Moonraker (1979)

Taglines: Outer space now belgngs to 007.

Moonraker movie storyline. A space shuttle called the Moonraker, built by Drax Industries, is on its way to the U.K. when it is hijacked in mid-air and the crew of the 747 carrying it is killed. Bond immediately is called into action, and starts the investigation with Hugo Drax. While at the Drax laboratories, Bond meets the brilliant and stunning Dr. Holly Goodhead, a N.A.S.A. astronaut and C.I.A. Agent who is investigating Drax for the U.S. Government.

One of Drax’s thugs, the sinister Chan, attempts to kill 007 at the lab, but when that fails, he follows Bond to Venice and tries again there. Bond and Goodhead follow Drax’s trail to Brazil, where they once again run into the seven-foot Goliath Jaws, a towering giant with metal teeth. Escaping from him, they discover the existence of a huge space station undetected by U.S. or Soviet radar, and a horrible plot by Drax to employ nerve gas in a genocidal project. James and Holly must quickly find a way to stop Hugo Drax before his horrific plans can be put into effect.

Moonraker is a 1979 spy film and the eleventh in the James Bond series produced by Eon Productions, and the fourth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The third and final film in the series to be directed by Lewis Gilbert, it co-stars Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Corinne Cléry, and Richard Kiel. Bond investigates the theft of a Space Shuttle, leading him to Hugo Drax, the owner of the Shuttle’s manufacturing firm. Along with space scientist Dr. Holly Goodhead, Bond follows the trail from California to Venice, Rio de Janeiro, the Amazon rainforest, and finally into outer space to prevent a plot to wipe out the world population and to recreate humanity with a master race.

The story was intended by author Ian Fleming to become a film even before he completed the novel in 1954; he based it on a screenplay manuscript he had devised earlier. The film’s producers had originally intended to make For Your Eyes Only, but chose Moonraker owing to the rise of the science fiction genre in the wake of the Star Wars phenomenon. Budgetary issues led to the film being shot primarily in France; other locations included Italy, Brazil, Guatemala and the United States. The soundstages of Pinewood Studios in England, traditionally used for the series, were only used by the special effects team.

Moonraker was noted for its high production cost of $34 million, more than twice as much as The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), and it received mixed reviews. However, the film’s visuals were praised, with Derek Meddings being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, and it eventually became the highest-grossing film of the series at the time with $210,300,000 worldwide,[4] a record that stood until 1995’s GoldenEye.

Directed by: Lewis Gilbert
Starring: Roger Moore, Lois Chiles, Michael Lonsdale, Richard Kiel, Corinne Cléry, Bernard Lee, Geoffrey Keen, Desmond Llewelyn, Lois Maxwell
Screenplay by: Christopher Wood
Production Design by: Ken Adam
Cinematography by: Jean Tournier
Film Editing by: John Glen
Costume Design by: Jacques Fonteray
Set Decoration by: Peter Howitt
Art Direction by: Charles Bishop, Max Douy
Music by: John Barry
Distributed by: United Artists
Release Date: June 26, 1979