Moonraker (1979)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Lewis Gilbert

Writer:

Christopher Wood (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 June 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Moonraker Is Out Of This World

Plot:

James Bond investigates the mid-air theft of a space shuttle and discovers a plot to commit global genocide.

Plot Keywords:

Space | Space Shuttle | Jaws | James Bond | CIA

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Roger Moore	...	James Bond
Lois Chiles	...	Dr. Holly Goodhead
Michael Lonsdale	...	Hugo Drax
Richard Kiel	...	Jaws
Corinne Clery	...	Corinne Dufour
Bernard Lee	...	'M'
Geoffrey Keen	...	Sir Frederick Gray
Desmond Llewelyn	...	'Q'
Lois Maxwell	...	Miss Moneypenny
Toshirô Suga	...	Chang (as Toshiro Suga)
Emily Bolton	...	Manuela
Blanche Ravalec	...	Dolly - Jaws' Girlfriend
Irka Bochenko	...	Blonde Beauty
Mike Marshall	...	Col. Scott (as Michael Marshall)
Leila Shenna	...	Hostess Private Jet

Also Known As:

Ian Fleming's Moonraker (UK) (complete title)
Moonraker (France)

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

UK | France

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Ireland:PG | South Korea:15 | Brazil:12 | Germany:12 (re-rating) | West Germany:16 (original rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1979) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | Singapore:PG | UK:A (original rating) | Netherlands:12

Filming Locations:

"The Canals", Venice, Veneto, Italy

Company:

Danjaq

Trivia:

During the cable-car stunt high above Rio, a real cliff-hanger moment occurred when stuntman Richard Graydon slipped and was hanging-off for his dear life. The recce crew, including Ken Adam, were petrified while the camera was rolling and they were watching-on from a vantage point.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Bond leaves his boat via hang-glider, we never see it fall off the waterfall behind him, even though there are two shots where it should have been visible.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Captain: How are we doing, Richard?
RAF Officer: We should pass over the English coast 15 minutes ahead of time, sir.
Captain: Wow! With this load on our back, that's good going.
RAF Officer: Just trust the RAF, sir.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Nationwide: The 007 Set" (1979)

Soundtrack:

Raindrop Prelude (opus 28, number 15 in D flat Major)

Bond #11: Space trip

"Moonraker" was the most expensive Bond ever, but after the success of "The Spy Who Loved Me", the producers were confident enough to take a step into the top budgets, also contemplating that after the blockbuster hit "Star Wars", a technical show up in space would sell. The movie was an immediate success, but apparently didn't become one of the most popular for the fans in long term, admittedly it has a few ups and downs. A very silly bit is the gondola, driving on land in Venice. The centrifuge, on the other hand, was a terrific idea. The opening sequence is a classic again: Bond falls out of a plane without a parachute, so he has to get one on the way down! The duel between Bond and Jaws (returned from "The Spy Who Loved Me") in the dizzying height of the cable railway is breathtaking. So is the beauty of Corinne Clery; not easy for Lois Chiles afterwards to get Bond's attention, but "take me around the world one more time" is a beautiful line. We get a Goldfinger type of villain again, a more sophisticated person though: Drax meets Bond early on, we know he's the bad guy, but we don't know what his plan is. The musical score of "Moonraker" includes quite a few ironic comments, but the western reference was a bit too obvious. The set design for Drax' base is remarkably different from the rocket base in "You Only Live Twice". While the latter was covering a huge round crater, Drax' controls in "Moonraker" are crammed in a rather narrow triangle room, but with a hundred screens nonetheless.