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MI6 recaps on the locations visited by the Casino
Royale production team, including the Bahamas, Czech
Republic, Italy and the UK...
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Around The World With Casino Royale
7th May 2007
The Bahamas
Bond arrives at Paradise Island, Bahamas, by seaplane, and later
drives along a
coastal road to the real-life One & Only Ocean Club resort
where he eventually meets
Dimitrios and his beautiful wife Solange. The Albany Estate,
on the West Coast of New
Providence Island, served as Dimitrios’ beachfront mansion,
where Bond emerges
from the sea to watch Solange leading her horse along the sand.
An abandoned motel and its grounds at Coral Harbor on New Providence
Island stood in for the shanty town on the African island of
Madagascar where Bond watches Mollaka during the snake and mongoose
fight. A derelict hotel in the same area became the construction
site where Bond pursues Mollaka.
Prague, Czech Republic
Many of the interiors — including the Casino Royale Salon
Privé, the compound of the Nambutu Embassy, the interior
of Le Chiffre’s yacht and
the interior of the sanatorium where Bond recuperates — were
filmed in Prague studios at Barrandov and Modrany.
The city itself
is seen in the pre-title
sequence when Dryden arrives at Danube House, a new office
building on the banks of
the Vltava, prior to his confrontation with Bond. Other Prague
locations include the hilltop Vitkov Monument, a marble mausoleum
that was used as the interior of the Miami Body
Worlds exhibition. Prague airport stood in for Miami International
Airport for the
scenes in which Bond follows Carlos through the terminal and
onto the tarmac.
The 800-year-old library of the Strahov Monastery
was used as the House of Commons interior, and the Neo-Renaissance
National
Museum in Wenceslas Square was transformed into the reception
and stairways
of the Grand Venetian Hotel, where Bond and Vesper enjoy a
romantic break
after their ordeal.
Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic
The spa town of Karlovy Vary, where visitors have taken to the
restorative waters since the 14th century, was used as the Montenegrin
town where the Casino Royale is situated. The world-famous
Grand Hotel Pupp
was transformed into the Hotel Splendide, where Bond and Vesper
stay
during the poker
tournament. The Lazne, an imposing though disused turn-of-the-century
spa,
stood in for the entrance and public room of the Casino Royale.
In the same area of the Czech Republic, the production shot
Bond and Vesper arriving in the Aston Martin DBS to meet Mathis
in the picturesque town square of Loket. A hospital interior
in nearby Plana served as the scene of Bond’s emergency
care following his torture by Le Chiffre.
Lake Como, Italy
Villa La Gaeta, a beautiful private residence on the banks of
the Lake, was used for the scene in which Bond confronts Mr.
White at his home. The grounds of the spectacular Villa del
Balbianello,
on the Western Shore
of Lake Como, became the sanatorium where Bond recuperates from
his ordeal at the
hands of Le Chiffre.
Venice, Italy
The production was able to shoot on many of the streets and alleyways
of Venice, including the world-famous St. Mark’s Square.
Special permission was granted for Bond and Vesper’s yacht
(the Spirit 54) to sail along the Grand Canal between the Accademia
and Rialto
bridges, marking
the first time in many years a yacht has sailed the Grand Canal.
The collapsing house,
where Bond pursues Vesper and her kidnapper, was situated opposite
the vegetable market
by the Rialto, and Bond moors the yacht outside the luxurious
Cipriani
Hotel on Guidecca.
UK Locations
Dunsfold Aerodrome, near Guildford in Surrey, was the site of
the majority of the exterior Miami International Airport runway
scenes. This is the location where Alexander Witt and the second
unit filmed many
of the spectacular action set pieces in which Bond thwarts the
terrorist’s
attempt to blow up a prototype passenger jet.
Black Park was used to film the rebel
camp in Uganda where Mr. White introduces Le Chiffre to Steven
Obanno (much to the bemusement of the many dog walkers who frequent
the National Park near Pinewood Studios).
Pinewood Studios’ 007
Stage was home to the spectacular engineering feat that was the
interior of the sinking house in Venice, where the climactic
action sequences, including the bloody confrontation between
Bond and Gettler and his henchmen, were filmed. In addition,
a
full-scale Venetian
piazza was built for the conclusion of the scene, when Bond tries
to rescue Vesper.
Other Pinewood stages were used for model units and green-screen
shots.
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Thanks to Sony Pictures.