Casino Royale (2006 film)

Casino Royale is the 21st film in the James Bond series and the first to star Daniel Craig as MI6 agent James Bond. Based on the 1953 novel Casino Royale by Ian Fleming, it was adapted by screenwriters Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Paul Haggis and directed by Martin Campbell. The film is a reboot of the Bond franchise, establishing a new timeline and narrative framework not meant to precede Dr. No or any previous films.^[2] It is the third screen adaptation of Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, which was previously produced as a 1954 television episode and a 1967 film spoof. However, the 2006 release is the only official EON Productions adaptation of Fleming's novel.

The film is set at the beginning of James Bond's career as a 00-agent, having earned his license to kill. After foiling a terrorist attack at Miami International Airport, Bond falls for Vesper Lynd, the treasury agent assigned to provide the money he needs to foil a high-stakes poker tournament organized by Le Chiffre.

Casino Royale was produced by EON Productions for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Columbia Pictures, marking the first official Bond film to be co-produced by the latter studio, which had produced and originally distributed the 1967 non-canonical spoof film version. Casino Royale is the highest grossing James Bond film to date,^[3] the 32nd highest-grossing film of all-time, and the 6th highest grossing film of all-time in the United Kingdom.

The casting for Casino Royale involved a widespread search for a new actor to portray James Bond, and significant controversy over Daniel Craig when he was eventually selected — fans threatened to boycott the film in protest.^[4] Despite this, the film, and Daniel Craig's performance in particular, earned critical acclaim.

Production

EON Productions gained the rights for Casino Royale in 1999 after Sony Pictures Entertainment exchanged them for MGM's rights to Spider-Man.^[5] In March 2004, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade began writing a screenplay for Pierce Brosnan as Bond, aiming to bring back an Ian Fleming flavour.^[6] Director Quentin Tarantino expressed interest in directing an adaptation of Casino Royale,^[7] though this was only a personal interest, and he didn't follow this up with EON. In February 2005, Martin Campbell, who had previously directed the 1995 Bond film GoldenEye, was announced as the film's director.^[8]

EON admitted that they had relied too heavily on CGI effects in the more recent films, particularly Die Another Day, and were keen to accomplish the stunts in Casino Royale "the old fashioned way".^[9] In keeping with this drive for more realism, screenwriters Purvis, Wade, and Paul Haggis wanted the script to follow as closely as possible the original 1953 novel, keeping Fleming's darker storyline and characterization of Bond.

Casino Royale became the first Bond film to take its title from a Fleming novel or short story since 1987's The Living Daylights. It is also the first Bond film since then not to be adapted as a novelization. Instead, a film tie-in edition of Fleming's original novel was published.^[10]

Casting

When Pierce Brosnan became the fifth actor to portray the character in 1995, he had a three film contract with an option for a fourth that expired with Die Another Day in 2002. In the Die Another Day DVD documentary, Brosnan stated: "I had a blast. I wanted to go out with a high note, but I think it's time for both me and the producers to move on. I'm done with Bond".

Throughout 2004 and 2005, a whole legion of potential new actors to portray James Bond were speculated on by the media, ranging from well established Hollywood actors, such as Eric Bana, Hugh Jackman, Goran Visnjic and Clive Owen, to many unknown actors from a number of different countries.^[11] At one point producer Michael G. Wilson claimed there was a list of over 200 names being considered.^[12] Rumours surrounding Owen intensified in early 2005 after he was awarded a Golden Globe and a BAFTA and was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his 2004 film, Closer. English actor Colin Salmon, who had played the role of MI6 operative Charles Robinson in earlier Bond films alongside Pierce Brosnan, was also considered for the role and raised speculation that he might become the first black Bond.^[13] However, according to Martin Campbell, Henry Cavill was the only actor in serious contention for the role — but being only 22 years old, he was considered too young.^[14]

In May 2005, Daniel Craig announced that MGM and producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli had assured him that he had the job, and Matthew Vaughn told reporters that MGM offered him the opportunity to direct, but EON Productions at that point had not approached either of them.^[15] Later, Craig stated that the producers had indeed offered him the role, but he had declined until a script was available for him to read.^[16]

By August 2005, speculation was still high that the 37-year-old Daniel Craig was being seriously considered, although full casting for the role was not actually done until September. Then, on October 14 2005, EON Productions and Sony Pictures Entertainment confirmed to the public at a press conference in London that Daniel Craig would be the sixth actor to portray James Bond.^[17]

Significant controversy followed the decision, as fans wondered if the producers had made the right choice. Throughout the entire production period Internet campaigns such as "danielcraigisnotbond.com" expressed their dissatisfaction and threaten to boycott the film in protest.^[18] Craig, unlike previous actors, was not considered by the protesters to fit the tall, dark, handsome and charismatic image of the character which the public had become accustomed to.^[19]

The producers soon turned their attention to the casting of the lead Bond girl, Vesper Lynd. Casting director Debbie McWilliams has acknowledged that Hollywood actresses Angelina Jolie and Charlize Theron were "strongly considered" for the role and that Belgian actress Cécile de France had also auditioned, but her English accent "wasn't up to scratch."^[20] Audrey Tautou was also considered, but ultimately not chosen because of her role in The Da Vinci Code that was released in May 2006.^[21] French actress Eva Green was finally announced as Vesper Lynd on February 16 2006.^[22]

Filming

Principal photography for Casino Royale commenced on January 30, 2006, and concluded on July 21, 2006. The film was primarily shot at Barrandov Studios in Prague, with additional location shooting in the Czech Republic, the Bahamas, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Production returned to the Bond series' traditional home at Pinewood Studios to complete the shooting schedule.^[23]

Initially, Michael G. Wilson confirmed that Casino Royale would be filmed and/or take place in Prague and South Africa. However, following problems for EON Productions in securing film locations in South Africa,^[24] the producers had to reconsider their options. In September 2005, Martin Campbell and Phil Meheux (director of photography) were scouting Paradise Island in the Bahamas as a possible location for the film.^[25] On October 6, 2005, Martin Campbell confirmed that Casino Royale would film in the Bahamas and "maybe Italy." In addition to the extensive location filming, studio work including choreography and stunt coordination practice was performed at the Barrandov Studios in Prague and at Pinewood Studios in England where the film used several stages as well as the paddock tank and the historic Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage. Further shooting in the UK was scheduled for Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, the cricket pavilion at Eton College (although that particular scene was cut from the completed movie) and the Millbrook Vehicle Proving Ground in Bedfordshire.^[26]

Principal photography began in Prague on January 30, 2006, after which the production moved to the Bahamas. Several locations around New Providence were used for filming during February and March, largely on Paradise Island and in the southern Coral Harbour area, with an abandoned Royal Bahamian Air Force base being a particularly important location for the production. Footage set in Mbale, Uganda was filmed at Black Park, Country Park in Buckinghamshire concluding on July 4, 2006. Additional scenes took place at Albany House — an estate recently acquired by golfers Ernie Els and Tiger Woods.^[27] The crew returned to the Czech Republic in April, and continued there, filming in Prague, Planá and Loket, before completing in the town of Karlovy Vary in May. A disused spa, formerly known as the Kaisersbad, in Karlovy Vary was used as the exterior of the Casino Royale, with the Grandhotel Pupp serving as the "Hotel Splendide".^[28] The main Italian location mentioned by Campbell was Venice, where the majority of the film's ending is set. Other scenes in the latter half of the film were filmed in late May and early June at the Villa del Balbianello on the shores of Lake Como.^[29] Further exterior shooting for the movie took place at properties such as the Villa la Gaeta, near the lakeside town of Menaggio.^[26]

On July 30, 2006, a fire broke out at the 007 Stage at Pinewood. The damage was significant, but had no effect on the release of Casino Royale as the incident occurred one week after filming had been completed, and the sets were in the process of being dismantled.^[30] On August 11, 2006, Pinewood Studios confirmed that no attempt would be made to salvage the remains of the stage,^[31] instead it would be rebuilt from scratch.^[32]

Credit design

In designing the credit sequence for the film, graphic designer Daniel Kleinman was inspired by the cover of the 1953 British first edition of Casino Royale featuring Ian Fleming's own design of a playing card bordered by eight red hearts dripping with blood.^[33]

Kleinman said, "The hearts not only represent cards but the tribulations of Bond's love story. So I took that as inspiration to use playing card graphics in different ways in the titles," like a club representing a puff of gun smoke, and slashed arteries spurting thousands of tiny hearts.^[34]

In creating the shadow images of the sequence, Kleinman digitized the footage of Craig and the film's stuntmen on the Inferno visual effects system, at the Framestore CFC in London. There he cut out the actors' silhouettes and incorporated them into approximately 20 digitally animated scenes depicting intricate and innovative card patterns.

The standard gunbarrel sequence was also modified in coordination with the opening sequence. Craig's James Bond is the first ever in the sequence to wear an open-necked shirt instead of a formal business suit or a tuxedo. It is also the only instance in the series where the audience has seen the person that Bond shoots.

Special effects

Like the producers, Special Effects and Miniature Effects Supervisor Chris Corbould was also keen to return to a more realistic style of film making and significantly reduce digital effects. According to Corbould, “CGI is a great tool and can be very useful, but I will fight to the tooth and nail to do something for real. It’s the best way to go”.^[35] The three biggest scenes involving special effects in the film were those involving the chase at a building site in Madagascar, the Miami International Airport tarmac chase sequence, and the sinking Venetian house, with scenes located on the Grand Canal and in Pinewood Studios.

First on the schedule were the scenes on the Madagascar building site, shot on location in the Bahamas on the site of a derelict hotel which producer Michael G. Wilson had become acquainted with as far back as 1977 during the filming of The Spy Who Loved Me. In the scene, Bond hi-jacks an 18-ton digger and drives over 30 miles per hour toward the building, destroying a hut, then slamming into the concrete plinth on which Mollaka is running. The stunt team built a model and put forward two or three ways that the digger could conceivably take out the concrete, including taking out the pillar underneath. A section of the concrete wall was removed to fit the digger, and reinforced with steel. After two tests, the concrete curled around the bucket, and it came out like a wave.^[36]

The sequence at Miami International Airport was partly shot at the Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, with some footage captured at Prague and Miami airports with the first and second units of the film taking some 10 weeks to shoot the entire sequence. Coubold stated; "I’ve had experience with tankers before in License to Kill, and they are beasts to work with once you have all that tonnage hurling around; we souped up the tankers to get some high-speed collisions.^[37] In filming the scene in which the engine thrust of the moving aircraft blows the police car high into the air, second unit directors Ian Lowe, Terry Madden, and Alex Witt used a crane with a strong lead cable attached to the rear bumper of the vehicle to snatch the car up and backwards at the moment of full extension away from the plane.

The sinking Venetian house at the action climax of the film was the largest rig ever built on any Bond film.^[38] For the scene involving Bond following Vesper and Gettler into the house undergoing renovation, supported by inflatable balloons, a tank was constructed at the 007 stage at Pinewood, consisting of a Venetian piazza and the interior of the three-story dilapidated house. The rig, weighing some 90 tons, incorporated electronics with hydraulic valves which were closely controlled by computer because of the dynamic movement within the system on its two axis. The same computer system also controlled the exterior model which the effects team built to one-third scale to film the building eventually collapsing into the Venetian canal. The model elevator within the rig could be immersed in 19 feet of water, and utilized banks of compressors to strictly regulate movement.

The scene involving the high speed car crash was devised using a specially modified and reinforced Aston Martin DBS V12 to counteract the impact. Due to the low centre of gravity of the vehicle, an 18 inch ramp had to be implemented on the road tarmac and stunt driver Adam Kirley had to use an air canon located behind the drivers seat to propel the car into a roll at the precise moment of impact. At a velocity well exceeding 70 mph the car rotated seven times during the take, and was later confirmed by the Guiness Book of Records on November 5, 2006 as a new World Record, the previous record being five rolls.^[39]

Vehicles and gadgets

Main articles: List of James Bond vehicles and List of James Bond gadgets

• Aston Martin DBS — Bond drives the new Aston Martin DBS in Casino Royale, fitted with hidden compartments containing a medical kit complete with an automated external defibrillator, and a Walther P99 fitted with a suppressor. Daniel Craig personally visited the Aston Martin headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire on January 13, 2006 to view and test drive the car.^[40]
• Aston Martin DB5 — Bond's famed 1964 Aston Martin DB5 which appeared in Goldfinger, Thunderball, Goldeneye, and Tomorrow Never Dies makes an appearance in the film when Bond wins the vehicle in a poker game from Dimitrios in the Bahamas.
• Microchip implant transmitter — The human implant transmitter is injected into Bond's arm before he leaves for Montenegro. The implant not only functions as a tracking device, but also monitors the medical status of the agent back at MI6 headquarters.

Plot

James Bond must make two kills to qualify for double-0 status, granting him a licence to kill. In the opening sequence, he is sent on a mission to Prague to make those kills: MI6 section chief, Dryden, who has sold British secrets, and his contact, Fisher. In his first mission as a double-0, he is sent to Madagascar in pursuit of international bomb-maker Mollaka. After a free running chase to the Nambutu embassy, he is forced to kill the bomb-maker and blow up part of the embassy to escape. Bond's actions are recorded on closed-circuit television and exposed in the world press, enraging M, his boss at MI6.

Bond then visits the Bahamas to find a man named Alexander Dimitrios, who works for Le Chiffre, an unscrupulous banker who manages money for terrorist organizations and uses it to short sell certain companies' stocks. While there, Bond wins Dimitrios's 1964 Aston Martin DB5 in a poker game. Afterwards, while Solange, the wife of Dimitrios, is being seduced by Bond, she informs him that her husband is flying to Miami, and Bond immediately pursues him. In Miami, Bond quickly kills Dimitrios, and pursues Le Chiffre's henchman Carlos through the airport terminal and out along the runway in a fuel truck. He eventually foils Le Chiffre's plan to blow up the prototype Skyfleet airliner on display, putting Le Chiffre in serious debt.

Now under pressure to recoup his clients' money, Le Chiffre sets up a high-stakes Texas hold 'em tournament at Casino Royale in Montenegro. MI6 enters Bond in the tournament to bankrupt Le Chiffre, hoping that he will be forced to aid the British government in exchange for protection from his creditors. Bond meets up with Mathis, his contact in Montenegro, and Vesper Lynd, a Treasury agent, who is assigned to look after Bond's handling of the $10 million buy-in. When Bond misreads Le Chiffre as bluffing and loses his initial stake, Vesper refuses to give him the funds to rebuy. When Bond almost resorts to murdering Le Chiffre, CIA's Felix Leiter steps in and gives him the money in exchange for custody of Le Chiffre when he wins. Bond wins the tournament, despite an attempt to poison him. However, before the CIA can take Le Chiffre into custody, he kidnaps Vesper and lures Bond into a near-fatal car chase, resulting in Bond's capture. Le Chiffre tortures Bond to make him reveal the account password to the game's winnings. When it becomes clear that Bond will not give in, Le Chiffre advances to castrate him, but before he can, Mr. White arrives and kills Le Chiffre and his associates, leaving Bond and Vesper alive.

Bond awakens in a hospital on Lake Como and has Mathis, whom Le Chiffre suggested was a double agent, arrested. Bond admits his love for Vesper and vows to quit the service before it strips him of his humanity. When she agrees, Bond e-mails his resignation to M, and the two go on a romantic holiday in Venice. Bond soon learns that the funds were never deposited in the Treasury's account and finds Vesper taking the money through Venice to a mysterious organization vaguely alluded to throughout the film. Bond pursues her into a building under renovation and deliberately shoots the flotation balloons supporting the structure, causing the foundation to slowly collapse into the Grand Canal. Vesper tearfully apologizes to Bond and commits suicide by locking herself in an elevator that sinks underwater. Bond tries frantically to rescue her and eventually manages to break into the elevator and bring Vesper to the surface, but it is too late; she has already drowned. Mr. White standing on an opposite balcony surveying the scene, walks away with the money.

Bond, feeling betrayed, learns that MI6 believed Vesper only negotiated the handover of money in order to save Bond's life from Le Chiffre and the organization, showing her true love for him. Bond, who has Vesper's mobile phone, discovers that she intentionally left Mr. White's name and number for him to find. In the closing scene, Mr. White, arriving at a large palatial estate aside Lake Como, receives a phone call. A voice on the line says, "Mr. White? We need to talk." As White asks "Who is this?", he is shot in the leg. As he crawls along the ground towards the villa, Bond appears, gun in hand, and responds with the iconic catch phrase "The name's Bond, James Bond," as the credits roll.

Cast

• Daniel Craig as James Bond: A British agent who, after being assigned 00-status, is sent on a mission to arrest a bomb maker in Madagascar, where he stumbles upon Le Chiffre's terrorist cell and is then sent to defeat him in a high-stakes poker game at Casino Royale.
• Eva Green as Vesper Lynd: An agent for HM Treasury assigned to supervise Bond and finance his poker table exploits.
• Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre: A shady and evil banker to the world's terrorists. He is a mathematical genius and chess expert, skills he uses when playing poker. Believed to be Albanian. His left eye is scarred and weeps blood.
• Judi Dench as M: The strict head of MI6. Though she feels she has promoted 007 too soon and expresses abhorrence of his rash actions, she acts as an important maternal figure in his life. As a reboot she appears as the first M to employ Bond, despite having appeared as an incoming M eleven years earlier in Goldeneye.
• Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter: A quiet CIA operative participating in the film's central poker tournament. Although Leiter has been portrayed by a wide variety of Caucasian actors throughout the series, this is the first official Bond film in which he is played by a black actor. The only other black actor to portray Felix Leiter was Bernie Casey in Never Say Never Again, which was an unofficial remake of Thunderball.
• Giancarlo Giannini as Rene Mathis: Bond's contact in Montenegro.
• Caterina Murino as Solange Dimitrios: Dimitrios's wife, whom Bond seduces. Solange was the name of a Bond girl in Ian Fleming's short story "007 in New York", which is currently included in the collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights. The name is also mentioned in the short story "From a View to a Kill", which is included in the For Your Eyes Only collection.
• Simon Abkarian as Alex Dimitrios: An associate of Le Chiffre, based in the Bahamas.
• Isaach De Bankolé as Steven Obanno: A ruthless Ugandan warlord introduced to Le Chiffre by Mr. White to account his finances.
• Jesper Christensen as Mr. White: A mysterious and shady liaison between the world's terrorists.
• Ivana Miličević as Valenka: Le Chiffre's girlfriend and henchwoman.
• Sébastien Foucan as Mollaka: A bombmaker pursued through a construction site in Madagascar.
• Ludger Pistor as Mendel: A Swiss banker responsible for all monetary transactions during and after the poker tournament.
• Claudio Santamaria as Carlos: A terrorist employed by Le Chiffre to blow up an airliner using an aviation fuel tanker fitted with a keyring size bomb.

See also: List of James Bond henchmen in Casino Royale and List of James Bond allies in Casino Royale

Two major exclusions from the film are the characters of Q and Miss Moneypenny. They were not included in the screenplay, which makes this only the second Bond film without Q since his initial appearance in Dr. No (1973's Live and Let Die being the first) and the first without Moneypenny. In October 2005, producer Michael G. Wilson stated that the characters were not in the movie because they were not in the book. However Moneypenny did actually appear in the novel but had only one line of dialogue, although Major Boothroyd, which the films transformed into the character Q, did not appear until several books later.^[41] The decision to leave Moneypenny's character out from the film also coincided with actress Samantha Bond, who had portrayed the character in the previous four films, announcement that she would not be reprising the role.

Cameos

The movie features cameo roles by British entrepreneur Richard Branson (seen being frisked at Miami airport), American hotel tycoon Jerry Inzerillo, Brazilian supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio (seen when Bond first approaches the Ocean Club), and Sens Unik rapper Carlos Leal. Key members of the production also feature in cameo roles — producer Michael G. Wilson appears as the corrupt Montenegrin police chief, continuing his long-standing tradition of Bond film cameos dating from Goldfinger, while director of cinematography Phil Meheux features briefly as a treasury bureaucrat in Washington D.C.. Even the film's director Martin Campbell makes a fleeting cameo as the face of the murdered petrol tanker driver at Miami Airport. In addition, Tsai Chin, who played Ling in the opening sequence of You Only Live Twice, and Diane Hartford, who had a small part in Thunderball (as the girl Bond dances with while escaping from Fiona Volpe) appear respectively as Madame Wu (the Chinese Woman playing cards with Le Chiffre aboard his yacht) and one of the players in the Bahamas poker game. Sixties model "Veruschka" von Lehndorff also appears in the background at the casino.^{[42][this source's reliability may need verification]}

Release

Casino Royale premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square, the Odeon West End and the Empire simultaneously in London on November 14, 2006. It marked the 60th Royal Film Performance and benefited the Cinema & Television Benevolent Fund (CTBF), whose patron, Queen Elizabeth II, was in attendance with the Duke of Edinburgh. It was the third James Bond premiere that the Queen had attended following You Only Live Twice (1967) and Die Another Day (2002).^[43] Along with the cast and crew, numerous celebrities and 5,000 paying guests were also in attendance with half the proceeds benefiting the CTBF.^[44]

The premiere was immediately followed by pirate copies of the film appearing for sale in London, only two days later. “The rapid appearance of this film on the streets shows the sophistication and organisation behind film piracy in the UK,” said Kieron Sharp, from the Federation Against Copyright Theft.^[45] Pirated copies of the DVD were selling for less than £1. Craig himself is quoted as having been offered such a DVD while walking anonymously through the streets of Beijing "wearing a hat and glasses so they didn't recognise me."^[46]

North America

Opening day estimates in the United States and Canada show it on top with $14,750,000. Opening weekend estimates in the United States and Canada put it in second place with $40,600,000,^[47] as well as earning another $42,000,000 internationally. Although Happy Feet won the overall weekend box office contest, such a comparison in earnings is problematic, as Happy Feet has little more than half the running time of Casino Royale, and therefore had significantly more screenings per day, which translates into more potential gross. A better indication of the films relative performances is that Casino Royale, per theatre, outperformed Happy Feet, which was released in 370 more theatres. According to Box Office Mojo, Casino Royale took in, on average, $11,890 per theatre, while Happy Feet grossed $10,918 per theatre.^[48][49]

UK and Ireland

The film premiered in London on November 14 2006, and achieved GB£1.7 million of ticket sales in the UK on its first day of release, grossing more than twice as much as the former record-holder, and becoming the highest UK take for any Bond film.^[50] Weekend opening total in the UK was GB£13,400,000, beating the previous record of GB£9,100,000 held by Pierce Brosnan's Die Another Day. It became the third biggest opening weekend of all time, behind Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. In two weeks, the film had outgrossed Die Another Day's entire British intake of GB£59,000,000 with a box office gross of over GB£73,450,000.

The film remains the sixth highest grossing film of all time in the UK with a box office total around $108-$109 million.^[51] The film also had the biggest Bond opening in the Republic of Ireland with over €1,100,000 in the first 2 weeks. From November 16 2006 to November 19 2006, the film took in over $43,407,886.

The UK release was rated 12, the same rating as the four previous Bond films; to achieve this, a single shot had to be removed from the torture sequence, which was considered by film classifiers as too violent for the 12 rating.^[52]

Worldwide

Casino Royale opened at #1 in 27 countries, with a weekend gross of $43,407,886 worldwide.^[53] As of March 30, 2007 it has grossed over $593,352,994 globallly and over $423,632,200 outside America,^[54] breaking both the domestic and international box office records of Die Another Day. The film has broken other records, including in India, where it took in over Rs. 149,400,000 ($3,386,987) in the first three days of release (November 17 to November 19), more than any other western film.^[55] In Russia, the film made over $3,800,000, the eighth largest opening for a non-Russian film.^[56]

In January 2007, Casino Royale became the first Bond film ever to be shown in mainland Chinese cinemas.^[57] It was initially reported that the Chinese version was released without alteration, but it later emerged that it had been edited before release, with the reference to the Cold War re-dubbed and new dialogue added during the poker scene explaining the process of Texas Hold'em, as the game is less familiar in China. In China, Bond is known as "Ling Ling Qi" (零零七) which is Mandarin for "007"; Cantonese for "007" would be "Ling Ling Chut". So far Casino Royale has made approximately $11.7 million in China since its opening on January 30 on 468 screens,^[58] including a record opening for a non-Chinese film of $1.5 million.^[59]

DVD release

Casino Royale was released on DVD in the U.S. on March 13, 2007, accompanied by releases on UMD and Blu-ray Disc.^[60] No VHS release is planned, a first for a James Bond movie. In the UK, Casino Royale was released on March 19, 2007 on DVD and Blu-ray.^[61] April 4, 2007 is the scheduled release date for Australia.^[62]

The DVD and Blu-ray releases have also broken records: With the region 1 Blu-ray disks selling more than 100,000 copies, it has already broken the record for the greatest number of high-definition disks sold in one day;^[63] and the region 2 DVD has broken the record for the fastest week one UK DVD sales, selling 1,622,852 copies since its release on March 19.^[64]

The DVD release includes three documentaries detailing how Daniel Craig was chosen for the role of Bond, how the film was constructed (For Real), and Bond Girls Are Forever — a short documentary originally filmed in 2002 and presented by The Living Daylights actress Maryam d'Abo — about the various women who have portrayed the many "Bond girls" throughout the franchise's history. The special DVD also features the official music video for the film, featuring Chris Cornell.

Reception

Professional film critics and reviewers generally gave the film a positive response, and in particular Craig's performance and credibility as James Bond. During production this had been subject to debate by the media and the public, as Craig did not appear to fit Ian Fleming's original portrait of the character as tall, dark and suave, which had been mirrored by the previous actors chosen for the role, particularly Brosnan.

The Daily Mirror (which had once run a front page news story critical of Craig, with the headline, The Name's Bland - James Bland^[65]) and The Daily Telegraph compared the quality of Craig's characterization of Bond to Sean Connery's; and the Telegraph praised the script as smartly written, noting how the film departed from the series' conventions. The Times compared the more assertive portrayal by Craig to Timothy Dalton, and praised the action as edgy,^[66] with another reviewer citing in particular the action sequence involving the cranes in Madagascar.^[67] Critic Paul Arendt of BBC Films,^[68] Kim Newman of Empire^[69] and Todd McCarthy of Variety^[70] all described Craig as the first actor to truly embody Ian Fleming's James Bond from the original novel: cold, ruthless, and brutal.

In North America, the movie was particularly well received by reviewers and film critics, and MSNBC gave the movie a rare perfect 5 star rating.^[71] The film was described as taking James Bond "back to his roots", similar to From Russia with Love,^[72] where the focus was on character and plot rather than the high-tech gadgets and visual effects that were strongly criticised in Die Another Day.

Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie an aggregate rating of 94%, the highest rating for a wide-release of the year. It is the third-highest rating for a Bond film on the site behind only The Spy Who Loved Me and From Russia with Love which both received a 96%^[73][74] and Dr. No, with a 97% score.^[75] The average rating of by the users was 92%.^[76] Metacritic gave the movie a Metascore of 80 signifying "Generally Favorable Reviews." The movie has also attained a weighted average of 7.9/10 from IMDB users.

However, several reviewers expressed mixed reactions to the film. Although American radio personality Michael Medved gave Casino Royale three stars (out of four), describing it as "intriguing, audacious and very original ... more believable and less cartoonish, than previous 007 extravaganzas", he commented that the "sometimes sluggish pacing will frustrate some Bond fanatics."^[77] Similarly, a reviewer for The Sun praised the film for its darkness and Craig's performance, but felt that "like the novel, it suffers from a lack of sharpness in the plot" and believed it required some editing, particularly the lengthy finale.^[78] Commentators such as Emanuell Levy concurred, feeling the ending was too long, and that the film's terrorist villains lacked depth, although he praised Craig and gave the film a B+ overall.^[79]

Other reviewers responded negatively, including Tim Adams of The Observer who felt the film came off uncomfortably in an attempt to make the series grittier, and criticized Craig's performance with the review title "You might be shaken, but this Bond won't leave you stirred".^[80] Steve Sailer of The American Conservative also criticized the film, saying it was "mediocre in execution and bloated in conception, wrapping the usual elephantine Bond movie mechanics around Fleming's minimal plot (referring to the fact that Bond does not kill anyone in the novel)."^[81]

Despite any negative critical reaction to the film, in a poll conducted by IMDb, Casino Royale was voted by respondents as their favorite Bond film, a considerable achievement considering the popularity of many other Bond films, such as From Russia With Love and Goldfinger.^[82] In addition, Vesper Lynd as portrayed by Eva Green was chosen by Entertainment Weekly as the fourth greatest Bond girl in the entire film series.^[83]

Awards

At the 2006 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards, Casino Royale won the Film Award for Best Sound (Chris Munro, Eddy Joseph, Mike Prestwood Smith, Martin Cantwell, Mark Taylor), and the Orange Rising Star Award, which went to Eva Green.^[84] The film was nominated for eight other BAFTA awards, including the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film of the Year; Best Screenplay (Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Paul Haggis); the Anthony Asquith Award for Best Film Music (David Arnold); Best Cinematography (Phil Meheux); Best Editing (Stuart Baird); Best Production Design (Peter Lamont, Simon Wakefield); Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects (Steve Begg, Chris Corbould, John Paul Docherty, Ditch Doy); and Best Actor (Daniel Craig). This made Craig the first actor ever to receive a BAFTA nomination for a performance as James Bond.^[85] He also received the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor.^[86]

Casino Royale won the Excellence in Production Design Award from the Art Directors Guild, and singer Chris Cornell's "You Know My Name" won the International Press Academy Satellite Award for Best Original Song.^[87] Casino Royale was nominated for five Saturn Awards: Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film; Best Actor (Daniel Craig); Best Supporting Actress (Eva Green); Best Writing (Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, and Paul Haggis); and Best Music (David Arnold).

The 2006 Golden Tomato Awards named Casino Royale the Wide Release Film of the Year.^[88] Casino Royale was aslo nominated for, and has won, many other international awards for its screenplay,^[89] film editing,^[90] visual effects,^[91] and production design.^[92]

Soundtrack

Main article: Casino Royale (2006 soundtrack)

The soundtrack to the 2006 film Casino Royale was released by Sony Classical on November 14, 2006. The music was written by veteran composer David Arnold, his fourth soundtrack for the Bond film series. Frequent collaborator Nicholas Dodd orchestrated and conducted the score.

Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced on July 26, 2006 that Chris Cornell, the former Audioslave and Soundgarden lead singer, composed and would perform the title song "You Know My Name" for Casino Royale.^[93] Various names were reported in the media prior to the announcement, including a return of Tina Turner,^[94] who sang "GoldenEye" in 1995, and Tony Christie.^[95]

Cornell was first reported to be writing and performing the song in collaboration with David Arnold on July 20, 2006 by the Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat and the complete score was completed early on the morning of October 11, 2006.^[96] "You Know My Name" is the first theme song since 1983's Octopussy to use a different title than the film, and Cornell is the first male performer since a-ha (in 1987's The Living Daylights). It is only the fourth Bond theme (after the opening medley of Dr. No, the instrumental theme from On Her Majesty's Secret Service and "All Time High" from Octopussy) to make no reference to the title of the film.^[96]

However, the theme song itself is not present on the album soundtrack since it was released as a separate single. Consistent with the reboot of the James Bond storyline, only at the end, when Bond resumes his usual role, is the original James Bond Theme used.

References