Tagged: Beirut

Spy Game: Tom Bishop, Beirut War Correspondent

Brad Pitt as Tom Bishop in Spy Game (2001)

Brad Pitt as Tom Bishop in Spy Game (2001)

Vitals

Brad Pitt as Tom Bishop, experienced CIA operative and U.S. Marine

Beirut, Summer 1985

Film: Spy Game
Release Date: November 21, 2001
Director: Tony Scott
Costume Designer: Louise Frogley

Background

Halfway through Tony Scott’s espionage thriller Spy Game, we get to the operation that led to the expository situation of rogue CIA agent Tom Bishop (Brad Pitt) landing himself in Chinese captivity in the midst of secret trade negotiations.

As his one-time mentor Nathan Muir (Robert Redford) explains to agency top brass, Bishop arrived in Beirut in 1985 under the cover of a photojournalist (“he was good, he was talented, he had a good eye… probably had a photography merit badge stuffed in the drawer at home”) to try to get close to the family doctor of their target, Sheik Salameh. Along the way, Bishop breaks the rules and falls for one of his assets, a mysterious Brit named Elizabeth Hadley (Catherine McCormack), and is eventually forced to choose between his assignment and his amour. Continue reading

Spy Game: Redford’s Brown Leather Jacket in Beirut

Robert Redford as Nathan Muir in Spy Game (2001).

Robert Redford as Nathan Muir in Spy Game (2001).

Vitals

Robert Redford as Nathan Muir, shrewd CIA case officer

Beirut, Summer 1985

Film: Spy Game
Release Date: November 21, 2001
Director: Tony Scott
Costume Designer: Louise Frogley
Redford’s Costumer: David Page

Background

Robert Redford finally teamed up with his spiritual successor Brad Pitt in the 2001 action hit Spy Game, directed by Tony Scott. Redford played Nathan D. Muir, the veteran CIA operative who took rookie Tom Bishop (Pitt) under his wing. Muir’s cynicism eventually clashes with Bishop’s idealism after nearly ten years on the job, and the two split after a morally disastrous mission in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War. Continue reading

Bond Style – Blue in Beirut (The Man with the Golden Gun)

Roger Moore as James Bond in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).

Roger Moore as James Bond in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974).

Vitals

Roger Moore as James Bond, British government agent

Beirut, Lebanon, Spring 1974

Film: The Man with the Golden Gun
Release Date: December 20, 1974
Director: Guy Hamilton
Tailor: Cyril Castle
Wardrobe Supervisor: Elsa Fennell

Background

Happy 00-7th of April!

Following a lead on the gold “007” bullet received at MI6 headquarters takes James Bond to Beirut in search of information related to deceased agent Bill Fairbanks. Naturally, this being a Bond movie, that search leads him directly into the arms of a slinky Lebanese belly dancer named Saida. Continue reading