At the beginning of ‘Quantum of Solace’ James Bond (Daniel Craig) in Aston Martin DBS was chased by criminals in two Alfa Romeos 159. Moreover Italian police joined in on the chase. After evading pursuers 007 drove to Siena.
Second unit with director Dan Bradley was working in northern Italy for several weeks to film that 3 minute sequence. First part of the car chase was filmed in April at Lake Garda. Second part of the sequence was filmed near Carrara in May 2008.
At the very beginning of ‘Quantum of Solace’ camera was skimming across the Lake Garda approaching the tunnel at the water. It was filmed in northeastern part of the lake. You can see that tunnel in next 3 photos that were taken from the beach at Riva del Garda. Car chase was filmed on the road near Navene on the east coast of the lake and near Limone Sul Garda on the opposite coast.
Lake Garda in northern Italy.
– Lake Garda in northern Italy.
Lake Garda in northern Italy.
For dynamic shots gyro-stabilized remote-controlled camera crane called ‘Ultimate Arm’ was used. It was attached to the roof of a Mercedes ML55, that was painted matt black to limit reflections. It could reach a speed of speed 200 kph and the camera could be just inches away from the action during high speed chase.
There were several accidents on the set. Especially two of them were described in international publications. Aston Martin employee, who was delivering a car to a publicity shoot for the movie, crashed a £134,000 Aston Martin DBS into the lake. The driver was not hurt, but he had to pay fine for unsafe drive. Completely destroyed car has been later purchased by a collector. Few days later two stuntmen playing villains in Alfa Romeo 159 were involved in an accident. Aris Comninos was in a coma. His co-driver, Bruno Verdirosi, was also treated in hospital.
James Bond turned left to avoid roadblock. It was filmed at the intersection of Via IV Novembre SS45bis with Via Benaco SP38 at Lake Garda, near Tremosine. Aston Martin DBS and black Alfa Romeo 159 drove through two short tunnels. That scene was filmed nearly 300 km south from Lake Garda on Via dei Colli, near passo del Vestito, not far from Carrara. Also on Via dei Colli the last scene with Alfa Romeo falling from the cliff was filmed. Other car chase scenes were filmed at marble quarries near Carrara (see photos below). Stunt coordinator Gary Powell said, that they had to change tires in cars when they moved from tarmac mountain road at Garda Lake to marble quarry. There was only one brand of tire for Aston Martin, therefore they had to cut their own treads into the tires.To create the scene seven Aston Martins and nine Alfa Romeos were used. There were also two Land Rovers. The one that hit the building and fell from the cliff had no engine. It was removed and gasoline was taken out so it wouldn’t create unnecessary explosion.
Carrara marble quarry in northern Italy.
Carrara marble quarry in northern Italy.
Carrara marble quarry in northern Italy.
Carrara marble quarry in northern Italy.
More photos from Lake Garda and Carrara marble quarry:
James Bond (Daniel Craig) was following Alex Dimitrios (Simon Abkarian) from Nassau to Miami. They both entered ‘Body Worlds’ exhibition. Dimitrios left a bag in a cloakroom. 007 went after him to the main hall. Shortly they both began speechless battle with a knife. James Bond was the winner. 007 noticed that the number from cloak room that Dimitrios put on a poker table was gone. The bag from the cloakroom was gone too. Bond ran out of the building and stopped at the entrance. He took the cellphone taken from Dimitrios and dialed the number that was selected as the last one. In the crowd of people walking in front of the building he saw a man with a bag answering his call.
The whole Miami sequence was filmed in Prague in Czech Republic. The exterior scene was filmed at the building of Ministry of Transportation of the Czech Republic at nábřeží Ludvíka Svobody.
The Ministry of Transportation of the Czech Republic in Prague.
The Ministry of Transportation of the Czech Republic in Prague.
Interior scenes were filmed in the National Memorial on the Vitkov Hill.
The National Monument at Vítkov Hill in Prague.
The National Monument at Vítkov Hill in Prague.
The National Monument at Vítkov Hill in Prague.
The scene in which Alex Dimitrios left the bag was filmed in the cloakroom located on the second floor
Cloakroom in the National Monument at Vítkov Hill in Prague.
When Dimitrios and James Bond left the cloak room they walked by the open door that you can see in photo below.
Cloakroom in the National Monument at Vítkov Hill in Prague.
The ‘Body Worlds’ exhibition was filmed on the first floor, in the room where currently you can find permanent exhibition. It is possible to get there from main entrance at cash desk. The other way is to walk down from the second floor. Stairs are located behind decorated door presented in the center of the photo below. In the film it is possible to see people in background walking those stairs.
Interior of the National Monument at Vítkov Hill in Prague.
Next photo was taken from Columbarium towards the room where the ‘Body Worlds’ exhibition scene was filmed. There is steel construction of permanent exhibition visible in background. On the left there is visible detail of stone handrail of the stairs leading to the second floor above.
Interior of the National Monument at Vítkov Hill in Prague.
James Bond killed Alex Dimitrios and put his body at the stone wall. In that scene there was decorated window visible in background, the same as in photo below.
Interior of the National Monument at Vítkov Hill in Prague.
When 007 left the building there was again the building of Ministry of Transportation of the Czech Republica that doubled for museum in Miami, USA.
The entrance to the Ministry of Transportation of the Czech Republic in Prague.
James Bond (Daniel Craig) killed Mollaka (Sebastien Foucan) in Nambutu Embassy during his first 007 mission. It made M (Judi Dench) angry. After meeting with her superiors she was walking down the corridors in the British House of Commons with her assistant Villiers (Tobias Menzies), complaining about Bond.
The filmmakers wanted viewers to believe that it was the interior of Westminster Palace in London, but the scenes were actually shot in Philosophical Hall in Strahov Monastery in Prague, Czech Republic.
Judi Dench and Tobias Menzies entered the hall through the door located at the back of the hall, on the left side.
Philosophical Hall in Strahov Library in Prague, Czech Republic
James Bond (Daniel Craig) and Vesper Lynd (Eva Green) sailed to Venice in Italy. While Vesper was standing at the helm of a yacht, Bond was writing a resignation letter on his laptop. As they were sailing along the Grand Canal, Vesper saw the Quantum agent Adolph Gettler (Richard Sammel). 007 and the girl stayed in a hotel located at Saint Mark’s Square.
Seen in the film 54 foot yacht named ‘Spirit’, was built by Spirit Yachts Ltd in Suffolk, UK. It was the first sailing yacht to go up the Grand Canal in Venice in 300 years.
When Bond and Vesper were approaching Venice, most famous buildings in the city were seen in background. There was tower of San Giorgio Maggiore on the left, Saint Mark’s campanile on the right and Santa Maria della Salute in the middle (all of them in photos below).
Bell tower of Basilica of San Giorgio Maggiore.Campanile of Saint Mark’s Basilica.Santa Maria della Salute.
It is not necessary to buy a boat to see the view that was in front of Bond and Vesper. One of the possibilities it to take a Vaporetto to Sant’Elena. Not many tourists go that far, therefore it is a very peaceful an quiet place. As you can see in a photo below, while watching the view you can relax on a bench in a park or use an outdoor gym.
When James Bond was writing the resignation letter, there was Santa Maria della Salute Basilica visible in background. On his laptop monitor you could see his e-mail inbox with fictitious email addresses of film crew members: Anne Bennet (Publicity and Marketing) – anne.bennett@thenet.com, Chris McBride (Computer & Video Supervisor) – chris.mcbride@thenet.com, Neil Pinkawa (lead screen graphics artist) and David Hicks (lead motion graphics designer).
Santa Maria della Salute Basilica.
The sequence with the yacht sailing on the Grand Canal was filmed in different locations near the Rialto Bridge. At first the yacht was filmed in front of the Palazzo Rava. Then the Rialto fish market was shown, where Vesper spotted Adolph Getler. When she was taking photos of the market, the Sant’Angelo Vaporetto station was visible behind her. This station is not on the opposite side of the canal, but almost a kilometer away from the Rialto fish market!! There is also a short shot of the crowded Grand Canal and the Palazzo Bembo in the background. In the final shot of the sequence Bond stands at the helm of the yacht, with the Palazzo Grimani (San Luca) visible behind him.
The Rialto bridge.The Rialto fish market.The Palazzo Bembo – first building from left.
When Vesper left the hotel room, M called and asked James Bond about the money that he won in Casino Royale. 007 immediately called the Swiss banker and got an information that while they were talking someone was withdrawing the money in a bank located at Saint Mark’s Square in Venice. James Bond guessed that it was Vesper who stole the money and ran after her.
The bank was filmed in the northwestern corner of the Saint Mark’s Square. In the film you could see ‘Basel Bank’ sign above the door. In reality there was ‘BANCA COMMERCIALE ITALIANA’ sign instead. When I visited Venice in 2019 there was a Longchamp store there.
Northwestern corner of the Saint Mark’s Square.The Longchamp store in the northwestern corner of the Saint Mark’s Square.The Longchamp store in the northwestern corner of the Saint Mark’s Square.The Longchamp store in the northwestern corner of the Saint Mark’s Square.
When Bond saw that Vesper had already left the bank, he moved through the crowd under the arcades of the Procuratie Vecchie at St Mark’s Square. He saw Vesper walking on the bridge called Ponte del Cavalletto.
Cafe tables at the Procuratie Vecchie at St Mark’s Square.The Procuratie Vecchie at St Mark’s Square.
The film crew was working in Venice in June 2006. It was very difficult to film the scene with Bond running around the Saint Mark’s Square because of about 400 extras and big number of tourists walking around.
Ponte del Cavalletto.
In the next scene Vesper was walking alone on the bridge called Ponte del Malpaga.
Ponte del Malpaga.
Bond followed Vesper down the Sotoportego de le Colonne. As she passed over the Ponte de le Colonne bridge she looked back, but she couldn’t see 007 who was hidden in the shadows.
Sotoportego de le Colonne and the Ponte de le Colonne bridge in background.
Next photo was taken from the bridge towards the shadows where 007 was hidden.
View from Ponte de le Colonne towards the Sotoportego de le Colonne.
Finally Vesper came to the courtyard where she met Gettler. The villain saw James Bond hiding behind the column and took Vesper hostage. Gettler’s men tried to shoot 007.
The sequence was filmed in the courtyard of Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello, that was also ‘Moonraker’ filming location (read more: ‘Moonraker’ in Venice). Main entrance to the building is located at Campiello Pisani. Vesper entered through the side entrance through the Portego Pisani.
The Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello. Entrance from the Campiello Pisani.Side entrance (with a stone arch)to the courtyard of the Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello.Side entrance to the Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello.
She turned left and passed through the doors (that are closed in photo below) to the courtyard.
Next photo was taken from the courtyard. Vesper came out from behind the columns. Later James Bond was hiding behind these columns when Gettler’s men tried to shoot him.
Courtyard of the Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello.
On the right in photo below you can see the column where 007 was hiding when Vesper was talking to Gettler. On the left there is a sculpture that was seen behind Daniel Craig’s head.
Next photo of the courtyard was taken from Bond’s hide behind the column. Vesper and Gettler were standing in the middle of the courtyard. Gettler’s men were shooting from windows above the entrance to the courtyard located in the center of the photo.
Courtyard of the Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello.
When they started shooting, James Bond was running behind columns visible in the middle of the photo below.
Courtyard of the Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello.
James Bond pursued Gettler and Vesper into a building under renovation. During the fight the building began to sink.
The sequence with the building collapsing into the Grand Canal was filmed in Pinewood studio, however buildings around were all real and shot on location. Collapsing building was digitallyinserted and replaced Lion Morosini Palace.
In the studio the 1/3-scale miniature of the building was built for exterior shots. It had more than 100 different parts designed to fall off.
The inside of the sinking house was built on a special rig that measured 45 foot by 40 foot and was 45 foot high.
The Lion Morosini Palace – second building from right.
After Vesper’s death James Bond was sitting on the yacht’s deck and talking on the phone with M. The scene was filmed at Santi Cosma e Damiano church.
At the beginning of ‘Casino Royale’ a car pulled up in front of the entranceto a modern office building in Prague, Czech Republic. It was Dryden (Malcolm Sinclair), the section chief of Mi6 in Prague, who got out of the car. He took an elevator to get to his office. He was surprised to see James Bond waiting there. Bond killed traitorous Dryden and became ’00’ agent with licence to kill. (Click here to watch that sequence)
That sequence was filmed at Danube House building located at Karolinska street in Prague.
The first scene was filmed with the camera set at the entrance to the building opposite to Danube House. In the shot you can see the roof above the entrance as in photo presented below.
In the photo below you can see Danube House on the right and the entrance to the opposite building where the camera was located on the left. The car arrived from pedestrian bridge above Rohanske Nabrezi street visible in the center of the photo.
Dryden got out of the car and looked around. He was filmed from so called worm’s-eye view with facade of Danube House visible in background.
In the next photo you can see elevators in Danube House – the same as in the film.
Through glass facade of Danube House from Rohanske Nabrezi street you can see the corridor where Dryden was walking down to his office.
Next photo was taken from pedestrian bridge above Rohanske Nabrezi street. On the right side you can see the entrance to Danube House where Dryden parked his car. On the left you can see the glass facade with the corridor and elevators behind it.
Cinematographer Phil Méheux, who shot ‘Casino Royale’ said: ‘If you want to do something quite different and turn everyone around, do something in black-and-white!’ Therefore the opening sequence was black-and-white. He also said that some cinematographers were shooting color that was later removed in the digital intermediate, but he didn’t like the look of that. For that reason he used about 6000 feet of black-and-white Eastman Double-X [5222] Kodak film.
In ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) visited Professor Inga Bergstrom (Cecilie Thomsen) at Oxford University. While they were together Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 was parked in the courtyard.
The car was filmed at the courtyard at the entrance to the New College Oxford from Holywell Street.
The entrance to the New College Oxford and its courtyard where Aston Martin db5 was filmed.A view from the New College Oxford courtyard at the Holywell Street.
Source: – Tomorrow Never Dies Audio Commentary, Tomorrow Never Dies Special Edition, Danjaq, LLC and United Artists Corporation, 2006
Most of ‘Casino Royale’ was shot in the Czech Republic, mainly in Prague. In 2006 James Bond film crew was working in different locations in the city and at the Barrandov Studio. 10 years later I have visited the studio to see stages where interior sets were built.In Barrandov Studio logo (photo above) you can see the studio main building (photo below) that is located at Krizeneckeho namesti.Inside the building, in front of the reception desk, there are film posters, with “Casino Royale’ in the middle, hanging on the wall. It is worth mentioning that there were also other international films shot at Barrandov Studio such as ‘Mission: Impossible’, ‘Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol’, ‘The Bourne Identity’ etc.Streets inside the Barrandov Studio are named after famous Czech film directors. Below you can see a photo of Otakar Vavra street sign. Next photos show the building where ‘Casino Royale’ was shot. It was built in 1940’s. There is a hudge Barrandov Studios logo on the roof of the building that can be seen i.e. on Google maps.There is an entrance to the offices in the building at Otakar Vavra street.On the other side of the building, at Frantisek Vlacil street, there are large entry gates to three stages.‘Casino Royale’ was shot in Stage Number 6, where main decoration was built. Total area of the stage is 40 meters x 50 meters with construction area 36 meters x 46 meters and a height of 12 meters.‘Casino Royale’ was also shot in Stage Number 7, where main decoration was built. Total area of the stage is 29 meters x 40 meters with construction area 25 meters x 36 meters and a height of 12 meters. Photo below shows film decorations in that stage.It is worth to visit empty stage to see how big that is. Below you can see part of the Stage MAX that is the largest stage in Europe at 4,000 square metres at height of 13,75 meters. It was oficially opened on December 2006, a few months after ‘Casino Royale’ was shot.I have also visited furniture warehouse looking for some props from ‘Casino Royale’. I was shown a set of furniture that you can see in photos below. They were supposed to be used on James Bond film. I did some research and after a long time I discovered that they belonged to another agent. They were furnishings for the apartment of Ethan Hawke (Tom Cruise) in ‘Mission: Impossible’ that was also filmed in Prague. I would like to thank Jakub Zika and Lubomir Konecny from Barrandov Studio.
Sources:
– „James Bond. Szpieg którego kochamy” Michał Grzesiek, Wydawnictwo Bukowy Las 2011
– www.barrandov.cz
James Bond (Daniel Craig) traveled to Rome to attend funeral of Marco Sciarra – the criminal he killed in Mexico at the beginning of ‘Spectre’. After the ceremony he visited and seduced Sciarra’s widow Lucia (Monica Belucci). She told him about the meeting of criminal organisation called Spectre in Palazzo Cardenza. 007 joined the meeting by pretending to be one of the organisation members. Bond had been recognized and had to escape the meeting. Car chase with 007 in Aston Martin DB10 and Mr. Hinx in Jaguar C-X75 began.
– Palazzo Cardenza in Rome was doubled by Blenheim Palace in Woodstock (Oxfordshire), England.
Aston Martin DB10 on the way to the Spectre meeting was filmed on Passeggiata del Gianicolo in Rome. In aerial view of the capital of Italy there was a Blenheim Palace added by visual effects team.Film crew was working at Blenheim Palace in February 2015. The interior however was filmed in Pinewood Studios.
Bond’s car pulled into the Blenheim Palace Great Court through the narrow gatein the east wing (see photo below). The Great Court was filled with super-expensive cars. To light them the film crew used two 40-by-40 feet soft boxes.
James Bond parked the Aston Martin, got out of the car and walked to the Colonnades.When he was recognized at the Spectre meeting he jumped out of the window and ran to the Colonnades. He jumped outfrom between thecolumns and got into the Aston Martin DB10. Mr. Hinx got into the Jaguar C-X75. Both cars left the Palace Great Court through the narrow gatein the east wing and they pulled into small East Courtyard (photo below). They left the Blenheim Palace through east gate (photos below). Both cars jumped when they were driving through the gate and continued the high-speed car chase that was filmed in Rome.
Visit LOCATIONS GALLERY on top of the page to see locations photos compared with movie scenes.
Among many interesting filming locations of ‘A View to a Kill’ there are two that belong to the most recognizable in the world: the Eiffel Tower in Paris (‘A View to a Kill’ in Paris) and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
Golden Gate Bridge
Maks Zorin (Christopher Walken) and May Day (Grace Jones) arrived to San Francisco in the airship. They were looking down at the city and they saw the Golden Gate Bridge in the foreground.
Golden Gate Bridge
In the next scene James Bond arrived to Fisherman’s Wharf in famous San Francisco Cable Car. In two photos below you can see the car number 22, the same number as the one on the car seen in the film.
Actress Maud Adams, who played Andrea Anders in “The Man with the Golden Gun” and Octopussy in “Octopussy”, visited the crew while they were filming at Fisherman’s Wharf. She was offered to appear in third Bond film as one of extras.
At one of Fisherman’s Wharf stands James Bond met CIA agent Chuck Lee (David Yip). In photo below you can see the stand similar to the one in the film.
Fisherman’s Wharf
James Bond met Stacey Sutton (Tanya Roberts) who was also against Max Zorin. They went together to the San Francisco City Hall to find some information that would help to discover Zorin’s plan.
Main entrance to the San Francisco City Hall.
While they were reading documents, Max Zorin and May Day entered the room. The villain shut Bond and Sutton down in an elevator and set fire to the building.
Diane Fennstein who was mayor of San Francisco at the time of filming allowed to set fire to the real City Hall building (photo below). She also gave an instruction that everybody in the City Hall should close their windows. However there was one clerk who had very wet desk the next morning.
The fire scene was filmed by the first unit directed by John Glen. They had giant ground flares and tanks of propane on the roof of the building. Dick Ziker and Karen Price were Roger Moore’s and Tanya Roberts’ stunt doubles.
San Francisco City Hall
James Bond and Stacey Sutton escaped from the fire. Immediately after that car chase with 007 and Sutton in a fire truck began.
While first unit was working on scenes in the City Hall, the second unit with director Arthur Wooster was filming car chase with fire truck and police cars. They were filming for three weeks from the beginning of October 1984.
James Bond and Stacey Sutton arrived at the mine, which Zorin planned to sink to destroy Silicon Valley. Agent 007 prevented the explosion. Zorin tried to escape in his airship. Bond grabbed the airship’s mooring line. While flying at the end of the rope above the city he nearly crashed at the Transamerica Pyramid.
Transamerica Pyramid
Close-ups with Roger Moore holding the mooring rope were filmed at Pinewood Studios in UK. Shots with the city in background were filmed in San Francisco with stuntman John Arnett.
Filmmakers came to the idea of using an airship in the film while they were visiting San Francisco and saw the airship with Fuji logo above the city. They contacted the company to get a permission to film the airship near the Golden Gate Bridge.
Golden Gate Bridge
When the airship was flying over the Golden Gate Bridge, 007 tied the mooring rope to the framework of the bridge. The airships stopped and the fight between Bond and Zorin began.
Golden Gate Bridge
About 5 percent of the shots of a fight sequence atop the Golden Gate Bridge was filmed on a real object, while the rest was filmed using replicas of the upper parts of the bridge and the airshipbuilt in the Pinewood Studios in UK.
Golden Gate Bridge
The world premiere of the film took place on May 22, 1985 at the Palace of Fine Arts in SanFrancisco (photos posted below).
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, reż. John Cork, Danjaq, LCC and United Artists Corporation, 2000 – „James Bond. Szpieg którego kochamy” Michał Grzesiek, Wydawnictwo Bukowy Las 2011 – www.mi6-hq.com
Filming of ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ began in October 1968 in Switzerland. The production moved to England in March 1969. Next month the filmmakers went to Portugal to continue filming until May 1969.
At the beginning of the film James Bond (George Lazenby) met Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg) at the beach where he saved her fromcommiting suicide by drowning. Later they met in casino. Next day 007 was kidnapped by four men who took him to Marc Ange Draco (Gabrielle Ferzetti), Teresa’s father.
The scene with James Bond with four men in Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow was filmed on a bridge connecting Lisbon to the municipality of Almada. The Christ the King statue is visible in background.The bridge inaugurated in 1966 was named at the beginning Salazar Bridge. In 1974 (after “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” was filmed) the bridge was renamed the 25 de Abril Bridge – the day the Carnation Revolution had occurred.James Bond visited twice the jewelry store – at the beginning of the film he spotted the ring and later he bought the wedding ring for Teresa di Vicenzo. The store is located at the Rossio square. There is a Column of Pedro IV located in the center of the square (photo below). The jewelry store is located in south end of the square. The facade of the store is visible on the left side of the photo below. James Bond and Tracy de Vicenzo started their honeymoon in Aston Martin DBS. The car with the couple was filmed on Salazar Bridge (currently the 25 de Abril Bridge). Below you can see the view of Lisbon with the bridge in background from Saint George Castle.In the last photo you can see the 25 de Abril Bridge behind the Monument to the Discoveries.Sources:
– lisbon-portugal-guide.com
– www.lisbonshopping.pt
– mitteleuropa.x10.mx/filmlocations_ohmss.html