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Spectre Soundtrack [ 2015 ]

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The Name's Bond... James Bond

David Arnold & Michael Price

Opening scene

Te He de Querer

Los Organilleros

Briefly heard as Bond and Estrella enter the hotel.

Los Muertos Vivos Estan (feat. Tambuco)

Thomas Newman

Music at the Day of the Dead parade.

Gloria De La Cruz

Bond and Estrella enter the elevator.

Day of the Dead (feat. Tambuco)

Bond chases Marco Sciarra through the streets of Mexico.

Writing's On the Wall

Renée Zellweger & Sam Smith

Opening credits

Nisi Dominus (Psalm 126), RV 608: 4. "Cum Dederit" (Andante)

Andreas Scholl, Paul Dyer & Australian Brandenburg Orchestra

Lucia plays this song after she leaves the funeral.

One Furtive Tear (L'Elisir D'Amore)

Geoff Love & His Orchestra

Plays in Lucia's bedroom as Bond prepares to go on another mission.

New York, New York (FWB Remix) [feat. Ultra Love]

Briefly plays in the car as Bond is looking for the missile switch.

La Traviata: "Libiamo Ne'lieti Calici (Brindisi)

Luciano Pavarotti, National Philharmonic Orchestra, Richard Bonynge, Dame Joan Sutherland & The London Opera Chorus

A man is listening to opera music in the car as Bond tries to move the car from his path.

Virgin Cocktails

Yann McCullough & Paul Chandler

Bond waits at a cocktail bar and orders a martini.

The James Bond Theme

Monty Norman

End Credits

Call and Response

Bill Bernstein & Tambuco

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Hear Sam Smith’s Elegant James Bond Theme Song for ‘Spectre’

By Marielle Anas

Marielle Anas

Sam Smith ‘s “Writing’s on the Wall,” the theme song for the upcoming James Bond film Spectre , has finally arrived. Smith and Jimmy Napes — the same songwriting team who scooped up the Grammy Award for Song of the Year  with “Stay With Me” — released the 24th official Bond theme early Friday morning.

The sumptuous ballad acts more as a showcase for Smith’s gorgeous falsetto than orchestral soar of past theme songs. “If I risk it all/Could you break my heart?/How do I live?/How do I breathe?/When you’re not here, I’m suffocating,” Smith sings.  

Smith delivers a grand accomplishment by entertaining the romantic danger of the Bond character while staying true to his hallmark simplicity and elegance. His subtle orchestral cheer team is present, but augments his typical heartbroken persona with a confidence rising up to the level of the iconic secret agent.

“I have been dreaming of this moment for a long, long time,” Smith tweeted  after releasing the track. UK dance duo Disclosure tweeted their support  earlier this month by announcing their official production credit on the track. In anticipation of the song’s global release, Smith wrote on Instagram  earlier this week that he was “very scared, very nervous, very excited.”

“I tried to put myself in the shoes of Bond,” Smith told NPR  of the track. “My music is a diary and it’s a recap of my life, and I wanted to bring that kind of honesty. In the lyrics … I wanted a touch of vulnerability from Bond, where you see into his heart a little bit.” The singer and Napes wrote the song in less than 30 minutes, according to NPR, and ended up using Smith’s vocal demo on the final track.

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Rumors started bubbling earlier this summer about possible vocalists for the Spectre theme. Smith told fans in July that he was in the dark about plans for recording a new installment for the legendary series. The singer originally suggested fellow Brit Ellie Goulding for the coveted spot.

But earlier this month, Smith tweeted a black-and-white photo of his hand wearing a ring with the Spectre symbol; a similar ring had appeared in the film’s trailer , fueling massive speculation. Hours later, Smith confirmed the news , calling the song “one of the highlights of my career.

“I am so excited to be a part of this iconic British legacy and join an incredible lineup of some of my biggest musical inspirations,” the singer tweeted. “I hope you all enjoy the song as much as I enjoyed making it.”

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Fellow Brit Adele cleaned up during awards season  in 2012 for the last Bond theme “Skyfall,”  leaving high expectations for the In the Lonely Hour singer. Numerous British singers have been chosen to sing the theme since 1962’s Dr. No , but Smith’s contribution will mark only the third male voice from across the pond to set the mood for the international man of mystery. Smith is the first male British solo act to perform a Bond theme since Tom Jones performed “Thunderball” in 1965 for the movie of the same name.

After   select   screenings next month, Spectre  is set for release worldwide on November 6th.

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Listen to Sam Smith’s ‘Spectre’ Theme Song, ‘Writing’s on the Wall’

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The wait is over! After it was officially announced a few weeks ago that Sam Smith would be singing the official James Bond theme for Spectre , today you can download the full track, “Writing’s on the Wall.” Before you buy it though, you can listen to the song in full here, to see what you think.

It’s certainly slower and closer to a ballad than most of the other recent Bond themes. We certainly didn’t expect to hear “I wanna feel loved” in a James Bond theme. But hearing it out of the context of the Spectre opening credits, it may be too early to judge.

“Writing’s on the Wall” marks the first time a British male solo artist has recorded a James Bond theme since 1965 when Tom Jones recorded the theme to Thunderball . There were rumors that Smith would be the one to sing the Spectre theme for months (even British oddmakers had him as the heavy favorite) and the singer flatly denied them all. Smith, who claims he wrote the song in about 20 minutes, was finally able to confirm his involvement earlier this month saying, “This is one of the highlights of my career […] I am so excited to be a part of this iconic British legacy and join an incredible line up of some of my biggest musical inspirations.”

Smith follows Adele , who sang the Skyfall title track, Jack White and Alicia Keys, who collaborated on Quantum of Solace ’s “Another Way to Die” and Chris Cornell, who performed “You Know My Name” from Casino Royale .

If you like what you’re hearing from Smith and “Writing’s on the Wall”, you can purchase it now on iTunes .

Spectre opens in theaters on November 6.

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Listen to sam smith’s ‘spectre’ theme.

"Writing's on the Wall" is the first James Bond theme song to be recorded by a British male solo artist since 1965.

By Alex Ritman

Alex Ritman

U.K. Correspondent

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The Spectre theme has finally landed.

After the initial speculation over who would be doing the honors —  Ellie Goulding ? Lana Del Rey ? Ed Sheeran ? Adele , again? — and the revelation that it was indeed the bookmakers’ favorite from the start, Sam Smith ‘s song for the upcoming 24th James Bond film was released Friday morning London time.

Written by Smith and Jimmy Napes , with production work by the British dance duo Disclosure (who gave Smith his breakthrough with the 2012 track “Latch”), “Writing’s on the Wall” becomes the first Bond theme to be recorded by a British male solo artist since 1965.

Many now expect it to be the first to go to the No. 1 spot on the U.K. singles charts, although Smith will be up against 007’s arch nemesis … Justin Bieber .

Spectre opens nationwide in the U.K. on Oct. 26 and in the U.S. Nov. 6.

Hear “Writing’s on the Wall” below.

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Sam smith records theme song for new james bond film ‘spectre’.

James Bond theme song singers

Story highlights.

Smith said he recorded the song in January

He called it a "classic love song"

Surprising no one, Sam Smith announced he has recorded the theme to the new James Bond flick, “Spectre.”

“This is one of the highlights of my career,” the British crooner tweeted Tuesday. “I am honoured to finally announce that I will be singing the next Bond theme song.”

The key word there is “finally.”

Smith told BBC Radio 1 he’d recorded the song in January (“the quickest song I have ever written”) and had been trying his darnedest to keep it hush-hush ever since.

“This has been a top-secret mission of my own trying to keep it a secret,” he told the Radio 1 “Breakfast Show.”

“I’m so relieved to actually talk about this.”

The song, called “Writing’s on the Wall,” will be released September 25. The movie comes out October 26 in the United Kingdom and November 6 in the United States.

The singer said he wrote the song with Jimmy Napes, with whom he penned the monster hit “Stay With Me.”

Smith called “Writing’s on the Wall” a “classic love song” and said it took the pair 20 minutes.

Though singer Ellie Goulding’s name was thrown about, the smart money had always been on Smith, particularly after the run on the charts he’s been having. His debut album, “In the Lonely Hour,” earned him four Grammys.

The Bond movies have a tradition of tapping the “it” guy or gal for their opening number.

Adele (“Skyfall”), Madonna (“Die Another Day”) and Tina Turner (“GoldenEye”) have all had a go at theme songs. Shirley Bassey managed a three-peat (“Goldfinger,” “Diamonds are Forever” and “Moonraker”).

“I am so excited to be a part of this iconic British legacy and join an incredible line up of some of my biggest musical inspirations,” Smith said in another tweet.

Spectre (soundtrack)

• View history

Spectre: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to the 24th James Bond film of the same name . Released by Universal Music Classics on October 23, 2015 in the United Kingdom and on November 6, 2015 in the United States, the music was composed by Thomas Newman , who previously composed the soundtrack of 23rd Bond's film Skyfall , making him the third composer after John Barry and David Arnold (and the first non-British composer) to score more than one film in the series. The film's theme song " Writing's on the Wall " performed by Sam Smith is the only one of the four themes that doesn't feature the title of its film. [1] It is also the third song after " You Know My Name " (2006) and " Skyfall " (2012) that did not appear on the film's official soundtrack album.

• 1 Development
• 2 Track listing
• 4 References

Development [ ]

Thomas Newman returned as Spectre's composer. [2] Rather than composing the score once the film had moved into post-production, Newman worked during filming. [3] The theatrical trailer released in July 2015 contained a rendition of John Barry 's On Her Majesty's Secret Service theme. [4] [5] Mendes revealed that the final film would have more than one hundred minutes of music. [6]

In September 2015 it was announced that Sam Smith and regular collaborator Jimmy Napes had written the film's title theme, "Writing's on the Wall", with Smith performing it for the film. [7] The song was released later that month where it received mixed reviews from critics and fans, particularly in comparison to Adele 's " Skyfall ". [8] [9] [10] It became the first Bond theme to reach number one in the UK Singles Chart . [11]

Track listing [ ]

Standard album : [12]

See also [ ]

• James Bond music

References [ ]

• ↑ Sam Smith Teases 'Bond' Theme Song; 'Spectre' Soundtrack Gets Release Date . Exclaim (September 21, 2015). Retrieved on November 7, 2015.
• ↑ " Bond returns in Spectre ", 007.com , Eon Productions , 4 December 2014. Retrieved on 6 December 2014.  
• ↑ James Bond Producers Delve Deep Into Spectre . Retrieved on 29 March 2015.
• ↑ New Spectre Trailer (21 July 2015). Retrieved on 30 July 2015.
• ↑ New Bond soundtrack: what does the new Spectre trailer tell us? (22 July 2015). Retrieved on 30 July 2015.
• ↑ Never Say Never Again (Again) (16 July 2015). Retrieved on 17 July 2015.
• ↑ Sam Smith to Sing Title Song for Spectre . Eon Productions (8 September 2015). Retrieved on 8 September 2015.
• ↑ Petridis, Alexis. " Sam Smith's James Bond theme review – 'It feels like an X Factor ballad' ", The Guardian , Guardian Media Group , 25 September 2015. Retrieved on 25 September 2015.  
• ↑ McGrath, Rachel. " Sam Smith's Writing On The Wall Spectre Song Hasn't Impressed James Bond Fans ", The Huffington Post UK , 25 September 2015. Retrieved on 25 September 2015.  
• ↑ " Sam Smith Bond song splits opinion ", bbc.co.uk , BBC , 25 September 2015. Retrieved on 25 September 2015.  
• ↑ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah. " Sam Smith's "Writing's on the Wall" becomes first ever Bond No. 1 ", theguardian.com , Guardian Media Group , 2 October 2015. Retrieved on 16 October 2015.  
• ↑ Skyfall: Thomas Newman: Amazon.co.uk: MP3 Downloads . Amazon UK (19 October 2012). Retrieved on 7 November 2015.
• 1 James Bond (Daniel Craig)
• 2 Blofeld (Christoph Waltz)
• 3 Mr. White

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Getting the James Bond Song Right

By Ian Crouch

This past Friday, the twenty-three-year-old British singer Sam Smith,  noting  that he had been “dreaming of this moment for a long, long time,” released the song “Writing’s on the Wall,” which will play over the opening credits of the new James Bond movie, “Spectre,” due in November. Smith seems to have spent more time dreaming about the début than he did working on the song. In an  interview with NPR , he said that he and his collaborator, Jimmy Napes, wrote it in less than half an hour, and that the demo he quickly recorded ended up in the final version (which was produced with help from the British house duo Disclosure).

You can call this inspiration or undue haste—some have praised the song, which pairs Smith’s famous falsetto with lush orchestration, as revealing 007’s softer, more vulnerable side. Others have called “Writing’s on the Wall” a lesser version of the last Bond song, Adele’s “Skyfall,” which sold millions of copies, won an Oscar, and brought a new measure of respectability to the Bond-song genre. Still others pointed out that it sounds an awful lot like Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song,” from 1995. ( It does .) Roger Moore  said he liked it . So does the British public: when the charts come out this week, it’s expected that it will be the first Bond single to hit No. 1 on the U.K. pop charts.

Smith and Co. may indeed have created a passable sequel to “Skyfall,” but they cheated, skipping the most important and difficult requirement of the project: a reference to the Bond movie’s title, “Spectre,” is nowhere to be found in the song’s lyrics. Plenty of people can write a perfectly good pop song. But very few can write a perfectly good pop song that also contains the title of the latest in a long line of absurdly named James Bond movies. Do you think that anyone ever sat down planning to write a song about a Thunderball or a Moonraker or a Goldeneye? And what songwriters would come up with such batty koans as “Tomorrow Never Dies” or “You Only Live Twice” on their own? You don’t choose James Bond songs, they choose you, and like haiku, the form is central to the art.

Sure, this isn’t the first Bond song to stray from the formula. “All Time High,” performed by Rita Coolidge, for the abominable 1983 Roger Moore outing “Octopussy,” thankfully left the unmentionables unmentioned. Chris Cornell’s “You Know My Name,” from “Casino Royale,” contained neither word from the title, but it did rely on an extended gambling metaphor. Plus, nothing rhymes with “royale.” Jack White and Alicia Keys were too savvy to put their names on a song called “Quantum of Solace,” or even to mention the full title, but White nonetheless slipped a nod in at the start of the second verse: “Another tricky little gun giving solace to the one / That’ll never see the sun shine.” I’m not quite sure what that means, but no one knows what a quantum of solace is, either. Perhaps the best title moment occurs in my favorite Bond song, “ Nobody Does It Better ,” from 1977, which was composed by Marvin Hamlisch, written by Carole Bayer Sager, and performed by Carly Simon. The song delivers the movie’s title by way of misdirection, in an indelible lyric: “But like Heaven above me, the spy who loved me / Is keeping all my secrets safe tonight.”

What rhymes with spectre? Not much. Vector, hector, rector? (Shirley Bassey, the queen of the Bond song, could have done something delicious with “nectar.”) Still, of all the brain-numbing James Bond titles, “Spectre” isn't especially unwieldy. The title of “Writing’s on the Wall” refers to a premonition of bad things to come, and the song mentions being haunted by a “million shards of glass.” Perhaps this is meant to be evidence of some Bond-song evolution, a release from the chains of literalism that left the illustrious likes of Gladys Knight with the unfortunate duty of singing about licenses to kill and whatnot.

But it’s in the ludicrous whatnot that the glory of James Bond lies—in the glorious bombast, the mixture of the clever and the idiotic, the willingness to say or do something deeply silly. Performing a Bond song means lowering oneself to the lovably tacky standards of the series. If Paul McCartney could do it , then why shouldn’t Sam Smith be expected to try? The strictures of the Bond song have produced glimmering turns of phrase (“I don’t need love, for what good will love do me? / Diamonds never lied to me”) and dozens of absolute howlers (my favorite, from Sheryl Crow, “Darling, you won / It’s no fun / Martinis, girls, and guns / It’s murder on our love affair”). But Bond is all about taking the good with the bad—the beautiful women and the freakish villains, the nimble quip with the boorish bit of sexism—with a sense of humor.

It’s no coincidence that Daniel Craig’s mostly dour, brute-force Bond has been given a more leaden, self-serious soundtrack. Yet at least Adele’s dark and swooning “Skyfall,” which she co-wrote with the producer Paul Epworth, performed its essential Bond-song duty, which is to give meaning to an ostensibly meaningless word or phrase. “Let the sky fall / When it crumbles / We will stand tall / Face it all together / at Skyfall,” she sings, in what turned out to be, for better or worse, a plot spoiler. In all, the song refers to the name of the movie about twenty times.

In its devotion to its title-proclaiming duties, “Skyfall” rivals what are two of the best Bond songs of all time, “ Goldfinger ” and “ Diamonds Are Forever ,” both performed in glorious high-bombast style by Bassey, and both of which begin with the title of the movies for which they were written. “Diamonds Are Forever” doesn’t need James Bond to make sense. But “Goldfinger” is basically a character sketch. Without the villain Auric Goldfinger, there’d be no reason for the masterly lyric: “He’s the man, / the man with the Midas touch / A spider’s touch.” The fealty to the silly subject matter makes for a better, more specific song, and makes its insistent kitsch all the more memorable. The song descends into a kind of marketing madness:

He loves only gold Only gold He loves gold He loves only gold Only gold He loves gold

O.K., we got it, gold. No one was more on brand than Shirley Bassey, and as far as Bond songs go, nobody did it better.

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By Joshua Rothman

By John Colapinto

By Deborah Treisman

James Bond: Every theme song from the film franchise's history

With Billie Eilish the latest star to soundtrack a Bond film, we take a look back at all the 007 themes.

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After first being announced as the performer of the 25th James Bond Song all the way back in January 2020, Billie Eilish's hit track can finally be heard in its corresponding film now No Time To Die has finally been released.

Eilish's song has broken all sorts of records, making her the youngest person ever to write and perform a Bond theme, while the tune itself was the first 007 song by a female artist to top the UK charts.

It's a good job the song has been a success, as previous performers have included the likes of Shirley Bassey, Paul McCartney, Duran Duran, Madonna and Adele – with many of their numbers remaining iconic years later.

With so many stirring spy songs to look back on, we've compiled a list of every Bond theme song released so far, starting with Eilish and stretching all the way back to Monty Norman's iconic theme for Dr No in 1962.

Billie Eilish - No Time to Die (2020)

Written by Eilish and her brother Finneas O'Connell, the latest Bond theme song had its grand unveiling at the Brit Awards in February 2020 – only for the No Time To Die film to be delayed 18 months to September 2021.

Nevertheless the song went on to achieve great success, topping the UK Singles Chart and winning a Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media. Could an Oscar soon follow?

Sam Smith - Writing's on the Wall (2015)

Prior to the announcement that Smith would be performing the theme song for 2015's Spectre, it had been heavily rumoured that Radiohead would be recording one - and indeed it later emerged that the band had had an effort turned down by the producers. Smith's Writing on the Wall, written with Jimmy Napes went on to notch both the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Original Song.

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Adele - Skyfall (2012)

Probably the most well-known Bond theme song in recent years, Adele recorded Skyfall shortly after the massive success of her second album 21 - and the track became a huge hit, reaching number one in 11 different countries. It also has the honour of being the first Bond theme to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song, Brit Award for British Single of the Year, Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song, Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song, and the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

Jack White and Alicia Keys - Another Way To Die (2008)

White Stripes frontman Jack White wrote the song for Quantum of Solace, sharing vocals with R&B superstar Alicia Keys. Like the film it soundtracked, the song had something of a mixed reception - with many commenters saying it was a strange fit as a Bond theme song.

Chris Cornell - You Know My Name (2006)

The Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman's Bond theme for Casino Royale became arguably his best known song, and was highly praised in the media - with one critic labelling it "the best Bond theme since 'A View to a Kill.'" It was seen by many as the ideal track to introduce Daniel Craig - who was making his first appearance as 007.

Madonna - Die Another Day (2002)

Producers apparently wanted a high profile singer to perform the theme tune for Pierce Brosnan's final turn as Bond - and it's safe to say they delivered. Despite something of a mixed critical reception, the song performed well in the charts and marked a significant departure from the more traditional style of previous Bond themes.

Garbage - The World Is Not Enough (1999)

Scottish-American rock band Garbage were rather a big deal back in the late 1990s, and this only boosted their profile further. Relatively 'classic Bond' in style, the track was received warmly by most critics and reached number 11 in the UK charts.

Sheryl Crow - Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

This track was chosen by producers despite numerous other songs being solicited by producers, most notably by k.d lang, who's similarly-titled song was instead used over the end credits. Crow's song was one of the more poorly received in the franchise, but still managed to garner Golden Globe and Grammy nominations.

Tina Turner - GoldenEye (1995)

Written by U2 stars Bono and The Edge, GoldenEye was a huge hit for Tina Turner, particularly in Europe, later appearing on her album Wildest Dreams. The song was fairly conventional as Bond theme - unlike the film itself, which was the first not to be based on any of Ian Fleming's works.

Gladys Knight - Licence To Kill (1989)

Knight was enlisted to perform the song for License To Kill after an earlier plan to have Eric Clapton and original Bond theme guitarist Vic Flick write a theme fell through. A big hit in Europe, it was based on the horn line from Goldfinger and is the longest James bond theme to date - at 5 minutes 43 seconds.

A-ha - The Living Daylights (1987)

Norwegian pop band A-ha were considered a rather unusual choice for a Bond theme, but this Europop number remains one of their more enduring hits. It was chosen for the theme after an earlier track by the Pet Shop Boys was rejected by the studio.

Duran Duran - A View To A Kill (1985)

One of many themes to be written with legendary Bond composer John Barry, A View To A Kill was an enormous hit for the new wave band, making it to number two on the UK singles charts for three weeks and being nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.

Rita Coolidge - All Time High (1983)

All Time High was the theme for 1983's Octopussy and marked a return for John Barry after an absence from For Your Eyes Only. Apparently the song was not named after the film because it would have been too much of a challenge to write a song with the title Octopussy! It was the first Bond theme to have an accompanying music video.

Sheena Easton - For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Nominated for an Academy Award, this track written by Bill Conti was preferred to an alternative theme that had been recorded by Blondie. It was one of few Bond tracks at the time that John Barry had not been involved with and remains one of Easton's most well-known songs.

Shirley Bassey - Moonraker (1979)

Bassey's third Bond theme had previously been offered to numerous stars including Frank Sinatra, Johnny Mathis and Kate Bush. It was recorded at very short notice, and for that reason Bassey has never considered it to be her own song - performing it far less frequently than her other two Bond themes.

Carly Simon - Nobody Does It Better (1977)

This track from The Spy Who Loved Me was the first Bond theme not to be named after its corresponding film since Dr No. It was a major hit and was nominated for Golden Globe and Academy Awards, whilst in 2004 was listed as the 67th greatest film song ever by the American Film Institute.

Lulu - The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)

John Barry considers this track to be his weakest musical contribution to the franchise, and is the only Bond theme not to have charted in either the UK or America. It is also considered by some to be one of the more raunchy numbers to have graced the series, with Lula warbling about villain Scaramanga's "powerful weapon". A-hem .

Paul McCartney & Wings - Live and Let Die (1973)

Still one of the most iconic Bond themes, this notable track reunited McCartney with George Martin - who had produced many of The Beatles biggest hits and most famous albums. At the time of its release it was the best performing Bond song ever - charting at number two in the US and nine in the UK, and being nominated for the Best Song Oscar.

Shirley Bassey - Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Another iconic title song (and Bassey's second entry to the Bond theme canon) this track was nonetheless despised by producer Harry Saltzman, allegedly due to the innuendo in the lyrics.

Louis Armstrong - We Have All The Time in the World (1969)

This was actually the secondary theme to On Her Majesty's Secret Service - there was also a self-titled orchestral number. The title is taken from the final words George Lazenby's Bond utters in the film.

Nancy Sinatra - You Only Live Twice (1967)

Considered by many to be one of the best Bond themes, this track has been widely re-recorded - and is especially known for its striking opening, which has been described as "perfection."

Tom Jones - Thunderball (1965)

Jones allegedly fainted while singing the final high note of this song - which might not had been a Bond theme at all had the original track, titled Mr Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (which had versions recorded by Dionne Warwick and Shirley Bassey) not fallen through.

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Shirley Bassey - Goldfinger (1964)

The first of Bassey's three Bond theme songs and arguably still the most iconic, this was Bassey's only song to break the US top 40, and was named the 53rd best film song by the American Film Institute.

Matt Monro - From Russia with Love (1963)

This was the first Bond film for which Barry was the primary composer, with the title song sung by popular cabaret singer Matt Monro. An instrumental version plays over the opening credits – the full song is first heard in the film over a radio, before playing as the closing credits roll.

John Barry & Orchestra, Monty Norman - James Bond Theme (1962)

One of the most famous pieces of film music of all time, this has featured in every single Bond film in some form or another since it played over the opening credits of Dr No back in 1962. The definition of iconic!

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No Time To Die was released in cinemas in the UK on 30th September – visit our Movies hub for more news and features, or find something to watch with our TV Guide .

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Check Out a Teaser of the New Bond Theme Song

And Daniel Craig gives a little tribute to old Bond.

It was no big surprise when Sam Smith was announced as the singer of the latest Bond theme song for the upcoming  Spectre.  The UK crooner has a smooth, golden voice perfect for the job. On Instagram today, he unveiled a quick snippet of what to expect. It isn't much more than some strings, but we did get a title, "Writing's on the Wall," which breaks from the tradition of naming the Bond songs directly after the film titles. As for what writing on the wall has to do with Christoph Waltz's mysterious villain in  Spectre,  let your imagination run free.

Also today, Heineken, a sponsor for  Spectre , released an ad featuring Daniel Craig that tips its hat to the campier Bond of the old days. It has a woman waterskiing behind Bond's boat mid-chase and even a cameo from Nick Nack. You may be glad Craig's modern Bond isn't like this, but we're happy to see the actor loosen up a bit.

[youtube ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=90&v=vuMvhJaWIUg[/youtube]

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Quantum of Solace Remains a Mess, But It Understands What Makes Bond Tick

Forget forced references and interminable lore dumps. All Bond needs is gin and a gun.

Casino Royale launched Bond’s Daniel Craig era with such force and vision that it made Pierce Brosnan’s Die Another Day look like a movie for espionage-loving cavemen. Ludicrous gadgets and hideous CGI were replaced with grounded spycraft and practical stunts, and the result was a tight thriller that ripped into the beating heart of Ian Fleming’s clever little thug.

For optimists, it was a roaring return to form. It was an enjoyable affair for pessimists too, but it was also a reminder that the franchise once again risked tumbling from the pinnacle it had conquered, just like it had so many times before.

Quantum of Solace, Casino Royale’s 2008 follow-up, is generally seen as having borne the pessimists out. The overwrought title was mocked from the moment it was announced, with The Guardian suggesting it reeked of a desperation to maintain a tenuous connection to Fleming’s stories, and a parody theme song commenting on Bond’s “great big man tits” proving more memorable than the generic trailer that eventually surfaced.

Reviewers weren’t much kinder to the actual movie, with suffered from production delays and the fallout of the 2007-08 Writers Guild of America strike. Accounts vary but, according to Craig , the strike left director Marc Forster with the “bare bones” of a script, forcing Forster and 007 himself to write scenes. Once the strike resolved, Joshua Zetumer was brought in to rework chunks of the film while it was being filmed, as its juicy Thanksgiving release window was considered untouchable.

Such obstacles are hardly unheard of, but they didn’t help Quantum of Solace make a good first impression. Neither did Forster’s inexperience with action. Credits like Monster’s Ball and The Kite Runner made for a solid resume, but he wasn’t Eon Production’s first choice, and Forster himself was surprised to be approached. The opening chase scene, which makes so many rapid cuts that it becomes incoherent, is an encapsulation of all the uncertainty involved.

A middling reception and a more beloved follow-up in Skyfall seemed to seal Quantum’s fate as a letdown, with complaints of “spurious grit” and “incomprehensible” writing in The Sunday Times proving typical . But that’s unfair to a movie best seen back to back with Casino Royale , not with two years of expectations weighing it down. It’s not so much a sequel as a coda, a lengthy exploration of Bond’s attempt to deal with the betrayal and death of Vesper Lynd, albeit by shooting a lot of people.

Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) presented Bond with his greatest challenge yet: the French.

Once Quantum gets its legs under it, it becomes as taut and punchy as any good Bond flick. Mathieu Amalric’s Dominic Greene isn’t entering the pantheon of villains, but his scheme to install a dictator in Bolivia in exchange for access to their precious water reserves accomplished Forster’s goal of making a more political Bond . It’s ballsy, at least by Hollywood blockbuster standards, to create a Bond villain who isn’t empowered by hulking henchmen and superweapons, but the fact that the CIA is supporting his attempt to overthrow a democratic government. When Bond’s boss’ boss joins the coup train, it’s a reminder that “villain” is a label governments often apply based on circumstances rather than morals.

It’s a brutally unsentimental film all-around. Bond and co-star Olga Kurylenko are motivated more by revenge than any particular desire to do the right thing, and after Bond coaxes Giancarlo Giannini’s Mathis out of retirement for an obviously doomed final job, Mathis bites it and Bond tenderly holds his dying colleague before dumping his corpse in a dumpster to be forgotten. It’s not John le Carré — Bond still quips, fights, and romances his way around the world — but after Casino Royale insisted on giving us a darker era of Bond, Quantum of Solace was the only movie in Craig’s quintet to be honest about what the darkness looks like.

Quantum also continues what Casino Royale started by digging deeper into what makes Bond tick. Seeing Bond race boats, shoot guns, and seduce Gemma Arterton is the main appeal here, but by the end Bond has moved on from the past and is ready to become the focused killer we see in the rest of Craig’s run. You can argue that Skyfall and No Time to Die are better films, but they’re not as compelling without the character growth established here.

For all its flaws, Quantum of Solace lets Bond stand on his own without smothering the audience in references to old glories.

That’s a lot to cram into one movie, and you can feel the script strain to contain it all as we bounce around Haiti, England, Italy, and Bolivia. But Quantum is also, compared to the lugubrious Spectre and overlong No Time to Die, refreshingly self-contained. Bond is presented with a mystery, unravels it, and then blows it up in just over 100 minutes, and no one stops to explain how his actions secretly tie into his childhood travails and the elaborate schemes of silly supervillain cabals. The action becomes cleaner and more coherent as we progress, and for all that some critics reviled its humorlessness, it even sneaks in a couple of deadpan jokes far superior to a dozen double entendres.

None of this keeps Quantum of Solace from being inferior to Casino Royale, but it does make it far better than its “the one they farted out before Skyfall ” reputation suggests. It’s a movie about Bond growing up, and you can see the franchise go through its own growing pains. Quantum of Solace is the awkward teenager of Craig’s Bond films, and is often halting and uncertain of itself. But its searing politics can’t be ignored, even if its ostensibly more adult sequels really try to.

Quantum of Solace is streaming on HBO Max .