Location Guide - GoldenEye
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Arkangel
Chemical Weapons Facility, USSR
006 and 007 are
on a mission in Soviet Russia. Bond arrives at the
stark gorge and prepares to make a leap from the top
of a towering dam to the high-security weapons factory
below. Once inside, Bond rendezvous with Alec Trevelyan
where the pair infiltrate the chemical weapons storage
and set explosives. The mission goes sour when Alec
is taken hostage and Bond must escape the factory alone.
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Monaco
Years later, Bond is in Alpes-Maritimes (inland of
Nice, France) where he is having his psych-evaluation.
A battle between the driver of a red Ferrari
335 and Bond in the Aston
Martin DB5 takes place on the rough mountain
roads. Later at the famous Monte Carlo casino,
Bond meets the driver of 335, Xenia
Onatopp. From Fort Antoine, Bond spies on
the femme fatale seducing her way onto a luxury
yacht.
The next day there is a demonstration of the new
Tiger helicopter in the centre of Monte Carlo Bay,
where Bond suspects foul play but is not quick
enough to prevent Onatopp stealing the chopper.
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Severnaya, Russia
At the lone, wintry Russian base, Onnatop touches down
in the Tiger. Here, twisted General
Ourumov assassinates the entire team of Russian
space-weapons experts. The lone survivors are Natalya
Simonova and Boris
Grishenko, both of whom were working on the top
secret GoldenEye project. Ourumov takes control of
the killer satellite known and targets
it at Severnaya to destroy the evidence. |
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London, UK
Back at MI6 headquarters on the Thames, Bond, Tanner and M watch
as the Severnaya complex is crippled by the severe
electro-magnetic pulse emitted by the GoldenEye. M
tasks her top agent to find the missing helicopter.
In M's new high-tech office, it is revealed that Ourumov
is likely to have had access to the Russian space weapon,
which worries M as she knows Bond holds the Russian
General responsible for the death of his colleague,
Alec Trevelyan.
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St Petersburg, Russia
Bond is met at the airport by CIA agent Jack
Wade. Bond and Wade hope to trace the illusive leader
of the Janus Syndicate and for this require assistance
from the local mobster, Valentin
Zukovksy. In a dingy nightclub Zukovksy cuts a deal
with 007 for a meet with Janus. Bond finds himself in
the midst of a graveyard, facing off against his old
ally: 006. The bitter Cossack has sworn to cripple the
UK. Escaping the clutches of Janus requires an expansive
tank chase through St Petersburg. Having also rescued
the damsel, Natalya, Bond departs hot on the tail of
Trevelyan. |
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Cuba
Bond and Natalya become allies in the hunt for the
outpost where Trevelyan will deploy the GoldenEye.
Bond trades his new BMW for
a single-prop plane and sets off to locate the hideout.
Just when there seems to be nothing sinister, the
craft is targeted by missiles and Onatopp is on the
scene to assure there are no survivors. In the Cuban
jungle Bond dispatches the villainess and gains
access to the hidden base. 007 is assisted by Natalya,
who re-programmes the GoldenEye on a re-entry course.
Bond battles his old friend on the pinnacle of the
satellite dish and Trevelyn falls to his death.
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Shooting GoldenEye
After almost a six-year hiatus of Bond activity, production
on the 17th James Bond adventure was finally ready to go in the
New Year of 1995. In preparation for the longest awaited
Bond film in the franchise's history, an
old Rolls Royce factory had been shelled and divided into six soundstage
for Bond to make his revival. New Zealand born director Martin
Campbell rolled cameras on "GoldenEye" on
16 January 1995 at EON Studios (later to be renamed Leavesdon studios).
Here the crew would shoot a number of interiors whilst the second
unit would utilise the UK surroundings to double for some of the
far-reaching and often inhospitable locals.
Above: A windy hillside road leads 007 on a challenging downhill chase, climaxing in the high-rolling town of Monaco on the French coast... |
The major set piece for the second unit on this
production was the massive and destructive tank sequence. Although
set in and around the banks of the Neva River, St. Petersburg,
a large portion of the sequence was captured back in the UK.
The Art department detailed the city's plan and were able to
convincingly reconstruct a number of streets and facades at Leavesden
Aerodrome. Other sequences set in St. Petersburg were really
shot in central London - including the sequence in which Jack
Wade's beat-up automobile breaks down.
Epsom Race Course doubled for St. Petersburg
airport and the railway yard at which Alec Trevelyan boards the
runaway train is the Nene Valley Railway, in Peterborough - last
seen on screen in Roger Moore's "Octopussy". All in
all, the crew barely set foot in the famous Russian city, other
than to film a few establishing shots and to record details
for their intricate reconstructions of the city at home.
Above: After being briefed on the suspicious Russian General, Bond boards a priority flight to Russia, charting the 1,306 miles from London to St. Petersburg... |
The famous dam bungee jump that opens the picture was performed by Wayne Michaels at Verzasca Dam in Locarno, Switzerland before the second unit followed the principal cast and crew to Puerto Rico, which would serve for Cuba. The memorable climax was conducted in and around the Arecibo Observatory, home to a massive 305 metre diameter radio telescope owned and operated by the National Science Foundation.
Above: From the snow to the tropics, Bond is hot on the tail of his old ally when he traces him from Russia to Cuba... |
The last of the location work was conducted
on the Cote d'Azur at the lavishly rich and famous Monaco. The
production required a helping hand from the French navy, who
allowed the film crew full access to their Frigate, La Fayette
and with it, the imposing Tiger Eurocopter.
On Tuesday 6 June 1995 a wrap was called on
six-months of principal production. The film was dedicated to
the memory of Derek
Meddings,
who had headed up the special effects and miniature department
since "Live And Let Die"; "GoldenEye" would
be his last production prior to the model-maker's passing.
