The 'Casino Royale' Teaser Trailer – Shot By Shot

Written by Stuart Basinger

The Casino Royale teaser trailer was released to excitement and praise from fans. Without a doubt, whether a James Bond fan liked the trailer or not, it was certainly something to talk about.

Stuart Basinger, who posts as ‘Doctor Shatterhand’ on the CBn forums, now presents a view on the Casino Royale trailer from a different perspective. Examining the teaser as an editor, he gives us a look at what we may have missed…

• Shot 01: Fade into a black and white shot of car approaching building. Steam rising from street. Very film noir – i.e.: The Third Man to recent Sin City. Building appears to be a business. Fade to black.
• Shot 02: Cut in B&W of Bond kicking man across face. Toilet stall doors in background. One door open with toilet. Paper or toilet roll on top of toilet. Trash can on far right of shot, small piece of paper or something on ground near trash can. Man Bond is hitting is wearing a shirt with a design on it. Looks similar to the shirt he is wearing when he chases after Mollaka through the construction site (more on that later) Flash from to black.
• Shot 03: Cut in B&W of Bond round housing man across urinals. Bathroom sinks can be seen in background as well as door. Cut to black.
• Shot 04: Fade into B&W shot of man (not Bond) walking towards building. We are led to assume this is the same building that the car drove up to. Man is carrying some bag or case in his left hand. Man has dark hair and looks like he is walking through an opened air garage building. We hear Judi Dench as “M” saying “Any thug can kill.” – Fade to black.
• Shot 05: Cut into a B&W Close-up (CU) of 50ish man as he turns frame left. He is nicely dressed with stripe shirt, tie and winter business coat. The background shows in soft focus an upscale ultra modern business office.
• Shot 06: Cut to B&W Medium shot of Bond with silencer aiming gun towards frame right. There is a four frame negative frame effect to mimic gunfire.
• Shot 07: Cut to B&W Medium shot of man sitting behind desk falling backwards-presumed shot. Desk lamp is in foreground. NOTE: Man does not appear to have stripe shirt with tie. This man may not be the same man seen in Shot 05.
• Shot 08: Cut to Wide shot (WS) of man continuing to fall backwards in chair. Negative frame effect added again to the violence at beginning of shot. We can now see the top of the desk which is clean except for a folder with gloves on top. Background shows a lit building. Office is very art deco. Soft cut to black.
• Shot 09: Fade from black – B&W Medium shot of glass elevator ascending frame right. Elevator is tubular. Another tubular elevator is seen stopped higher in the left hand corner of the frame. Building looks very art deco. Judi Dench is heard saying, “I want you to take your ego out of the equation.”
• Shot 10: Cut to B&W Medium shot of internal elevator doors opening with figure of man partially seen. We assume this is Bond but it could be anyone. NOTE: The DOWN ELEVATOR light is seen illuminated in the top right hand corner. In SHOT 09, the elevator was seen ascending. Rear wall of elevator does not look like glass or for that matter tubular. This leads me to believe these are two totally separate shots and scenes. Daniel Craig can be heard saying, “So you want me to be half monk, half hit man?” Fade to black.
• Shot 11: Cut to B&W Medium shot of black assassin with machete swinging at Daniel Craig (wearing a tuxedo) in stairwell. Assassin’s machete hits an electrical box or wire. Assassin is wearing a jacket with some emblem on the back. A door can be seen swinging close. One can assume that the assassin came out of this door as Bond was climbing the stairs.
• Shot 12: Cut to B&W Medium 2 shot of Bond and black assassin with machete as Bond elbows a blow into assassin’s face. The machete falls off frame. They appear to be in another part of the stairwell since the background looks different. Flash frame to black.
• Shot 13: Cut to B&W Medium shot low angle of Assassin falling head over heals down stairs while Bond leans up against stairwell wall. This shot appears to be a continuation from Shot 11.
• Shot 14: Cut to B&W wide shot low angle as camera shoots up stairwell. The shot looks as if the Assassin has been tossed over the railing from previous Shot 13, and is falling down the stairwell. However, this shot looks as if it comes before Shot 11 and Shot 12. One can see someone standing on the top step of the stairwell, but the door at the top of the stairs (top of frame right) has swung opened and a pair of arms can be seen. It appears they have tossed a man over the stair railings. The sleeves of the arms looks like the sleeves of a tuxedo. Assuming it is Bond who has tossed a bad guy thru the door. There is also a woman in the corner of the stairwell. You can just make out her bare arms. She is wearing a dark colored dress, perhaps black. She has dark hair and seems to be shoulder length. No idea who she is. Soft cut to black.
• Shot 15: Cut to CU of Judi Dench in B&W turning towards us. Her lips are not moving but we hear her say, “I knew it was too early to promote you.” Fade to black.
• Shot 16: Fade into B&W low angle Medium CU shot of Bond in open collar shirt and light color sport suit walking away from a seaplane. He is wearing dark sunglasses and seems to be focused on something or someone off frame. A person can be seen walking into the lower part of the frame as the shot fades to black.
• Shot 17: Fade into B&W medium shot of Bond sitting wearing a black or dark colored jacket. The room is assumed to be either M’s office or her apartment. It could be his hotel room as far as we are concern and Bond is talking to another character. Daniel Craig is seen saying the words, “What I understand Double-Os have a very short life expectancy.”
• Shot 18: Cut to B&W Wide shot of Craig turning towards camera and shooting at our point-of-view (POV) as the gun barrel motif envelopes the frame. Red blood is seen flowing from the top of the frame and introduces color for the first time in this teaser. The gun barrel has a few negative red frame effects as the gun barrel zooms out. NOTE: The toilet stall doors are neatly closed and the trash can is missing. I am beginning to wonder if this shot is in the final film or out of sequence, or just shot for the teaser.

From this point on all shots are in color.

• Shot 19: CU of a stone faced Bond driving a bulldozer as the window in the foreground is riddled with bullets. A yellow sign is hanging behind Craig’s head saying NEW HOLLAND.
• Shot 20: Wide shot from a birds eye view (looking downward) of a building under construction. Men are seen running for their lives as Bond drives bulldozer into the side of the building. Concrete is seen spraying upwards over the site.
• Shot 21: Cut to Medium wide shot (MWS) as Bond in dark blue short sleeve shirt removes sunglasses as he walks towards camera. A colonial building can be seen in background. Palm trees can be seen behind Bond. A white man in a white dress shirt, gray pants, and green tie is seen walking behind Bond. He is carrying his hat and suit jacket in his right hand. His white shirtsleeves are rolled up to his elbows. No idea who he is.
• Shot 22: Cut to the first of any unusual gadgets in this teaser. CU of a suitcase x-ray machine that is scanning an arm of a man with a dark blue shirtsleeve shirt. We are assuming this is Bond’s arm. Another hand can be seen holding onto the side of the suitcase. The scanner has a ring that moves back and forth along the arm of the person. Other items can be seen inside the case but I cannot tell what they are.
• Shot 23: CU of another case this time with a screen of the arm in x-ray mode as it scans. Dots and numbers change as the scanner moves. Tropical vegetation can be seen in the background.
• Shot 24: Cut to MWS of 5 men running away from camera towards large wooden doors in center of frame. The men are dressed in military outfits with red berets. They are carrying machine guns. The door opens to a courtyard.
• Shot 25: Cut to a hallway with windows. Bond dressed in a pattern shirt that looks like it is two sizes to small for him (looks like the same shirt the bad guy wore in Shots 02 and 03 – maybe). He is seen hitting the back of the soldier’s head with his gun. The soldier obviously did not know what hit him as he begins to fall. Bond is wearing a very large watch or some wristband. The background has some kind of wooden table with buckets on the floor.
• Shot 26: Cut to Solange, in a very sexy red evening dress walking towards frame right. It is late evening. She appears to be carrying a purse. In the foreground it appears to be the front end of the Aston Martin DB5. The building or house in the background has large white pillars, deck chairs and a tropical painting. A ceiling fan can be seen rotating at the top of frame left.
• Shot 27: Cut to a CU of Bond’s back covered with sand and the first shot of Eva Green as Vesper Lynd as she moves into frame behind Bond. Her eyes have a very caring and loving look. She is wearing something that glitters, perhaps a necklace.
• Shot 28: Cut to a MCU 2 shot of Bond and Vesper embraced and kissing on the beach. Vesper can be seen in a white beach shirt. The ocean can be seen in the background.
• Shot 29: Cut to a CU of a slow trucking shot into Le Chiffre’s face as he watches someone or something from behind white curtains.
• Shot 30: Cut to CU Dutch tilt (slanted camera angle i.e.: 1960’s Batman) of blonde woman rising into frame from ocean. This shot was assumed by fans to have been Solange or Vesper as the woman rises and the shot dissolves showing the woman’s shapely legs and dark blue swimming suit as she steps onto a ship’s ladder. The actress is Ivana Milicevic playing the part of Valenka (and from where I’m sitting, things are shaping up very well).
• Shot 31: Cut to a WS of Sebastien Foucan as Mollaka performing his unique Parkour stunts. He is seen jumping onto a rust colored tank as he prepares to jump to the next landing. A pair of tall contruction cranes can be seen in the background. It appears he is on a rooftop. A person can be seen running behind him in the shadows. One can only assume this is Bond.
• Shot 32: Cut to Mollaka leaping to a blue construction elevator. The camera is shooting upwards. A building under construction is part of the set piece.
• Shot 33: MWS – A continuation of the previous shot as Mollaka leaps from the blue contruction elevator and lands in front of us. He looks as if he jumped down three stories.
• Shot 34: MS – A fiery explosion envelopes the background as five men are blown up. These men look like the military men from Shot 24. Except that one of the men is wearing a tie without a red beret. All five men fall forwards.
• Shot 35: A MCU of a chain-linked fence with a white rectangular metal box, a wooden frame, some canisters and a yellow construction hardhat seem to be exploding towards us. NOTE: There is a folded paper advertisement that is in the center of the frame. It is hard to make out what it says on it but I am assuming the first words on the paper say CASINO in a serif font.
• Shot 36: Late evening. MS of Aston Martin DB5 driving towards us. Assuming Bond is arriving to pick up Solange. There is a blue license tag on the front end.
• Shot 37: MS of Bond walking towards camera in surf framed right. Craig looking buff in blue swimming trunks. This shot is for the women fans.
• Shot 38: Medium CU of Solange in green swimming suit petting her white horse. Assuming she is watching Bond walking out of the ocean. A white colonial house can be seen behind her. I am assuming this is the house we saw her walking from in Shot 26. She has a very sensual look on her face.
• Shot 39: Extreme WS of two contruction cranes. The shot is panning from left to right and the foreground crane is rotating, as a man appears to be leaping off of one crane to another. There is another man inside the white control booth of the foreground crane. Assuming he is either Bond or Mollaka. The person falling we assume is Bond. But if one looks careful the person falling is not even close enough to the second crane to grab hold. I assume this is actually Mollaka and that Bond has made the crane move and forced Mollaka to fall.
• Shot 40: MS – Bond has fallen off of the crane and is hanging on for dear life. The teaser makes it look like Bond has leaped from one crane to the other.
• Shot 41: Wide shot of Mollaka above the crane as Bond struggles to hang on under the crane. In the background you can see a river. The shot is filmed from a helicopter and you can see we are flying over them.
• Shot 42: CU of a white hand (a man?) carrying a sharp knife. The hand belongs to a man who is wearing a gray jacket.
• Shot 43: CU of Bond framed right as a white hand with a gold ring grabs his shoulder. Bond is wearing a black jacket and gray shirt. Something off-white and out of focus is in the foregound framed left. A man is seen behind Bond’s left shoulder, with a cap, walking away from camera.
• Shot 44: CU of gray jacket man with knife against Bond’s back. Bond swings around and grabs the knife. There are people behind them and it looks like a party. Shots 42, 43 and 44 are sequential since the man with the knife is also the same man with the gold ring.
• Shot 45: Extreme WS of speed boat chasing alongside seaplane. Cannot tell who is in the boat.
• Shot 46: MS of Bond leaping out of window. Camera follows him. The room he is in looks like an office with a card filing cabinet framed left and a desk framed right. Small pieces of paper is flying up on the right hand side of the frame. I assume Bond is being shot at and is trying to escape.
• Shot 47: Low angle shot of Bond leaping from small platform. The cranes can be seen in the background.
• Shot 48: MS of door being kicked in towards us as Craig, wearing patterned shirt, runs towards us. A broken lock is seen hanging on frame right. Construction lights are seen standing in the background.
• Shot 49: High angle shot as Bond, in patterned shirt, hits simultaneously two red beret guards while a cloud of dust rises quickly from frame right.
• Shot 50: Vesper and Bond embraced and kissing in the ocean. One is assuming Vesper is naked.
• Shot 51: High angle shot as construction site building explodes and men are seen running for their lives in bottom left frame. Top center frame, a single man in a long jacket is seen standing – unaffected by the explosion.
• Shot 52: Birds Eye View of Bond running on top level of building while Mollaka is running beneath him. The building and area looks like a ghetto. The last frame of this shot looks as if Bond is about to leap down on top of Mollaka.
• Shot 53: MS – Trucking shot of red beret soldiers in foreground shooting at second level part of building. The building looks like the same style as the colonial building in Shot 21. Bullets can be seen hitting scaffolding.
• Shot 54: Trucking shot as Bond holding down Mollaka while shooting his gun. Bond dodges bullets from the red beret soldiers. A ladder is seen in the foreground. A red light is on in the top left hand corner of the frame. Assuming this is an alarm.
• Shot 55: Medium CU of Solange and Bond rolling together as they begin to make love. Solange is wearing a necklace with a symbol that looks like a ‘W’. Bond’s shirt is unbuttoned.
• Shot 56: Medium CU of construction workers being blown up. One man is flying head over heel over a table. A bridge and part of a crane can be seen in the background.
• Shot 57: CU of Bond, running and shooting his gun while holding Mollaka down. Continuation of Shot 54.
• Shot 58: CU of white hands tearing up the five of spades. The hands belong to a man who is dressed in a white shirt and off white pants. A silver watch is on his left wrist. We can only assume this is Le Chiffre after he is beaten by Bond at cards.
• Shot 59: Fade from black – Animated graphic of OO7 as it becomes part of the title Casino Royale.
• Shot 60: Cut to Daniel Craig as James Bond, in tuxedo, sitting alone at a card table with chips. The card table has the words Casino Royale written in the center. The camera is sped up to zoom into his face as he looks directly at us.
• Shot 61: The famous OO7 logo graphic flies from us and morphs into November 17th.

Stay tuned to CBn for all the latest news on Casino Royale and all things James Bond.

Casino Royale is the 21st James Bond film produced by franchise holders Eon Productions. The MGM/Columbia Pictures production began shooting in January and is due for release worldwide on 17 November 2006. Starring Daniel Craig as James Bond, it is currently being filmed in the Czech Republic, the Bahamas, Italy and the UK.

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