GoldenEye
Country: UK, USA Year: 1995 Language: English, Russian, Spanish
Alternative Title(s): Golden Eye
Cast: Pierce Brosnan (James Bond), Sean Bean (Alec Trevelyan / Janus), Izabella Scorupco (Natalya Fyodorovna Simonova), Famke Janssen (Xenia Zirgavna Onatopp), Joe Don Baker (Jack Wade), Judi Dench (M), Gottfried John (General Arkady Grigorovich Ourumov), Robbie Coltrane (Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky), Alan Cumming (Boris Grishenko), Tchéky Karyo (Defense Minister Dmitri Mishkin (as Tcheky Karyo)), Desmond Llewelyn (Q), Samantha Bond (Miss Moneypenny), Michael Kitchen (Bill Tanner), Serena Gordon (Caroline), Simon Kunz (Severnaya Duty Officer), Pavel Douglas (French Warship Captain), Olivier Lajous (French Warship Officer (as Cmdt. Olivier Lajous)), Billy J. Mitchell (Admiral Chuck Farrell), Constantine Gregory (Computer Store Manager), Minnie Driver (Irina), Michelle Arthur (Anna), Ravil Isyanov (MiG Pilot), Vladimir Milanovich (Croupier), Trevor Byfield (Train Driver), Peter Majer (Valentin's Bodyguard), Paul Bannon (Russian Scientist (uncredited)), Martin Campbell (Cyclist (uncredited)), Simon Crane (Tiger Helicopter Pilot (uncredited)), Terrance Denville (Russian Official (uncredited)), Max Faulkner (Guard at Helicopter Show (uncredited)), Derek Lyons (Casino Guest (uncredited)), Wayne Michaels (Tiger Helicopter Pilot / Mr. Gone to Heaven (uncredited)), Bhasker Patel (Pakistani Gun Dealer (uncredited)), Michael G. Wilson (Russian Security Council Member (uncredited))
Keywords: Russian, Agent, James Bond, Satellite, General, Chemical Weapons, Computer, Helicopter, Cuba, Fire, Top Secret, Murder, Train, Terrorist, Britain, British, Enemy, Jungle, MI6, Revenge, Villain, Slide Locked Back, Timebomb, Hero Killing Woman, Head Butt, Car Accident, Gatling Gun, Gadgetry, Secret Service, Spy Film, British Intelligence, Partner, Electro Magnetic Pulse, Baccarat, Car Chase, Wheelchair, Intelligence, Computer Cracker, Official James Bond Series, Post Cold War, Evil Plot, Color In Title, Sadism, Death, High Tech, Aston Martin, Intelligence Agency, Machine Gun, Leg Scissors, Bond Girl, St. Petersburg Russia, Former Soviet Union, Secret Agent, Casino, Cult Favorite, Tattoo On Butt, Shot In The Chest, Innuendo, Riviera, Rough Sex, Kidnapping, Vengeance, Internet, Gadget, See You In Hell, Shot In The Back, Shot To Death, Nuclear Weapons, Boat, Cossack, Hostage, Spy Camera, Intelligence Agent, Spy Turned Terrorist, Poetic Justice, Spy Mission, Explosion, Dominant Woman, Martial Arts, Gun, Beautiful Woman, Female Killer, EMP, Spy, Ejection Seat, Colonel, Strangulation, Suffocation, Machismo, Russian Army, Bathroom, Motorcycle Stunt, Gadget Car, Laser, Cult Figure, Russian Mafia, British Secret Service, Spying, Satellite Dish, Trap, Villainess, Woman With Gun, Elevator, Gambling House, Laser Cutter, Shot In The Forehead, Blockbuster, Gambling Casino, Casino Owners, Fall From Height, Loss Of Friend, Bungee Jump, Shot In The Foot, Lifting Person In Air, Violence, Secret Service Agent, Sequel, Organized Crime, Reverse Footage, Rogue Agent, Player, Exploding Building, Train Wreck, Revolving Door, Casino Card Game, Reboot Of Series, Card Game, Title Spoken By Character
Summary: James Bond has a mission to recover the 'Goldeneye' access key. A Russian computer programmer called Natalya Siminova survives a murder spree by Xenia Onatopp and General Ourumov. Bond must work with Natalya to find this key and uncovers a sinister secret. His fellow agent, Alec Trevelyan who was believed to have been shot and killed 9 years ago re-surfaces. Bond soon realizes that Trevelyan is behind everything. Bond must now battle his former friend, in order to stop him from destroying London with the Goldeneye satellite.
The first Bond film to be made after the downfall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War.
Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey doubled up as St Petersburg airport, while much of the tank chase was actually shot in London and at the new Leavesden studios. This was to reduce expenses and to cut on security concerns - the entire unit would have needed bodyguards.
The first Bond film to use computer generated imagery.
Nails had to be attached to the tires of the Ferrari F355 for the skid in the car chase with James Bond's Aston Martin.
The most successful Bond film since "Moonraker" (1979).
The Ferrari that chases Bond's Aston Martin was actually rented and, after colliding with 007's car, had to be repaired overnight at a cost of $80,000.
006 - Alec Trevelyan - was originally written as a much older character and a former mentor of Bond. The producers were keen to hire Anthony Hopkins for the part but when he turned it down, the role was rewritten for a much younger actor.
The scene where Xenia Onatopp kills an older man with her thighs during the sexual act marks the first explicit actual sex scene in a Bond movie.
Martin Campbell was offered the chance to direct largely on the strength of his work on the TV series "Edge of Darkness".
SPOILER: The card game played at the casino in Monte Carlo was Baccarat/Chemin de Fer. Xenia's hand when James Bond arrives is two face cards and a seven. Bond's final hand when he plays with Xenia is two face cards and a six. Face cards in this card game are worth zero. So Xenia's hand connotates 0 - 0 - 7 which is James Bond's Mi6 code number. Bond's hand connotates 0 - 0 - 6 which was villain Alec Trevelyan's Mi6 code number when he was an agent.
One of the extras in the casino scene is Kate Gayson, daughter of Eunice Gayson who played Sylvia Trench in "Dr No" (1962) and "From Russia with Love" (1963).
The World Premiere of GoldenEye (1995) was held on 13th November 1995 at New York City's famed Radio City Music Hall. This was the first for any Bond film to be held in New York and the second in the USA for an official series Bond pic after A View to a Kill (1985) and third overall for any Bond movie after that movie and Never Say Never Again (1983). The after-premiere party was held at New York's Museum of Modern Art. The British and European Royal Premiere was held on 21st November 1995 at London's Leicester Square Odeon Theatre in the presence of British Royal Prince Charles. The post-premiere party was held at the Imperial War Museum. Pierce Brosnan boycotted the French Premiere in support of Greenpeace and in protest of that country's nuclear testing in the South Pacific. The premiere was then canceled. The French military had supplied the frigate FS La Fayette and a Eurocopter Tiger helicopter for use in the movie.
SPOILER: Janus was the Roman God of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings, and endings. Alec Trevelyan's Janus code name was so-called because the name of this two-faced Roman God in mythology is said to have come to life. Alec comes to life after the opening sequence and has two identities in the movie. The criminal syndicate in the film was also named after Janus.
Henchmen and henchwomen in the movie included Xenia Zirgavna Onatopp, General Arkady Grigorovich Ourumov, and Boris Grishenko.
The three minute countdown at Arkangel actually lasts three minutes and 25 seconds.
The film was voted The Best Marketed film of 1995 at the Film Information Council.
This was the first time a German sports car, in this case the BMW Z3, was used as the primary Bond vehicle. The product placement of the BMW Z3 Roadster has been considered to be one of the most successful in film history according to "The Hollywood Reporter" and the book "Product Placements" by L. Kinney and B Sapolsky. It reportedly cost $3 million but recouped the company $240 million in advance sales, partially due to exposure in the news media. A limited edition "007 Model" of the BMW Z3 was sold out in a day of it going on to the market. This picture represented the first of a three picture deal with BMW to promote their cars.
Cameo: [Simon Crane] The stuntman as a Tiger Helicopter Pilot.
Cameo: [Wayne Michaels] The stuntman as a Tiger Helicopter Pilot
Joe Don Baker is to date the only actor to go from Bond villain (opposite Timothy Dalton in _The Living Daylights (1987)_) to Bond ally with Pierce Brosnan in this film. He does not, however, play the same character.
Bond resets the bomb's timer to three minutes in the pre-credits scene. The chemical plant explodes exactly three minutes later.
The previous 007 movie, "License to Kill" (1989) used a contest advertising campaign to help generate interest for the film. The winner of the contest was promised a cameo role in the next James Bond picture. Unfortunately, due to many production issues, work on "GoldenEye" did not begin for many years. Nevertheless, the contest winner was given a scene after the long delay. She does not have a speaking part, but you can see her in a lovely gold and black evening dress looking over Bond's shoulder as he plays Baccarat against Xenia Onatopp.
The motorcycle stunts during the opening sequence were performed by uncredited British stuntman Ray De-Haan.
In the opening car chase between Bond's Aston Martin and Onatopp's Ferrari, Famke Janssen performed her own driving stunts. She confirmed this in an interview with Jay Leno in 1995
First James Bond movie produced by Barbara Broccoli (with Michael G. Wilson) as a fully fledged main producer.
Product placements, brand integrations, promotional tie-ins and sponsorships for this movie include Perrier Mineral Water; British Airways; IBM Computers; Parker Pens; Jack Daniel's Black Label scotch whiskey; Omega Watches, James Bond wears an Omega Seamaster watch; BMW, the first part of their three picture deal featuring the BMW Z3 roadster convertible; Smirnoff Vodka; Yves St. Laurent; Sharper Image; British Telecom and Nintendo's spin-off video-game, GoldenEye (1997) (VG) and later Electronic Arts's GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (2004) (VG).
A 5-blade buzz-saw device was originally intended to be in this film but inevitably did not - it would later appear in The World Is Not Enough (1999).
The literal translations of some of the movie's foreign language titles include Operation GoldenEye (Greece); 007 Against GoldenEye (Brazil); 007 and the GoldenEye (Finland); Gold Eye (Slovenia / Slovak); James Bond 007 - GoldenEye (Germany); The Eye of Fire (French Canadian) and Agent 007 GoldenEye (Italy).
First 007 movie in the series to feature a female -- Judi Dench -- in the role of M, head of the UK's security agency MI6 (Foreign Intelligence). Dench's character was reportedly inspired by the career of Stella Rimington, former Director-General of the UK's MI5 (Domestic Intelligence) and first woman to head that organization.
Robbie Coltrane's scenes were shot on the first day of production, 16 January 1995.
Judi Dench's glass of bourbon is really apple juice with two lumps of light glass passing for ice cubes. Pierce Brosnan drank iced water instead of the famous Vodka Martini.
For the scenes in which Xenia Onatopp is seen flying the Tiger helicopter, a male pilot had to be made up to look like Famke Janssen.
Aston Martin DB5 that Brosnan drove in the first car chase scene has license plate BMT 214A. The Aston Martin used in Goldfinger (1964) and Thunderball (1965) had plate BMT 216A.
Cameo: [Martin Campbell] [The director as one of the cyclists who get toppled over when James Bond and Xenia Onatopp race past them.]
Cameo: [Minnie Driver] [As Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky's (Robbie Coltrane) mistress, Irina. She can be seen in the scene at the nightclub singing behind the microphone.]
In the original script, Admiral Farrell was to be an American. According to David L. Robb's book "Operation Hollywood" this was changed at the request of the US Pentagon.
Renny Harlin was offered to direct this film.
The opening weekend box office gross was slightly altered to $26,205,007. The same last three digits were used in the reports for the opening weekends of the next two Bond films as well.
Alec Trevelyan's dark colored locomotive in the movie was nicknamed on the set as "Darth Train".
Alan Rickman turned down the role of Alec Trevelyan, stating that he was tired of playing villains.
Final James Bond movie viewed by Albert R. Broccoli.
Whilst on the set of "Scarlett" (1994), Timothy Dalton officially announced his resignation from the role of James Bond on 11 April 1994. The script for this movie was originally earmarked for Dalton in the role of James Bond.
Pierce Brosnan hurt his hand in his bathroom at home in Malibu before shooting began, so in several shots his hands were doubled by his 22 year old son Christopher, who was the third assistant trainee on the second unit. These include: pulling on a hand-brake in the Aston Martin DB5, flipping open the glove compartment to reveal a bottle of chilled Bollinger champagne, using the laser in the opening bungee jump and cutting through the floor of the train with the laser in 007's wristwatch.
Pierce Brosnan was officially introduced to the press as the new James Bond on 8 June 1994 at the Regent Hotel in London. He was sporting a full beard as he was about to start production on Robinson Crusoe (1997) the next day.
The 'Manticore' seen in the Monte Carlo sequence was actually called 'Northern Cross'. The $15 Million yacht was owned by Finnish businessman Jorma Lillbacka of the power machine company Finn-Power.
The song "The Experience of Love", which appears during the end credits is actually a sped-up version with lyrics of a select sequence from Eric Serra's score from his previous film, Léon (1994)
At the time the script was being written the producers were under the assumption that Timothy Dalton would be renewing the role of Bond. It was written to match Dalton's darker, more realistic portrayal of 007.
Composer John Altman provided the music for the tank chase, after it was decided that Eric Serra's initial arrangement was not to be used. It appears on the soundtrack CD as "A Pleasant Drive in St. Petersburg". As such, the collaboration for this incidental music in the movie is the only instance in the film series that this has occurred.
The film's title song did not chart in the USA but in the UK it went to the No. #7 spot on the UK Charts. The song was written by Bono and The Edge of 'U2' and performed by Tina Turner. All three were neighbors to each other living in the South of France. One day, the U2 members went over to Turner's place whereupon The Edge played the song on Turner's piano. Bono's inspiration for writing the song was his honeymoon stay with his wife at Ian Fleming's Jamaican beach house Goldeneye, which is also the name of the movie's title.
Features the highest bungee jump from a structure in a movie. The drop was over 722 ft.
The first of the James Bond films ever to be released on DVD.
First MGM/UA Dolby Digital release.
"Goldeneye" was also the code name of a contingency plan that the Allies devised in the event of a Nazi invasion of Spain. This plan was concocted in part by Ian Fleming himself, as an SIS agent.
During years that the Bond film that eventually became GoldenEye was in a legal quagmire, it went through several title and concept changes. Initially, Michael G. Wilson and Alfonse Ruggiero wrote a script treatment under the title "Property of a Lady" which would have seen the Bond film series briefly return to using Ian Fleming titles. According to what little evidence is available about this script (and is printed in the book The Bond Files by Andy Lane and Paul Simpson), the film would have taken place in Hong Kong.
The idea to make the M character a woman was a concept devised by director Martin Campbell.
The co-ordinates of the Space Weapons Control Centre Facility in Severnaya, Russia were latitude 62° 08' North and longitude 102° 58' East.
For the first time, computer graphics were used to create the famous "gun barrel" opening.
The new arrangement of the Bond theme used in the opening was disliked by many fans and was replaced by a more traditional version in future films.
The plane that Wade delivers to Bond (borrowed from a friend in the DEA) is a reference to Licence to Kill (1989). Franz Sanchez attempts to escape in a plane of the same make, model, and series (but with a different registration) before his capture by the DEA. The plane is a Cessna 172 and its registration number is N96816.
Swedish pop music group Ace of Base was originally slated to perform the title theme song. Ace of Base recorded the song, written by the band's own Jonas Berggren, but it was pulled out of the project by their then record label. Ace of Base later re-wrote the lyrics to the song, renaming it "The Juvenile", and put it on their album, "Da Capo", released in Europe in late 2002. The song was even released as a single off of that album in Germany in December 2002. With the lyrics, the words 'The Juvenile" replaced 'The Goldeneye', both having the same number of syllables whilst the lyric "Tomorrow's foe is now a friend" clearly refers to Alex Trevelyan.
The song sung by Zukovsky's girlfriend Irina (Minnie Driver) in the nightclub was "Stand By Your Man" by Tammy Wynette.
Long-standing visual effects supervisor Derek Meddings died of natural causes a few months after filming was completed, hence the dedication of the film to him.
First completely original James Bond film, without reference to any Ian Fleming novel or short story.
Second and last Bond film to be turned into a novel by then-current James Bond writer, John Gardner.
In the script, M's real name is Barbara Mawdsley.
One of the sounds/noises during the attack on the GoldenEye control station by GoldenEye itself, seems to be exactly the same humming noise the CRM-114 makes, when it receives a message in the movie Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964).
The Bond series traditional home at Pinewood Studios was unavailable, having being booked to shoot First Knight (1995) ironically starring original James Bond - Sean Connery. So, the producers created a new studio from a former Rolls Royce aircraft engine factory and aerodrome. This studio, at Leavesden in Hertfordshire, was named Leavesden Studios. It was subsequently used for Sleepy Hollow (1999) and Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). GoldenEye (1995) was the first film to shoot at Leavesden Studios and when built, it was nicknamed by the production as "Cubbywood".
Although it is alleged that Pierce Brosnan's contract to play James Bond specifically prohibited him from appearing in other movies wearing a tuxedo, he nevertheless appears in a tuxedo in The Mirror Has Two Faces (1996) which followed Brosnan's first James Bond appearance in Goldeneye by more than a year.
The black-haired Tiger helicopter pilot Onatopp shoots before she steals it is the same man who performed the bungee stunt in the opening sequence.
Cameo: [Michael G. Wilson] the producer appears as a member of the Russian Security Council.
The tank chase took approximately four weeks to film.
Boris Grishenko's email address was madvlad@mosu.comp.math.edu
The ID number on the badge of Admiral Chuck Farrell (Billy J. Mitchell) of the Canadian National Defence was No. 2488. Mitchell had previously played the Yacht Commander of "The Flying Saucer" in Never Say Never Again (1983).
It took about ten minutes for crew to walk along the walkway from the periphery to the center of the Goldeneye Satellite Dish at the Arecibo Observatory, Arecibo, Puerto Rico filming location.
The satellite dish used in the end of the film is the same one used in the film Contact (1997). It is the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico.
Near the end of the film a computer displays "Pevsner Commerzbank GmBH", a reference to executive producer Tom Pevsner.
The Rolling Stones were offered the chance to sing the title song, but declined.
"Goldeneye" is the nickname of Bond creator Ian Fleming's beachfront house in Jamaica where (between 1952 and 1964) he wrote the Bond novels and short stories.
The Jack Wade character was named after screenwriter Kevin Wade who wrote a draft of the screenplay.
After the scene where the tank crashes through the Perrier truck, the company allegedly had every single can collected off the ground. Whether the can was perfect, crumpled, or flattened, the company apparently didn't want its product placements to be used for selling of false non-Perrier mineral water.
The title had previously been used as a title of the name of a tele-movie biopic about the life of James Bond creator Ian Fleming entitled The Secret Life of Ian Fleming (1990) (TV). The Goldeneye title would later be used as a title for a James Bond video game GoldenEye (1997) (VG) and then another video game GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (2004) (VG), which used this name to take advantage of the popularity of the first game, but had nothing to do with the first game or the movie. These all make Goldeneye the most ever used title for movies and video games in the James Bond universe.
First James Bond movie in the official series to be directed by a non-English director. This was Martin Campbell and later, Die Another Day (2002) would be directed by New Zealander Lee Tamahori whilst Campbell would go on to direct Casino Royale (2006).
The film is credited with having the largest amount of model and miniature work ever utilized in a James Bond movie.
First ever James Bond movie to actually shoot in the traditional spy genre cold war country of Russia. St. Petersburg was the actual filming location.
Vehicles featured included Xenia Onatopp's red Ferrari Spider F355 GTS sports car with fake French rego plates; a surprise tractor; a blue BMW Z3 roadster convertible car; the return of the silver birch Aston Martin DB5 which had originally appeared in Goldfinger (1964) and Thunderball (1965); Alec Trevelyan's Train, a dark colored black gray British Rail Class 20 No. D8188 locomotive with additional Russian-looking armored plating; a T-55 tank adapted to look like a T-80BV Russian tank; Eurocopter 355 Twin Star, Robinson R-22 Beta, Bell 204 HUEY, and black Eurocopter PAH-2 Tiger Stealth helicopters; the French stealth ship La Fayette; a speedboat; a Mercedes-Benz 280E; the Manticore Yacht; a GAZ-3102 Volga passenger car; a Mera Cagiva 600 W 16 motorcycle; a Zaporozhec; several VAZ 2106 police cars and UAZ army jeeps pursuing Bond's tank; a Pilatus PC-6/B2-H4 Turbo-Porter airplane; three Russian Mikoyan MiG-29 jet fighter aircraft; a Perrier merchandise truck; and a blue Moskvich car and Cessna 172 airplane both belonging to Jack Wade.
The name of the winged horse St. Petersburg statue that ended on a top of the T-55 tank was Pegasus. Pegasus was also the name of Max Zorin's pedigree racing horse in A View to a Kill (1985).
Because the series was caught up in litigation, the six-and-a-half-year hiatus between the release of Licence to Kill (1989) and GoldenEye (1995) is the longest gap between Bond films since the series first started in 1962.
This is the first time that the Bill Tanner Mi6 Chief of Staff character has appeared in the series since For Your Eyes Only (1981). The character was meant to return for the next Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) but the actor Michael Kitchen who had played him here was unavailable to return. But Kitchen did get to return as Tanner in The World Is Not Enough (1999).
The type of drink that Xenia Onatopp orders at the casino was a vodka martini straight up with a twist. This was a play on James Bond's traditional favorite drink a vodka martini shaken not stirred which is what he orders at the casino.
First opening titles sequence directed by title designer Daniel Kleinman picking up the baton from long-standing designer Maurice Binder, who had died since the making of the previous Bond movie Licence to Kill (1989).
The Bond film to follow Licence to Kill (1989) (often times erroneously said to have been intended to be 'The Property of a Lady' but which eventually became GoldenEye (1995)) was supposed to be released in 1991, but legal squabbles over the ownership of James Bond, disappointing box office results on Licence to Kill (1989), and the death of longtime screenwriter Richard Maibaum, delayed the start of production for several years. Although he was contracted to play Bond a third time (and possibly fourth time), after several years elapsed with no new film, Timothy Dalton announced he didn't want to play the role again. This opened the door for Pierce Brosnan.
Several changes had to be made to the script during production because the plot was virtually identical to True Lies (1994) which was being released at the time.
Actresses considered as Bond girls were Elizabeth Hurley and Elle Macpherson. Paulina Porizkova and Eva Herzigova were offered the role of Natalya but turned it down.
Before Pierce Brosnan was cast as James Bond, Liam Neeson, Mel Gibson, Sam Neill, Hugh Grant and Lambert Wilson were all rumoured to be in the running for the role.
This was Pierce Brosnan's first appearance as James Bond. After Roger Moore retired, considering himself to be too old to play Bond any more, Pierce was offered the role of James Bond in The Living Daylights (1987), but lost out due to his contractual obligations to "Remington Steele" (1982).
SPOILER: The German release of the movie apparently did not show Alec Trevelyan's death when the satellite dish fell on him. It only shows up to him falling from the dish.
Release Date: Monday, November 13, 1995
Budget: $58,000,000 Gross: $99,929,196 Profit: $41,929,196
Rating: 7.1 Votes: 57,882