Rank the James Bond villain lairs

Once again, we’re continuing with a new James Bond list. This week, we’ll be giving our rankings of the villains’ lairs in the series–with Never Say Never Again being eligible to be included with the EON series.

So, how do you rank the Bond villain lairs?

Here’s mine:

  1. Blofeld’s Hollowed-Out Volcano – (Ken Adam) – YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE – The villain’s lair to end all villains’ lairs–inside or outside of Bond. Ken Adam’s masterpiece.

  2. Stromberg’s Atlantis Undersea Base – (Ken Adam) – THE SPY WHO LOVED ME – Great idea and well executed rising up out of the sea and back down again. Would be the top spot in most instances if only Adam hadn’t already done the hollowed-out volcano.

  3. Blofeld’s Piz Gloria Clinic Hideaway – (Syd Cain) – ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE – Great spot for a villain’s lair. Another iconic set/setting. I’ve actually been there and it still looks a lot like it did back in 1969.

  4. Drax’s Space Station – (Ken Adam) – MOONRAKER – You can’t get any further out there than outer space and Adam runs wild (in a good way) with his final villain’s lair.

  5. Scaramanga’s Island – (Peter Murton) – THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN – Great out of the way setting for a lair. Perhaps the most picturesque of the bunch.

  6. Trevelyan’s Satellite Dish Bunker – (Peter Lamont) – GOLDENEYE – A nice, hidden bunker away from prying eyes. Only a man like James Bond could infiltrate it.

  7. No’s Crab Key Bunker – (Ken Adam) – DR. NO – The first lair set a template for all others to follow. While not having a huge budget, Adam very effectively makes the most of what he has, and it’s STILL better than most of what followed.

  8. Safin’s Island Bunker – (Mark Tildesley) – NO TIME TO DIE – A nice lair that is better than the movie it is in.

  9. Kristatos’ Clifftop Monastery – (Peter Lamont) – FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – A unique setting for a villain’s lair, but it works. Makes for a great scene with Bond scaling (and falling off) the cliff.

  10. Blofeld’s Meteor Crater Base – (Dennis Gassner) – SPECTRE – A bit of a tip of the cap to Adam’s hollowed-out volcano, but still very well done. I really like the idea of the base nestled in the middle of the crater. Looks great and is soooo Blofeld. :smiley:

  11. T-S Moon’s/Graves’ Ice Palace – (Peter Lamont) – DIE ANOTHER DAY – A great idea having the villain’s lair made out of ice. Despite what some might think of the film, the ice palace looks great and is a suitable Bond villain lair.

  12. Kananga’s Underground Cave – (Syd Cain) – LIVE AND LET DIE – Another unique setting that is well done. Would probably be fun to ride the tram through the cave(s) if it actually existed.

  13. Silva’s Abandoned Island – (Dennis Gassner) – SKYFALL – A cool idea of having the villain scaring the public so much by faking a radiation leak that they flee the island, which allows him to take it over completely for himself. The biggest problem is we don’t see a lot of it.

  14. E. Largo’s Palmyra Estate – (Ken Adam) – THUNDERBALL – A nice, luxurious estate with two pools–one for humans and one for sharks. So Bondian.

  15. M. Largo’s Palmyra Fortress – (Stephen Grimes & Philip Harrison) – NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN – Like Silva’s abandoned island in Skyfall, what we see of it looks pretty good, but we don’t see a lot of it.

  16. Sanchez’s Olimpatec Meditation Institute Facility – (Peter Lamont) – LICENCE TO KILL – Interesting premise with a drug processing center being fronted by a televangelist-led organization.

  17. Elektra’s Maiden’s Tower – (Peter Lamont) – THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH – Overall, it doesn’t look like a great lair, but it is really helped by having a hidden submarine pen.

  18. Khan’s Monsoon Palace – (Peter Lamont) – OCTOPUSSY – I like the Monsoon Palace, but there’s not a lot of specialness there. A solid, but unspectacular lair.

  19. Carver’s Hamburg CMGN Headquarters Building – (Allan Cameron) – TOMORROW NEVER DIES – Chose this over the Sea Dolphin II stealth boat because it was not a vehicle. It’s also a unique villain lair that is also well-guarded and has a good Bond infiltration scene.

  20. Blofeld’s Oil Rig – (Ken Adam) – DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER – Chose this instead of the Whyte House because Blofeld doesn’t own the Whyte House’s penthouse while the oil rig is all his. Ultimately, the oil rig is a little underwhelming, but it’s more original than those that follow below on the list.

  21. Goldfinger’s Auric Enterprises Facility – (Ken Adam) – GOLDFINGER – Chose this over Auric’s Stud Farm because Bond infiltrates the facility and it seems to be more guarded than the stud farm. Includes a nice car chase as well.

  22. Whitaker’s Villa – (Peter Lamont) – THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS – Don’t really see a lot of this lair, but I like it better than those that are below it.

  23. Zorin’s Chateau – (Peter Lamont) – A VIEW TO A KILL – Chose this over Zorin’s airship because it’s not a vehicle and over Zorin’s mine because he is only going to blow that one up. Besides, Bond infiltrates the chateau stables so it gets the nod, but overall, it’s an underwhelming lair.

  24. Klebb’s SPECTRE Island – (Syd Cain) – FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE – Hard to choose a lair for this film. I didn’t want to choose Blofeld’s yacht since that was a boat and was more Blofeld’s place than Klebb’s anyway. You could say the same for SPECTRE Island, but Blofeld is never seen there, whereas Klebb is, and there really isn’t another spot for her to take other than her apartment that we only see in one brief scene, so SPECTRE Island it is. It’s a great concept too.

  25. Le Chiffre’s Barge – (Peter Lamont) – CASINO ROYALE – This time I had to go with a vehicle since Le Chiffre doesn’t have a main land base. We don’t see much of it either, so it’s toward the bottom of the barrel. However, the torture scene on the barge elevates it over the last one on this list.

  26. Greene’s Warehouse – (Dennis Gassner) – QUANTUM OF SOLACE – The bottom of the barrel. Like Le Chiffre, Greene doesn’t have much of a land base. Perla de las Dunas doesn’t count since he nor Quantum own it. It’s only a meeting place. That leaves his warehouse where we first see him. Nothing much happens there so last place it is.

So what are your rankings of the Bond villains’ lairs?

4 Likes
  1. Stromberg’s Atlantis Undersea Base – (Ken Adam) – THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
    For me the first lair I ever saw, so I am biased. It just looked huge and dangerous and exciting.

  2. Drax’s Space Station – (Ken Adam) – MOONRAKER
    So beautiful and sci-fi (sci-fa), only a few inches below my second place because - well - why, really?

  3. Blofeld’s Hollowed-Out Volcano – (Ken Adam) – YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
    The first totally wonderfully bonkers idea for a lair. With piranha pool! What’s not to like?

  4. Blofeld’s Piz Gloria Clinic Hideaway – (Syd Cain) – ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE
    Looks so real, great location! Only the door mechanism can be tricked very cheaply.

  5. No’s Crab Key Bunker – (Ken Adam) – DR. NO
    Classic, and scary, too. Think about being showered in front of these minions, ticking off every Geiger counter and then some.

  6. Safin’s Island Bunker – (Mark Tildesley) – NO TIME TO DIE
    Loved it. Never want to be in it.

  7. Kananga’s Underground Cave – (Syd Cain) – LIVE AND LET DIE
    It has that vibe, as if Blofeld´s interior designer had made a franchise out of his Volcano lair and offered the smaller, more affordable version (pool also comes with sharks, volcano not needed)

  8. Silva’s Abandoned Island – (Dennis Gassner) – SKYFALL
    The deserted rat domicile, a whole town left by any reasonable people - that is a great idea!

  9. E. Largo’s Palmyra Estate – (Ken Adam) – THUNDERBALL
    What’s with all these shark pools? But hey, it nicely ties the rooms together.

  10. Blofeld’s Oil Rig – (Ken Adam) – DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
    And I would include the Whyte House, so it all has that early 70´s vibe which is so reminding me of my childhood days.

  11. Goldfinger’s Auric Enterprises Facility – (Ken Adam) – GOLDFINGER
    That table sells all of it.

  12. Scaramanga’s Island – (Peter Murton) – THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
    Great atmosphere, although the unscary funhouse attractions are diminishing it.

  13. Trevelyan’s Satellite Dish Bunker – (Peter Lamont) – GOLDENEYE
    Nice idea, but a bit functional.

  14. Blofeld’s Meteor Crater Base – (Dennis Gassner) – SPECTRE
    The nod is appreciated, but more should have been done with it.

  15. T-S Moon’s/Graves’ Ice Palace – (Peter Lamont) – DIE ANOTHER DAY
    Intriguing idea and finally a lair for the Brosnan years which is not merely functional. Although, man, how would they heat the interior comfortably?

  16. Kristatos’ Clifftop Monastery – (Peter Lamont) – FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
    Great idea for the finale - but in tone with the film realistic and therefore less visually intriguing.

  17. Sanchez’s Olimpatec Meditation Institute Facility – (Peter Lamont) – LICENCE TO KILL
    Best feature: Wayne Newton.

  18. Carver’s Hamburg CMGN Headquarters Building – (Allan Cameron) – TOMORROW NEVER DIES
    Functional and for those with 90´s nostalgia: lots of screens.

  19. Elektra’s Maiden’s Tower – (Peter Lamont) – THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
    Functional. At least it has got that chair. Can be combined with Goldfinger´s table for a nice dinner set.

  20. Khan’s Monsoon Palace – (Peter Lamont) – OCTOPUSSY
    I expect these palaces all look like hotels?

  21. Whitaker’s Villa – (Peter Lamont) – THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
    Fitting for that fool who thinks he is a great soldier. Retroactively fitting with these times.

  22. Zorin’s Chateau – (Peter Lamont) – A VIEW TO A KILL
    This is what happens when the Moore era gets smaller budgets.

  23. Klebb’s SPECTRE Island – (Syd Cain) – FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
    Later franchised for the Tanaka Island.

  24. Le Chiffre’s Barge – (Peter Lamont) – CASINO ROYALE
    Well, he only uses it when he uses the broken chair, so…

  25. Greene’s Warehouse – (Dennis Gassner) – QUANTUM OF SOLACE
    Well, he did not expect any guests, and Elvis used the same designer who did his hair.

  26. M. Largo’s Palmyra Fortress – (Stephen Grimes & Philip Harrison) – NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN Oh, that was a lair?

5 Likes
  1. Piz Gloria (OHMSS)
  2. Scaramanga’s island (TMWTGG)
  3. Atlantis (TSWLM)
  4. Space station (MR)
  5. Volcano (YOLT)
  6. Crab Key (DN)
  7. Island bunker (NTTD)
  8. Satellite dish bunker (GE)
  9. Meteor crater (SPECTRE)
  10. Ice palace (DAD)
  11. Kananga’s cave (LALD)
  12. Palmyra (TB)
  13. Silva’s abandoned island (SF)
  14. Clifftop monastery (FYEO)
  15. Auric Enterprises (GF)
  16. Sanchez’s facility (LTK)
  17. Blofeld’s oil rig (DAF)
  18. Maiden’s tower (TWINE)
  19. Monsoon Palace (OP)
  20. Whittaker’s villa (TLD)
  21. Zorin’s chateau (AVTAK)
  22. Carver’s building (TND)
  23. SPECTRE island (FRWL)
  24. Greene’s warehouse (QoS)
  25. Le Chiffre’s barge (CR)

I’ve been to Piz Gloria. I love the mountains. I also love Scaramanga’s island. The strength with both is the natural world and not exclusively the set design. But when it comes to that Ken Adam is the king. I really like what they did with Safin’s base in NTTD - I think that’s the best we’ve had in modern times, even if I have nostalgia for the dish bunker from GE. The lairs that have elements of fantasy (ice palace, space station, etc) have the edge. The meteor crater from SPECTRE was a very cool amalgamation of realism and fantasy.

3 Likes

Totally agreed! And it is a lair which actually makes me feel uncomfortable when I see the movie. Not just because I know what will happen to Bond. But the whole idea of this high tech meets Feng Shui bare elegance housing a factory for dangerous viruses… it unfortunately seems too real.

3 Likes

The music (the track called The Factory, 2.53-3.25 particularly) is really effective in establishing that sense of dread. When Nomi says the walls must be thick it also adds a lot to the atmosphere, knowing they’re going into a concrete behemoth with communication black spots. We see a lot of different areas from the place and the Ken Adam touches are a big plus.

2 Likes

I am going off the board, and select Whyte’s penthouse, using the rationale that a lair can be either built or found–it is the design that matters. Although Blofeld did not build it, he did, like a cuckoo, push Whyte out of his aerie, and take it over. Ken Adam’s design is incredible, and seamlessly aligns with the actual Las Vegas surrounding it. Of all Bond films, DAF is the one where the line between what was designed, and what already existed is most indistinct.

After that, I would go with:

Space Station in MR (most fantastic of all designs)
Scaramanga’s Island in TMWTGG (best use of natural setting)
Blofeld’s Meteor Crater Base in SP (best rethinking of an iconic Adam design, streamlined for a different time)
Volcano Base in YOLT (best contrast)
Piz Gloria in OHMSS (best completion of an already begun construction)

4 Likes