Casino Royale
Country: USA, UK, Germany, Czech Republic Year: 2006 Language: English
Alternative Title(s): James Bond 21
Cast: Daniel Craig (James Bond), Eva Green (Vesper Lynd), Mads Mikkelsen (Le Chiffre), Judi Dench (M), Jeffrey Wright (Felix Leiter), Giancarlo Giannini (Mathis), Caterina Murino (Solange), Simon Abkarian (Alex Dimitrios), Isaach De Bankolé (Steven Obanno (as Isaach De Bankole)), Jesper Christensen (Mr. White), Ivana Milicevic (Valenka), Tobias Menzies (Villiers), Claudio Santamaria (Carlos), Sebastien Foucan (Mollaka (as Sébastien Foucan)), Malcolm Sinclair (Dryden), Richard Sammel (Gettler), Ludger Pistor (Mendel), Joseph Millson (Carter), Daud Shah (Fisher), Clemens Schick (Kratt), Emmanuel Avena (Leo), Tom Chadbon (Stockbroker), Ade (Infante), Urbano Barberini (Tomelli), Tsai Chin (Madame Wu), Charlie Levi Leroy (Gallardo), Lazar Ristovski (Kaminofsky), Tom So (Fukutu), Veruschka von Lehndorff (Gräfin von Wallenstein (as Veruschka)), Andreas Daniel (Dealer (as Daniel Andreas)), Carlos Leal (Tournament Director), Christina Cole (Ocean Club Receptionist), Jürgen Tarrach (Schultz), John Gold (Card Player), Jerry Inzerillo (Card Player #2), Diane Hartford (Card Player #3), Jessica Miller (Dealer), Leo Stransky (Tall Man (as Leos Stránský)), Paul Bhattacharjee (Hot Room Doctor), Crispin Bonham-Carter (Hot Room Doctor), Simon Cox (Hot Room Technician), Rebecca Gethings (Hot Room Technician), Peter Notley (MI6 Technician), John Chancer (Police Commander), Peter Brooke (Airport Policeman), Jason Durran (Airport Policeman), Robert Jezek (Arresting Officer), Robert G. Slade (Pilot), Félicité Du Jeu (French News Reporter), Michaela Ochotská (Shop Assistant), Michael Offei (Obanno's Lieutenant), Makhoudia Diaw (Obanno's Liaison), Michael G. Wilson (Chief of Police), Martina Duravolá (Police Chief's Girlfriend), Marcela Martincáková (Police Chief's Girlfriend), Vladimir Kulhavy (Croatian General (as Vladimír Kulhavý)), Valentine Nonyela (Nambutu Embassy Official), Dusan Pelech (Bartender), Phil Meheux (Treasury Bureaucrat (as Phil Méheux)), Alessandra Ambrosio (Tennis Girl), Veronika Hladikova (Tennis Girl (as Veronika Hladíková)), Regina Gabajová (Hotel Splendide Clerk), Olutunji Ebun-Cole (Cola Kid), Martin Ucik (Barman (as Martin Ucík)), Vlasta Svátková (Waitress), Miroslav Simunek (Disapproving Man), Ivan G'Vera (Venice Hotel Concierge), Jirí Lenc (Hotel Splendide Limo Driver), Jaroslav Jankovsky (Hermitage Waiter), Richard Branson (Man at Airport Security (uncredited)), Pete Britten (MI6 Technician (uncredited)), Martin Campbell (Airport Worker (uncredited)), Ben Cooke (MI6 Agent (uncredited)), Gunther von Hagens (Himself (uncredited))
Keywords: Poker, Terrorist, MI6, Montenegro, James Bond, Casino, Terrorism, Bahamas, Assassination, Secret Service, Violence, Torture, Henchman, Altered Version Of Studio Logo, Bond Girl, Shootout, Murder, Venice Italy, Male Female Relationship, Shot In The Leg, Blood Splatter, Tanker, Silencer, Cocktail, Animated Credits, Parkour, Snake, Penumbra, Computer, Car Chase, Car Accident, Madagascar, Psychopath, Bodyworks, Remake, Lifting Person In Air, Bloody Violence, Electrocution, Strangulation, Lost Love, Poison, Cell Phone, Sequel, Origin Story, Gambling Syndicate, Butterfly Knife, Exploding Body, Rogue Agent, Cult Figure, Machine Gun, Crushed To Death, Aston Martin, Double Agent, Swimming, Stairwell, Motorboat, Shot In The Back, London England, Hotel, Assassin, Espionage, Embassy, Shot In The Forehead, Fight, Shot In The Eye, Official James Bond Series, Shower, Shot In The Foot, Explosion, Wager, British Secret Service, Gadget, Building Collapse, Arch Villain, Eye Patch, Secret Agent, Mass Murder, Beach, Murder By Gunshot, Shot In The Head, Spa, Terrorist Base, Surveillance, Flipping Car, Hit In Crotch, Tazer, Stabbed In The Chest, Shirt Filled With Blood, Foot Pursuit, Shot In The Chest, Stabbing, Heart Attack, Money Laundering, Africa, Free Running, Bomb, Blockbuster, Sequel Mentioned During End Credits, Blood On Shirt, Hammock, Gadget Car, Neck Breaking Scene, Chase, Lagoon, Hospital, Italy, Yacht, Prequel To Sequel, Train, Suspense, Airport, Villa, Restaurant, Drugged Drink, Cult Favorite, Male Nudity, Construction Site, Drowning, Airplane, South Africa, Super Villain, Based On Novel, Title Spoken By Character, Plot Twist, Surprise Ending
Summary: James Bond goes on his first ever mission as a 00. Le Chiffre is a banker to the world's terrorists. He is participating in a poker game at Montenegro, where he must win back his money, in order to stay safe among the terrorist market. The boss of MI6, known simply as M sends Bond, along with Vesper Lynd to attend this game and prevent Le Chiffre from winning. Bond, using help from Felix Leiter, Mathis and having Vesper pose as his wife, enters the most important poker game in his already dangerous career. But if Bond defeats Le Chiffre, will he and Vesper Lynd remain safe?
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While on set Eva Green was approached by producers of _The Golden Compass (2007)_ and offered the role of Serafina Pekkala which she accepted. Daniel Craig also starred in it although their characters had no interaction.
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SPOILER: Characters that appear in this film who were in the original "Casino Royale" novel include James Bond, Vesper Lynd, M, Le Chiffre, Rene Mathis, Felix Leiter and Gettler, the latter of whom was more fully known as Adolph Gettler in the novel. Characters from this film that return in this movie's direct sequel Quantum of Solace (2008) include James Bond, M, Felix Leiter, Rene Mathis and Mr. White. Characters from this film that are referred to in Quantum of Solace (2008) include Le Chiffre and Vesper Lynd.
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SPOILER: Though the iconic James Bond theme is not fully heard until the final scene of the film, a few bars of it can be heard faintly at the end of the scene where Bond wins Dimitrios' vintage Aston Martin while playing poker, and when Bond's plane is first landing in the Bahamas.
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SPOILER: Although the password that James Bond enters on the alpha-numeric keypad at the Casino Royale was supposed to be VESPER (837737), the password Bond enters is 836547.
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SPOILER: James Bond's medical condition imposed by poisoning at the Casino Royale was Ventricular Tachycardia (VT) - Digitalis. VT is an increased rhythm of the heart derived from one of its ventricles where three or more beats of the heart beat at a rate more than 100 beats per minute. This arrhythmia can lead to uncoordinated cardiac muscle contraction called ventricular fibrillation, and sudden death. The digitalis refers to digitalis-induced ventricular tachycardia i.e. caused by the drug digitalis which is also known as Digoxin or by its brand name, Lanoxin. This is a heart medication drug that can kill in overdose. It's a cardiac glycoside drug derived from the foxglove plant Digitalis Lanata, more commonly known as Grecian Foxglove or Woolly Foxglove.
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SPOILER: The producers did not like the final scene in the novel as it was too melodramatic and opted for a more cinematic finale as in the movie. This involves changing Vesper's death scene. In the novel, she commits suicide through sleeping pill overdose.
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SPOILER: This is the first time in a Bond film that two leading Bond girls die since You Only Live Twice (1967). And it's the first Bond movie since On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) where the main central love interest dies at the end of the movie, as in the original novel.
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SPOILER: Third consecutive James Bond movie in the series where James Bond is tortured. In The World Is Not Enough (1999), he was tortured in a chair with tightening screws. The previous Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) featured chakra torture devices but Bond was not actually tortured. In Die Another Day (2002) he was tortured during the opening scenes whilst in a Korean prison and in this film he is tortured by Le Chiffre adapted from the classic sequence in the original Ian Fleming novel where Le Chiffre tortures Bond by striking his testicles with a carpet beater. In the film Le Chiffre uses a knotted rope.
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The four year hiatus between the release of Die Another Day (2002) and Casino Royale (2006) is the second longest gap between Bond films since the series first started in 1962. The longest gap in the James Bond film series was between the release of Licence to Kill (1989) and GoldenEye (1995).
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Ian Fleming started writing the first ever James Bond novel "Casino Royale" on his Imperial typewriter at "Goldeneye", Jamaica around the 15-17th January 1952 and completed it on Tuesday 18th March 1952.
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SPOILER: When James Bond is poisoned in this movie, at one point, the heart monitoring machine actually indicates that his heart has stopped beating. Technically, he dies before he is resuscitated. As such, this is the first instance in an official James Bond film that the James Bond character literally dies and then lives for a second time, as per the Ian Fleming haiku and novel & film title "You Only Live Twice". In the opening sequence of From Russia with Love (1963), James Bond appeared to have been killed but his face revealed another agent under a mask. And in You Only Live Twice (1967), James Bond's death was faked during the beginning of the movie. Ian Fleming's "You Only Live Twice" haiku (poem) reads: "You only live twice. Once when you are born. And once when you look death in the face." In the comedy version Casino Royale (1967), James Bond (actually several James Bonds, the real one and six namesakes) ultimately dies and even goes to Heaven.
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The first-ever day of filming on the James Bond official series took place on 16 January 1962 for Dr. No (1962) which was exactly ten years to the day that James Bond creator Ian Fleming started writing the novel "Casino Royale" on 16 January 1952, though some sources state that this is the 15th or 17th.
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In the construction site chase sequence between Bond and the bomb maker, Bond is driving a forklift. Behind his head, on the protective screen, is a sticker that says "New Holland". This was the original name for the island of Australia.
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A number of titles of movies and TV shows have spoofed or referenced this film's title. These include Allkopi Royale (2006); Casino Royale with Cheese (2007) (V); Bikini Royale (2008) (TV); Pub Royale (1997) ; "Casino Royal" (1989) and "Star Trek: The Next Generation: The Royale (#2.12)" (1989).
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Cameo: [Tsai Chin] As Madame Wu in this film. She has the second longest ever gap between appearances in Bond movies. She played Ling in You Only Live Twice (1967) thirty-nine years earlier.
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SPOILER: The sinking house in Venice at the end of the movie is not just a movie set piece. In reality, buildings in Venice can actually give away and sink into canals.
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SPOILER: Second consecutive James Bond movie where a female character is revealed to be a double agent.
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SPOILER: Le Chiffre is the first leading Bond villain in the EON Productions official series to have not one but two readily apparent physical dysfunctions. He has an inhaler for breathing which is a character trait from the original Ian Fleming novel but he also has tear ducts that weep blood.
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SPOILER: First James Bond movie in the EON Productions official series where the movie ends with James Bond alone and without a leading Bond Girl with him.
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SPOILER: Le Chiffre is the first leading Bond villain in the EON Productions series to die but not by the hand of James Bond, a Bond Girl or Bond ally. Nor are any directly involved with events that lead to his death. Indeed like with the original Ian Fleming novel, Le Chiffre is the first major villain (i.e. not including henchmen) in the series to be killed by his own people.
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Martin Campbell claimed in an interview that the only reason he agreed to direct was because he had no other projects in development.
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The last lines of the original Ian Fleming "Casino Royale" novel read: " 'This is 007 speaking. This is an open line. It's an emergency. Can you hear me? Pass this on at once. 3030 was a double, working for Redland. 'Yes, dammit, I said "was". The bitch is dead now.' "
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The torture of James Bond by Le Chiffre made famous in the original "Casino Royale" novel and featured in this film was not one of the scenes included in the video-game Quantum of Solace (2008) (VG). This scene was allegedly left out of the video-game for it to garner a lower games classifications rating.
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The scene at the "Body Worlds Exhibition" in Miami, USA from this movie is not included in the spin-off video-game Quantum of Solace (2008) (VG). It is replaced with a game scene set at the "Science of Rotary Flight Exhibition" in Miami, USA instead.
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21st official James Bond movie in the EON Productions franchise, the first to feature Daniel Craig as James Bond, the fifth to feature Judi Dench as M and its the 24th James Bond movie overall.
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The literal translations of some of this film's foreign language titles include James Bond 007 - Casino Royale (Germany); Casino Royal (Russia and Serbia) and 007: Casino Royale (Japan, Estonia, Brazil).
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The idea to reboot the series came from Quentin Tarantino. He also suggested keeping Pierce Brosnan as James Bond.
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The first film in the series to show Bond as a rookie in MI6. In all the other films, he had long been a spy.
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Daniel Craig as James Bond uses a Walther P99 pistol in this movie. It's not the first time he's used it. In Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), Craig used one in the Tomb of the Dancing Light.
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The early free running chase sequence scene from this film is replicated in the James Bond video-game Quantum of Solace (2008) (VG) but it does not include the likeness of Sebastien Foucan as the free running bomber.
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The video game Quantum of Solace (2008) (VG) is based on the two consecutive James Bond movies: this film and Quantum of Solace (2008) of which the latter is a direct sequel to the former. Action scenes in the game are replications of events from both Bond movies.
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The first lines of the "Casino Royale" novel read: "The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning."
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Actress Tsai Chin, who plays Madame Wu, also appeared as Ling, the girl who helps set up Bond's 'death' in You Only Live Twice (1967).
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In the opening sequence when the MI6 traitor is riding the elevator, the camera focuses on the number of floors the elevator is climbing, stopping at the number 6. The traitor is climbing the elevator to where he will meet Daniel Craig as James Bond, the sixth actor to play Bond in the 21 feature films.
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Scenes from this film and its direct sequel Quantum of Solace (2008) are used for game scenes in the video-game Quantum of Solace (2008) (VG). The scenes are replications of events from both Bond movies.
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James Ferguson, a physician in Aberdeen, Scotland, came up with the idea for the scene in which Bond is poisoned and is remotely diagnosed by MI6 experts. He is a Bond fan, and has been retained as a medical adviser on future Bond films.
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Locations from this movie that are featured in the video-game Quantum of Solace (2008) (VG) include Lake Como and Venice in Italy; London and environs in England; Miami, USA; Madagascar, Africa; and the fictional Montenegro in Europe.
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Ian Fleming once said on writing the "Casino Royale" novel: "Writing about 2,000 words in three hours every morning, 'Casino Royale' dutifully produced itself. I wrote nothing and made no corrections until the book was finished. If I had looked back at what I had written the day before, I might have despaired."
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Daniel Craig features as a new James Bond in this film but it is not the first time that the name Craig has been associated with the James Bond spy genre. The 1970s James Bond imitation picture Innocent Bystanders (1972) starred Stanley Baker as secret agent Craig, John Craig.
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There is a story visible on Le Chiffre's computer on the same page that has the story of Bond's latest mission at the Embassy. It states that a French football player called Neil Pinkawa has stated he is not retiring from the national soccer team. Neil Pinkawa is in fact Casino Royale's lead screen graphics artist, who would have been in charge of creating all of the mock web pages in the film.
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The title song "You Know My Name" is the first theme song since the earlier James Bond movie Octopussy (1983) to have a different song title to that of the film. Apparently, it was requested that the title of the song be not called Casino Royale. Chris Cornell is the first male singer to perform the James Bond title song since A-Ha in The Living Daylights (1987) and Duran Duran in A View to a Kill (1985).
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During production, controversy erupted amongst some fans, on the internet and the British press regarding the casting of Daniel Craig, a blond James Bond.
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The first lines of the original Ian Fleming "Casino Royale" novel read: "The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning."
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Cameo: [Gunther von Hagens] The creator of the Body Worlds exhibit can be heard and his trademark black hat seen - but not his face - during the sequence where Bond stabs a man in the museum in front of one of von Hagens' displays.
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"Casino Royale" was the first James Bond novel written by Ian Fleming and is the last of the original Fleming novels to be filmed by EON Productions. The shooting of this film now means EON Productions have filmed the entire canon of Fleming James Bond novels, although some just in title (that is: movies titled after Fleming novels whose plots have little or nothing to do with Fleming's novels, for example The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979), and You Only Live Twice (1967)).
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Pierce Brosnan had expressed an interest in making this film, but was considered too old at 53.
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Daniel Craig is the first actor to play James Bond in the EON Productions official series who was not cast by founding James Bond producer Albert R. Broccoli.
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"Casino Royale" was the only full Ian Fleming novel title not made into a movie by the late Albert R. Broccoli. His stepson producer Michael G. Wilson and daughter producer Barbara Broccoli have finally achieved this under the banner of "Albert R. Broccoli's Eon Productions".
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Ian Fleming received three offers for the film rights to his "Casino Royale" novel during 1954. Producer and Director Gregory Ratoff bought the rights to the novel in May 1954 for $600. It was a six month option and Ratoff took this to CBS whom produced and broadcast this one hour episode for "Climax!" (1954) [See: "Climax!: Casino Royale (#1.3)" (1954)]. CBS purchased the rights to the Ian Fleming novel for $1000. John Shepridge negotiated the sale of the film and television rights in 1954. Before the sale, the "Casino Royale" novel had not been successful, and was even retitled and Americanized for its paperback issue. Fleming also needed money. Twelve months later, and after the TV screening, Ratoff bought "Casino Royale" outright in perpetuity for an additional $6000. Both sales including the option and the buy-out are considered to have been sold too cheaply and were two sales that Ian Fleming later regretted. With the money from the larger sale, Ian Fleming bought a Thunderbird car at the cost of £3000. Gregory Ratoff passed away on 14 December 1960. His widow in 1961 sold the rights to Charles K. Feldman for $75,000. Feldman would go on to make the James Bond parody, Casino Royale (1967) and it would not be made as an EON Productions film for almost another forty years.
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Cameo: [Diane Hartford] [who features as Card Player #3 in the credits has the longest ever gap between appearances in Bond movies. She had three lines playing a girl in the Kiss Kiss Club in Thunderball (1965) forty one years before.]
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The villain Le Chiffre played by Mads Mikkelsen has previously been played by such great screen luminaries in film history as Peter Lorre in 1954 in the telemovie "Climax!: Casino Royale (#1.3)" (1954) and Orson Welles in 1967 in the spoof Casino Royale (1967).
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Before Daniel Craig was officially announced to play James Bond there were several other actors considered for the part. Producer Michael G. Wilson said that they looked over 200 actors searching for the right one. Some of them were Julian McMahon, Hrithik Roshan, Dominic West and Gerard Butler. Most of them were deemed not appropriate to fit the role, while some others were nothing but media speculation. Goran Visnjic, Sam Worthington, Alex O'Loughlin and Rupert Friend were also considered, while Henry Cavill almost got the part but was considered too young to play it.
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Among the actresses considered for the role of Vesper Lynd were Aishwarya Rai, Naomi Watts, Charlize Theron, Thandie Newton, Angelina Jolie, Rachel McAdams, Caterina Murino, Sienna Miller, Rose Byrne, Rachael Stirling, Natasha Henstridge, Jessica Simpson, Scarlett Johansson, Silvia Colloca and Vera Farmiga.
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According to producer Barbara Broccoli, it had always been an ambition of founding producers, Harry Saltzman and her father Albert R. Broccoli to make "Casino Royale", the only Ian Fleming James Bond book that they did not have the rights to produce.
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Many of the other actors in the running to play James Bond didn't know they didn't get the job until they saw the TV broadcast of Daniel Craig accepting the offer.
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Ulrich Matthes was offered the role of 'Le Chiffre' but had to decline due to his commitment to a theatrical production of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?".
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Daniel Craig gained 20 pounds of muscle for the role.
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Cameo: [Phil Meheux] The film's director of photography appears as a bureaucrat from H.M. Treasury in M's office.
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Jessica Miller, who plays the dealer at the poker game at The Ocean Club, is actually the Poker Room Manager at the Crystal Palace Casino in Nassau, Bahamas.
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Cameo: [Richard Branson] The Virgin Airlines boss as a man at airport security. When British Airways showed the film on their airline, they blurred out the tail showing the Virgin Atlantic logo and cut Branson's cameo.
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Chris Cornell's title song "You Know My Name" debuted in the US Charts on 9 December 2006 where it went to the No. #79 spot. The song does not appear on the film's soundtrack. This is the first time in the history of the official series that the title song has not been included on the soundtrack.
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Product placements and promotional tie-ins seen in the movie included Virgin Airlines including a Richard Branson cameo; Heineken Beer; Sony Ericsson K800 and K790 camera phones; Sony Electronics including Blu-Ray HD players, discs, & security system; Sony HD5 MP3 player, LCDs & computers such as the VAIO Laptop; Ford Automobiles including Mondeo, Range Rover and Land Rover Defender, Jaguar, Lincoln, Volvo, and the Aston Martin DB5 & DBS; FedEx Freight; Château Angélus; Cybershot Digital Cameras; M's Turnbull & Asser pajamas; Omega Seamster Watches, James Bond wears a Black Seamaster Co-Axial Planet Ocean and a Omega Seamseter Diver 300M; Smirnoff Vodka; and Bollinger Champagne.
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The Skyfleet S570 prototype at Miami International Airport is meant to be a spoof of the new Airbus A380. The S570 was built off an old 747-200, which was originally used by British Airways (under the designation "G-BDXJ"), and had flown for both Air Asia and Malaysia Airlines before being retired from service. It was refitted with two mock-up engines on each inner pylon and external fuel tanks on the outer pylons, somewhat anachronistically resembling a B-52 Stratofortress.
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Poker playing was a common pastime amongst cast and crew on the set, even after production had wrapped. This however is not new for a James Bond movie. Roger Moore and Albert R. Broccoli during breaks in filming played and bet on backgammon. Many of the James Bond movies have been known to have cast and crew participate in some high-stakes gambling.
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Daniel Craig is the first actor to be under the age of forty and play James Bond since George Lazenby in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969).
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"Casino Royale" was the only James Bond novel not obtained by Harry Saltzman when he purchased the rights in 1961. He then went into partnership with Albert R. Broccoli.
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A video podcast with shooting updates was available during production making it the first James Bond movie to do this.
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One week after filming was completed, the 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios burnt down on 30 July 2006. This was the second time this had happened, the first being before filming on A View to a Kill (1985). The filmmakers had just finished using the stage for filming interiors set in Venice for the movie.
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This is the first official James Bond film to be co-produced by Columbia Pictures, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment; this is a result of Sony's acquisition of MGM along with Bond rights co-owner United Artists. Columbia Pictures had originally co-produced and distributed the 1967 unofficial film, Casino Royale (1967).
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In 1999 MGM paid Sony $10 million for the rights to this film.
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This is the first time that the character "Felix Leiter" returns to the James Bond franchise since 1989's Licence to Kill (1989).
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The announcement of Daniel Craig as the new James Bond was made on October 14th, 2005, aboard the HMS President, in London. In that same day, former James Bond Roger Moore was celebrating his 78th birthday.
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In 1999 Sony paid MGM $5 million to settle the $40 million lawsuit that MGM had brought against Sony over the Bond rights. The lawsuit was filed because of Sony's intentions to remake Casino Royale. In the settlement Sony agreed to hand over all of its rights to the Bond character and Casino Royale. In an ironic twist of fate, Sony bought MGM in 2005, and in 2006, released a new serious adaptation of Casino Royale.
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The 2007 Ford Mondeo sport model used in the beginning of the film is a special, one-off hand-built prototype vehicle, constructed by hand at Ford of Europe's Design Studio in Cologne, Germany, in January, 2006 and shipped to the Bahamas in secrecy for shooting. Actual production is not due to start until the second quarter of 2007.
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The set interior of the sinking house in Venice measured 45 ft by 40 ft and was 45 ft high. It was built around the existing indoor tank at Pinewood Studios which was increased to 20 ft so the whole set could sink 16 ft.
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"Casino Royale" is also the name of the casino where James Bond and Maximilian Largo face-off in a video game battle in the movie Never Say Never Again (1983).
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Virgin Atlantic Airways, Czech Airlines (CSA), Travel Service and European Aviation Air Charter (EAAC) are the only actual airlines in the film. There are several shots of CSA planes on the ground since the sequence was filmed at Prague Airport and a Virgin plane is seen taking off in the background. The EAAC aircraft can be seen being taxied across the ramp. Richard Branson, founder of Virgin, is seen in the metal detector in the airport.
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Cameo: [Michael G. Wilson] As a Montenegro Police Chief.
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Authorities in Venice granted producers permission to sail James Bond's yacht, called Spirit 54, along the Grand Canal between the Accademia and Rialto bridges. No-one can remember exactly the last time a pleasure yacht sailed in the Grand Canal, but it's believed to have been several centuries ago.
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The Casino Estoril of Lisbon, Portugal was the inspiration for the casino gambling scene and title for the Ian Fleming novel of "Casino Royale". This was a location where German agents would frequent during World War II. On his visit, Fleming bancoed three times and lost three times, yet little did he know that his future James Bond novel title would be made as a movie three times.
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First James Bond film since The Living Daylights (1987) not to be novelized into a book. The original Ian Fleming novel is to go into reprint as a tie-in for the release of the movie instead.
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The film prints were delivered to theaters under the codename "Change At Midnight".
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Solange's name is never mentioned in the film. The Bond girl character name of Solange in the film has previously appeared in two Ian Fleming stories. She was the name of the girl in the short story "007 In New York" and a girl named Solange was referenced in the short story, "From A View To A Kill". These stories are included in the "Octopussy" and "For Your Eyes Only" collections respectively. They have the same name but it has not been confirmed whether they are actually the same character.
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Marks the first time since The Living Daylights (1987) that a James Bond movie has used an original Ian Fleming short story or novel title.
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South Africa was originally scheduled as a filming location for the movie. A James Bond movie had never lensed in this country before. Scheduling difficulties and the inability to secure shooting locations in the southern hemisphere country meant that the location had to be scrapped.
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The car barrel-roll stunt by the Aston Martin DBS broke the world record for the most barrel rolls assisted by a cannon. Originally, the racing specifications of the DBS meant that a standard ramp would not be sufficient to get the car to roll, so the special effects team were called in to install a air-powered cannon behind the drivers seat. This allowed the car to complete seven full rolls. The stunt was officially entered into the Guinness Book of World Records on 5th November 2006.
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The location used in the Bahamas as the Madagascar Construction site was an abandoned hotel site at Coral Harbour that was under construction 30 years ago. It was used to film hotel rooms for the 1965 James Bond movie Thunderball (1965) and it was also used for the 1977 Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) as a camera platform with models and workshops. It is now part of a military base.
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In the shower scene, Vesper was originally scripted to be wearing nothing but her underwear. Daniel Craig argued that Vesper would not have stopped to take her clothes off, and the scene was changed.
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The style of free-running/movement Mollaka the Bomb-Maker uses in the Madagascar Chase near the beginning of the film is called "parkour." Sebastien Foucan, who plays Mollaka is one of the main publicists of parkour and has appeared in many other media events.
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Ian Fleming is said to have based the character of the villain Le Chiffre in the novel "Casino Royale" on English occultist Aleister Crowley.
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The name of the Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340-600 parked at the gate at Miami Airport was "Lady Luck".
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The perfume bottle in Vesper's bag is Melograno by Santa Maria Novella.
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The three-piece suit worn by James Bond at the end of the film is a navy version of the gray suit worn by Sean Connery in Goldfinger (1964).
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The wine that Vesper Lynd and Bond drink on the train to Montenegro is a bottle of Château Angélus, Premier Grand Cru Classé Saint-Émilion. Bond is also seen on the train to Montenegro with a glass of whiskey.
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The movie was delivered to some theaters under the codename: "Rough Skins".
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First James Bond film approved by Chinese censors. All other films in the series were available in China only as illegal bootlegs.
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The license plate number of James Bond's 2007 Aston Martin DBS is TT-378-20.
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In one afternoon's shooting, three Aston Martin DBS cars valued at $300,000 each were destroyed for the car roll sequence.
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The interiors of the Venetian sinking house were a rig built at the Paddock Tank at Pinewood Studios and it could be immersed in nineteen feet of water. It weighed 90 tons and used a mixture of hydraulics and electronics. A computer controlled the hydraulic valves as well as a third scale model of the building which was used for shooting exteriors. Water was pushed upwards by banks of compressors controlled by technicians. It was not actors but crew who for once were the ones responsible for bringing the house down.
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Daniel Craig quit smoking and had Simon Waterson as a personal trainer to get into shape.
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Director Cameo: [Martin Campbell] the tanker truck driver murdered by the terrorist at Miami Airport.
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This film replaces the high-stakes casino game of Baccarat / Chemin de Fer from the novel "Casino Royale" with the modern high-stakes card game of Texas Hold 'Em (also spelled Texas Hold'em or Texas Holdem). Interestingly, in this game, a hand with a pair of eights is called an "Octopussy", the name of both a James Bond short story and movie (See: Octopussy (1983)). A hand with a pair of eights is actually seen in the movie.
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A promotional leaflet used to promote the film in Japan headlined the "Seven rules to receive 00 status". The Mi6 Fansite have it translated as: "1) You don't fear death, and won't give into torture 2) You have Olympic level shooting skills 3) Even if you double-cross your own parents, you will never double-cross the organization 4) You have knowledge that would surprise even a scholar, and a sense of humor that would make even a bad girl grin 5) You have the sociability of a lamb, but remain a lone wolf 6) You have the highest level of experience with alcohol, gambling, cars and food 7) You can fall in love but you can never love."
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Vesper's face can be seen in the opening credits when the cross-hair moves over the face of the Queen of Spades.
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Vehicles featured in the film include the new DBR9 Aston Le Mans racer based casino ice 2007 Aston Martin DBS; a silver birch Aston Martin DB5; a 2007 Mk IV Ford Mondeo car; a Fiat Ferroviaria / Alstom Pendolino CD 680 tilting train; a DeHavilland Canada Twin Otter seaplane; a "Spirit 54" Spirit Yacht; Sunseeker boats including an XS 2000, a Sportsfish 37 and Le Chiffres' Predator 108 yacht; a bendy articulated bus; a Texron fuel truck oil tanker; Miami Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor cars; cranes; a Fiat W190 bulldozer; a Notar MD-600N helicopter; Range Rover and Land Rover Defender; Jaguars, Lincolns & Volvos; a Skyfleet S570 prototype airplane and a Virgin Atlantic Airbus A340-600.
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When James Bond sends resignation letter there are several e-mail addresses are seen in his e-mail client. These addresses contain names of computers related personnel involved in making of the film (Anne Bennett, Chris McBride, Robert Wright, etc.).
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The climatic Venice sinking sequence took three weeks of filming with an average of nine hours per day.
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The inclusion of the scene at the Body Worlds exhibit means that this is the first Bond movie where actual corpses are shown on screen.
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The license plate number of the car with the two African terrorists in the boot was OT 375 62.
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The license plate number of James Bond's silver birch 1964 Aston Martin DB5 is 56526. The car from Goldfinger (1964) and Thunderball (1965), has the wheel on the right side and in this movie is on the left side.
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James Bond and Vesper Lynd's hotel room number at the Hotel Splendide, Montenegro was Room #378 whilst Le Chiffre's room number at the same hotel was Room #405.
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A published report by BSkyB in early 2003 indicated that Sean Connery was among those being considered to direct the film.
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The amount of money owed by Le Chiffre was $101, 206, 000.
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During 2004, Quentin Tarantino had suggested making a version of "Casino Royale" with Pierce Brosnan. Reportedly, Tarantino and Brosnan spoke publicly about this proposed project. When Brosnan was not rehired as Bond, Tarantino very publicly berated the producers and refused to have anything more to do with the project even though he was never attached to the picture at any time.
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The CR letters on the casino doors stood for Casino Royale. The letters OO on the cards stood for the One and Only Ocean Club at the Bahamas where they were seen but they can also notate Double O.
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On the Mi6 Intellgience Intranet, the names of the deceased villains who were known associates of Dimitrios were Vanya Bor, Heni Marville-Beau and Izzie Sawakowa.
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The rights to Ian Fleming's first 007 novel "Casino Royale", sold by him separately very early on, now reside with Eon Productions. The book was filmed for television and later as a big-screen spoof.
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Contrary to popular belief, this is not the first Bond film to feature Felix Leiter as an African-American - Bernie Casey portrayed him in the unofficial Bond movie Never Say Never Again (1983). It is, however, the first EON production to use this arrangement.
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As of 2007, highest-grossing movie of the Bond-franchise.
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James Bond's cell phone in the movie is a Sony Ericsson K800i.
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Cameo: [Alessandra Ambrosio] The supermodel from Brazil is seen at the Ocean Club when James Bond arrives in the Bahamas. She is credited as Tennis Girl #1.
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The number on Dimitrios' key ring was 53. The original Ian Fleming "Casino Royale" novel was first published in 1953, the same year as the magazine Playboy, a publication which has a long associated history with the James Bond film series.
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Vesper Lynd's cell phone in the movie is a Sony Ericcson M600.
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The poker cards, chips, and plaques featured in the movie were manufactured by Cartamundi. Poker sets of cards & chips that are replicas of the movie props are available from Cartamundi.
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The File Number for Le Chiffre on the Mi6 Intelligence Intranet was 459217. He was classified as a Banker / Accountant and his case log included activities in Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Africa and South America.
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First Eon Productions James Bond film in the Official Series to mark a number of firsts for the series: First to have a major black and white sequence; first to feature a scene with rain; first not to feature the Miss Moneypenny character nor the gun barrel walk; first to have the gun barrel sequence start after the opening sequence and not before; and first to have a blonde haired James Bond. First to have an animated opening sequence since Dr. No (1962) and first for any Bond film since Casino Royale (1967). First EON Productions James Bond movie not to feature the Q character since Live and Let Die (1973). First Bond movie to feature a Casino Royale casino building since the unofficial Never Say Never Again (1983) and the first to have a radically different opening gun barrel sequence - the graphics of the gun barrel view are markedly different.
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James Bond's alias in this movie was Arlington Beech. His pretend alias for Vesper Lynd was Stephanie Broadchester, a typical Ian Flemingesque name moniker.
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The black-and-white opening of the film was the idea of director of photography Phil Meheux as to give a surprise to viewers, and as a nod to The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) and Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967). The opening sequence required 6000 ft of RX-2222 black-and-white film stock. So far, Casino Royale is the only James Bond film to have any sequence filmed in black and white.
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Vesper Lynd's official job was that of International Liaison Officer for the Financial Action Task Force of HM Treasury. Her work address was 1 Horse Guards Road, London, SW1A 2HQ. Like the use of the real Vauxhall Cross address of Mi6 in the Bond films of the last decade, this is the real address of Her Majesty's Treasury.
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Cameo: [Veruschka von Lehndorff] The sixties model, actress and artist as Gräfin von Wallenstein, seen at the Casino Royale.
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The announcement in the James Bond film series that Bond has become a 00 occurs during the opening titles sequence of this movie. It reads: "Bond, James - 007 Status Confirmed".
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The Free Running / Parkour sequence was inspired by an edited-out roof-top chase sequence from the earlier James Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). Quantum of Solace (2008), this movie's direct follow-up, actually contains a real roof-top chase sequence. As such now, both movies reference On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969).
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Cameo: [Carlos Leal] The Sens Unik rapper as a Tournament Director.
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First EON Productions James Bond movie to feature a blond actor (Daniel Craig) to play James Bond .
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The number on Dimitrios' key ring was 53. 1953 was the year when the original Ian Fleming source novel of the same name was written, and this film version was released 53 years after the novel's first publication.
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Changes in some regions' release-dates meant that some territories had this movie released in the year 2007, thereby supplying fans and some publicists a once-in-a-millennium marketing dream, to see a James Bond movie in the year Two Double-O Seven.
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Daniel Craig was Barbara Broccoli's first choice for the role of Bond. She had him in mind after seeing his performance in Layer Cake (2004).
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The first EON Productions James Bond movie to feature the Columbia Pictures logo. Ironically, in 1967, Columbia Pictures produced the James Bond spoof Casino Royale (1967) and was attempting to remake the film before it took over MGM.
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Mr. White's (Jesper Christensen) hideout is the same location used for the final scene between Patrick Bergin and Virginia Madsen in the TV movie Robert Ludlum's Apocalypse Watch [see The Apocalypse Watch (1997) (TV)].
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Most of the cars seen in the movie are made by Ford Motor Company. In the scene where Bond acts as a valet the cars in the parking lot are Land Rovers, Volvos, Jaguars and other Ford Motor Company's cars.
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First James Bond movie to be based on a full Ian Fleming novel since Moonraker (1979), a gap of 27 years.
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Ian Fleming celebrated the completion of the "Casino Royale" novel's first draft by purchasing a gold-plated typewriter. Former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan reportedly bought the typewriter a few years ago for $(US)52,000.
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Le Chiffre's tournament of no limit Texas Hold 'Em Poker was set exclusively for ten players at the Salon Privé of the Casino Royale in Montenegro. The buy-in was $10 million whilst the re-buy amount was $5 million.
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Eva Green beat Cécile De France for the role of Vesper. The other finalist, Audrey Tautou backed out for she was still working in The Da Vinci Code (2006). With her appearance, Eva Green became the fifth French actress to play a leading Bond girl. The others were Claudine Auger (Thunderball (1965)), Corinne Clery (Moonraker (1979), Carole Bouquet (For Your Eyes Only (1981)), and Sophie Marceau (The World Is Not Enough (1999)).
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The ingredients of the famous martini shaken not stirred James Bond drink is described in the film as three measures of Gordons, one of vodka, a half a measure of Kina Lillet, shaken over ice, with a thin slice of lemon. Later in the film he alludes to naming it after Vesper. The name of Vesper Lynd character has two sources according to Henry Chancellor's book, "James Bond: The Man and His World - The Official Companion to Ian Fleming's Creation". One of them was that she was named after an exotic cocktail called a "Vesper". The rum punch drink contained ice, rum, fruit and herbs and was served to Ian Fleming and his life-long friend Ivar Bryce at a north-eastern Jamaican plantation house.
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Since MGM is part of Columbia Pictures and owned by Sony, the company managed to promote some of its products in the film. The notebook that Daniel Craig uses is a VAIO FG series notebook, Vesper's hand phone is a Sony Ericsson M600i model, Bond uses the K800i model (the best hand-phone of 2006 besides Nokia N93). Jeffrey Wright and Eva Green also used a Cybershot T-50 digital camera (contains a touch screen manipulation feature). Also, this is the first movie to feature the new Sony high definition format: you can clearly see a Bluray recorder in the surveillance video room where Bond infiltrates.
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First appearance by Daniel Craig as James Bond.
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First EON Productions James Bond movie to show the Columbia Pictures logo.
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Ian Fleming based the character Vesper Lynd on prominent WW2 resistance fighter Christine Granville (1915-1952) whom he met briefly in real-life. Apparently, she was nicknamed Vesperale and allegedly the two had an affair.
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This is the first EON Productions official James Bond movie to pretty much utilize all the main characters from an original Ian Fleming James Bond novel since Live and Let Die (1973).
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This is the fifth EON Productions James Bond movie not to mention the film's name in a song during the opening title sequence. The others were (in order) Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) and Octopussy (1983) ("All Time High"). Note that the lyrics "From Russia With Love" are not heard during the opening titles of that movie as the instrumental not vocal version of the song is heard.
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First significant animated opening title sequence in a James Bond movie since the 1960s.
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The establishment of James Bond's legendary favorite drink, "The vodka martini, shaken, not stirred" is featured in the film. It first appeared in Chapter Seven of the Ian Fleming original "Casino Royale" novel. It read: "Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet [a brand of vermouth]. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon-peel." Thus the recipe is six parts gin, two parts vodka, and one part Lillet blanc, to be shaken (not stirred) in a cocktail shaker with cracked ice, then poured into a chilled cocktail glass, then garnished with a twist of lemon. The shaking is important since the drink contains vodka. A traditional martini made with gin alone should be stirred so as not to "bruise" the gin (get air in it) nor to allow the vermouth to dissolve into the drink too much; this leaves the drink smooth and doesn't mask the subtle flavors of the gin and vermouth. A vodka martini has to be ice cold (hence the shaking over the ice) and benefits from the blending of the flavors.
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Most BAFTA Award nominations ever received by a Bond movie, totaling nine. The previous record had been two each for GoldenEye (1995) and The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). The 9 Nominations were for Best British Film, Adapted Screenplay, Actor in a Leading Role, Film Music, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Sound and Special Visual Effects. It only won best sound.
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This is the first film since Dr. No (1962) where there were no dancing females during the opening title sequence.
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In the opening sequence the shape that clubs symbol convolute to is called a Mandelbrot Set in Chaos Theory. It has infinite complexity.
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Venice is a major setting in this movie and it's the third time for it to do so in the EON Productions official James Bond series. The others were From Russia with Love (1963) and Moonraker (1979). However, it was never a setting in the original Ian Fleming novels of any of these three movies. The only time it has been a setting in an Ian Fleming James Bond adventure was in the short story "Risico" from the "For Your Eyes Only" collection.
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Le Chiffre is a French word which translates into English as "The Cypher" or "The Number". Other translations in different languages include "Die Nummer", "Herr Ziffer", and "Mr. Number".
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A James Bond origin story like this had been touted to be the first Bond film after Roger Moore retired. A first draft screenplay was written where James Bond was a young man in the Royal Navy. However, Albert R. Broccoli rejected the concept believing at the time that the audience wasn't really interested in a young James Bond. This movie has been made and released on the heels of Batman reboot and Star Wars prequels.
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Daniel Craig's role in the British thriller Layer Cake (2004) is said to have clinched the role of James Bond for him over the other competing rival actors. DVD / Video Rentals of the movie went up after the announcement Daniel Craig would be the new James Bond. The Layer Cake (2004) end-of-movie Bondesque line has Craig say "My name? If you knew that, you'd be as clever as me. " evoking the famous catchphrase "The name is Bond, James Bond".
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The first official Bond film to start without the famous gun barrel intro. It occurs later.
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James Bond's letter of resignation via the Mi6 intelligence intranet read: "M - I hereby tender my resignation with immediate effect. Sincerely, James Bond". This is the third James Bond movie where James Bond has resigned. The first was On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) and the second was Licence to Kill (1989). In the latter, his license to kill was revoked and in Die Another Day (2002) he was temporarily decommissioned.
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This is only the second time that an M character's home has been shown in an official EON Productions James Bond film. The first was in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). The unofficial James Bond film, the comedy spoof Casino Royale (1967) also showed M's home.
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Daniel Craig is the first actor to play James Bond who is younger than the series itself.
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Second official EON Productions James Bond movie to feature a casino in the Bahamas. The first was Thunderball (1965).
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First James Bond movie in the EON Productions official series not to have a major pre-credits action stunt sequence since The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).
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This is the very first EON Productions official series James Bond movie to feature the James Bond ally character of Rene Mathis. The Mathis character appeared in the original Ian Fleming novel but not film of From Russia with Love (1963) and variations of this character's name have appeared in "Climax!: Casino Royale (#1.3)" (1954) (as Valerie Mathis) and Casino Royale (1967) (as Inspector Mathis). The Rene Mathis character will be reappearing in Quantum of Solace (2008).
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Actually the fourth James Bond film to feature a casino called Casino Royale. The James Bond movie Never Say Never Again (1983) featured a casino called Casino Royale set in Monte Carlo and filmed at Casino de Monte Carlo, Hôtel de Paris, Casino Square, Monte Carlo, Monaco. Monte Carlo was also the setting for the Casino Royale in the telemovie "Climax!: Casino Royale (#1.3)" (1954) filmed on the Casino Set at Television City, Los Angeles. The Casino in the James Bond movie GoldenEye (1995) was not called Casino Royale but Monte Carlo again was both its setting and filming location (Monte Carlo Resort and Casino). The Casino Royale was set in France for both the spoof Casino Royale (1967) (filmed in England) and in the original Ian Fleming "Casino Royale" novel, it being set in the fictional French resort town of Royale-les-Eaux. This 2006 film is the first time that a Casino Royale has not been located in either France or Monte Carlo in a James Bond story. It is set in Montenegro. The former Kaiserbad Spa, Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic provided its location exterior.
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The license plate number of the gold colored Range Rover that James Bond crashes in the Ocean Club car park in the Bahamas was 161138.
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The "Vesper" that James Bond orders at Casino Royale is taken from the novel. It consists of three measures (9 ounces) of gin (Gordon's was Bond's choice), one measure (3 ounces) of vodka (Bond preferred a grain vodka be used; e.g. Absolut) and half a measure (1.5 ounces) of Kina Lillet. The ingredients are shaken over ice until cold, served in a cocktail glass with a slice of lemon peel for garnish. Kina Lillet has not been made since 1985 and the modern substitute would be Lillet Blanc, made by the same company, Lillet, based in Podensac, France. This also creates somewhat of an anachronism as the film adaptation of "Casino Royale" is clearly set in the present, where Kina Lillet would no longer be available.
Release Date: Tuesday, November 14, 2006
Budget: $150,000,000 Gross: $167,007,184 Profit: $17,007,184
Rating: 8.0 Votes: 143,532
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