Friday, November 14, 2008 at 12:16AM The Top Five Bond Girl Names
4 - Xenia Onatopp - Goldeneye
3 - Plenty O'Toole - Diamonds Are Forever
2 - Holly Goodhead - Moonraker
1 - Pussy Galore - Goldfinger
Look, it's Pussy Galore!
There are many traditions about the James Bond film franchise that fans cling to. Or at least, they clung to them; the new vision for 007 doesn't have time for dry vodka martinis, shaken not stirred, and he doesn't even have time to introduces himself as "Bond, James Bond" anymore.
There are no gadgets, no silliness, and definitely no silly names for women. Well, almost. There's a joke reference to the old practice in Casino Royale (Vesper Lynd's supposed pseudonym Stephanie Broadchest), and there's a name in Quantum of Solace, too, but you have to wait for the credits to find out what it is.
The Bond Girls are their own cultural phenomenon, separate even from the rest of the franchise. Over the past several years, there has been homage paid to them in newer Bond films, with Halle Berry emerging from the ocean a la Ursula Andress and a rather unpleasant reminder of Goldfinger in the new film. Not all of them have clever (or not so clever) sexually-derived names, but they're usually the ones we remember. For instance, Solitaire, played by Jane Seymour in Live and Let Die, is a great name. But because her name isn't all that lurid, we don't remember her. I mean, you know what a young Jane Seymour looked like, right?
On the flip side, there's Octopussy, a name so frank and downright anatomically improbable that they went ahead and gave the name to a movie (the only Bond Girl with such an honor). I don't think you could call a movie Octopussy now. Well, not one you'd see in theaters, anyway.
So here are our Top Five names, with number one going to a woman whose real name would be pretty cool for a fictional character, as well - Honor Blackman.
Enjoy a little video trip down memory lane, featuring the girls with our Top Five Bond Girl Names in action.5 - Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress), the one who launched it all in Dr. No.
4 - Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) in GoldenEye - Seriously, if you have absolutely have to be murdered...there are worse ways.
3 - Plenty O'Toole (Lana Wood), responsible for one of the classic exchanges in all of 007 history in Diamonds Are Forever. It's also the inspiration for Alotta Fagina in Austin Powers.
2 - Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles) is better on a business card or in a phone book than in a movie, true, but her character was not a big problem in comparison with the rest of Moonraker, the Bond-goes-to-space flick.
1 - Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman) - It's a miracle they could get away with this in 1963, isn't it? Goldfinger is arguably the Bond movie with the most cultural impact, and I think you could also argue that Pussy Galore is the best overall Bond Girl.
For next week, we'll be all bloodsuckers, all the time. That's right: The Top Five Accident Attorney Films.
OK, not really.
But with Twilight set to become a kind of Harry Potter phenomenon (you scoff, but wait until you see that opening weekend box office), we thought it was a perfect time to list The Top Five Vampire Movies. There are more than enough to choose from, everything from the many variations of Dracula to Night Watch and from Interview with the Vampire to, yes, Blacula. So all you Anne Rice devotees, here's your chance to shine.
And there's a lot at...stake (ha ha) next week, too: You can win Wall-E on DVD. Pretty flippin' sweet, right? So give it some thought and send us your Top Five Vampire Movies.
Shoot us an e-mail with your votes for the Top Five Vampire Movies and you could win Wall-E on DVD. I emphasize could win because it's not like we have hundreds of copies to give away, and it's a random drawing. Please include your mailing address, and you'll have until Thursday night November 20th at 10pm Pacific to get us your lists.
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Reader Comments (12)
I still think Chew Me needs to be on the list! Thanks for the Hulk DVD!!
"On the flip side, there's Octopussy, a name so frank and downright anatomically improbable that they went ahead and gave the name to a movie (the only Bond Girl with such an honor)."
This "Bond Girl" was named after her father's "pet" octopus from the book "Octopussy" and that is where the title for the movie was derived, not from her name. The movie is "incomplete" unless one reads the book also.
well all the women who have a relationship with 007 end in his bed, so no one of them was ugly, I mean according to Generic Viagra all the women in the 007 movies are the most beauty of them times.
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