Moonraker (1979)

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

Director:

Lewis Gilbert

Writer:

Christopher Wood (screenplay by)

Stars:

Roger Moore, Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roger Moore	...	James Bond
Lois Chiles	...	Holly Goodhead
Michael Lonsdale	...	Hugo Drax
Richard Kiel	...	Jaws
Corinne Cléry	...	Corinne Dufour (as Corinne Clery)
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

Storyline

James Bond is back for another mission and this time, he is blasting off into space. A spaceship travelling through space is mysteriously hijacked and Bond must work quickly to find out who was behind it all. He starts with the rockets creators, Drax Industries and the man behind the organization, Hugo Drax. On his journey he ends up meeting Dr. Holly Goodhead and encounters the metal-toothed Jaws once again.

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Plot Keywords:

space shuttle | jaws | 007 | space station | astronaut | 

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Taglines:

The villains are out of this world [US banner poster ; Style B]

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

In March 2004, an Internet hoax stated rumors about a lost 1956 version of Moonraker by Orson Welles, and a James Bond website repeated it on April Fool's Day in 2004 as a hoax. Supposedly, this recently discovered "lost movie" was forty minutes of raw footage with Sir Dirk Bogarde as Bond, Welles as Drax, and Peter Lorre as Drax's henchman.

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Goofs

After Bond is imprisoned with Dr. Goodhead, the ceiling begins to slide open and we can see that they are actually underneath the launching pad of one of the shuttles. The thrusters of the shuttle are above the level of the opening but when Drax appears beside the shuttle, the thrusters are now below the level of the opening. A minute later, as the shuttle prepares for liftoff, the thrusters are back above the opening.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

[Filmed at ...] Pinewood Studios (London) and on location in Italy, Brazil, Guatemala, U.S.A. and Outer Space!

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Alternate Versions

The Italian TV version is heavily edited to fit into the scheduling but this also alters the plot of the film significantly, particuarly in the opening skydiving sequence. After stealing the pilot's parachute Bond clips it shut and the scene involving Jaws is completely gone. Instead we cut from the pilot screaming to the shot of someone falling onto the circus big top, making it look as if this is the pilot. Also the scene with the girl being torn apart by dogs is gone, after she shows Bond the hidden safe she is never seen again and Drax only appears in the Cucumber Sandwiches scene before we see him chastising Bond for breaking up the fight with the snake.

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Connections

Follows On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

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Soundtracks

Tones (Close Encounters of the Third Kind)
(uncredited)
Written by John Williams
Notes used as code for security keypad

User Reviews

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.

Details

Official Sites:

MGM [United States]

Country:

UK France

Language:

English Italian Portuguese

Release Date:

29 June 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ian Fleming's Moonraker

Filming Locations:

Mariana, Minas Gerais, Brazil

Box Office

Budget:

$34,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$7,108,344, 1 July 1979

Gross USA:

$70,308,099

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$210,308,099

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Productions Artistes Associés, Eon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints) 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1