Citizendia

Moonraker

Moonraker film poster
James BondRoger Moore
Also starringMichael Lonsdale
Lois Chiles
Richard Kiel
Directed byLewis Gilbert
Produced byAlbert R. Broccoli
William P. Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is a Fictional character created by novelist Ian Fleming in 1952 Sir Roger George Moore KBE (born 14 October 1927) is an English Actor. Michael Lonsdale, sometimes billed as Michel Lonsdale ( May 24, 1931, in Paris) is an Anglo-French Actor who has appeared Lois Cleveland Chiles (born April 15, 1947) is an American actress and former Fashion model best known for her role as Dr Richard Dawson Kiel (born September 13, 1939, in Detroit Michigan) is an American Actor best known for his role as the steel-toothed Lewis Gilbert CBE (born March 6, 1920) is an English Film director, producer and Screenwriter, born in Albert Romolo Broccoli, CBE (Hon ( April 5 1909 &ndash June 27 1996) nicknamed "Cubby" was an American Cartlidge
Michael G. Wilson
Novel/Story byIan Fleming
ScreenplayChristopher Wood
Cinematography byJean Tournier
Music byJohn Barry
Main themeMoonraker
ComposerJohn Barry
Hal David
PerformerShirley Bassey
Editing byJohn Glen
Distributed byUnited Artists
ReleasedJune 26, 1979 (UK)
June 29, 1979 (USA)
Running time126 min. Michael Gregg Wilson OBE (born 1942) is producer and screenwriter of James Bond movies. Between 1953 and the present day (2008 dozens of novels and a number of short stories have been published chronicling the adventures of spy James Bond 007 Ian Lancaster Fleming ( May 28, 1908 – August 12, 1964) was a British author, Journalist and Second World War For other people by this name see Chris Wood. Christopher Wood ( November 5, 1935 in London) is an English The James Bond series of films from EON Productions has had numerous signature tunes over the years many of which are now considered classic pieces of cinematic music John Barry, OBE (born John Barry Prendergast on 3 November 1933 in York, England) is a renowned Golden Globe and five-time Academy The James Bond series of films from EON Productions has had numerous signature tunes over the years many of which are now considered classic pieces of cinematic music Hal David (born May 25, 1921 in New York City, New York) is an American Lyricist and Songwriter. Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey DBE (born 8 January 1937 Cardiff, Wales) is a Welsh Singer. John Glen is a noted Film director born May 15, 1932 in Sunbury-on-Thames, England. This article is about the film studio Previously it was affiliated with a cinema chain bearing its name now owned by Regal Entertainment Group. Events 363 - Roman Emperor Julian is killed during the retreat from the Sassanid Empire. The year 1979 in film involved some significant events Events March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Events 512 - A Solar eclipse is recorded by a monastic chronicler in Ireland. The year 1979 in film involved some significant events Events March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode The United States of America —commonly referred to as the
Budget$34,000,000
Worldwide gross$210,300,000[1]
Preceded byThe Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
Followed byFor Your Eyes Only (1981)
IMDb profile

Moonraker, released in 1979, is the eleventh film in the James Bond series and the fourth to star Roger Moore as the fictional British Secret Service agent James Bond. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been The Spy Who Loved Me, released in 1977 is the 10th film in the James Bond series and the third to star Roger Moore as MI6 agent For Your Eyes Only ( 1981) is the 12th Spy film in the James Bond series, and the fifth to star Roger Moore as MI6 The year 1979 in film involved some significant events Events March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode James Bond 007 is a Fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve Novels and two Short story The James Bond film series are Spy films inspired by Ian Fleming 's novels about the fictional MI6 agent Commander James Bond (codename Sir Roger George Moore KBE (born 14 October 1927) is an English Actor. The Secret Intelligence Service ( SIS) colloquially known as MI6 is the United Kingdom 's external Intelligence agency. Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is a Fictional character created by novelist Ian Fleming in 1952 In the film, Bond is set on the trail of a space shuttle that went missing during transport on the back of a plane. He visits Hugo Drax, billionaire owner of the shuttle manufacturers, to investigate further. After befriending space scientist Holly Goodhead and a narrow brush with a centrifuge, Bond follows the trail of clues from California to Venice, the Amazon rain forest and finally into outer space in a bid to prevent a genocidal plot to conquer the world.

The end credits for the previous Bond film, The Spy Who Loved Me, said, 'James Bond will return in For Your Eyes Only; however, the producers chose Moonraker as the basis for the next film, following the box office success of the 1977 space-themed film Star Wars. The Spy Who Loved Me, released in 1977 is the 10th film in the James Bond series and the third to star Roger Moore as MI6 agent For Your Eyes Only ( 1981) is the 12th Spy film in the James Bond series, and the fifth to star Roger Moore as MI6 Moonraker is the third Novel by British author Ian Fleming, based on the fictional British Secret Service agent Commander James Bond, first published The year 1977 in film involved some significant events Events In the Academy Awards, Peter Finch, Faye Dunaway Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope (originally released as Star Wars) is a 1977 Space opera For Your Eyes Only was subsequently delayed and ended up following Moonraker in 1981. Events January 19 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquires beleaguered concurrent United Artists.

Contents

Plot

A Drax Industries Moonraker space shuttle is hijacked in mid-air, causing the incineration of the carrier Boeing 747. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout Bond is recalled from South Africa to investigate. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa On a small aeroplane, Bond is attacked by the pilot and crew. He is pushed out of the plane by henchman Jaws, but survives by stealing a parachute from the pilot in mid-air. Bond reports to MI6 headquarters in London, and is briefed by M and Q about the hijacking. The Secret Intelligence Service ( SIS) colloquially known as MI6 is the United Kingdom 's external Intelligence agency. It is agreed that the investigation should begin at the Drax Industries shuttle complex in Southern California.

At Drax Industries, Bond is coldly greeted by Drax and henchman Chang. Bond also meets an astronaut, Dr. Holly Goodhead. Inadvertently aided by Drax's personal pilot, Corinne Dufour, Bond sneaks into Drax's study and finds blueprints for a glass vial made in Venice. Venice ( Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venesia or Venexia) is a city in Northern Italy, the capital of the The next morning, Dufour is fired by Drax and killed by two hunting dogs.

Bond arrives at a glass museum in Venice; he again encounters Goodhead. He is chased through the canals by Drax's henchmen but his gondola transforms into a hovercraft and he escapes. That night, Bond returns to the glass factory and learns the vials are to hold a nerve gas that kills only humans; Chang ambushes Bond but is killed (after Bond has seen packaging suggesting that Drax is moving his operation to Rio de Janeiro). Rio de Janeiro ("River of January" ˈhiw dʒi ʒʌˈnejɾu in Brazilian Portuguese, /ˈriːoʊ di ʒəˈnɛroʊ/ in English is the second largest city of Brazil Bond sneaks into Goodhead's hotel room, where he notices a flame-throwing perfume bottle, poisoned darts and a radio transmitter issued by the Central Intelligence Agency. near as long as it used to be several months ago It has been actively summarized and split into sub-articles and there is a dynamic talk page discussion of all He concludes that Goodhead is a CIA agent spying on Drax. They promise to work together, but quickly dispense with the truce. Bond has saved one of the vials he found earlier, giving it to M for analysis - M permits him to go to Rio de Janeiro.

In Rio de Janeiro Bond learns that Chang has been replaced by Jaws. Bond encounters Goodhead and Jaws again at the top of the Sugar Loaf, the three fight atop a cable car. Sugarloaf Mountain (in Portuguese Pão de Açúcar) is a peak situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from the mouth of Guanabara Bay After Jaws' cable car crashes into the control centre, he is rescued by a short girl ("Dolly") and the two fall in love. Bond and Goodhead are captured by henchmen; Bond escapes.

Bond reports to M's headquarters in Brazil and learns that the toxin comes from a rare orchid in the Amazon jungle. The Amazon Rainforest (Brazilian Portuguese: Floresta Amazônica or Amazônia; Spanish: Selva Amazónica or Amazonía While deadly to humans, it is harmless to all other life. Bond then travels up the Amazon River looking for Drax's research facility, which he finds after encountering Jaws and other henchmen again in a speedboat chase. The Amazon River (Rio Amazonas Río Amazonas of South America is the largest river in the world by volume with a total river flow greater than the next top ten largest rivers Bond is lured into an ancient Incan pyramid, where he kills Drax's pet python. Captured by Jaws again, Bond is taken to Drax's control room, where he sees four Moonrakers lifting off. Drax confirms Bond's theory that he himself stole the Moonraker because another in the fleet had developed a fault. Bond is reunited with Goodhead in a blast pit underneath Drax's personal shuttle set for lift off. He and Goodhead escape and pose as pilots on the sixth shuttle. All shuttles then dock with Drax's space station, which is invisible from Earth.

Drax plans to destroy all human life by launching 50 globes containing the toxin into the earth's atmosphere. Before launching the globes, Drax also transported several dozen carefully selected young men and women to the space station. They would live there until Earth was safe again for human life; their descendents will be the seed for a "new master race. " Bond persuades Jaws and Dolly to switch allegiance by getting Drax to admit that that anyone not measuring up to his physical standards would be exterminated (Dolly's glasses and Jaws' metal teeth being traits that exclude them both).

James Bond and Holly Goodhead in the space station.
James Bond and Holly Goodhead in the space station. Dr Holly Goodhead is a fictional character from the James Bond franchise portrayed by Lois Chiles in Moonraker.

A radar-jammer hides the space station's orbital presence from observers on Earth; 007 and Goodhead disable it. The U. S. send a platoon of Marines in a military shuttle. On arrival, a laser battle ensues. During the battle, Bond shoots Drax with a cyanide-coated dart attached to his watch, pushes him to an airlock, and ejects him into outer space.

Before the battle, Drax launched three of the globes towards Earth. Victorious, the Americans leave when Bond says their mission is completed. The space station is heavily damaged and begins to fall apart. Jaws helps Bond and Goodhead escape in Drax's space shuttle. In celebration, Jaws opens a champagne bottle and he and Dolly toast (in his only spoken line: "Well, here's to us!"). They too escape the space station as their module breaks away before the station explodes. Goodhead and Bond track the three poison gas globes, and Bond uses Drax's shuttle lasers to destroy them. The two return to Earth after making love in space (prompting the memorable line from Q: "I think he's attempting re-entry Sir!").

Cast

The Jaws character (played by Richard Kiel) makes a return, although in Moonraker the role is played more for laughs than in The Spy Who Loved Me. Blanche Ravalec is a diminutive French actress and dubber. She is most recognized for her role as Dolly Jaws ' girlfriend in the James Bond Richard Dawson Kiel (born September 13, 1939, in Detroit Michigan) is an American Actor best known for his role as the steel-toothed The Spy Who Loved Me, released in 1977 is the 10th film in the James Bond series and the third to star Roger Moore as MI6 agent Jaws was supposed to be a villain, but director Lewis Gilbert stated on the DVD documentary that he got much fan mail from small children saying "Why can't Jaws be a goodie not a baddie", and as a result Gilbert decided to make Jaws gradually become Bond's ally at the end of the film. Lewis Gilbert CBE (born March 6, 1920) is an English Film director, producer and Screenwriter, born in [2]

Executive Producer Michael G. Wilson continues a tradition in the Bond films he started in the film Goldfinger where he has a small cameo role: he appears twice in Moonraker, first as a tourist outside the Venini Glass shop in Venice, then at the end of the film as a technician in the NASA control room. Michael Gregg Wilson OBE (born 1942) is producer and screenwriter of James Bond movies. Goldfinger (1964 is the third James Bond film, as well as the third to star Sean Connery as MI6 agent James Bond.

Production

Moonraker holds the record for largest number of zero gravity wires in one scene.
Moonraker holds the record for largest number of zero gravity wires in one scene.

In 1955, the film rights to Moonraker were initially sold to the Rank Organisation for £10,000. The Rank Organisation was a British Entertainment company formed in 1937 and absorbed in 1996 by The Rank Group Fleming eventually bought back the rights in 1959. Tom Mankiewicz had written a screenplay of Moonraker that was eventually discarded. Tom Mankiewicz (born June 1, 1942) is an American Screenwriter and director. Some scenes from his script were later used in subsequent films, including the Acrostar Jet sequence used in the pre-credit sequence for Octopussy, and the Eiffel Tower scene in A View to a Kill. Octopussy (1983 is the 13th film in the James Bond series, and the sixth to star Roger Moore as MI6 agent James Bond. The Eiffel Tower (Tour Eiffel /tuʀ ɛfɛl/ is an Iron Tower built A View To A Kill (1985 is the fourteenth Spy film of the James Bond series, and the seventh and last to star Roger Moore as the fictional

As with several previous Bond films, the story from Ian Fleming's novel is almost entirely dispensed with, here in favour of a film more in keeping with the era of science fiction. Ian Lancaster Fleming ( May 28, 1908 – August 12, 1964) was a British author, Journalist and Second World War Moonraker is the third Novel by British author Ian Fleming, based on the fictional British Secret Service agent Commander James Bond, first published The 2002 Bond film Die Another Day makes further use of some ideas and character names from the novel. Die Another Day is a 2002 film the 20th in the James Bond series, and the fourth and final film to star Pierce Brosnan as fictional MI6

In February or March 2004, an Internet hoax stated rumours about a lost 1956 version of Moonraker by Orson Welles, and a James Bond web site repeated it on April Fool's Day 2004 as a hoax. George Orson Welles (May 6 1915 – October 10 1985 was an Academy Award -winning director, writer actor and producer for film stage radio and television This article is about the informal holiday For other uses see April Fool. Supposedly, this recently discovered lost film was 40 minutes of raw footage with Dirk Bogarde as Bond, Welles as Drax, and Peter Lorre as Drax's henchman. Sir Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde ( 28 March, 1921  &ndash 8 May, 1999) better known by his Stage name Peter Lorre ( June 26 1904 &ndash March 23 1964) born László Löwenstein, was a Hungarian - Austrian [3]

Filming

Main shooting was switched from the usual 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios to Paris, due to high taxation in England at the time; only the cable car interiors and space battle exteriors were filmed at Pinewood. Pinewood Studios is a major British Film studio situated in Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire. Drax's mansion in California was actually filmed at Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, France. The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte is a classical French Chateau located in Maincy, near Melun, 55 km southeast of Paris in the Seine-et-Marne This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics.

The cities filmed were London, Paris, Venice, Palmdale and Rio de Janeiro. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city Venice ( Italian: Venezia, Venetian: Venesia or Venexia) is a city in Northern Italy, the capital of the Palmdale, the first community within the Antelope Valley to incorporate as a city (on August 24, 1962 Rio de Janeiro ("River of January" ˈhiw dʒi ʒʌˈnejɾu in Brazilian Portuguese, /ˈriːoʊ di ʒəˈnɛroʊ/ in English is the second largest city of Brazil Natural landmarks like Sugarloaf Mountain and the Iguazu Falls were also depicted. Sugarloaf Mountain (in Portuguese Pão de Açúcar) is a peak situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from the mouth of Guanabara Bay Iguazu Falls, Iguassu Falls, or Iguaçu Falls ( Portuguese: Cataratas do Iguaçu kataˈɾatɐz du igwaˈsu Spanish: Cataratas The exterior of Drax's pyramid headquarters in the Amazon rainforest were filmed in Guatemala. Guatemala (República de Guatemala) is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west the Pacific Ocean to the southwest All of the space centre scenes were shot at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. The John F Kennedy Space Center ( KSC) is the NASA Space vehicle launch facility and Launch Control Center ( Spaceport) on Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the

Music

Main article: Moonraker (soundtrack)

Moonraker was the third of the three Bond films for which the theme song was performed by Shirley Bassey. Moonraker is the soundtrack for the 11th James Bond film of the same name. Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey DBE (born 8 January 1937 Cardiff, Wales) is a Welsh Singer. The soundtrack was composed by John Barry. John Barry, OBE (born John Barry Prendergast on 3 November 1933 in York, England) is a renowned Golden Globe and five-time Academy The film uses two versions of the song; a ballad version heard over the main titles, and a disco version heard over the end credits. The song failed to make an impact on the charts.

The score for Moonraker marked a turning point in John Barry's output, abandoning the Kentonesque brass of his earlier Bond scores and instead scoring the film with slow, rich string passages - a trend which Barry would continued in the 1980s with scores such as Out of Africa and Somewhere in Time. Out of Africa is a 1985 Film based loosely on the autobiographical book by Isak Dinesen (pseudonym of Karen Blixen) published Somewhere in Time is a 1980 Time travel Romance film directed by Jeannot Szwarc, written by Richard Matheson

An instrumental strings version of the title theme was used in 2007 tourism commercials for the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic ( Spanish: República Dominicana;) is a nation located in the Caribbean region and shares the island of Hispaniola with

Moonraker uses for the first time since Diamonds Are Forever a piece of music called "007" (on track 7), the secondary Bond theme composed by Barry which was introduced in From Russia with Love. Diamonds Are Forever (1971 is the seventh Spy film of the British James Bond series and the sixth to star Sean Connery From Russia with Love, released in 1963 is the second Film in the James Bond series, and the second to star Sean Connery as

The score was recorded in Paris - all previous John Barry Bond scores had been recorded at CTS Studios in London. It is available on CD.

Release and reception

Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 64% "fresh" rating. Rotten Tomatoes is a Website devoted to reviews information and news of Movies. [4] James Berardinelli of Reelviews. James Berardinelli (born September 1967 is an Online Film critic. net said, "the solid special effects, well-executed action sequences, and a strict reliance upon the 'Bond Formula' keep this film among Moore's better entries. "[5] However, many fans and critics believe this film to be one of the worst of the series, considering the film's over-reliance on plot and spectacle over character development and dialogue. But the film still maintains a heavy following.

Novelisation

1979 Triad/Panther British paperback edition.
1979 Triad/Panther British paperback edition.

A novelization of the film was made by Christopher Wood. A novelization is a Novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work For other people by this name see Chris Wood. Christopher Wood ( November 5, 1935 in London) is an English It was named James Bond and Moonraker to avoid confusion with Fleming's novel Moonraker. Moonraker is the third Novel by British author Ian Fleming, based on the fictional British Secret Service agent Commander James Bond, first published It was released in 1979. The year 1979 in literature involved some significant events and new books

The screenplay of Moonraker differed so much from Ian Fleming's novel that EON Productions and Glidrose Publications authorised the film's screenwriter, Christopher Wood to write his second novelization based upon the film. EON Productions is a film production company known for producing the James Bond film series. Ian Fleming Publications is the production company formerly known as both Glidrose Productions Limited and Glidrose Publications Limited named after its founders Screenwriters or scenarists are Scriptwriters who write the Screenplays from which Films and Television programs are made For other people by this name see Chris Wood. Christopher Wood ( November 5, 1935 in London) is an English A novelization is a Novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work

His first novelisation, James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me, was based upon a script written by himself and Richard Maibaum for the film The Spy Who Loved Me, and released in 1977. Richard Maibaum ( May 26, 1909 - January 4, 1991) was an American Film producer, Playwright and Screenwriter The Spy Who Loved Me, released in 1977 is the 10th film in the James Bond series and the third to star Roger Moore as MI6 agent The year 1977 in literature involved some significant events and new books In James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me there were many differences from the film including the villain's name, the re-emergence of the Soviet spy agency SMERSH, and the possible death of Stromberg's henchman, Jaws. A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. SMERSH (in capitalised letters is a Soviet Counterintelligence agency featured in Ian Fleming 's early James Bond novels and films as agent 007's A list of henchmen from the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me from the List of James Bond henchmen. The script for the film The Spy Who Loved Me went through several drafts before Wood was brought in.

However, in James Bond and Moonraker Wood writes a straight novelisation of the screenplay most likely because he wrote the script completely. One noticeable difference between the novelization and the screenplay for Moonraker is that Jaws does not gain a girlfriend and stays true to Wood's description as being a mute. Speech disorders or speech impediments, as they are also called are a type of Communication disorders where 'normal' speech is disrupted In addition, at the conclusion of the Venetian canal chase sequence, Bond's gondola does not sprout a flotation device and ascend to St. Mark's square.

Glidrose Productions chose not to commission novelizations of the next few Bond films; the next film to be novelized would be Licence to Kill 10 years later, owing to it not having been based on an original Fleming novel. Licence to Kill (1989 directed by John Glen is the 16th James Bond Spy film, and the second and last featuring Timothy Dalton.

Moonraker in popular culture

In the 2001 Kevin Smith movie, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, a billboard of "Moonraper", a fictional Miramax film starring Ben Affleck can be seen as Jay and Silent Bob are flying on a bicycle (a la E.T.) during their adventure to Hollywood. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2 1970 is an American Screenwriter, Writer, Film director, Actor and Comic book writer Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back is a 2001 film written by directed by and starring Kevin Smith, the fifth to be set in his View Askewniverse Ben Affleck (born Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt; August 15 1972 is an American Film Screenwriter, director, actor and older brother of This article is about the 1982 film For the term "ET" which redirects here see ET. The fictional film is a play on words of the actual film's title. The film is also featured in the N64 game goldeneye 007 as the hidden level after completing secret agent levels. The, often abbreviated as N64, is Nintendo 's third home Video game console for the international market

There is a debate as the most powerful gun in the James Bond films: it would be the golden gun, or the Moonraker laser in this film. [4]

Further reading

References

  1. ^ [1] Oct 5 07
  2. ^ Inside "Moonraker" [DVD]
  3. ^ Hoax.
  4. ^ [2] Oct 5 07
  5. ^ [3] Oct 5 07

External links

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