20 years ago today, “GoldenEye,” the 17th canon James Bond movie, opened in U.S. theaters.
The film marked a new era in James Bond films: It was the first featuring Pierce Brosnan as the British spy, the first with Judi Dench in the role of M, and the first 007 movie made after the end of the Cold War.
The fact that this was a new Bond for a new time was perhaps most apparent in the scene when we first see Dench”s M face-to-face with Brosnan”s Bond. She”s commanding, blunt, cold and – at this point – doesn”t like Bond. “I think you”re a sexist, misogynist dinosaur, a relic of the Cold War,” she tells him.
Dench went on to play the head of MI6 in six more Bond films, plus a brief appearance in this year”s “Spectre.” Brosnan played Bond in four movies.
If you want to know what Brosnan thought of the latest 007 movie, you can read what he told HitFix about “Spectre” here.
For some, of course, just as memorable as “GoldenEye” the movie was “GoldenEye” the Nintendo 64 video game, released in 1997.
Other notable November 17 happenings in pop culture history:
• 1933: The Marx Brothers” “Duck Soup” was released.
• 1974: ABBA began their first tour outside of Sweden with a concert in Copenhagen.
• 1980: John Lennon”s “Double Fantasy” album was released in both the U.S. and the U.K. on vinyl.
• 1989: Disney”s “The Little Mermaid” opened in theaters.
• 1998: Whitney Houston released her fourth studio album, “My Love Is Your Love.”
• 2000: “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” directed by Ron Howard and starring Jim Carrey, was released in theaters. It was the first Dr. Seuss book to be adapted into a full-length feature film.
• 2003: Britney Spears, at 21 years old, became the youngest singer to receive a star on the Walk of Fame (and the youngest person, tied with “Little House on the Prairie” actress Melissa Gilbert, who got her star in 1985).
• 2009: Justin Bieber”s debut EP, “My World,” was released.
Birthdays: “Taxi” actor Danny DeVito (turns 71 today), “Lucifer” actor Tom Ellis (37), “Mean Girls” actress Rachel McAdams (37), “Saturday Night Live” producer Lorne Michaels (71), “Arrow” actor David Ramsey (44), talk show host Jonathan Ross (55), drag queen and TV producer RuPaul (55), “Raging Bull” director Martin Scorsese (73)