What would a Bond film be without shaken martinis, Q’s gadgets, and death-defying stunts?
Dr. No, the first Bond movie in 1962, may have been a low-budget affair but it still made cinematic history for many reasons - not least 007’s gritty fight scene with his driver Mr. Jones, establishing Bond's (Sean Connery’s) bona fides as an elite SIS-trained spy.
Since then, Bond stunts have grown bigger and better with each film - some have even broken world records. Here is our Top 15 countdown of the best and boldest.
15. License to Kill
Timothy Dalton was legendary for doing as many of his own Bond stunts as possible but the mid-air heist to hijack Sanchez’s plane in License to Kill was performed by Jake Lombard, Bond’s aerial stunt double, according to the official 007 site. That really was Dalton running from the exploding tanker, however (see below), and not a stunt double, IMDb reports. It seems Dalton wanted to play 007 closer to Ian Fleming’s original version and make his own mark following Roger Moore.
14. A View to a Kill
As the thrilling scene unfolds, Bond (Roger Moore) chases May Day (Grace Jones) through the Eiffel Tower before a spectacular leap from the 1,083-foot building. Stunt performer and skydiving expert B.J. Worth - who also appeared as a pilot in the opening of Moonraker - made 22 test jumps from a hot-air balloon before he was ready to fly off the Tower. After French authorities approved the jump, Worth accomplished it in one take - much to everyone’s relief.
13. License to Kill
If anyone can pop a wheelie in a semi, it’s Bond. While License to Kill is notable for its undersea harpoon battles, it’s the high-octane truck chase on hairpin turns that still thrill. When 007 (Timothy Dalton) tries to avoid driving through the fire, he lifts the front of his Kenworth W900 into the air. The truck (actually there were 16 of them on set!) had highly modified rear suspension and engine modifications for added horsepower along with rear frame counterweights to help lift the front end. Kudos to vehicular stuntman Remy Julienne and Timothy Dalton.
12. Skyfall
“What do you mean they’re on a train?” 'M' asks Moneypenny. “Well go after them, for God’s sake!” Bond’s astonishing motorbike flip segues into a thrilling fight on top of a fast-moving train. Director Alexander Witt spent a month setting up the action in Turkey and then another two months filming the breathtaking fight sequence. Incredibly, Daniel Craig and actor Ola Rapace (Patrice) performed their own stunts while attached to safety wires as the train sped along at 40 miles an hour. Producer Barbara Broccoli, who was on the set in Turkey, summed it up saying: “I had my heart in my mouth the whole time.”
11. No Time To Die
Bond’s spectacular 150-foot leap into the unknown was shot on a two-tier Roman bridge by a helicopter hovering above Puglia, Italy. While Daniel Craig likes to perform many of his own stunts, he left this leap to the professionals. It seems Craig had six stunt doubles - two stood in for Bond in car chase scenes, three more stepped in for the physical action, and stuntman Paul Edmondson performed the awesome motorbike jump in Matera.
10. GoldenEye
Bond’s death-defying 722-foot bungee jump off Switzerland’s Verzasca dam for the opening of Pierce Brosnan’s GoldenEye (1995) was captured in one take and set a world record. It was performed by legendary British stuntman Wayne Michaels who took two weeks to prepare for the six-camera jump. More than 25 years later, it still holds the Guinness World Record.
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What would a Bond film be without shaken martinis, Q’s gadgets, and death-defying stunts?
Dr. No, the first Bond movie in 1962, may have been a low-budget affair but it still made cinematic history for many reasons - not least 007’s gritty fight scene with his driver Mr. Jones, establishing Bond's (Sean Connery’s) bona fides as an elite SIS-trained spy.
Since then, Bond stunts have grown bigger and better with each film - some have even broken world records. Here is our Top 15 countdown of the best and boldest.
15. License to Kill
Timothy Dalton was legendary for doing as many of his own Bond stunts as possible but the mid-air heist to hijack Sanchez’s plane in License to Kill was performed by Jake Lombard, Bond’s aerial stunt double, according to the official 007 site. That really was Dalton running from the exploding tanker, however (see below), and not a stunt double, IMDb reports. It seems Dalton wanted to play 007 closer to Ian Fleming’s original version and make his own mark following Roger Moore.
14. A View to a Kill
As the thrilling scene unfolds, Bond (Roger Moore) chases May Day (Grace Jones) through the Eiffel Tower before a spectacular leap from the 1,083-foot building. Stunt performer and skydiving expert B.J. Worth - who also appeared as a pilot in the opening of Moonraker - made 22 test jumps from a hot-air balloon before he was ready to fly off the Tower. After French authorities approved the jump, Worth accomplished it in one take - much to everyone’s relief.
13. License to Kill
If anyone can pop a wheelie in a semi, it’s Bond. While License to Kill is notable for its undersea harpoon battles, it’s the high-octane truck chase on hairpin turns that still thrill. When 007 (Timothy Dalton) tries to avoid driving through the fire, he lifts the front of his Kenworth W900 into the air. The truck (actually there were 16 of them on set!) had highly modified rear suspension and engine modifications for added horsepower along with rear frame counterweights to help lift the front end. Kudos to vehicular stuntman Remy Julienne and Timothy Dalton.
12. Skyfall
“What do you mean they’re on a train?” 'M' asks Moneypenny. “Well go after them, for God’s sake!” Bond’s astonishing motorbike flip segues into a thrilling fight on top of a fast-moving train. Director Alexander Witt spent a month setting up the action in Turkey and then another two months filming the breathtaking fight sequence. Incredibly, Daniel Craig and actor Ola Rapace (Patrice) performed their own stunts while attached to safety wires as the train sped along at 40 miles an hour. Producer Barbara Broccoli, who was on the set in Turkey, summed it up saying: “I had my heart in my mouth the whole time.”
11. No Time To Die
Bond’s spectacular 150-foot leap into the unknown was shot on a two-tier Roman bridge by a helicopter hovering above Puglia, Italy. While Daniel Craig likes to perform many of his own stunts, he left this leap to the professionals. It seems Craig had six stunt doubles - two stood in for Bond in car chase scenes, three more stepped in for the physical action, and stuntman Paul Edmondson performed the awesome motorbike jump in Matera.
10. GoldenEye
Bond’s death-defying 722-foot bungee jump off Switzerland’s Verzasca dam for the opening of Pierce Brosnan’s GoldenEye (1995) was captured in one take and set a world record. It was performed by legendary British stuntman Wayne Michaels who took two weeks to prepare for the six-camera jump. More than 25 years later, it still holds the Guinness World Record.
The Casino Royale (2006) crew are also record-breakers for filming the most cannon rolls in a car - seven - achieved by British stuntman Adam Kirby in an Aston Martin DBS. How difficult was the stunt? Well, the car had to be fitted with a nitrogen cannon to assist the rolls, so don’t try this at home!
8. Spectre
The biggest explosion in cinematic history was captured in Spectre (2015) when 24 chargers sparked 8,140 liters of kerosine, blowing up Blofeld’s base in the Moroccan desert. The explosion had a total yield of 68,47 tonnes of TNT equivalent, earning the crew another brilliantly deserved record title.
7. The Man With the Golden Gun
The first astro-spiral on film happened during the 1974’s The Man with the Golden Gun. An AMC Hornet X hatchback drove up a corkscrewed ramp and twisted 360 degrees along its long axis, connecting with a landing ramp on the other side of a river near Bangkok, Thailand. The spiral was pulled off by American stuntman Loren ‘Bumps’ Willert and the Hornet is so famous it has been displayed at Britain’s National Motor Museum.
6. Live and Let Die
Live and Let Die (1973) has two of the boldest stunt scenes in the Bond franchise. Ross Kananga’s insane crocodile walk took five terrifying takes before he finally landed safely on the dock - flinging a crocodile off of the toe of his shoe along the way.
5. Live and Let Die
When James Bond (Roger Moore) is chased down Louisiana's bayou in a 1972 Glastron GT-150 speedboat, he effortlessly plows through a wedding ceremony and leaps over a road in Live and Let Die (1973). The seemingly impossible stunt sequence by Jerry Comeaux set a world record distance of 36.5 m (120 ft). It’s not just the longest speedboat jump in a film ever, but it’s awesome!
4. Goldfinger
James Bond’s Goldfinger Aston Martin DB5 has machine guns, a nail sprayer, and grenade storage but it’s the ejector seat that makes our eyes light up. It’s one of the most iconic moments in 007 history and one of the most famous DB5s Bond has ever driven, worthy of its own podcast.Sadly, the silver birch Aston Martin was stolen from a Florida airport in 1997 and hasn’t been seen since. Amateur sleuths take note: There's a £$100,000 prize for the DB5's successful return!
3. The Spy Who Loved Me
The jaw-dropping ski chase and cliff jump in The Spy Who Loved Me was filmed in one take on Canada’s ice-capped Baffin Mountains. The idea came from a print ad for whiskey that featured daredevil skier and stuntman Rick Sylvester. Bond producers tracked him down to recreate the magic on film and Sylvester had so much fun he returned to shoot the mountain fall in For Your Eyes Only(1981).
2. GoldenEye
As thrilling car chases go, it doesn’t get better than GoldenEye’s mountain race pitting Bond (Pierce Brosnan) in an Aston Martin DB5 against mafia assassin Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) in a Ferrari F355 GTS. Stunt driver Rémy Julienne and his team had their work cut out for them, as Pierce Brosnan would soon find out. Brosnan got into trouble while driving the DB5 but it wasn't on the mountain road. As Brosnan/007 pulled up to the Monte Carlo casino for his sixth take, Brosnan noticed a strange odor: “I could smell burning. And - now, there are many people gathered to watch, there are hundreds of people around the casino - and the man who owns the car is there, watching his beautiful vehicle be driven by yours truly. I'd left the handbrake on."
1. Casino Royale
Daniel Craig’s crane chase in Casino Royale (2006) has been viewed 27m times on YouTube - and for good reason. Craig conquered his fear of heights for the spectacular opening sequence. Craig’s co-star is the incredible French freerunner Sébastien Foucan, who glides like a panther. Foucan started freerunning as a child, pretending he was a Ninja, and became more disciplined at his craft while working as a fireman in Paris. Foucan sees freerunning more as dancing than athletics, and after watching Foucan leap across our screens we’d have to agree.
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