(Check out the street sweeper in the background.)
As Bond and Honey Ryder make their way to dinner in Dr. No’s lair in the first James Bond movie Dr. No (1961), you’ll notice 007 do a double-take on a particular piece of artwork before walking up some stairs:
The painting (Portrait of the Duke of Wellington by Francisco de Goya) was notable at the time of the movie as a pop culture reference, since in real life it was stolen. Bond’s look at the painting shows his surprise that Dr. No is the perpetrator.
In No Time To Die (2021), right before Bond (Daniel Craig) gets coaxed out of “retirement,” we see the simple solitary island life he leads, content with the world. After a successful snapper catch/diving session, he comes to port in his sweet sailboat (with Red Ensign flag on the stern) and his speargun, flippers and snorkel in tow. He’s not dressed to impress here, as his t-shirt has multiple holes and I’d advise not to wear those dorky croakies anywhere in public. He seems carefree.
Eagle-eyed James Bond fans would recognize the setting as the real-world Goldeneye estate where Ian Fleming first started writing the James Bond novels – an awesome hat-tip to Bond history. My only complaint is that we didn’t see more of Bond’s island life. It would have been great to go along with him on his diving session or see how he passes the time.
The first minute of Skyfall (2012) is just awesome. Like other Craig Bond movies, it dabbles in change from the traditional Bond formula and in this case, the gunbarrel sequence with a blaring James Bond theme is nowhere to be found. The originalist in me was first skeptical against this change, but tacking it on to the end (as in this movie and in Quantum Of Solace (2008)) adds a certain awesome celebratory bookend to a James Bond movie. I remember feeling refreshed at the end of Quantum because of this.
But back to the start of Skyfall – I remember the high anticipation as the vanity logos appeared for MGM and their Leo the Lion roar, and the silent, classic Columbia logo. And instead of the traditional gunbarrel, the camera isn’t even in focus for the last 20 seconds of the first minute of the movie but it didn’t matter. When Bond’s figure appears and the horns make that signature James Bond intro sound – wow! The hair stood up on the back of my neck and I was locked in. A perfect way to start a James Bond movie!
Daniel Craig looking like a spy in Skyfall (2012)
The World Is Not Enough (1999) boasts one of the quickest gambling sequences in any of the James Bond movies. Elektra King (Sophie Marceau) playfully joins James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) at Valentin Zukovsky’s (Robbie Coltrane) casino, L’Or Noir (Black Gold). Bond fears for her safety as the casino is filled with people from rival oil companies, so he insists they leave right away.
Although she doesn’t seem like the gambling type anyway, King abides. They are taken to a private room where Zukovsky credits her with $1 million dollars from her late father’s casino account. Instead of risking it on blackjack or other casino games, however, King prefers a straight up single, high card draw. A pity – since a private blackjack sequence with Bond, King and Zukovsky would be pure entertainment.
The cards for the shortest game of war are revealed and King loses – her queen of hearts is beaten by Zukovsky’s ace of clubs. But not before she drops a significant quote: “There is no point in living if you can’t feel alive.” …the same quote used by Renard later in the movie that lets Bond know that Elektra is not who she seems.
The quickest gambling sequence of any James Bond movie in The World Is Not Enough (1999)…PS peek the cameo by producer Michael G. Wilson!
It’s cool we get a sneak peek into Commander James Bond of the Royal Navy’s funeral in You Only Live Twice (1967). As a secret agent, however, it’s surprising to see his funeral well attended and “known” judging by the crowds and mystery man using binoculars to verify Bond’s body is “buried” at sea. But it makes sense after the start of the movie reveals that “our man in Hong Kong” was “killed” while on assignment investigating the stolen US spacecraft. Surely his actions and efforts prevented further escalations in the international incident, and maybe even the next world war.
Bond’s memorial is short-lived though. As the movie’s title suggests, he’s saved from his grave at sea and boards a British Navy vessel to get back on the job, now with better cover.
So this sharp knife gadget appears in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) while Bond and Triple X walk through the makeshift Q Branch. Bond comments, “That’ll bring tears to your eyes.” when it pops up in a forceful, deadly manner
It’s obviously supposed to be something, I just have no idea what…the box that the Q Branch technician has it covered with is pretty non-descript.
Any ideas what it could be???
EDIT: Twitter user Ibrahim_M_ says that it’s a camel saddle…looking up some camel saddle images, I think he’s right! Mystery solved! 🙂
A taxidermied tiger flicks his tongue in Casino Royale (1967)
Yes, the above GIF is from a James Bond movie. An unofficial one at least: Casino Royale (1967)
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