Classic Scene: GoldenEye
“For England, James?”
Today marks the 25th anniversary of when audiences first got to hear Pierce Brosnan coolly utter the famous words, “Bond, James Bond.” GoldenEye, the 17th entry in the juggernaut that is the 007 series, premiered in New York on this day in 1995. It brought with it a new Bond in Pierce Brosnan, a new director with Martin Campbell, and a new producer with Barbara Broccoli taking over from her ill father, the legendary Albert. R Broccoli. GoldenEye was released after a six year hiatus in which the film languished in development hell full of messy legal disputes, bankruptcy, rewritten scripts, and a leading man (Timothy Dalton), who did and then didn’t want to return as 007. Brosnan’s first outing was a smash hit with critics and audiences alike, bringing Bond closer to the modern world (which Casino Royale would finally fully cash in on) and also spawned one of the most beloved video game adaptations of all time (just don’t cheat and play as Oddjob).
Did you know…
1) The film celebrated a lot of firsts, apart from being Brosnan’s debut as the spy. It was also the first film to not be based on any of Ian Felming’s source novels, and the first to be released in a post-Berlin wall world where the Cold War was no more.
2) GoldenEye was actually the second time Brosnan was offered the iconic James Bond role. He had first been approached after Roger Moore departed the franchise, but scheduling conflicts and a binding contract with US TV series Remington Steele prevented him from accepting. “The moment Timothy jumped ship, I thought ‘No it won’t happen a second time’”. Second time’s the charm, eh?
3) The film’s ground-breaking tank chase sequence is one of 007 special effects supervisor Chris Corbould’s favourite stunts to date. It was originally planned to be shot with motorbikes, but Corbould suggested using tanks instead, and they ended up purchasing three Russian T54 tanks they dressed up to fit the bill. “I’d never seen anything done with a tank in an urban environment like that, so we felt like we were doing something original and exciting.”
