This month of October is a special month for the fictional British secret agent and movie star James Bond.
The man codenamed 007 has this month had his 50th year anniversary marked since the first James Bond movie was originally launched, Dr. No, all the way back in 1962. Since then the franchise has grown successfully and 22 films in total have been launched at the time of writing.
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Later this month the next and 23rd film in the 007 series, Skyfall, will start screening at UK public theatres.
This October has also been the month when the Sky Movies channel has been screening all of the James Bond films previously launched.
To celebrate this schedule, in the same month of the 50th anniversary and a new Bond film, the editors at Sky have put together an advert compiling car chases from various films in the series to produce the ultimate Bond car chase. The advert has been screened on TVs and is available to view online.
The cleverly edited promotion includes all the six actors which have played James Bond across the fifty year history of the series. It also of course includes some of the cars 007 has used in his chases some of which have picked up an iconic status themselves.
There are several models which viewers can pick up on amongst the many edits and cutaways in the advert. The advert includes:
Aston Martin DBS
This V12 supercar is driven during most of the chase by the actor who currently fills the James Bond role, Daniel Craig. The latest DBS has already featured in Craig's two previous 007 films, Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.
With 512bhp, a 0-62mph sprint time of 4.3 seconds and a top speed of 191mph, the DBS is certainly one of the quickest cars 007 has used in a chase.
A much earlier version of the DBS coupe was used in an earlier Bond film, starring George Lazenby. Both he and the car feature in Sky's ultimate car chase advert, although the original DBS itself is barely visible in its short cameo.
Lotus Esprit
A first generation Lotus Esprit also features in Sky's car chase compilation, where it is driven by Roger Moore the longest-serving James Bond actor to date.
The lightweight sports car featured in the 007 film The Spy Who Loved Me from 1977. In this movie the Esprit was used for a long chase sequence where it was modified to turn into a submarine when it entered underwater.
Aston Martin DB5
The DB5 is probably the most iconic of all the cars which have featured in the James Bond film series. In the Sky Movies advert it is driven by Pierce Brosnan, which he did in the 1995 film GoldenEye.
However the Aston Martin DB5 was really made famous much earlier by the first Bond actor Sean Connery, in the 1964 flick Goldfinger. In this film the DB5 had various gadgets including a passenger ejector seat. The very car used in Goldfinger was sold in an auction in 2010 for an estimated £2.6 million.
Other Aston Martin DB5 models have had brief appearances in other 007 films, and the icon is set to appear again in the next film entry Skyfall.
Sunbeam Alpine Series II Roadster
The Sky Movies compilation advert also splices in clips from the first James Bond film Dr. No starring Sean Connery.
In the advert the original 007 can be seen driving a Series II Sunbeam Alpine roadster, finished in "lake blue".
Reports on the filming of Dr. No reveal that the Alpine was apparently borrowed from a local resident in Jamaica where the chase was originally filmed.
Alfa Romeo 159
The Sky Movies advert focuses most of the time on Daniel Craig's chase in his DBS, a scene taken from the opening of Quantum of Solace. Throughout the chase and subsequent promotion 007 is hunted by villains who drive in two Alfa Romeo 159 models.
Alfa Romeo had previously only managed brief appearances in two earlier Bond films, Octopussy and Moonraker.
Happily for the Italian manufacturer though the 159s play an important role in the film's opening sequence and this advert as a result. In thwarting the villains however James Bond sends one of the 159 saloons off the edge of a cliff.
The advert is overall an impressive piece of film editing work, though unfortunately there appears to be no sign of the hydrogen-powered Ford Ka which appeared in Quantum of Solace.
Written by Stephen Goldasz
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KOghs-hX7g