hurt women, is because they are heroes, or anti heroes, supposedly raised with old school chivalry values.
You need someone very strong, crazy, irredeemable, and evil like Xenia to justify Bond killing a woman in a more direct or face-to-face way. Like "damn, girl was too insane and a very big threat to win her over, and taking her life was the only way to save the day. No other way around it".
Someone said Bond girls killed the main antagonist instead of Bond
One is die another day
Isn’t there others ?
Random suggestion Calvin, but maybe (somehow?) for a video we could leave our suggestions for the future of Bond post NTTD (ie. new Bond actor, new Bond girls, tone, Fleming adaptations, etc) and you can respond to them. Maybe it would work better in your relatively longer and laid-back live streams