GoldenEye is the seventeenth in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as MI6 agent James Bond.
Directed by Martin Campbell, it was the first in the series not to use any elements from the novels by Ian Fleming.
GoldenEye was also the first James Bond film not produced by Albert R. Broccoli, following his stepping down from Eon Productions and replacement by his daughter, Barbara Broccoli (along with Michael G. Wilson).
Broccoli was still involved as a consultant producer; it was his final film project before his death in 1996).
Conceived and written by Michael France, with collaboration by other writers, the tale depicts Bond’s fight to prevent a rogue ex-MI6 agent (Sean Bean) from using satellite weapon against London to cause global financial meltdown.
GoldenEye was released after a six-year hiatus in the series caused by legal disputes, during which Timothy Dalton’s contract for the role of James Bond expired and he left the role; replaced by Brosnan.
M was also recast, actress Judi Dench becoming the first woman to portray the character, replacing Robert Brown.
The role of Miss Moneypenny was also recast, Caroline Bliss was replaced by Samantha Bond.
Desmond Llewelyn was the only actor to reprise his previous role, as Q.
Context:
It was the first Bond film after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, which provided background for the plot.
Premise:
In 1986, MI6 agents James Bond and Alec Trevelyan infiltrate Soviet chemical weapons facility called Arkangel. After Trevelyan is caught and seemingly killed by the facility’s commanding officer, Colonel Arkady Grigorovich Ourumov, Bond destroys the site and escapes in stolen aircraft.
Nine years later, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Bond attempts to prevent Xenia Onatopp, a member of the Janus crime syndicate, from stealing a Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopter during a military demonstration in Monte Carlo, but he is unsuccessful.
Returning to MI6 Headquarters in London, Bond oversees MI6 staff monitoring Severnaya, Siberia, after the stolen helicopter turns up at a radar facility there. An electromagnetic pulse blast hits the site, destroying it and Russian fighter aircraft, while knocking out some satellite systems in orbit.
Principal photography took place from January to June of 1995 in the UK, Russia, Monte Carlo, and Puerto Rico; it was the inaugural film production to be shot at Leavesden Studios.
The first Bond film to use computer-generated imagery (CGI), GoldenEye was also the final film for special effects supervisor Derek Meddings; the film is dedicated to his memory.
The film grossed a worldwide gross of over US$350 million, much better than the entire 1980s Bond films, without taking inflation.
It received positive reviews, with critics viewing Brosnan as a worthy successor to Sean Connery’s portrayal as Bond.
It also received award nominations for Best Special Visual Effects and Best Sound from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
GoldenEye (1995): Bond 17, Introducing Pierce Brisnan as 007, and Judi Dench as M
GoldenEye is the seventeenth in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as MI6 agent James Bond.
Directed by Martin Campbell, it was the first in the series not to use any elements from the novels by Ian Fleming.
GoldenEye was also the first James Bond film not produced by Albert R. Broccoli, following his stepping down from Eon Productions and replacement by his daughter, Barbara Broccoli (along with Michael G. Wilson).
Broccoli was still involved as a consultant producer; it was his final film project before his death in 1996).
Conceived and written by Michael France, with collaboration by other writers, the tale depicts Bond’s fight to prevent a rogue ex-MI6 agent (Sean Bean) from using satellite weapon against London to cause global financial meltdown.
GoldenEye was released after a six-year hiatus in the series caused by legal disputes, during which Timothy Dalton’s contract for the role of James Bond expired and he left the role; replaced by Brosnan.
M was also recast, actress Judi Dench becoming the first woman to portray the character, replacing Robert Brown.
The role of Miss Moneypenny was also recast, Caroline Bliss was replaced by Samantha Bond.
Desmond Llewelyn was the only actor to reprise his previous role, as Q.
Context:
It was the first Bond film after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, which provided background for the plot.
Premise:
In 1986, MI6 agents James Bond and Alec Trevelyan infiltrate Soviet chemical weapons facility called Arkangel. After Trevelyan is caught and seemingly killed by the facility’s commanding officer, Colonel Arkady Grigorovich Ourumov, Bond destroys the site and escapes in stolen aircraft.
Nine years later, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Bond attempts to prevent Xenia Onatopp, a member of the Janus crime syndicate, from stealing a Eurocopter Tiger attack helicopter during a military demonstration in Monte Carlo, but he is unsuccessful.
Returning to MI6 Headquarters in London, Bond oversees MI6 staff monitoring Severnaya, Siberia, after the stolen helicopter turns up at a radar facility there. An electromagnetic pulse blast hits the site, destroying it and Russian fighter aircraft, while knocking out some satellite systems in orbit.
Principal photography took place from January to June of 1995 in the UK, Russia, Monte Carlo, and Puerto Rico; it was the inaugural film production to be shot at Leavesden Studios.
The first Bond film to use computer-generated imagery (CGI), GoldenEye was also the final film for special effects supervisor Derek Meddings; the film is dedicated to his memory.
The film grossed a worldwide gross of over US$350 million, much better than the entire 1980s Bond films, without taking inflation.
It received positive reviews, with critics viewing Brosnan as a worthy successor to Sean Connery’s portrayal as Bond.
It also received award nominations for Best Special Visual Effects and Best Sound from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.