Sunday, March 4, 2012

Bond loses licence to thrill

Pierce Brosnan and Sophie Marceau as Bond and Elektra King Steamy clinch: Pierce Brosnan and Sophie Marceau

The latest James Bond movie has proved to be more than enough for ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel.

007
The promoters of The World Is Not Enough have been forced to touch-up posters for the film because the images are too sexy.

French actress Sophie Marceau's evening dress has been repainted with sleeves - and instead of leaning against co-star Pierce Brosnan, she is now shown hidden behind the barrel of his gun.

Ben Kalifi from the Globus Group, the film's promoters in Israel, said: "To my regret, it is forbidden in our country to depict on billboards a girl dressed in a sleeveless top or in any way touching a man."

Orthodox Jews follow a strict dress code
Last August, publicity posters for the Disney film Tarzan were also branded obscene by orthodox Jews in Israel.

They said the sight of the king of the jungle swinging through the forest in nothing more than a loincloth was offensive to their community.

Orthodox Jews follow strict codes of living, shunning television in favour of biblical study and promoting a lifestyle of morality, modesty and decency.

The new 007 film, which has opened at a record 33 cinemas in Israel, is the number one film in the US where it pulled in $37m (�25m) at the box office in its opening weekend - the best-ever opening for a Bond film.

James Bond makes his getaway in The World Is Not Enough Explosive: Bond has proved to be a box office hit
The World Is Not Enough is also breaking records in Cambodia where it is being hailed as the fastest film to hit the shelves of pirate video sellers.

"We are getting so quick now, this time we had copies on sale even before the film's premiere in the United States," boasted Van Ny, who runs a stall in a Phnom Penh market.

She said pirate copies of the film had been sent by "connections" in the US who had secured unauthorised previews of the movie.

Traders claim their ingenuity has made Cambodia one of the fastest and cheapest pirate suppliers in the world.