"Actor's Watch" focuses on watches worn by actors in movies, television, etc.
In this, the 76th installment, we will be introducing " Rolex Daytonas that appeared in movies ."

*Source: https://www.phillips.com/

The Cosmograph Daytona , created in 1963 to meet the needs of car racers, is the only chronograph currently available from Rolex, and is a watch that can be said to be the symbol of the "sports chronograph", which has always been very popular at Commit Ginza.

Furthermore, in today's world where watches have high asset value , Daytona continues to attract the attention of many luxury watch users as an indicator for measuring the asset value and market price of luxury watches in general.

This time, I would like to take a look at movies that feature the Rolex Daytona.

Daytona in the 007 series

George Lazenby in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"

*Source: https://www.rolexmagazine.com/

The evil organization "SPECTRE" plots a bioterrorism attack using a virus weapon. At the request of the United Nations, MI6 removes James Bond from the mission of preventing the bioterrorism attack, but Bond ignores MI6's orders and infiltrates enemy territory to defeat Blofeld, the leader of SPECTRE.

Sean Connery left the 007 series after " You Only Live Twice " (1967). The next James Bond was played by Australian fashion model George Lazenby. He asked to step down during filming of this film, so he only played James Bond in one film, " On Her Majesty's Secret Service " (1969). However, it is highly regarded by 007 fans for its realistic action and serious storyline, which are among the best in the series.

*Source: https://www.rolexmagazine.com/

In this film, George Lazenby wears a Rolex chronograph (Ref. 6238) . This third chronograph, manufactured in the 1950s and 1960s prior to the first Daytona (Ref. 6239) released around 1963, is commonly referred to as the "Pre-Daytona," with "PRE" meaning "before" to the name Daytona.

As this is one of the more realistic works in the 007 series, it does not function as a secret weapon, but rather is used in an extremely practical way, such as when Bond is held captive and in a pinch, he uses the chronograph to time his escape.

☞#9 Read "007" James Bond's Watches [George Lazenby Edition]

Daytona in movies from the 1960s and 1970s

Paul Newman in "The Racer"

*Source: https://play.google.com/

Professional IndyCar racer Frank ( Paul Newman ) meets and marries Elora, a divorced single mother. However, Elora is frustrated with Frank's obsession with racing and begins to fall for Frank's best friend, fellow racer Lou ( Robert Wagner ). Frank is upset when he finds out and heads off to an important race in Indianapolis.

As many people know, Paul Newman participated in many car races as a racer, but it is said that what sparked his interest in car racing was his appearance in " Driving Racer " (1969).

*Source: https://usa.watchpro.com/

Paul Newman does not wear a Daytona in this film, but it is said that his wife gave him the famous " Ref. 6239 " as a gift during the filming of this movie, as a wish for safe driving. This watch features a unique dial that would later be called the " Paul Newman dial ." In other words, without this movie, "Paul Newman's Daytona" may not have existed. In a sense, it is no exaggeration to call this the "movie that made the history of vintage Rolex."

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Jean-Paul Belmondo in "A City of Terror"

*Source: http://kaltan1.free.fr/

A series of murders targeting women has occurred in the city of Paris. Inspector Leterrier ( Jean-Paul Belmondo ) is investigating the case, and receives a challenge from a perverted criminal. " Les Frights" (1975), which depicts the exploits of this wild and unconventional inspector, is a crime film in which Jean-Paul Belmondo performs intense action without stunts in the beautiful streets of Paris.

The watch he wears in this film is a Rolex Daytona (Ref. 6263) . This is the final model of the hand-wound Daytona, released in 1970, and is a popular choice for its plastic bezel. This is Belmondo's personal watch, and he has been seen wearing it in " The Phantom Thief Twenty Faces " (1975) and " The Man Who Buys Danger " (1976) in addition to this film.

This Reference 6263 was later passed down from Jean-Paul Belmondo to his son, F1 racer Paul-Alexandre Belmondo , and then appeared at a Christie's auction in 2013, where it was sold for 20,300 Swiss francs (approximately 25 million yen).

☞Read #18 Jean-Paul Belmondo's Rolex Daytona

Daytona in 1990s movies

Nicolas Cage in "Leaving Las Vegas"

*Source: https://www.watchuseek.com/

*Source: https://rare-watch.net/

After being fired from his job due to his drinking habits and being abandoned by his wife and child, Ben ( Nicolas Cage ) visits Las Vegas, the place he chose to end his life. Leaving Las Vegas (1995) is a sad love story depicting the love and ruin between Ben and a prostitute he meets there. This is a film that is worth paying attention to for the tragic performance of Nicolas Cage, who won the Academy Award for Best Actor for this film.

In the movie, when Ben is broke, he pawns a Rolex Daytona El Primero (Ref. 16520) to get money for alcohol. As you can see from the line, "A '93 Daytona for only $500?", the appraisal value was far too low even for the 1990s. After this, he tries to check the time as usual, but when he looks down at his left wrist, he finds that the watch is gone, which is a heartbreaking scene for any watch lover.

☞#21 "The Wristwatch of the Strange Actor Nicolas Cage" Read

William H. Macy in "Air Force One"

*Source: https://productplacementblog.com/

The President of the United States ( Harrison Ford ) and his family were on their way home from Russia, where they were on diplomatic duty, when the presidential plane "Air Force One" was hijacked by the head of the presidential guard and a television crew who had passed security checks and were working on an in-flight report. Their true identities turned out to be Russian nationalist terrorists.

The 1997 Hollywood-style superhero film " Air Force One " depicts the US president, a former Vietnam War hero, personally engaging in action battles with terrorists. The Rolex Daytona El Primero (Ref. 16520) is worn by William H. Macy, who plays Major Caldwell, a soldier aboard Air Force One. The Daytona, the ultimate practical watch, seems fitting for the wrist of this responsible and honest soldier who prioritized others during the evacuation and remained on board until the end.

Tim Allen in Galaxy Quest

*Source: https://www.rolexmagazine.com/

The nostalgic science fiction TV drama " Galaxy Quest " depicts the activities of a space exploration agency that protects peace in the galaxy aboard the spaceship Protector. A good alien who mistook the drama for "non-fiction" appears to ask the cast of the old drama to "eliminate evil aliens". The cast members, mistaking this for an offer to appear in a new series, end up getting on the Protector, built by the good alien, and being sent into a real space war...

Galaxy Quest (1999) is a sci-fi comedy masterpiece starring a star-studded cast including Sigourney Weaver from Alien (1979) and Alan Rickman from Die Hard (1988). The Rolex Daytona El Primero (Ref. 16520) is worn by Tim Allen , who plays Captain Taggart of the Protector. He is also famous as the voice actor of Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story (1995).

In the play, he is portrayed as a "slumped actor who hasn't been doing so well since the drama aired," but judging from this watch, he may be making quite a bit of money from selling at fan events, etc. (laughs)

Daytona in movies since 2000

Uma Thurman in "Kill Bill 2"

*Source: https://www.spotern.com/

A female assassin ( Uma Thurman ) escapes from the organization she was a member of when she becomes pregnant. However, on the day of her wedding, she is attacked by assassins on the orders of the boss of the organization, losing her fiance and the child she was pregnant with, and falls into a long coma. Awakening from the coma several years later, she begins to take revenge on the assassins who attacked her and the boss.

In " Kill Bill " (2003), director Quentin Tarantino paid homage to his beloved Japanese violent films and Hong Kong kung fu films, and its sequel " Kill Bill 2 " (2004), Uma Thurman, who played the female assassin "The Bride," wore a Rolex Daytona in this film.

There is a close-up scene in the movie where the watch is shown, and if you look closely, you will see that the 3 o'clock side displays the date, the 6 o'clock side displays the 24-hour display, and the 9 o'clock side displays the day of the week, which is an impossible sub-dial configuration for a Daytona. In other words, this is a "prop watch made for props." This kind of thing happens.

Jason Bateman in "Juno"

*Source: https://www.rolexforums.com/

Juno ( Elliot Page ), a 16-year-old girl, unexpectedly becomes pregnant. Determined to have the baby, she teams up with her best friend to find a foster parent. Juno thinks that Mark ( Jason Bateman ), a composer who lives in an upscale neighborhood, and his wife are the "perfect couple," and decides to entrust her child to them, but...

" Juno " (2007) is a heartwarming comedy about a high school girl struggling for her child. In this film, Jason Bateman wears a Rolex Daytona, playing Mark, a composer whom Juno chooses as her child's adoptive father. In this film, he wears a Rolex Daytona (Ref. 6263) . It's a fitting choice for a popular composer who lives in an upscale residential area.

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Shane Jacobsen in "The Bourne Legacy"

*Source: https://www.rolexmagazine.com/

The CIA's top-secret project "Outcome" aims to mass-produce assassins with sharp minds and strong physical abilities by administering drugs to enhance their bodies. However, fearing that the plan's leak would put their position in jeopardy, the higher-ups try to eliminate all the assassins and cover up the plan. The list of assassins includes Aaron Cross ( Jeremy Renner ), a hitman known as the "masterpiece."

The fourth film in the Jason Bourne series, which began with The Bourne Identity (2002), is The Bourne Legacy (2012), a spin-off action blockbuster that depicts the deadly struggle between the organization and Aaron Kloss, an assassin who was involved in similar plans at the same time as Jason Bourne.

In this film, the man wearing the gold Rolex Daytona ( Ref. 116528 ) is the manager of a secret factory ( Shane Jacobsen ) that mass produces the "blue pill" that the assassins take. Cross later obtains the watch and uses it as "expenses" for his escape.

John Travolta in "American Crime Story: The People"

*Source: https://www.reddit.com/

OJ Simpson ( Cuba Gooding Jr. ), a former NFL star who retired and became an actor, is suspected of murdering his white ex-wife and friend. After being arrested, Simpson puts together a powerful defense team including Robert Shapiro ( John Travolta ), a well-known lawyer, and steers the trial towards the issue of racism. He wins his innocence, but he never regains the trust of his fellow citizens and friends.

In "American Crime Story: The People," a 2016 TV drama series based on the 1994 "O.J. Simpson case " that drew nationwide attention from the United States, John Travolta, who played attorney Robert Shapiro, wears a Rolex Daytona (Ref. 116515LN) .

However, at the time of the trial in 1995, the Daytona Everose gold model had not yet been released, and the watch did not yet exist. It seems that the watch was chosen, ignoring historical accuracy, as a watch that would be easy for modern viewers to understand, "a watch that would be worn by a successful lawyer who seems to make a lot of money, and that is immediately recognizable as expensive."

☞ Read #59 John Travolta's watch: Not just a one-hit wonder

summary

What did you think?

From pre-Daytona watches to hand-wound models with exotic dials , to solid gold models in El Primero and Everose gold , the lineup evokes the "history of Daytona" throughout each era.

In movies up until the 1990s, Daytonas were often portrayed as watches chosen by professionals such as racers and detectives for their highly practical nature, but in movies since the 2000s, they are increasingly portrayed as clearly " assets ," worn by the wealthy or used as props that can be converted into cash.

This trend is unlikely to change in the future, not only in reality but also in fiction. It may be sad to see the intense action scenes of spies and soldiers wearing Daytonas disappear from movies, but this is also the trend of the times. Let's enjoy action scenes with Daytonas by watching old movies.

see you!

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