Moonraker had its Royal World Premiere today in 1979 at the Odeon, Leicester Square in London. Today’s clip is the attack on Hugo Drax’s space station, which was designed by Ken Adam with ex-NASA’s Harry Lange (who worked with Stanley Kubrick on 2002: A Space Odyssey) supplying the detailing to make it look as authentic as possible.
Thunderball’s Electrocution of Spectre Agent
On this day in 1965, the scene from Thunderball where Number 9 is electrocuted for embezzlement, was filmed. The agent’s chair sinking into the floor was production designer Ken Adam’s idea. He said: “I felt by this time that a Bond film needed a moving set, so it didn’t just become a tableau. And it was also quite funny.”
From Russia With Love Helicopter Attack
Bond is attacked by a SPECTRE helicopter in From Russia With Love (1963). The scene was filmed in Lochgilphead in Scotland where shooting was hampered by bad weather.
Casino Royale’s Collapsing Villa
Bond fights to get to Vesper Lynd in the collapsing Venice building in Casino Royale. The sinking Venetian villa was filmed on this day in 2006 in Pinewood’s 800,000 gallon paddock tank. Director Martin Campbell said: “Water always dictates its own pace in terms of schedule. Patience is what it’s all about. The actors have to get themselves prepared, and you can only do so many takes because of the chlorine in their eyes.”
Octopussy’s Bond Jungle Hunt
“I’m with the economy tour.” Bond (Roger Moore) is hunted by Kamal Khan (Louis Jourdan) in the jungle in Octopussy(1983) which was filmed in the Maharani of Udaipur’s overgrown garden. The scene was inspired by a short story, The Most Dangerous Game, where a man arrives on an island and is told by the host that they’d like to go hunting and he’s the quarry.
Bond Meets The Giant Jaws
“He’s on our records. A professional killer.” Bond’s first encounter with the giant Jaws (Richard Kiel) in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). Associate producer William Cartlidge said: “Richard’s teeth were overlapped by this set of special teeth so he couldn’t close his mouth properly. The result was we could never shoot on him for longer than 30 seconds after which he would start to gag.”
From Russia With Love Train Fight
On this day in 1963, shooting began on Bond (Sean Connery) and Red Grant’s (Robert Shaw) classic fight on the train in From Russia With Love. Connery and Shaw trained with wrestlers in Istanbul to get their bodies into shape for the fight sequence.
Spectre’s Blofeld Takedown
Five years ago today, the Spectre crew were filming Bond’s confrontation with Blofeld on Westminster Bridge. As well as filming on the actual bridge, a replica was also created on the 007 Stage at Pinewood Studio surrounded by a 35 foot high illuminated screen of the London cityscape at night.
Diamonds Are Forever Fake Blofeld Death
On this day in 1971, shooting began on the Diamonds Are Forever pre-credits sequence in which Bond (Sean Connery) kills the fake Blofeld (Charles Gray) in a mudbath. The mud was actually made from mashed potatoes. Production Designer Ken Adam said, “After 24 hours those mashed potatoes began to smell, and the smell became unbearable. The whole stage smelled of it.”
Tomorrow Never Dies Bike Shop Fight
On this day in 1997, the bike shop fight scene from Tomorrow Never Dies was filmed at Frogmore Studios with Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh) showing off her martial arts skills.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’s Opening Scene
“This never happened to the other fellow.” The opening scene of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) has Bond rescuing Tracy (Diana Rigg) from Draco’s men on Guincho Beach in Portugal. George Lazenby’s line came from an in-joke from the set that made it into the final film. “When I’d have to work at the weekends, the stuntmen would tell me, ‘Connery never did weekends’. I’d say, ‘That never happened to the other fellow eh?’”
Tomorrow Never Dies Jet Escape
007 commandeers a jet to escape the arms bazaar in the pre-credits sequence for Tomorrow Never Dies (1997). This scene was filmed at Balcons de Peyresourde in the French Pyrenees.
