The Bite Magazine

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

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

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