Daniel’s first adventure as an agent 007 covered countless scenic locations. In this article, you will find out which countries and cities the film crew had to visit to make the film as realistic and exciting as possible.
First Stop – Bahamas
Casino Royale gave audiences one of the craziest chase scenes in cinematic history when Bond tried to capture a fast and nimble terrorist named Mollaka. A notable fact is that Sébastien Foucan (Mollaka), well known as the legendary founder of a free run in the athletic world, played the terrorist role.
According to the plot, this scene took place on a Madagascar constructing site. However, Craig actually visited another island state – the Bahamas. The chase took place on New Providence Island. It is worth noting that the director chose this location, which had become a home to a military training base, for a reason. He wanted to refer to Thunderball, the fourth James Bond film in the series, which was filmed back in 1965, since this movie also had some scenes at the mentioned training base.
In addition, you will hardly expect to learn that the adrenaline gunfight that started after James Bond finally caught Mollaka took place in the fake embassy. As it turns out, the Bahamian rum distillery perfectly imitated an important government agency.
The fun fact is that New Providence did appear in the film after simulating Madagascar. First, Agent 007 visited Paradise Island to find the dangerous terrorist Dimitrios and fight him in the exclusive One & Only Ocean Club. After that, Daniel Craig travels to New Providence and finds Dimitrios’s wife there. Their meeting took place at the expensive Albany House hotel.
Moving to The Czech Republic
This country has doubled many movie locations. For example, do you remember a beautiful Venetian hotel? The director decided to use the National Museum’s lobby for those scenes. And what about Miami Airport? You probably never imagined that it was Prague International Airport. Besides that, the scene with agent M, which took place at the British government hub, was also filmed in the Czech Republic. The location for this part of the film was the well-known Strahov Monastery.
If you thought the film crew actually travelled to Montenegro, you would better think twice. Martin Campbell tried to make the most of the picturesque Czech Republic and filmed some more exciting scenes here. For example, Karlovy Vary was home to intriguing Casino scenes, the meeting between Mathis and 007 took place in the breathtaking Loket town, and the Grandhotel Pupp was the perfect replacement for the pompous Splendide Hotel, where James has stayed for a while.
Next Stop – Sunny Italy
After a brutal torture scene, Bond needed to recover in some quiet, relaxing place, and Villa del Balbianello fitted this description perfectly. In the following scenes, the agent visited this scenic location again when the director placed him at Villa la Gaeta. It is worth noting that both of these places are located in Lombardy on Lake Como, which attracts many tourists with its breathtaking landscapes.
Besides that, one of the most memorable Italian scenes was the wonderful house destruction, when Bond shot the pontoons on which the building stood. Of course, the director made this scene relying on special effects. And if you visit the Venetian Canal Grande today, you will be able to see this beautiful building in every detail.
007 Is Finally at Home – Good Old United Kingdom
As a rule, adventure films about a fearless secret service agent include many various scenes filmed in the Foggy Albion, but Casino Royale turned out to be an exception in this regard. The director decided to use the Dunsfold Aerodrome to film James Bond’s heroic deeds, as he wanted to prevent the plane from blowing up. In addition to this, Martin Campbell also moved the Ugandan jungle base to the well-known Black Park located in Buckinghamshire. The audience had no idea that the film crew had turned this vast forested area into an incredibly authentic jungle.
The James Bond series has many iconic pieces, and Casino Royale has achieved this high status as well. Although the audience perceived this new 007 agent slightly negatively at the stage of the main character casting, Daniel Craig convinced the whole world that he could definitely handle this legendary role. Daniel showed incredibly attractive charisma and convincing acting that introduced this adventure saga to millions of new viewers. Add the excellent directorial work and the perfect choice of locations to the mix, and you get a high-quality adrenaline-action movie that has been delighting viewers for over 15 years now.
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