By Patrick Smith
Which Bond film owes its title to a typo? Who was Goldfinger? And what's a quantum? Ahead of the Bond 24 announcement, we reveal the meanings of previous 007 titles
1. Goldfinger (1964)
The first James
Bond film to win an Oscar took its title from a man 007 creator Ian
Fleming used to know called Ernő Goldfinger. He was the cousin (by marriage)
of Fleming’s golf partner, John Blackwell, and threatened to sue over the
use of his name. The matter was settled out of court.
2. You Only Live Twice (1967)
Fleming was inspired by the 17th-century Japanese poet Matsuo Basho, who wrote
these words more than 300 years before they were used as the title for the
12th Bond novel.
3. Diamonds are Forever (1971)
In 1947, copywriter Frances Gerety coined the phrase "A Diamond Is Forever"
in an advertising campaign for De Beers. It seems inconceivable that Fleming
wouldn’t have been directly influenced by this.
4. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Unlike the film, The Spy Who Loved Me novel is told in the first person by a young Canadian woman, Vivienne Michel, and Bond doesn’t appear until two thirds of the way through. The title makes a lot more sense when you think about it that way.
5. Octopussy (1983)
The 1983 movie takes its name from a coracle Ian Fleming received from his neighbour – and lover – in Jamaica, Blanche Blackwell (the small boat was called Octopussy).
6. A View To A Kill (1985)
This grammatically suspect title comes from an unrelated Fleming short story called From A View To a Kill. The film attempts to make some sort of sense of it with the following lines of dialogue from villain Zorian (Christopher Walken) and his henchwoman May Day (Grace Jones): Her: "What a view." Him: "To a kill!"
7. Licence to Kill (1989)
Timothy Dalton’s second Bond outing was originally titled Licence Revoked, which makes perfect sense given that in the film M suspends 007 after he refuses to give up the hunt for the person who fed his friend Felix Leiter to a shark. However, because polled American audiences said the phrase reminded them of confiscated driving licences, it was changed to Licence to Kill – absurd, really, when you consider it’s the only film he’s not legally allowed to shoot people.
8. GoldenEye (1995)
Pierce Brosnan made his Bond debut in this 1995 film, named after Ian Fleming’s estate in Jamaica. The novelist claimed a number of origins for the name of the estate, including Carson McCullers’s Reflections in a Golden Eye and Operation Goldeneye, a plan he developed during the Second World War for maintaining communication between Britain and Gibraltar. Goldeneye is also a type of duck
9. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
The film was originally supposed to be called Tomorrow Never Lies – a reference to the (fictional) newspaper, Tomorrow, run by the villainous Elliot Carver (played by Jonathan Pryce). Word has it, however, that when the title was faxed to MGM, there was a typo, and the marketing department preferred the incorrect version. The title for Tomorrow Never Lies, meanwhile, came to scriptwriter Brucen Feirstein while he was listening to The Beatles’ trippy song, Tomorrow Never Knows.
10. The World Is Not Enough (1999)
This phrase, believed to originate from Alexander the Great’s epitaph, appeared in the 1963 Bond novel On Her Majesty’s Secret Service as the family motto of Sir Thomas Bond, whose Coat of Arms 007 is shown while on assignment.
11. Die Another Day (2002)
There’s a 1896 poem by AE Housman’s called A Shropshire Lad, which features the line “But since the man that runs away / Lives to die another day”. That’s the only explanation for this terrible title for an equally terrible film.
12. Quantum of Solace (2008)
After this title was announced in 2008, many struggled to understand its meaning – including the film's screenwriter, Paul Haggis. "I have no idea," he admitted when asked. "It's not my title." Indeed, it's the title of a Fleming short story about Bond meeting a cuckolded husband, and more inquiring minds were quick to point out that "quantum" is the smallest possible amount of a physical property. For Daniel Craig, it was about relationships: "When they go wrong, when there's nothing left, when the spark has gone, when the fire's gone out, there's no quantum of solace," he clarified. But perhaps comedian Adam Buxton explained it best in his alternative Quantum of Solace theme song: “I want a quantum of solace, but just a quantum / I know they do big bags of solace, but I don’t want ‘em.”
4. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Unlike the film, The Spy Who Loved Me novel is told in the first person by a young Canadian woman, Vivienne Michel, and Bond doesn’t appear until two thirds of the way through. The title makes a lot more sense when you think about it that way.
5. Octopussy (1983)
The 1983 movie takes its name from a coracle Ian Fleming received from his neighbour – and lover – in Jamaica, Blanche Blackwell (the small boat was called Octopussy).
6. A View To A Kill (1985)
This grammatically suspect title comes from an unrelated Fleming short story called From A View To a Kill. The film attempts to make some sort of sense of it with the following lines of dialogue from villain Zorian (Christopher Walken) and his henchwoman May Day (Grace Jones): Her: "What a view." Him: "To a kill!"
7. Licence to Kill (1989)
Timothy Dalton’s second Bond outing was originally titled Licence Revoked, which makes perfect sense given that in the film M suspends 007 after he refuses to give up the hunt for the person who fed his friend Felix Leiter to a shark. However, because polled American audiences said the phrase reminded them of confiscated driving licences, it was changed to Licence to Kill – absurd, really, when you consider it’s the only film he’s not legally allowed to shoot people.
8. GoldenEye (1995)
Pierce Brosnan made his Bond debut in this 1995 film, named after Ian Fleming’s estate in Jamaica. The novelist claimed a number of origins for the name of the estate, including Carson McCullers’s Reflections in a Golden Eye and Operation Goldeneye, a plan he developed during the Second World War for maintaining communication between Britain and Gibraltar. Goldeneye is also a type of duck
9. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
The film was originally supposed to be called Tomorrow Never Lies – a reference to the (fictional) newspaper, Tomorrow, run by the villainous Elliot Carver (played by Jonathan Pryce). Word has it, however, that when the title was faxed to MGM, there was a typo, and the marketing department preferred the incorrect version. The title for Tomorrow Never Lies, meanwhile, came to scriptwriter Brucen Feirstein while he was listening to The Beatles’ trippy song, Tomorrow Never Knows.
10. The World Is Not Enough (1999)
This phrase, believed to originate from Alexander the Great’s epitaph, appeared in the 1963 Bond novel On Her Majesty’s Secret Service as the family motto of Sir Thomas Bond, whose Coat of Arms 007 is shown while on assignment.
11. Die Another Day (2002)
There’s a 1896 poem by AE Housman’s called A Shropshire Lad, which features the line “But since the man that runs away / Lives to die another day”. That’s the only explanation for this terrible title for an equally terrible film.
12. Quantum of Solace (2008)
After this title was announced in 2008, many struggled to understand its meaning – including the film's screenwriter, Paul Haggis. "I have no idea," he admitted when asked. "It's not my title." Indeed, it's the title of a Fleming short story about Bond meeting a cuckolded husband, and more inquiring minds were quick to point out that "quantum" is the smallest possible amount of a physical property. For Daniel Craig, it was about relationships: "When they go wrong, when there's nothing left, when the spark has gone, when the fire's gone out, there's no quantum of solace," he clarified. But perhaps comedian Adam Buxton explained it best in his alternative Quantum of Solace theme song: “I want a quantum of solace, but just a quantum / I know they do big bags of solace, but I don’t want ‘em.”
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