James Bond Locales
When james bond saved the world for the first time on the big screen, in 1962’s Dr. No, he was setting a cinematic standard: 007 would forever be a traveling secret agent. He reports for duty in London but is quickly dispatched to Jamaica, to fight evil in paradise. Since those sugary-sand beaches, subsequent films have taken the spy to an atlas’ worth of places around the globe, from soaring monasteries in Meteora and baroque Venetian palazzos to marble palaces in India and ancient Egyptian temples. While other productions rely on studio soundstages, the settings of the Bond motion pictures have included more than a hundred real-life locations over 60 years.
Sean Connery in Jamaica holding the clapper board for the 1962 film Dr. No. (Photo by Bert Cann/Danjaq, LLC. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.)
In Assouline’s new book, James Bond Destinations by journalist and die-hard 007 fan Daniel Pembrey, readers are taken to many of the franchise’s iconic locations that are featured in Bond’s international itineraries. Each chapter is filled with insider insights and memorable scenes. Think Ursula Andress emerging from the Jamaican waves, Daniel Craig on a high-speed car chase through the streets of Rome, and Roger Moore battling his nemesis on top of a Sugarloaf cable car in Rio.
Craig’s Bond and Dr. Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux) travel inland by train on a railway line to reach Bouarfa in the far eastern corner of Morocco in Spectre, 2015. (Photo by Jonathan Olley/Danjaq, LLC, Metro- Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. and Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.)
From the start, cinema-goers were spellbound, especially in the early to mid-1960s, when international travel was comparatively rare. On the silver screen, Bond then prompted audiences to dream of glamorous exciting vacations and established the franchise as a trusted concierge. Barbara Broccoli, the daughter of the original Bond producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, said her father “wanted to take people out of their lives and transport them on an adventure to something magical.”
Craig’s Bond deftly negotiates the hotel’s rooftop on his way to assassinate Sciarra in Spectre, 2015. (Photo by Jonathan Olley/Danjaq, LLC, Metro- Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. and Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.)
As travel became more accessible, the Bond experience continued to stay ahead. “You have to find places that haven’t been seen, or you have to think of doing something spectacular in a well-known place, as we did with the chase through Rome in 2015’s Spectre,” said producer Michael G. Wilson. “The scene involved hundreds of blockers along two miles of main road to ensure no bystanders entered the shot,” remarked associate producer Gregg Wilson. For Casino Royale, the Grand Canal in Venice was partly closed for the first time in 300 years, giving Bond—then played by Daniel Craig—the chance to sail a yacht up the canal without crowds of onlookers. “These destinations are not just backgrounds, or even backgrounds that simply inform characters. In our movies, they are characters,” said
007 producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
The cover of Assouline’s James Bond Destinations