8 Sept 2011

Dryden´s office / Danube house - Prague, Czech Republic

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Casino Royale was mainly set in Prague and Karlovy vary, two towns in the Czech Republic. Various locations in these two towns doubled for places in London, Montenegro and Miami. Dryden's office is the only building that is supposed to be located in the Czech Republic and was seen in the pre title sequence. Bond has to kill two people in order to receive his 00-status. Dryden, the section chief of Mi6 in Prague, is the second...

Where there's smoke coming out in the film, is actually a water fountain.
The scene was filmed at Danube house on Karolinská 650/1, the Karlín district in Prague 8, overlooking the Vltava river. Unless you're ready to drive over a small grass field, it is not possible to drive your car up to the entrance like Dryden did in the film. But the most fascinating thing about this location is not the exterior. It is the fact that the elevator scene and the interior shots also were filmed inside the actual building. This makes it a definitive must see for Bond fans scouting Prague. The main entrance hall has an information desk with staff and is open to the public but the elevator and the rest of the building is off limits unless you have access with a pass key. This is a problem you need to solve on your own. It is however possible to infiltrate when a big crowd is going in or out.

Third floor where Dryden is walking down.

The building itself has nine floors, and Dryden's office is located on the sixth floor. This is actually a mistake made in the film because Dryden is not walking down the corridor on the sixth but on the third floor. The view outside the window shows it. Another blooper is the fact that Dryden is walking towards the elevator rather than away from it. If you know the building you can see the elevator shaft to the right in front of Dryden.
 
Even the floor number seen in the elevator is filmed on location. You recognize the number 6 and the speaker next to it. Dryden is looking up at the number when going up to his office.

Another interesting fact can be found in the teaser trailer. A very short scene that was cut and didn't make it to the finished film shows Dryden walking through the entrance hall, also shot in the same building. Notice the information desk on the left and the canteen to the right of it. In the teaser you get a feeling that Dryden is walking outside, but it's actually set indoors.

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