With the new James Bond film – Quantum of Solace – promising plenty of iconic stunts, we take a look at the exotic locations at which previous Bond action spectaculars have been filmed.
Where: Lake Jökulsárlón, Iceland.
Film: Die Another Day
What happens: Bond is attempting to do a runner from evil face-changing megalomaniac Gustav Graves, so he leaps into his invisible car. However, his cover is blown when a lackey on a skidoo runs into the back of it. Diamond-encrusted psycho Zao spots this and heads after him, leading to a car chase over a massive glacier. Both souped up vehicles then fire all manner of weaponry at each other before Bond decides to go back and save Halle Berry, who is drowning in the melting ice hotel.
The location: Whilst the ice hotel isn’t real – it was just an elaborate set – the cars did have to go out and perform those skidding handbrake turns on sheer ice. The lake itself is on the edge of a massive glacier, and in summer is filled with icebergs, but in winter is frozen over. It’s a pretty spectacular sight though, and was also used in Batman Begins and Tomb Raider.
Iceland Excursions offers tours of what is now often called the Bond Lagoon.
Where: Charles Swaby’s Swamp Safari, Falmouth, Jamaica.
The Film: Live and Let Die
What happens: Captured by Kananga’s henchmen, Roger Moore is left stranded on an island in the middle of a crocodile infested pool. He has no option but to run over four of the snapping crocs to safety.
Incredibly, this stunt was performed by the owner of the farm, Ross Kananga, five times. His reward was having a murderous drug baron named after him.
The location: The croc farm is now called Charles Swaby’s Swamp Safari and you’ll still be taken through exactly what happened and where on a 45-minute ‘eco-tour’. Falmouth is about half an hour out of Montego Bay, towards Ocho Rios.
Where: The Verzasca dam, Lugano, Switzerland
Film: GoldenEye
What happens: 007, attempting to infiltrate a Russian chemical weapons base in Archangelsk, Russia, bungee jumps down the face of the biggest dam you’ve ever seen. As he plunges down 220m, he pulls out a grappling gun, which he uses to attach himself to a roof.
The location: This is one of the few Bond stunts that you can replicate yourself. The giant hydroelectric dam is at the start of the Verzasca valley. And the GoldenEye jump can be booked through Trekking.ch.
Where: Mt Asgard, Baffin Island, Canada.
The film: The Spy Who Loved Me.
What happens: After leaving his latest conquest in a mountain cabin bed, Bond skis off, chased by trigger-happy Russian agents. He shoots one of them with his specially modified ski pole, before plunging off the edge of a massive cliff. He falls a hell of a long way before pulling the toggle and opening up a Union Jack parachute, landing comfortably and skiing to safety.
The location: Despite being set in Austria, this ludicrously dangerous sequence was filmed in the icy wastelands of Baffin Island, with stuntman Rick Sylvester relieved to receive his promised $30,000 rather than a dignified funeral.
Asgard is probably the most famous peak on the island, with two distinctive flat topped summits and reputation for being a bitch of a climb. It’s in the Auyuittuq National Park, which along with being extremely cold, is one of the greatest hiking spots in the world. Blackfeather arranges serious, fitness-sapping hikes across the park, that include great views of Asgard’s twin peaks.
Where: Sugarloaf mountain, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
The film: Moonraker
What happens: Taking a bit of time out for a spot of sight-seeing, Bond gets into a cable car with CIA agent Holly Goodhead. He hasn’t reckoned on Jaws though, who is content to snack on the wires. After a series of highly unlikely decisions from all concerned, they end up fighting on top of the two cars swinging in the middle of the cableway. Bond and Goodhead then escape, naturally, by looping a chain around the cable, then sliding to safety.
The location: The cable cars up to Sugarloaf are possibly the most famous in the world, and can feet 75 people in at any one time. The trip from the bottom to views over the whole city is over a kilometer long, and takes just over six minutes.
Where: Gibraltar.
The film: The Living Daylights
What happens: Everyone’s favourite Bond, Timothy Dalton, is on a training exercise that involves him and two other agents skydiving onto the big rock. Unfortunately, someone is taking it a little too seriously, shoots one of the rival SAS chaps, and let’s one of Bond’s pals plunge to his death. To escape, Dalton clings to the roof of the Russian killer’s speeding jeep, which ploughs straight through a check point and lots of tourists before bursting through a wall and plunging off a cliff. Luckily, Bond manages to leap out with a parachute seconds before the jeep explodes and takes a dip in the Mediterranean Sea.
The location: Gibraltar is a British territory on the southern tip of Spain, and a day out on The Rock is awesome, both for the views of Africa in the distance and the hilariously misbehaved wild apes that have been entertaining tourists for years.
This article was originally written for Ninemsn.
Copyright David Whitley
