Twice has Bond visited Ha Long Bay in Vietnam – and twice had it actually been filmed in Thailand. Both places are equally beautiful. As are all other “Tomorrow Never Dies” Movie Locations.
Long before there was “Fake Media” there was Elliot Carver (Jonathan Pryce). The media mogul wants to start a new world war by staging attacks and stirring up anger between the UK and China. Thus, both countries send their best man and woman – James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) and Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh) – around the world to sort things out.
Filming took place in London and Hamburg – a mix-up for Carvers Headquarter. And in Thailand – a mock-up for all places, that are supped to be Vietnam.
Here are all “Tomorrow Never Dies” movie locations in Jamaica and the United Kingdom:
PAKISTAN (aka FRANCE)
The opening scene takes place in the mountainous somewhere between Pakistan and Afghanistan. But the crew never went to the real Khyber Pass, but prepped a terrorist camp in Peyresourde Airfield in France.
UNITED KINGDOM
Bond gets interrupted in his linguistics lesson at Brasenose College of Oxford, with additional scenes at Holywell Street in front of New College. Back in London, Bond gets briefed at Somerset House that doubled as MI6 Headquarters.
The Carver Media Group Network has its base in Hamburg, but the exterior is actually the IBM Headquarter in Feltham. And the printing house is the former Westferry Printers in London. The interiors of Hamburg’s Hotel Atlantic had been filmed at Stoke Park – famously known from “Goldfinger”. The car chase later on had been filmed at Level 4 of the Brent Cross Car Park north of London.
GERMANY
Bond arrives at the Hamburg Airport and gets coached by Q how to maneuver his pimped up rental car. The scenes in the hangar hadn’t been filmed in Hamburg though, this is Hangar 7 at Stansted Airport in London.
Riding into the city, Bond passes the Binnenalster at Lombardsbrücke and stops his car at Mönckebergstraße in front of Sankt Petri Church. The hotel he stays in is the famous Hotel Atlantic close to the Alster. Though the interior scenes had been filmed in the UK, Bond later abseils himself at the façade of the Atlantic and escapes over the roof. The place is normally not accessable, but we were allowed to visit the spot – read about our trip to the Hotel Atlantic here.
The car chase had almost completely been filmed in London, but the finale is Hamburg again: Bond remote-crashes his car through the roof of a shopping center at Mönckebergstraße No. 6 and into the window of the opposing ware house at Mönckebergstraße No. 3. Don’t look for the Avis rental company there. This was just a prep for the movie. An additional location is the roof of the “Saturn” parking deck – mocked with a “Hotel Atlantic” sign – at Mönckebergstraße 1.
JAPAN
Bond preps for the Halo Jump at a US Airbase in Okinawa – but in reality it is RAF Lakenheath back in the UK.
VIETNAM (aka THAILAND)
For the Asian part of the movie, EON Productions wanted to film in Vietman. They had already been applying for visa for their cast and crew – but the Communist state shut them out last minute. Like back in “The Man With The Golden Gun” a neat replacement had been found: Thailand.
All the scenes from Ho-Chi-Minh-City are filmed in Bangkok: The Headquarter of Carver is Sinn Sathorn Tower in the Thonburi district of Bangkok. In the same area, parts of the motorbike chase had been filmed atop the roofs of Tha Dien Daeng and on Chang Nak Alley. The ride cuts to the bridge at Chareonkrung in Samphanthawong area of Bangkok, passed the Golden Mount from Wat Saket and then ensues at busy Chinatown. The dead end, where Bond and Wai Lin bring down the helicopter is a studio set, though.
After the chase, Bond and Wai Lin shower in Makham 2 in Chinatown. Her “shop” is close by in Soi Nana – only exteriors though, the inside were a studio set as well.
Read further: We outlined up all bike chase locations in Bangkok here.
The movie climax later may happen in Ha Long Bay – but had been filmed in the Andaman Seas Phang Nga Bay. Both bays are equally beautiful and you should try to visit both. Go there for diving or simply enjoy the life on a yacht. Plus: Phang Nga Bay hosts the famous James Bond Island from “The Man With The Golden Gun” as well!
For the “Tomorrow Never Dies” movie locations and all other locations of James Bond films, also check our location map right here!
© 1997 Danjaq Inc. and United Artists Pictures Inc. (1,4) © HuntingBond (2,3)