This poster holds special meaning for me because it was the first film I ever saw in the cinema.   

It was 1972 I think, I would have been 8. My dad took me and a friend to a James Bond double bill at the Nottingham Odeon. (This was back in the days both the Nottingham Odeon and double bills existed). The other movie was Dr No, but we saw Thunderball first, and it gave me a lifelong love for cinema, and all things Bond.  

I remember it being incredibly exciting, lots of action and glamour. There were exotic locations, pretty girls, gadgets, frogmen fighting underwater like Action Man, and one liners  I was probably too young to appreciate fully. (“I think he got the point” says Bond after shooting a bad guy with a spear gun).  

It remained my favourite Bond film for years and when I saw this poster on sale a couple of years ago at Picturethiscollection I just had to have it, even though it was not cheap. This is the standard size US one-sheet (69 x 104cm), which for some reason for this film originally came in two slightly different versions – the only difference being that on mine Bond’s jet pack juts out at the top, whereas on the other it is cut at the border frame. This version is slightly more desirable as the other one was also reprinted in the 80s, leading to a lot of confusion in the market (and rip-offs from some unscrupulous sellers).  

There is some restoration around the fold lines, but it has been expertly done so you would not notice. This is the only poster I own that has been fully professionally restored, and it came ‘linen-backed’. This is a process that helps conserve older and more valuable posters – basically the paper is flattened and glued onto rice paper then onto linen. This protects it from tearing and provides a more stable base from which to repair pin holes or other imperfections, but needs to be done really well otherwise it can ruin the poster.  

Above also is the soundtrack album. Thunderball has one of the most iconic Bond theme songs, despite some nonsense lyrics (“…so he strikes – like Thunderball!”). This is in no small part due to Tom Jones’ bravura delivery. I saw him in concert many years ago in Hong Kong and I remember he belted out this cracker magnificently to kick off the  second part of his set.