Finally, the Casino Royale script is here for all you fans of the Daniel Craig James Bond movie. This puppy is a transcript that was painstakingly transcribed using the screenplay and/or viewings of the movie to get the dialogue. Valenka is a supporting antagonist of the 2006 James Bond film Casino Royale. She is the girlfriend and henchwoman to Le Chiffre of Quantum. She was portrayed by Ivana Milicevic, who also played Kathryn Kidman in The Howling: Reborn. 1 History 2 Gallery 3 Trivia 4 Navigation She is the girlfriend, mistress and criminal partner of Le Chiffre and is seen in the Bahamas where.
It’s been ten years since Daniel Craig’s James Bond guzzled down a poisoned martini in Casino Royale and went into near-cardiac arrest at the hands of the shark-eyed Le Chiffre. Dazzled by his dazed, sweating body and trembling hands as he valiantly stabbed himself with a drug-packed needle, we probably didn’t realize that the backstory about the poison that shook him — digitalis — didn’t really check out. It’s about time we return to the scene of the crime.
Upon arrival at Casino Royale, Bond receives a package with keys to a new Aston Martin. When he sits in the car, he leaves the driver's door open as he checks out the hidden compartments where the defibrillator and gun are located. After he closes the last compartment, the driver's door is now closed when it was open a moment earlier.
Bond is in the middle of an intense poker game when he first feels the effects of the poison. As he abruptly gets up — “Deal me out,” he commands — his usual smoothness begins to stutter, and the camera, mirroring his failing vision, begins to unfocus and swirl. He’s got ventricular tachycardia, his team back at MI6 HQ determines, most likely caused by poisoning with digitalis. However, this particular poison — one of history’s classics — isn’t exactly the best choice for a rapid kill.
Digitalis, which is actually a flowering plant occasionally known as foxglove, takes at least six hours to show its effects, even in large doses. The “poison” is used today as an important cardiac medicine, and when physicians try to assess patients they suspect have digitalis poisoning, they have to be careful of how they interpret the results; as one article published in September in the World Journal of Pharmaceutical and Medical Researchnotes, “levels determined less than 6-8 hours after an acute ingestion do not necessarily predict toxicity.”
Perhaps Le Chiffre chose this poison in an attempt to appear blase about his murderous scheme. Using a rapid-acting poison like, say, botulinum toxin (Botox) would result in Bond dropping dead at the poker table, and nothing about that says “smooth French criminal.” Instead, Bond got a digitalis martini with a lemon twist and presented the usual effects — nausea, dizziness, confusion, delirium, and the aforementioned ventricular tachycardia, which is when the heart starts beating crazy-fast, starting from the bottom chambers — a lot sooner than a scientist would expect.
Bond’s failed attempt to revive his failing heart with self-imposed electric shock (together with Vesper’s successful one), is also a pretty unusual treatment for digitalis overdose, according to the physician fact-checkers at Polite Dissent, who points out that defibrillation can trigger even worse heartbeat arrhythmias — or even stop the heartbeat altogether. The lidocaine Bond jabs into his neck is normally enough to do the trick. But, of course, since when has “normal” ever been good enough for Bond?
The James Bond movie ‘Casino Royale’ has one of the most highly regarded poker scenes in movie history. It expertly reflects the tension of high-stakes gambling, but its plausibility has often been called into question. Here we take a look at both the influence of the iconic scene and how far it pushes the boundaries of credibility with the audience.
Daniel Craig’s debut Bond film certainly had an impact in further popularising the casino industry with the character imbuing it with a sense of glamour and cool. Whilst the various locations featured in the film offered audiences a glimpse into the style and prestige provided by the casino environment. The film’s wider influence in keeping the industry current has also been apparent in the growth of the best casinos online, with slots like Mission Cash at LeoVegas incorporating a Bond-inspired spy theme.
The poker showdown in the exotic locale of the ‘One and Only Ocean Club’ in the Bahamas, is perhaps the most iconic scene in the film, and also the most effective in delivering a sense of the thrill and mystique which modern casinos can offer to the audience.
For context, Bond was taking part in a ‘winner-takes-all’ contest with nine other players including the film’s main villain Le Chiffre. The character, played by Mads Mikkelsen, is in dire need of victory having lost $100 million through a failed investment. Meanwhile, Bond has been entered into the tournament by MI6 as they felt defeat for Le Chiffre would force him to seek asylum with the British government in exchange for inside information on his terrorist clients.
Its controversy for poker enthusiasts and statistics nerds comes with the final hand where just four players remained. After the river is fully revealed as Ace (Hearts) – 8 (Spades) – 6 (Spades) – 4 (Spades) – Ace (Diamonds), the first two nameless characters both go all-in with respective hands of King-Queen (both Spades) and 8-8. This meant two extremely strong hands already with a flush and full house both in play, however, it was still well within the realms of plausibility.
Casino Royale Poker Scene Poison Scene
Le Chiffre, however, had an even better hand than both of these men with an Ace-6 combination giving him the superior full house. Confident in his hand, the Albanian banker raised the stakes to $12 million only to see 007 go all-in with an enormous $40.5 million. Having started with a 7 and 5 of spades (which only gave him a 12.3% chance of winning before the flop) Bond knew that he had an unbeatable straight flush at his disposal.
Casino Royale Poker Hand
This certainly brings the scene into the realm of the fantastical as a straight flush can be expected to occur around once every 37,260 hands. In tandem with three other players piling money in because of their particularly strong hands, more than a few movie-goers may have been struggling to suspend their disbelief. Bond wins the entire pot as the last man standing, before high-octane action hijinks follow.
In the scene’s defence, it does stay within the rules of Texas Hold ‘Em poker at all times and gives a dramatic but accurate representation of the game’s dynamism, as a weak hand transforms into something special. Some may feel it undermines the credibility of the movie to too great of an extent, but after all, this is a James Bond film, and it wouldn’t be complete without superhuman exploits and incredible luck. Perhaps the writers felt entitled to borrow Bond’s (artistic) license to kill.