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Quantum of Solace

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Quantum of Solace 2008 poster 15

Quantum of Solace is a 2008 spy film and the twenty-second in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sequel to Casino Royale (2006). Directed by Marc Forster and written by Neil Purvis, Robert Wade, and Paul Haggis, it stars Daniel Craig as Bond, alongside Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Giancarlo Giannini, Jeffrey Wright, and Judi Dench. In the film, Bond teams with Camille Montes (Kurylenko) to stop Dominic Greene (Amalric) from staging a coup d'état in Bolivia to access the country's natural reserves.

A second Bond film starring Craig was planned before production began on Casino Royale in October 2005. In July 2006, Roger Michell was announced to direct with a planned release for May 2008, but he left the project that October after there were delays with the screenplay. Purvis, Wade, and Haggis completed the screenplay by June 2007, after which, Forster was announced as Michell's replacement. Craig and Forster also contributed uncredited rewrites to the film's screenplay. Principal photography began in August 2007 and lasted until May 2008, with filming locations including Mexico, Panama, Chile, Italy, Austria, and Wales, while interior sets were built and filmed at Pinewood Studios. The film's title is borrowed from a 1959 short story by Fleming. In contrast to its predecessor, Quantum of Solace is notable for citing inspiration from early Bond film sets designed by Ken Adam, while it features a departure from tropes associated with Bond villains.

Quantum of Solace premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square on 29 October 2008, and was theatrically released first in the United Kingdom two days later and in the United States on 14 November. The film received generally mixed reviews, with praise for Craig's performance and the action sequences but was deemed inferior to its predecessor. It grossed $589 million worldwide, becoming the seventh highest-grossing film of 2008 and the fourth-highest-grossing James Bond film, unadjusted for inflation. The next film in the series, Skyfall, was released in 2012.

Storyline[]

Plot[]

Following the death of Vesper Lynd, James Bond (Daniel Craig) makes his next mission personal. The hunt for those who blackmailed his lover leads him to ruthless businessman Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a key player in the organization which coerced Vesper. Bond learns that Greene is plotting to gain total control of a vital natural resource, and he must navigate a minefield of danger and treachery to foil the plan.

Genres[]

  • Action
  • Spy
  • Adventure
  • Thriller
  • Crime Fiction
  • Action Thriller

Motion Picture Rating[]

  • 13 (Argentina)
  • M (Australia)
  • 12 (Austria)
  • 12 (Brazil)
  • 14A (Canada) (Alberta/British Columbia/Nova Scotia)
  • PG (Canada) (Ontario)
  • 13+ (Canada) (Quebec)
  • 13+ (Canada) (TV rating)
  • 11 (Denmark)
  • K-15/13 (Finland)
  • K-12/9 (Finland)
  • Tous publics (France)
  • 12 (Germany)
  • K-17 (Greece)
  • IIB (Hong Kong)
  • 16 (Hungary)
  • 12 (Iceland) (original rating)
  • UA (India)
  • R (Indonesia) (self-applied)
  • 12A (Ireland)
  • ALL (Israel)
  • T (Italy)
  • G (Japan) (2015)
  • U (Malaysia)
  • B (Mexico)
  • 12 (Netherlands)
  • M (New Zealand)
  • 15 (Norway)
  • 14 (Peru)
  • PG-13 (Philippines)
  • 12 (Poland) (self-applied)
  • M/12 (Portugal)
  • 12+ (Russia)
  • PG (Singapore)
  • PG13 (Singapore) (TV rating)
  • 10 (South Africa) (M)
  • PG (South Africa) (video)
  • 15 (South Korea)
  • 13 (Spain)
  • 11 (Sweden)
  • 12 (Switzerland) (canton of Geneva)
  • 12 (Switzerland) (canton of Vaud)
  • 12+ (Taiwan)
  • u 13+ (Thailand) (self-applied)
  • 13+ (Turkey)
  • 12A (UK)
  • 12 (UK) (DVD rating)
  • PG-13 (USA)
  • PG-15 (United Arab Emirates) (self-applied)

Images[]

Cast and Crew[]

Director[]

  • Marc Forster

Writing Credits[]

  • Paul Haggis (written by) and
  • Neal Purvis (written by) &
  • Robert Wade (written by)

Cast[]

  • Daniel Craig - James Bond
  • Olga Kurylenko - Camille
  • Mathieu Amalric - Dominic Greene
  • Judi Dench - M
  • Giancarlo Giannini - Rene Mathis
  • Gemma Arterton - Strawberry Fields
  • Jeffrey Wright - Felix Leiter
  • David Harbour - Gregg Beam
  • Jesper Christensen - Mr. White
  • Anatole Taubman - Elvis
  • Rory Kinnear - Bill Tanner
  • Tim Pigott-Smith - Foreign Secretary
  • Joaquín Cosio - General Medrano
  • Fernando Guillén Cuervo - Colonel of Police
  • Jesús Ochoa - Lt. Orso
  • Lucrezia Lante della Rovere - Gemma
  • Glenn Foster - Mitchell
  • Paul Ritter - Guy Haines
  • Simon Kassianides - Yusef
  • Stana Katic - Corrine
  • Neil Jackson - Mr. Slate
  • Oona Chaplin - Perla de las Dunas Receptionist
  • Brendan O'Hea - Forensics Tech
  • Rufus Wright - Treasury Agent
  • Kari Patrice Coley - Hôtel Dessalines Clerk
  • Sarah Hadland - Ocean Sky Receptionist
  • Jake Seal - Bartender on Virgin Flight
  • Peñarandam Felix - Bolivian Taxi Driver (as Felix Peñaranda)
  • Emiliano Valdés - Andean Grand Hotel Receptionist
  • Elizabeth Arciniega - Mr. White's Girlfriend
  • Alessio Sossas - Carabinieri on Radio
  • Mark Wakeling - MI6 Agent
  • Susana Albornoz - Woman with Bucket
  • Jacques Duckins - Haitian Gang Member
  • Anthony Hansell - Dockside Valet
  • Karin Lanz - Gift Bag Girl
  • Christian Heller - Man with Gift Bag
  • Dante Concha - Investor at Party
  • Diego Fernández de Córdoba - Investor at Party
  • Edwin Cedeño - Investor at Party
  • Mike Pérez - Motorcycle Cop
  • Juan Carlos Avendaño - Motorcycle Cop
  • Rachel McDowall - CIA Flight Attendant
  • Rodrigo Farrugia - Hotel Bolívar Receptionist
  • Carl von Malaisé - Greene's Driver
  • Raffaello Degruttola - Alfa 2 Driver
  • Robert Braithwaite - Speedboat Captain
  • Santos Varas Ramos - DC-3 Caretaker
  • Antonio Gil - Marchetti Pilot (as Antonio Gil-Martinez)
  • Luis Antonio Gotti - Bureaucrat at Party
  • Jaime Newball - La Paz Bartender
  • Guillermo del Toro - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Alfonso Cuarón - Additional Voices (voice)
  • Kamil Krejcí - Quantum Member
  • Gustavo Nanez - Quantum Member
  • Erosi Margiani - Quantum Member
  • Uygar Tamer - Quantum Member
  • Alexandra Prusa - Quantum Member
  • Muhamed Gandura - Quantum Member
  • Shamel El-Salhy - Quantum Member
  • Tsedor Gyalzur - Quantum Member
  • Daniel Stüssi - Quantum Member
  • Karine Babajanyan - Floria Tosca
  • Sebastien Soules - Baron Scarpia
  • Brandon Jovanovich - Mario Cavaradossi
  • Martin Busen - Sciarrone
  • Alexandre Krawetz - Spoletta (as Alexander Krawetz)
  • Dale Albright - Spoletta
  • Katia Velletaz - Hirtenknabe
  • Emilia Pountney - Hirtenknabe

Other Cast (in alphabetical order)[]

  • Elio Arrocha - Hotel Guest (uncredited)
  • Mahmud Chowdhury - MI6 Agent (uncredited)
  • Rene Costa - Plane Passenger (uncredited)
  • David Decio - MI6 Agent (uncredited)
  • Dave Evans - Delta Force Member (uncredited)
  • Herbert Forthuber - Quantum Party Guest (uncredited)
  • Anders Frejdh - Opera guest (uncredited)
  • Xenia Gauss - Audience Member (uncredited)
  • Eva Green - Vesper Lynd (archive footage) (uncredited)
  • Roman Güttinger - Opera Guest (uncredited)
  • Alexander Hathaway - Passenger in 1st Class (uncredited)
  • Luis Jherver - Hotel guest (uncredited)
  • Eddy Joseph - M's Husband (uncredited) (unconfirmed)
  • Aaron King - MI6 Agent (uncredited)
  • Tatiana Lavrentieva - Russian Neighbour (uncredited)
  • Derek Lea - Haines' Bodyguard (uncredited)
  • Michael Lerman - Waiter (uncredited)
  • Brianna Meighan - Mrs. Ramirez (The Mayor's Wife) (uncredited)
  • Arnold Montey - MI6 Agent (uncredited)
  • Mike Patlin - DC-3 Co-Pilot (uncredited)
  • Frank Michael Pretzel - Quantum Party Guest (uncredited)
  • Tracy Redington - MI6 Agent (uncredited)
  • Norman Campbell Rees - Car Driver (uncredited)
  • Laila Alina Reischer - Company girl (uncredited)
  • Jan Reuter - Opera Guest (uncredited)
  • Michael Riedacher - Tosca Opera Driver (uncredited)
  • Juan Francisco Selles - Driver / guest at party (uncredited)
  • Mark Shrimpton - MI6 Agent (uncredited)
  • Klemens Niklaus Trenkle - Restaurant Guest (uncredited)
  • Jayson Whiteley - Forensic Officer (uncredited)
  • Marie-Jeanne Widera - Opera Guest (uncredited)
  • Chris Wilson - Executive Barbican (uncredited)
  • Michael G. Wilson - Man Sitting in Chair in Haitian Hotel Lobby (uncredited)

Producers[]

  • Barbara Broccoli (produced by)
  • Guido Cerasuolo (line producer: Italy)
  • Callum McDougall (executive producer)
  • Andrew Noakes (associate producer)
  • Anthony Waye (executive producer)
  • Gregg Wilson (assistant producer)
  • Michael G. Wilson (produced by)

Details[]

Country[]

  • UK
  • USA

Language[]

  • English

Release Dates[]

  • October 29, 2008 (France)
  • October 31, 2008 (UK)
  • October 31, 2008 (Ireland)
  • October 31, 2008 (Sweden)
  • November 5, 2008 (Belgium)
  • November 5, 2008 (Switzerland) (French speaking region)
  • November 5, 2008 (China)
  • November 5, 2008 (Egypt)
  • November 5, 2008 (Indonesia)
  • November 5, 2008 (Jordan)
  • November 5, 2008 (South Korea)
  • November 5, 2008 (Philippines)
  • November 5, 2008 (Singapore)
  • November 5, 2008 (Thailand)
  • November 6, 2008 (United Arab Emirates)
  • November 6, 2008 (Argentina)
  • November 6, 2008 (Bahrain)
  • November 6, 2008 (Bolivia)
  • November 6, 2008 (Switzerland) (German speaking region)
  • November 6, 2008 (Chile)
  • November 6, 2008 (Serbia and Montenegro)
  • November 6, 2008 (Czechia)
  • November 6, 2008 (Germany)
  • November 6, 2008 (Greece)
  • November 6, 2008 (Hong Kong)
  • November 6, 2008 (Croatia)
  • November 6, 2008 (Israel)
  • November 6, 2008 (Kuwait)
  • November 6, 2008 (Kazakhstan)
  • November 6, 2008 (Lebanon)
  • November 6, 2008 (North Macedonia) (Skopje)
  • November 6, 2008 (Malaysia)
  • November 6, 2008 (Netherlands)
  • November 6, 2008 (Oman)
  • November 6, 2008 (Portugal)
  • November 6, 2008 (Qatar)
  • November 6, 2008 (Serbia)
  • November 6, 2008 (Russia)
  • November 6, 2008 (Slovenia)
  • November 6, 2008 (Slovakia)
  • November 6, 2008 (Syria)
  • November 6, 2008 (Ukraine)
  • November 7, 2008 (Austria)
  • November 7, 2008 (Bulgaria)
  • November 7, 2008 (Brazil)
  • November 7, 2008 (Belize)
  • November 7, 2008 (Switzerland) (Italian speaking region)
  • November 7, 2008 (Cameroon)
  • November 7, 2008 (Colombia)
  • November 7, 2008 (Costa Rica)
  • November 7, 2008 (Denmark)
  • November 7, 2008 (Ecuador)
  • November 7, 2008 (Estonia)
  • November 7, 2008 (Finland)
  • November 7, 2008 (Guatemala)
  • November 7, 2008 (Honduras)
  • November 7, 2008 (India)
  • November 7, 2008 (Iceland)
  • November 7, 2008 (Italy)
  • November 7, 2008 (Lithuania)
  • November 7, 2008 (Latvia)
  • November 7, 2008 (Nigeria)
  • November 7, 2008 (Nicaragua)
  • November 7, 2008 (Norway)
  • November 7, 2008 (Panama)
  • November 7, 2008 (Poland)
  • November 7, 2008 (Romania)
  • November 7, 2008 (El Salvador)
  • November 7, 2008 (Turkey)
  • November 7, 2008 (Taiwan)
  • November 13, 2008 (Hungary)
  • November 14, 2008 (Canada)
  • November 14, 2008 (Kenya)
  • November 14, 2008 (Morocco) (Casablanca)
  • November 14, 2008 (Mexico)
  • November 14, 2008 (Pakistan)
  • November 14, 2008 (USA)
  • November 14, 2008 (Vietnam)
  • November 19, 2008 (Australia)
  • November 19, 2008 (Peru)
  • November 19, 2008 (South Africa)
  • November 21, 2008 (Spain)
  • November 27, 2008 (New Zealand)
  • December 5, 2008 (Venezuela)
  • December 26, 2008 (Uruguay)
  • January 24, 2009 (Japan)
  • September 25, 2011 (Switzerland) (Zurich Film Festival)

Also Known As[]

  • 007 Quantum of Solace (Argentina)
  • Quantum of Solace (Australia)
  • 007 - Quantum of Solace (Brazil)
  • Спектър на утехата (Bulgaria) (Bulgarian title)
  • 007 Quantum (Canada) (French title)
  • Quantum of Solace (Canada) (English title)
  • 007：大破量子危机 (China) (Mandarin title)
  • Zrno utjehe (Croatia)
  • Quantum of Solace (Czechia)
  • Quantum of Solace (Egypt) (English title)
  • 007: Veidi lohutust (Estonia)
  • 007 - Quantum of Solace (Finland) (alternative title)
  • Quantum of Solace (Finland)
  • Quantum of Solace (Finland) (Swedish title)
  • Quantum of Solace (France)
  • James Bond 007: Ein Quantum Trost (Germany)
  • Ein Quantum Trost (Germany) (alternative title)
  • Quantum of Solace (Greece)
  • Quantum of Solace (Hong Kong) (English title)
  • A Quantum csendje (Hungary)
  • Quantum of Solace (India) (English title)
  • Quantum of Solace (India) (Hindi title)
  • Quantum of Solace (Indonesia) (English title)
  • James Bond 007: Mizane Tasalli (Iran) (Persian title)
  • Quantum shel nehama (Israel) (Hebrew title)
  • Quantum of Solace (Italy)
  • 007 - Quantum of Solace (Italy) (alternative title)
  • Agente 007 - Quantum of Solace (Italy) (alternative title)
  • Quantum (Italy) (alternative title)
  • 007 慰めの報酬 (Japan) (Japanese title)
  • Mierinājuma kvants (Latvia)
  • Paguodos kvantas (Lithuania)
  • 007 Quantum (Mexico)
  • Quantum of Solace (Netherlands)
  • Quantum of Solace (Norway)
  • Evening Prayer (Philippines) (English title) (alternative title)
  • 007 Quantum of Solace (Poland)
  • 007: Quantum of Solace (Portugal)
  • 007: Partea lui de consolare (Romania)
  • Квант милосердия (Russia)
  • Зрно утехе (Serbia)
  • Quantum of Solace (Singapore) (English title)
  • James Bond: Quantum of Solace (Slovakia)
  • Kvantum sočutja (Slovenia)
  • Quantum of Solace (South Africa) (English title)
  • Quantum of Solace (South Korea)
  • Quantum of Solace (Spain)
  • Quantum of Solace (Sweden)
  • 007：量子危機 (Taiwan)
  • Quantum of Solace (Thailand) (English title)
  • Quantum of Solace (Turkey) (Turkish title)
  • 007: Квант милосердя (Ukraine)
  • Bond 22 (UK) (working title)
  • B22 (UK) (promotional abbreviation)
  • Quantum of Solace (UK)
  • Quantum of Solace (USA)
  • Quantum of Solace (Uruguay)
  • Kvant tuhfasi (Uzbekistan)
  • 007 (Venezuela)
  • Định Mức Khuây Khỏa (Vietnam)
  • QoS (World-wide) (English title) (promotional abbreviation)

Production[]

Development[]

In October 2005, before the beginning of production of Casino Royale, Michael G. Wilson announced that Neal Purvis and Robert Wade were working on a screenplay for the next film. They deliberately wrote Casino Royale to tie in to the next film so they could exploit Bond's emotions following Vesper's death in the previous film. Purvis and Wade's first storyline followed Bond releasing Mr. White in Siena so that he could follow him and find his employers. Bond would later infiltrate the mysterious organisation, which is being led by the villain, Dante, who is aligned with Yusuf Kabira, Vesper's boyfriend. In July 2006, as Casino Royale entered post-production, Eon Productions announced Roger Michell, who directed Craig in Enduring Love and The Mother, had entered negotiations to direct, and the next film would be based on an original idea by Wilson. The film was confirmed for a 2 May 2008 release date, with Craig reprising the lead role. Months later, in October 2006, Michell stepped down as director citing the slow progress on the script. Upon Michell's departure, Sony Entertainment vice chairman Jeff Blake admitted a production schedule of 18 months was a very short window, and the release date was pushed back to late 2008. Purvis and Wade completed their draft of the script by April 2007, and Paul Haggis, who polished the Casino Royale script, began his rewrite the next month. Work on script was delayed by the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike. Haggis's draft was originally titled Sleep of the Dead.

Following Michell's departure, Tony Scott, Jonathan Mostow, Marc Forster, and Alex Proyas were under consideration to replace him. In June 2007, Forster was confirmed as director. He was surprised that he was approached for the job, stating he was not a big Bond film fan, and that he would not have accepted had he not seen Casino Royale which he felt had humanised Bond; since travelling the world had become less exotic since the series's advent, it made sense to focus more on Bond as a character. Born in Germany and raised in Switzerland, Forster was the first Bond director not to come from the British Commonwealth of Nations, although he noted that Bond's mother is Swiss, making him somewhat appropriate to handle the British icon. The director collaborated strongly with Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, noting they only blocked two very expensive ideas he had. The director found Casino Royale's 144-minute running time too long, and wanted his follow-up to be "tight and fast … like a bullet".

Haggis, Forster and Wilson rewrote the story. Haggis said he completed his script two hours before the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike officially began. Forster noted a running theme in his films was emotionally repressed protagonists, and the theme of the picture would be Bond learning to trust after feeling betrayed by Vesper. Forster said he created the Camille character as a strong female counterpart to Bond rather than a casual love interest; she openly shows emotions similar to those which Bond experiences but is unable to express. Haggis located his draft's climax in the Swiss Alps, but Forster wanted the action sequences to be based around the four classical elements of earth, water, air and fire. The decision to homage Oddjob's murder of Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton) in Goldfinger in Fields's death came about as Forster wanted to show oil had replaced gold as the most precious material. The producers rejected Haggis's idea that Vesper Lynd had a child, because "Bond was an orphan ... Once he finds the kid, Bond can't just leave the kid". The water supply issue in Bolivia was the main theme, with a story based on the Cochabamba Water Revolt.

Wilson decided on the title Quantum of Solace only "a few days" before its announcement on 24 January 2008. It was the name of a short story in Ian Fleming's anthology For Your Eyes Only (1960). The film is related to the title in one of its thematic elements: "when the Quantum of Solace drops to zero, humanity and consideration of one human for another is gone". Daniel Craig admitted, "I was unsure at first. Bond is looking for his quantum of solace and that's what he wants, he wants his closure. Ian Fleming says that if you don't have a quantum of solace in your relationship then the relationship is over. It's that spark of niceness in a relationship that if you don't have you might as well give up." He said that "Bond doesn't have that because his girlfriend [Vesper Lynd] has been killed", and therefore, "[Bond is] looking for revenge … to make himself happy with the world again". Afterwards, Quantum was made the name of the organisation introduced in Casino Royale. Craig noted the letter Q itself looks rather odd. Near the end of the film, the Camille Montes character and Bond have a discussion about their individual quests to avenge the deaths of their loved ones. Montes asks Bond to "let me know what it feels like" when he succeeds, the implication of the title being that it will be a small amount of solace compared to his despair. Bond's lack of emotion when he does exact revenge shows this to be the case.

In a December 2011 interview, Craig stated: "We had the bare bones of a script and then there was a writers' strike and there was nothing we could do. We couldn't employ a writer to finish it. I say to myself, 'Never again', but who knows? There was me trying to rewrite scenes—and a writer I am not". He said that he and Forster "were the ones allowed to do it. The rules were that you couldn't employ anyone as a writer, but the actor and director could work on scenes together. We were stuffed. We got away with it, but only just. It was never meant to be as much of a sequel as it was, but it ended up being a sequel, starting where the last one finished".

During filming, after the strike ended, Forster liked a spec script by Joshua Zetumer, and hired him to reshape scenes for the later parts of the shoot, with which the director was still unsatisfied. Forster had the actors rehearse their scenes, as he liked to film scenes continually. Zetumer rewrote dialogue depending on the actors' ideas each day.

Filming[]

Quantum of Solace was shot in six countries. Second unit filming began in Italy at the Palio di Siena horse race on 16 August 2007, although at that point Forster was unsure how it would fit into the film. Some scenes were filmed also in Maratea and Craco, two small distinctive towns in Basilicata in southern Italy. Other places used for location shooting were Madrid in August 2007; Baja California, Mexico in early 2008, for shots of the aerial battle; Malcesine, Limone sul Garda and Tremosine in Italy during March, and at Talamone during the end of April. The main unit began on 3 January 2008 at Pinewood Studios. The 007 Stage was used for the fight in the art gallery, and an MI6 safehouse hidden within the city's cisterns, while other stages housed Bond's Bolivian hotel suite, and the MI6 headquarters. Interior and exterior airport scenes were filmed at Farnborough Airfield and the snowy closing scenes were filmed at the Bruneval Barracks in Aldershot.

Shooting in Panama City began on 7 February 2008 at Howard Air Force Base. The country doubled for Haiti and Bolivia, with the National Institute of Culture of Panama standing in for a hotel in the latter country. A sequence requiring several hundred extras was also shot at nearby Colón. Shooting in Panama was also carried out at Fort Sherman, a former US military base on the Colón coast. Forster was disappointed he could only shoot the boat chase in that harbour, as he had a more spectacular vision for the scene. Officials in the country worked with the locals to "minimise inconvenience" for the cast and crew, and in return hoped the city's exposure in the film would increase tourism. The crew was going to move to Cusco, Peru for ten days of filming on 2 March, but the location was cancelled for budget reasons. Twelve days of filming in Chile began on 24 March at Antofagasta. There was shooting in Cobija, the Paranal Observatory, and other locations in the Atacama Desert. Forster chose the desert and the observatory's ESO Hotel to represent Bond's rigid emotions, and being on the verge of committing a vengeful act as he confronts Greene in the film's climax.

During filming in Sierra Gorda, Chile, the local mayor, Carlos Lopez, staged a protest because he was angry at the filmmakers' portrayal of the Antofagasta Region as part of Bolivia. He was arrested, detained briefly, and put on trial two days later. Eon dismissed his claim that they needed his permission to film in the area. Michael G. Wilson explained that Bolivia was appropriate to the plot, because of the country's history of water problems, and was surprised the two countries disliked each other a century after the War of the Pacific. In a poll by Chilean daily newspaper La Segunda, 75 percent of its readers disagreed with Lopez's actions, due to the negative image of Chile they felt it presented, and the controversy's potential to put off productions looking to film in the country in the future.

From 4–12 April, the main unit shot on Sienese rooftops. Shooting on the real rooftops turned out to be less expensive than building them at Pinewood. The next four weeks were scheduled for filming the car chase at Lake Garda and Carrara. On 14 April, a closing scene featuring Jesper Christensen's Mr. White and Paul Ritter's Guy Haines getting killed by Bond after Bond said his iconic "Bond, James Bond" line was reportedly filmed, but the filmmakers removed it during post-production in case they decided to bring back Mr. White and/or continue the Quantum story arc in future sequels. The scene's deletion later enabled Mr. White's return in Spectre. On 19 April, an Aston Martin employee driving a DBS to the set crashed into the lake. He survived, and was fined £400 for reckless driving. Another accident occurred on 21 April, and two days later, two stuntmen were seriously injured, with one, Greek stuntman Aris Comninos, having to be put in intensive care. Filming of the scenes was temporarily halted so that Italian police could investigate the causes of the accidents. Stunt co-ordinator Gary Powell said the accidents were a testament to the realism of the action. Rumours of a "curse" spread among tabloid media, something which deeply offended Craig, who disliked that they compared Comninos's accident to something like his minor finger injury later on the shoot (also part of the "curse"). Comninos recovered safely from his injury.

For the role Craig trained to be less bulky than in Casino Royale and told Men's Fitness magazine "In fact, I was much fitter for this film compared to Casino Royale – I really had to be – and I was running a hell of a lot more in training, just so I could do these scenes, whereas last time I spent far more time pumping heavy weights to bulk up so I could look big."

Filming took place at the floating opera stage at Bregenz, Austria, from 28 April – 9 May 2008. The sequence in which Bond stalks the villains during a performance of Tosca required 1,500 extras. The production used a large model of an eye, which Forster felt fitted in the Bond style, and the opera itself has parallels to the film. A short driving sequence was filmed at the nearby Feldkirch, Vorarlberg. The crew returned to Italy from 13 to 17 May to shoot a (planned) car crash at the marble quarry in Carrara, and a recreation of the Palio di Siena at the Piazza del Campo in Siena. 1,000 extras were hired for a scene where Bond emerges from the Fonte Gaia. Originally, he would have emerged from the city's cisterns at Siena Cathedral, but this was thought disrespectful. By June the crew returned to Pinewood for four weeks, where new sets (including the interior of the hotel in the climax) were built. The wrap party was held on 21 June.

Design[]

Production designer Peter Lamont, a crew member on 18 previous Bond films, retired after Casino Royale. Forster hired Dennis Gassner in his stead, having admired his work on The Truman Show and the films of the Coen brothers. Craig said the film would have "a touch of Ken Adam", while Michael G. Wilson also called Gassner's designs "a postmodern look at modernism". Forster said he felt the early Bond films' design "were ahead of their time", and enjoyed the clashing of an older style with his own because it created a unique look unto itself. Gassner wanted his sets to emphasise Craig's "great angular, textured face and wonderful blue eyes", and totally redesigned the MI6 headquarters because he felt Judi Dench "was a bit tired in the last film, so I thought, let's bring her into a new world".

Louise Frogley replaced Lindy Hemming as costume designer, though Hemming remained as supervisor. Hemming hired Brioni for Bond's suits since her tenure on the series began with 1995's GoldenEye, but Lindsay Pugh, another supervisor, explained their suits were "too relaxed". Tom Ford was hired to tailor "sharper" suits for Craig. Pugh said the costumes aimed towards the 1960s feel, especially for Bond and Fields. Prada provided the dresses for both Bond girls. Jasper Conran designed Camille's ginger bandeau, bronze skirt and gold fish necklace, while Chrome Hearts designed gothic jewelry for Amalric's character, which the actor liked enough to keep. Sophie Harley, who created Vesper Lynd's earrings and Algerian loveknot necklace in Casino Royale, was asked to create another version of the necklace.

The film returns to the traditional gun barrel opening shot, which was altered into part of the story for Casino Royale where it was moved to the beginning of the title sequence. In this film, the gun barrel sequence was moved to the end, which Wilson explained was done for a surprise, and to signify that the conclusion of the story had begun in the previous film. The opening credits were created by MK12. Having worked on Forster's Stranger than Fiction and The Kite Runner, MK12 spontaneously began developing the sequence early on, and had a good idea of its appearance which meant it did not have to be redone when the title singer was changed. MK12 selected various twilight colours to represent Bond's mood and focused on a dot motif based on the gun barrel shot. MK12 also worked on scenes with graphical user interfaces, including the electronic table MI6 uses, and the Port-au-Prince, Haiti title cards.

Effects[]

Quantum of Solace was the last in Ford Motor's three-film deal that began with 2002's Die Another Day. Although Ford sold over 90% of the Aston Martin company in 2007, the Aston Martin DBS V12 returned for the film's car chase around Lake Garda; Dan Bradley was hired as second unit director because of his work on the second and third Bourne films, so the film would continue the gritty action style begun in Casino Royale. He had intended to use Ford GTs for the opening chase, but it was replaced by the Alfa Romeo 159. After location filming in Italy, further close-ups of Craig, the cars and the truck were shot at Pinewood against a blue screen. Originally, three Alfa Romeos were in the sequence, but Forster felt the scene was too long and re-edited it so there would be two Alfas were chasing Bond. Ten cars were supplied by Aston Martin. Six 'hero' cars, needed for close-ups and promotional work, all survived filming unharmed with four more cars used for special effects and stunts.

Fourteen cameras were used to film the Palio di Siena footage, which was later edited into the main sequence. Aerial shots using helicopters were banned, and the crew were also forbidden from showing any violence "involving either people or animals." To shoot the foot chase in Siena in April 2008 four camera cranes were built in the town, and a cable camera was also used. Framestore worked on the Siena chase, duplicating the 1,000 extras during principal photography to match shots of the 40,000-strong audience at the real Palio, removing wires that held Craig and the stuntmen in the rooftop segment of the chase, and digital expansion of the floor and skylight in the art gallery Bond and Mitchell fall into. The art gallery fight was intended to be simple, but during filming Craig's stunt double accidentally fell from the construction scaffolding. Forster preferred the idea of Bond hanging from ropes reaching for his gun to kill Mitchell, rather than having both men run out of the building to continue their chase as specified in the script, and the number of effects shots increased.

To film the aerial dogfight, a "Snakehead" camera was built and placed on the nose and tail of a Piper Aerostar 700. SolidWorks, who provided the software used to design the camera, stated "pilots for the first time can fly as aggressively as they dare without sacrificing the drama of the shot." The camera could turn 360 degrees and was shaped like a periscope. The crew also mounted SpaceCams on helicopters, and placed cameras with 1600mm lenses underground, to cover the action. Forster wanted to film the plane fight as a homage to Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest, and chose planes like the Douglas DC-3 to suit that.

The free-fall scene involved its own set of challenges; director Marc Forster didn't want to shoot the scene against a green screen. The scene was shot in an air tunnel at Bodyflight, which offers the same effects as skydiving. Daniel Craig and Olga Kurylenko did their own stunts for this scene. While a great solution for the actors' performances, the technique presented enormous VFX challenges: relighting shots captured in a tall white tube to match the sky over the Bolivian desert; and the impossibility of filming medium to wide shots of the actors. An array of eight Dalsa Origin cameras (supported by seven HD cameras and a 35mm hand-held camera, all running in sync) was used to create a virtual camera with which to shoot the actors floating in the simulator. Ged Wright and his team at Double Negative developed a method to use the data from these cameras that allowed these real performances to be placed in a synthetic environment as seen by a synthetic camera. During the shooting in the wind tunnel Craig and Kurylenko wore wind-resistant contact lenses that enabled them to open their eyes as they fell. For safety and comfort, they only shot for 30 seconds at a time. Forster wished he had had more time to work on the free-fall scene.

The Moving Picture Company created the climactic hotel sequence. The fire effects were supervised by Chris Corbould, and post-production MPC had to enhance the sequence by making the smoke look closer to the actors, so it would look more dangerous. A full-scale replica of the building's exterior was used for the exploding part Bond and Camille escape from. The boat chase was another scene that required very little CGI. Machine FX worked on replacing a few shots of visible stuntmen with a digital version of Craig's head, and recreated the boats Bond jumps over on his motorcycle to make it look more dangerous. Crowd creation was done for the Tosca scene by Machine FX, to make the performance look like it had sold out. Forster edited the opera scene to resemble The Man Who Knew Too Much. In total, there are 900+ visual effects shots in Quantum of Solace.

Music[]

David Arnold, who composed the scores for the previous four Bond films, returned for Quantum of Solace. He said that Forster likes to work very closely with his composers and that, in comparison to the accelerated schedule he was tied to on Casino Royale, the intention was to spend a long time scoring the film to "really work it out." He also said he would be "taking a different approach" with the score. Arnold composed the music based on impressions from reading the script, and Forster edited those into the film. As with Casino Royale, Arnold kept use of the "James Bond Theme" to a minimum. Arnold collaborated with Kieran Hebden for "Crawl, End Crawl," a remix of the score played during the end credits.

Jack White of The White Stripes and Alicia Keys collaborated on "Another Way to Die," the first Bond music duet. They had wanted to work together for two years beforehand. The song was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee; White played the drums while Keys performed on the piano. The Memphis Horns also contributed to the track. White's favourite Bond theme is John Barry's instrumental piece for On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and he watched various opening credit sequences from the series for inspiration while mixing the track. Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse had recorded a demo track for the film, but Ronson explained Winehouse's well-publicised legal issues in the preceding weeks made her "not ready to record any music" at that time.

Release[]

The film premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square on 29 October 2008. Princes William and Harry attended, and proceeds from the screening were donated to the charities Help for Heroes and the Royal British Legion. The film was originally scheduled to be released in the UK and North America on 7 November; however, Eon pushed forward the British date to 31 October during filming, while the American date was pushed back in August to 14 November, after Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince had been moved to 2009, thereby allowing the distributors to market the film over the autumn blockbuster Thanksgiving holiday weekend. In Australia, the film was moved a week to 19 November, after 20th Century Fox chose to release Australia on Quantum of Solace's original date of 26 November.

Marketing[]

Returning product placement partners from Casino Royale included Ford, Heineken, Smirnoff, Omega SA, Virgin Atlantic and Sony Ericsson. A reported £50 million was earned in product placement, which tops the Bond films' record of £44 million for Die Another Day. The 2009 Ford Ka is driven by Camille in the film. Avon created a fragrance called Bond Girl 007 with Gemma Arterton as the "face" of the product. Coca-Cola became a promotional partner, rebranding Coke Zero as "Coke Zero Zero 7." A tie-in advert featured the orchestral element of "Another Way to Die." In the film, Coca-Cola was briefly seen being served at Dominic Greene's party. Sony held a competition, "Mission for a Million," enabling registered players to use their products to complete certain tasks. Each completed "mission" gave consumers a chance to win $1 million and a trip to a top-secret location.

Merchandise[]

Corgi International Limited made 5-inch action figures and gadgets (such as a voice-activated briefcase), as well as its traditional die-cast toy vehicles. It also created 7-inch figures of characters from the previous films. Scalextric released four racing sets to coincide with the film. Activision released its first James Bond game, also titled Quantum of Solace, which is based on both Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. It is the first Bond game to feature Craig's likeness and the first seventh-generation console game in the series. Swatch designed a series of wrist watches, each of them inspired by a Bond villain.

Though the screenplay was not novelised despite its original storyline, Penguin Books published a compilation of Fleming's short stories entitled Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories, with a UK release date of 29 May 2008 and a North American release date of 26 August 2008. The book combines the contents of Fleming's two short story collections, For Your Eyes Only—including the original "Quantum of Solace" short story—and Octopussy and The Living Daylights.

Home media[]

Quantum of Solace was released on DVD and Blu-ray by MGM via 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment in Australia, the UK and North America from 18 to 24 March 2009. On the DVD sales chart the film opened at No. 3, grossing $21,894,957 from 1.21m DVD units sold. As of 1 November 2009, 2,643,250 DVD units were sold, generating $44,110,750 in sales revenue. These figures do not include Blu-ray sales or DVD rentals. The DVDs were released in both a standard one-disc set and a deluxe two-disc special edition. There are no audio commentaries or deleted scenes on these editions.

Reception[]

Box office[]

Upon its opening in the UK, the film grossed £4.9 million ($8 million), breaking the record for the largest Friday opening (31 October 2008) in the UK. The film then broke the UK opening-weekend record, taking £15.5 million ($25 million) in its first weekend, surpassing the previous record of £14.9 million held by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It earned a further £14 million in France and Sweden—where it opened on the same day. The weekend gross of the equivalent of $10.6 million in France was a record for the series, surpassing what Casino Royale made in five days by 16%. The $2.7 million gross in Sweden was the fourth-highest opening for a film there.

The following week, the film was playing in sixty countries. It grossed the equivalent of $39.3 million in the UK, $16.5 million in France and $7.7 million in Germany on 7 November 2008. The film broke records in Switzerland, Finland, United Arab Emirates, Nigeria, Romania and Slovenia. Its Chinese and Indian openings were the second-largest ever for foreign-language films.

The film grossed $27 million on its opening day in 3,451 cinemas in Canada and the United States, where it was the number one film for the weekend, with $67.5 million and $19,568 average per cinema. It was the highest-grossing opening weekend Bond film in the US, and tied with The Incredibles for the biggest November opening outside of the Harry Potter series. From the British opening on 31 October, through to the US opening weekend on 14 November, the film had grossed a total $319,128,882 worldwide. The film grossed $168.4 million in Canada and the US, and $421.2 million in other territories, for a total of $589.6 million.

Critical response[]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 64% based on 299 reviews, with an average rating of 6.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Brutal and breathless, Quantum Of Solace delivers tender emotions along with frenetic action, but coming on the heels of Casino Royale, it's still a bit of a disappointment." On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 58 out of 100 based on 48 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Critics generally preferred Casino Royale, but continued to praise Daniel Craig's depiction of Bond, and agree that the film is still an enjoyable addition to the series. The action sequences and pacing were praised, but criticism grew over the realism and serious but gritty feeling that the film carried over. The film earned an average grade of "B−" from CinemaScore's audience surveys, on an A+ to F scale, the lowest of the Craig's era as Bond.

Roger Moore, the third actor to play Bond in the films, said that Daniel Craig was a "damn good Bond but the film as a whole, there was a bit too much flash cutting [and] it was just like a commercial of the action. There didn't seem to be any geography and you were wondering what the hell was going on." Kim Newman of Empire magazine gave it a 4/5 rating, remarking it was not "bigger and better than Casino Royale, [which is] perhaps a smart move in that there's still a sense at the finish that Bond's mission has barely begun." However, he expressed nostalgia for the more humorous Bond films. The Sunday Times review noted that "following Casino Royale was never going to be easy, but the director Marc Forster has brought the brand's successful relaunch crashing back to earth—with a yawn"; the screenplay "is at times incomprehensible" and the casting "is a mess." The review concludes that "Bond has been stripped of his iconic status. He no longer represents anything particularly British, or even modern. In place of glamour, we get a spurious grit; instead of style, we get product placement; in place of fantasy, we get a redundant and silly realism." The Guardian gave the film 3 stars, and was particularly fond of Daniel Craig's performance, saying he "made the part his own, every inch the coolly ruthless agent-killer, nursing a broken heart and coldly suppressed rage" and calling the film "a crash-bang Bond, high on action, low on quips, long on location glamour, short on product placement"; it concludes "Quantum of Solace isn't as good as Casino Royale: the smart elegance of Daniel Craig's Bond debut has been toned down in favour of conventional action. But the man himself powers this movie; he carries the film: it's an indefinably difficult task for an actor. Craig measures up."

Screen Daily says, "Notices will focus—rightly—on Craig's magnetism as the steely, sexy, murderous MI6 agent, but two other factors weigh in and freshen up proceedings: Forster's new technical team, led by cinematographer Roberto Schaefer and production designer Dennis Gassner. And the ongoing shift of M, as played by Judi Dench, to front and centre: the Bond girls fade into insignificance as she becomes his moral counterpoint and theirs is the only real relationship on screen." The review continues, "Bond is, as has been previously noted, practically the Martin Scorsese of the BAFTAs: 22 films later, with grosses probably close to the GDP of one of the small nations it depicts, it's still waiting for that Alexander Korda award. The best Casino Royale could achieve was a gong for sound. Will this be the year that changes its fortunes?" Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, who praised the previous film, disliked Quantum of Solace. He wrote that the plot was mediocre, characters weak, and that Bond lacked his usual personality, despite his praise for Daniel Craig's interpretation of the role. Throughout his review, he emphasised that "James Bond is not an action hero." Kate Muir wrote in The Times that "The Bond franchise is 50 years old this year, and the scriptless mess of Quantum of Solace may be considered its mid-life crisis", before she went on to praise the film's successor Skyfall as a "resurrection". Some writers criticised the choice of Quantum of Solace as a title. "Yes, it's a bad title," wrote Marni Weisz, the editor of Famous, a Canadian film publication distributed in cinemas in that country, in an editorial entitled "At least it's not Octopussy."

Not all the reviews were as critical. Tim Robey of The Daily Telegraph, in a reflective review of the film in 2013, was positive. He praised the film's shorter runtime, claiming that many other Bond films run out of steam before the end, and included Casino Royale in this category. Describing the film as having a "rock-solid dramatic idea and the intelligence to run with it", he gave the film four stars out of five.

Daniel Craig retrospectively stated that the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike negatively impacted on the production and end result of Quantum of Solace, and in 2011 said "we had cobble that one together because it was made in the midst of the writers' strike, and it had an effect on the finished product, no doubt." During a 2021 interview on The Empire Film Podcast Craig described the film as a "shit-show" and referred to it as one of his least favourite performances as Bond.

Company Credits[]

Production Companies[]

Distributors[]

Special Effects[]

  • Double Negative (DNEG) (visual effects)
  • Moving Picture Company (MPC) (visual effects)
  • Framestore (visual effects)
  • MK12 (visual effects)
  • Machine (visual effects)
  • Chromakey-Hire.Com (blue and green screen suppliers)
  • Ebeling Group (main title graphics)
  • NVIZ (previsualization)
  • Painting Practice (visual effects)
  • Plowman Craven & Associates (3D Cyber & LIDAR scanning and digital modelling)
  • Prime Focus World (visual effects) (as Machine)
  • The Visual Effects Company (motion control) (uncredited)

Technical Specs[]

Runtime[]

  • 106 mins

Color[]

  • Color

Sound Mix[]

  • DTS
  • Dolby Digital
  • SDDS

Aspect Ratio[]

  • 2.39:1
  • 1.78:1 (Small Widescreen & IMAX prints)
  • 1.33:1 (4:3 fullscreen prints)

Trivia[]

  • The scene in which Fields is found lying across a bed drowned in crude oil is an homage to the 1964 Bond film Goldfinger in which Jill Masterson dies of 'epidermal suffocation' after being covered in gold paint.
  • A slight oversight was noted by fans after Bond's passport and credit cards were cancelled. In the next scene, he has travelled from Austria to Italy with no apparent funds or form of transport. (However, the next Bond film, Skyfall, strongly implied that Bond is independently wealthy, and as the UK, Austria and Italy were all members of the European Union at the time, he would not have needed a passport to travel between the countries.)
  • Like Casino Royale, Q Branch does not appear and no gadgets are used by Bond or the villains in the film, other than common technology in 2008 such as period cell phones, computers, and satellites. The largest exception to this is M's electronic office wall at MI6. Sony Ericsson launched a limited edition Titanium silver C902 Cyber-shot™ phone as used by James Bond in the film.
  • Although credit is not given, the epilogue of the film, which sees Bond on a mission to warn a Canadian agent that her boyfriend is an enemy, parallels the plotline of the short story "007 in New York".
  • Quantum of Solace is the only Bond film released since GoldenEye to not have its title sequence designed by Daniel Kleinman, and the third overall to not have titles designed by Kleinman or Maurice Binder, the others being From Russia with Love and Goldfinger.
  • This was the first Bond movie to released in a year ending with 8. There was no Bond movie in 1968, 1978, 1988 or 1998 beforehand.
    • The 2008 release also tied in with the centennial of Bond's creator Ian Fleming.
  • Quantum of Solace is the third Bond film to take its title from a story by Ian Fleming while adapting no elements therefrom, following The Spy Who Loved Me and A View to a Kill. To date, it has also been the last of the Bond films from the Craig era to adapt the title of a Fleming story.
  • With a running time of only 106 minutes, Quantum of Solace is the shortest film in the entire franchise to date. Ironically, despite this, it was also confirmed to be the most violent; according to the a study in 2012 by the University of Otago in New Zealand, it had a count of 250 "trivial or severely violent" acts, which is the most depictions of violence in any Bond film.
  • At the time of its release, Quantum of Solace was unique for not featuring a romance between Bond and the leading "Bond girl." Although they share a kiss briefly at the end, Camille and Bond do not otherwise have any romantic interludes, though Bond does romance another character in the film.
  • Pre-production work began before Casino Royale (2006) started filming.
  • This is the first James Bond film that has no gun barrel sequence at the start of the movie, and the first to use it at the end of the movie. This is also the first James Bond movie where we see Daniel Craig perform the gun barrel walk synonymous with the sequence and the films. The gun barrel walk was not part of the alternative gun barrel sequence in Casino Royale (2006), which had a gun barrel sequence at the start, but with different graphics, and was not the traditional sequence. Daniel Craig became the seventh person to perform the traditional gun barrel walk and sequence after the first five actors who played James Bond, and stuntman Bob Simmons, who did it in the first three Bond movies. It's also the first gun barrel sequence to be presented in color since Die Another Day (2002), and the first to show Bond wearing a business suit since The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).
  • This is the first James Bond movie to have a boat chase and a car chase since The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). This movie is the only Bond movie that has a foot chase, a car chase, a plane chase, and a boat chase.
  • At one hour and forty-six minutes long, this is the shortest James Bond movie in the EON Productions official series. This movie is a direct sequel to Casino Royale (2006), which coincidentally was the longest movie in the official series until Spectre (2015). Quantum of Solace (2008) was also the first Bond movie to run under two hours since Tomorrow Never Dies (1997). The non-EON made-for-television season one episode three of 'Climax! (1954)', "Casino Royale", has the all time record for being the shortest Bond film, with a running time at only fifty-one minutes.
  • Stuntman Gary Powell, and other members of his family, have worked on every EON Productions Bond movie since Dr. No (1962). Father and uncle Nosher Powell and Dinny Powell worked on all the early 1960s and 1970s Bonds, with Sir Sean Connery and George Lazenby; brother Greg Powell worked on the 1970s and 1980s Bonds, with Sir Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton, and Gary worked on all of the 1990s and 2000s Bonds, with Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig.
  • Gemma Arterton won the part of of Agent Strawberry Fields over fifteen hundred other applicants. The full name of her Miss Fields character is never revealed in the movie and is only ever referred to as "Fields". Her full name is given in the closing credits and publicity documents as "Strawberry Fields", named after the 1967 song by The Beatles. She has red hair, like strawberries. Strawberry Fields can be considered a typical Ian Fleming-esque moniker. Arterton has reportedly based her character on a few 1960s Bond Girls, particularly Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman) and Tracy di Vicenzo (Dame Diana Rigg), on whose hairstyle Arterton based Fields' hair. She's the fifth major redheaded Bond Girl, the first four being Fiona Volpe (Luciana Paluzzi) in Thunderball (1965), Tiffany Case (Jill St. John) in Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Helga Brandt (Karin Dor) in You Only Live Twice (1967), and Tracy di Vicenzo in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969).
  • The third highest grossing James Bond movie after Skyfall (2012) and Casino Royale (2006).
  • As with Casino Royale (2006), the fully orchestrated James Bond theme isn't heard until the end of this movie, this time during Daniel Craig's new official gun barrel sequence, as well as the start of the ending credits, marking the first time that a gun barrel sequence with Daniel Craig is accompanied by the James Bond theme, since the version of the sequence used in Casino Royale (2006) dropped it completely, being accompanied instead by the opening bars of the theme song of that movie, "You Know My Name" by Chris Cornell. It is also the second consecutive Bond movie that ends with the James Bond theme during the credits, followed by a vocal or instrumental track.
  • Director Marc Forster wanted to film in the Swiss Alps, which was a location for On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), and is where he grew up. Switzerland was also the nationality of the literary James Bond's mother. However, the Swiss Alps location was written out of the movie for cost reasons. The climax originally featured there. There were concerns that the locale would be too similar to On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). The finale now takes place in the desert, a terrain which has never before housed a villain's lair in a Bond movie. Forster also wanted the action sequences to be based around the four classical elements of earth, water, air, and fire.
  • First time that an official James Bond movie title song has been sung by two artists as a duet. The theme is called "Another Way To Die" and was sung by Jack White and Alicia Keys. They were officially announced to be performing the song on July 29, 2008.
  • First James Bond movie to take its title from an original Ian Fleming short story since The Living Daylights (1987). It's also the first time since that movie that James Bond has visited the opera.
  • The MacGuffin in this movie is water. Producer Michael G. Wilson has referred to Chinatown (1974), where it was used as a MacGuffin. This is the first environmentally themed James Bond movie since the Solex Agitator solar power source appeared in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).
  • As a promotional book-tie in for the movie, all of the original Ian Fleming James Bond short stories have been housed in the one volume for the first time. The compendium is called "Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories". It includes all nine short stories from the For Your Eyes Only (1981) and Octopussy (1983) and The Living Daylights (1987) anthologies. It was released on May 29, 2008, in the U.K. and on August 26, 2008, in North America.
  • Near the beginning, Anatole Taubman (Elvis) says, "es isch scho e chli heiss", (meaning, "it's a bit hot") in authentic Zürich-dialect Swiss German.
  • Olga Kurylenko is the first actress from Ukraine to play a leading Bond Girl.
  • Marc Forster is (so far) the youngest director of a James Bond movie.
  • This is the first James Bond movie that a car chase was the main action piece in the pre-credits opening sequence (the opener in The Living Daylights (1987) was a chase with a Land Rover).
  • Dan Bradley was hired as the second unit director on the basis of his work on The Bourne Supremacy (2004) and The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), so this movie would continue the contemporary gritty action style begun in Casino Royale (2006). Alexander Witt, the second unit director on Casino Royale (2006), was also the second unit director on The Bourne Identity (2002).
  • This is only the third time that M's house has been shown in an official EON Productions James Bond movie. The first was in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), and the second was in Casino Royale (2006). The unofficial Casino Royale (1967) also showed M's house.
  • This is the first James Bond movie not to have a montage of scenes in one of the movie posters for its release. Painted artwork montages in some posters were a staple of the films, up until Licence to Kill (1989), from which afterward, photo montages took over for some posters.
  • It's the first James Bond movie since Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) where Bond uses the Walther PPK as his main weapon. It should be noted that in that movie, Wai Lin given Bond a Walther P99 before he joins her in searching for the stealth boat, becoming his main gun for the following three Bond movies. The Walther PPK was used also by Daniel Craig in promotional photos of Casino Royale (2006).
  • Twenty-second official James Bond movie in the EON Productions series, the second to feature Daniel Craig as James Bond, the sixth to feature Dame Judi Dench as M, and it's the twenty-fifth James Bond movie overall.
  • The media in 2008 reported that Gemma Arterton once had six fingers on each hand. This is a condition known as polydactyly. She called it her "little oddity". James Bond villains have long been famous for having some kind of physiological dysfunction. To date, no Bond movie villain characters have had this trait, though Dr. No (1962) had metal hands, Carl Stromberg in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) had webbed hands, and there was also Mr. Goldfinger (1964). Lee Fu-Chu in the Bond novel "Brokenclaw" was born with his left hand's thumb on the opposite side of his palm, while the Sheik villain in Agent 505: Death Trap in Beirut (1966) has four fingers.
  • This is a James Bond movie which utilized an original Ian Fleming title, but nothing else from its source material. The first Bond movie to use just the title and zero or little else was You Only Live Twice (1967) , The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979), and A View to a Kill (1985). No novelization of this movie was released. The original short story was re-issued, along with all of the other original Fleming short stories.
  • Director Marc Forster hired production designer Dennis Gassner, having admired his work on The Truman Show (1998) and the movies of the Coen brothers.
  • This is only the second time that production designer, art director, and set decorator Peter Lamont has not worked on an official Bond movie since Goldfinger (1964). The other time was Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), when he won an Oscar for Titanic (1997). This movie marks his retirement from the series.
  • The U.S. release date was pushed back from November 7, 2008 to November 14, 2008 when Warner Brothers announced that it would be moving off their November 14, 2008 release date for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009), and delaying its launch for eight months.
  • Fourth James Bond movie where the title is the name of the villain or organization in the movie. The others are Dr. No (1962), Goldfinger (1964), The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), and Spectre (2015).
  • First James Bond movie to be released in a year ending with the number 8. There was no Bond movie in 1968, 1978, 1988, or 1998.
  • First opening title sequence in a Bond movie designed by U.S. special effects company MK12 of Stranger Than Fiction (2006) fame, and first in recent years not to be designed by Daniel Kleinman, who did it consecutively between GoldenEye (1995) and Casino Royale (2006).
  • With a running time of 163 minutes, or two hours and 43 minutes, No Time to Die (2020) has the longest ever running time for a Bond movie. At two hours and twenty-four minutes, Casino Royale (2006) was once the longest James Bond movie, beating the previous record holder On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) by four minutes, until the release of Spectre (2015), which beat it by another four minutes. Spectre (2015) was previously the longest James Bond movie record holder with a running time of two hours and twenty-eight minutes. Daniel Craig has now played Bond in the four longest Bond movies of all time: No Time to Die (2020), Spectre (2015), Skyfall (2012), and Casino Royale (2006). That movie beat the previous record holder, Casino Royale (2006), by four minutes. The former long-time record holder, On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), is now in fifth place, with Skyfall (2012) in fourth. Conversely, Daniel Craig has also starred in the shortest Bond theatrical Bond film to date, Quantum of Solace (2008), which has a running time of only one hour and forty-six minutes..
  • This is the first time that the studio logos are seen in their normal full color representations for the Sony and MGM studio Bond partnership, and for a Daniel Craig James Bond movie. The opening sequence for Casino Royale (2006) was in black-and-white, and the studio logos were shown in black-and-white.

Connections[]

Follows[]

Followed by[]

Edited into[]

  • Coca-Cola Zero Zero 7 'Quantum of Solace' Television Commercial (2008) (Video) - Footage re-used from opening titles.
  • The National Lottery Scratch Card James Bond 'Quantum of Solace' Television Commercial (2008) (Video) - This television advert is edited from the film's foot chase sequence.
  • Omega 'Quantum of Solace' Television Commercial (2008) (Video) - The Omega TV advert is edited from the trailer/feature film.
  • Sony Ericsson 'Quantum of Solace' Television Commercial (2008) (Video) - This Sony Vaio Laptop TV advert is edited from the trailer/feature film.

References[]

  • Goldfinger (1964) - A woman lies dead on a bed in the same position as a woman in Goldfinger, but covered with oil not with gold

Referenced in[]

  • Saturday Night Live: James Franco/Kings of Leon (2008) (TV Episode) - Referenced during Weekend Update
  • Jack White & Alicia Keys: Another Way to Die (2008) (Music Video) - Theme song music video for this James Bond movie.
  • The National Lottery Scratch Card James Bond 'Quantum of Solace' Television Commercial (2008) (Video) - Promotional tie-in television James Bond themed television commercial with this James Bond movie. Film's title logo is seen on the scratch cards at the end of the advert.
  • Sony Ericsson 'Quantum of Solace' Television Commercial (2008) (Video) - Promotional tie-in advertisement with the movie. The picture's title logo is seen at the end of the commercial.
  • Virgin Atlantic James Bond Style Television Commercial (2010) (Video) - Bright light at start. Man falling and sliding down luggage like James Bond falling in an opening title sequence.
  • Skyfall (2012) - Eve first appears when she stops her car next to Bond and he gets in, as Camille does in Quantum
  • Spectre (2015) - Mention of the QUANTUM organisation; Mr White character returns; Dominic Greene character referenced in film; The word "solace" mentioned in dialogue; Villain's lair situated in desert evoking film's Eco Hotel; Italy and Austria locations; James Bond references priesthood like mentioning to M about getting a priest.
  • Danger Mouse: Quantum of Rudeness (2017) (TV Episode) - Title reference.
  • No Time to Die (2021) - Jeffrey Wright returns as Felix Leiter.
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