Us James Bond fans love making lists such as ranking the Bond films or the individual 007s, but we don’t often publicly talk about our lists for the rest of the series even if we do privately have our own. So, if you guys are interested, I’m thinking of starting a weekly thread about our personal rankings in various James Bond categories–both books and films.
As always with my threads, Never Say Never Again is eligible to be included with the EON series, if you so choose.
This week’s subject:
RANK THE MAIN JAMES BOND GIRLS FROM THE FILMS
Pam Bouvier – (Carey Lowell) – LICENCE TO KILL
Anya Amasova XXX – (Barbara Bach) – THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
Tatiana Romanova – (Daniela Bianchi) – FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
Camille Montes – (Olga Kurylenko) – QUANTUM OF SOLACE
Wai Lin – (Michelle Yeoh) – TOMORROW NEVER DIES
Tracy di Vicenzo – (Diana Rigg) – ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE
Tiffany Case – (Jill St. John) – DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
Eve Moneypenny – (Naomie Harris) – SKYFALL
Melina Havelock – (Carole Bouquet) – FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
Octopussy Smythe – (Maud Adams) – OCTOPUSSY
Giancinta “Jinx” Johnson – (Halle Berry) – DIE ANOTHER DAY
Kara Milovy – (Maryam d’Abo) – THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
Simone “Solitaire” Latrelle – (Jane Seymour) – LIVE AND LET DIE
Holly Goodhead – (Lois Chiles) – MOONRAKER
Honey Ryder – (Ursula Andress) – DR. NO
Kissy Suzuki – (Mie Hama) – YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
Madeleine Swann – (Lea Seydoux) – SPECTRE
Madeleine Swann – (Lea Seydoux) – NO TIME TO DIE
Christmas Jones – (Denise Richards) – THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
Domino Petachi – (Kim Basinger) – NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN
Mary Goodnight – (Britt Ekland) – THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
Stacey Sutton – (Tanya Roberts) – A VIEW TO A KILL
Looking back at my list, I apparently really like the Russian Bond girls as all three I have in my top four! And I have a Bond girl from each 007 in my top 10 so that’s nice–though purely coincidental. Although, unlike most Bond fans, I like, but don’t love, Diana Rigg’s Tracy di Vicenzo, so she’s only at #10. The top nine Bond girls I really like.
I love Carey Lowell’s Pam Bouvier. She’s spunky and independent and can handle herself. As for Kim Basinger’s Domino, I like Basinger, but in NSNA at the start of her career, she’s just not all that exciting to me, maybe it’s the bleached blonde hair. And I know Kissy is mostly just there in YOLT, but I still like her, certainly more than those below her.
My dividing lines are #s 1-9 I really like/love; #s 10-17 are good, solid Bond girls; #s 18-20 are ok Bond girls, but they are missing something that those above them have; and #s 21-26 just don’t measure up with the others–I don’t dislike any of them, but they are clearly at the bottom of the list.
Camille Montes – (Olga Kurylenko) – QUANTUM OF SOLACE (sulking toughly)
Natalya Simonova – (Izabella Scorupco) – GOLDENEYE (good with computers when I was barely managing to write my university paper with it)
Wai Lin – (Michelle Yeoh) – TOMORROW NEVER DIES (reliable)
Honey Ryder – (Ursula Andress) – DR. NO (has a knife in her belt which remains rather useless)
Madeleine Swann – (Lea Seydoux) – SPECTRE (tough but then she’s scared)
Madeleine Swann – (Lea Seydoux) – NO TIME TO DIE (scared but then she’s tough)
Christmas Jones – (Denise Richards) – THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (should have been the poster girl for scientists)
Pam Bouvier – (Carey Lowell) – LICENCE TO KILL (spunky but cry-baby when the more popular girl scores the popular boy)
Giancinta “Jinx” Johnson – (Halle Berry) – DIE ANOTHER DAY (yo mama when lasered)
Mary Goodnight – (Britt Ekland) – THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN (fits well in her trunks and a trunk)
Stacey Sutton – (Tanya Roberts) – A VIEW TO A KILL (likes quiche)
Kissy Suzuki – (Mie Hama) – YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (smart enough not to sleep under a droppy line)
Domino Petachi – (Kim Basinger) – NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (dance moves even silly during the 80´s but endures Brandauer saliva - “one more spit take, Klaus-Maria”)
It raises the question of the basis for ranking. Is it the role the characters play in the film and how well they are played by the actors or is it the appeal of the actresses to heterosexual men? That could change the order quite a lot for me - especially when it comes to Dr. Christmas Jones (and no I am not citing that very bad pun).
I am not following how the character being different in the two movies would disentwine the considerations. I may find a man physically attractive, but depending on the behaviors he is engaging in, overall attraction varies. Or to put it another way: the physical attraction attraction is there–always entwined–but does not exert the same influence in every situation.
It’s only the second time I’ve seen or heard someone use it. The first time was two or three years ago in an article which explained that it was the new thing. I had brief hopes, but what do I know?
Waited a few weeks for confirmation in real life, but in the end, I came to the conclusion that the article probably did not report the exact truth. Apparently, it is still like it was in all those years: no one loves know-it-all nerds. Except for copying their homework.
I was pleased to discover the word, since it finally gave a name to an aspect of myself that I have always known was there. The list of men–both twinks and twunks–who did not make it past the first round because of a poorly formed opinion on the movie we had just seen is lengthy.
My second, third, and fourth dates with my future husband were to see THE DECAMERON (July 27th); THE CANTERBURY TALES (July 28th) and THE ARABIAN NIGHTS (July 30th).
I should add that our first day was July 26th. He joined me at a monthly meeting I attended–the Gay Philosophy Forum.
Throw them in the deep end, I say, and see how they fare.
I agree with Pushkin. She’s a strong woman, she’s independent, she can handle herself (see the barroom brawl and her shoving the shotgun into Dario’s groin while stating Bond is with her), she capably assists Bond in the final truck chase (flying the plane and dropping crop-dust on Perez and his pals), she sassily mimics Lupe after the latter leaves the hotel room and claims she won’t help Bond anymore and adamantly calls out Q when he tries to defend Bond. There’s a lot to like.
For me the answer is simple and stereotypically male. Yes, she’s strong and independent, but at the end of the day, perky short-haired Pam simply pushes my buttons. I fell in love with her on the first opening weekend viewing and time has not diminished what she does for me, though 4 others still overall rank higher.
I don’t usually like that short of hair on women, but it does suit her. And when she makes her appearance in the Isthmus City bank, my reaction was kind of like Bond’s–a double take that made me sit up straighter in my chair. And she looks great in a swimsuit as well, although I would have preferred a more colorful suit.
Understood. I tend to look at the autonomy demonstrated by the character.
Had an odd thought: though Mary Goodnight is (rightly) at the bottom of lists (in my case, for the conception and execution of her character), I remember almost all of her scenes, which I can say for few Bond girls.
Could memorableness be considered a positive consideration?
