Brian James Smith reviews Darker Than The Sun: An Atlas Of James Bond Movie Locations

By: Brian James Smith

Published:
2026-05-11

Darker Than The Sun, James Bond atlas, book, review

‘The key to a great story,’ media mogul Elliot Carver tells his wife in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), ‘is not who, or what, or when, but why.’ What sets this book apart is its emphasis not only on the actual filming locations but also the settings of the stories, the why.

Darker Than The Sun is a treasure trove of Bondian travel and history, enhanced with numerous primary interviews. Authors Matthew Field and Ajay Chowdhury also explore the creative and practical choices made by the filmmakers as they guide the reader through three phases of Bond film locations.

The primary settings for the first eight films were influenced by the Ian Fleming novels. Not wishing to repeat themselves by using Jamaica again, the action for The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) was relocated to Thailand. Subsequently, the films adopted a more glamorous and ambitious tone, although the narratives predominantly unfolded in real-world locations.

The third phase commenced with the Pierce Brosnan films. Neal Purvis who, with Robert Wade, wrote seven James Bond films, told the authors: ‘Today everyone travels but the destinations you might not want to venture, are somewhere Bond can definitely take you.’ And so, as the world became increasingly interconnected, placing James Bond in perilous locations that are typically inaccessible to the average tourist found 007 in Russia, Vietnam, Cuba, North Korea and contested Japanese islands. This necessitated innovative approaches to location doubling and the use of studio sets.

Darker Than The Sun, Hashima Island, Japan

Darker Than The Sun, Hashima Island, Japan

Beautifully illustrated with bespoke maps and over 200 photographs, Darker Than The Sun is a vivid and wide-ranging analysis of the world of 007 movie locations. And in the spirit of Elliot Carver, it is also a great story.

Bondian map of Japan featured in the Darker Than The Sun book. © 2025 Ivy Press. All rights reserved.

Review by Brian James Smith. Copyright © 2026 From Sweden with Love. All rights reserved.

Editor's Note:
Order Darker Than The Sun: An Atlas Of James Bond Movie Locations from Amazon UK or Amazon.com.

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Brian James Smith reviews Darker Than The Sun: An Atlas Of James Bond Movie Locations

Beautifully illustrated with bespoke maps and over 200 photographs, Darker Than The Sun is a vivid and wide-ranging analysis of the world of 007 movie locations. And in the spirit of Elliot Carver, it is also a great story.

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