Bond (Daniel Craig) meets his new quartermaster (Ben Whishaw) in Skyfall (2012). Filmed at The National Portrait Gallery in London, the painting they are admiring is J.M.W. Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire.
Bond Spies Jinx For The First Time
“Magnificent view.” Bond (Pierce Brosnan) meets Jinx (Halle Berry) for the first time in Die Another Day (2002). The scene wasn’t actually filmed in Cuba but in Cadiz, Spain. Costume designer Lindy Hemming said: “We wanted to pay homage to the Ursula Andress bikini and we came up with this electric orange, sexy bikini and a beautifully crafted diving belt.”
Casino Royale Torture Scene
“I’ve got a little itch down there, would you mind?” Bond is tortured by Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) in Casino Royale (2006). The wooden chair Daniel Craig is sitting on was actually fitted with a fibreglass screen underneath to prevent any unwanted injuries to the leading man.
Rosa Klebb’s Hidden Blade Shoe Attack
On this day in 1963, the scene in From Russia With Love where Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya) attacks Bond (Sean Connery) with the poisoned hidden blade in her shoe was filmed.
For Your Eyes Only Ski Chase
Bond (Roger Moore) ski’s down the mountain pursued by assassins on motorbikes in For Your Eyes Only (1981). Filmed in Cortina, Italy, the motorbikes’ wheels were fitted with special spike-laden tyres to ensure they could grip the snowy ground while travelling at 50mph.
GoldenEye’s DB5 Versus F355 Road Duel
It’s Aston Martin DB5 versus Ferrari F355 in the GoldenEye (1995) car chase between Bond (Pierce Brosnan) and Onatopp (Famke Janssen). It wasn’t the stunt drivers but Pierce Brosnan himself who caused the most damage to the DB5. He said: “We did about eight takes and they said, ‘What’s that smell?’ And I said, ‘I don’t know?’ I had been driving up the mountain with the handbrake on.”
Bond’s Moon Buggy Escape
Bond (Sean Connery) escapes Willard Whyte’s Techtronics research centre in a moon buggy in Diamonds Are Forever (1971). Production designer Ken Adam said: “The moon buggy was not 100 percent based on the actual moon lunar vehicle as director Guy Hamilton wanted it to look grotesque with these flailing mechanical arms.”
A View To A Kill Paris Chase
Bond borrows a taxi in pursuit of Mayday through the Paris streets in A View To A Kill (1985). The stunt, where the car loses its top half and then its back half, was orchestrated by coordinator Rémy Julienne. Director John Glen said: “Rémy’s English wasn’t very good and my French was even worse. We managed to communicate through drawings.”
The Attack On Piz Gloria
Today’s clip is the attack on Piz Gloria by Draco’s men in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). Due to the altitude and high winds the helicopters couldn’t land so the stuntmen had to jump out of the choppers instead. Stunt coordinator Richard Graydon said: “You didn’t know exactly how far you were going to sink into the snow. And being fairly small I found myself up to my nose, so just the top of my hat was visible.”
Quantum Of Solace Rooftop Chase
Bond chases Quantum mole Mitchell (Glen Foster) across the rooftops of Siena in Quantum Of Solace (2008). The sequence took two weeks to capture and used the largest GoCam system (cameras hanging from wires that can be moved in any direction) ever deployed for a film.
Scaramanga Reveals His Plans
On this day in 1974 filming began on the scene from The Man With The Golden Gun where Scaramanga reveals his plans to Bond. Roger Moore said: “On the first day of shooting, we had to walk into this overhang in a cave. As we’re walking in out came a thousand bats. Christopher said (imitating Dracula) “Not now Stanislaus.”
The Living Daylights’ Aston Martin V8
“I’ve had a few optional extras installed.” Bond utilises the Aston Martin V8’s array of gadgets in The Living Daylights (1987). Stunt Supervisor Chris Corbould said: “We had to fire the Aston Martin up a ramp to go over the hut. Because of the extreme cold on the first attempt, rather than firing off like mad the car just went ‘blump’ straight into the side of the hut. It was a total disaster.”
