17 replies to this topic

[Qwerty]

As we've done in the past for some of the James Bond films, it's time to mark the upcoming 25th anniversary of Roger Moore's A View to a Kill...

What was it like to see Roger Moore's final go as 007 in this 1985 James Bond film?

Where was it? Were you at a premiere? Was it your first Bond film? ...are just some of the questions to consider. If you can't remember your very first time in seeing the film, then perhaps your most memorable experience instead.

Members are encouraged to write a few paragraphs describing the event and your thoughts.

[SecretAgentFan]

I was 16 years old. A big Roger Moore fan since he was the first Bond I had ever seen when my father took me to see THE SPY WHO LOVED ME.

In 1985 it was publicly known that A VIEW TO A KILL would be ending Sir Roger´s tenure and I was very sad about it. There had been speculation in the papers about his successors. I remember Lewis Collins (then being hot, due to his portrayal of Agent Bodie on "The Professionals") being tipped as the one with the most chances.

My whole family went to see A VIEW TO A KILL. It was a Wednesday late afternoon trip. The movie played in the biggest theatre in town, my favorite cinema back then, an old-style movie house which always had a nice, faint smell of popcorn and ice-cream. (It was closed a few years ago due to the opening of a multiplex nearby.)

The movie, I´m afraid, did not really impress me so much. It felt dated and going through the motions. This opinion has changed over the years (thanks to repeated viewings and, of course, our friend Zorin ). I know now that my initial reaction was not so much to the movie but to the end of Sir Roger´s time as Bond - and the end of my childhood. I did not want to see it go but, of course, it was inevitable.

So, seeing A VIEW TO A KILL for the first time, always will remain an important memory for me since it marked a special time - the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.

The next time I went to see a Bond film I was 18 years old, officially an adult. THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS played in the same wonderful big theatre. I went to see it with my dad. And, of course, we loved it.

[sharpshooter]

Years ago, after watching The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker, I hired A View To A Kill out on VHS for another Bond fix. I went from Moore's all time high to Moore's all time low.

I have never connected with this film and it's my least watched in the series. Roger's age is the elephant in the room, and he should have left after Octopussy. Tanya Roberts is annoyingly awful. The plot is below average. Nothing really holds my interest.

Everything is tired and The Living Daylights could not come soon enough. However, I like the song, Christopher Walken and Patrick Macnee. But that's about it.

[hilly]

Summer 1985. I was 17 and a big Bond fan. The theme tune was everywhere and Bond was back. I persuaded a friend to come with me one afternoon and, as 17 yr olds do, we went to the cinema via the pub.. Sadly even the alcohol could not turn this cinematic experience into a memorable one.. The plot creaked more than Roger and, whilst he will always be wonderful, simply for being Roger (and LALD,TSWLM AND Octopussy are among my favourites), this was one Bond movie too much. I tried to remain enthusiastic throughout, but by the end of it, even I was watching through my fingers (although that could have been the hangover kicking in...)

[[dark]]

I was about 16. One of our TV networks had been showing a Bond film each Saturday night for weeks. A View to a Kill came around and I thought it was great fun. I went to school the following Monday and was shocked to discover my friends didn't think the same.

I've been defending it ever since.

[sthgilyadgnivileht]

I saw AVTAK at screen one at my local Odeon, age nine. It was the first Bond I saw on the cinema screen and unfortunately we arrived late and missed the PTS and sat down to the scene where May Day was calming Pegasus at the horse race.
It's hard to describe in a forum post the positive impact the film had, but suffice to say it was an event. I liked everything about it - the villains, the locations, the music.... I still remember watching Grace Jones saying 'wow what a view' and getting this great feeling of anticipation of what was to come in the film. I wasn't disappointed.

[Lachesis]

I think I watched it at a fairly run down local cinema, The Byron...awful sound system it had... but I recall thinking how much more fun it seemed than either Octopussy or Never Say Never Again.....

[Yellow Pinky]

I was 23 when this movie came out and had been an enormous fan of all things Bond ever since my Dad started taking me to the Connery re-release double features at the cinema when I was young boy. I had made a habit of seeing the new Bond releases on their opening weekend beginning with "Diamonds are Forever" and have remained faithful to this through "Quantum of Solace".

I liked Moore as Bond, and still do, although even at the time I didn't care for how overtly comedic the tone of his films became. I went into "A View to a Kill" well aware that it was being touted as Moore's last Bond and was curious given that I had found his last two outings to be a bit more serious.

To say that I was disappointed is a huge understatement. Moore was far too old to be believable; the stunts were tired and ridiculously over the top; the stunt work was obviously performed by badly concealed stunt men; the lead actress as sub-par TV caliber... it just was a total botch for me at the time. I left the theater quite sad for my favorite fictional character.

Upon repeat viewings I have learned to appreciate facets of the movie. although I still consider it a grand failure. As a swan song for Moore it retains a poignancy that makes it hard to hate. Christopher Walken's Zorin is a great villain. Patrick Macnee was an inspired casting choice who fills his role with aplomb. The blimp ending is genuinely exciting at points, and, in spite of his age, Moore still was able to deliver a performance that gave a level of legitimacy to the character that no one behind the camera seemed capable of matching.

Steve

[Brian Flagg]

As we've done in the past for some of the James Bond films, it's time to mark the upcoming 25th anniversary of Roger Moore's A View to a Kill...

What was it like to see Roger Moore's final go as 007 in this 1985 James Bond film?

Where was it? Were you at a premiere? Was it your first Bond film? ...are just some of the questions to consider. If you can't remember your very first time in seeing the film, then perhaps your most memorable experience instead.

Members are encouraged to write a few paragraphs describing the event and your thoughts.

My first Bond-in-a-theater was FYEO. I also saw OP in the theater and refused to see NSNA because I thought that Sean was being disrespectful to the current Bond!

AVTAK, for better or worse, conjurs up my last truly Childhood Summer. I was thirteen, soon to be fourteen...

In the months before AVTAK's opening, my friends and I--we were eighth graders at the time--were obsessed with Mission: Impossible, which had begun showing on late-night reruns, but when the (final) Roger Moore James Bond movie premiered in late May 1985, it fed our frenzy that was our secret agent obsession. My friend (also named Brian)saw the film before the rest of us and he made AVTAK out to be the coolest thing, as was his uncanny ability. He enthused over Jenny Flex's hotness, and he liked elements of the film, like the shotgun loaded with rock salt and Zorin being a test tube Nazi. It all sounded so good! So my two friends and I all went to see AVTAK together and I was impressed, and my other pal, Kevin, who became totally obsessed with Max Zorin, played by Christopher Walken. We ended up seeing AVTAK in the theater three times.

Also, in the days before affordable VHS tapes of films, we bought the TSR Bond game modules and I had John Barry's AVTAK score on cassette. The Duran Duran song played endlessly on the radio that Summer, the entirety of which was spent in a swimming pool, enthusing over Mission: Impossible reruns and the latest Bond film.

BTW, not one of us ever thought at the time that Roger was too old for the role! He had always been James Bond for as long as we could remember and it was just business as usual when a new Moore Bond movie was released.

[Mr. Somerset]

I saw AVTAK when I was 10, with my folks. Kind of a summer tradition for the family to see the latest Bond film. I had been extremely excited, though I thought it was strange that the film wasn't called "FROM A View To A Kill". I had heard the theme song on Entertainment Tonight not too long before and thought it was too trendy for Bond- I also thought the titles were too trendy. I wouldn't have been surprised at the time if the film had featured a scene in which Bond breakdances.
Still, great fun, the audience laughed loudly at many scenes. However, by the time we got the the Silicon Valley mines, I had a huge headache.
After the film, I recall my dad having loved it, and my mom being appalled at the scene where Zorin is shooting everyone. One of Roger Moore's least favorite scenes, as well.
During the next several months, I recall every kid seeming to think this was their favorite Bond film, and mine was, well, Goldfinger.
As for Roger's age? Didn't really notice until Raymond Benson's updated James Bond Bedside Companion, where he thrashes Roger for being too old. I actually thought, during that first close up of Rog in the PTS, he looked great.
To this day it has never been my favorite ond film, and was my least fave until DAD came along.

[jrcjohnny99]

Despite it being one of my least favourite Bond movies; my second time seeing AVTAK holds a very special place in my heart..
I was 16 and a HUGE Bond fan, I had, of course, seen the movie on opening day at the Odeon in Manchester, but a couple of weeks later, my brother and I were headed down to London to see Bruce Springsteen on the 4th of July at Wembley stadium.
We decided to save up all we had and go down for a couple of extra stays, stay in the west end and fulfil a dream of mine, to see a Bond movie at the Odeon Leicester Sq.
We went down on the weds, saw Bruce on the Thursday (to this day, after over 2000 gigs, that remains the best I've ever seen) then on Friday night, we dressed up in suits and went to see AVTAK at the Odeon.
It was magnificent, the theatre is THE place to see a Bond movie and we had a blast.
Yes, the movie has huge flaws and yes, Roger is way to old, but that night, none of it mattered.
Wherever I've been in the world since, I've always done the best I can to get back to the UK so that me & my our kid can go see the latest Bond movie at the Odeon Leicester Sq together....

[AMC Hornet]

I had just moved to a city close to the mountains when AVTAK opened. I bought a 45 of Duran Duran's theme and listened to it repeatedly (something I've never done since - I decided then to never listen to the new theme before I see the titles with it). I won premiere tickets and a soundtrack on the radio, and as my elder brother was passing through town, we went to the show together (my wife didn't mind - she wasn't a big 007 fan).

My brother was no longer much of a fan either. As far as he was concerned the series ended with You Only Live Twice (yet, on TMWTGG's opening day he was second in line, right behind me).

My new home is a ski town, and the audience went so beserk during the snowboarding scene that I didn't even hear 'California Girls' (am I the only one who doesn't have a problem with it?). The titles became dated even as I watched them ("What were the mid-80s like, Grandpa?" "Watch A View To A Kill and you'll see, sonny").

After Q placed his snooper robot on a chair, my brother was convinced that someone -probably the MOD - was going to sit on it. I was so relieved that he was wrong.

Just at the point when May Day dumps the holdout partner out of the blimp the screen went blurry. Everyone groaned and called 'focus!' but nothing happened. Finally someone called out "alright! We'll pay the five bucks!' That got a laugh, and seemed to get the projectionist's attention.

There was more groaning during the elevator scene, and while Tanya Roberts was screaming "James! Don't leave me!" several hecklers were crying "James, for God's sake leave her!"

Everyone screamed again during the bridge fight, when Bond and Stacey started rolling down the cable. There was a collective release of pent-up breath when the blimp exploded, then came that embarassing final moment with Rog and his daughter's younger friend in the shower ("that is not the soap.")

I admit I was disappointed. I wanted the movie to be better than it was, but after enjoying Octopussy immensely, it seemed that the best move would have been to recast all the major roles and rewrite the script (does every fire engine chase in San Fransisco have to involve a loose ladder, converging trolley cars and a draw bridge?). I wasn't put off initially by Moore's age; that didn't become so noticable until Timothy Dalton was announced the next year. I didn't even notice that he'd had his mole removed.

The one thing my brother found interesting was the father/son relationship between Zorin and Modner. That could have been played up a litte more. Over all, though, ATAK wasn't the highlight of the summer of '85 that I'd been hoping for.

PS: I saw a rather immature friend a few weeks later who told me that, while watching AVTAK's PTS, he thought "this is the BEST Bond movie ever, it's so funny!" Then was disappointed with the rest. I had no comment for him.

However:

A couple of years later I rented AVTAK from a rather poorly-stocked video store and my dad watched it with me - that is, he fell asleep during the briefing scene and woke up in time for the bridge fight. As the end titles rolled he said "that's the worst Bond movie I've ever seen!" I could only agree with him, adding "and you only saw the best parts!"

The film has its moments, but I think the series would have flowed better if Sir Roger had retired with Octopussy and Timothy Dalton had done A(different)VTAK.

Summer '83 and '87 - now those were good times!

[elizabeth]

My most memorable experience with AVTAK came a few weeks ago when I re-watched the film. I used to dislike the film, but I watched it again, and came to enjoy it. Not one of my favorites, but still pretty cool.

[TheSaint]

Saw it opening day after high school classes ended in 1985 at the Loews Astor Plaza theater in NYC. I was 17. I enjoyed it. Still do. I fully expected Roger to return for the next film until I heard in the news months later that he would not be returning.

[Qwerty]

Bumping this one back up.

[john.steed]

A View to a Kill is one of the few Bond films that I do not have a strong memory of seeing for the first time. I know that I would have seen it soon after its release in 1985 but I do not know remember where I saw it nor do I remember who i saw it with. I remember talking to a friend about it as we walked to place home at the time but I think that was after a second viewing. Oddly, I have a greater memory of picking it up at a viedo store right after it was released and coming home and watching it with one of my housemates.

[DamnCoffee]

A View to a Kill is one of the few Bond films that I do not have a strong memory of seeing for the first time. Oddly, I have a greater memory of picking it up at a viedo store.

That's really odd, because I'm exactly the game.


A View To A Kill is probably the only Bond film I can't remember seeing for the first time. I remember when I bought it on VHS though, it was on BOGOF offer. I got GoldenEye as well. I remember visiting my Grandad in hospital, directly after my purchase. I must've been about 9.

It's my Granddads favorite Bond film, as well as my stepdads. Personally, I find it an average entry to the series, but still quite enjoyable. I LOVE Grace Jones and Christopher Walken, they are fantastic main villains. Jones especially, I recently added her as my 'Favorite Henchwoman' on my Dossier.

It's a fun film, a lot better than the dire For Your Eyes Only, which takes its place as the worst film in the series for me. John Barry gives us a brilliant soundtrack, and Duran Durans title song is world famous.

[4 Ur Eyez Only]

I was lucky enough to see from Moonraker - AVTAK in the theater and I have to say Octopussy was the best movie going experience I ever had. More then star wars, raiders, jedi.. but wow AVTAK was horrible - I was in a 800 seat theater and like 20 people were in there a week afte it opened