Thrills and tragedy: James Bond at the Winter Olympics
By David Pegram
As the 2018 Winter Olympic Games wind down in Pyeongchang, South Korea, let’s look back at James Bond’s own connection to the Winter Olympics.
The 1956 Winter Games were held in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. This fact may seem trivial, but James Bond fans will recognize Cortina as a primary location in the 1981 film, For Your Eyes Only. And not just that: many of the Olympic venues were prominent in the film.
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The ’56 games featured just 24 events. The events were specific to bobsledding, ice hockey, skiing events, and skating events (figure skating and speed skating). Note: for the U.S., the games were known for producing the first woman to win the gold in figure skating: Tenley Albright.
Four of the events and venues played significant roles in the Cortina scenes in For Your Eyes Only. The first occurs when Bond meets Aristotle Kristatos, known at the time as an informant. The scene takes place at the (then) outdoor Stadio Olympica. Figure skater Bibi Dahl practices on the stadium’s ice rink.
Soon after, three venues were part of the epic ski chase scene, in which Bond is pursued, first by men on motorbikes, and then on skiers. The chase begins on the ski jump, on which the Olympic symbol is clearly visible. It then continues on Tofane, the location of the Alpine skiing competitions, and then the well-noted chase on the bobsled track. Bill Conti’s (very) 80s-era score hops along in the background.
Later in the film, Bond is attacked on the ice hockey rink, again at Stadio Olympica. Three would-be assassins, in hockey gear, fail to kill Bond, and instead end up in the net. Turned out, Roger Moore suffered an injured shoulder while filming the scene.
Moore’s injury, however, was not the worst of the news from the Cortina shoot. Stuntman Paolo Rigon was killed during the bobsled stunt, when the sled turned over, trapped him, and dragged him along the track. The accident left the filming of For Your Eyes Only as one of the most tragic.
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