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MI6 tracks the legacy of "A View To A Kill", from
Ian Fleming's story, to the comic strip adaptation,
feature film and computer game...
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A View To A Kill - The Legacy
13th February 2011
Summary
In 1960 Ian Fleming penned his 8th Bond adventure. This time, Bond wasn't back in a full length novel, but a series of five short stores in the volume entitled " For Your Eyes Only". "From A View To A Kill" opened this volume. In 1961 John McLusky and Henry Gammidge teamed up to bring Fleming's "From A View To A Kill" into pictures. The comic strip ran for 10 weeks in the UK publication, The Daily Express. |
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Come 1985 EON Productions released "A View To A Kill", borrowing an Ian Fleming title for their film but dropping the "From" to make it more succinct. However Moore's final outing as Bond bore very little resemblance to Fleming's short story. That same year, Domark began its series of James Bond tie-in games for Commodore, among other platforms. This platform style game, the first Bond video game ever, featured a mere three levels.
The Short Story
On the 11th of April, 1960, Jonathan Cape published Ian Fleming's
collection of short stories entitled For Your Eyes Only. Fleming's
8th Bond publication opened with the short story "From A View To
A Kill".
"From A View
To A Kill" Literary Coverage
Synopsis: A motorcycle dispatch rider is shot and killed and his
documents stolen. Bond goes to investigate, and near the
crash site he discovers and underground base of Russian
agents. Dressing up as a dispatch rider, he shoots his Russian
trailer and takes his place. This exposes the whole operation.
"Mr Fleming's licensed assassin is in good form...
Few me can have been able to mix business with pleasure
so successfully as Bond." - The Times Literary Supplement
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Above: First Edition Cover Art |
"Five hundred yards, four hundred, three,
two, one. The man coming up from behind slowed to fifty.
He put his right gauntlet up to his teeth and pulled it
off. He stuffed the gauntlet between the buttons of his
tunic and reached down and unclipped the gun."
The Comic Strip
Between June 25th and September 9th, 1961, The Daily Express published
"From A View To A Kill", the comic strip. John McLusky, Bond comic
veteran, again picked up the pen to give Bond his image and Henry
Gammidge set about adapting Fleming's short story. The short, sharp
story adapted well to the comic series and much of the narritive is revealed though 'thought bubbles'.
"From A View To
A Kill" Comic Coverage
Synopsis: A motorcycle dispatch rider on course to the British Secret Service
HQ in Fourqueux, France, is shot and killed and his documents
containing Joint Intelligence stolen. Bond goes to investigate,
and near the crash site he discovers and underground base of Russian
agents. Dressing up as a dispatch rider, he shoots his Russian
trailer and takes his place. As he exposes the whole operation,
his life is saved by Mary Ann who turns up at the end with men
from the St. Germain station.
Above: The opening panel of "From
A View To A Kill" |
"A British despatch rider's been
shot in cold blood. They're getting top intelligence gen. SHAPE
security can't cope and they're after M's blood - blaming him!" |
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Above: Ultimate Edition Cover Art
Buy Online - Amazon (UK) |
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The Film
In 1985 Roger Moore returned for his seventh and last outing as
007 in "A View To A Kill". With a title taken from the work
of Ian Fleming, Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson crafted
a high-tech computer age plot with little to no resemblance to the origional
Fleming story. Principal cast included the Oscar winning
Christopher Walken and Patrick Macnee, of TV's "Avengers" fame.
"A View To A Kill" Film Coverage
Synopsis: Millionaire psychopath Max Zorin is the mastermind behind
a scheme to destroy Silicon Valley in order to gain control
over the international microchip market. With the countdown
ticking toward a cataclysmic disaster, James Bond must stop
this madman from achieving his goal.
Bond: "Well my dear, I take it you spend quite
a lot of time in the saddle."
Jenny Flex: "Yes, I love an early morning ride."
Bond: "Well, I'm an early riser myself." |
An impressively high score rate on the tottyometer this
time out: Bond gets his end away with Kimberley Jones, May
Day, Pola Ivanova and, right at the end of the film, Stacey
Sutton. Curiously, he gets a chance with Sutton earlier
in the film but opts instead to sleep in a chair watching
over her as she sleeps.
Film: Datastream
Released: UK: 13th June 1985 (PG)
USA: 22nd May 1985 (PG)
Running Time: 125 minutes
Worldwide Box Office: $152.4m
Preceded by: Octopussy
Followed by: The Living
Daylights |
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Walken great, film poor
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Eon maimed Fleming title
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Moore Needs a Facelift!
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James Bond goes 'digital'.
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Exciting, evil, fast, last
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Nice Locations, Weak Script
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You Gotta Love Silicone!
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May Day: "Someone will take care of you!"
Bond: "You'll see to that personally, will you?" |
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Above: Roger Moore and Tanya Roberts in A View To A Kill |
The Music
Bond veteran, John Barry returns again to score "A View To A Kill".
Hit pop-band, Duran Duran, are invited to perform the title-song
which rocks the music charts making number 1 the US and #2 in the
UK. "A View To A Kill" makes the highest chart rating ever for a
Bond theme. The popular Beach Boys number, California Girls, also
makes a cameo in the pre-titles sequence.
"A View To A Kill" Music
Coverage
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Above: Domark's "A View To A Kill" Box Art
Videogame: Datastream
Released: June 7th 1985
Genre: Platform
Preceded By: None
Followed By: The Living Daylights |
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The Game
On June the 7th, 1985 Domark published their first movie
tie-in game. The game was compatible with platforms of the
time, Commodore 64, Spectrum 48K, Amstrad CPC and MSX, but
the quality of gameplay left much to be desired, even for
the period.
"A View To A Kill" Game Coverage
Synopsis: Your objective is to discover what dastardly plan is being
hatched by Max Zorin, an unscrupulous European electronics
magnate, and prevent him from carrying it out. You learn
that the information you need is in three main locations.
Paris, where you must make contact with May Day to get a
vital clue. The City Hall in San Francisco, where various
secrets are hidden, and finally a Silver Mine under Silicon
Valley, where you piece together your information and finally
foil Max Zorin - we all hope!
Viewed within the era that "A View To A Kill"
was released, Domark's first movie tie-in set the bar for
all future Bond games - nothing could be worse. Even Dominic
and Mark (of "Domark" fame) said at the time that
taking on 007 had "set them in a downward spiral".
Things could only get better...
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