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Casino Royale

Casino Royale is the twenty-first film in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions. It served as a series reboot, resetting its continuity to the start of Bond's career as a 00 and was the first to feature Daniel Craig as 007. The end of the dueling Sherlock Scan scene. 'Christ, I miss the Cold War!' M's rant deserves to be quoted in its entirety: (in hysterics) 'Now the whole world is going to know that you died scratching my balls!!!' 'Utter one more syllable and I'll have you killed.' That last hand.nearly killed me.' I love how James manages to turn Vesper's deeply touched expression into a Moment. In 2002, the James Bond character was used in the 20th movie, Die Another Day, the 40th anniversary of the movies and the 50th anniversary since Fleming wrote his first Bond novel. In 2006, the 21st movie, Casino Royale, was released. Pierce Brosnan, who played James Bond in the previous four movies, was replaced by Daniel Craig, the first. James Bond achieves his 00 status after killing corrupt MI6 section chief Dryden and his underworld contact Fisher. He then goes on to frustrate the schemes of terrorist financier Le Chiffre by ruining his planned terrorist attacks and challenges him at a high-stakes game of Texas hold 'em at the Casino Royale in Montenegro. Casino Royale Villains. From James Bond Wiki. Jump to navigation Jump to search. Bond Villains Home: Villains appearing in Casino Royale.

is Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel that introduces the world to our favorite secret agent. First published in April 13, 1953 by Jonathan Cape, Casino Royale sets the stage for one of the most popular spy-thriller series in literary history. Fleming will go on to write eleven more novels and two short story collections, many of which end up making their way onto the big screen.
Brief Synopsis:
In the 1953 novel, 007 is given the mission to defeat Le Chiffre, a SMERSH agent working for the Russians in a high stakes Baccarat game. This is a situation where the movie has mirrored the novel to the best extent that it possibly can. When the books were written, the whole world was hip deep in the cold war which pitted east against west. All the characters are there, 007, Le Chiffre, Rene Mathis and Vesper Lynd. As the movie depicts Le Chiffre loses ca $100,000,000 of his clients money in a botched terrorist attack against Skyfleet's newest airline. In the book Le Chiffre loses 80,000,000 Francs in a botched real estate deal involving brothels in southern France. Both story lines are fairly similar, his [ Le Chiffre] greed has gotten him into a pickle with his bosses. Hence the high stakes card games to try to win their money back. Baccarat figures into the novel because that was an extremely popular card game at the time, where as Hold'em Poker is today. I assume the differences were so the audience could follow the game.
Key Scenes:

• Camera Bombers
• A game of Baccarat
  
• The nightstick incident
• Bond is tortured
  
• Vesper's farewell note
  

Detailed Synopsis:

Differences Between the Film and the Novel:

• In the film, Rene Mathis is implied to be a traitor. This is never implied in the novel.
• Bond plays Baccarat in the novel while playing Texas Hold 'Em in the film
• SMERSH is behind the villainous plot in the novel while an unnamed terrorist organization heads up the bad guys in the film.
• Bond is a chain smoker in the novel and never touches a cigarette in the film.
• Bond questions whether or not he's cut out for being a secret agent in both the film and the novel. However his motivation for considering retirement differs. In the film, Bond considers retirement so that he can spend the rest of his life in comfort with Vesper. In the novel as well as considerations of Vesper, the danger of the job and his belief that good and evil are not easily distinguished contribute further to his consideration.
• Bond's drinking habits differ between the novel and film. In the film, Bond often drinks to deal with stress. Bond's drinking in the novels is generally connected to relaxation.
  
• Bond never kills anyone in the novel, while in the film, he's a veritable one-man wrecking machine. Bond kills or maims nearly a dozen evil-doers.
• The parkour chase scene unique to the film while the Bulgar camera-bomber scene is unique to the novel.
• Le Chiffre's attempt to sabotage Bond's luck at the gamblingtable differs between the film and the novel. In the novel, one of Le Chiffre's henchman attempts to shoot Bond in the back with a gun concealed inside a walking stick. In the film, Bond is poisoned by one of Le Chiffre's henchmen.
• The torture scene is significantly different than in the film. In the novel, Fleming focuses on Bond's mind and the toll that the torture is taking on it. This is confirmed in CH 20, where we see Bond deciding to retire from MI6 because of the thinking he's done as a result of the torture. In the film, Bond is defiant to the end, as the focus is on the destruction of his body. This is a crucial difference that highlights the differences between the cinematic and literary Bonds. In the Book, Bond is broken by Le Chiffre.You don't get that sense in the movie. While he's being beaten, Bond is busy making witty comments. We don't see these comments in the novel. Bond is beaten, and then passes out. Rinse and repeat. He's beaten to the point where he's not able to draw enough moisture in his mouth to speak. Fleming tells us that Bond uses a number of mental strategies to survive the torture. In the film, we assume that Bond's survival is based more on his physical endurance.
• After the torture scene, we follow Bond through his recovery, his developing relationship with Vesper, and a philosophical conversation with Mathis about good and evil. These philosophical tangents that Fleming seems to take us on in each of the books, and it's something I miss in the movies. As Bond struggles with distinguishing between himself and Le Chiffre along a moral continuum, we understand that Bond is not the 'blunt instrument' that the cinematic M accuses him to be, but rather he's a conflicted, thoughtful character who struggles with the non-categorical nature of human existence and experience. His philosophical speech does, however make an appearance inQuantum of Solace, only it is said by Mathis not Bond.
  
• Bond has a long history of working with Mathis in the novel. In the film, he meets him for the first time.
  
• Bond isn't a snob about his image in the book as he is in the films. In the novels, his taste in fine clothes, food, and drink are a product of his attention to detail. In the films, all we know is that Bond knows every vintage and takes pride in telling people how things are 'supposed to be' done.
• The Muntz couple spy on Bond in the novel. They don't appear in the film.
• Vesper runs the emotional gambit throughout the novel. She was upbeat when we first met her, but then after the game, she's down. She's upbeat when she's planning what they're going to do in Bond's hotel room, and then she's down on the way to the seaside getaway. Vesper remains emotionally stable through the film, except at the end.
• In order to get a '00' you need to make two kills, one of which has to be using your hands (bare, knife, garotte. etc). In the movie while Bond does fight the guy in the bathroom he ends up shooting him (probably for that cool gun-barrel sequence), an oversight that would cost him his '00' status but is glossed over in the film.
  

Key Passages and Commentary:

Casino Royale James Bond Movie

• Bond on Casinos: The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning. Then the soul-erosion produced by high gambling - a compost of greed nd fear and nervoud tension - becomes unbearable and the senses awake and revolt from it. James Bond suddenly knew that he was tired. He always knew when his body or his mind had had enough and he always acted on the knowledge. This helped him to avoid staleness and the sensual bluntness that breeds mistakes.
• Commentary: The first sentence of Chapter 1 sets the stage for a different Bond than we're used to in the films. Fleming begins the novel by describing how casinos disgust Bond: 'The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning.' It could be the casino, or it could be the 'seventieth cigarette' that Bond's smokes by the end of Chapter 1. We rarely see cases where the cinematic Bond is effected at all by his environment. Bond never shivers, he never has the sun in his eyes, he generally doesn't sweat, and he certainly doesn't take notice of the stench that emerges from casinos. Bond smokes occasionally in the early films... but 70 cigarettes a day... he's clearly not in control of his smoking habit. In Chapter 6, we see a few more examples of Bond-as-human as opposed to Bond-as-superhero. During the hatted bomber scene, once the bombs go off prematurely, Bond gets back to his feet and vomits. After Mathis has collected him and he's back in his hotel room, Bond stares out the window 'enjoying being alive'. In these two scenes, we see Bond react physically to being in a stressful situation, and then we see him reflect back on his near-death experience.
• Bond on Food and Drink: 'You must forgive me,' he said. 'I take ridiculous pleasure in what I eat and drink. It comes partly from being a bachelor, but mostly from a habit of taking a lot of trouble over details. It's very pernickety and old maidish really, but then when I'm working I generally have to eat my meals alone and it makes them more interesting when one takes trouble.'
• Commentary: Here's a core difference between book-Bond and movie-Bond. And it's one of perception. It's just assumed that Bond is a snob about clothes, food, drink..everything. Actually, he's a planner and works things out to the finest detail, in his work and private life—our reading this week starts with him, taking a considerable amount of time working out the details and permutations of his baccarat duel with LeChiffre.
• Bond on his Double-O distinction: 'In the past two years, I've only killed two villains'?
• Commentary: That means: 1) he doesn't kill that often despite that license to kill, and 2) one of those kills was a 'clean' sniper rifle attack (he'll talk about it again in the series). Those two kills got him the '00' status (as per the movie). But his conversation takes on a philosophical tone. He says that (at the time the novel was written) British Conservatism looks a lot like Communism did 50 years previous. This leads into his discussion of good and evil in the passage below.
  
• Bond on Good and Evil: 'I've decided to resign... When I was being beat up, I suddenly like the idea of being alive... History is moving pretty quickly these days and the heroes and villains keep on changing parts... Le Chiffre was serving a wonderful purpose, a really vital purpose, perhaps the best and highest purpose of all. By his evil existence, which foolishly I have helped to destroy, he was creating a norm of badness by which, and by which alone, an opposite norm of goodness could exist. We were privileged, in our short knowledge of him, to see and estimate his wickedness and we emerge from the acquaintanceship better and more virtuous men...' Mathis opened the door and stopped on the threshold. 'Surround yourself with human beings, my dear James. They are easier to fight for than principles.' He laughed. 'But don't let me down and become human yourself. We would lose such a wonderful machine'.
• Commentary: In this passage, we see Bond in an internal struggle focused on moral relativity, i.e. that there isn't a universal definition of good and evil. Bond argues that evil in the word is necessary to define good. In other words, he believes that good is defined in opposition to evil. Without evil men like Le Chiffre, there cannot be good men. Mathis' advice to Bond hints that he believes that men such as Bond can't be so philosophical. They have to be focused on their duty, on the task at hand, like a machine. It will always be impossible for Bond to distinguish between good and evil. Mathis councils him to focus on people, not ideas. People are concrete while ideas are abstract and dynamic. However, by the end of the novel, we see that people are just as complex as ideologies, as Vesper's torn between love (an abstract concept) and the reality of her betrayal of Bond. In the end, Bond chose to surround himself with people, but was surprised that, like ideologies, people can't be easily compartmentalized into 'good' and 'evil'. We leave Bond at the end of the novel not really knowing whether Vesper is someone that we feel bad for, or whether she's a '*****'. Bond clearly decides, but does that mean he's decided to forsake people in favor of ideology? We're left unsure. This is part of the beauty of Fleming's craft. Fleming's Bond is torn and tortured by his own understanding and experiences in the world. Life isn't as simple as 'do your job' or 'reject authority' as it is in the films.
  

Discussion:	Question 1:	Question 2:	Question 3:
<a href='../thread/2225834/Book+Club%3A+Ch+1-7' target='_self'>Chapters 1-7</a>	What are your first impressions of Le Chiffre? How is he described? What three adjectives do you think best reflect Le Chiffre's personality/history?	Since we all have an image of Bond in our mind, were you surprised about the way that Fleming describes him in the first few chapters of the novel? Why or why not? Can you identify any passages that describe Bond in a way that was surprising for you?	What kind of relationship does Bond have with M, Felix, and Mathis? Can you point to specific passages that demonstrate these relationships? How are the relationships similar to or different from the film?
<a href='../thread/2271200/Book+Club%3A+Casino+Royale+Ch.8-15' target='_self'>Chapters 8-15</a>	The conspiracy with 'the Bulgars' has never made it into the films. Why do you suppose that is? Can you think of a scenario that might work just as well with the same element of surprise and double-cross?	We have two dinners with Vesper Lynd: Compare and contrast. Pick out sections of description and dialog to support your view. Compare them with their similar scenes in the 2006 film.	The game: think about the battles interior and exterior--within the game and without. Why do you think Fleming provides so much dialog with the peripheral characters? The 'night-stick' incident: How do you feel about that, and why do you suppose it's not in the film?
<a href='../thread/2304508/Book+Club%3A+Ch.+16-22' target='_self'>Chapters 16-22</a>	How is the torture scene different in the novel than in the film? How are they similar? How does Bond handle himself? How is he able to deal with the pain? Compare his capture in the novel with your favorite capture scene from any of the films. What do we learn about SMERSH during this scene?	Bond doubts whether he's cut out for the secret agent profession during his conversation with Mathis at the beginning of his recovery. What does Bond struggle with? How does Bond understand the relationship between 'good' and 'evil'? What's Mathis' perspective? Do their perspectives match your own? Why or why not.	Bond and Vesper have their third substantive conversation together in CH 21-22. How does it differ from the previous conversations? What do we learn about both Bond and Vesper? How do they react differently to the 'hastening saloon'? Is this significant? Why or why not.
<a href='../thread/2338454/Book+Club%3A+Ch.+23-27' target='_self'>Chapters 23-27</a>	What do you think of Vesper's decision? Despite its obvious effect on Bond (which she knew), do you think it was enough to save his life? Was there a better alternative? What might it have been?	Do you think of James Bond differently now that you've read this book? I'm thinking of the key phrase: 'The business of espionage could be left to the white collar boys. They could spy, and catch the spies. He would go after the threat behind the spies, the threat that made them spy.' What does that say about his job? What does that say James Bond thinks his job is?	The book's final, famous line. Do you think that's what he really thinks? Why, do you suppose? What does that say about James Bond? Finally, that line is so controversial--do you think the recent film got away with including it without making the audience mad? What can you point to that made it work? The End of 'Casino Royale' James Bond will return in: 'Live and Let Die' (1954)

Book Jackets:

Vesper

IBA official cocktail
Type	Cocktail
Primary alcohol by volume
Served	Straight up; without ice
Standard garnish	lemon twist
Standard drinkware	Cocktail glass
IBA specified ingredients	4.5 cl gin 1.5 cl vodka 0.75 cl Lillet Blanc
Preparation	Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add the garnish.
Timing	Before dinner
Cocktail glasses are commonly used instead of Champagne goblets in modern versions of this drink. Lillet Blanc should be substituted with Cocchi Americano for a closer approximation of the original cocktail. Vesper recipe at International Bartenders Association

The Vesper or Vesper Martini is a cocktail that was originally made of gin, vodka, and Kina Lillet. The formulations of its ingredients have changed since its original publication in print, and so some modern bartenders have created new versions which attempt to more closely mimic the original taste.

Origin[edit]

The drink was invented and named by Ian Fleming in the 1953 James Bond novel Casino Royale.

'A dry martini,' he said. 'One. In a deep champagne goblet.'

'Oui, monsieur.'

'Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?'

'Certainly monsieur.' The barman seemed pleased with the idea.

'Gosh, that's certainly a drink,' said Leiter.

Bond laughed. 'When I'm ... er ... concentrating,' he explained, 'I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold, and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink's my own invention. I'm going to patent it when I think of a good name.'

Fleming continues with Bond telling the barman, after taking a long sip, 'Excellent ... but if you can get a vodka made with grain instead of potatoes, you will find it still better,' and then adds in an aside, 'Mais n'enculons pas des mouches'^[1] (English: 'But let's not bugger flies'—a vulgar French expression meaning 'let's not split hairs'). Felix Leiter jokingly suggests Bond name his drink the Molotov Cocktail.

In the next chapter, 'Pink Lights and Champagne', Bond names the drink the Vesper. At the time of his first introduction to the beautiful Vesper Lynd, he asks her name in an interrogation indirecte, 'I can't drink the health of your new frock without knowing your Christian name.' After learning her name, Bond decides that it is perfect for his recently invented cocktail. He tells Vesper that his search for a name is over if she will permit him to name the drink after her.

A Vesper differs from Bond's usual cocktail of choice, the martini, in that it uses both gin and vodka, Kina Lillet instead of the usual dry vermouth, and a lemon peel instead of an olive. Although there is a lot of discussion on the Vesper, it is only ordered by Bond once throughout Fleming's novels – although Bond drinks the Vesper in the film Casino Royale – and by later books Bond is ordering regular vodka martinis, though he also drinks regular gin martinis. Felix Leiter ordered a Vesper for Bond in the novel Diamonds Are Forever, albeit with Cresta Blanca in place of Kina Lillet, which Bond politely remarks is the 'Best Vermouth I ever tasted.'^[2] It may be that Fleming decided not to have Bond order a Vesper again due to the way in which Casino Royale ends.

In actuality, the book version of the Vesper was created by Fleming's friend Ivar Bryce. In Bryce's copy of Casino Royale Fleming inscribed 'For Ivar, who mixed the first Vesper and said the good word.' In his book You Only Live Once, Bryce details that Fleming was first served a Vesper, a drink of a frozen rum concoction with fruit and herbs, at evening drinks by the butler of an elderly couple in Jamaica, the Duncans, the butler commenting, 'Vespers' are served.' Vespers or evensong is the sixth of the seven canonical hours of the divine office and are observed at sunset, the 'violet hour', Bond's later chosen hour of fame for his martini Vesper.^[3]

However, the cocktail has been misrecorded after mishearing the name in several instances, resulting in its being alternatively named 'Vespa'.^[4]

Contemporary versions[edit]

Since Kina Lillet was discontinued in 1986 and the proof of Gordon's Gin was cut in 1992, the original recipe can no longer be made exactly. Substitutes can be made that attempt to recapture the original flavour of the drink:

• Lillet Blanc is still available, but Kina Lillet additionally included quinine (hence its name).^[5][6]Cocchi Americano can be used as a substitute to recreate the original recipe,^[7] which has a more bitter finish than using Lillet Blanc.^[8]
• For a more traditional flavour, 50% (100-proof) vodka is used to bring the alcohol content of the vodka back to 1953 levels, with grain vodka being preferred.^[9]
• Tanqueray, Bombay Sapphire, American Beefeater, or Broker's gin provides the traditional flavour of 47% (94 proof) gin, whereas Gordon's Gin, in the UK domestic market, has been cut to 37.5% (75 proof); in spite of this, a 47.3% (94.6 proof) export version of Gordon's Gin still exists today.^[5] (The extra dilution caused by shaking is the reason to prefer it over stirring in this high-alcohol drink.)

Esquire printed the following update of the recipe in 2006:

Shake (if you must) with plenty of cracked ice. 3 oz Tanqueray gin, 1 oz 100-proof [50%] Stolichnaya vodka, ​¹⁄₂ oz Lillet Blanc, ​¹⁄₈ teaspoon (or less) quinine powder or, in desperation, 2 dashes of bitters. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and twist a large swatch of thin-cut lemon peel over the top.

The recipe concluded, 'Shoot somebody evil.'^[10]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abFleming, Ian (1953). Casino Royale. Glidrose Productions. p. 45. ISBN0-14-200202-X.
2. ^Fleming, Ian (1956). Diamonds Are Forever. Thomas & Mercer. p. 71. ISBN9781612185460.
3. ^Bryce, Ivar (1975). You Only Live Once - Memories of Ian Fleming (Biography). Weidenfeld and Nicolson Productions. p. 106. ISBN0-297-77022-5.
4. ^'Pre made cocktails: the bartender's secret'. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
5. ^ ^ab'The Vesper'.
6. ^Embury, David (1948). The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. Doubleday.
7. ^Leah Hyslop (19 June 2015). 'How to make a James Bond martini'. The Telegraph.
8. ^Serious Eats, The Vesper Cocktail Recipe
9. ^DTS (2010-07-04). 'The Vesper'. Summer Fruit Cup. Retrieved 2017-04-10.
10. ^David Wondrich, 'James Bond Walks Into a Bar...,' Esquire, 1 November 2006.

External links[edit]

• Wondrich, David. 'James Bond Walks Into A Bar... and orders a Vesper, a cocktail that hasn't aged too well. Here, a remake.'Esquire magazine. Retrieved March 1, 2016.
• 'Shaken and Stirred, James Bond Loves His Booze'TIME magazine. Retrieved November 12, 2008.