The James Bond films, ranked

Rankings wind me up, but I'm gonna do it anyway!

Let’s say this right off the bat: I find fans’ obsessions with ranking things to be tiresome a lot of the time. Yes, some works are better than others, but two things are also true at the same time.

One. Imagining that everything is on a one-dimensional ladder is an impossibly constrained frame. The space of works is multi-dimensional. John Barry’s score for Out Of Africa (1985) might be one I play and enjoy more than, say, his Dutchman (1966), but Dutchman is the better stark drama score.

Context adds dimensions.

Two: If I can’t be with whatever I’m playing now as if it’s the only thing in the world in this moment, I will never enjoy anything to its fullest.

Now, having bashed what I’m about to do, I did once participate in a ranking of the James Bond films and the James Bond film scores.

For nothing more than your amusement, I share them now.

Enjoy, and let me know what you think.