At the end of opening sequence in ‘Skyfall’ James Bond (Daniel Craig) was shot. He fell into the river and disappeared. He was presumed dead, but suddenly appeared in London and surprised M (Judi Dench) in her apartment.
M returned home late in the evening. It was raining heavily. She entered the apartment and saw Bond waiting for her in the dark.
The scene with M returning home was filmed at Cadogan Square in London in February 2012. Special rain-maker rig was used to create an artificial torrential downpour.
– Cadogan Square, Knightsbridge, London SW1
The exterior of M’s apartment was filmed at 82 Cadogan Square. This address was actually the home of famous composer John Barry.
– 82 Cadogan Square, Knightsbridge, London SW1
John Barry is very well known to all James Bond fans. He provided the musical scores for the following 11 Bond films: ‘From Russia with Love‘, ‘Goldfinger‘, ‘Thunderball‘, ‘You Only Live Twice‘, ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service‘, ‘Diamonds are Forever‘, ‘The Man with the Golden Gun‘, ‘Moonraker‘, ‘Octopussy‘, ‘A View to a Kill‘ and ‘The Living Daylights‘. In addition Barry is known for his jazz arrangement of famous ‘James Bond Theme’ from ‘Dr. No’.
– 82 Cadogan Square, Knightsbridge, London SW1– Cadogan Square, Knightsbridge, London SW1
‘Bond, James Bond’ – that’s how 007 introduced himself to Sylvia Trench (Eunice Gayson) at the beginning of ‘Dr. No’. They were playing card game Chemin De Fer (Baccarat) at Le Cercle at the Les Ambassadeurs Club in London.
The Club was established at the beginning of 19th Century. In 1950 Les Ambassadeurs Club was relocated to No. 5 Hamilton Place in the Mayfair area of London. Gaming club Le Cercle was opened to members of Les Ambassadeurs only in May 1961.
– A sign with an inscription ‘Les Ambassadeurs Casino’ on the gate in front of the entrance to the Club.
The sequence was filmed on March 2nd 1962 but not in the Les Ambassadeurs Club. Ken Adams recreated its interior at the Pinewood Studios located in the village of Iver Heath near London.
– Entrance to the Les Ambassadeurs Club at No. 5 Hamilton Place in London.– Les Ambassadeurs Club at No. 5 Hamilton Place in London.– Entrance to the Les Ambassadeurs Club at No. 5 Hamilton Place in London.
In “The Living Daylights” James Bond (Timothy Dalton) helped KGB General Georgi Koskov (Jeroen Krabbé) to escape from Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. Koskov was smuggled in pipeline across the border to Austria and then taken to UK by military aircraft. After completing the mission Bond returned to MI6 headquarters in London, UK.
In a short establishing shot the entrance to the laboratory of Q was shown. It was Malaysia House at Trafalgar Square in London, UK. There was a sign above the entrance saying “Universal Exports LTD”.
– Malaysia House at 57 Trafalgar Square in London, UK.
When you visit this place you can see Tourism Malaysia logo instead of “Universal Exports”
– Malaysia House and Uganda House next to it.
Currently in Malaysia House there is a Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board. Prior to that the Malaysian High Commission was located in the building.
Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) crossed the street on the way to her office. She climbed the stairs and entered the room. An unexpected patient was waiting there. It was Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek).
The scene with Madeleine Swann crossing the street was filmed at the Mall in London at the end of June 2019.
– St. James’s Park.
Léa Seydoux left the St. James’ Park at the Royal Artillery Boer War Memorial.
– The Royal Artillery Boer War Memorial.– St. James’s Park on the left and the Mall on the right.
She crossed the Mall and walked towards the Duke of York Column at the top of the stairs.
– The Duke of York Column.
The scene with Dr. Madeleine Swann walking up the staircase was filmed in {10-11} Carlton House Terrace in August 2019. The whole sequence with her and Safin in the office as well. The building is located right next to the Duke of York Column.
– The Duke of York Column on the left and {10-11} Carlton House Terrace on the right.
{10-11} Carlton House Terrace was used as filming location not only for ‘No Time to Die’, but also for: ‘Bridget Jones Diary’, Netflix’s ‘The Crown’, BBC’s ‘Sherlock Holmes, ‘Cruella’ and few others. You can rent it i.e. for wedding or conference and walk up the staircase like Dr. Madeleine Swann. Her office was filmed on the 2nd floor in a room that is not available for public use.
In ‘No Time to Die’ James Bond (Daniel Craig) lost his friend Felix Leiter from CIA (Jeffrey Wright) in a sinking ship but he managed to save himself and return to England. He directed his first steps to his garage where, among the gadgets known from other films, there was Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Bond uncovered the car and drove to the MI6 headquarters (read more in ‘No Time to Die’ at Whitehall Ct in London).
The scene with James Bond leaving the garage was filmed in tunnels under the railroad tracks at Centaur Street in London, UK.
– Entrance to the tunnel with garages from Centaur Street.
Garages are located on one side of the tunnel only. On the other side there is a wall with an opening below the ceiling. There is a Park Plaza London Waterloo hotel right behind it. Most of the garages have been converted into shops so it is pretty easy to find the one that belonged to James Bond.
– Tunnel with garages and shops on the right and a view at Park Plaza London Waterloo hotel on the left.
Bond left the garage that you can see in the next picture.
– Bond’s garage on the right.
He made a 180 degrees turn and left the tunnel driving towards Centaur Street at the intersection with Carlisle Ln.
– Exit from the tunnel with garages to Centaur Street on the left, exit to Centaur Street at the intersection with Carlisle Ln on the right and Bond’s garage behind the wall.
As you may notice while looking at the picture above, he had to turn left while in the film he turned right. The sequence was mirrored after filming.
– Exit from the tunnel with garages to to Centaur Street at the intersection with Carlisle Ln.– Exit from the tunnel with garages to to Centaur Street at the intersection with Carlisle Ln.
In ‘Die Another Day’ James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) engaged in a ferocious duel of swords with Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens) in the corridors of the Blades Club. 007 won the match. When he was leaving the club consierge (Oliver Skeete) gave him an envelope with a key. It was the key that opened the door to secret MI6 base located at abandoned Vauxhall Cross tube station.
The entrance to a fictional abandoned London tube station was filmed at the Westminster Bridge. Pierce Brosnan opened the door located in pedestal of the South Bank Lion sculpture. While standing at the door you can see the Big Ben and the Palace of Westminster on the opposite side of the River Thames.
In ‘Spectre’ we get to take a look at James Bond’s apartment. He (Daniel Craig) was standing at the window wearing dressing gown while waiting for Monneypenny (Naomie Harris). She brought him a box with personal things recovered from Skyfall. After the meeting in the apartment Moneypenny walked down the street into the darkness of the night.
– 1 Stanley Gardens, Notting Hill, London, UK
The exterior of the house was filmed at 1 Stanley Gardens in Notting Hill in London.
– 1 Stanley Gardens on the corner of Stanley Gardens and Stanley Cres.
The entrance to the building is located at Stanley Cres.
The exterior of the townhouse was filmed on December 15th 2014 in the evening. It was a week after principal photography began. Interior of the apartment was filmed at Pinewood Studios.
Both Daniel Craig and Naomie Harris were on location. Daniel Craig was standing at the window in an apartment with a balcony. Naomie Harris walked down the Stanley Cres towards Ladbroke Gardens.
There were only a few scenes in ‘No Time to Time’ that were shot on location in London unlike in ‘Spectre’ or ‘Skyfall’. One of them was the scene with James Bond (Daniel Craig) arriving at MI6 headquarters in Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Previously James Bond was driving such car in ‘The Living Daylights’.
The scene was filmed on June 30th 2019 at Whitehall Ct. The car was parked near number 4. Daniel Craig walked towards Ministry of Defence that doubled for MI6 headquarters.
– 4 Whitehall Ct.– 4 Whitehall Ct and Ministry of Defence main building on the right.– Ministry of Defence main building.
While filming the scene, Nicola Dove who was still photographer on the set of ‘No Time to Time’ (Interview with Nicola Dove – ‘No Time to Die’ still photographer), took an iconic photo of Daniel Craig. It became an advertisement for Omega watches. It was also the first look image made available to the press.
Whitehall Ct is located in the very center of London. No wonder it is close to other filming locations known from James Bond franchise. In the next photo you can see the place where Bond parked the car in ‘No Time to Die’ in the right bottom and the Old War Office on the left. It was the MI6 headquarter in ‘Octopussy’, ‘A View to a Kill’ and ‘Licence to Kill’. The dome tower was also presented at the end of ‘Skyfall’ when James Bond was standing on the roof and looking at the London panorama. (‘Old War Office Building as MI6 HQ‘).
Another ‘Skyfall’ location can be found behind the Old War Office building. If you walk down the Whitehall Ct in the direction from which the Aston Martin V8 Vantage arrived, you will see the Embankment Place round the corner. The scene with Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) leaving the subway station was filmed there (‘Skyfall’ at Embankment Station in London).
Media representatives were waiting for Gustav Graves (Toby Stephens) at the Buckingham Palace in London. There was also his assistant, Miranda Frost (Rosamund Pike), waiting for her boss. Right on time he appeared in the sky with Union Jack parachute. He landed between them, answered a few questions and together with Miranda Frost went by car to receive his knighthood from the Queen. James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) was standing in the crowd and just looking at the villain.
– Buckingham Palace in London.
– Buckingham Palace in London.
– Buckingham Palace in London.– Sculptures at Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace in London.
That sequence was filmed in April 2002. Film crew got permission to work around the Buckingham Palace for one day only, until lunch time.
There was parachute jump of 3 stuntmen planned for the scene. To fly helicopter less than 1 kilometer above the Buckingham Palace it was necessary to get special permissions from Anti-Terrorist Units. Executive Producer Anthony Waye said that according to the script the scene was supposed to be filmed at the House of Parliament. About 2-3 weeks before filming it was decided to try to shoot at the Buckingham Palace. When they were trying to get permissions, Queen Mother died and all the offices were closed for 10 days. Permission to shoot there was received less that a week before planned filming day.
– Buckingham Palace in London. View from Spur Rd.
– Buckingham Palace in London.
About 250 members of the film crew arrived on the set very early that day. Actress Rosamund Pike said that she had to wake up at 4 a.m. At 6.30 a.m. filming could begin as sun was rising.
At first the scene with parachuting Gustav Graves was filmed. Three stuntmen, who were made up to look like the villain in the film, were ready for the jump. They were flying in a helicopter with pilot Mark Wolff, who has flown helicopters for 8 previous James Bond films (Interview with Marc Wolff).
– Buckingham Palace in London.
The first jumper was the team leader Allan Hewitt. Film director Lee Tamahori was happy with the shot. He decided to film second jump as backup. There was no time for third stuntmen to jump.
– UK parachute from ‘Die Another Day’ at ‘Bond in Motion’ exhibition in Prague, Czech Republic in 2023.
Afterwards the scene with Gustav Graves landing in the crowd was filmed. Actor Toby Stephens was suspended under the arm of crane 40 feet in the air. It was moving down so it looked like Stephens was parachuting.
– The square in front of the Buckingham Palace in London.
Film crew had to clean the area before 9.30 a.m. as the Life Guards began preparations for the Changing of the Guard.
Film crew moved to the park behind Canada Gate to complete filming the scene. At that time hundreds of tourists were gathering to see Changing of the Guard.
– Canada Gate at Buckingham Palace.
– Canada Gate at Buckingham Palace.
About an hour before end of filming, Pierce Brosnan arrived on the set. In his brief appearance in the scene he was standing in the crowd and looking at his rival getting into Range Rover.
At the end the scene with Miranda Frost and media representatives waiting for Gustav Graves was filmed. In the film it was shown before all other scenes filmed that day.
Sources: – ‘Die Another Day’ audio commentary, „Die Another Day” Special Edition, Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation, 2006 – ‘Just Another Day’, dir. Roger Penny, A Special Treats Production, 2002
In ‘Skyfall’ James Bond (Daniel Craig) was chasing Raoul Silva (Javier Bardem) in the tunnelsof the London Underground. Silva came out of the Embankment Underground Station and got into a police car.
The scene in which Raoul Silva came out of the tube station was filmed on March 11th 2012 at the intersection of Northumberland Avenue and Whitehall Place in London. In fact Javier Bardem who played Raoul Silva came out of a staff entrance to the Farmes Club (3 photos below). There was a fake “UNDERGROUND” sign attached to the metal frame above the entrance.
When Silva got into a police car parked at Whitehall Place, there was another fake “UNDERGROUND” sign visible in background. It was placed above a disused Charing Cross exit, between the Playhouse Theatre and Embankment Place (photo below). Real entrance to the Embankment Underground Station is located at the end of Embankment Place.
There is a poster with the title of the play above the entrance to the Playhouse Theatre. In March 2012 it was ‘Dreamboats and Petticoats‘, however for the purposes of ‘Skyfall‘ it was replaced with fictional production of ‘Assassins’.
When I was taking pictures for this post at the beginning of 2016, the Playhouse Theatre was performing ‘The End of Longing’ with Matthew Perry, very well known as Chandler Bing from ‘Friends’ TV series. At the theatre I saw enthusiastic group of people. There was Matthew Perry between them signing autographs.
The police car with Raoul Silva drove off down the Whitehall Place and turned left in front of the entrance to the Corinthia Hotel. In pictures below you can see the Whitehall Place with the illuminated facade of the Corinthia Hotel on the right side. In that hotel the official announcement of ‘Skyfall’ movie was made at press conference held on November 3rd 2011, 50 years to the day after Sean Connery was revealed as James Bond in ‘Dr. No’. At the end of the street there is a Department of Energy and Climate Change. James Bond was looking at London panorama at the end of ‘Skyfall’ from the roof of that building.
JAMES BOND 