JAMES BOND 007 MAGAZINE | A View To A Kill 40th Anniversary

A View To A Kill 40th Anniversary 1985-2025

To celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the release of Roger Moore’s swansong as 007, KEVIN HARPER takes a look back at the production of A View To A Kill – the 14th film in the long-running James Bond film series.

Christopher Walken, Tanya Roberts, Roger Moore and Grace Jones

At the end of Octopussy (1983) it was announced that James Bond would return in ‘From A View To A Kill’ – the title of the opening short story of Ian Fleming’s 1960 anthology FOR YOUR EYES ONLY. With no full-length novels left to adapt, EON Productions had looked for inspiration in the short stories and successfully integrated elements from them into the screenplay of For Your Eyes Only (1981), and to a lesser degree in Octopussy (1983). Veteran James Bond screenwriter Richard Maibaum delivered a 27-page treatment for the 14th James Bond film on October 26, 1983, which retained the title and French setting of the short story originally published in the Daily Express newspaper in September 1959, under the title Murder Before Breakfast. Maibaum introduced the character of Zorin (originally named Zorn), who has been genetically engineered by ex-Nazis in South America, and his plan to corner the microchip market by flooding Silicon Valley, in a storyline very similar to the 1964 classic, Goldfinger. After director John Glen and co-producer Michael G. Wilson had begun scouting potential locations in San Francisco, it became clear the new film should utilise the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, and a second draft treatment included the city, and also scenes at a horse-breeding ranch. This second draft was further revised to include the pre-credit ski chase and Zorin’s airship. The production engaged the services of Airship Industries in Bedfordshire, who although were unable to provide an Airship in San Francisco, did say they were already flying one for Fuji Film in the city as part of the Japanese company’s promotion of their sponsorship of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. A small crew including director John Glen and second unit photographer Arthur Wooster captured footage of the Fuji blimp and the Golden Gate Bridge, which was used in the finished film.

Pre-production filming A View To A Kill | Screenwriter Richard Maibaum

ABOVE: (top left) A View To A Kill Director John Glen, Production Supervisor Anthony Waye, 2nd Unit Director Arthur Wooster and Cinematographer Alan Hume photograph the Fuji blimp as it approaches the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco during pre-production on the film. (bottom left) One of the shots of the Fuji blimp appears in the finished film. The various sized models of Zorin's airship were finished in the same red and green colour scheme as the Fuji logo, so when seen from a distance it could double as the Zorin Industries Skyship 500. (right) Veteran James Bond film screenwriter Richard Maibaum working on the script for A View To A Kill (1985).

In April 1984, it was announced that the title of the new James Bond film would be A View To A Kill, and production would begin in June. Although Octopussy had proved the overall winner at the box-office in the so-called ‘Battle of the Bonds’, against Never Say Never Again, Sean Connery’s final return to the James Bond role, many people thought that Roger Moore was now too old to continue playing Ian Fleming’s secret agent, as he was now relying more regularly on stunt doubles to perform most of the action sequences. EON Productions, however, were still keen to continue with Moore, and at the age of 57 he agreed to play James Bond for a 00-seventh time in A View To A Kill. As the production was to be largely filmed in the USA, two American performers were cast in the lead roles opposite Moore; New York stage and screen actor Christopher Walken was cast as the villain Max Zorin (after singer David Bowie was approached as an off-beat choice). Ironically, Christopher Walken and Roger Moore had already appeared together in a 1953 episode of the American TV drama series Robert Montgomery Presents. Walken was an uncredited child actor in the episode titled The Wind Cannot Read. Best-known for appearing in the hit TV series Charlie's Angels, model and actress Tanya Roberts took on the role of geologist Stacey Sutton. Jamaican-born singer and actress Grace Jones was cast as Zorin’s sidekick May Day, with her boyfriend Dolph Lundgren making his acting debut in the small role of Russian Agent Venz. Patrick Macnee was engaged to play a horse-trainer Sir Godfrey Tibbett, working undercover as Bond’s chauffeur. Macnee became the third actor from the hit TV series The Avengers (1961-69) to join the Bond franchise, following in the footsteps of his co-stars Honor Blackman in Goldfinger (1964) and Diana Rigg in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). His New Avengers (1976-77) co-star Joanna Lumley had also appeared in OHMSS as The English Girl. Roger Moore and Patrick Macnee were old friends from their television days, with The Saint and The Avengers filmed around the same time at Elstree Studios, and their on-screen chemistry in A View To A Kill is one of the high points of the film. Moore and Macnee had earlier starred together as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in the forgettable US television film Sherlock Holmes in New York (1976), and again in The Sea Wolves (1980).

Pre-production storyboard | Location filming in Iceland and Switzerland | Grace jones and Dolph Lundgren

ABOVE: (top left) A storyboard drawn during pre-production showed pop star David Bowie as Max Zorin and his sidekick May Day as Caucasian. Bowie declined the role and later said “‘Yes, I was offered that. I think for an actor it’s probably an interesting thing to do, but I think for somebody from rock ’n’ roll, it’s more of a clown performance. And I didn’t want to spend five months watching my double fall off mountains.” (top right) The second unit filmed part of the pre-title sequence at the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon in Iceland. (bottom left) Grace Jones played May Day in A View To A Kill and her then boyfriend Dolph Lundgren had a small role as Russian Agent Venz. (bottom right) Stunt performer John Eaves (doubling for Roger Moore) and third unit director champion skier Willy Bogner on location at Piz Palü on the Vedretta di Scerscen Inferiore glacier in the Swiss Alps.

The first draft screenplay by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson was delivered on June 5, 1984, with a revised shooting script following two weeks later. The second unit began filming at Royal Ascot Racecourse for two days beginning June 19, 1984, and then relocated to Iceland to film part of the pre-title sequence. Production Designer Peter Lamont had planned to build the interior of the ‘Main Strike’ mine set on Pinewood’s ‘007 Stage’ – originally conceived by Ken Adam and constructed in 1976 to house the set he designed for the interior of the Liparus supertanker in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). On June 27, 1984, disaster struck when the ‘007 Stage’ burned down during the filming of Ridley Scott's Legend (1985). With production due to start on A View To A Kill (1985), EON Productions set about rebuilding the stage and the production schedule was hastily rearranged – including additional footage required for the pre-title ski sequence (originally planned for Scotland but abandoned due to mild weather) – with champion skier Willy Bogner now directing the third unit on a glacier in the Swiss Alps, which took place over four weeks in July/August 1984.

Patrick Macnee, Desmond Llewelyn, Lois Maxwell, Roger Moore and Robert Brown | 007 Stage fire June 27, 1984

ABOVE: (left) Patrick Macnee as Sir Godfrey Tibbett on location at Royal Ascot Racecourse. (top right) Desmond Llewelyn (Q), Lois Maxwell (Moneypenny), Roger Moore (James Bond) and Robert Brown (M) on location at Ascot during filming of A View To A Kill in June 1984. (bottom right) On June 27, 1984, disaster struck when the ‘007 Stage’ burned down during the filming of Ridley Scott's Legend (1985) which resulted in the shooting schedule for A View To A Kill being hastily rearranged.

CONTINUED >>