007/ 50: birthday Bonding #3: rare but brilliant pics of Blighty’s finest (1980s)

Oh, the things he does for England: new Bond Timothy Dalton poses with a gaggle of very ’80s-looking girls for publicity for The Living Daylights – ironically, though, his 007 (unlike previous incarnations) would be far less the winking playboy, more the serious ‘New Man’

A cynic may suggest that the ’80s weren’t the cinematic James Bond’s happiest decade – after all, not only did the 007 epics come under serious pressure from the hugely popular fantasy adventures of Lucas and Spielberg and the high octance actioners of Sly, Arnie, Bruce Willis and Mel Gibson, but also Bond himself eventually became far from a happy bunny in the guise of mean and moody Timothy Dalton.

However, in this post – the penultimate pictorial tribute to Bond’s 50 years on the big screen and image-driven special celebration of this very blog’s second birthday – methinks there’s more than enough proof to suggest that the ’80s were no less an exciting, diverse, boundary-breaking (especially in terms of thrilling stunts) and, yes, happy a decade than any other in the history of British cinema’s greatest hero.

It kicked off with Bond bouncing back down to earth after the space-bound exploits of Moonraker (1979) – frankly, the only place he could go after that. With an emphasis on more earnest but no less engaging espionage antics, For Your Eyes Only harked back to Bond’s literary roots in Ian Fleming‘s novels. This theme was continued, at least to some extent, in Octopussy, which while admittedly lightening the tone also added into the mix the bizarre yet groovy triple-location-combo of India, West Berlin and, er, a circus big-top. A View To A Kill upped the fantasy further with a proper megalomaniac for a villain (an unforgettable Christopher Walken with a peroxide barnet) and an atmosphere that was unmistakeably mid-’80s. This proved to be the legendary Roger Moore‘s swansong in the role (a great servant for Bond, no question, but he was arguably beginning to resemble Bond’s dad).

Slipping on the shoulder-holster in The Living Daylights then was Shakespearian thesp Timothy Dalton. His take on the role – Fleming-esque world-weary – ultimately proved a little too dour for the casual fan, but nowadays is seen as a forerunner for Daniel Craig’s 007. Was Dalts ahead of his time then? Possibly. He was also very ’80s ‘New Man’ – the Timbo Bond respected his ladies like no incarnation before and was immersed in a more violent world in his second effort Licence To Kill than the filmmakers had dreamed of presenting cinemagoers in either the ’60s or the ’70s. By the end of the ’80s then, no mistake, the times had a-changed indeed for Blighty’s finest…

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For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Directed by: John Glen; Produced by: Albert R Broccoli; Screenplay by: Richard Maibaum and Michael G Wilson – containing elements from the Ian Fleming short stories For Your Eyes Only and Risico, both from For Your Eyes Only (1960)/ Title song performed by: Sheena Easton/ Ski stunts photographed by: Willy Bognor/ Locations: Corfu and Meteora, Greece; Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy; The Bahamas (underwater sequences); Pinewood Studios, UK/ Cast includes: Roger Moore (James Bond); Carole Bouquet (Melina); Topol (Columbo); Lynn-Holly Johnson (Bibi); Julian Glover (Kristatos); Cassandra Harris (Lisl)

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Octopussy (1983)

Directed by: John Glen; Produced by: Albert R Broccoli; Screenplay by: Richard Maibaum, Michael G Wilson and George MacDonald Fraser – containing elements from the Ian Fleming short stories Octopussy and The Property Of A Lady, both from Octopussy And The Living Daylights (1966)/ Locations: Udaipur, India; West Berlin, West Germany; Nene Valley Railway, London and Pinewood Studios, UK/ Cast includes: Roger Moore (James Bond); Maud Adams (Octopussy); Louis Jourdan (Kamal Khan); Kristina Wayborn (Magda); Kabir Bedi (Gobinda); Steven Berkoff (Orlov); Walter Gotell (General Gogol); Cherry Gillespie (Midge); Mary Stavin and Suzanne Jerome (Octopussy Girls)

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A View To A Kill (1985)

Directed by: John Glen; Produced by: Albert R Broccoli and Michael G Wilson; Screenplay by: Richard Maibaum and Michael G Wilson – title taken from the Ian Fleming short story From A View To A Kill from For Your Eyes Only (1960)/ Title song performed by: Duran Duran/ Stunt performers include: Martin Grace/ Locations: Höfn, Switzerland and Vadretti de Scerscen, Switzerland (both for pre-title sequence); Paris and Chateau Chantilly, France; San Francisco, USA; Ascot Racecourse, Amberly Working Museum and Pinewood Studios, UK/ Cast includes: Roger Moore (James Bond); Christopher Walken (Max Zorin); Tanya Roberts (Stacey Sutton); Grace Jones (May Day); Patrick MacNee (Sir Godfrey Tibbet); Alison Doody (Jenny Flex); Papillon Soo Soo (Pan Ho); Mary Stavin (Kimberley Jones); Dolph Lundgren (Venz)

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The Living Daylights (1987)

Directed by: John Glen; Produced by: Albert R Broccoli and Michael G Wilson; Screenplay by: Richard Maibaum and Michael G Wilson – adapted from the Ian Fleming short story The Living Daylights from Octopussy And The Living Daylights (1966)/ Title song performed by: a-ha/ Locations: Gibraltar; Vienna, Austria (also for Bratislava, Slovakia); Tangier and Atlas Mountains (for Afghanistan), Morocco; Mojave Desert, USA (also for Afghanistan); Henley-On-Thames and Pinewood Studios, UK/ Cast includes: Timothy Dalton (James Bond); Maryam d’Abo (Kara Milovy); Jeroen Krabbé (General Koskov); John Rhys-Davies (General Pushkin); Art Malik (Kamran Shah); Caroline Bliss (Miss Moneypenny); Kell Tyler (Linda)

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Licence To Kill (1989)

Directed by: John Glen; Produced by: Albert R Broccoli and Michael G Wilson; Screenplay by: Richard Maibaum and Michael G Wilson – contains an element from the Ian Fleming novel Live And Let Die (1954)/ Stunts co-ordinated by: Paul Weston/ Locations: Florida Keys, USA; Acapulco, Mexico City, Mexicali, Toluca and Etudios Churubusco Azteca, Mexico/ Cast includes: Timothy Dalton (James Bond); Carey Lowell (Pam Bouvier); Robert Davi (Franz Sanchez); Talisa Soto (Lupe Lamora); Benicio Del Toro (Dario)

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