Volcano Lair

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The Volcano Lair was the fictional headquarters of the terrorist organization SPECTRE during the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice. The entire facility, an enormous launch site for SPECTRE's Bird One spacecraft, was built into an extinct Japanese volcano. An alternate-universe version of the location also appeared in Electronic Arts' 2004 spin-off video game GoldenEye: Rogue Agent. The re-imagined location is no longer a rocket launch-site and sits on a free-standing volcanic island.

History[]

You Only Live Twice[]

This base is located in Matsu island in the direct route between Kobe and Shanghai, it was used by Blofeld to cause space hijackings and provoke war between Russia and USA. In addition to the launch area, the volcano contained the control room, a comfort room where Blofeld was, 3 rooms where the Bird 1 astronauts were and cells where the captured astronauts were kept. This base was first discovered by Bond with a photograph of a boat called Ning-Po that was taken by a tourist who was murdered. Another major part of the discovery is the Osato Chemicals for using lox (in the American slang is rocket fuel). After the hijacking of the Russian spacecraft, this base was infiltrated by Bond in a hurry, entering the crater that was opened by an opening disguised as a lake. After Bond destroys Bird 1, preventing a world war III, the volcano is activated by Blofeld and everyone escapes.

GoldenEye: Rogue Agent[]

The volcano lair later appeared in the 2004 spin-off Bond game, GoldenEye: Rogue Agent. Set in an alternate timeline, the location dubbed "The Lair" serves as a hub of global operations for a shadowy criminal organisation; heavily implied to be SPECTRE. Located on a free-standing volcanic island in the middle of the ocean, the facility's main aircraft hangar is accessible via a large set of launch doors in the crater.

After betraying the organisation, Auric Goldfinger detonates his recently-developed super-weapon, the OMEN, inside the volcano - disintegrating the old guard and declaring himself its new Head. GoldenEye arrives at the volcano lair in Dr. No's aircraft, and signs of battle are everywhere. A broken message from Francisco Scaramanga reveals that prisoners held within the Lair prison have sworn allegiance to GoldenEye and, if freed, will fight for him against Goldfinger’s traitors

Behind the Scenes[]

For the 1967 James Bond film You Only Live Twice, director Lewis Gilbert, producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, production designer Ken Adam and director of photography Freddie Young went to Japan, spending three weeks searching for locations. Initial plans to utilise a shore fortress headquarters for SPECTRE, in keeping with Ian Fleming's novel, were changed to an extinct volcano after the team learned that the Japanese do not build castles by the sea.^[1] The volcano's exterior was Mount Shinmoe-dake, filmed in Kirishimu National Park at the southern tip of Kyūshū, the southern island of Japan.^[1] Its interior was a vast $1 million set, designed by Ken Adam and constructed under canvas at a lot inside Pinewood Studios.^[1][2] With an operative heliport and monorail, the 45 m (148 ft) tall set could be seen from 5 kilometres (3 miles) away, and attracted many people from the region.^[3]

Gallery[]

Interior of The Lair, as seen in GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (2004).

Concept art of The Lair by artist Christian Lorenz Scheurer for GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (2004).

References[]

See also[]

• Saharan Crater Facility