Why was the music of “James Bond” successful?

Charso Press: “The Sound of 007” – the voice of James Bond – is a documentary that was recently released on Amazon Prime and was well received by the audience. The reason for the popularity of this documentary is that it examines the history of the soundtrack of the “James Bond” series of films from 60 years ago until now.

The series of “James Bond” films began with the movie “Dr. No” in 1962 and Sean Connery played the role. The latest “James Bond” was released last year with the name “No Time to Die” starring Daniel Craig.

The documentary “Voice of James Bond” talks about the music of the movie, which is the most famous and familiar music to the ears of cinema friends. In three hours, this documentary narrates the variety of music in “James Bond” films over six decades. Music that is presented in different types, classical, jazz, funk, rock and pop and each one is presented suitable for the period in which the film was released.

In his book History of Film Music, James Farz Besky says that before the First World War, film music received the attention of the audience, but after a while it declined and became the second priority of cinema.

He believes that most filmmakers have not given the respect that music deserves, so composers have not paid much attention to the soundtrack of movies. However, over time, the music of the film was able to establish its position among the audience and gain attention. Some critics believe that music that is good and suitable for concerts does not mean that it is suitable for movies and that the soundtrack completes the film.

With the emergence of musicians who compose music specifically for cinema, the view of the cinema music industry has changed.

In “James Bond” movies, music is like a bright light that is placed behind the film images to sometimes calm the situation and sometimes ignite the atmosphere. Music is usually the main driver for dramatic scenes. Music in these movies helps to advance the events of the story and expand the emotional atmosphere of the scenes. In the last series of “James Bond” there is a dialogue with the following theme: “The music tells my feelings about the events that I have lost control of or have inadvertently passed through.”

The documentary “The Music of James Bond” directed by Matt Whitecross is a narration of the music of 25 “James Bond” films, which musical figures such as Shirley Bassey, Billie Eilish, Tom Jones and Madonna participated in making them.

In this documentary, we get to know the history of the famous piece of the film, which was made by John Barry. This composer is the main author of the soundtrack of “James Bond” and has created the music of 14 films of “James Bond”. According to critics, the peak of his success was in the movie “Gold Finger”.

After watching this documentary, you can discuss the question: “After watching James Bond movies with their soundtracks, can you watch them without any music?”