The 50 Most Beautiful Shots of the James Bond Franchise

The name’s Bond. Bondathon. With twenty-four official James Bond films to conquer before No Time To Die hits theaters, Bond fan Anna Swanson and Bond newbie Meg Shields are diving deep on 007. Martinis shaken and beluga caviar in hand, the Double Take duo are making their way through the Bond corpus by era, so hang up your hats and pay attention. This entry explores the best shots of the James Bond franchise.

If you sit down and watch all twenty-four James Bond films, patterns invariably emerge. And we’re not just talking about enduring cocktail preferences or the odd recurring side character. Rather, when you look at the visual language of all the Bond films, you’ll see consistent trends: a preference for shadows, a love of a long take, and an undeniable sense of cool. That’s precisely what makes Bond films so special: they have managed to evolve over nearly sixty years while still retaining what makes Bond, Bond.

In the Sean Connery era, the vibe is very much that of an institution. Directors, title designers, and cinematographers enjoyed as much of a “tenure” as any of the 007 actors. Ted Moore shot a total of six Bond films and shares his seventh credit with Oswald Morris. A South African and a Royal Air Force veteran, Moore defined the calm, collected lens of Bond’s world. From intense static mediums to kinetic pans, Moore kicked the franchise off with a distinctly professional feel.

To date, the only cinematographer who can rival Moore’s run is Alan Hume, who shot three entries in the Roger Moore era (and is best known for shooting Return of the Jedi). After Hume comes longtime Bond camera operator Alec Mills, who performed DP duties on both of the Timothy Dalton films.

While it was less common, there were one-off cinematographers before the Pierce Brosnan era. One of the few nice things you can say about You Only Live Twice is that it is shot by Lawrence of Arabia‘s DP, Freddie Young. The vibrant and vicious On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was shot by Hammer House of Horror veteran Michael Reed. Barbarella‘s Claude Renoir shot The Spy Who Loved Me. And The Day of the Jackal‘s Jean Tournier is the man behind Moonraker.

The new millennium saw a steady stream of ever-changing talent. The Brosnan era welcomed the likes of Adrian Biddle (of Aliens prestige), David Tattersall (who shot The Green Mile), and veteran Paul Thomas Anderson cinematographer Robert Elswit. Phil Meheux introduced fans to a post-Cold War Bond with GoldenEye, and he was called back to ring in yet another era with Casino Royale.

Ultimately, the Daniel Craig era has benefitted from some top-shelf talent, from Roberto Schaefer to repeat Christopher Nolan collaborator Hoyte Van Hoytema, to the greatest working cinematographer himself: Roger Deakins. With Linus Sandgren (La La Land, First Man) behind the lens of the upcoming No Time To Die, the visual strength of the Craig era may very well prove uncontested.

This is one of the most iconic franchises in cinema history. And visuals make an icon. So let’s get into it: here are our favorite fifty shots from the Bond films.