A View To A Kill
40th Anniversary 1985-2025

On January 16, 1985, Roger Moore completed his last day as James Bond. The destruction of Peter Lamont’s mine set was completed on January 25, 1985, with the model unit filming effects on a third-scale miniature version until February 19th. Post-production then began on A View To A Kill, with more special effects and model work intercut with live-action footage for the final cut. Several scenes were deleted when it became evident the film would be longer than expected. These scenes can be viewed as a special feature on the A View To A Kill DVD and Blu-ray, and include Bond’s release from a Parisian jail, Zorin and his henchmen arriving at City Hall with the Gasoline cans used to set the building alight, and a lengthy scene of protestors at Chevron Dock in San Francisco who object to the ecological effects of Zorin’s pumping station. Maurice Binder filmed live-action elements with models Toni White, Jilly Johnson and Caroline Hallett for his main title sequence; and also utilised members of the British Ski Federation, having earlier used the ski theme in the teaser trailer for A View To A Kill, drawing inspiration from the pre-title sequence co-ordinated by Willy Bogner.

Composer John Barry returned to the series for his penultimate film but had an uneasy collaboration with British pop band Duran Duran, who had written the theme song. The pop band also filmed a promotional video at the Eiffel Tower in Paris in early April 1985, which was directed by Kevin Godley & Lol Creme. The pair began releasing music as a duo after their departure from the rock band 10cc. Duran Duran’s single ‘A View To A Kill’ was released in May 1985 with the video playing frequently on American cable TV channel MTV, resulting in the song reaching number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and a respectable number two in the UK, becoming the highest charting James Bond song to date. As a thank you to Mayor Dianne Feinstein (1933-2023) and the City of San Francisco, A View To A Kill had its World Premiere at the Palace of Fine Arts on May 22, 1985 – designated as ‘James Bond Day’ by the city. Stuntman B. J. Worth parachuted from a helicopter down to City Hall and delivered a cheque for $100,007 to Roger Moore who handed it to Dianne Feinstein for the Mayor’s Youth Fund to benefit Tenderloin Child Care Centres. The following evening a special preview of A View To A Kill took place at the Loews Astor Plaza Cinema on Broadway and 44th Street to benefit the Boys Club of New York. The film then opened across the USA on Friday May 24, 1985.

Following the US opening, A View To A Kill then received its Royal Charity Premiere at the ODEON Leicester Square in London on Wednesday June 12, 1985, in the presence of Their Royal Highnesses The Prince and Princess of Wales. The event was attended by Roger Moore, co-stars Tanya Roberts, Grace Jones and Patrick Macnee. Indian actor Vijay Amritraj [who appeared as MI6 intelligence operative Vijay in Octopussy (1983)] also attended the Premiere of A View To A Kill at the invitation of Producer ‘Cubby’ Broccoli. The professional tennis player was in London to compete at Wimbledon where he reached the fourth round of the men's singles. Producer Albert R. Broccoli was accompanied by his wife Dana. Also attending were director John Glen, composer John Barry and members of the pop group Duran Duran, whose appearance garnered as much media attention as Princess Diana.

The UK general release of A View To A Kill began in major cities on Friday June 14, and coastal resorts from Friday July 5; with a London-wide release from Friday July 19, 1985. As had been the case with You Only Live Twice (1967), Live And Let Die (1973) and The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), the general release of A View To A Kill was timed to coincide with the school summer holidays, and its box-office success was boosted by unusually poor weather that year, forcing many people off the beaches and into the cinema. UK cinema attendance had fallen dramatically in the early 1980s, and dropped to an all-time low in 1984 with just 54 million admissions for the year. Television, and later the wider availability of videotapes, was blamed for the rapid decline. From the post-war boom of 1.6 billion admissions in over 4,500 cinemas in 1946, this had dropped to around 700 venues with a total of 1,200 screens by 1985. Although this was the time of the summer blockbuster, when one film dominated the cinematic landscape across the country for a few months, the James Bond films found it harder to compete with US releases. To try and stay one step ahead of the home entertainment market, 1985 was designated ‘British Film Year’ by the British Film Institute, and the celebration featured a year-long series of special screenings and investment in multiplex cinemas, which gave a much-needed boost to an ailing industry. Distributors made a concerted effort to convince audiences that cinema was still the best place to see a film, and attendance did rise to 72 million in 1985, steadily increasing year-on-year ever since.

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