A View To A Kill — Ten Iconic Moments

SNOW BUSINESS

On a mission in Siberia to recover a microchip that can withstand an electromagnetic pulse, James Bond (Roger Moore) comes under attack from Soviet troops. 007 escapes in a motorised toboggan but when the front ski is shot off, he turns it into a monoski, escaping and defeating his assailants on an improvised snowboard.

BTS: While snowboarding had been featured in a short French film, A View To A Kill marks the first time the sport appeared in a major feature. 

LEAP OF FAITH

After killing Bond’s contact, Aubergine (Jean Rougerie), assassin May Day (Grace Jones) escapes up the Eiffel Tower with Bond in hot pursuit. To evade the secret agent, May Day, dressed in all black, makes a death-defying leap from the tower, skydiving onto a wedding boat.

BTS: Stunt performer B.J. Worth performed the skydive — he only had three and a half seconds before he had to open up the parachute.

TAXI!

Bond does not give up easily, chasing May Day through Paris traffic in a ‘borrowed’ Renault taxi cab. During the hunt, Bond leaps the car onto a moving bus, has the roof destroyed by a barrier and loses the rear end in a collision. The battered vehicle is abandoned on the Pont Alexandre III.

BTS: English Director John Glen and French stunt coordinator Remy Julienne communicated about the sequence through drawings to overcome their language barrier.

MASTER AND SERVANT

To infiltrate Max Zorin’s (Christopher Walken) operation, Bond poses as inexperienced horse trainer James St. John Smythe, with MI6 agent Sir Godfrey Tibbett (Patrick Macnee) going undercover as his harried manservant. Expecting their room to be bugged, 007 plays a tape recording of Bond berating his butler, allowing him to slip out on covert missions.

BTS: Roger Moore and Patrick Macnee often improvised the banter between Bond and Tibbett.

CUT TO THE STEEPLECHASE

Having discovered 007’s identity, Zorin forces Bond into a deadly steeplechase, riding a wild horse named Inferno. But, as Bond negotiates the course, Zorin plays dirty, booby-trapping the fences. He sees salvation in Tibbett driving his Rolls Royce, only to discover his manservant has been killed by May Day.

BTS: Horse racing played such a big part in the film as Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli was passionate about breeding and racing horses, and had his own stable.

ROLLING THE ROLLER

Moore becomes a captive of Zorin, who forces Bond into the Rolls Royce alongside Tibbett’s corpse and instructs May Day to push the Rolls Royce into a lake. From under the water, Bond notices that Zorin and his henchman are waiting on the water’s edge in case he swims to the surface. With no Q Branch gadgetry to save the day, Bond relies on his wits and stays alive by breathing from one of the Michelin tyres. 

BTS: Patrick Macnee drove producer Cubby Broccoli’s Rolls Royce throughout the film — but it is a double that is rolled into the water.

UP IN THE AIRSHIP

Zorin holds a meeting with his cartel of microchip manufacturers, unveiling Project Main Strike, his plot to gain control of the microchip market. When one of Zorin’s potential partners baulks at Zorin’s $100 million buy-in fee, Zorin asks May Day to escort the backer out of the meeting room. May Day shows the man down the stairs and out of the door, as the meeting is revealed to be taking place on Zorin’s blimp, high above San Francisco.

BTS: The scene ends with May Day, looking over the Bay Area, remarking “Wow, what a view!”, “To a kill,” says Zorin. The title has been uttered out loud in 18 official Bond films and written down in one (From Russia With Love).

MASTER CHEF

Surviving an attack by Zorin’s henchmen, Bond offers to cook for Stacey Sutton (Tanya Roberts) in her mansion house kitchen. With only a few ingredients in the house, he rustles up a quiche de cabinet. “What is it?” asks Stacey. “An omelette,” Bond replies. 

BTS: Other films in the series featuring 007 in a kitchen include Live And Let Die (he makes coffee) and No Time For Die (crêpes).

MAY DAY! MAY DAY! 

After being double-crossed by Zorin and left to die, May Day switches sides and aids Bond, sacrificing her life by ensuring the bomb designed to trigger the earthquake goes off harmlessly. Her last words are a simple instruction to Bond: “Get Zorin for me!”

BTS: Grace Jones was unaware that the hot electric sparks going off as she escaped from the flooded mine were real. Her screams in the scene are authentic.

THE BATTLE ON THE BRIDGE

Bond ties Zorin’s airship to the Golden Gate Bridge, stopping the dirigible in its tracks. Zorin emerges from the airship gondola brandishing a fire axe. Following a brief scuffle, Zorin’s grip on the bridge’s framework falters and he plummets to his death in the Bay below. 

BTS: The production eventually built three versions of the Golden Gate Bridge; two on the Pinewood backlot and one on the soundstage.