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.”
Goldfinger Pre-Credits Sequence
On this day in 1964, shooting began on the pre-credits sequence for Goldfinger where Bond destroys the hidden heroin lab. The immaculate white dinner jacket worn by 007 (revealed from beneath his dry suit) was rented from Sean Connery’s earlier film Woman Of Straw.
The World Is Not Enough Bank Visit
Bond makes an explosive visit to La Banque Suisse de L’industrie in Bilbao, Spain in The World Is Not Enough (1999). The first draft of the script for the film was simply entitled “Elektra”, the final title was taken from the Bond family motto which in Latin is ‘Orbis non sufficit’.
Bond Meets Silva in Skyfall
Bond meets Silva for the first time in Skyfall (2012). In the first draft of the script for Bond 23, the villain was simply called “Javier Bardem” in anticipation of casting the actor in the role.
Licence To Kill’s Sea Escape
In this scene from Licence To Kill (1989) Bond makes a quick getaway from the Wavekrest. Second unit director Arthur Wooster said: “We had barefoot-skiing world champion Dave Reinhardt doing the stunt for us. There was so much water flying around, which meant that we could get big close-ups of his feet. Later we added shots of Tim.”
Octopussy’s Tuk Tuk Chase In India
Bond (Roger Moore) and Vijay (Vijay Amritraj) try to lose Gobinda and his men in Octopussy (1983). Filmed in Udaipur, India, Roger Moore said: “Working on such locations was always very difficult because Bond is not supposed to sweat. Bond’s hair doesn’t get untidy. He’s always in a dinner jacket. I became exhausted changing shirts so I didn’t look as though I was perspiring.”
Bond Fights Largo In Thunderball
Bond and Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi) battle for control of the Disco Volante in Thunderball (1965). Largo’s boat was designed by Sir Ken Adam from an old hydrofoil and catamaran and took four months to build. Adam said: “It had to be 160ft long and it had to travel at 50 knots and no such yacht existed at that time. It was very experimental as the two hulls had to work independently.”
Bond And Onatopp’s Sauna Meet
“No more foreplay.” Bond (Pierce Brosnan) gets to grips with Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) in GoldenEye (1995). Famke Janssen said: “There’s a little of me in Xenia and a lot in her that I would love to do, although I haven’t killed anybody with my thighs… yet.”
The Spy Who Loved Me Train Fight
On this day in 1977 The Spy Who Loved Me had its Royal World Premiere in London. In today’s clip Bond gets to grips with Jaws on the train. For the moment where Jaws is thrown out of the window, Stuntman Bob Simmons chose to use real plate-glass instead of prop glass. Director John Glen said: “He just launched himself and took it on the forehead. Stuntmen never admit they’re hurt, but he did have a few cuts. I was amazed he was still alive.”
