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A review of the top 50 James Bond stunts from 1962 to 2012
By: Jon Auty
Published:
2012-10-09
2012-10-09
In this 50th year of James Bond on the big screen it seemed appropriate to have a look at my top 50 Greatest Stunts from the series. If your favourites aren’t in this list I’ll be very surprised, but you will find some that just don’t make it onto any top 10. They deserve their place on this list and I’ll explain why as you read on. So turn off the lights, cue the music and let’s go straight in at number 50.
• 050: BOND vs MR JONES/DR NO 1962
The first Bond film 50 years ago and the fight between James Bond and the driver, Mr Jones, is early on in the picture and gives you a flavour of things to come. Bob Simmons doubles actor Reggie Carter while Sean Connery sells every punch and throw stamping his mark on the character of 007. This is a necessary inclusion into any list of stunts.
• 049: JUMPING CROCS/LIVE AND LET DIE 1973
A very special stunt sequence captured for Roger Moore’s first outing as 007 in Live and Let Die (1973). Crocodile wrangler…yes you heard me correctly, Ross Kananga performs the leap across the hungry prehistoric creatures as Bond tries to escape from an island surrounded by both crocs and alligators. Wearing crocodile skin shoes and Roger’s trousers Ross jumped on each of the crocodiles and landed safely on the bank. Admittedly he’d had three attempts which hadn’t gone according to plan and was caught by a croc on take three, he left with a split shoe and a hefty dry cleaning bill, but was made of sturdier stuff and did it once more for the camera. Ross Kananga died in 1978 aged just 37.
• 048: THE WIDOW/THUNDERBALL 1965
Another example of Bob Simmons excellent coordination during this fight. Bond attends a funeral of an enemy only to discover through a simple lack of etiquette that the whole thing was staged and that the dead enemy is masquerading as his own widow! Very complicated way of claiming the life insurance if you ask me, but a fight ensues and Bob Simmons plays the part of the cross dressing villain. Connery is doubled by stuntman Harold Sanderson. Once again Simmons use of the set is exemplary and the fight earns its place in this list.
• 047: BOND vs GRAVES/DIE ANOTHER DAY 2002
Sword master Bob Anderson takes the helm for this fight coaching Pierce Brosnan and Toby Stephens in the way of the blade. Sword routines and good old fashioned punch up mix well together in this lengthy battle. Stunt Co-ordinator Vic Armstrong makes sure they stay safe by littering stunt performers throughout the sequence as patrons, visitors etc. The only major piece of swordplay in the series.
• 046: Q’s LAB/GOLDENEYE 1995
Every once in a while you have to watch a movie again because you’ve missed something. This is a prime example. Whilst the late Desmond Llewellyn is doing his thing as Q a member of his lab team sits down in a chair and puts the phone in which she is speaking between her ear and shoulder. In the old days we used to call this ‘hands free’. In the blank of an eye she and the chair are fired across the room with extraordinary force. The member of staff was stunt performer Tracey Eddon who did receive treatment afterwards for whiplash. Not surprising really. Awesome stuff.
• 045: “HANG ON JAMES”/MOONRAKER 1979
Bond and Dr Goodhead are on top of a cable car above Rio when steel toothed heavy Jaws makes another appearance. Richard Graydon doubles Roger Moore, Dorothy Ford doubles Lois Chiles and Martin Grace doubles Richard Kiel. The cable car jolts backwards and Bond is thrown over the side, hanging on with his fingertips. 2000ft up Richard Graydon, without a safety harness is left dangling. Jaws join them and a roof top fight ensues. In the studio Paul Weston doubles Jaws when jumping from one cable car to the other.
• 044: LAND ROVER/THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS 1987
The pre-title sequence that introduced Timothy Dalton to the world as James Bond also gave us a very special stunt. The SAS on alert as Bond rides the roof of an assassins Land Rover down the rock of Gibraltar. One of the soldiers is stuntman Paul Heasman who is knocked down by the oncoming off road vehicle. He gets up onto the bonnet then falls off over the wheel arch hitting the ground with such force. Violent and brilliant.
• 043: TWO WHEELS/DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER 1971
Bond escaping local Police drives his Mustang into a dead end. “I got you now”, says the Police chief who assumes Bond will give himself up. Well if this was any other movie he might, but Bond takes the other plan and gets the car up on two wheels allowing him to getaway down an alleyway. The stunt has caused heartache over the years with fans who can’t understand why he drives through the alley on one set of wheels and comes out of the alley on the other set of wheels. Buzz Bundy drove the car into the alleyway and a French stunt team headed by Claude Carliez drove it out onto the Vegas strip. Whatever you think of the editing it’s a brilliant stunt brilliantly performed by both teams.
• 042: ROPE FIGHT/QUANTUM OF SOLACE 2008
An excellent example of live action and CGi working together in harmony. Bond fights fellow MI6 man Mitchell in a fight to the death in an art gallery. Daniel Craig and stuntman Glenn Foster crash through glass roofs and onto scaffolding. The really dangerous stuff is done by Kai Martin doubling Craig. Gary Powell on top form here as co-ordinator.
• 041: STOCK CAR/ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE 1969
The stock car sequence is an added bonus to this extraordinary Bond film. Anthony Squire brought many of the world’s leading rally drivers to the sequence. Choreographing movement on ice is as difficult as can be and yet he manages to give it a feeling of order. Apart from the 12 cars in the race, Tracey’s Cougar and a chasing Mercedes weave their way through the traffic causing many thrills and spills. A great addition to this list.
• 040: CATCHING THE PLANE/OCTOPUSSY 1983
Bond chases Kamal Khan’s plane on horseback. Roger Moore is doubled by stuntman Norman Howell who manages to get an awesome turn of speed from his charge which allows him to dive ahead of his horse and onto the tail of the plane where he holds on as the plane takes off. Truly brilliant.
• 039: HOTEL FIGHT/ON HER MAJESTYS SECRET SERVICE
Of all of the fine moments in this one and only George Lazenby outing at Bond, his punch up in Tracey’s hotel room is my favourite. It was pretty much the fight that got him the job during rehearsal periods and stuntman Yuri Borenko got a busted nose as a gift from George who was used to brawling on a Saturday night behind the local dancehall. The fight with Irvin Allen is a belter and many of the falls were done for real added extra excitement to the fight. George threw a gorgeous punch and the use of props in the room by co-ordinator George Leech was Simmons-esque.
• 038: ICE CHASE/DIE ANOTHER DAY
A chase between Bond and Zao. Each driving high powered vehicles which were ironically adjusted to give them less power for this chase on a frozen lake. Aston Martin vs Jaguar. George Cottle in the Jag and Ray-de-Haan in the Aston. Delicate movement of the wheel was required to power slide several hundred yards, Ray missed out on serious injury when the Aston bounced off a nearby ice-flow. An excellent job by all, well edited too.
• 037: OSATO OFFICE/YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE 1967
Another brilliant example of Bob Simmons as a fight choreographer of the highest calibre. Doubling for Connery his timing and trademark use of furniture really makes this fight skip along. His opponent is Peter Fanene Maivia a truly awesome fighting force. BBC Television made a behind the scenes documentary at the time fronted by Alan Whicker. This fight was shown in its development stage and Bob Simmons mentioned to Harry Saltzman about the very hard floor on the set. “Our roughneck is concerned about the floor”, said Harry to Alan. Understandable when you see some of the moves involved. The monkey climb manoeuvre is one such example. Maivia and Simmons struggle with a sword. Bob is then launched over onto his back with incredible force. A truly memorable tussle.
• 036: BAREFOOT SKI/LICENCE TO KILL 1989
David Reinhardt was a world beater in the field of skiing. He didn’t need skis, he had feet. Bond requires a getaway and this is an excellent way of leaving the underwater fight he was previously engaged in. The plane travelled at 50-60mph and David dodged machine gun fire from behind by flipping over forwards onto his back. Timothy Dalton was made to look very good indeed in this sequence.
• 035: DOUBLE DECKER/LIVE AND LET DIE
When you have a chase involving a double decker bus and James Bond behind the wheel you know the results are going to be action packed. Being chased by the Police on the island of San Monique, a low bridge was supposed to stop Bond in his tracks, but he has other ideas. London bus driver Maurice Patchett drove the bus doubling for Roger Moore. The roof came off thanks to the sfx team and the chasing Police car drives into it and then to watery end.
• 034: MAY DAY LEAP/A VIEW TO A KILL 1985
Bond chases Grace Jones up the Eiffel Tower until she decides to dive off the top and parachute across Paris to safety. Stuntman BJ Worth did the jump after numerous production issues and a Michael Wilson lesson in trajectory and trigonometry. Sensational stuff.
• 033: OIL RIG DIVE/DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
Bond’s exit from Blofeld’s oil-rig was a real highpoint of this final outing for Sean Connery. Harvey Orwin jumped 180ft into the sea and made it look effortless. This Acapulco cliff diver was a world record holder and had jumped 220ft a few years before. So as you see to Harvey this was just a drop in the ocean.
• 032: TANKER CHASE/LICENCE TO KILL
A chase along windy, dusty roads is one thing but when you’re talking about Bond this chase will involve a much larger vehicle. Kenwood Tankers in this case and one is driven by French stuntman Gilbert Bataille. A legend in car stunts in Europe. He is renowned the world over for being the only man to achieve the following stunt. Riding a truck, plus its tanker, up a ramp getting the passenger wheels to come off the floor and therefore allow the vehicle to travel on its driver’s side wheels only. An extra wheel was attached by the sfx crew, but Gilbert didn’t need it. “How was it done”? A reporter asked afterwards. “Oh it’s simple”, said Gilbert “you just have to remember to bring a little bit of gravity with you and a huge bag of balance”. Well that’s cleared that up then!
• 031: TANK CHASE/GOLDENEYE
A twist on the car chase with Bond commandeering a Tank to crash through the streets of St Petersburg. Gary Powell drives the tank and Jim Dowdall arranged and co-ordinated the trip. At one point two jeeps fly through the air throwing the stuntmen into the river. As good now as it ever was.
• 030: BOND vs GRANT/FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE 1963
It has been described by many as the fight to end all fights. A punch up in a railway carriage that quite literally changed the way fights were executed on screen. Jack Cooper and Peter Perkins double Grant and Bond and the editing is beautifully done. Allowing Connery and Shaw to take the glory. The editing so good that for many years the word was that both actors performed the fight for real.
• 029: BLIND DRIVING/TOMORROW NEVER DIES 1997
The idea of a remote control car has always been a possibility with Bond, but in order to create it stuntman Steve Griffin was chosen to drive the BMW 750i from the floor of the backseat. It looked remarkably cramped in the back, but Steve made it look effortless. Steve could see only through a monitor placed in front of him no bigger than…well a mobile phone ironically! Perhaps he should have used one of those? The sequence is littered with magical moments and truly deserves its place here.
• 028: HELICOPTER/FOR YOUR EYES ONLY 1981
Martin Grace doing what he did best. Doubling Roger Moore 500ft over Becton gas works. His favourite moment as a Bond stuntman was hanging underneath the helicopter which is being flown by remote control…not by Pierce Brosnan this time, but the old foe Blofeld doubled for some of the sequence by Mike Potter.
• 027: DOME FALL/THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH 1999
If ever a stuntman deserved a pat on the back and a big brown envelope stuffed with cash its Mark Mottram. Doubling Brosnan he falls from the exploding air balloon and onto the Dome or the 02 Arena as its now known. Bouncing, crashing and impacting every guide rope with such force it makes you wince. A truly excellent job.
• 026: STAIRWELL FIGHT/CASINO ROYALE 2006
Without a doubt the most brutal of fights. Bond is attacked on a narrow staircase and the fight is thrown up and down with ferocious intent. The doubling is superb. Ben Cooke is the perfect double for Mr Craig and this fight is exactly how Mr Craig’s Bond should be. First class violence.
• 025: BIKE, BOB, BOND/FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
The sight of a bobsleigh run is always very exciting, but in this Bond adventure Willy Bogner and Remy Julienne took it a stage further. Seeing a bobsleigh team being chased by Bond who in turn is being chased by a motorbike was a truly awesome sight. The Julienne boys Michel and Dominique taking turns riding the chase bike or doubling Roger Moore in some of his tumbles. Sadly stuntman Paolo Rigon was killed during filming in this very sequence. It’s something that should never happen, but sadly fate deals its hand and we lose a fine young man with a big career ahead of him. The brilliance of this sequence is left as his legacy.
• 024: BMW BIKE JUMP/TOMORROW NEVER DIES
Vic Armstrong took the mantle of Stunt Co-ordinator and when this stunt was suggested in the script he knew there was only one man for the job. French motorcycle ace Jean Pierre Goy was the only man capable of jumping the heavy BMW bike over the 75ft gap which contained a helicopter. One take was all it took landing safely in the 3 storey box rig built to cope with the impact.
• 023: TRAIN FIGHT/OCTOPUSSY
As the sequence unfolds the awesome stunt work becomes apparent. Bond runs along the top of the train, hangs on the side of the train, and nearly gets thrown under the train whilst dodging obstacles above the carriages. All this before being thrown off. Martin Grace was seriously injured during the filming of this sequence when colliding with a concrete post at the side of the track. Paul Weston took over for many of the roof top scenes, and then Jim Dowdall took a stint at doubling Bond on the train before taking over doubling Govinda with Reg Harding. Paul Weston doubles Roger leaping from the train alongside stuntman Wayne Michaels before Rocky Taylor doubles Roger rolling into the undergrowth. Bonds all time high?
• 022: ROOFTOP CHASE/QUANTUM OF SOLACE
This sequence really does allow Daniel to do as much action as possible. Gary Powell has mastered the art of cabling which allows the actors to jump from roof to roof or from building to passing bus along with the cameraman who was stuntman Diz Sharpe for much of the Siena shoot without the ultimate risk of foxing gravity. His work on the Bourne pictures gave him so much scope to take Bond to a whole new level of action filming.
• 021: LIPPE CAR CRASH/THUNDERBALL
Bob Simmons again pulling out all the stops as he drives a car chasing Bond’s Aston Martin which in turn is being chased by a SPECTRE assassin on a BSA Motorcycle. The bike fires its rockets and they impact the back of Bob’s car which explodes with a huge fireball. Bob must swerve and ditch the car whilst remembering to leave the vehicle a climb to safety. Bob isn’t wearing a safety belt as he is sat on the floor of the driver’s side, this should speed up his exit…it nearly didn’t, but he made it look very good.
• 020: INFERNO/A VIEW TO A KILL
A Brilliantly conceived sequence for A View To A Kill which involves Bond and Zorin racing each other for the prize of a Colt bound for auction. Bond is doubled by British stuntman Jason White, a very fine horseman who is surrounded by many of the world’s great riders. French, Spanish, Italian have all come together to attempt to fall off their horse in a more spectacular way than the previous rider. Many great falls, one in particular as the show jumping bar is raised in front of a fast approaching Bond who ducks under it. The rider closest to him isn’t so lucky and hits it square in the face causing a reverse dismount burying his head almost into the ground. Fierce stuff, but absolutely spectacular. And well worth its place on the top 50 list.
• 019: GRAND BAZAAR/SKYFALL 2012
A pre-title sequence that has it all. A car chase, a bike chase and a fight with a difference on top of a train. Brilliantly done as you’d expect from Gary Powell and his team. Doubles are excellent as usual. Ben Cooke, Andy Lister, Lee Morrison and Robbie Maddison on train and bike duty and Ben Collins, Mark Higgins and Lee Morrison on car driving duty. Ending with a truly breath-taking moment.
• 018: BIKE CRASH/FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
Another magical Remy Julienne moment. Melina is buying a crossbow, as you do on a snowy Tuesday in Cortina, when she is set upon by two motorcycles. One is disposed of by Bond who hits him with a handily placed piece of wood, the other crashes through the window of a nearby florist after Bond shoves the same piece of wood into the spokes of the front wheel. Michel Julienne is riding the bike, hits his mark beautifully and sails majestically over the handlebars and on through the window. All shot in slow motion for extra effect.
• 017: FLIPPING CABUNGA/GOLDFINGER 1964
Alf Joint was a very special stuntman. Bob Simmons knew this and asked him to double Connery in part of the pre-title sequence in Goldfinger as well as play a role of a thug seen to fight with Bond. The set is quite small, an apartment. Kitchen area and a bath tub at the far end, but the scene causes for Bond and his assailant to crash through furniture and ultimately cause death by electrocution. Alf had worked out a move with Sean where he would be thrown over Connery’s back and land on his own back on the floor. It’s a beautiful move, very well done in such a small space. Alf did this about six times before saying enough was enough. This fight is typical Simmons and that particular ‘gag’ is why it makes an ordinary fist fight just that bit special.
• 016: BRIDGE KNOCKDOWN/GOLDENEYE
A brilliant blink and you’ll miss it moment from Goldeneye deserves a mention. Ouramov is in the backseat drinking from his bottomless hip-flask and tells the driver to use the bumper to knock the inconveniently placed pedestrians out of the way. They drive onto a bridge and knockdown stuntman Andy Bennett who rolls up the bonnet into the air and over the bridge into the water. Just incredible.
• 015: AFRICAN RUNDOWN/CASINO ROYALE
To say that this sequence is stunning would be an understatement. Gary Powell and his main doubles Ben Cooke and Kai Martin for Daniel Craig and Marvin Campbell and Adam Kirley for Sebastian Forcan are completely compelling during this foot chase through a building site. Jumping from one side of a lift shaft to the other, climbing scaffolding like Spiderman, having a fight 200ft up on a crane then jumping from one crane to another? It’s the stuff of dreams!
• 014: 007 vs 006/GOLDENEYE
A firm favourite with fans. The final confrontation between Bond and Trevelyan was everything we wanted. Great fight in the engine room, well-choreographed with Brosnan and Bean throwing everything at each other. The doubles need a mention too. Brosnan is doubled during the lead up to the punch up by Wayne Michaels and Sean Bean by the very versatile Paul Heasman, with Jamie Edgell taking over Brosnan duties for the final few shots.
• 013: BIKE TO PLANE/GOLDENEYE
Another moment from Goldeneye. This movie really is stuffed full of cracking action set pieces. Bond jumps onto a motorcycle and must escape before the building explodes. He rides after a plane which sails off the edge of a cliff…and Bond follows! French stuntman Zoot Manui rides the bike over the cliff and skydives after the plane. Then BJ Worth takes over as he is captured falling with the plane before Brosnan is captured in the studio getting into the plane. It’s an immense sequence perfectly reintroducing Bond.
• 012: NO PARACHUTE/MOONRAKER
Without this sequence we simply wouldn’t have the rest. A turning point in Bond action arrived when BJ Worth and Jake Lombard entered the family circle. Bond is pushed from a plane without a parachute and must obtain the pilots parachute in order to carry on with his day. The sequence called for Worth and Lombard to invent the concealed parachute that is used today. They created a way to deploy the parachute from underneath the clothing. This had never been done before. They waited until a Bond movie to reveal it to the world. Class act boys.
• 011: SANCHEZ DEATH/LICENCE TO KILL
Paul Weston is a stuntman with huge experience in film and television stunt work and after seeing this fire ‘gag’ I’d say that wasn’t the only thing that was huge. He had doubled Robert Davi throughout the tanker chase whilst co-ordinating the action. The full burn was the final shot. He has flammable gel on his clothing and under that he has non-flammable gel on his skin and on each layer under that. He’s using breathing apparatus and will have 2mins of air…not that he’ll need that much, but it’s there. The director gives him speed, Paul takes a breath…and nothing happens. No air. He sucks and sucks furiously trying to get air. It finally starts to flow, but only as he is set alight. I believe there to be a much longer shot of Sanchez flaming death, but it hasn’t surfaced yet.
• 010: SKI JUMP/THE SPY WHO LOVED ME 1977
Okay we’re in the top ten and if you’re sighing with relief that’s because the Ski Jump has arrived on the list. You thought it was going to be number one didn’t you? Well it’s very good, but it’s not the best. So Bond is being chased on skis by a number of Russian gunmen out to cause him no good. He has nowhere else to go so he skis off the edge of a cliff, the music stops…you can hear the wind and your heart beating a little faster. Rick Sylvester assumes the free-fall position and pulls a ripcord. A union Jack parachute is deployed and the James Bond theme is heard announcing to the world that this man really can do it all. Rick hasn’t stopped talking about that jump. Can you blame him?
• 009: SPIRAL JUMP/THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN 1974
Unquestionably the most extraordinary stunt added to any movie for no obvious reason. Don’t get me wrong the science of the jump, the technology used to create it was incredible and Bumps Willard actually drove the car – when the original driver got cold feet! They repositioned the steering column to the middle of the dashboard and added a newly invented fuel cell which carried just enough fuel to get from the start point to the finish. Still to this day it’s regarded as one of the most fantastic car stunts ever filmed.
• 008: BARREL ROLL/THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
Anything Willard Bumps can do…The script called for a nineteen minute pre-title sequence in the form of a boat chase down the River Thames. Incredible stuff from start to finish. Wade Eastwood and Gary Powell doubling for Pierce and World Champion Powerboat driver Sarah Donohue doubling Cigar girl Maria Cucinotta. At one the boat Bond is driving must roll through the air and land right side up on the water. To do this Gary Powell must fire nitrogen charges to create the swift 360 roll. Its breath-taking and another James Bond classic.
• 007: BOND BUNGEE/GOLDENEYE
An opening of epic proportions to welcome Pierce Brosnan to the world of Bond. Stuntman Wayne Michaels stands on the edge of the Laguna Dam in Switzerland and launches himself into mid-air. He holds the perfect swan-dive position as he is buffeted by the cross winds. The bungee cord tightens and he is jolted back, this marks his moment to reach inside his jacket and pull out the piton gun. He assumes the Bond-like position and disappears behind a rock. 220m in flight. Exceptional.
• 006: ASTON MARTIN/CASINO ROYALE
We’ve all seen car rolls before, but never with a brand new Aston Martin and never one that refused to roll. Stunt Co-ordinator Gary Powell had done the testing in a BMW 7 series as the general weight ratio was similar to the Aston. When it came to shooting a small ramp was placed on the road and stuntman Adam Kirley hit it at 70mph, but nothing happened. The car levelled out and slid across the grass scattering cameramen and ground crew. They decided that the only thing for it was to fit the cannon. A Nitrogen cannon placed behind the back wheel guaranteeing lift and a roll if the speed was right. Adam tried again, hit his mark and fired the cannon. Seven rolls later the car came to a stop. As violent a car roll as you’re ever likely to see.
• 005: AIRSHIP HANG/A VIEW TO A KILL
Martin Grace had taken over as stunt co-ordinator and needed a full time double for Roger Moore. He used Jason White to do the tricky stuff while he got on with the arranging. One such stunt was for Bond to hang onto the mooring rope of an airship and be carried across the city of San Francisco before coming to a bumpy stop at the Golden Gate Bridge. Jason hangs on for real, he has a foot hold in the rope and is harnessed, but he is actually hanging under an airship a thousand feet in the air.
• 004: BOND ON PLANE/OCTOPUSSY
Bond does it again with the aid of BJ Worth and Jake Lombard. Climbing outside the Kamal Khan piloted plane is Worth doubling the henchman Gobinda. A fight is worked out using the aerial and allowing the stuntmen to move the length of the aircraft by using the handholds which have been added by the art department. It’s truly wonderful stuff.
• 003: PARIS CAR JUMP/A VIEW TO A KILL
To many it’s just a car stunt in a Bond movie, but for me its work of true genius. Remy Julienne’s team create an incredible car jump from a ramp to a bus to the ground. Filmed in one shot with four cameras running the incredible sight of the Renault 11 flying through the air, giving the tourist packed bus a glancing blow before dropping off onto the road below. In fact the car could be used again as it landing in a box rig! For me the best Bond car stunt.
• 002: FLAMING KIDD/DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
The late George Leech comes in with the finest example of fire work on Bond. Yes, Paul Weston’s work on Licence to Kill was second to none, but the sequence was cut very short by the censor who deemed it far too graphic for a family audience. I don’t think anyone has to remind him that these movies are not family movies. However back in the days where censors weren’t as over the top as they were in the late eighties Bond gave us Mr Kidd on fire. A brilliant scene and fine editing allowing actor Putter Smith to actually have his arms set alight before George Leech takes over for the remaining shots. A face mask of the actor, flames high above him and a fireman standing by the landing area waiting for director Guy Hamilton to say cut…which could have proved awkward, turned out for the best.
• 001: HERCULES FIGHT/THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
Okay, well here it is and for me it comes as no surprise. Take one Hercules transport plane flying at 15,000ft, a bomb that needs defusing and a Bond girl at the controls who has issues about understanding simple instructions and you have the very best stunt in a Bond movie. BJ Worth and Jake Lombard again step up to the plate and produce an extraordinary fight on a real cargo net outside the aircraft. No special effects here these two men have rehearsed a fight and are playing out for real. In the movie when the cargo net slides out of the plane I still hold my breath even though I’ve seen the move a gazillion times. It still makes me jump for joy knowing that these two men are actually doing this for real. Then when Necros ‘gets the boot’ Jake Lombard must fall away clutching Bond’s size 9 until out of shot leaving BJ to be bounced around like a rodeo rider on the now empty bag. The two stuntmen had developed a rip cord system in the net allowing them to be one side or the other, but never on top of it. The bags would fly away and they would still have hold of the net. Mind you bags hitting you in the face at 80mph is no picnic either.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my 50 Greatest James Bond Stunts and with a bit of luck you’ll agree on some and not others, but that’s the beauty of being a Bond fan. You can disagree with everyone and still be right.
Let’s do this again in another 50 years and see if things have changed eh?
Check out FSWL's section of stunt links for official websites of the talented stunt people in the James Bond film series.
Written by Jon Auty © 2014 From Sweden with Love
James Bond stuntmen/women featured on FSWL:
>Belle Williams (stuntwoman)
>Bill Weston (stuntman/stunt coordinator)
>Bob Anderson (stuntman/sword master)
>Doug Robinson (stuntman/stunt coordinator)
>Eunice Huthart (stntwoman)
>Gary Powell (stuntman/
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