A training scene goes wrong in the pre-credits sequence for The Living Daylights (1987).Timothy Dalton was keen to do as many of his own stunts as possible. Stunt supervisor Paul Weston said: “I knew Timothy was strong enough to do the stunts, but it’s still a 1,300-foot drop down the side of the mountain if anything went wrong. It took great courage.”
The James Bond Quiz
Consider yourself a Bond buff? Have a friend that thinks they have Q level knowledge? Looking for some fresh questions for your weekly quiz night? Here is The James Bond Quiz. Share with friends and family over a video call or simply print and see how you get on.
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Q Meets Bond In GoldenEye
Bond gets briefed by Q in GoldenEye (1995). Desmond Llewellyn, who played Q, got a surprise he wasn’t expecting when they started filming this scene: “A girl is sitting at the desk and suddenly she is ejected. Nobody had told me anything about this beforehand and I had a hell of a shock. I was trying to remember my lines and suddenly there was a whoosh and this girl disappeared from the scene.”
Bambi And Thumper Meet Bond
On this day in 1971 shooting began on Bambi (Lola Larson) and Thumper’s (Trina Parks) fight with Bond (Sean Connery) in Diamonds Are Forever. The assassins were originally conceived as men, however director Guy Hamilton changed his mind after watching the US tumbling team. He said: “I thought ‘I bet one of these girls flip-flopping would kick Bond before he knew what had hit him, and being a gentleman he’d be rather surprised’.”
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Ice Rally
Bond and Tracy try and escape Irma Bunt and Blofeld’s henchmen in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). The ice car race was filmed on a playing field in Switzerland which was flooded with water every night to turn to ice. Unfortunately the weather was so mild it kept defrosting during the day which delayed filming.
Quantum Of Solace Boat Chase
Bond takes to the water in Quantum Of Solace (2008). The scene was filmed at the harbour area in Colón, Panama doubling for Kings Quay, Haiti. Director Marc Forster remembers: “The entire boat sequence was all shot for real. There was no green screen work. When I was working with Daniel and Olga (Kurylenko) I had to make sure they were secure with the stunt work, and at the same time we got what we needed action-wise.”
Licence To Kill Mid Air Heist
“Reel him in…” Bond takes to the skies in Licence To Kill (1989) to hijack Sanchez’s plane. This sequence was shot in Key West, Florida, and the stunt was performed for real by Jake Lombard, Bond’s aerial stunt double.
Jinx Fights Frost
On this day in 2002, Halle Berry and Rosamund Pike began shooting Jinx and Miranda Frost’s fight scene in Die Another Day. Training to play a gold medal-winning Olympic fencer was a rewarding experience for actress Pike: “It is a fantastic sport for an actor. Many of the drama schools train people in it because it’s terrific for movement.”
The DB5 reveals its gadgets
Smoke screen (tick), bullet shield (tick), ejector seat (tick). Bond uses some of the gadgets on his Aston Martin DB5 in Goldfinger (1964). Production received just one prototype DB5 to kit out with all of the gadgets. Special effects supervisor John Stears remembers the first thing he did was make the hole for the ejector seat, “I marked it out, and taped off the roof of this beautiful car. I looked at it, went away and had a cup of coffee, came back, and got the drill, and drilled the hole. It was terrifying.”
Spectre Helicopter Battle
On this day in 2015, the scene from Spectre where Bond grapples with Sciarra in the helicopter was filmed. The chopper was piloted by aerobatic expert Chuck Aaron. Stunt coordinator Gary Powell said, “The pilots made it look dangerous but they were in control at all times and if they saw any indicators flag a problem, they would put the aircraft down as soon as possible.”
Cable Car Fight
Bond takes on Jaws on top of the cable car in Moonraker (1979). The fight was filmed at Sugarloaf Mountain, Rio de Janeiro and was a stunt idea originally conceived for the climax of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service ten years earlier.
GoldenEye’s Climactic Fight
On this day in 1995, shooting began on Bond and Alex Trevelyan’s climactic fight scene in GoldenEye. Pierce Brosnan’s debut 007 film was the first to extensively utilize digital effects with 140 CGI shots alongside traditional special effects including this fight scene. “The fight scene goes on and on and on,” recalled Sean Bean. “It’s a hell of a showdown. It’s not just about fighting. It’s seeing it in their eyes as much as anything — seeing the link between them and they’re having to fight to the death.”
