A look at James Bond's movie guns

Status
Not open for further replies.
T

Trebor

Member
Joined
Feb 15, 2003
Messages
4,817
Here's my latest Michigan Firearms Examiner article. This one is on the guns James Bond used in the movies and how what the prop guys used wasn't always what we thought we were seeing.

A look at the guns of James Bond for the Skyfall premiere

"With the new James Bond movie, “Skyfall,” in theaters today this is a good time to look behind the movie magic and compare the “reel guns” of Agent 007 to the real guns used in the films."
 
Interesting article on a unique sub-collection among firearms collectors, thank you for posting.

I enjoyed the new film. PPK and lots of Glocks. Some fingers on triggers, but glad that they didn't have the endless magazines many Hollywood movies do. No spoilers here, but all in all I thought it was a much better Bond film (and much better movie in general) than Quantum of Solace.
 
Saw a clip (but it wasn't in a magazine - haha) - where his new gun was personal ID electronics. What was that about?
 
Bond also uses a S & W M-29 (nickel) in "Live and Let Die"
Click to expand...

I missed that one. That's OK though, as I knew I couldn't list every gun he ever uses in every movie. He does pick up or acquire a lot of different guns in the various movies. I just wanted to hit the highlights focusing specifically on his "service pistols."
 
I saw the commercial with the palm print activated gun.

We have talked about such features before, often because antis want such things on firearms.
Personally I am disappointed to see a movie pushing them now.
I don't even want to support a movie trying to sell itself with such garbage on its primary advertisement.


In real life they also are a liability. Dirty hand, blood on hand, grip that is slightly off, won't work with gloves, all can lead to a perfectly functional gun ceasing to work.
There is plenty of things to already go wrong in a life and death situation, such a device just helps tilt the odds against the shooter more.
It also adds complexity and cost, and more parts to break, wear out, need a battery, get damaged from water, etc
 
Saw a clip (but it wasn't in a magazine - haha) - where his new gun was personal ID electronics. What was that about?
Click to expand...

Palm print match required to fire the gun. That was done in one of the Timothy Dalton movies in the early 90s as well.
 
I never could understand why the directors gave "Scaramanga" that thing that looked like it was put together out of plumbing parts... Instead of the weapon mentioned in the Fleming book.
In the book, Scaramanga (who had been a "trick shot" artist in a circus) had a highly-decorated and engraved Colt SAA, and he insisted on custom made ammunition.
 
Bond's guns make for great dinner conversation. Here are some in a display.
DSC06116.jpg
[/IMG]
 
I saw the movie just a few hours ago. The film showed the "palm-print" activated PPK trying to be used by a bad guy as he tried to shoot Bond with it and failed to do so.

(By the way, I don't want to give away all the goodies but that bad guy met an unusually horrible death! )

Then about two thirds the way through the film there is a massive shoot out at a parliament committee hearing and twice good guys picked up handguns from fallen police and used them to shoot back at the bad guys. That could not have happened if they had that smart gun tech as well. So much for "Reel Life". :)
 
We don't do movie reviews or critiques so stick to the firearms and posts won't disappear and the thread will stay open.
 
I knew a scientist who worked on a gun recognition system on a grant from Taurus. It never worked.
 
Bio readers...

Pat Kaleb said:
Does the technology exist to actually create a practical implementation of some kind of personal bio signature?
Click to expand...
Sort of. Michaels of Oregon marketed a holster around 2003 that required a fingerprint read in order to release the firearm therein.

Supposedly, the reader was in the right place for a trigger finger (as I recall) so there was no time lost in getting one's finger in the right place; and according to the advertising, dirt and blood on the finger would not confuse the reader.

I rather imagine the same technology could be adapted into the lock work of your garden variety belt gun.

I haven't seen anything about the holsters since then. Nor have I read of any 'progressive' police agencies or departments buying them for issue wear. It either didn't work very well, or no one wanted to pay for them.

Frankly, I'm of the mind where keeping my sidearm from the forces of unrighteousness is MY job. But, for a movie featuring a man who depends on gadgets, it's a fair prop.
 
Years ago on the History Channel I saw where they developed a watch like device with a RFD chip in it that interacted with the pistol. So it's out there.
 
My father actually has a Walther pellet pistol of the exact same model used by Bond in the poster. I cannot remember the exact model number, but I did confirm it was the same type of gun. It was a break-open action gun that was very difficult to operate. Fully cocking it not only cocked a striker spring, but also set a piston plunger that would inject air into the chamber to drive it. In this way it was actually a hybrid pistol, incorporating both direct spring and air pressure. It worked well, and was moderately powerful and accurate, but it was a total female dog to operate.
 
I had a bigger issue with the el cheapo scope mount and the goofy reticle on the M4 used by Eve than the electronic PPK. I just wish they'd stop throwing down empty guns with the same disdain as they would if they were a used diaper.
 
.500 ne ftw

I personally really enjoyed the introduction of the Anderson Wheeler double rifle in 500 NE! Bond made the recoil look like a 12 gauge but what the hey! it was an old Safari gun being used to take down the technical commandos!
really enjoyed that movie. I felt like they went back to the Bond "roots" with the re-intro of Q branch, the ppk, Moneypenny, etc. it was good.
 
Just watched Dr. No on dvd the other night. Wanted to watch the first one again after seeing Skyfall.

There is a scene in Dr. No during the shootout on the beach where Connery returns fire from behind a log with a 1911. I assume that is what the armorer handed him to film the scene with because it's the only time he is seen with it in the movie.

I always wonder what the armorer and director are thinking when they have a character use one weapon in one scene and suddenly he has a different one and then is back to the original in the next scene. I guess most people don't notice that.
 
Jeff White said:
I always wonder what the armorer and director are thinking when they have a character use one weapon in one scene and suddenly he has a different one and then is back to the original in the next scene. I guess most people don't notice that.
Click to expand...

This type of 'discontinuity' happens alot in films. Usually, it is because the scenes are not filmed in order. They often can be on two different sets, with two different crews.

Perhaps the best was during "Diamonds are forever" which starred George Lazenby, they had a cut scene staring Sean Connery which was filmed for "You Only Live Twice".
 
There may be three versions of the same gun on a set. A "hero" blank firing gun for shooting scenes, a "background" non-fireable gun for non-shooting scenes, and a solid cast gun for scenes where a gun is thrown about or slid across the floor. They don't always match in details or even gross features sometimes.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

P
  • Locked
Do movies encourage gun sales?
2 3 4
Replies
92
Views
3K
Fishslayer
Fishslayer
S
  • Locked
Movie/TV gun collections--post em
Replies
16
Views
1K
TexasBill
TexasBill
M
  • Locked
Bond "Dr. No" PPK sells for $106,000
Replies
7
Views
953
Manedwolf
M
M
  • Locked
MASS Rep wants to Mandate Smart Handgun Technology
Replies
22
Views
953
pockets
P
G
  • Locked
James Bond Guns
Replies
12
Views
2K
XLMiguel
X
Back
Top