{"id":207,"date":"2015-08-19T15:48:02","date_gmt":"2015-08-19T13:48:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/?p=207"},"modified":"2025-03-18T11:11:20","modified_gmt":"2025-03-18T10:11:20","slug":"jamesbondlivingdaylights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/songsfilms\/jamesbondlivingdaylights\/","title":{"rendered":"The Living Daylights locations"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/khm_small.jpg\" alt=\"Front of Kunsthistorisches Museum\" class=\"wp-image-9016\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/khm_small.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/khm_small-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>This 1987 movie was the fifteenth in the James Bond series and the first to feature Timothy Dalton as the British secret service agent. <em>The Living Daylights<\/em> co-starred Maryam d&#8217;Abo and Vienna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Volksoper, gasometers and Riesenrad make prominent appearances<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Book a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiqets.com\/en\/vienna-walking-tours-l205287\/?partner=visitingvienna&amp;tq_campaign=LG_Film\" rel=\"sponsored\">themed walking tour<\/a>* in Vienna<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>See also:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/vienna-book-song-film\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"1684\">Movie locations in Vienna<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where was The Living Daylights filmed?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Any Bond film is an international production, of course. But several scenes featured Vienna as both a setting and stand-in location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ededed\"><strong>Warning<\/strong>: contains spoilers<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Location map<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div align=\"center\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/0\/embed?mid=1jCDkiz1Hn-Wlaxven3tzwbipLoqvVQo&#038;ehbc=2E312F\" width=\"400\" height=\"300\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:25px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Volksoper and Sofiens\u00e4le<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The opening parts of the movie take place in Bratislava, the capital of Slovakia. At the time, Slovakia was still part of Czechoslovakia and communist, so they filmed the Bratislavan sequences in Vienna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first scenes feature a classical concert where Bond and a colleague await the defection during the interval of Russian general Georgi Koskov.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/volksoper2024a.jpg\" alt=\"Entrance to the Volksoper\" class=\"wp-image-69890\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/volksoper2024a.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/volksoper2024a-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The Volksoper hosts operas, operettas and musicals)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The outside scenes of the Bratislavan concert hall actually show the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/opera\/volksoper\/\">Volksoper<\/a> (the &#8220;People&#8217;s Opera House&#8221;) in Vienna. The inside sequences of the concert itself are not the Volksoper, but Vienna&#8217;s Sofiens\u00e4le.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those interior shots remain a valuable historical record, since the Sofiens\u00e4le burnt down in 2001. It has since been rebuilt and (at the time of writing) houses apartments, a hotel, a fitness centre, a restaurant and an event venue, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Gasometers<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gasometer.jpg\" alt=\"The Gasometer\" class=\"wp-image-47299\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gasometer.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/gasometer-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(One of the Viennese gasometers)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bond eventually makes away with Koskov, but not before injuring a female cellist who seemingly attempted to shoot the fleeing general. A gas pipeline transports the latter to Vienna, where he emerges in the shadow of the city&#8217;s gasometers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These giant gas storage containers went up at the end of the 19th century but fell into disuse. After a brief period of excitement hosting raves, the four remaining tanks were transformed in an urban regeneration program at the turn of the millennium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The containers, which have their own station on the U3 subway line, kept their outer fa\u00e7ade. But the insides and surrounds converted into a shopping center, cinema, concert venue, apartments, etc. (I bought a new guitar there in 2024.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>General Koskov eventually transfers from the gas pipes to a Harrier jet, which makes a vertical take off, emerging out of the top of one of the gasometers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Back to the Volksoper and Sofiens\u00e4le<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/volksoper2024b.jpg\" alt=\"Front view of the Volksoper\" class=\"wp-image-69891\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/volksoper2024b.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/volksoper2024b-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The Volksoper again, as you can probably guess from the writing)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A little later in the film, Bond returns to Bratislava to learn more of the cellist (Kara) who he shot during Koskov&#8217;s escape. Again, we see the Volksoper from the outside and the Sofiens\u00e4le on the inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After the performance, Bond follows Kara onto a tram, a scene which takes place in Gersthof\/W\u00e4hring, Vienna. It&#8217;s not a part of the town you&#8217;d normally visit as a tourist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What mountains?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Bond befriends Kara and then escapes with her to Austria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The pair make novel use of a cello case to evade the chasing bad guys&#8230;&#8221;skiing&#8221; down the snow-covered mountain slopes to cross the border with Austria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Never believe anything you see in the films.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That border chase was filmed in Carinthia in southern Austria. The border between Bratislava and Austria is more like the proverbial pancake: there are no real mountains there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A tour of Vienna<\/h3>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/khmnight.jpg\" alt=\"The Kunsthistorisches Museum at night\" class=\"wp-image-42468\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/khmnight.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/khmnight-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-small-font-size\">(The Art History Museum at night)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Safely in Vienna, Bond shows Kara around in a sequence that takes in a horse and carriage ride between the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/khm\/overview\/\">Kunsthistorisches<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/museums\/natural-history-museum\/\">Naturhistorisches<\/a> museums, a trip through the park behind <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sightseeing\/palace-of-schonbrunn\/\">Sch\u00f6nbrunn Palace<\/a> (complete with orchestra and waltzing couples), and a visit to Palais Schwarzenberg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The pair eventually end up in the Prater &#8211; Vienna&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/entertainment\/wurstelprater-amusement-park\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"35559\">large amusement park<\/a> &#8211; where Bond wins a large cuddly toy on the shooting range and takes Kara for a ride on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/sights\/riesenrad\/\">giant Ferris wheel<\/a>. He arranges for the wheel to stop at the top, giving him an opportune romantic moment to &#8220;kiss the girl.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That Ferris wheel is no stranger to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/songsfilms\/giantferriswheel\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"204\">screen stardom<\/a>. You can also see it in, for example, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/songsfilms\/third-man-locations\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"31222\">The Third Man<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/songsfilms\/before-sunrise-locations\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"36997\">Before Sunrise<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/songsfilms\/vienna-blood-locations\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"22811\">Vienna Blood<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s pretty much the last we see of Vienna in the film. The action soon moves on to Tangiers and other locations, though the credits at the end of the movie roll past to a backdrop of Sch\u00f6nbrunn Palace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This 1987 movie was the fifteenth in the James Bond series and the first to feature Timothy Dalton as the British secret service agent. The Living Daylights co-starred Maryam d&#8217;Abo and Vienna. Where was The Living Daylights filmed? Any Bond film is an international production, of course. But several scenes featured Vienna as both a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9016,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-207","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-songsfilms","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=207"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":81375,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/207\/revisions\/81375"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9016"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.visitingvienna.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}