Zorin's massacre highlights one of the most intriguing and unsung aspects of AVTAK: Sympathy for the bad guys.
"You're not the only one he double crossed," murmurs Bond solemnly.
Mayday is overwhelmed with grief as she wades through the floating lifeless bodies of her friends Jenny Flex, Pan Ho and the others.
This acknowledgement of the value of life, even for bad guys, is a running theme throughout AVTAK. Take Zorin's death scene. In a panic his hands slip off the bridge and for the first time we see a look of sheer terror on his face. Before the audience can even let out a cheer, we see his father looking on "Maaaxxx!" The father cries out in helpless desperation as he witnesses his favorite son falling to his death.
In the pre-title sequence Bond recovers the microchip from the frozen body of another 00 agent. The chip is hidden inside a locket which contains photos of his wife and kids, who no longer have a dad/husband. Next Bond resourcefully uses a flare gun to shoot down the Soviet helicopter. This victory is nullified by showing the two pilots in a state of panic as they perilously spiral into the glacier. No doubt they had friends and family back home in Russia who will miss them dearly. Another family shattered.
Inside City Hall, Howe's death scene is also surprisingly chilling with his realization of Zorin's scheme. "That means I would be....." "Dead!"
Instead of just being a comic strip good guys vs. bad guys this acknowledgement of death really elevates the film and makes it more well rounded with many shades of grey.
Note- My post is influenced by Andrew McNess's wonderful book "A Close Look at A View to a Kill"
and if you've ever seen the John Wayne western "Rio Bravo" there is a scene where the badguys have captured John and one of them says, "If it were up to me, you'd never gotten off the floor. Some of those men you killed were friends of mine."
In another scene, the girl Feathers is distraught because she participated in a fight that resulted in the death of 3 villains.
The only other times I have really seen this issue addressed in 007 is Casino Royale when Vesper has that breakdown in the shower after witnessing so much violence. And in TSWLM where the henchmen Bond killed turned out to be "more than friends" with Major Amasova.
My current 10 favorite:
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
On the question of Zorin's massacre of the miners, I found it difficult in 1985 not to believe that this was a contemporary albeit displaced/fantasised allusion to the way in which, in the UK, Thatcher's Tories had just routed the National Union of Mineworkers and closed the pits. Zorin even looked a little like Michael Heseltine with a machinegun. (The Bond films of the 80s liked to engage in escapist ways with contemporary struggles, e.g. the jingoistic allusion to the Falkland Islands conflict in the pre-credits sequence of OPY, and the Mujahideen's resistance against the Russians in TLD. If I'm right and Zorin was being stylistically situated as a 'Thatcherite' bad guy, this would be one occasion when the contemporary allusion reversed the typically right-wing bias of topical references in 80s Bond movies.)
I agree with Firemass that, in general, deaths in AVTAK are disturbing. This has a lot to do with the jarring way they're juxtaposed with slapstick, e.g. the unsettling spectacle of the panicking helicopter crew being blown up just after their ski-troop comrades have taken distinctly comic falls; Howe executed in cold blood shortly before the casualty-free 'Keystone Cops' chase sequence through the streets of San Francisco.)
Critics and material I don't need. I haven't changed my act in 53 years.
Silhouette ManThe last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent
Yes, this little thread idea of mine has certainly sparked off some interesting debate here on AJB!
"The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
been blogging each Bond film individually since receiving Bond 50 Blu Ray. I'm through View to a Kill. Here's the link and all other blog posts can be found on my site:
been blogging each Bond film individually since receiving Bond 50 Blu Ray. I'm through View to a Kill. Here's the link and all other blog posts can be found on my site:
Comments
Zorin's massacre highlights one of the most intriguing and unsung aspects of AVTAK: Sympathy for the bad guys.
"You're not the only one he double crossed," murmurs Bond solemnly.
Mayday is overwhelmed with grief as she wades through the floating lifeless bodies of her friends Jenny Flex, Pan Ho and the others.
This acknowledgement of the value of life, even for bad guys, is a running theme throughout AVTAK. Take Zorin's death scene. In a panic his hands slip off the bridge and for the first time we see a look of sheer terror on his face. Before the audience can even let out a cheer, we see his father looking on "Maaaxxx!" The father cries out in helpless desperation as he witnesses his favorite son falling to his death.
In the pre-title sequence Bond recovers the microchip from the frozen body of another 00 agent. The chip is hidden inside a locket which contains photos of his wife and kids, who no longer have a dad/husband. Next Bond resourcefully uses a flare gun to shoot down the Soviet helicopter. This victory is nullified by showing the two pilots in a state of panic as they perilously spiral into the glacier. No doubt they had friends and family back home in Russia who will miss them dearly. Another family shattered.
Inside City Hall, Howe's death scene is also surprisingly chilling with his realization of Zorin's scheme. "That means I would be....." "Dead!"
Instead of just being a comic strip good guys vs. bad guys this acknowledgement of death really elevates the film and makes it more well rounded with many shades of grey.
Note- My post is influenced by Andrew McNess's wonderful book "A Close Look at A View to a Kill"
and if you've ever seen the John Wayne western "Rio Bravo" there is a scene where the badguys have captured John and one of them says, "If it were up to me, you'd never gotten off the floor. Some of those men you killed were friends of mine."
In another scene, the girl Feathers is distraught because she participated in a fight that resulted in the death of 3 villains.
The only other times I have really seen this issue addressed in 007 is Casino Royale when Vesper has that breakdown in the shower after witnessing so much violence. And in TSWLM where the henchmen Bond killed turned out to be "more than friends" with Major Amasova.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
I agree with Firemass that, in general, deaths in AVTAK are disturbing. This has a lot to do with the jarring way they're juxtaposed with slapstick, e.g. the unsettling spectacle of the panicking helicopter crew being blown up just after their ski-troop comrades have taken distinctly comic falls; Howe executed in cold blood shortly before the casualty-free 'Keystone Cops' chase sequence through the streets of San Francisco.)
http://toddmthatcher.wordpress.com/2013/01/14/the-007-files-a-view-to-a-kill/
ah cmon! After 7 films and you're still hung up on comparing Roger to Sean? This bias has no doubt affected your judgement.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
James Bond- Licence To Kill