Jada Brookes
visits the fascinating
Bond in Motion exhibition at the
London Film Museum and gives us
an insight of what to expect.
in motion
D
ie-hard fans of Ian Fleming’s spy
hero 007 and the Bond movies
will be in their element when
they visit the Bond in Motion exhibition
at the London Film Museum in Covent
Garden. This showcase of over 100
individual original items from
Dr. No
in
1962 down to
Skyfall
in 2012 is the official
exhibition of James Bond vehicles as well
as the largest display of its kind ever
staged in London.There is no doubt that
this exhibition will leave film enthusiasts
and interested parties instantly intrigued
and totally mesmerised by all that is
available on display. Upon entering the
museum, you will hear one of the theme
songs from the Bond films playing as if
letting you know that you have come
to the right place. In the foyer, above
the stairs going down is a huge green
army helicopter hanging from the ceiling
which greets you as you ascend up the
stairs. To the left on the wall is a huge
plasma screen sectioned into smaller
screens showing selected scenes from
the Bond films that will surely bring back
some familiar memories.
In the upper mezzanine, visitors are
given an insight into how the films are
developed via colourful storyboards and
concept drawings. Inside a glass cabinet,
you’ll see the actual clapper boards used
for the filming of
GoldenEye
and
The
World Is Not Enough
as well as samples
of their storyboards. On one wall are
several concept drawings such as the
DraxVehicle from
Moonraker
(1979) and
Lotus Conversion to Submarine from
The Spy Who Loved Me
(1977), both by
production designer Sir Ken Adam, who
is widely acknowledged as a leader in his
field. You’ll also get an insight into how
the whole Bond filming process works;
from the art department overseeing the
transformation of ordinary vehicles into
extraordinary James Bond machines
via concept drawings to the director
approving them. Then, working with
the storyboard artists to develop the
camera positions using the script as a
guide and the art department finally
creating technical drawings and in some
cases, building models before bringing
the final vehicles to life. The concept
drawings and storyboards from the
art
department
include the Car Spiral
Sequence from
The
Man with the Golden
Gun
(1974), Tanker
Sequence
from
License to Kill
(1989),
Car Balance on Cliff
from
ForYour Eyes Only
(1981) and Taxi Break
from
A View to a Kill
(1985). There is also
an amazing ‘Exterior
M16 Building Model’
by Michael Lamont
in a glass cabinet
from
The World Is Not
Enough
(1999).
Downstairs, in the lower mezzanine is
where the real action is. If you’re really
into cars, then this amazing gathering
of dynamic machines will definitely be
your playground. Cars such as the Ford
Mercury Cougar XR7 from
On Her
Majesty’s Secret Service
(1969) and the
Aston Martin DBS from
Quantum of
Solace
(2008) all have a story to tell. In
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, the
Mercury Cougar XR7 convertible driven
by Tracy di Vicenzo (Diana Rigg) and the
only Bond girl to marry him comes into
its own when she rescues Bond (George
Lazenby) and takes an unlikely detour
through an ice rink stock-car race.Three
Cougars are known to have survived
filming and the vehicle on display retains
the original body damage. In
The SpyWho
Loved Me
(1977), the Lotus Esprit S1
nick-named ‘Wet Nellie’ made its iconic
debut when 007 (Roger Moore) drove off
a pier in Sardinia to escape the villainous
Karl Stromberg’s hencemen and his car
transformed into a submersible laden
with gadgets, including a mine launcher
and periscope. There was only one fully
functioning road vehicle supplied for the
production. However, when they needed
a second machine, the Lotus chairman
lent his own car to the crew.
The Aston Martin DBS used in the two
Bond films starring Daniel Craig both
suffered substantial damages. In
Casino
Royale
(2006), as Bond gives chase
to bad guy Le Chiffre, he swerves to
avoid the prone figure of Vesper Lynd
(Eva Green) and spins the car before it
smashes to a standstill. Stunt-driving ace
Adam Kirley flipped the Aston Martin
DBS through seven-and-three-quarter-
turns during filming, a Guinness World
Record and this is the record-breaking
car seen on display, with its battered
bodywork. In
Quantum of Solace
(2008),
Images courtesy of London Film Museum
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