56596

1979 (Copyright)
1978-08-14 (Production)
1979-09-28 (Release)

United Kingdom, France

Danjaq S.A., Eon Productions, Les Productions Artistes Associés

Spy adventure. British agent James Bond is assigned to investigate the disappearance of a US-British 'Moonraker' space shuttle which was stolen while being transported across the Atlantic. Bond visits the US estate of space industrialist Hugo Drax, whose company builds the Moonrakers. Drax lives in an opulent reconstructed French chateau in green countryside, at odds with the arid landscape around. With the help of Drax's pilot Corinne, Bond learns that Drax has been using specially made glass containers made by a Venetian glass factory. Investigating a secret laboratory in the glass factory, Bond finds that the containers are being filled with a poison fatal to humans but not to animals. From here Bond goes to Drax's warehouse in Rio de Janeiro. Bond teams up with the CIA's Dr Holly Goodhead (who was supposedly a mere employee of Drax's, on loan from NASA) and they find themselves pursued by Jaws, the tall assassin with metal teeth. Finally discovering Drax's secret base in the Brazilian rainforest, Bond and Holly sneak onto a Moonraker and fly into space. Drax has built a space station undetectable from Earth, from which he plans to poison the human race and return with his own master race. Bond and Holly try to stop him. (Synopsis)

Budget note: In his memoirs, [2nd unit director] John Glen reported the budget of 'Moonraker' as $30m, more than twice the budget of the previous James Bond film ($13.5m for 'The Spy Who Loved Me'.) Stunts note: According to John Glen, the pre-title skydiving stunt sequence took 88 jumps, with each jump affording about three seconds of footage.

Directed by: Lewis Gilbert
©: Danjaq S.A.
A Franco-British co-production made by: Eon Productions
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Roger Moore (James Bond 007)
Lois Chiles (Holly Goodhead)
Michael Lonsdale (Hugo Drax)
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