A View to a Kill
A View to a Kill, released in 1985, is the fourteenth entry in the James Bond series of films, and the last to star Roger Moore as British Secret Service Agent, Commander James Bond. It was produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson.
The title itself is adapted from Ian Fleming's short story "From a View to a Kill", contained in the For Your Eyes Only collection of short stories released in 1960; however the title is where the similarity between book and film end, making this the second completely original Bond film after The Spy Who Loved Me. The screenplay was written by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson.
Plot Summary
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
The plot centers around billionaire industrialist Max Zorin who intends to destroy Silicon Valley in California in order to gain complete control of the microchip market. Zorin is aided by his Amazonian henchwoman, the murderous May Day and his Head of Security, Scarpine. James Bond is aided in his adventure by Stacey Sutton and Sir Godfrey Tibbett.
A View To A Kill is widely regarded as one of the poorest entries in the Bond series, the criticism centering on the now aged Roger Moore having long outstayed his welcome in the role; in fact many tabloid newspapers joking that Bond's next gadget from "Q" should be a Zimmer frame. The plotline was also criticised for being almost identical to that of Goldfinger; similar elements include:
- In Goldfinger, the villain's scheme is to irradiate the entire US gold reserve, making it worthless, causing financial meltdown in the West plus Auric Goldfinger's personal gold stocks will increase in value tenfold; correspondingly in A View To A Kill, Max Zorin intends to destroy Silicon Valley by triggering a massive earthquake, thus leaving his company with a monopoly on the microchip market.
- As in Goldfinger, one of the business partners in the scam gets cold feet and would rather take the money and run. While Mr. Solo was assassinated by Oddjob and his body disposed of in a car crusher, in A View To A Kill, the dissenter in the ranks is dropped from Zorin's airship and into the San Francisco bay.
- Both Zorin and Goldfinger are being bankrolled by the Communists, in the former case, Zorin is an ex-KGB agent, while the atom bomb intended to destroy Fort Knox is supplied by the Chinese.
Theme Music
The theme tune "A View to a Kill", performed by Duran Duran, was written by Duran Duran and John Barry and peaked at #1 and #2 in the US and UK charts respectively. Although the movie underperformed commercially, "A View to a Kill" is considered the most successful Bond theme to date.
Vehicles & Gadgets
- Iceberg - Bond escapes from a mission in Iceland by getting into a boat built to look like an Iceberg.
- Camera Ring - Bond wears a ring given to him by Q-Branch that acts a camera.
Locations
Cast & Characters
- Directed by: John Glen
- Produced by: Albert R. Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson
- Written by:Ian Fleming
- Screenplay by: Michael G. Wilson, John Barry
This is the final James Bond film to star Roger Moore. It is also the final Bond film to star Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny. There is a cameo by Maud Adams making this her third Bond film, the first two being The Man With the Golden Gun and Octopussy.
Trivia
- At the end of Octopussy when it says "James Bond Will Return", it listed the next film as "From a View to A Kill", the name of the original short story by Ian Fleming. The title was changed a few months before filming.
- Pinewood Studios, the studios that EON Productions uses to film the James Bond movies was burnt down before filming could start. Albert R. Broccoli, the owner of EON had it rebuilt in a matter of only four months.
- Christopher Walken is the only Bond Villain to have won an Academy Award.
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