End of min 23
At the end of minute 23 of Casino Royale we see M entering her flat via private elevator. Peter Lamont the Production Designer, and who retired after this film said, on the blu ray commentary:
My first thoughts were possibly Georgian. Martin (Campbell) suggested something off beat. I thought well if that’s the case I think M should live in somewhere like Canary wharf. Not what you’d expect. When she comes in she’s in a position above Bond, where Bond is sitting. So she is always looking down on him until she comes and sits with him. And I thought it came off very well. Nicely lit I was very pleased with it.
Artwork in M’s flat
Dispute of Philosophers in a Roman Villa can be seen in the background, which was also used in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), and Live and Let Die (1973). A full extensive write up of the Art of Bond can be found on the blog here.
It’s interesting that Bond is playing cards here waiting for M. A very Bondian thing to do as we saw in the very first film Dr No, when Bond is waiting for Professor Dent.
M is not happy with Bond as he has made the front page of the Evening Standard. We know this is the Evening Standard as there is an ES Review in the contents underneath the headline.
From Bond Suits regarding the outfit:
James Bond wears a topcoat in a dark grey barleycorn pattern reminiscent of the famous barleycorn tweed jacket in Goldfinger. Underneath the coat Bond wears a black polo with a two-piece collar. The trousers are in a small black and white glen check with an overlaid light blue check. Bond also wears black socks and black calf John Lobb Romsey two-eyelet chukka boots.
Best YouTube quote:
Tons of high end apartment blocks went up in East and South London in the early 2000s. A good number are sitting empty, bought as “parking spaces” by Russian Oligarchs, Mid East sheiks and princes, and East Asian technocrats. All at the expense of local businesses and middle class housing. Things got so out of hand with speculative construction that the excise and postal tax was raised to discourage building luxury penthouses that no one could afford.
And an interesting point here:
Judi Dench is an amazing actress but they’ve made her more incompetent than Bond ever was. Check this out: Elektra King, betrays Bond and M. Miranda Frost: betrays Bond and M. Vesper, no one checks her out almost gets Bond killed and she kills herself. Orders Eve to shoot when she doesn’t have a clear shot. Hit’s Bond. Almost killing him. Raoul was her agent, he destroys MI6 headquarters , and nearly kills Bond and leads to M’s death.
Listen to the podcast
Korey from Another James Bond Podcast and I break down Minute 24. Check out the individual minutes, thoughts and discussion points here. Listen on iTunes or Spotify, or the player below.
All images and screen grabs taken from Casino Royale, owned by Danjaq and EON Productions. I own none of these images and am just using them here to offer context to my thoughts and commentary. So would be awesome if you didn’t plague my inbox with red letters, thanks.
