GOLDENEYE (1995) Seventeenth film in James Bond series First to feature Pierce Brosnan as Bond First film NOT based on Ian Fleming’s novels and stories Released after a six year hiatus following the Timothy Dalton film “License to Kill” due to its poor performance at the box office (lowest American grossing Bond film). Also delayed due to the sale of MGM/UA to an Australian broadcast group in 1989. Legal dispute as EON Productions sued MGM/UA over broadcast rights with the previous Bond library. Screenplay finished January 1994, Dalton resigned as Bond actor in April 1994. Principal shooting took place from January to June 1995, American premiere in November 1995.

CAST Pierce Brosnan as James Bond (007): An MI6 agent assigned to stop the Janus crime syndicate from acquiring "GoldenEye," a clandestine satellite weapon designed and launched by the Soviets during the Cold War. Sean Bean as Alec Trevelyan (006) / Janus: Main antagonist. Initially another 00 agent and Bond's friend, he fakes his death at Arkhangelsk and then establishes the Janus crime syndicate in the following nine years. Izabella Scorupco as Natalya Simonova: The only survivor and eyewitness of the attack of GoldenEye on its own control centre at Severnaya. A skilled programmer, she helps Bond in his mission. Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp: A Georgian lust murderer and Trevelyan's henchwoman. A sadist, she enjoys torturing her enemies between her strong thighs. Joe Don Baker as Jack Wade: A veteran CIA agent on the same mission as Bond. Judi Dench as M: The head of MI6. Gottfried John as General Arkady Grigorovich Ourumov: Commander of Russia's Space Division, secretly an agent of Janus who nefariously misuses his authority and position for helping Janus gain access to the GoldenEye. Robbie Coltrane as Valentin Dmitrovich Zukovsky: A Russian gangster and ex-KGB agent through whom Bond arranges a meeting with Janus (Trevelyan). Alan Cumming as Boris Grishenko: A computer programmer at Severnaya secretly affiliated to Janus. Tchéky Karyo as Defence Minister Dmitri Mishkin: The Russian Defence Minister. Desmond Llewelyn as Q: The head of Q Branch (research and development division of the British Secret Service). Llewelyn was the only actor to reprise a role from a previous Bond film. Samantha Bond as Miss Moneypenny: M's secretary. Samantha Bond made her first of four appearances as Moneypenny.

PERSPECTIVE First Bond film following the end of the Cold War and dissolution of the Soviet Union. Story set during the chaos of this period in history. Viewed as a “modernisation” of the series. Brosnan hailed as “definite improvement” over his predecesor. Nominated for British Academy Awards for Best Sound and Achievement in Special Effects. Budget: $58 million Gross: $356.4 million The name "GoldenEye" pays homage to James Bond's creator, Ian Fleming. While working for British Naval Intelligence as a Lieutenant Commander, Ian Fleming liaised with the American OSS to monitor developments in Spain after the Spanish Civil War. The operation was codenamed Operation Goldeneye. Fleming's estate in Oracabessa, Jamaica is also known as Goldeneye.

EFFECTS Film dedicated to FX artist Derek Meddings who provided miniatures for many of the previous Bond films. First Bond film to use CGI (Computer Generated Images) External shots of Severnaya Train chase and crash sequence (6 weeks of filming) Lake which hides villain’s lair Car chase with Aston Martin DB5 (same car as Goldfinger) and Ferrari F355; created an old vs. new image. Brosnan and Sean Bean did own stunts in fight sequences resulting in an injured hand for Brosnan. Opening scene includes a leap from the top of a dam (Verzasca Dam in Switzerland); stunt was voted “Best Movie Stunt” in 2002 and set World Record for highest bungee jump from a fixed structure.

MISC. Theme song written by Bono and The Edge (U2) and performed by Tina Turner. Critical reviews of the movie were mostly positive. Brosnan's Bond was "somehow more sensitive, more vulnerable, more psychologically complete" - Roger Ebert GoldenEye "breathes fresh creative and commercial life" into the series. - Todd McCarthy Basis for “GoldenEye 007” (1997) video game for Nintendo 64 developed by Rare Studios. Game was re-released in 2011 as “GoldenEye 007: Reloaded” featuring Daniel Craig as James Bond. Also featured in game “GoldenEye: Rogue Agent” (2004) published by Electronic Arts. Other than the presence of Xenia Onatopp the game was unrelated to the movie and received average reviews.