In “Spectre” James Bond was traveling to Mexico, Italy, Austria and Marocco. While he was in a train with Madeleine Swann (Lea Seydoux) in North Africa, three members of MI6 met in Rules restaurant in London. Miss Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Whishaw) informed M (Ralph Finnes) that they had found where James Bond was heading to. Their boss didn’t believe it was possible to help 007. He went out from the restaurant in the rainstream. The audience could see dissapointed faces of Miss Moneypenny and Q behind the window with the restaurant logo.
The sequence was filmed at Rules restaurant at Maiden Lane, Covent Garden. The restaurant established by Thomas Rule in 1798 is the oldest one in London.The scene was filmed on May 22nd 2015. The Rules, which is usually open seven days a week, was closed also the day before shooting. The restaurant published on its website rather mysterious note that it would be closed due to “essential work being carried out in the kitchen”.
For the scene, metal-framed structure with lights was put up above the narrow street. To create heavy rain, water sprinklers were used. Cameraman had to sit under umbrella.
The discussion between the three characters was filmed at the table located in front of the main entrance to the restaurant (photo below).
It is worth to add that Ralph Finnes has been involved in filming at Rules restaurant over a dozen years before, when he played Maurice Bendrix in “The End of the Affair”. The restaurant has been also filming location of a few scenes in “Downton Abbey” TV series.
In ‘A View to a Kill’ Paris was location of a spectacular jump from the top of the Eiffel Tower as well as high-speed car chase along the Seine river.
James Bond arrived to Paris to meet French agent Achilles Aubergine. While they were talking in the restaurant located mid-way up the Eiffel Tower Aubergine was killed by black-clothed assassin – May Day. The restaurant scene was filmed in Pinewood Studios near London. The jump and the car chase were filmed on location in Paris.
The Eiffel Tower
To get a permission to film the jump from the Eiffel Tower the producers had to deal with over thirty separate authorities. It was nearly ruined when two people (a man and a woman) jumped from the Eiffel Tower unauthorized. Fortunately the permission was not canceled and filming in Paris could begin.
The Eiffel Tower
B.J. Worth and Don Caldvedt were two stuntmen hired to jump from the Eiffel Tower. To prepare properly for the stunt, they completed 22 practice jumps from a hot air balloon. The plan was to perform a three-second free fall before opening their parachutes.
B.J. Worth later said that the wind in their ears served as their altimeter. At a certain pitch, they knew three seconds had passed and it was time to deploy the parachute.
A special jumping platform was built at the top of the tower so they could clear the structure safely, as the base is much wider than the top. Early in the morning, B.J. Worth was the first to step onto the platform. He shouted, “This one is for Cubby!”—a tribute to Albert R. Broccoli—and jumped. After waiting three seconds, he opened his parachute and landed safely beside his wife and daughter. He performed so well on the first take that Broccoli decided not to take any additional risks and canceled the remaining jumps.
Don Caldvedt, who had been B.J. Worth’s backup, wanted to jump so badly that he even offered to do it for free, but he was not given the opportunity. Determined, he called a friend and proposed making an unauthorized jump at 7 a.m., before the crew’s arrival.
However, they did not know that the entire film crew had also arrived very early that morning to prepare for shooting on the tower. As the director was selecting camera angles, Don Caldvedt suddenly dropped into view in free fall, his parachute opening with a loud snap. A few seconds later, his friend repeated the stunt.
For the second time, the production nearly lost its filming permission, and B.J. Worth was forced to fire Don Caldvedt.
Below you can see a few photos with a view that stuntmen could see from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
View from the Eiffel Tower at Trocadero Gardens and La Defence district in background.View from the Eiffel Tower at the Champ de Mars.View from the Eiffel Tower at the Champ de Mars with the Montparnasse Tower in background.View from the Eiffel Tower at the Champ de Mars.View from the Eiffel Tower at the Champ de Mars.View from the Eiffel Tower at Pont d’lena.View from the Eiffel Tower towards the east with the church of Saint-Sulpice in the middle and the Pantheon on the right.View from the Eiffel Tower towards the east with the Dome of Les Invalides on the left and the Pantheon in background.
May Day made a swan-dive and parachuted away over the Seine River. James Bond took up pursuit on the roof of an elevator riding down, where he stole a taxi and began a high-speed car chase, during which he drove down the stairs, jumped over the bus and sheared off the car’s roof and back-half. May Day landed on a boat with a wedding reception onboard. 007 parked his damaged car on a bridge and jumped on the same boat, where he landed in the wedding cake. The killer managed to escape.
Stunt pilot Marc Wolff recalls working on the set in Paris: That was quite a funny experience for me. I had a unique permission to fly in the centre of Paris but the permission required me to stay over the river Seine. The director wanted to relate the tower, the river, the city and the parachutist in one shot. The place the parachutist was supposed to land was between the tower and the river. To get a shot of the tower, the river, the parachutist’s landing site and the city of Paris in the background, I needed to be on the opposite side (the south side) of the tower, off the river, so I went around the back side of the tower to get the shot. When I landed back at the Paris heliport at Issy les Moulineaux, the police came and said that I did something called ‘bavarder’. I speak a bit of French and ‘bavarder’ means chatting or gossiping so at first I didn’t understand what they meant. I discovered it was slang and that I had ‘wandered’ off my permitted track when I went around the back side of the tower. He slapped me on the hand and said: ‘Don’t do it again’. Fortunately we didn’t need to do it again. He also added: The timing is critical. We talk about it in great detail; we discuss where the camera should be, and at what height, at each moment in the shot. So with the jump from the Eiffel Tower, I had to know how long he/she was going to free fall, how quickly the canopy would open and how long he/she would be under canopy. I knew the framing that they wanted for the opening frame so I had to work out the timing required to get from that position to the end-frame position within the timing the director wanted and the parachute gave us. When we have the opportunity to rehearse, we obviously do that. We always film the rehearsals because quite often it can be the best take. In this case we didn’t have such an opportunity. We just had to be in the right place at the right time, which is why they bring in someone like me rather than using a local pilot. I’ve got the experience and skill and the best chance of of getting it right first time. (Interview with Marc Wolff – pilot who has worked on 12 Bond films)
Car chase coordinator was Remy Julienne and one the stuntmen was his son. Film director John Glen mentioned a few years later that Jullienne’s english was not very good and his french was even worst so they managed to communicate through drawings.
Renault 11 from ‘A View to a Kill’ at ‘Bond in Motion’ exhibition in Prague, Czech Republic in 2023.
Below you can see photos of the car chase filming location. In the first two pictures there are stairs between Quai Branly at the Eiffel Tower and Port de la Bourdonnais at the Seine River where the beginning of the sequence with James Bond in taxi driving down the stairs was filmed. In the next picture there is a Port de la Bourdonnais seen from the Pont de l’Alma bridge where next seconds of the sequence were filmed.
– Stairs between Quai Branly at the Eiffel Tower and Port de la Bourdonnais at the Seine river.
View from the Pont de l’Alma at the Port de la Bourdonnais at the Seine river with the Eiffel Tower in background.
The scene with May Day landing on the boat was actually filmed before the jump from the top of the Eiffel tower. It was B. J. Worth who did the scene. He jumped from the helicopter (Marc Wolff was the pilot – read an interview with him in INTERVIEWS section: Interview with Marc Wolff – pilot who has worked on 12 Bond films). When he was at 500 feet he said ‘Action!’ over the radio in his hand and the boat parked underneath one bridge took off. He had to repeat the jump several times.
Below you can see the bridge Alexandre III where James Bond parked cut in half taxi and jumped on the boat.
View from the Eiffel Tower at the Pont Alexandre III bridge and Place de la Concorde in background.
View from the Esplanade des Invalides at the Pont Alexandre III bridge with the Grand Palais in background.
In the next scene James Bond was picked up from the Paris police station by M. The car with 007, his boss and the accompanying Sir Godfrey came out from the building at Quai de l’Horloge. While M reprimanded James Bond they drove across the bridge Alexandre III, from which 007 jumped on the boat.
Sources: – A View to a Kill Audio Commentary, A View to a Kill Special Edition, Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation, 2006 – Inside ‘A View to a Kill’. An Original Documentary, dir. John Cork, Danjaq, LCC and United Artists Corporation, 2000 – ‘James Bond. Szpieg którego kochamy’”’ Michał Grzesiek, Wydawnictwo Bukowy Las 2011.
In three James Bond films the MI6 headquarters, where M’s office was located, was portrayed by the Old War Office Building in Whitehall, London.
The Old War Office – Whitehall, London
For the first time the building featured in an establishing shot in “Octopussy”. We can see Whitehall with the Trafalgar Square in background and the Old War Office on the right. Inside the office there were Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) with her assistant – Penelope Smallbone (Michaela Clavell). The producers were looking for someone to replace Lois Maxwell who was playing Miss Moneypenny from the first James Bond film. They could not find anyone for replacement so they decided to introduce the assistant.
In “A View to a Kill” James Bond reported in the MI6 office right after opening credits with Duran Duran song (read more in Duran Duran in “A View to a Kill”). Camera briefly followed one of a horse guard on the other side of Whitehall and turned over to the Old War Office. Inside the office there were 007 and Moneypenny played for the last time by Lois Maxwell. She was the same age as Roger Moore (both born in 1927), who also played in James Bond film for the last time. Lois Maxwell was Miss Moneypenny for 23 years in 14 James Bond films.
For the third time the Old War Office building was presented as MI6 headquarters in establishing shot in “Licence to Kill”, similar to the shot from “Octopussy”. The scene inside the office was filmed in a studio in Mexico.
In all three sequencies there were red double-deckers on the street. They are still present on the Whitehall.The Old War Office building or actually its domed towers (one of them in picture below) returned to James Bond film in “Skyfall”.
At the end of the film James Bond was standing on a top of a building looking at London panorama. The scene was filmed on the roof of Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DECC). The building can be seen as first from left in a photo below and in background in the next photo. There is also the Union Flag between domed towers on the roof of the Old War Office as it was seen in “Skyfall”.
Standing on the roof James Bond was looking at the Big Ben in background (it can be seen also from the street as presented in photo below). There were two domed towers on the Old War Office on the right.
Shortly Moneypenny joined Bond standing on the roof. In the next scene they were both talking in MI6 office. The headquarters at Vauxhall Cross (that is real headquarters of British Secret Intelligence Service) was destroyed at the beginning of the filmed so the office returned to Whitehall, but it was not clear to which building.
Sources:
– A View to a Kill Audio Commentary, A View to a Kill Special Edition, Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation, 2006
– „James Bond. Szpieg którego kochamy” Michał Grzesiek, Wydawnictwo Bukowy Las 2011
– Octopussy Audio Commentary, Octopussy Special Edition, Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation, 2006
– http://www.filmweb.pl
– http://www.mi6-hq.com
James Bond returned to Venice in 1978 in ‘Moonraker’ (15 years after ‘From Russia with Love’). 007 played by Roger Moore arrived by gondola to St. Mark’s Square.
Gondolas moored at St. Mark’s Square.
He entered the museum-lobby of the Venini Glass Works that belonged to his main opponent – Hugo Drax. The scene was filmed in real Venini shop located at Piazzetta dei Leoncini next to Saint Mark’s Basilica.
St Mark’s Square. Piazzetta dei Leoncini in the middle of the picture.Venini shop (left) and the Basilica of St. Mark (right) at Piazzetta dei Leoncini.
The interior of glass museum was shot at Boulogne Studios in France, in a building that had been a Luftwaffe factory during World War II. The lady at the entrance was played by Irka Bochenko. You can read an interview with her in INTERVIEWS section: Interview with Irka Bochenko, who has played in ‘Moonraker’ with Roger Moore.
Venini shop was located at Piazzetta dei Leoncini until 2020. It was closed because of lack of customers during lockdown. It was replaced with Giobagnara shop.
Venini shop at Piazzetta dei Leoncini in Venice in 2019.
Giobagnara shop at Piazzetta dei Leoncini in Venice, Italy in 2023.
Bond noticed Dr. Goodhead (Lois Chiles), space specialist working for Drax and followed her. They left the museum with rear exit. That scene was filmed in the courtyard of Conservatorio di musica Benedetto Marcello. Dr. Goodhed appeared in the door on the right side of the photo presented below and walked towards the place from which the picture was taken.
The Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello at the Campiello Pisani.
Courtyard of Conservatorio di musica Benedetto Marcello.
Next picture looks similar to the film shot. James Bond was standing behind the column and looking at Dr. Goodhead walking to the stairwell. The stairwell is clearly visible in next pictures taken from another side. It is worth noticing that the same courtyard was used as location in ‘Casino Royale’.
Courtyard of Conservatorio di musica Benedetto Marcello.
Courtyard of Conservatorio di musica Benedetto Marcello.
James Bond finished the fight with the villain Chang by throwing him through the clock face and onto the piano standing under the tower. It was a clock tower called the Torre dell’Orologio located at St Mark’s Square.
In the next scene James Bond pretended that he accidentally met Dr. Holly Goodhead. It was filmed at La Scuola nuova della Misericordia. After short conversation with Dr. Goodhead 007 jumped into the gondola. Bond was soon attacked and a chase began through the Venetian canals.
Chase sequence ended when James Bond arrived at St. Mark’s Square and converted the gondola into a land-capable hovercraft. The sequence with gondola leaving the water (see filming location in photos below) had to be repeated six times because the vehicle was not stable and Roger Moore was falling into water.
Gondola moored at St. Mark’s Square.
James Bond in the gondola converted into the hoovercraft was riding next to the Doge’s Palace (photo below) and then on St. Mark’s Square (next photos). Specially designed gondola with Ford chassis had a horn to worn surprised tourists. St. Mark’s Square could not be entirely closed so there was a lot of unaware people among actors and extras.
St Mark’s Square
At night James Bond returned to the glass factory dressed as a gondolier. The scene was filmed at the Ponte dell’Accademia bridge with Santa Maria della Salute basilica in background. The place where 007 arrived in gondola is visible on the left side of the picture below).
He opened a padlock with a skeleton key and entered the courtyard that he visited earlier when he was following Dr. Goodhead. The passage between the Canal Grande and the courtyard of Conservatorio di musica Benedetto Marcello really exists. In picture below the sunlight brightens the place where Roger Moore was standing with the skeleton key. The passage to the Canal Grande is on the right from that place.
Courtyard of Conservatorio di musica Benedetto Marcello.
Next picture was taken from James Bond’s perspective. There is an entrance to the staircase visible on the right. He walked there a few seconds later. Dr. Holly Goodhead entered the same entrance after she left the glass museum.
Next two pictures were taken from the other side of the fence. There is an entrance to the staircase mentioned before on the right side of the second photo.
After visiting the laboratory and stealing a sample of deadly fluid, James Bond emerged from the stairwell (on the left in photo below). He was attacked between columns by Chang.
Next picture was taken from courtyard side. James Bond and Chang were fighting and slowly moving behind columns from right to left. 007 throwed his opponent against the wall and they both fell into the room full of glass through the door on the left. In the next scene they used the largest amount of breakaway sugar glass ever.
Courtyard of Conservatorio di musica Benedetto Marcello.
The Torre dell’Orologio at St Mark’s Square.The Torre dell’Orologio at St Mark’s Square.
Meanwhile Dr. Holly Goodhead was relaxing in Hotel Danieli. James Bond joined her soon in her apartment. There was a flood during filming, so the film crew had to stop working several times to move power generators to upper floors.
Hotel Danieli (second building from right).
Hotel Danieli by night.
James Bond will be back in Venice 28 years later in ‘Casino Royale’ with Daniel Craig as 007 – read the story: ‘Casino Royale’ in Venice.
James Bond visited Berlin in ‘Octopussy’. The filming began in 1982 during Cold War, when the city was divided with the Berlin Wall. The film crew didn’t get a permission to enter East Berlin therefore they were working in West Berlin only. They left ‘007 WAS HERE OCTOPUSSY’ sign on the wall.
James Bond arrived to Berlin from India. He was sitting with M in a Mercedes driving on Kurfürstendamm street. He got from M new ID in order to get into East Germany. There was Kaiser Wilhelm Church seen in background (see photos below).
– Kurfürstendamm street in Berlin.
– Kurfürstendamm street in Berlin.
In the next picture I managed to capture double-decker bus parked on the Kurfürstendamm street almost in the same place as similar bus in the film scene.
– Kurfürstendamm street in Berlin.
In the next scene (that was filmed as the first one, on August 10th 1982) they arrived at Checkpoint Charlie, best known crossing point between West Berlin and East Berlin during Cold War. Currently the Checkpoint Charlie is a tourist attraction.
– Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin.
M got out of the car. James Bond entered East Berlin. The camera showed close the sign warning that you were about to leave the American Sector of Berlin written in four languages. Currently there is a replica of the sign (see photo below).
– Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin.
The film crew didn’t get a permission to go through the Checkpoint Charlie so the car with Roger Moore had to turn around in no man’s land and return to West Berlin. Nowadays everybody can freely walk around that place.
– Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin.
– Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin.
– Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin.
Very close to Checkpoint Charlie there is a BACK-FACTORY CAFE with “Octopussy” memorabilia. A model of Acrostar BD-5J Micro Jet known from pre-credits is hanging from the ceiling. There are also many film posters and photos from “Octopussy” on the wall.
Sources: – Inside „Octopussy”. An Original Documentary. Directed by John Cork, United Artists Corporation and Danjaq, LLC, 2000 – Octopussy Audio Commentary, Octopussy Special Edition, Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation, 2006
For the first time Venice made a brief appearance in James Bond film at the end of ‘From Russia with Love’. James Bond (Sean Connery) and Tatiana Romanowa (Daniela Bianchi) killed Rosa Klebb (Lotte Lenya) in a hotel room with a view at San Giorgio Maggiore. in the next scene Bond and Romanova were riding in a gondola under the Bridge of Sighs.
Bell tower of Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore.Bridge of SighsBridge of SighsBridge of Sighs
They turn right. 007 throws the film of him and Romanova into the water. A few seconds later there is only his waving hand visible with the Doge’s Palace in background. Piazzetta San Marco (picture below) leading to Piazza San Marco is a background for end credits.
All scenes in Venice were filmed using rear-projection technique. There was only film director Terence Young in Venice who filmed the city in one day only. Actors were filmed in Pinewood studio.
Venice will return in “Moonraker”.
Source: – „James Bond. Szpieg którego kochamy” Michał Grzesiek, Wydawnictwo Bukowy Las 2011
The sequence was filmed at Rules restaurant at Maiden Lane, Covent Garden. The restaurant established by Thomas Rule in 1798 is the oldest one in London.
The scene was filmed on May 22nd 2015. The Rules, which is usually open seven days a week, was closed also the day before shooting. The restaurant published on its website rather mysterious note that it would be closed due to “essential work being carried out in the kitchen”.
The Old War Office building or actually its domed towers (one of them in picture below) returned to James Bond film in “Skyfall”.
Standing on the roof James Bond was looking at the Big Ben in background (it can be seen also from the street as presented in photo below). There were two domed towers on the Old War Office on the right.
