26 replies to this topic

[Donovan]

This was a film that I had been eagerly anticipating maybe more than any other Bond film before or since. That's saying a lot. But after being thoroughly impressed by Timothy Dalton's performance in "The Living Daylights" an appreciating his efforts on behalf of Ian Fleming's vision, the next film was sure to be stellar and bring Bond back to the top of the box office where he belonged.

Obviously, there wasn't the Internet back then. One had to rely on an issue or two of Bondage magazine as well as 007 by the respective fan clubs. Starlog magazine was another decent source of information and interviews. There were also the occasional newspaper write-ups on the development. Bond 16 was soon identified as "Licence Revoked", giving Bond fans kernels of ideas that this was a sign that the John Gardiner books might be on deck, with "Revoked" providing a bridge between the two original authors bodies of work.

Some news leaked about Felix's fate as written in "Live And Let Die". The character of Milton Krest kept the 80s Bond tradition alive of alternating Fleming source material between his two collections of short stories.

With all the summer blockbusters raining down on theaters I was interested to see where Bond would fit in. I was a bit disappointed in Batman and Indiana Jones. Lethal Weapon 2 was originally scheduled to be released on the same day as LTK but was moved up at the last minute. Star Trek V was a disaster. And with a great lead as Bond mixed with the direction of the series being more serious and action-oriented, I was optimistic for Bond's chances.

The day it opened in America, July 14, 1989, instantly gave me an idea of what was in store for Bond's box office. For the first screenings of the day, the local gigantic first run theater had LTK and Batman. There was a long line waiting to get in for the first show. A lot of young kids. Just about every one of them bought tickets to see Batman...a film that had been out for almost a month.

I was such a Bond nerd I saw LTK three times that day. The 3rd viewing was to a packed house who was energetically reacting to the humor with laughs and the action sequences with applause. The biggest roar came during the water-skiing behind the seaplane. I too was very satisfied with the film.

Little did we know at the time that it would be more than a while until the next Bond film would be in theaters. There was the customary eagerness for news that fall/winter. At worst, it seemed that maybe there would be an extra year's wait, as evidenced by the giant ad campaign for the 3rd Dalton film scheduled for release in 1992. But ultimately it was the end for Dalton's Bond. Suffice to say the events that unfolded that basically turned 007 on his head were as baffling as they were frustrating.

[Tarl_Cabot]

I was dying to see LTK but for some reason I didn't catch it until a few days after it was out. I loved it. But when I counted 5 people who walked out I knew this was gonna be a polarizing 007 film and the series might be in trouble.It's such a show business tragedy that Dalton and us fans were cheated out of a continuation of his run as 007.

Quantum Of Solace is for me the 1991 Bond film I never got to see.


Wow, 20 years!

[HildebrandRarity]

I was a young punk trying to get laid in 1989 and LTK was not cool enuf to get an 18 or 19 year old girl to the shack.

I know that Licence To Kill had the highest "focus group" numbers for a Bond film to date ... so it must have been an utter shock to our dear Cubby when he saw the US numbers came in so underwhelmingly upon release.

Now I look back on LTK and - despite Timothy's Dracula hair - it has dated rather well in relation to, er, Batman. Hasn't it?

[Zorin Industries]

I saw it a couple of months before it was released at an Eon screening. I remember my school mates not believing me I had seen the film for weeks. Most annoying (!)

[HildebrandRarity]

I was a young punk trying to get laid in 1989 and LTK was not cool enuf to get an 18 or 19 year old girl to the shack.

I know that Licence To Kill had the highest "focus group" numbers for a Bond film to date ... so it must have been an utter shock to our dear Cubby when he saw the US numbers came in so underwhelmingly upon release.

Now I look back on LTK and - despite Timothy's Dracula hair - it seems to have dated rather well in relation to, er, Batman. Hasn't it?

[Loomis]

I was a young punk trying to get laid in 1989

Weren't we all, dear?

LTK was not cool enuf to get an 18 or 19 year old girl to the shack.

What flick did you try to pull with? LETHAL WEAPON 2?

Now I look back on LTK and - despite Timothy's Dracula hair - it has dated rather well in relation to, er, Batman. Hasn't it?

Indeed it has. I still say it's a perfectly decent Bond film with some wonderful moments. I much prefer it to QUANTUM OF SOLACE, in fact.

[Safari Suit]

So do you no longer think Craig has put Dalton "out of business"?

[Conlazmoodalbrocra]

Now I look back on LTK and - despite Timothy's Dracula hair - it has dated rather well in relation to, er, Batman. Hasn't it?

Indeed it has. I still say it's a perfectly decent Bond film with some wonderful moments. I much prefer it to QUANTUM OF SOLACE, in fact.

Ditto.

[Loomis]

So do you no longer think Craig has put Dalton "out of business".

As a Bond actor, yes, he has done. I still stand by that. However, that does not necessarily mean that both of the films he's been in trump the 007 outings Dalton starred in.

For me, THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS and LICENCE TO KILL are better films than QUANTUM OF SOLACE (although not perhaps by all that much). However, CASINO ROYALE is a better film than TLD, LTK and QOS put together.

[Safari Suit]

Have I been here before?

[Zorin Industries]

I don't know but I just met myself in the corridor...

Wasn't 1989's Bond film called LICENCE TO KILL and not LICENSE REVOKED? Where does that title even come from?! (watch the irony police jump me at the lights...).

[Conlazmoodalbrocra]

Licence Revoked was the original title, but Cubby decided to change the title mid-way through production. 'The Essential Bond' by Lee Pfeiffer and Dave Worrall includes a photo of an original promotional piece for the movie with Licence Revoked written on the top. Don't know why Cubby changed his mind? I suppose Licence To Kill sounds a bit more Bondian, like A View To A Kill.

[Zorin Industries]

Licence Revoked was the original title, but Cubby decided to change the title mid-way through production. 'The Essential Bond' by Lee Pfeiffer and Dave Worrall includes a photo of an original promotional piece for the movie with Licence Revoked written on the top. Don't know why Cubby changed his mind? I suppose Licence To Kill sounds a bit more Bondian, like A View To A Kill.

Yep! The irony police caught me at the lights!!

I did once hear (I think it was in 1972) that Dalton's second film would be called LICENSE REVOKED, but it was worried the Swiss wouldn't get what REVOKED meant so they changed it to BEYOND THE AVATAR before LICENCE TO KILL was settled upon in the Winter of 1981.

[HildebrandRarity]

No no, that TD outing was called THE WINTER THE LION'S LICENCE GOT REVOKED...or was it JANE'S LICENCE TO AYRE

It's all sooo confusing.

[HildebrandRarity]

I was a young punk trying to get laid in 1989

Weren't we all, dear?

LTK was not cool enuf to get an 18 or 19 year old girl to the shack.

What flick did you try to pull with? LETHAL WEAPON 2?

Um, er, ... Batman.

[DR76]

Congratulations on the 20th anniversary of the release of LICENSE TO KILL. Despite feeling more like a MIAMI VICE movie, it still had a first-rate story and a great performance by Timothy Dalton.

[Conlazmoodalbrocra]

Licence Revoked was the original title, but Cubby decided to change the title mid-way through production. 'The Essential Bond' by Lee Pfeiffer and Dave Worrall includes a photo of an original promotional piece for the movie with Licence Revoked written on the top. Don't know why Cubby changed his mind? I suppose Licence To Kill sounds a bit more Bondian, like A View To A Kill.

Yep! The irony police caught me at the lights!!

I did once hear (I think it was in 1972) that Dalton's second film would be called LICENSE REVOKED, but it was worried the Swiss wouldn't get what REVOKED meant so they changed it to BEYOND THE AVATAR before LICENCE TO KILL was settled upon in the Winter of 1981.

Don't you mean sarcasm rather than irony?

[Mr. Blofeld]

Woo-hoo! I remember seeing it on DVD for the first time like it was yesterday...

...and that music! Kamen rocks!

[DR76]

Check out these SCREENCAPS from "License to Kill".

[Turn]

It was 20 years ago today for me. While that's a good memory, I also look back at the innocence of not knowing it would be the last new Bond film I would see for another 6 years.

[Forward Look]

Still the best motor vehicle chase scene in a Bond film to date, and the producers/stunt crew did a two-wheel scene correctly this time with the stinger missile going under Bond's truck to hit the villain's truck.

[DLibrasnow]

It was 20 years ago today for me. While that's a good memory, I also look back at the innocence of not knowing it would be the last new Bond film I would see for another 6 years.

Wow 20 years ago.

I was visiting the United States for the first time in the summer of 1989 and I recall trying to persuade my Minnesota host family and friends to go see "License to Kill". My pleas were unsuccessful and we went to "Batman" instead, but I still recall the complete lack of interest on the part of everyone else in my group on seeing the second Dalton movie.

I did of course finally see it on my return to the U.K.

[MarcAngeDraco]

20 years ago... Now I'm feeling old...

The marketing for LTK was horrible, easily the worst I've ever seen for a Bond film. Like they just hung it out to dry.

[Double-0-7]

20 years ago... Now I'm feeling old...

The marketing for LTK was horrible, easily the worst I've ever seen for a Bond film. Like they just hung it out to dry.

You are old.

Lame marketing, an odd feel partially due to the Mexican replacement of things usually shot in England, my least-favorite soundtrack, and the Miami Vice plot all contributed to the less than enthusiastic public response.

I was disappointed with the overall film, but enjoyed the action that took place on and around the Wavekrest as well as the vehicle chase scenes at the end of the film. Q had so many scenes that they could have been preparing for a spin-off series for him, but I liked seeing his larger part.

[dchantry]

I always had a soft spot for LTK because it was different and a lot grittier that what we were used to. It was also the 1st premiere I went to.
I hadn't seen it for a few years so I actually watched it 2 days ago as a 20 year pilgrimage.
Watching it now you get to appreciate that it is everything Quantum Of Solace hoped to be. It actually seems ahead of it's time and Dalton does better what Craig has started to mimic (very well i may add) 20 years on.
Superb, enjoyed every minute of it, even the soundtrack which I had always knocked in the past.
Now where are those Miami Vice DVD's

[Robinson]

I still enjoy LTK, though it does look a bit dated in turns of Glen's direction. That being said, I don't know what UK director at that time would've been able to provide style and a different "look" to this film. Possibly John MacKenzie who directed "The Long Good Friday."

Good to see David Hedison play Leiter again. I think his casting allowed provided more emotional weight than if they'd cast John Terry again.

I thought Robert Davi's observations about Dalton's involvement in LTK were great (see the DVD). It was a daring choice at that time and I think it allowed EON to think about making the series a bit more "serious" down the line.

BTW, if I'm tempted to make a fanboy Bond montage, I'm using "License to Kill" as the theme song!

[dinovelvet]

So do you no longer think Craig has put Dalton "out of business"?

I do. In fact, I think it went something like this :


INT. EON PRODUCTIONS OFFICE - DAY (late 2005)

MICHAEL G. WILSON sits behind his desk with a GECKO on his shoulder. DANIEL CRAIG sits opposite him.

WILSON : Are you here on business?

CRAIG : No, temporarily unemployed. I thought I might find work here.

WILSON : Well, it's very difficult to obtain a work permit at EON. It's...well, one has to show a special talent that people here don't have.

Craig looks around the room. We see GEORGE LAZENBY, ROGER MOORE, TIMOTHY DALTON, and PIERCE BROSNAN surrounding him.

CRAIG : Well, that shouldn't be too difficult.