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SEXY SEXIST BOND MOVIE POSTERS
commentary on the late seventies to early eighties Bond films

It doesn't dawn on you how much the marketing on Bond has changed until you visit the DVD aisle. Once provocative covers have now been altered and newer Bond movies don't even attempt female exploitation in their posters.

For your eyes only original shot
For Your Eyes Only original image 		for your eyes only edited cover
For Your Eyes Only edited DVD cover

Take a look at "For Your Eyes Only" posted above. I specifically remember as a kid hanging out at Clackamas Town Center in Oregon and seeing the image on the left. There was a movie theater next to the entrance doors and once you went inside you saw the movie posters in glass cases all along the wall.

I was too young to go see most films without permission from my parents and I always wondered about posters like this one which is really explicit. You're looking up at a woman's crotch. I don't think they could do that today without a total uproar, though I'm sure it provoked outrage in its own time as well. This is why the DVD cover has eliminated the crotch shot altogether.

Bond oddly enough almost has a family viewing quality to it despite the violence and innuendo. Another reason for the cover edits so they can sell them at Walmart. Some of my favorite TV moments growing up were reruns of edited-for-TV Bond films featuring Sean Connery and Roger Moore. The first Bond film I ever saw was Thunderball and it was on ABC as I recall.
Is that Maryam D'Abo's ass?
The Living Daylights original see through shot
The Living Daylights edited DVD cover
Here's another example from Timothy Dalton's first film The Living Daylights. Original image was a see through dress and it doesn't look like she's wearing any underwear. Then we go to the DVD cover and it's just Timothy Dalton with a bunch of explosions behind him for no real reason.

The real question here is: Is that Maryam D'Abo's ass in the original poster? Probably not, though she did pose nude for Playboy.



How many more women can I have in space
Moonraker Movie Poster Harem 		Bond gets all the girls
Live And Let Die Harem
Roger Moore films especially seem to have a sexist quality to them, not that I'm honestly trying to criticize them because I think the Bond character is not supposed to be PC or concerned with women's rights. He's a fantasy and we get off on that aspect. We even chuckle at the sexist lines as women in the audience shake their heads (but with a smile).

Take a look at the Moonraker movie poster. It's a harem shot. I watched this on video for my birthday party at around 12 and my parents, though conservative when it came to sexuality, let me rent it. Not that I got all of the innuendo but again, Bond has a family viewing quality to him which makes no sense because he's anything but family friendly.

I think that's why Daniel Craig's Casino Royale film received some harsh criticism for the torture scenes because they crossed that line, but then we're in a time of increased awareness of terrorism so I think that scene was absolutely necessary. It's also apparently in the original book.

Dr. No Harem
Thunderball Harem
Obviously Sean Connery is not innocent. I don't want to end this by letting him off the hook. He was always a brute when it came to the ladies. I don't think it seemed as bad because the poster artwork had less detail than later Bond posters. More pulpish art that has a nostalgic feel, something we collect now-a-days and most women just smile at as a different era when men were allowed to flaunt their immature fantasies, not fully understanding that women were really in charge behind the scenes.


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