| A View to a Kill | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster by Dan Gouzee | |
| Directed by | John Glen |
| Screenplay by | Richard Maibaum Michael G. Wilson |
| Based on | James Bond byIan Fleming |
| Produced by | Albert R. Broccoli Michael G. Wilson |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Alan Hume |
| Edited by | Peter Davies |
| Music by | John Barry |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | MGM/UA Entertainment Co. (United States) United International Pictures (International) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 131 minutes |
| Countries | United Kingdom[1] United States[2] |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $30 million[3] |
| Box office | $152.4 million |
A View to a Kill is a 1985spy film, the fourteenth in theJames Bond series produced byEon Productions, and the seventh and final appearance ofRoger Moore as the fictionalMI6 agentJames Bond. Although the title is adapted fromIan Fleming's 1960 short story "From a View to a Kill", the film has an entirely original screenplay. InA View to a Kill, Bond is pitted againstMax Zorin (played byChristopher Walken), who plans to destroy California'sSilicon Valley.
The film was produced byAlbert R. Broccoli andMichael G. Wilson, who also wrote the screenplay withRichard Maibaum. It was the third James Bond film to be directed byJohn Glen, and the last to featureLois Maxwell asMiss Moneypenny.
Despite receiving negative reviews from critics, who criticised the ageing Moore's performance, and Moore's own dislike of the film, it was a commercial success. TheDuran Duran theme song "A View to a Kill" performed well in the charts, becoming the only Bond theme song to reach number one on theBillboard Hot 100 and earning aGolden Globe nomination forBest Song. The film was followed byThe Living Daylights in 1987, withTimothy Dalton playing Bond.
MI6 agent James Bond is sent toSiberia to locate the body of 003 and recover a Sovietmicrochip.Q analyzes the microchip, establishing it to be a copy of one designed to withstand anelectromagnetic pulse, made by government contractor Zorin Industries. Bond visitsAscot Racecourse to observe the company's owner, Max Zorin. Sir Godfrey Tibbett, a racehorse trainer and MI6 agent, believes Zorin's horses, which win consistently, are drugged, although tests proved negative. Through Tibbett, Bond meets with French private detective Achille Aubergine, who informs Bond that Zorin is holding a horse sale later in the month. During their dinner at theEiffel Tower, Aubergine is assassinated by Zorin's bodyguardMay Day, who subsequently escapes.
Bond and Tibbett travel to Zorin's estate for the horse sale. Bond is puzzled by a woman who rebuffs him; he discovers Zorin has written her a cheque for $5 million. That night, Bond and Tibbett infiltrate Zorin's laboratory, where he is implantingadrenaline-releasing devices in his horses. Zorin identifies Bond as an agent, has May Day assassinate Tibbett, and attempts to have Bond killed.General Gogol of theKGB confronts Zorin for trying to kill Bond without permission, revealing that Zorin was initially trained and financed by the KGB, but has now gone rogue. Later, Zorin unveils to a group of investors his plan to destroy Silicon Valley, which will give him and the potential investors a monopoly over microchip manufacture.
Bond travels to San Francisco and meets with CIA agent Chuck Lee, who says Zorin is the product ofmedical experimentation with steroids performed by Dr. Carl Mortner, a Nazi scientist who is now Zorin's veterinarian and racehorse-breeding consultant. Bond then investigates a nearby oil rig owned by Zorin, and while there finds KGB agent Pola Ivanova recording conversations and her partner placing explosives on the rig. Ivanova's partner Klottoff is caught and killed, but Ivanova and Bond escape. Later Ivanova takes the recording, but finds that Bond had switched tapes.
Bond tracks down State Geologist Stacey Sutton, the woman Zorin attempted to pay off, and discovers that Zorin is trying to buy her family oil business. The two travel toSan Francisco City Hall to check Zorin's submitted plans. Having been alerted to their presence, Zorin kills the Chief Geologist, and sets fire to the building to frame Bond for the murder and kill him. Bond and Stacey flee from the police in a fire engine.
Infiltrating Zorin's mine, Bond and Stacey discover his plot to detonate explosives beneath the lakes along theHayward andSan Andreas faults, which will cause them to flood and submerge Silicon Valley. A larger bomb is also in the mine to destroy a "geological lock" that prevents the two faults from moving simultaneously. Once in place, Zorin and his security chief Scarpine flood the mine and kill the workers. Stacey escapes while Bond fights May Day; after realising Zorin abandoned her, she helps Bond remove the larger bomb, putting the device onto a handcar and riding it out of the mine, where it explodes and kills her.
Escaping in his airship with Scarpine and Mortner, Zorin abducts Stacey while Bond grabs hold of the airship's mooring rope. Zorin tries to knock him off, but Bond moors the airship to the framework of theGolden Gate Bridge. Stacey attacks Zorin to save Bond and, in the fracas, Mortner and Scarpine are temporarily knocked out. Stacey flees and joins Bond out on the bridge, but Zorin follows them out with an axe. The ensuing fight between Zorin and Bond culminates with Zorin falling to his death. Mortner attempts to kill Bond with dynamite but Bond cuts the airship free, causing Mortner to drop the dynamite in the cabin, blowing up the airship and killing himself and Scarpine. Later, Gogol awards Bond theOrder of Lenin for foiling Zorin's scheme.
Daniel Benzali also appears as Stacey's boss, Mr Howe.[4]Bogdan Kominowski andDolph Lundgren are Klotkoff and Venz, KGB henchman. Joe Flood portrayed the San Francisco police captain.Carole Ashby appeared as the butterfly act performer.Anthony Chinn was the Taiwanese tycoon.Maud Adams filmed a cameo as an extra in the background of aFisherman's Wharf scene; making her third Bond film appearance.[5][6][7][8]
Along with the other stories inIan Fleming's 1960 anthologyFor Your Eyes Only, the original short story "From a View to a Kill" was originally envisioned as an episode of an abandoned 1958CBSJames Bond television series.[9]A View to a Kill was produced byAlbert R. Broccoli andMichael G. Wilson. Wilson also co-authored the screenplay along withRichard Maibaum. Broccoli initially wanted to rehireGeorge MacDonald Fraser fromOctopussy to co-write the screenplay but he was unavailable. Originally Maibaum's script included Zorin manipulatingHalley's Comet into crashing into Silicon Valley, but Wilson insisted on a more realistic plot.[9] At the end ofOctopussy, the "James Bond Will Return" sequence listed the next film as "From a View to a Kill", the name of the original short story, but later the title was changed.[10] When a company with a name similar to Zorin (theZoran Corporation) was discovered in the United States, a disclaimer was added to the start of the film affirming that Zorin was not related to any real-life company. This is the first Bond film to have a disclaimer (The Living Daylights had a disclaimer about the use of theRed Cross).[11]
Roger Moore had originally signed a three-film contract with Eon Productions, (Live and Let Die in 1973,The Man with the Golden Gun in 1974 andThe Spy Who Loved Me in 1977) which was fulfilled. Moore's following three films (Moonraker in 1979,For Your Eyes Only in 1981 andOctopussy in 1983) were negotiated on a film-by-film basis.[12] Uncertainty surrounding his involvement inOctopussy in 1983 led to other actors being considered to take over but Moore was convinced to come back as he was competing againstSean Connery inNever Say Never Again. Eon convinced Moore to doA View to a Kill but he announced in December 1985, 6 months after the release ofA View to a Kill, that he would retire from the role after seven films.[citation needed]
Early publicity for the film in 1984 included an announcement thatDavid Bowie would play Zorin. He initially accepted the role, but later decided against it, saying "I didn't want to spend five months watching my stunt double fall off cliffs." The role was then offered toSting, who turned it down, and finally to Christopher Walken.[13]
Priscilla Presley was originally going to be cast as Stacey Sutton, but she had to be replaced by Tanya Roberts because of her contract withDallas.[9] The original script hadBarbara Bach reprising her role as Major Anya Amasova from 1977'sThe Spy Who Loved Me. However, Bach declined the role, and so an entirely new character, Pola Ivanova, was created, played byFiona Fullerton.[14][better source needed]
Patrick Macnee, as Bond's ally Tibbett, became the fourth former star ofThe Avengers television series to appear in a Bond film (followingHonor Blackman,Diana Rigg andJoanna Lumley); Macnee had also portrayed Dr. Watson to Roger Moore's title character forSherlock Holmes in New York, nine years prior.[15]David Yip's character Chuck Lee was originally scripted asFelix Leiter, but he was rewritten into a newAsian-American character in order to capitalize on the setting of San Francisco.[9]
Dolph Lundgren has a brief appearance as one of General Gogol's KGB agents. Lundgren, who was datingGrace Jones at the time, was visiting her on set when one day an extra was missing, so the directorJohn Glen then asked him if he wanted to attempt the role. Lundgren appears during the confrontation between Gogol and Zorin at the racetrack, standing several steps below Gogol.[16]
Principal photography began with the horse racing scenes atAscot Racecourse on 1 August 1984.[9] The film was shot atPinewood Studios in London, Iceland, Switzerland, France and the United States with the budget initially being $35 million.[3] Several French landmarks such as theEiffel Tower, its Jules Verne restaurant and theChâteau de Chantilly were filmed. The rest of the major filming was done atFisherman's Wharf,Dunsmuir House,San Francisco City Hall and theGolden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. TheLefty O'Doul Bridge was featured in the fire engine chase scene.[17]
Production of the film began on 23 June 1984 in Iceland, where the second unit filmed the pre-title sequence.[18] On 27 June 1984, several leftover canisters of petrol used during filming ofRidley Scott'sLegend caused Pinewood Studios' 007 Stage to burn to the ground. The stage was rebuilt, and reopened in January 1985[19] (renamed asAlbert R. Broccoli's 007 Stage) for filming ofA View to a Kill. Work had continued on other stages at Pinewood when Roger Moore rejoined the main unit there on 1 August 1984. The crew then departed for shooting the horse-racing scenes at Royal Ascot Racecourse. The scene in which Bond and Sutton enter the mineshaft was then filmed in a waterlogged quarry nearStaines-upon-Thames and theAmberley Chalk Pits Museum in West Sussex.[20]
On 6 October 1984, the fourth unit, headed by special effects supervisor John Richardson, began its work on the climactic fight sequence. At first, only a few plates constructed to resemble the Golden Gate Bridge were used. Later that night, shooting of the burning San Francisco City Hall commenced. The first actual scenes atop the bridge were filmed on 7 October 1984.[21]
In Paris it was planned that two stuntparachutists, B.J. Worth and Don Caldvedt, would undertake two jumps from a (clearly visible) platform that extended from a top edge of theEiffel Tower. However, sufficient footage was obtained from Worth's jump, so Caldvedt was told he would not be performing his own descent. Caldvedt, unhappy at not being able to perform the jump, parachuted off the tower without authorisation from the City of Paris. He was subsequently sacked by the production team for jeopardising the continuation of filming in the city.[5]
Airship Industries managed a major marketing coup with the inclusion of itsSkyship 500 seriesblimp in the film. At the time Airship Industries was producing a fleet of blimps which were recognisable over many capitals of the world offering tours, or advertising sponsorship deals.[22] The blimp seen in the climax was then on a promotional tour ofLos Angeles after its participation in theopening ceremony of the1984 Summer Olympics. At that time, it had "Welcome" painted across the side of the gasbag, but was replaced by "Zorin Industries" for the film. During the summer of 1984, the blimp was used to advertiseFujifilm. In real life, inflating the airship would take up to 24 hours, but during the film it was shown to take two minutes.[22]Despite filming going over schedule by two weeks, the production was completed $5 million under budget at $30 million according to John Glen.[3] Filming completed on 16 January 1985.[9]
The soundtrack was composed byJohn Barry and published by EMI/Capitol.[23] The theme song, "A View to a Kill", was written by Barry andDuran Duran, and performed by the band. "May Day Jumps" is the only track that uses the "James Bond Theme". Barry's composition fromOn Her Majesty's Secret Service was modified for use in the songs "Snow Job", "He's Dangerous" and "Golden Gate Fight" ofA View to a Kill.[24] "A View to a Kill" reached number two on theUK Singles Chart and number one on theBillboard Hot 100 in the United States, thus becoming the peak song in the James Bond series.[25] The 2015 trackWriting's on the Wall later out performed the song in the UK by reaching number one.[26]
Duran Duran was chosen to do the song after bassistJohn Taylor, a Bond fan, approached producerAlbert Broccoli at a party, and drunkenly asked "When are you going to get someonedecent to do one of your theme songs?"[27][28]
During the opening sequence, a cover version of the 1965Beach Boys song "California Girls", performed by tribute band Gidea Park withAdrian Baker, is used during a chase in which Bond snowboards; it has been suggested that this sequence helped initiate interest insnowboarding.[29]
This was the first Bond film with a premiere outside the UK, opening on 22 May 1985 at San Francisco'sPalace of Fine Arts.[30] The British premiere was held on 12 June 1985 at theOdeon Leicester Square cinema in London.[18] It achieved a box office gross of US$152.4 million worldwide.[31] In the United Kingdom, the film grossed £8.1 million ($13.6 million).[32][33] On its opening weekend in the US and Canada it grossed $13.3 million from 1,583 theaters over the four-dayMemorial Day weekend, the biggest opening for a Bond film ever at the time, but not enough to beatRambo: First Blood Part II which was number one for the weekend with a gross of $25.2 million from 2,074 theaters.[34][35] It went on to gross $50.3 million in the United States and Canada.[34] Other large international grosses include $11.7 million in Germany, $9.1 million in Japan and $8.2 million in France.[33]
Although its box office reception was excellent, the film's critical response was mostly negative. OnRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 36% based on reviews from 61 critics,[36] which is the lowest rating for the Eon-produced Bond films on the website.[37] The site's critical consensus reads: "Absurd even by Bond standards,A View to a Kill is weighted down by campy jokes and a noticeable lack of energy." OnMetacritic, the film has a score of 40% based on reviews from 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[38]
One of the most common criticisms was that Roger Moore was 57 at the time of filming—and that he had visibly aged in the two years that had passed sinceOctopussy.Washington Post criticPaul Attanasio said, "Moore isn't just long in the tooth—he's got tusks, and what looks like an eye job has given him the pie-eyed blankness of a zombie. He's not believable anymore in the action sequences, even less so in the romantic scenes—it's like watching women fall all overGabby Hayes."[39]Sean Connery declared that "Bond should be played by an actor 35, 33 years old. I'm too old. Roger's too old, too!"[40] In a December 2007 interview, Roger Moore remarked, "I was only about four hundred years too old for the part."[41]
Moore also said that, at the time,A View to a Kill was his least favourite Bond film, and mentioned that he was mortified to find out that he was older than his female co-star's mother. He was quoted as saying, "I was horrified on the last Bond I did. Whole slews of sequences where Christopher Walken was machine-gunning hundreds of people. I said 'That wasn't Bond, those weren't Bond films.' It stopped being what they were all about. You didn't dwell on the blood and the brains spewing all over the place".[42]
Pauline Kael ofThe New Yorker said, "The James Bond series has had its bummers, but nothing before in the class ofA View to a Kill. You go to a Bond picture expecting some style or, at least, some flash, some lift; you don't expect the dumb police-car crashes you get here. You do see some ingenious daredevil feats, but they're crowded together and, the way they're set up, they don't give you the irresponsible, giddy tingle you're hoping for." Kael also singled out the dispirited direction and the hopeless script. "Director John Glen stages the slaughter scenes so apathetically that the picture itself seems dissociated. (I don't think I've ever seen another movie in which race horses were mistreated and the director failed to work up any indignation. If Glen has any emotions about what he puts on the screen, he keeps them to himself.)"[43]
However, not all reviews were negative. Lawrence O'Toole ofMaclean's believed it was one of the series' best entries. "Of all the modern formulas in the movie industry, the James Bond series is among the most pleasurable and durable. Lavish with their budgets, the producers also bring a great deal of craft, wit and a sense of fun to the films. Agent 007 is like an old friend who an audience meets for drinks every two years or so; he regales them with tall tales, winking all the time. The 14th and newest Bond epic,A View to a Kill, is an especially satisfying encounter. Opening with a breathtaking ski chase in Siberia,A View to a Kill is the fastest Bond picture yet. Its pace has the precision of a Swiss watch and the momentum of a greyhound on the track. There is a spectacular chase up and down the Eiffel Tower and through Paris streets, which Bond finishes in a severed car on just two wheels. But none of the action prepares the viewer for the heart-stopping climax with Zorin's dirigible tangled in the cables on top of San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge." And although O'Toole believed that Moore was showing his age in the role, "there are plenty of tunes left in his violin. James Bond is still a virtuoso, with a licence to thrill."[44]
Brian J. Arthurs ofThe Beach Reporter, however, said it was the worst film of the Bond series.[36] Chris Peachment of theTime Out Film Guide said, "Grace Jones is badly wasted."[45] Norman Wilner ofMSN also chose it as the worst Bond film,[46] whileIGN picked it as the fourth-worst,[47] whileEntertainment Weekly ranked it as the fifth-worst.[48]
Danny Peary had mixed feelings aboutA View to a Kill but was generally complimentary: "Despite what reviewers automatically reported, [Moore] looks trimmer and more energetic than in some of the previous efforts ... I wish Bond had a few more of his famous gadgets on hand, but his action scenes are exciting and some of the stunt work is spectacular. Walken's the first Bond villain who is not so much an evil person as a crazed neurotic. I find him more memorable than some of the more recent Bond foes ... Unfortunately, the filmmakers – who ruined villainJaws by making him a nice guy inMoonraker – make the mistake of switching May Day at the end from Bond's nemesis to his accomplice, depriving us of a slam-bang fight to the finish between the two (I suppose gentleman Bond isn't allowed to kill women, even a monster like May Day) ... [The film] lacks the flamboyance of earlier Bond films, and has a terrible slapstick chase sequence in San Francisco, but overall it's fast-paced, fairly enjoyable, and a worthy entry in the series."[49]
Also among the more positive reviews wasMovie Freaks 365's Kyle Bell: "Good ol' Roger gave it his best. ... Whether you can get past the absurdity of the storyline, you can't really deny that it has stunning stunt work and lots of action. It's an entertaining movie that could have been better."[50] Walken was also praised by online critic Christopher Null for portraying a "classicBond villain".[51] Bond historianJohn Brosnan believedA View to a Kill was Moore's best Bond entry. He said Moore looked in better shape than the previous Bond film,Octopussy. Brosnan, an airship enthusiast, especially admired the dirigible finale.[52]
Neil Gaiman reviewedA View to a Kill forImagine magazine, and stated that "When Grace Jones went to bed with Moore, I was sure the producers had hit upon a way to kill the old fellow off with dignity, but when Bond was seen wandering around fresh as a daisy the next morning I realised how escapist this all is. Unless he just rolled over and went to sleep, of course, which is what I was strongly tempted to do."[53]
John Nubbin reviewedA View to a Kill forDifferent Worlds magazine and stated that "There is a fierce pride in what is going on inA View to a Kill that has been missing in the Bond series for a long time. Roger Moore has fought since the first picture for just this kind of an end result. Looking over the Bonds he has been in, one could see this end result coming. If Moore hadn't kicked and complained the way he did, every one of them might have been as dreadful asThe Man with the Golden Gun. Luckily, British determination won out in the end. For all those people who swore they'd never enjoy a Roger Moore Bond film, here's an open invitation to stop at my house for a big plate of crow - mine was delicious."[54]
Roberts was nominated for aGolden Raspberry Award asWorst Actress, but she lost the trophy toLinda Blair, who appeared inNight Patrol,Savage Island andSavage Streets.[55]
This film was adapted into two video games in 1985. The first, titledA View to a Kill, was published byDomark. It was available for theZX Spectrum,Amstrad CPC,Commodore 64,Oric 1 andOric Atmos, andMSX. The second, titledJames Bond 007: A View to a Kill was atext adventure for theApple II andIBM PC compatibles. It was developed by Angelsoft and published byMindscape.
The film was loosely adapted into a series of fourFind Your Fate adventuregamebooks:Win, Place, or Die;Strike it Deadly;Programmed for Danger; andBarracuda Run, which were released in 1985.[56]
Furthermore, atabletop role-playing game adventure for theJames Bond 007 game system was releasedunder the film's name.
May Day was a playablemultiplayer character in the 1997 and 2000 video gamesGoldenEye 007 and007: The World Is Not Enough for theNintendo 64. In the 2002 gameNightfire, May Day and Max Zorin also appear asbots.[57] Other references include Nikolai Diavolo, a character in the 2004 gameJames Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, claiming Zorin to be his mentor and friend.[58] InGoldenEye: Rogue Agent, a multiplayer level is the summit of the Golden Gate Bridge, including the Zorin blimp, which would fire on players when activated. Players are also able to climb the suspension cables (similar to the events of the film).[59]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
James Bond in film | |
|---|---|
| Eon Productions |
|
| Non-Eon films |
|
| Cast/characters | |
| Related | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
