The Sound of 007

It was an interesting documentary worth watching. I did think that they spent a little too much time on No Time to Die. It Is a fun watch overall that reminds you that there have been a lot of great songs that came out of the James Bond franchise. Sometimes you forget that songs came from these movies and it is nice to be reminded of them and hear some stories behind them. My biggest criticism would be that they barely mentioned Chris Cornell who did a great job on Casino Royal which I found disrespectful given that he's passed away. Overall though it was worth watching for any James Bond fan, movie fan, or music fan.

This was a great way to commemorate 60 years of Bond. Besides mostly being about the music, it really ties the plot and deeper meaning of the Bond films. Really thoughtful. For better or for worse, but it was interesting that they would talk about one movie's music, than immediately jump back to No Time To Die. It felt like they were just covering the movies they had the cast from and just skipping over some pretty big parts if they didn't have the singer of the song. However, it told the story of Bond in a more poetic. I just feel like they just waved the cast in your face and you are like "ya, I get it".

The documentary "The Sound of 007" enriches us with details about the construction and choices of songs/writers and performers for each of the James Bond films. Composer John Barry created the sound of James Bond, he mastered 11 of Bond's music scores. He invented the style and it was the basis of all other subsequent Bond movies.

Any of the 007 movies without the well-known opening theme doesn't sound like a James Bond movie. The theme became one of the main characters of the film, without it the film would be incomplete.

Aside from the opening theme, each Bond film brings the trademark of a song originally written to embrace the plot, this is for all 25 Bonds films.

The documentary focuses a bit more on the soundtracks from the 60s to the 90s and touches on the 2000s onwards. But the film manages to give a good view of how important a soundtrack is for the construction and identification of one character: BOND...James Bond!!!

This is an interesting watch as it tells you much of the inside story of the music of James Bond, but I am disappointed that the two songs of the franchise that have stayed with me the most are hardly mentioned.

1: "Tomorrow never dies" by Sheryl Crow. Being the wife/girlfriend of a government assassin would not be a comfortable place to be, and nothing captures the pathos of this situation more than this song. So it would relate to the plight of the Teri Hatcher character, and does so eloquently.

2: "You know my name" by Chris Cornell. Unmistakably Bond, but, also unmistakably new, like the film itself. Sets up the first appearance of Daniel Craig very nicely.

John Barry wrote the most iconic music score in film history. Film and music have had an important integration that predates "talkies" when the only sound that came out were the musical scores played to fill the silence. Music sets the tone of films and amplifies the emotion of the scene, and has done so forever in movies. Try watching a film where the music score is eliminated and the difference is often startling.

No score is more identifiable than that composed and orchestrated by John Barry, who penned the immediately identifiable James Bond 007 theme. All one has to hear are the first handful of bass string electric guitar notes played to recognize it's the James Bond 007 movie theme. No other song is more connected to film.

'The Sound of 007" is the story behind how it all happened, and the amazing journey of artists and other composers, songs and performances involved over 60 YEARS!

Truly a worthwhile film to see, this is by a wide margin the best documentary on the subject, and a must-see for everyone interested in film and music arts.

👍👍