Jump to content
When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.
  • Current Donation Goals

The Real Bond Nato


ShawnBeever

Recommended Posts

  • 2 weeks later...

I have to say I'm a bit doubtful that no-one has noticed this on the original film but when reprocessed to digital it appears. Could it be bleed between the two colours? Also the black and grey are standard regimental colours, I quote - "The colours are actually the genuine regimental colours of the General Service Corps, and it is appropriate that a spy would be attached to the General Service Corps. Military (Army) personnel employed on covert intelligence duties were seconded to the GSC whilst employed on these duties but Commander Bond RN would never have been seconded to the GSC as a Royal Navy officer. They are also the colours of a London Gentleman's private club." Bond's strap is highly unlikely to have been a specially produced one and is more likely to be one that is widely available. Have any of these straps with the thin red bands turned up anywhere? That might be a better possible proof.

The jury is still out on this one as far as I am concerned. Also I like the Black/grey look!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have to say I'm a bit doubtful that no-one has noticed this on the original film but when reprocessed to digital it appears. Could it be bleed between the two colours? Also the black and grey are standard regimental colours, I quote - "The colours are actually the genuine regimental colours of the General Service Corps, and it is appropriate that a spy would be attached to the General Service Corps. Military (Army) personnel employed on covert intelligence duties were seconded to the GSC whilst employed on these duties but Commander Bond RN would never have been seconded to the GSC as a Royal Navy officer. They are also the colours of a London Gentleman's private club." Bond's strap is highly unlikely to have been a specially produced one and is more likely to be one that is widely available. Have any of these straps with the thin red bands turned up anywhere? That might be a better possible proof.

The jury is still out on this one as far as I am concerned. Also I like the Black/grey look!

Did you read this?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Did you read this?

I hadn't read your post Freddy, but again you talk abut a screen shot. That has to be digital correct? It is that which creates the doubt in my mind. These red strips do not seem to have been noticed in the film stock I assume. I do stress that you may well be right, but for me at the moment there is doubt, and I don't like the look of the straps with the red strips in any case so I'll keep the grey/black one. Also the grey/black one is so ingrained with the public at large I don't want to give the great unwashed another reason to say "That's a fake, the strap is all wrong" :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hadn't read your post Freddy, but again you talk abut a screen shot. That has to be digital correct? It is that which creates the doubt in my mind. These red strips do not seem to have been noticed in the film stock I assume. I do stress that you may well be right, but for me at the moment there is doubt, and I don't like the look of the straps with the red strips in any case so I'll keep the grey/black one. Also the grey/black one is so ingrained with the public at large I don't want to give the great unwashed another reason to say "That's a fake, the strap is all wrong" :D

This has been well known, and discussed ad-infinitum on various gen forums, bond forums, and rep forums. It's been in the film forever, with some saying years ago that it was a mistake due to the technicolor process.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hadn't read your post Freddy, but again you talk abut a screen shot. That has to be digital correct? It is that which creates the doubt in my mind. These red strips do not seem to have been noticed in the film stock I assume. I do stress that you may well be right, but for me at the moment there is doubt, and I don't like the look of the straps with the red strips in any case so I'll keep the grey/black one. Also the grey/black one is so ingrained with the public at large I don't want to give the great unwashed another reason to say "That's a fake, the strap is all wrong" :D

I realize the prevailing contention is that Connery's Sub was fitted with a black & gray NATO strap in the early Bond films, But I believe that supposition is wrong. The screenshot I posted was taken from my 'restored/remastered' DVD copy of 'Goldfinger' as displayed via VLC Media Player (my monitor is color-corrected). I have an un-remastered VHS copy of 'Goldfinger' (probably 20 years old at this point), which, although considerably poorer in quality than the DVD version, hints at Bond's strap as containing some shades of color other than black or gray (the print is not clear enough at this time to make out the exact colors, but they are definitely different than the other 2). And, although it has been many years since I last saw a cinema (celluloid film) showing of 'Goldfinger', I recall seeing the same red bands, which is the reason I spent the time to research this & post my DVD findings. Of course, my findings are just that, my findings. But I am quite confident they are correct.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I believe the misconception arose due to the access people previously had to the footage. It's much easier to determine a detail when one can pause and 'frame by frame' an HD DVD, than if one was, say, sitting at the back of a cinema, and only getting an 'on-screen glimpse' of the detail. There are people in the world who think that, in Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, Anakin Skywalker wore black clothing, where the truth is, he wore dark brown... People's perceptions are what are being called into play here, against the hard facts. Having seen the stills provided, I am in no doubt whatsoever that there is a red stripe in the weave of the strap, however, that is a case of having an 'untainted sample' in front of me for unlimited examination, rather than a quick glimpse on a cinema screen, and I can quite understand how someone who has not had such an oportunity of examination, to simply think 'Yeah, grey and black...' Someone can be wearing charcoal pants, and the majority of people will simply think they are black... They might 'look black', and people might think they're black, but, that doesn't mean that they actually are black ;) This strap is a prime example of that. I don't think the red is caused by any kind of result of the filming process, but rather an entirely intentional decision during the weaving of the fabric. This level of detail might have only recently come to light, but, that does not mean that it was not their all along ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Guys!

Thanks for noticing my Real Bond NATO project. This grew out of a series of discussions over on the Military Watch Resource Forum. It's been a long process and a bigger investment than I had anticipated, but I think everyone will be very pleased with the results.

As for the debate about the colors, I would urge everyone to go out and get the new early Bond films on BluRay disc. I highly recommend this new technology. Viewed on a 1080dpi television, the level of detail is amazing. On the Dr. No disc they have a special feature that is a short documentary about how they digitized the films for BluRay. They went back to the original negatives (almost unheard of when making prints -- usually a "master print" is used.) Each frame was digitally scanned at a resoultion HIGHER than the 35mm film stock, so every bit of visual information was captured. These BluRay discs look better than the movie did on the big screen. The bottom line: The red stripes are clear and obvious both in Thunderball and Goldfinger. The mystery really is solved.

If you are interested in getting one of the Real Bond NATOs, please register for my mailing list at: Sign Up Form Link This will put you on the early sale notificaton list and make you eligible for special offers.

Below is a photo of the actual prototype webbing of the straps.

Thanks again!

Cam from Corvus

bondcorr.jpg

Edited by camfam
Link to comment
Share on other sites

How very cool of you to drop by the site. I have Goldfinger on BluRay and he's 100% correct. Definitely going to get one of these for my gen 5512.

Hi Guys!

Thanks for noticing my Real Bond NATO project. This grew out of a series of discussions over on the Military Watch Resource Forum. It's been a long process and a bigger investment than I had anticipated, but I think everyone will be very pleased with the results.

As for the debate about the colors, I would urge everyone to go out and get the new early Bond films on BluRay disc. I highly recommend this new technology. Viewed on a 1080dpi television, the level of detail is amazing. On the Dr. No disc they have a special feature that is a short documentary about how they digitized the films for BluRay. They went back to the original negatives (almost unheard of when making prints -- usually a "master print" is used.) Each frame was digitally scanned at a resoultion HIGHER than the 35mm film stock, so every bit of visual information was captured. These BluRay discs look better than the movie did on the big screen. The bottom line: The red stripes are clear and obvious both in Thunderball and Goldfinger. The mystery really is solved.

If you are interested in getting one of the Real Bond NATOs, please register for my mailing list at: Sign Up Form Link This will put you on the early sale notificaton list and make you eligible for special offers.

Below is a photo of the actual prototype webbing of the straps.

Thanks again!

Cam from Corvus

bondcorr.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you are interested in getting one of the Real Bond NATOs, please register for my mailing list at: Sign Up Form Link This will put you on the early sale notificaton list and make you eligible for special offers.

Below is a photo of the actual prototype webbing of the straps.

Cam from Corvus

Cam - Thanks for the post (I have registered on your list). It looks like you got the design & colors right but, to be clear, Bond's strap was not a NATO. It is just a plain strap with a buckle at 1 end (see this link). If your plans are to make NATOs, would it be possible to produce at least 1 plain strap for me (though I think it is highly likely that others will request the same thing)?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...
Please Sign In or Sign Up