Return to a classic Bond with ‘SPECTRE’?
Since December 2014 there is barely any escape from the next installment in the James Bond franchise: ‘SPECTRE’. With the start of principal photography shortly after the official press launch on December 04, news kept pouring in about Daniel Craig’s fourth Bond film and judging from what fans have been presented with until now just screams “classic Bond”.
Special Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion
On the forefront is, without doubt, the title of the film which is so iconic in the Bond universe, as ‘SPECTRE’ was the ever-present terror organization of the early Bond films with arch-enemy Ernst Stavro Blofeld being the evil mastermind behind it all. It´s just these seven letters that made the blood pressure of many Bond fans rise. I very well remember watching the announcement and seeing the film’s title for the first time. My jaw dropped! However, the initial fascination turned into concern when the question was raised, on how the organization would fit into the updated narrative of the Craig films and if it would be resurrected for only one film or more.
Photo: © 2015 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Danjaq, LLC and Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc
January and February saw the Bond production crew working on location in Austria where production designer Dennis Gassner had picked a very exclusive spot, the futuristic IceQ restaurant at the summit of a mountain in Soelden, a famous ski resort 88 kilometers south-west of Innsbruck. While the film team could work undisturbed in 3040m height due to closing of the summit, news of the location being used for ‘SPECTRE’ was published on the official homepage of Soelden. The building instantly reminded fans of Piz Gloria, villain Blofeld´s hideout in the Swiss Alps from the 1969 James Bond film ‘ON HER MAJESTY´S SECRET SERVICE’ which still remains to be one of the most discussed films of the franchise. The fan community was shaken and stirred with discussions about ‘SPECTRE’ probably paying tribute to the older films of the 1960s and returning to the classic roots of Bond where lavish set designs and extraordinary locations astonished cinema audiences around the world – something the Bond films have always been known and loved for. Having been a secret hotspot for spies during two World Wars as well as the Cold War era, Austria has more than once provided a fitting winter backdrop for agent 007 on his missions. Although the last film to have used Austria as a filming location was ‘QUANTUM OF SOLACE’ (2008), it is really Timothy Dalton´s first James Bond flick ‘THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS’ (1987) that immediately springs to mind as it made heavy use of Vienna and the snowy mountains during an action scene where Bond and Kara Milovy famously escape across the border sliding on a cello case.
Source: Sony Pictures Entertainment
When the Teaser Poster for ‘SPECTRE’ went viral after its release on March 17, the fan community was once again baffled. Not because of its minimalism but by the clothing featured on it: a dark grey turtle neck sweater paired with a brown leather shoulder holster, a combination that had been worn before by Roger Moore in his first outing as 007 in ‘LIVE AND LET DIE’ (1973). Whether this particular choice of clothing was an intentional hint or skillful confusion will most likely remain a mystery until the release of the film, but the Poster certainly sparked even more curiosity and controversy about ‘SPECTRE’ being an homage to the history of the Bond films. Many fans long for a more classic Bond and anticipations are at an all time high we could actually get exactly that in ‘SPECTRE’.
What do you hope to see in the new Bond film? Be sure to let us know in the comments section.