“That which we are, we are. One equal temper of heroic hearts made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find and not to yield” – M, reciting Tennyson. Silva (Javier Bardem) attacks M at the government board of inquiry in Skyfall (2012).
Rosa Klebb Tests Red Grant
On this day in 1927, Robert Shaw who played Red Grant in From Russia With Love was born. In this scene, Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya) visits the SPECTRE training facility to check on Grant’s suitability for his mission. The scene was filmed in the gardens of Pinewood Studios.
Bond Versus Zao Frozen Lake Chase
Bond (Pierce Brosnan) in his Aston Martin Vanquish duels with Zao (Rick Yune) in the Jaguar XKR on the frozen lake in Die Another Day (2002). Yune said: “You have these two powerful machines that are built for battle, but they’re facing off against each other as if in a ballet, dancing on ice.”
Bond’s Visit To The Gunsmith
“I’m now aiming precisely at your groin…” On this day in 1974, director Guy Hamilton filmed Bond’s (Roger Moore) visit to gunsmith Lazar (Marne Maitland) in The Man With The Golden Gun.
Bond Attempts To Kill Sanchez
On this day in 1986 Timothy Dalton was announced as the fourth actor to play James Bond. In this scene from Licence To Kill (1989), Bond attempts to assassinate the drug baron Sanchez (Robert Davi).
007 Discovers Jill Masterson
007 (Sean Connery) discovers Jill Masterson’s (Shirley Eaton) gold painted body in Goldfinger (1964). Eaton said: “I had the gold painted on me with a paintbrush. It was make-up with millions of gold particles in and it took about an hour and a half to apply.”
Bond At The Opera In Austria
Bond identifies members of Quantum watching the performance of Tosca in Quantum Of Solace (2008). The scene was filmed in Bregenz, Austria at the largest outdoor auditorium in Europe, on the shores of Lake Constance.
Bond’s Train Fight With Tee Hee
“Just being disarming darling.” James Bond (Roger Moore) gets an unexpected visitor to his train carriage in the shape of claw-handed henchman Tee Hee (Julius W. Harris) in Live And Let Die (1973). Harris said: “When we had the fight on the train, Roger and I rehearsed that whole thing together. We didn’t want any stuntmen because it was impossible for someone to double for me.”
Spectre’s Secret Rome Meeting
007 (or should that be Mickey Mouse) infiltrates the secret Rome meeting in Spectre (2015). The scene was filmed at Pinewood, production designer Dennis Gassner said: “When designing that scene, it was all about power; that was what we were looking for. The original location that we modelled our interior on was the Royal Palace of Caserta in Naples.”
A View To A Kill’s Ski Chase
Bond (Roger Moore) is chased by the Russians in the pre-credit sequence for A View To A Kill which was filmed on this day in 1984. 007’s co-pilot in the submarine, Kimberley Jones, was played by Mary Stavin who was crowned Miss World 1977 and also appeared in Octopussy (1983).
Moneypenny’s Close Shave
“Sometimes the old ways are the best…” Bond (Daniel Craig) has a close shave with Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) in Skyfall (2012). Harris said: “I was nervous, it was one of my first days of shooting on the film. I had never used a cut-throat razor before so I practiced on balloons and graduated to members of the crew.”
Bond’s Escape From Carver HQ
“They’ll print anything these days…” Bond (Pierce Brosnan) tries to escape from Carver’s Hamburg HQ in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997). The printing press fight sequence was actually filmed at Harmsworth Quays Printing in Rotherhithe, South London.
