When you reach the top of the evil villain game, you get a lair. And it’s got to be a proper lair–remote, hidden, lavish. Here we review the hidden lairs of villains, real and fictional.
Fictional Lairs
Blofeld’s Volcano in You Only Live Twice (1967)
James Bond infiltrated Blofeld’s secret volcano redoubt in Japan by slipping in when the caldera door opened up. Later, ninjas rappel down ropes and help Bond blow up the volcano–but not before we get a good look at the internal rocket launching pad, monorail, and control room. This set, designed by legendary designer Ken Adam, cost Eon Productions $1M and rose 120 feet above Pinewood Studios.
Dr. No’s Crab Cay Lair (1962)
All villains’ lairs were born from Dr. No’s lair in this, the first film in the James Bond series. Dr. No is a vindictive, misunderstood German-Chinese bad boy whose Crab Cay (or Key) hideout is staffed by Chinese and by “Chigroes,” as they are termed in the novel.
As you can readily see, Dr. No did not stint on luxury. His underground/undersea redoubt had masterpiece paintings, silver, fine furniture, automatic sliding doors, contemporary furnishings (in the case of Bond’s bedroom), a missile, and of course, a guano plant.
Real Lairs
Kim Jong Il’s Houses and Compound
One of the most ironic things about Kim Jong Il is that he is reportedly a real James Bond aficionado. You can access this giant lair of Kim Jong Il at Google Maps, or any mapping program, with these coordinates: 39.199569,126.020501