In an earlier draft of the script, (and maybe in the initial shoot - remember the flat scene was reshot) there was a girl in his bedroom waiting for him. Later in the script it was revealed that she was leaking info to SPECTRE. That was all excised.
I've studied a still of the room and noticed the painting on the floor by the fireplace. It's a portrait of a horse - not recognizable at first as the painting is on it's side. I wonder if anyone will ever be able to identify it. It looks a bit like a Stubbs, but the detail is a little to fuzzy for me to be certain.
I'm going for a Munnings.
Any other bits and bobs from the flat identified yet?
I just noticed tonight while watching Spectre again, there are what seem to be two wine glasses on the kitchen counter behind Moneypenny with some red wine still in them. Was Bond entertaining?
Also on that same counter appears to be a whisky glass similar to what Bond is drinking out of. Any high-res images available?
Considering the way Bond is dressed (partially undressed from his office suit), he couldn't have been entertaining that evening. He would have changed his clothes that he wore during the day. My guess it that Bond had guests a day or two earlier and hadn't washed the glasses yet. It's pretty clear from the way he keeps his flat that he's a slob when keeping his place put-together.
Don't see it as the flat of a slob (no half empty Pizza boxes or evident detritus) but of someone who is not overly concerned with their surroundings. I was surprised that he had Television. It is in keeping with Fleming's vision of 'a dull man' Craig Bond has no fun at all and the flat is in keeping, it's Spartan and joyless. I was really pleased to see it as I had been wondering what it would be like.
Of that of which we cannot speak we must pass over in silence- Ludwig Wittgenstein.
I think the wine glasses were a carry-over from the way the scene was originally written. Wasn’t there a draft where Bond has a women there with him when Penny arrived and that women turned out to be a SPECTRE agaent? Was that scene actually filmed? I see the the wine glasses as an error, not a sign that Bond is slovenly. The flat is unfinished, but is not unclean.
I just noticed tonight while watching Spectre again, there are what seem to be two wine glasses on the kitchen counter behind Moneypenny with some red wine still in them. Was Bond entertaining?
Also on that same counter appears to be a whisky glass similar to what Bond is drinking out of. Any high-res images available?
Considering the way Bond is dressed (partially undressed from his office suit), he couldn't have been entertaining that evening. He would have changed his clothes that he wore during the day. My guess it that Bond had guests a day or two earlier and hadn't washed the glasses yet. It's pretty clear from the way he keeps his flat that he's a slob when keeping his place put-together.
Don't see it as the flat of a slob (no half empty Pizza boxes or evident detritus) but of someone who is not overly concerned with their surroundings. I was surprised that he had Television. It is in keeping with Fleming's vision of 'a dull man' Craig Bond has no fun at all and the flat is in keeping, it's Spartan and joyless. I was really pleased to see it as I had been wondering what it would be like.
Yes, someone detached from owning or putting any care into selecting household belongings ... he lives for the mission; not interested in collecting things or even familiar people unless they support his mission. Well ... perhaps an exotic car.
The nature of a true assassin ... makes the character more edgey.
There's a part of me that thinks these scenes provide fans/viewers a tabula rasa and allows them to put forth their own projections... good way to engage those watching... especially Bond fans.
Though the scene was brief, being a fan of Fleming's novels I was very satisfied that the Mendes team went to all the trouble of finding a Regency building and flat that was as close to the one Fleming had described as they could. Granted, it wasn't it Chelsea, but I had no problem with that. Since they didn't say where it was in the film, it could still fictionally be there, even though it's not in reality.
Agree.
Although later on in the film, when M is pressuring Q for Bond's location, Q lies that he's got him tracked in Chelsea. Using Chelsea as a location perhaps makes it more convincing to M, as he knows that's where he lives?
I think we can just choose in our own minds whether he's living in Chelsea, Knotting Hill or anywhere else.
Moneypenny asks Bond if he's just moved in, he's confused by this question and answers "no."
I simply love this reaction from Bond. This shows you just how alien he is to the average person. Remember that when Casino Royale came out they really laid on the idea of him being less spy, more assassin. Craig's Bond was SAS and later on an executioner for MI6. He's in perfect physical condition and is a killing machine. Bond essentially doesn't know what a home is. In Casino Royale Bond even tells Vesper that he has no idea what an honest living is. He was joking but I bet there's a lot of truth to that. I'm sure if he had never joined the military he still would have turned out to be an adrenaline junkie of some kind.
From his flat in Spectre, I gather Craig's Bond is almost never home. And when he is, he only cares to have the bare necessities. This shows you his militaristic mind set. Bond simply does not care about anything remotely decorative unless it hold sentimental value you to him. The most important thing in the flat is most likely his "go bag" for whenever he gets called to be on the other side of the world at any given moment.
Moneypenny asks Bond if he's just moved in, he's confused by this question and answers "no."
I simply love this reaction from Bond. This shows you just how alien he is to the average person. Remember that when Casino Royale came out they really laid on the idea of him being less spy, more assassin. Craig's Bond was SAS and later on an executioner for MI6. He's in perfect physical condition and is a killing machine. Bond essentially doesn't know what a home is. In Casino Royale Bond even tells Vesper that he has no idea what an honest living is. He was joking but I bet there's a lot of truth to that. I'm sure if he had never joined the military he still would have turned out to be an adrenaline junkie of some kind.
From his flat in Spectre, I gather Craig's Bond is almost never home. And when he is, he only cares to have the bare necessities. This shows you his militaristic mind set. Bond simply does not care about anything remotely decorative unless it hold sentimental value you to him. The most important thing in the flat is most likely his "go bag" for whenever he gets called to be on the other side of the world at any given moment.
At the beginning of SF they thought he was dead, put his belongings in to storage ? SPECTRE is set directly after SF, so maybe most of his stuff is still in storage -{
who sold his flat? MI6? was it theirs to sell?
at least they put his stuff in storage, instead of the landlord dumping it in the street.
were they trying to contact next-of-kin? did they know about Skyfall and Albert Finney, and hadn't got hold of him yet, or were they just holding on to it for potentially ever until some one else showed up and claimed it?
(imagine an episode of Storage Wars, where someone bids successfully on the contents of the storage locker and opens it up and its all James Bonds stuff. Expensive liquor, fine towels, gadgets, and innocuous looking objects rigged to self-destruct. That's make a good spin-off adventure!)
which reminds me, Fleming-wise, between YOLT and tMwtGG, what happened to bookBond's flat and all his stuff? I don't recall any mention of it once he got back, he just tries to shoot M and is rewarded with a mission to Jamaica straightaway. Maybe he'd converted to communism and no longer cared?
Oh, we've sold your flat, put your things into storage. Standard procedure on the death of an unmarried employee with no next of kin. You should have called.
Oh, we've sold your flat, put your things into storage. Standard procedure on the death of an unmarried employee with no next of kin. You should have called.
There were a lot of interesting comments about Craig's flat in SPECTRE given it was such a brief scene and since re-reading my own and the others, I'd like to pitch a few points on this:
1. IMO the writers chose to make it look as though Bond had just begun to move into the new flat. It's pretty obvious that as the story is an immediate follow up to SF and they reinforce this given the fact he is following Dench's video order to find and kill Sciarra; that they show the bulldog figurine she bequeathed to him at the end of the last film sitting on his table and that Moneypenny has given him the document remains from the SF estate.
2. Since he has been chasing after Sciarra since SF, he's had little time to move all the rest of his belongings from his previous flat to the new one. I thought this was a nice, realistic touch - plus it helped keep some of his private life still a mystery to modern audiences. Also, a lot of general audiences outside Bond fandom would not really be that keen on what his abode looked like anyway - they would only be focused on the interaction and information being given in that short scene - another reason not to put to much furnishing details in the room. This logically fit in with the idea Bond had so far only moved in some basic necessities - some places to sit, lighting, tv to see M's video (and probably other intel data he is given at work), etc. We didn't see the rest of the flat, but we can assume he had his bed moved in and his clothing and some bath necessitites.
3. Given the above information, it seems to be a weak assumption to suggest Bond does not care about personal possessions or decor - for example, he has several pieces of art in flat. Hardly something a man who is dull and has "no fun" would possess. Also, many people today have been given the impression that the Bond character as portrayed by Craig is nothing more that a professional killer sent out by M to eliminate people. This is extremely far from Fleming's creation and I don't believe bears any resemblence to what Craig and the producers of the films are trying to show about Bond. Though they may not show Bond's personal life outside his work in the films because of time restraints and the fact they know that's not most audiences go to see the missions (not Bond playing golf on the weekends) - they have a great reverence for the source material even though they've had to modernise it a bit. In the novels Bond only goes on the missions we see in the films once or twice a year and even from the timelines of the books and films these missions only last a week or two. The rest of his work consists of keeping his physique and fighting skills up to snuff for his missions along with reading reports and attending meetings. His spare time is taken up with gambling, golf and having the odd affair with married women. Fleming made Bond a spy who happens to also have a license to assassinate. Killing is not supposed to be his sole mission - he's just given permission to do so when warranted. He is not a blunt, dull man at all. The description Fleming gave was how the government uses him - as a spy who is licensed to be a blunt instrument to be used only when necessary - rather like having a bouncer at a club when things get out of hand and something physical has to be done. The fact he chose to make Bond an intelligent, literate, knowledgeable spy as well as a lethal assassin is what makes him interesting as a character.
4. Showing that Craig's Bond only has a few possessions scattered about his mostly empty flat is in no way a reason to jump to the idea he is any way a lazy, messy man. It was obvious to me straight away that the condition of his flat was purposely designed to communicate the idea he had just been too busy with work and being away to spend the amount of time it would take to get all his belongings out of storage and put in their proper place. No, Bond may be typically masculine in his little regard for decor (in the novels he disliked indoor flower arrangements), but he does own possessions that are of high quality. In the novels he ownes an expensive silver service coffee set, Minton china, furnishings and his flat was carpeted and wallpapered by the same firms that the royal familty uses. He also dresses impecabbly (even though simply) in expensive clothing and consumes expensive food and drink. All these attributes are hardly the examples of a slob or dull person. It would be nice one day if the writers' could revisit his flat for a brief moment as they did in SPECTRE if only to show it fully furnished and to also show him playing cards or golf with Tanner.
who sold his flat? MI6? was it theirs to sell?
at least they put his stuff in storage, instead of the landlord dumping it in the street.
were they trying to contact next-of-kin? did they know about Skyfall and Albert Finney, and hadn't got hold of him yet, or were they just holding on to it for potentially ever until some one else showed up and claimed it?
(imagine an episode of Storage Wars, where someone bids successfully on the contents of the storage locker and opens it up and its all James Bonds stuff. Expensive liquor, fine towels, gadgets, and innocuous looking objects rigged to self-destruct. That's make a good spin-off adventure!)
which reminds me, Fleming-wise, between YOLT and tMwtGG, what happened to bookBond's flat and all his stuff? I don't recall any mention of it once he got back, he just tries to shoot M and is rewarded with a mission to Jamaica straightaway. Maybe he'd converted to communism and no longer cared?
They knew about skyfall because they literally mention it in the following scene or so.
Good point you've made - if they sold his apartment and put his stuff in storage, why didn't they also sell Skyfall? And why put the stuff in storage if you can instead ship it off to Skyfall. I assume Bond owns skyfall. Perhaps the apartment was paid for and owned by mi6 - a perk of the job. But then, wouldn't they just keep it for the next agent or as a safe house?
Asp9mmOver the Hills and Far Away.Posts: 7,535MI6 Agent
who sold his flat? MI6? was it theirs to sell?
at least they put his stuff in storage, instead of the landlord dumping it in the street.
were they trying to contact next-of-kin? did they know about Skyfall and Albert Finney, and hadn't got hold of him yet, or were they just holding on to it for potentially ever until some one else showed up and claimed it?
(imagine an episode of Storage Wars, where someone bids successfully on the contents of the storage locker and opens it up and its all James Bonds stuff. Expensive liquor, fine towels, gadgets, and innocuous looking objects rigged to self-destruct. That's make a good spin-off adventure!)
which reminds me, Fleming-wise, between YOLT and tMwtGG, what happened to bookBond's flat and all his stuff? I don't recall any mention of it once he got back, he just tries to shoot M and is rewarded with a mission to Jamaica straightaway. Maybe he'd converted to communism and no longer cared?
They knew about skyfall because they literally mention it in the following scene or so.
Good point you've made - if they sold his apartment and put his stuff in storage, why didn't they also sell Skyfall? And why put the stuff in storage if you can instead ship it off to Skyfall. I assume Bond owns skyfall. Perhaps the apartment was paid for and owned by mi6 - a perk of the job. But then, wouldn't they just keep it for the next agent or as a safe house?
Skyfall was for sale, they’d just finished selling off the interior assets when Bond turned up.
I have a question: if Bond and Madeleine are still together at the start of Bond25, won't his flat be fully furnished? Some will see it as a sign she has brought life and content into his existence, others may see it as a sign Bond's been "domesticated". Either way, I think there will be furniture, books and potted plants there if Bond and Madeleine are still an item.
I have a question: if Bond and Madeleine are still together at the start of Bond25, won't his flat be fully furnished? Some will see it as a sign she has brought life and content into his existence, others may see it as a sign Bond's been "domesticated". Either way, I think there will be furniture, books and potted plants there if Bond and Madeleine are still an item.
I suspect we will find the pair in some glamorous locale, perhaps on a beach, to echo OHMSs's first scene.
Comments
I wonder if she would have been called Helena Marksbury?
I'm going for a Munnings.
Any other bits and bobs from the flat identified yet?
Don't see it as the flat of a slob (no half empty Pizza boxes or evident detritus) but of someone who is not overly concerned with their surroundings. I was surprised that he had Television. It is in keeping with Fleming's vision of 'a dull man' Craig Bond has no fun at all and the flat is in keeping, it's Spartan and joyless. I was really pleased to see it as I had been wondering what it would be like.
Yes, someone detached from owning or putting any care into selecting household belongings ... he lives for the mission; not interested in collecting things or even familiar people unless they support his mission. Well ... perhaps an exotic car.
The nature of a true assassin ... makes the character more edgey.
Seems logical
Agree.
Although later on in the film, when M is pressuring Q for Bond's location, Q lies that he's got him tracked in Chelsea. Using Chelsea as a location perhaps makes it more convincing to M, as he knows that's where he lives?
I think we can just choose in our own minds whether he's living in Chelsea, Knotting Hill or anywhere else.
I simply love this reaction from Bond. This shows you just how alien he is to the average person. Remember that when Casino Royale came out they really laid on the idea of him being less spy, more assassin. Craig's Bond was SAS and later on an executioner for MI6. He's in perfect physical condition and is a killing machine. Bond essentially doesn't know what a home is. In Casino Royale Bond even tells Vesper that he has no idea what an honest living is. He was joking but I bet there's a lot of truth to that. I'm sure if he had never joined the military he still would have turned out to be an adrenaline junkie of some kind.
From his flat in Spectre, I gather Craig's Bond is almost never home. And when he is, he only cares to have the bare necessities. This shows you his militaristic mind set. Bond simply does not care about anything remotely decorative unless it hold sentimental value you to him. The most important thing in the flat is most likely his "go bag" for whenever he gets called to be on the other side of the world at any given moment.
At the beginning of SF they thought he was dead, put his belongings in to storage ? SPECTRE is set directly after SF, so maybe most of his stuff is still in storage -{
I think it's clear that this is his new abode.
at least they put his stuff in storage, instead of the landlord dumping it in the street.
were they trying to contact next-of-kin? did they know about Skyfall and Albert Finney, and hadn't got hold of him yet, or were they just holding on to it for potentially ever until some one else showed up and claimed it?
(imagine an episode of Storage Wars, where someone bids successfully on the contents of the storage locker and opens it up and its all James Bonds stuff. Expensive liquor, fine towels, gadgets, and innocuous looking objects rigged to self-destruct. That's make a good spin-off adventure!)
which reminds me, Fleming-wise, between YOLT and tMwtGG, what happened to bookBond's flat and all his stuff? I don't recall any mention of it once he got back, he just tries to shoot M and is rewarded with a mission to Jamaica straightaway. Maybe he'd converted to communism and no longer cared?
bought it, could be in for a world of trouble.
Oh, we've sold your flat, put your things into storage. Standard procedure on the death of an unmarried employee with no next of kin. You should have called.
(Bond) I'll find a hotel.
(M) Well you're not bloody well staying here.
Haha. I miss her.
Daniel
1. IMO the writers chose to make it look as though Bond had just begun to move into the new flat. It's pretty obvious that as the story is an immediate follow up to SF and they reinforce this given the fact he is following Dench's video order to find and kill Sciarra; that they show the bulldog figurine she bequeathed to him at the end of the last film sitting on his table and that Moneypenny has given him the document remains from the SF estate.
2. Since he has been chasing after Sciarra since SF, he's had little time to move all the rest of his belongings from his previous flat to the new one. I thought this was a nice, realistic touch - plus it helped keep some of his private life still a mystery to modern audiences. Also, a lot of general audiences outside Bond fandom would not really be that keen on what his abode looked like anyway - they would only be focused on the interaction and information being given in that short scene - another reason not to put to much furnishing details in the room. This logically fit in with the idea Bond had so far only moved in some basic necessities - some places to sit, lighting, tv to see M's video (and probably other intel data he is given at work), etc. We didn't see the rest of the flat, but we can assume he had his bed moved in and his clothing and some bath necessitites.
3. Given the above information, it seems to be a weak assumption to suggest Bond does not care about personal possessions or decor - for example, he has several pieces of art in flat. Hardly something a man who is dull and has "no fun" would possess. Also, many people today have been given the impression that the Bond character as portrayed by Craig is nothing more that a professional killer sent out by M to eliminate people. This is extremely far from Fleming's creation and I don't believe bears any resemblence to what Craig and the producers of the films are trying to show about Bond. Though they may not show Bond's personal life outside his work in the films because of time restraints and the fact they know that's not most audiences go to see the missions (not Bond playing golf on the weekends) - they have a great reverence for the source material even though they've had to modernise it a bit. In the novels Bond only goes on the missions we see in the films once or twice a year and even from the timelines of the books and films these missions only last a week or two. The rest of his work consists of keeping his physique and fighting skills up to snuff for his missions along with reading reports and attending meetings. His spare time is taken up with gambling, golf and having the odd affair with married women. Fleming made Bond a spy who happens to also have a license to assassinate. Killing is not supposed to be his sole mission - he's just given permission to do so when warranted. He is not a blunt, dull man at all. The description Fleming gave was how the government uses him - as a spy who is licensed to be a blunt instrument to be used only when necessary - rather like having a bouncer at a club when things get out of hand and something physical has to be done. The fact he chose to make Bond an intelligent, literate, knowledgeable spy as well as a lethal assassin is what makes him interesting as a character.
4. Showing that Craig's Bond only has a few possessions scattered about his mostly empty flat is in no way a reason to jump to the idea he is any way a lazy, messy man. It was obvious to me straight away that the condition of his flat was purposely designed to communicate the idea he had just been too busy with work and being away to spend the amount of time it would take to get all his belongings out of storage and put in their proper place. No, Bond may be typically masculine in his little regard for decor (in the novels he disliked indoor flower arrangements), but he does own possessions that are of high quality. In the novels he ownes an expensive silver service coffee set, Minton china, furnishings and his flat was carpeted and wallpapered by the same firms that the royal familty uses. He also dresses impecabbly (even though simply) in expensive clothing and consumes expensive food and drink. All these attributes are hardly the examples of a slob or dull person. It would be nice one day if the writers' could revisit his flat for a brief moment as they did in SPECTRE if only to show it fully furnished and to also show him playing cards or golf with Tanner.
They knew about skyfall because they literally mention it in the following scene or so.
Good point you've made - if they sold his apartment and put his stuff in storage, why didn't they also sell Skyfall? And why put the stuff in storage if you can instead ship it off to Skyfall. I assume Bond owns skyfall. Perhaps the apartment was paid for and owned by mi6 - a perk of the job. But then, wouldn't they just keep it for the next agent or as a safe house?
Skyfall was for sale, they’d just finished selling off the interior assets when Bond turned up.
I suspect we will find the pair in some glamorous locale, perhaps on a beach, to echo OHMSs's first scene.