Clubs in film: 'Die Another Day' (2002), Part 1 of 2: The Yacht Club Hong Kong

Bond returns to clubs, for the first time in decades

Having previously looked at the private members’ clubs in the James Bond films Dr. No (1962), Goldfinger (1964), Casino Royale (1967), and The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) (the latter article containing brief references in Never Say Never Again (1983) and Licence to Kill (1989)), we inevitably come to…Pierce Brosnan’s last hurrah, Die Another Day (2002). It is not a highly regarded film; indeed, I can remember going to see it in the cinema when it first came out, and my jaw physically dropping at how bad it all was.

But onto the clubs… Die Another Day portrays two very different establishments: the Yacht Club Hong Kong, and long-time Bond-related club, Blades. And we see them each in so much detail, that it is worth splitting this post into two parts.

The Yacht Club Hong Kong

Bond, still in his pyjamas from the ship’s hospital, swims across Hong Kong Harbour and emerges from the water into the Yacht Club Hong Kong.

Firstly, there is the fictional “Yacht Club Hong Kong”, to which Bond escapes from British custody aboard a destroyer moored in the harbour, after 14 months of being tortured in North Korea.

Hong Kong has dozens of clubs, mostly sports-themed establishments (including assorted cricket, football & golf clubs), with many of them dating to British imperial rule before 1997. None of them is precisely called the “Yacht Club Hong Kong”, though the city has no shortage of yacht clubs. The nearest match would be the historic Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, founded in 1890 and still going strong - though which was not named in the film, presumably for copyright reasons.

However, there are further clues in the next scene that this is a different kind of establishment to the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club. At first glance, this is a luxury hotel, with a hoarding showing that it is called the Rubeyon Royale Hotel, into which a bearded Bond strides in, still in his soaking pyjamas, fresh from his escape…

…but the disgusted expressions of members murmurring “No tie!” to Bond suggests that this is a continuation of the last scene; that it portrays a modern private members’ club, operating its own connected but separate hotel; a common business model across Asia and North America.

Bond asks for “My usual suite, please”, but initially gets short shrift from the receptionist, who takes one look at him and sneers: “Do you have a credit card? Or even any luggage, sir?” This is not welcoming behaviour.

Fortunately, even with his beard and dishevelled appearance, Bond is recognised by the passing concierge, Mr. Chang: “Mr. Bond! So good to see you. It's been a long time.” He orders the Presidential Suite to be put at Bond's disposal.

Chang recommends the lobster with quail’s eggs and sliced seaweed - a veritable feast for anyone just out of a North Korean prison. Bond asks for the ’61 Bollinger to be thrown in.

Chang: “Been busy, have we, Mr Bond?”
Bond: “Just surviving, Mr. Chang. Just surviving.”

Bond has his tailor sent for, along with some shirts. Fully shaved, he starts to look himself again.

The suite is spacious (especially by Hong Kong standards, given that space is at a premium) and luxurious, if impersonal.

When an attractive masseuse shows up unannounced, he smells a rat, and he rapidly pulls a gun out from her garter holster, and flings an ashtray at the bedroom mirror, shattering it.

As he suspects, it is a two-way mirror, behind which is Mr. Chang with a camera crew, the film camera focused on the bed.

It is a classic Kompromat setup, of the kind long since made (in)famous by the Steele dossier on Donald Trump. But real-life spies have been setting people up like this for decades.

Bond: “You think I haven’t always known you were Chinese intelligence, Chang?”
Chang: “Hong Kong’s our turf now, Bond.”

This remains topical, of course - and at the time of the film, the British had only withdrawn from Hong Kong five years earlier.

It also harks back to the spirit of Cold War espionage seen in From Russia With Love, with Kerim Bey’s insistence, “For day-to-day routine matters, we make it easy to keep a tab on each other.”

Bond cuts a deal with Chang, seeking his help to get even with their mutual enemy, Zao. “I’ll have to ask Beijing”, Chang responds.

Later, Chang gives Bond a small chest, as “A little ‘thank you’ from us” - it contains a passport, and a ticket to Cuba. Bond is off on his mission; and the Club has performed its role in the plot, sending him on his way.

Tomorrow will look at Part 2, covering how a more traditional club, Blades, is portrayed in the film.

(This piece was adapted from an old Twitter thread I wrote on the topic four years ago.)

All screenshots above are copyright 2002, Danjaq LLC and Amazon.

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