Summary
- The 1967 and 2006 versions of Casino Royale offer different takes on the brutal torture scene involving Le Chiffre.
- Despite being a spy parody, the 1967 version's torture scene ends with the victim being killed, adding a darker twist.
- Daniel Craig's Casino Royale features the most brutal torture scene in the James Bond franchise, causing controversy upon its release.
Before 2006's non-Eon Bond movies, 2006's Casino Royale is a gritty reboot of the franchise led by Daniel Craig. For all their differences, however, the two films do share one thing in common.
Both adaptations make several notable changes to Fleming's original 1953 novel while retaining the same basic story structure. They both revolve around MI6 agent James Bond being sent on a mission to bring down an genius card player known as Le Chiffre, who has ties to an evil organization. The two Bond movies both feature a scene where Le Chiffre tortures the main character, but both adapt this part of the book in very different ways.
James Bond: All 3 Casino Royale Adaptations Explained
James Bond's Casino Royale has been adapted to the screen three times - here's an explanation of each version and how they compare to one another.
The Original Casino Royale Kills Le Chiffre's Victim After The Torture Scene
It's A Far Colder Conclusion To The Sequence
About three-quarters of the way into 2006's Casino Royale, Le Chiffre, after losing the game of Texas hold 'em poker, tortures Bond for information. It's a brutal scene and not the easiest of watches. Nevertheless, Bond makes it out alive after Le Chiffre is shot by Mr. White, who is unhappy that Le Chiffre has lost his money. Though 1967's Casino Royale might be a comedy, its version of the torture scene is, arguably, more sinister because it involves Le Chiffre actually killing his victim.
Played by Orson Welles, Le Chiffre subjects Evelyn Tremble (Peter Sellers), a baccarat player who has adopted the "James Bond" mantle, to a round of psychological torture. In keeping with the nature of the movie, this takes a ridiculous form. For instance, Evelyn is forced to listen to bagpipes and judge the winner of a beauty contest. Yet, instead of being rescued, Evelyn is coldly killed by Bond girl Vesper (Ursula Andress) in an act of betrayal. As dark as the 2006 version is, at least it doesn't end with Bond meeting his demise at the hands of his lover.
Daniel Craig's Casino Royale Sequence Is Still The Most Brutal In The Franchise
No Other James Bond Scene Is Quite As Harrowing
As cold as the 1967 Casino Royale torture scene is, it doesn't come close to the brutality of the Daniel Craig version, which remains the most harrowing scene in the 007 franchise. This is largely because the method of torture that Mads Mikkelsen's Le Chiffre employs to get Bond to talk is just so horrible. Like in Fleming's novel, Le Chiffre forces a naked Bond to sit on a chair with a hole in it. He then swings a knotted piece of rope like a pendulum so that the knot makes with a sensitive area of Bond's anatomy.
The torture scene in 2006's Casino Royale was meant to be longer, but was cut in the U.S. to achieve a PG-13 rating.
It's such a simple yet sadistic method of torture that could only have been conjured up by someone with a particularly twisted mind. Bond survives the torture and lives to tell the tale, but not before undergoing a lengthy recovery process. At the time of Casino Royale's release, the scene caused a certain amount of controversy and was censored in some countries. While the James Bond series has depicted numerous scenes of violence and torture over the years, none of them compete with the sheer barbarity of the one featured in 2006's Casino Royale.
Casino Royale
- Release Date
- November 17, 2006
- Runtime
- 144 minutes
- Director
- Martin Campbell
Cast
James Bond
Eva GreenVesper Lynd
WHERE TO WATCH
Casino Royale introduces Daniel Craig as James Bond in his first mission as a 00 Agent. Tasked with preventing the terrorist financier Le Chiffre from winning a high-stakes poker game in Montenegro, Bond teams up with Vesper Lynd and Felix Leiter, kicking off a pivotal chapter in the espionage saga.
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