# Identify the references to earlier films in "Die Another Day" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 27, 2002, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-the-references-to-earlier-films-in-die-another-day/138997 "2002-11-27T00:03:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kaitlyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/73ab20/32.png) [@Kaitlyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaitlyn)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-the-references-to-earlier-films-in-die-another-day/138997/1 "2002-11-27T00:03:06Z")
In the publicity for “Die Another Day” it’s been claimed that there are visible references to all of the other movies somewhere in Bond 20. Let’s see if we can find them all. I’ll start with the obvious: _Dr. No_: Jinx walking out of the ocean in a bikini with a wide belt. _From Russia With Love_: While walking through Q’s storeroom, Bond picks up a shoe and pops out a spike from the front. This is Col. Kleb’s poisoned shoe from the end of FRWL. _Goldfinger_: The villian threatens Jinx with a laser while she’s tied to a table. I noticed several others, but not all, and I like to see what others spotted. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-the-references-to-earlier-films-in-die-another-day/138997/2 "2002-11-27T00:50:02Z")
When Bond and M are talking in the abandoned underground station, they’re standing in front of a firing range. (Or is it the back? Remind me to find out before I go to a firing range.) Behind them you can see targets; not just the regular bulls-eye targets, but with drawings of people on them. One of them looked like Pussy Galore from _Goldfinger_. ---
**Author:** ![cmburns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@cmburns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmburns)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-the-references-to-earlier-films-in-die-another-day/138997/3 "2002-11-27T01:48:20Z")
The whole plot seemed pretty similar to “Diamonds are Forever”. There’s a master criminal Bond thought was dead who is involved in both smuggling diamonds and building a killer satellite. I can’t remember which one, but IIRC there was a fairly recent Bond where he also had his official license revoked and was acting as a rogue agent. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-the-references-to-earlier-films-in-die-another-day/138997/4 "2002-11-27T01:57:38Z")
That would be “License to Kill”, one of the Timothy Dalton outings. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-the-references-to-earlier-films-in-die-another-day/138997/5 "2002-11-27T02:10:53Z")
Someone else noted in another thread that there’s a scene in which Brosnan is shown looking at a book on “Birds of the West Indies.” This is an in-joke that Bond fanatics will get. Ian Fleming lived in Jamaica much of the year, and was an avid birdwatcher. One of his favorite birdwatching guides was “Birds of the West Indies” by an ornithologist named… James Bond! That was where he got the name for his fictional secret agent. ---
**Author:** ![airdisc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19adc/32.png) [@airdisc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/airdisc)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-the-references-to-earlier-films-in-die-another-day/138997/6 "2002-11-27T02:11:15Z")
In the old gadgets place, there’s also the jet pack from _Thunderball_, and the suitcase knife from _From Russia With Love_. “I never joke about my work.”, a line from _Goldfinger_. The underwater breathing thing is probably a reference to _Thunderball_. “Diamonds are foreveryone”, from _Diamonds are Forever_. The watch laser was from _Goldeneye_. And, while this isn’t a reference to an old movie, it’s still interesting. When Bond is in the Cuban guy’s office, he picks up a book called “Birds of the West Indies”, a book written by a guy named James Bond. In fact, this is how Ian Fleming first came up with Bond’s name. ---
**Author:** ![TheTailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@TheTailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTailor)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-the-references-to-earlier-films-in-die-another-day/138997/7 "2002-11-27T16:45:11Z")
When Q handed Bond his watch,he made a note that it’s the 20th watch he’d been given, and Die Another Day is the 20th Bond flick ---
**Author:** ![Kitfox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f6c823/32.png) [@Kitfox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitfox)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-the-references-to-earlier-films-in-die-another-day/138997/8 "2002-11-27T19:30:53Z")
Okay, so we’ve got… Dr No…Jinx coming out of the water From Russia With Love…The Briefcase Goldfinger…The Laser Thunderball…The Jet Pack You Only Live Twice…Asians dying and coming back as westerners (reverse of YOLT plot element) On Her Magesties Secret Service…? Diamonds are Forever…the whole Laser in Space bit Live and Let Die…? The Man with the Golden Gun…(the Hong Kong hotel?) The Spy Who Loved Me…(Parachuting off a cliff?) Moonraker…? For Your Eyes Only…? Octopussy…The GatorSub A View to A Kill…? The Living Daylights…(snowy car battle?) Licence to Kill…The whole exiled Agent bit GoldenEye…The watch (though the watch was in others…) Tomarrow Never Dies…(Stealth Boat/Invisible car?) The World is Not Enough…? ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2002, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-the-references-to-earlier-films-in-die-another-day/138997/9 "2002-11-27T22:51:42Z")
The magazine article about Graves has a large caption “Diamonds are forever” towards the bottom of the page. ---
**Author:** ![Tretiak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a88e57/32.png) [@Tretiak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tretiak)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-the-references-to-earlier-films-in-die-another-day/138997/10 "2002-11-28T00:11:12Z")
Someopne on the radio mentioned that there is a scene where Bond eats a grape and that it is just like a scene from one of the earlier movies. Sorry I cannot be more specific. ---
**Author:** ![Jojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecd19e/32.png) [@Jojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jojo)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2002, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/identify-the-references-to-earlier-films-in-die-another-day/138997/11 "2002-11-28T01:16:33Z")
The Union Jack parachute - The Spy Who Loved Me The room with spinning mirrors - Man with the Golden Gun Mini-plane - You Only Live Twice