Film no. 18 · 1997 · Brosnan era

Tomorrow Never Dies

TMDB rating: 6.4 / 10 · View on TMDB

Plot

At an arms bazaar on the Russian border, James Bond prevents a British cruise missile from destroying an aircraft carrying nuclear torpedoes. Soon afterwards, media baron Elliot Carver lures the British frigate HMS Devonshire into Chinese waters. His stealth ship sinks it, steals a cruise missile and plants false evidence of a Chinese attack. As Carver's networks inflame the crisis, Bond has only 48 hours to stop a war.

The trail leads to Hamburg, where Carver launches a global satellite network. Bond encounters his former lover Paris, now Carver's wife, and Chinese journalist Wai Lin. Paris gives him access to Carver's printing works but pays with her life. Bond escapes the parking garage in a remotely controlled BMW, while a stolen GPS encoder points to the Devonshire wreck in the South China Sea.

Bond and Wai Lin recover a missile from the wreck and realise that Carver is manipulating both governments. In Saigon they escape together on a motorcycle and pursue the media tycoon to his invisible ship in Hạ Long Bay. Carver plans to strike Beijing with the stolen missile, install the corrupt General Chang and receive exclusive broadcasting rights in China. Bond tears open the stealth hull so the British fleet can detect the vessel. Wai Lin disables its engines, Bond kills Carver with his own sea drill and destroys the missile before he and Wai Lin escape from the sinking ship.

Facts

James Bond: Pierce Brosnan
Director: Roger Spottiswoode
Screenplay: Bruce Feirstein
Producers: Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli
Music: David Arnold
Title song: „Tomorrow Never Dies“Sheryl Crow
Running time: 119 minutes
Budget: $110 millionProduction budget according to The Numbers
Box office: $340 millionworldwide theatrical gross according to The Numbers; 007.com gives a rounded figure of $333 million
Release: UK: 12 December 1997US: 19 December 1997Germany: 18 December 1997

Travel route and filming locations

Gold numbers trace Bond's journey through the story, light markers show the real filming locations. Each layer can be hidden separately.

Bond's route · 11 stops

Total distance (great-circle)≈ 17,958 km

The exact site is fictional; the coordinates mark a plausible position in the Caucasus. Bond surveys the terrorist market, takes an L-39 carrying nuclear torpedoes and escapes the British missile strike.
Arms bazaar on the Russian border → Oxford · ≈ 3,537 km
Bond takes a Danish lesson with Professor Bergstrom at New College until Moneypenny recalls him as the crisis escalates.
Oxford → London · ≈ 83 km
At a crisis meeting Bond learns of Devonshire's sinking and Carver's suspiciously early reporting. M sends him to Hamburg to investigate Carver.
London → Hamburg Airport · ≈ 722 km
Bond arrives in Hamburg, visits the rental desk and receives the equipped BMW 7 Series from Q.
Hamburg Airport → Carver Media Group Network, Hamburg · ≈ 9 km
The fictional media campus is located in Hamburg within the story. Bond attends Carver's satellite launch, searches the offices and steals the corrupted GPS encoder.
Carver Media Group Network, Hamburg → Hotel Atlantic, Hamburg · ≈ 2 km
Paris meets Bond in his suite and gives him access to Carver's printing works. He later finds her murdered there and overpowers Dr Kaufman.
Hotel Atlantic, Hamburg → Carver's printing works and garage, Hamburg · ≈ 1 km
Bond searches the fictional printing works, escapes Stamper and a convoy in the remotely controlled BMW, then launches the damaged car into a rental office.
Carver's printing works and garage, Hamburg → US air base near Okinawa · ≈ 9,312 km
The film does not identify a real base; the coordinates mark a plausible position on Okinawa. Bond and Jack Wade prepare his HALO jump over the South China Sea.
US air base near Okinawa → Wreck of HMS Devonshire · ≈ 2,137 km
The film coordinates 11°13′ N, 115°12′ E mark the fictional wreck site in the South China Sea. Bond and Wai Lin find a missing cruise missile and are captured by Carver's men.
Wreck of HMS Devonshire → Carver's tower, Saigon · ≈ 929 km
In present-day Ho Chi Minh City, Carver interrogates the two agents in his fictional headquarters. Bond and Wai Lin escape from the roof on an advertising banner.
Carver's tower, Saigon → Wai Lin's safe house and the streets of Saigon · ≈ 2 km
At Wai Lin's disguised workshop the agents find weapons and the BMW motorcycle. Together they flee through the city from Carver's men and a helicopter.
Wai Lin's safe house and the streets of Saigon → Hạ Long Bay · ≈ 1,129 km
Bond and Wai Lin search among the limestone islands for Carver's radar-invisible ship. A local boat carries them into the operational area.
Hạ Long Bay → Carver's stealth ship in the South China Sea · ≈ 96 km
The position is a plausible fictional point east of Hạ Long Bay. Bond and Wai Lin prevent the missile attack on Beijing and destroy the vessel.

Filming locations · 22

doubles for Russian border region (Russia)
Arms bazaar, bombardment and Bond's L-39 take-off in the opening sequence
Bond's language lesson with Professor Bergstrom
doubles for Ministry of Defence, London (United Kingdom)
Exterior of the Ministry of Defence before the crisis meeting
Exterior shots of Bond's arrival in Hamburg
doubles for Hamburg Airport (Germany)
Airport interiors and Q's delivery of the BMW
doubles for Carver Media Group Network, Hamburg (Germany)
Glass façades and exterior areas of Carver's Hamburg media headquarters
Hotel exteriors, arrival and rooftop area
doubles for Hotel Atlantic, Hamburg (Germany)
Interiors of Bond's Hamburg hotel and his meeting with Paris
doubles for Carver's printing works, Hamburg (Germany)
Parts of Carver's printing works and industrial operating areas
doubles for Carver's printing works, Hamburg (Germany)
Printing presses and interiors of Carver's newspaper operation
doubles for Carver's parking garage, Hamburg (Germany)
Much of the remote-controlled BMW chase in the parking garage
Hamburg street views and linking shots for the BMW escape
doubles for US air base near Okinawa (Japan)
Military aircraft and parts of the American base before Bond's HALO jump
doubles for US air base near Okinawa (Japan)
Runway shots and jump preparation at the American base
doubles for South China Sea (fictional / at sea)
Underwater work at the wreck of HMS Devonshire
doubles for Saigon (Vietnam)
Harbour and street scenes during Bond and Wai Lin's escape
doubles for Carver's tower, Saigon (Vietnam)
Carver's Saigon tower and the advertising-banner escape from its roof
doubles for Saigon (Vietnam)
Wai Lin's workshop and alleys and rooftops used in the motorcycle chase
Large sets for Carver's headquarters, interiors and controlled action scenes
Additional studio, model and effects work
doubles for Hạ Long Bay, Vietnam (Vietnam)
Limestone islands and boat work for the finale
Deck and exterior footage for the fictional frigates Devonshire, Chester and Bedford

Characters and cast

Bond

James BondPierce Brosnan

Bond girls

Villains

Elliot CarverJonathan PryceMedia proprietor who manufactures the news events he reports

Henchmen

Allies

MI6

Others

Vehicles & Gadgets

Vehicles

Aston Martin DB5 displayed in a James Bond presentationPhoto: Ank Kumar · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Aston Martin DB5
Car1964
Bond's private car for the journey to Oxford
Bond drives the silver DB5 to his language lesson in Oxford. The brief appearance presents the classic without a chase or visible gadget use and follows its return in GoldenEye.
Driven by
James Bond
Specs
4.0 L straight-six, 282 hp, approximately 143 mph
Sources: 007.com: Tomorrow Never Dies vehicles · IMCDb: Tomorrow Never Dies vehicles
Production Daimler DS420Photo: en:User:Abarthaddict; edited by User:Bravada · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Daimler DS420
Car
Official limousine taking Bond to the crisis meeting
A black DS420 takes Bond to the Ministry of Defence in London. The formal chauffeur-driven limousine serves only as transport and has no special equipment in the film.
Driven by
MI6 chauffeur
Sources: IMCDb: Tomorrow Never Dies vehicles
One of the film cars used in the BMW chase, displayed at the National Motor Museum, BeaulieuPhoto: Morio · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
BMW 740iL E38 (im Film als 750iL)
Car1997
Remote control, rockets, caltrops, tear gas, electric shock and tyre reinflation
Q gives Bond an armoured luxury saloon in Hamburg that can be driven from the rear seat through the Ericsson phone. In Carver's garage Bond deploys roof rockets, caltrops, tear gas and other defences before sending the car off a roof into a rental-car office. The car is called a 750iL on screen, but the vehicles supplied and modified by BMW were actually 740iLs. Seventeen cars were prepared for the sequence, four with concealed secondary steering.
Driven by
James Bond and Q Branch remote control
Specs
750iL production model: 5.4 L V12, 326 hp, 155 mph
Sources: 007.com: Tomorrow Never Dies anniversary · BMW Group Classic: BMW 750iL E38 · IMCDb: Tomorrow Never Dies vehicles
BMW R 1200 C used for Tomorrow Never DiesPhoto: FR · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
BMW R 1200 C
Other1997
Cruiser used for the joint escape through Saigon
Bond and Wai Lin escape while handcuffed together on the R 1200 C, racing through narrow streets, over rooftops and past a helicopter. The heavy cruiser was made more agile for the stunt work; Jean-Pierre Goy rode with a dummy for the major jump. Like the 7 Series, the model was still new when filming took place.
Driven by
James Bond and Wai Lin
Specs
1,170 cc flat-twin, 61 hp, approximately 104 mph
Sources: 007.com: The action of Tomorrow Never Dies · BMW Group PressClub: R 1200 C specifications · IMCDb: Tomorrow Never Dies vehicles
Production Mercedes-Benz W126Photo: Bull-Doser · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Mercedes-Benz S-Klasse W126
Car
Pursuit cars in the Hamburg garage
Carver's men pursue the remotely controlled BMW in several black W126 saloons. The Mercedes cars are disabled by the BMW's defensive systems; the exact engine variant cannot be established reliably from the available footage.
Driven by
Carver's security men
Sources: IMCDb: Tomorrow Never Dies vehicles
Production Range Rover P38A 4.0 SEPhoto: OSX · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Land Rover Range Rover P38A
Car1995
Off-roader in the parking-garage chase
A Range Rover P38A is among the vehicles boxing in Bond's BMW in the Hamburg parking garage. Like the other pursuing cars, the off-roader is lost in the chaos of the multi-storey structure; its exact engine is not identifiable with confidence.
Driven by
Carver's security men
Sources: IMCDb: Tomorrow Never Dies vehicles
Aero L-39ZO Albatros, the aircraft type used for Bond's escape from the arms bazaarPhoto: VargaA · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Aero Vodochody L-39ZO Albatros
Aircraft
Armed trainer used to escape the arms bazaar
Bond takes an L-39 at the arms bazaar with two nuclear torpedoes under its wings. With an attacker in the rear cockpit, he takes off under fire and escapes the incoming British missile. Several aircraft were dismantled, transported to the high-altitude airfield and rebuilt there for filming.
Driven by
James Bond
Specs
AI-25TL turbofan, maximum 391 mph at 16,400 ft, range 783 miles
Sources: 007.com: Tomorrow Never Dies · Aero Vodochody: L-39 Albatros · IMPDb: Tomorrow Never Dies aircraft
Production Eurocopter AS565 PantherPhoto: Hindrawan · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Eurocopter AS565 Panther
Aircraft
Armed helicopter over Saigon
Carver's men chase Bond and Wai Lin through Saigon in a Panther. The helicopter attempts to trap the motorcycle in narrow streets and on a rooftop before Bond and Wai Lin jump over it and send it crashing into a building.
Driven by
Carver's pilots
Sources: 007.com: The action of Tomorrow Never Dies · IMPDb: Tomorrow Never Dies aircraft
Production Eurocopter AS355Photo: Bernard Spragg. NZ · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Eurocopter AS355
Aircraft
Light helicopter supporting Carver's operations
A twin-engined AS355 appears as part of Carver's airborne support. It complements the larger armed Panther; no visible special modifications are documented.
Driven by
Carver's crew
Sources: IMPDb: Tomorrow Never Dies aircraft
Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (digital dargestellt)
Aircraft
Fighters in Carver's manufactured crisis narrative
Digitally created MiG-23s appear as Chinese fighters. The attribution is fictional within the story, because the People's Republic of China did not operate this Soviet aircraft type.
Driven by
Fictional Chinese pilots
Sources: IMPDb: Tomorrow Never Dies aircraft
Production Fairchild C-123K ProviderPhoto: U.S. Air Force · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Fairchild C-123 Provider
Aircraft
Jump aircraft for Bond's HALO insertion
Bond departs an American base for his high-altitude, low-opening jump over the South China Sea. The Provider carries him to the drop zone; the precise subvariant cannot be established conclusively from the available evidence.
Driven by
US military crew
Sources: IMPDb: Tomorrow Never Dies aircraft
HMS Westminster portrayed several fictional frigates in the filmPhoto: Tony Hisgett · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Royal Navy Type-23-Fregatte HMS Westminster
Boat1992
Doubles for HMS Chester, HMS Devonshire and HMS Bedford
The real HMS Westminster filled several roles, appearing as Devonshire during the sea work and as other frigates in the British task force. Carver's sabotage diverts and sinks Devonshire; later Bedford detects the damaged stealth ship. Names and markings were changed for filming.
Driven by
Royal Navy crew
Sources: 007.com: Tomorrow Never Dies · Royal Navy: HMS Westminster
Carver Media Group Network Tarnkappenschiff
Boat
Fictional stealth vessel with Sea-Vac drill and missile armament
Carver's angular stealth ship is nearly invisible to conventional radar and serves as a mobile command centre. From it he sinks Devonshire and prepares the strike on Beijing. Bond blasts open the hull so the British fleet can acquire the vessel; its technical specifications exist only within the fiction.
Driven by
Richard Stamper and Carver's crew
Sources: 007.com: Tomorrow Never Dies

Gadgets

Ericsson JB988 mobile phone
Q's mobile phone opens into a touchpad from which Bond controls the BMW while lying in the back seat. It also contains a fingerprint scanner, stun gun, lock pick and antenna for unlocking the car.
Sources: 007.com: Tomorrow Never Dies gadgets
Omega Seamaster Professional 300M
Bond's watch carries a remote detonator. In the finale he uses it to trigger the charge placed between two missiles in the stealth ship's magazine.
Sources: 007.com: Tomorrow Never Dies gadgets
GPS encoder
Gupta uses the device to corrupt GPS signals and steer HMS Devonshire into Chinese waters. Bond steals the encoder from Carver's Hamburg headquarters, and its stored values lead him to the wreck.
Sources: 007.com: Tomorrow Never Dies
Walther PPK, Bond's traditional service pistolPhoto: Tomascastelazo · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Walther PPK
The compact service pistol accompanies Bond at the start of the mission. In Saigon the larger P99 takes over as his principal sidearm.
Sources: IMFDb: Tomorrow Never Dies firearms
Walther P99, Bond's new service pistol from the film's second halfPhoto: U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Walther P99
Bond finds the then-new pistol in Wai Lin's armoury and carries it from that point. Its screen debut began the transition from the traditional PPK to the P99 for the remaining Brosnan films.
Sources: 007.com: Tomorrow Never Dies gadgets · IMFDb: Tomorrow Never Dies firearms
Snake bracelet with piton
Wai Lin's bracelet is disguised as snake jewellery and fires a piton attached to a wire. She uses it during her escape across the roof of Carver's Saigon tower.
Sources: 007.com: Tomorrow Never Dies gadgets
Earring lock picks
Wai Lin's earrings double as fine lock picks. She uses them to release her handcuffs while Bond is still considering an escape.
Sources: 007.com: Tomorrow Never Dies gadgets
Dragon statue flamethrower
A small dragon figure in Wai Lin's hideout projects a powerful jet of flame. It is one of several traditional-looking objects that conceal modern weapons.
Sources: 007.com: Tomorrow Never Dies gadgets
Chinese folding fan, matching the disguise of Wai Lin's restraint launcherPhoto: Unknown artist / Saint Louis Art Museum · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Restraint-firing Chinese fan
The fan fires a cord that wraps around and restrains an opponent. Its harmless appearance suits Wai Lin's concealed armoury.
Sources: 007.com: Tomorrow Never Dies gadgets
Projectile rickshaw
A rickshaw in Wai Lin's workshop can launch its seat and rider forwards. The vehicle doubles as cover for an unexpected escape device.
Sources: 007.com: Tomorrow Never Dies gadgets
Chakra torture tools
Dr Kaufman carries surgical-looking instruments intended to inflict precise pain at supposed chakra points. Bond overpowers him before the torture begins.
Sources: 007.com: Tomorrow Never Dies gadgets
Dunhill lighter grenade
A Dunhill lighter is modified into a hand grenade. Bond uses the inconspicuous disguise during the fight aboard the stealth ship.
Sources: 007.com: Tomorrow Never Dies gadgets
Limpet mines of the type Carver's divers use to sabotage DevonshirePhoto: HM Government · OGL v1.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Magnetic limpet mines
Divers attach the flat explosive charges to HMS Devonshire's hull. Their detonation weakens the ship before Carver's drill completes the sinking.
Sources: 007.com: Tomorrow Never Dies
Radar-guided Gatling gun
The stealth ship carries an automatically aimed rotary cannon. Stamper first uses it to kill Devonshire survivors and later turns it against Bond.
Sources: 007.com: Tomorrow Never Dies
Sea-Vac underwater drill
Carver's remotely controlled drill cuts into ship hulls underwater and makes the sinking resemble an accident. In the finale Carver himself is caught by its rotating cutters.
Sources: 007.com: Tomorrow Never Dies

Production and trivia

Filming began in January 1997 while the screenplay was still being revised. The compressed schedule targeted a release in December of the same year.
Bruce Feirstein's story turned a media magnate into an enemy who does not merely report news but creates it. The working title was Tomorrow Never Lies.
With the large stages at Pinewood and Leavesden occupied, the production established its own studio at Frogmore near Radlett. Sets there included a five-storey interior for Carver's headquarters.
Seventeen cars were prepared for the remote-controlled BMW chase. Four received a second steering system operated by a stunt driver hidden behind the driver's seat.
The motorcycle jump over the helicopter used a ramp about 45 feet long. Motorcycle stunt rider Jean-Pierre Goy rode with a passenger dummy, and the rotor blades were added digitally.
Michelle Yeoh performed much of her own fight work. The production recorded about 80 parachute jumps for the skyscraper escape.
The arms-bazaar opening had originally been devised for The Living Daylights. Artificial snow was used for the sequence in the French mountains.
Several jets were dismantled for transport to the high-altitude airfield and reassembled on site. The aerial sequence combined real aircraft, models and visual effects.
David Arnold composed his first Bond score after a recommendation from John Barry. Arnold remained the series' regular composer through Quantum of Solace.
Sheryl Crow performed the title song, which received Golden Globe and Grammy nominations. David Arnold and k.d. lang's alternative theme Surrender plays over the end credits.
The Numbers reports a $110 million budget and a worldwide gross of $339.5 million. 007.com gives the gross as a rounded $333 million.
The film is dedicated to Albert R. 'Cubby' Broccoli, who died in 1996. It was the first Bond production Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson completed after his death.
The German version was produced by Berliner Synchron GmbH Wenzel Lüdecke. Thomas Danneberg wrote and directed the dubbing dialogue; the film received Germany's Goldene Leinwand in 1998.