Johnny English
filming locations (2003)

Riviera Locations: Col de Braus,
Le Fort du Mont-Alban, Chemin du Fort du Mont Alban, 06032 Nice
Monte Carlo Country Club,155 Avenue Princesse Grace,06190 Roquebrune-Cap-Martin (swimming pool scene at the end of film)

Director : Steve Bendelack Cast : Rowan Atkinson, Willem Dafoe, Emma de Caunes
Genre : Comedy Runtime : 89 min Production year : 2007 Rating : G Distributed by StudioCanal

Rowan Atkinson’s love affinity stretched from the shores of Villefranche (in Never Say Never Again) to the beaches of Cannes (in Mr Bean’s Holiday), but he has spread even further around the Riviera, when he appeared in Johnny English (2003). The Col de Braus, a high, remote, undulating mountain pass connects Sospel and L’Escarene and forms one of the closing sequences of Johnny English (Universal Pictures, 2003).

The Col de Braus in the film

As it is in real life

Rown Atkinson shows of the cornering abilities of his Aston Martin DB7 Vantage, driving around the narrow hairpin bends on the locally-known serpentine road - the D2204 . It is 18km north of Menton and close to the Italian border. The route is popular among cyclists and rally enthusiast alike and is 1.000 metres above sea level.

Then and Now

Action comedy Johnny English (Universal Pictures, 2003), though primarily shot on location in London, concludes with on-location filming in the Cote D’Azur (illustrated in the film as “Somewhere in the south of France”. The 16th century Fort du Mont Alban, 2km east of Nice, overlooking the bay of Villefranche-Sur-Mer, serves as the backdrop for the film’s comedic conclusion. Rowan Atkinson uses an ejector seat and femme fatale, Natalie Imbruglia, shoots into the sky, in front of one of the fort’s bastions, bartizans and monolithic sentry post. Built to defend the vulnerable Nice coastline, the fortification gives fantastic views of the citadel of Villefranche. At 220 metres high, vistors can see breathtaking panoramas of entire Nice and Baie Des Anges in Italy, Cap d’Ail, Saint-Jean Cap-Ferrat, Baie des Anges, all the way to La Garoupe on Cap Antibes. In perfectly clear weather, it is actually possible to see Corsica.