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My good friend SirHenry: What kind of answer were you hoping for? Was mine insufficient? :-?
Indeed it was not my friend, an unintended oversight on my part and one I have amended to include your answer which was quite sufficient.
Regarding thesis questions and revisits for the films 1962-1974, which I think is a fair request, that is something we can eventually get to but they will have to wait a bit. As I've stated elsewhere, after you get through Skyfall I am committed to a comparison study of group polls versus individual points and personal lists for each reviewer so that we can further define our collective opinion of the films. That should hopefully occupy us for some time before I can figure out what's next for 2014. I was really hoping that a new film was going to be in production to keep us busy with weekly news discussions, but that's not happening. I am racking my brain in general trying to come up with ideas to keep our thread here moving along. Any suggestions for the future are always welcomed.
2. My main problem with TLD, which is an excellent Bond film otherwise, is Bond aiding those jihadists, the bigger of two evils by far, and the main reason why the Russians went into Afghanistan in the first place. Possibly more cringeworthy than anything else in the franchise.
In some ways, this is one of the hardest Bond movies for me to evaluate. Many facets of this film are among the best in the series -- several of the action sequences are absolutely first-rate, and the collection of villains on display here is clearly one of the strongest ever assembled. As a fan of Dalton’s portrayal of the lead character, and an advocate for a primarily “realistic” portrayal of Ian Fleming’s masterful creation, this is a film that I ought to like unreservedly. And yet, as much as I’d like to give License to Kill a rave review, I find that I just can’t. The title itself is unnecessarily weak -- it could fit any Bond film and so it defines none of them. The original working title, “License Revoked” should have been kept for the final release. The fact that it wasn’t indicates one of the main problems I have with this film: it started out as a hard-edged revenge flick -- which, while not being precisely Bondish, would have been a valid enough direction for one film in the ongoing series. Unfortunately, at some point the theoretical concerns of an ill-defined “general audience” diluted the film-makers’ original intent and the whole enterprise got focus-grouped into being something else entirely, something that is not exactly a Bond film but not precisely a revenge flick either. As a result, for me the film doesn’t really hold together the way a first-rank entry should. Let’s take this by the numbers…
BOND 4/5 Dalton’s Bond is as angry and brooding as Bond has ever been; this is understandable given the circumstances -- Leiter’s maiming and his wife’s death on their wedding day has brought back a grief that Bond hadn’t really dealt with the first time around, and his resulting fury is even stronger than it would have been if Bond had actually allowed himself to process his feelings at the time rather than essentially denying them. The problem for me is that Bond allows these understandable feelings to lead him into behavior that is unprofessional and counterproductive -- and he becomes somewhat unlikable as a result. Let’s be clear about this: Bond is a killer. He has performed this act of ultimate sanction many times in the past. The only thing that absolves him from guilt in this role is the fact that he only kills under the orders of Her Majesty’s Government. With that license removed, whatever his reasons for continuing to use deadly force in pursuing his personal vendetta (as M correctly describes it) Bond is actually a criminal and subject to prosecution under the law. He is therefore far less admirable in this film than he has always seemed to be in the past. Additionally, Bond’s continued attempts to send his friends and helpers away with the mission uncompleted are both foolish and annoying. He can rationalize it to himself and to them -- it’s too dangerous, he’s only trying to protect them -- but in fact, he’s only endangering the prospects of accomplishing the mission, and in a very real sense, he’s actually trying to punish himself for allowing Felix, Della, and yes, Tracy to be harmed. Dalton’s portrayal of this aspect of Bond is masterful…but this aspect of Bond is a very unpleasant one, and the fact that it is Bond’s controlling side in this story sometimes makes LICENSE TO KILL a difficult film to enjoy.
WOMEN 4/5 Carey Lowell is wonderful as Pam Bouvier, one of the few believable “women who is Bond’s equal” in the series. It’s understandable that she would be resentful of Bond at the beginning of their relationship, jealous of his attentions toward Lupe, and insistent upon her usefulness to the too-often callous man who has set out to kill Franz Sanchez, licensed or not. She’s beautiful, handy in a bar brawl, and one heck of an efficient Executive Secretary. Talisa Soto is only marginally less enjoyable as Lupe Lamora, Sanchez’ abused lover and a totally Fleming-esque “bird with one wing down.” She’s not the greatest actress in the world, but she gives it her best, and is far more believable when suffering Sanchez’ abuse than when she’s telling us that she loves James soooo much! Lupe is not written to be as admirable a character as Pam, but one gets the sense that she’s only doing her best to play the cards she’s been dealt. She doesn’t want to go “home” -- it took her too long to get away from there, and as bad as her current situation may be, she’s pretty clear that it’s a step up from her hardscrabble beginnings.
VILLAINS 5/5 Robert Davi is one of the most realistic villains the series has ever seen, absolutely driving the storyline as drug kingpin Franz Sanchez. He is ruthless and cruel, but also charming and benevolent to his assortment of underlings. Chief among them (at least insofar as onscreen menace is concerned) is a young Benicio del Toro as Dario, an absolutely demented young enforcer who makes sure that Della Leiter has “a NICE honeymooooooon.” Anthony Zerbe is also quite noteworthy as the slimy Milton Krest --alcoholic, smuggler, and marine “researcher.” Krest is pretty clearly going to be the first victim of Sanchez’ mistrust -- but he won’t be the last! Anthony Starke is sort of annoying as Truman Lodge, Sanchez’ Wall Street whiz-kid, a financial guru who’s only concerned with the bottom line and really somewhat out of place in this crew. Don Stroud rounds out the gang as Colonel Heller, Sanchez’ head of security. I’m somewhat uncertain as to whether or not to include Wayne Newton in this section, bless his heart. I guess I’ll cover him in the next category, though…
HUMOR 2.5/5 …because Newton’s Professor Joe Butcher is largely where this movie goes off the rails for me. Obviously, somebody in the Focus Group decided that this movie was just too dark, and that a comedic foil was needed in the film. As far as I’m concerned, Professor Joe’s meditation institute would have been right at home thematically in the Moore Bond era; but it just doesn’t work here. I didn’t believe that Professor Joe’s telethons would really be a useful source of communications on pricing and orders for an international drug cartel from the moment that situation was unveiled…and I found everything about Professor Joe’s connection to the Sanchez organization questionable at best up until the very moment that his institute was abandoned. There are a few decent one-liners packed away in this film, including Sanchez instructing his men to “launder” the money -- but some other attempts, such as Bond observing that Heller had come to a “dead end” were totally out of place. And Professor Joe’s constant “Well, bless your heart” observations, even as Pam is training a gun on him or snatching a satchel filled with money from him as she flees the institute in a golf cart, were simply absurd. I don’t think “absurd” is the reaction the film-makers were looking for here…
ACTION 4/5 Much of the action in this film is absolutely first-rate. I was happy to see that Felix “disagreeing with something that ate him” was rescued from the literary limbo it had been consigned to, as this moment in Fleming’s LALD novel was an inescapably powerful event that urgently needed to be adapted into the cinematic canon. The underwater photography early on is gorgeous, and unlike that in some other films, moves along quite quickly. Bond water-skiing onto the plane, overpowering its pilot, and escaping with $5 million of Sanchez’s money is a completely thrilling sequence that saves the film from the description of humorlessness that seems to have dogged it so undeservedly. The truck chase at the climax of this movie is one of the action highlights of the entire series. Unfortunately, some of the editing decisions made in the middle of this film weaken it substantially to my mind. Everything is moving along nicely…Bond has surreptitiously used Q’s plastic explosive to undermine Sanchez’s armored windows, and is about to assassinate Sanchez from a distance…when suddenly, A COUPLE OF NINJAS APPEAR OUT OF NOWHERE AND -- Huh? What? Where’d these frickin’ ninjas come from? And they’re teamed up with Our Man In Isthmus (who we’ve haven’t actually seen onscreen yet) and WHAT THE #^$+ IS GOING ON HERE??? Luckily, Sanchez’ men burst in due to a massive misunderstanding on everybody’s part (not least of all mine) and before long Bond wakes up at Sanchez’ estate and he’s been taken in as one of the gang. What? How did THAT all happen? At least, such was my take on all this in my first viewing of the film back in 1989. Luckily, in subsequent viewings I was able to make sense out of it all…but even now, knowing full well what’s supposed to be going on, I think a little more effort should have been made towards ensuring a coherent sequence of events in this crucial middle sequence. We should have been introduced to MI-6’s Man In Isthmus (is that Fallon? Played by Christopher Neame? Dude, you were very nearly left on the cutting-room floor altogether!) at some point before Heller’s men take him out of the picture even more effectively than did John Glen’s editing process. I also need to question the fire that destroys Sanchez’s processing plant, which conveniently doubles as Professor Joe’s Meditation Center. Why, oh why, oh why does the merest spark near Bond while he is in the villain’s lair inevitably result in a conflagration? I have two major pieces of advice to give to any villain with a yen to take on James Bond: (1) Don’t kill or otherwise piss off your henchmen. You will come to regret it. (2) Don’t let Bond anywhere near the tiniest spark when you have him in your clutches in the middle of your lair. Don’t let him light a cigarette. Don’t YOU light a cigarette. And above all, don’t set off a beaker of cocaine-infused gasoline! As remarkable as much of this movie’s action happens to be, certain weaknesses in the script, compounded by some insensitivity in the editing, prevent me from giving the film the full marks it would have otherwise deserved.
SADISM 5/5 On the other hand, here 5 of 5 seems insufficient to grade the amount of sadism on display in this film. Can I give it 6 of 5? How about 10 out of 5? It’s not that I’m wanting to reward the gore and cruelty that is this film’s major stock in trade, but truth be told, this is one extravaganza of extremes. Oh well, rules are rules: 5 out of 5. Felix and the shark. Killifer and the shark. Sharkey and…whatever happened to him. Bond and the handful of maggots. Bond and the spear-gun, “Compliments of Sharkey!” All this in the first segment of the film, and that’s without even mentioning what obviously happens between Della and Dario. I’m not going to pretend that violence is uncommon in the Bond universe…but by the time Krest is tossed into the pressure chamber and subjected to a fate that Dr. Kananaga would have envied, I can’t say I’m surprised that some of our more sensitive viewers have grown tired of this cavalcade of cruelty.
MUSIC 4/5 Michael Kamen does a very nice job of not letting the general audience realize that John Barry was unavailable for this film. I’ve been a fan of Michael’s work since the early ‘70s, when he was with a group called the New York Rock & Roll Ensemble. He’s conversant with a number of musical genres, and his movie work displays that diversity nicely. “Me Jumpin’ Up” reminds this listener vaguely of “Jamaica Jump-Up” from Dr. No, at least as regards the title. The latin-flavored guitars work well in the Isthmus-based settings, and much of the rest of the score is similarly appropriate to the action or settings involved. I can’t say that I’m terribly impressed with the title track, although Gladys Knight gives a fine performance. It sounds a bit like somebody somewhere on the Eon team wanted this track to evoke Goldfinger without actually going there. Additionally, the end-credits song, “If You Asked Me To” is acceptably pleasant without actually being engaging. Now that I think about it, I suppose this is actually the desired effect: after all, these end credits songs are DESIGNED TO BE WALKED OUT ON. The majority of the audience is heading for the exits while the credits are dutifully being ignored, and a song like this playing lightly in the background. It’s supposed to leave the audience feeling vaguely approving of the movie they’ve just seen, without actually making them stop to pay attention to the song in question. What a thankless task some of this music has been given!
LOCATIONS 3.5/5 Miami, and Mexico substituting for the totally fictional nation of Isthmus. Which leads me to ask: what is it about Latin America that prevents Eon from ever taking the bull by the horns (so to speak.) Call it Panama if you want! Manuel Noriega’s not going to complain! Call it Colombia, or Venezuela, or whoever you want. European and Asian countries get to be called by their true names -- why are Latin American countries the second-class menaces of the Bond world? *Ahem* -- now that I’ve got THAT off my chest…Sanchez’ home looks quite stunning, and the Mayanesque pyramids that are Professor Joe’s meditation center look kind of impressive if just a little bit cheesy in a not-shot-at-Pinewood sort of way. I think the reason some people accuse this movie of being too televisionish is because of the lack of Pinewood glamour. That plus some of the casting choices in the second category to follow…
GADGETS 3/5 Nice but not overwhelming. The signature gun and plastic explosive in a toothpaste tube. Perfectly reasonable, all too believable, and nothing to write home about. Especially with Q sleeping in the bed next to you...
SUPPORTING CAST 4/5 It’s nice to see David Hedison as Felix Leiter once again. It was a good idea to have a previous Felix be the one to suffer from the famous shark attack, and Hedison was the perfect choice to suffer this particular indignity. Those who suggest that John Terry would have been better suited to having this role for the second time need to go back and rewatch The Living Daylights. With Terry as Leiter in this movie, some of us might have been rooting for the shark. Priscilla Barnes is a lovely, doomed Della. She’s maybe just a little too fond of her husband’s best man, but we’ll let that go. Frank McRae is excellent as Sharkey, and his death a little pointless, as we already had a sacrificial lamb to stoke Bond’s rage. Everett McGill (as Ed Killifer) is my own personal choice for the “too televisionish” actor cast in this film (your choice may vary.) I remembered him too well from “Twin Peaks” at that particular point in time. (Sue me! I never watched much of “Three’s Company.”) Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa did a nice job as Kwang. There was clearly SOMEthing going on with this guy, but the scriptwriters never bothered to tell us what until it was too late and he was gone from the screen. Caroline Bliss is blissfully absent from the series after her turn as Moneypenny in this go-round. Robert Brown has his best turn ever as M…but it’s clearly Desmond Llewellyn’s second turn as an agent in the field that is this film’s high point for the supporting crew. Finally: it was wonderful to see Pedro Armendariz Jr. in the fold as President Hector Lopez. Kerim’s family payroll is obviously still growing. May his tribe increase!
TOTAL AND RECOLLECTIONS: 39/50 As you can tell, I think this film is a very strong entry in the Bond series, but not without its problems. I think the main issue here is that Eon is constantly trying to hedge their bets. They just don’t seem able to stake out a controversial direction firmly, without equivocation. Dalton as Bond works best in a serious mode, so they give him the darkest script the Bond series has ever seen…and then back-track significantly by shoe-horning Wayne Newton into the storyline as the totally extraneous Professor Joe Butcher. Very shortly after this movie came out, the recriminations were being aired for public consumption. The script was the problem (although the scriptwriters had done wonderful jobs with several previous efforts) …the director was the problem (ditto) …the actor was … um… great, BUT…maybe The People wanted Remington Brosnan after all? Nobody was willing to suggest that the Buck started and stopped with Eon. Or was it MGM? It would take us several long years to have that particular mess sorted out. And in the meanwhile, Dalton would decide that it was time for him to make other plans. When time finally came for the next Bond film to roll, Pierce would still be waiting in the wings for the role of his lifetime…
THE END of this review
BUT BeatlesSansEarmuffs will return soon
To review Pierce Brosnan's debut as James Bond in Goldeneye
I only strongly disagree with you about Lupe being just "marginally" less than Pam. She is at the bottom of the tank for me.
But again, thanks for another sparkling review. Onwards! :-bd
MYSTERIOUS LICENSE
Two minor mysteries occur at about the same point in License To Kill -- mysteries that our format did not really allow me to investigate in that context. As Q is showing Bond & Pam the gadgets he has brought with him, Pam grabs what is evidently an X-Ray camera, and takes a shot of Bond & Q. “That’s odd,” she remarks, presumably because there are 3 skeletons shown on the resulting X-Ray photo -- one of Bond, one of Q, and ONE WHERE THE WALL MOUNTED PHOTO of President Lopez should be! Why would an X-Ray camera indicate a skeleton in that position??? But we have no time to pursue that question, as Bond suggests, “Let’s all get some rest, shall we? We’ve got a long hard day ahead of us.” HOWEVER, the film’s action then picks up after dark the next night, when Bond mounts his assassination attempt against Sanchez. WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE OUR THREE INTREPID COMRADES DID THE NEXT LONG, HARD DAY, while marking time for Bond's night-time assassination attempt? Might it perhaps have had something to do with the odd results of that X-Ray photo? Hmmm?
This is a question open to anyone who cares to consider it. Perhaps there's more to LTK than we were originally given to believe...
Something I haven't heard mentioned often, though, is the group of assorted henchmen in the big ending chase who simply refuse to give up. They go through two or three vehicles and are even nice enough to rescue each other once. A nice little miniature drama in the climactic chase. I think (and hope) they survived, too. I like to imagine they realized that their life of crime would have a painful end and set up a nice Isthmian farm together.
And I really did not notice the gap of a next day, just didn't, because I wasn't into analyzing or enjoying the film at that point. I just wanted it to end.
My main gripe at that point in the film (after many others before) is not Bond joining the mujahideen, which at that time were universally regarded as noble and brave men defending their country (and they were not the equivalent of the Taliban, let alone the Al Quaida!). No, it was (and still is) that the movie gets boring and mediocre as hell,after they come to Afghanistan. To me it just looks and feels much more like a "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" episode than a Bond flic.
The reason for the insurgence was that the Afghan communist party seized power in 1978, replaced the sharia with secular law, banned forced marriage and granted women the right to vote. That was too much for these "freedom" fighters so they declared jihad or so called holy war against the regime. And so the government asked the Soviets to help them.
2. Didn't bother me at the time, seemed very current. Times change…it doesn't change how good a film it is for me.
3. In the books Bond has a lot of women. But only one per book, so becoming a one woman man in this film didn't really seem so out of character. And of course it allowed for a real romance to develop.
4. She's been betrayed by her lover, and getting into scrapes with Bond, she did what she had to do. At least she didn't go from innocent to fully-fledge action hero in the space of the film.
5. I remember on first (and second viewing) thinking he was dead - as indeed he should be, or at least fairly crispy! - and being surprised when he emerged unscathed. Think the special effects guys just got a bit over excited with the explosives on that one.
Notice the reason why they arrest Sanchez, it is not because he kills and mutilates people. No, as it is the DEA who are in charge, this has nothing to do with that, it is because he sells illegal drugs, and there is no tax income from that.
:))
For future reference, the deadline for responses is Friday 4pm US EST. At that point I gather them and the new ratings and update everyone. At this point, it's time for LTK discussion, trivia and my thoughts on what @Beatles had to say tomorrow, and new thesis questions will appear as usual on Tuesday.
CHARACTER FACTS-
- While on the set of Scarlett, Timothy Dalton officially announced his resignation from the role of James Bond on April 11, 1994.
- Making their final appearances with the James Bond series other than Timothy Dalton were Richard Maibaum (writer), John Glen (director), Maurice Binder (title design), Robert Brown as M, and Caroline Bliss as Moneypenny.
- Two different stories are attributed to the hire of Robert Davi as head villian Franz Sanchez. On the Ultimate DVD, director John Glen states that Cubby's eldest daughter Tina suggested him. Another source states that Richard Maibaum suggested Davi after seeing him in Terrorist on Trial: The United States vs Salim Ajami.
- Franz Sanchez is from Isthmus City, a reference to the country of Panama which lies on an isthmus and the corrupt dictator Manuel Noriega, whom the CIA were working very hard to oust, at the time. He was eventually deposed by U.S. troops in the same year this film was released. Sanchez himself seems to be an on-screen representation of Colombian drug-lord Pablo Escobar, who was terrorizing his country with bomb attacks and selective killing of presidential candidates at the time of the movie release.
- According to Robert Davi, he wrote his line "Loyalty is more important to me than money."
- The film reunites Robert Davi and Grand L. Bush, one year after they played FBI agents Big Johnson and Little Johnson in Die Hard.
- Carey Lowell, who plays leading lady Pam Bouvier, was first married to actor Griffin Dunne and has a daughter by him. Her more high profile marriage to superstar Richard Gere produced a son. At this time, they are separated.
- Lowell retired from acting during the mid-2000's due to frustration with roles offered to her, and is studying filmmaking. Like Gere, she is a practicing Tibetan Buddhist.
- The role of Lupe Lamora, eventually taken by fashion model Talisa Soto, was initially offered to Maria Conchita Alonso. Robert Davi, who felt strongly that her beauty and Hispanic background was perfect for the role, was instrumental in Soto's hire.
- According to the DVD commentary, Timothy Dalton was unavailable for Talisa Soto's screen test, so Robert Davi filled the role of Bond, and proved rather good in the part.
- After a failed marriage to actor Costas Mandylor, Soto married actor Benjamin Bratt in 2002. They are still married and have two children.
- Benicio Del Toro was the third actor to win an Academy Award (Traffic) after appearing in a James Bond movie. Judi Dench was the second (Shakespeare in Love) whilst Sean Connery was the first (The Untouchables). Del Toro is the fourth actor to appear in a James Bond movie who has won an Oscar, the first was Christopher Walken who won one before he appeared in a Bond movie, feat repeated by Halle Berry and Javier Bardem. He is the first Bond henchman to win an Oscar and the third Bond villain to do so.
- At 21 years old, Benicio Del Toro was the youngest actor to ever play a villain in a James Bond film.
- Of all the Bond films, this one has the largest role for Desmond Llewelyn as Q.
- Throughout the series Q (Desmond Llewelyn) is constantly reprimanding Bond for damaging or losing his equipment. Here, as a touch of irony, after he uses his rake/radio, he blithely tosses it in the bushes and walks away.
- David Hedison became the first Actor to play the role of Felix Leiter for a second time, having previously played the part in Live and Let Die. Jeffrey Wright would later make multiple appearances as Felix in the Daniel Craig James Bond movies.
- Based on the events of On Her Majesty's Secret Service and this film, James Bond and Felix Leiter now share the unfortunate bond of losing their wife on their wedding day.
- Marked the last appearance of Felix Leiter until the series was rebooted with Casino Royale.
- Pedro Armendáriz Jr. played President Hector Lopez, named after Héctor López, production supervisor in Mexico. Armendariz's father Pedro Sr of course played Kerim Bey in From Russia with Love.
- Former Playboy Playmate Diana Lee Hsu plays Hong Kong narcotics agent Loti. She also appears in the opening titles.
- John Rhys-Davies was offered a cameo role reprising General Pushkin as a guest at Felix and Della's wedding, but declined the offer.
- Extras during the wedding scene include Doug Redenius, a postman from Chicago, Illinois who owns one of the largest collections of Bond memorabilia, Sandi Sentell, a gym teacher from Atlanta, Georgia, who won a MTV/ VH1 competition to appear in the film (in the film, a bystander is seen wearing a VH1 t-shirt with the late 1980s logo design), and still photographer Keith Hamshere, as the wedding photographer.
PRODUCTION NOTES-
- The final Bond film in which Richard Maibaum had a part in writing the screenplay. He would pass away on January 4, 1991 from a heart attack at the age of 81. This was also the final Bond film on which long-time title sequence designer Maurice Binder worked. He died exactly 3 months later on April 4, 1991 of lung cancer at the age of 65.
- The film was originally to be set in China but production difficulties became insurmountable. Scriptwriters Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson wrote two treatments set around drugs in the Golden Triangle with the villain being a Drug Warlord of the region. Ideas for the film included a motor cycle chase along the Great Wall of China and a fight sequence in the recently discovered museum of ancient terracotta statues at Xian. When the Chinese Government made a number restrictive demands such as veto rights over the script, the viability of the location fell through.
- Due to the Writers' Guild of America strike in 1989, long-time James Bond scriptwriter Richard Maibaum was unable to continue working on the screenplay. A long time member of the Guild, Maibaum felt he could not betray his membership and ghost-write the script. Co-writer Michael G. Wilson had to complete the screenplay on his own. This was to be the fifth and final pairing for the Maibaum-Wilson writing team which had started with For Your Eyes Only.
- Despite being one of the least commercially successful Bond movies in the United States, it was considered by director John Glen his best "007". This opinion is shared by some fans and critics who praise the realism of Licence to Kill.
- Sanchez' lavish home on Acapulco Bay is the famous "Villa Arabesque", a palatial residence with huge Moorish arches, a waterfall and white scalloped marble terraces. The owner, Baron Enrico "Ricky" di Portanova, was a renowned international jet setter born to an Italian baron and his wife Lillie, who was the daughter of Texan oil magnate Hugh Roy Cullen. His brother in law inherited the estate and as of 2004, was selling it for $29 million dollars.
- When Sanchez' financial whiz kid Truman-Lodge (Anthony Starke) says that the factory set up cost them $32 million dollars, that is an inside joke, a reference to the film's $32 million dollar budget. The last line Sanchez utters to Truman-Lodge about cutting overhead may also be an inside joke.
- Budget restraints were imposed by Cubby Broccoli as the producers were still paying interest on the overspending for Moonraker. Broccoli chose Churubuscu Studios in Mexico in order to cut additional costs associated with Pinewood due to the 1985 Films Act, and declared he would not make the film there. It was the first Bond film not to have any part of it filmed in England.
- During the scene where James Bond is hanging by a hook over the cocaine grinder, Benicio Del Toro's character is cutting him loose. During filming he actually cut Timothy Dalton's hand and the scene had to be stopped so he could be stitched up.
- In "Bond Girls Are Forever", Carey Lowell said that she shut her eyes and flinched every time she fired the gun and had to be trained to fire with her eyes open because a CIA op would not flinch. However, she still winces a bit whenever she fires the handgun.
- Felix's bride Della's wedding dress was made of re-embroidered French Llace adorned with seed pearls and opal sequins. Two versions of the dress had to be made because the scenes where Della is attacked were filmed before the wedding sequence. Therefore, 17 meters of the material had to be located at $150 a meter.
- The second James Bond film to openly feature the word "shit", the first being Mrs. Bell in Live and Let Die.
FLORIDA AND THE KEYS-
- Governor Bob Martinez of the state of Florida presented Albert R. Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson and head of marketing Charles Juroe each with the Great Seal of the State of Florida during a month's filming at Key West. The Governor also won a walk-on part in the film as a customs officer at the Key West airport.
- Robert Davi had to learn to scuba dive for the scene where he escapes from an armored car underwater on the Florida Keys.
- The scene where Bond resigns from the MI6 was shot at Ernest Hemingway's house in Key West. That's why when M (Robert Brown) informs 007 that his licence to kill is revoked, he replies, "I guess this is a farewell to arms" a nod to one of Hemingway's most famous novels.
- Bond's controversial betrayal of M was, in part, a way to sidestep the fact that the British have no jurisdiction over a Latin American drug cartel.
- The production office in Key West was located on 422 Fleming Street. Ian Fleming was the creator of James Bond.
- The name of the vessel that played Milton Krest's research vessel was the "J.W. Powell".
- The "maggots" at Krest's lab in Key West were in reality white plastic fishing grubs.
HAUNTED ROADS AND OTHER MEXICAN MESSES-
- The Broccolis (Cubby and Barbara) arranged for a medical team to fly down from Washington with the sole purpose of attending to the crew, a lot of whom were having trouble adjusting to the pollution and high altitude of Mexico City.
- Ironically, the hired medical team attended most to Cubby, who fell sick during the production of this movie due to the thinness of the air in Mexico affecting his lungs and breathing. He left the location accompanied by wife Dana Broccoli and daughter Barbara Broccoli. He was unable to return and this was the last James Bond movie in which he was on the set.
- The Banco de Isthmus was filmed at Mexico's main post office, an old elaborate building of European styling. A real bank in Mexico called Bancomer denied permission to shoot there because it was felt that the image of the bank in the movie would be affected by the fictional money laundering story elements.
- According to the documentary "Inside Licence to Kill', a number of mishaps and strange occurrences took place while filming the final climatic tanker chase. The sequence was filmed on the dangerous La Rumorosa Road, which had been closed down at the time of filming because of the number of fatal accidents occurring on the snake-like twists and turns. Among the mishaps involved the dummy rocket Sanchez (Robert Davi) uses to bring down Pam's (Carey Lowell) plane. The rocket traveled two-and-a-half miles, striking and injuring a telephone worker. Upon investigation, it was determined that the stretch of road they were filming on was where a van with five nuns crashed and were fatally killed. Bizarre incidents continued. Timothy Dalton was nearly added to the list of tragedies while filming the scene after James Bond releases the tanker to blow up the tanker trucks at the bottom of the hill, and jumps into the semi. All vehicles were cleared from the area, but when Dalton came around the curve, a vehicle was in his path and he narrowly missed driving over the edge. If he had, Dalton likely would have been seriously injured, and possibly killed due to the height the hill the truck was on. Director John Glen and others state that human figures would be seen standing around the fleet of Kenworth semis being used for filming. When challenged by security guards, they would simply disappear. Two semis caught fire for no apparent reason, and one started up and drove by itself a short distance before coming to a stop. However, the biggest creepy surprise occurred while filming the final tanker explosion in which Bond sets Sanchez on fire and his flaming body ignites the tanker truck into a huge explosion. The scene went off without a hitch, with the still photographer shooting photos while the scene took place. Upon reviewing the photos, the still photographer found one contained what looked like a flaming hand (Which you can see by doing a simple web search or by viewing the documentary) coming out of the flames. Four cameras were set up to record the final explosion, but after reviewing the footage, the only glimpse of the hand was found on the still photograph. According to John Glen, a copy was made for him, but his wife refused to allow it in the house.
PROMOTIONAL NOTES-
- The project was originally entitled "Licence Revoked" and teaser artwork was produced with this title. Among the reasons for changing the title was to avoid confusion with the 1981 James Bond novel, "Licence Renewed," written by John Gardner (who ended up writing a novel based on this film as well). Licence Renewed means the exact opposite of Licence Revoked. Another reason for the change was that "license revoked" denotes losing one's driving privileges in the USA. Taglines for "Licenced Revoked" included "You're looking at the world's most wanted man" and "Dismissed. Disgraced. Dishonored. Deadly." In the movie, when M says to James Bond, "Your licence to kill is revoked", both titles are referenced at the same time. After a minor controversy as to whether the British or American spelling ("licence" or "license") would be used in the title, the British spelling won out.
- The Royal World Charity Premiere of Licence to Kill was held on Tuesday 13th June 1989 at the Odeon Theatre, Leicester Square, London and was attended by Prince Charles and Princess Diana, the last Bond launch they would attend together. Reportedly, Diana wore the same dress that she wore to the World Premiere of Octopussy. The Gala Charity Premiere Benefit was held in aid of the charity the The Prince's Trust. The US American Premiere was held in New York on Tuesday 11th July 1989 at Lowes Astor Plaza theatre near Times Square.
- Released in the summer of 1989, this movie suffered in competition from a welter of big box office blockbusters, including Batman, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Lethal Weapon 2, The Abyss, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Ghostbusters II. Ever since, all Bond films have been released in either fall or winter.
- Last James Bond film for six years. In August 1990, after the box office failure of this film in the United States, Director 'John Glen (II)' left EON Productions. Some called this a "bloodless coup". Legal wrangling over the ownership of the James Bond character, coupled by these departures, delayed the release of the next film. In the interim, producer Albert R. Broccoli retired, and star Timothy Dalton decided not to play the role a third time.
- The last film of the series produced and released during the Cold War. At that time Soviet Communism was already being viewed as less of a threat, and any new possible foreign adversaries were not yet clearly recognized. Producers felt that a Central American dictator and drug lord would give the movie a topical story line.
- To emphasize the topical nature of the film, promotional material described Sanchez as a villain taken straight from the newspaper headlines and reports of the day.
- Product placements, brand integrations, promotional tie-ins and sponsorships for this movie include Budweiser / Busch Beer; Carlsberg Beer; the Philip Morris Company's Lark Cigarettes; Kenworth Trucks; Michelob Light; Cutty Sark scotch whisky; Armorlite; Bollinger Champagne; Rolex Watches, particularly the Rolex Submariner 16800/168000 watch; Aerospatial Helicopters; Stolichnaya Vodka, and Philips Electronics.
- This is the last film to date in which James Bond wears a Rolex, here identified by researchers as the "Leiter Wedding Rolex". It is a Submariner Date model, either number 16800 or 168000 or 16610 (virtually identical to the casual buyer). Two decades after the release of this film, the Rolex Submariner Date 16610 is still in production and virtually identical to the watch featured in this film - except that its case lugs no longer have holes. The only watch brand Ian Fleming ever specified by name for his James Bond character was "Rolex", although his literary 007 wore an Explorer 1016 model.
- In Italy, title was "Vendetta Privata" (Personal Revenge or Private Revenge), not following the translation, because the first Bond film (Dr. No) was titled "Licenza di Uccidere", the translation of this film's title. Sweden had the same problem: Dr. No had been "Agent 007 med rätt att döda" (Agent 007 with a license to kill), so "Tid för hämnd" (Time for revenge) was used for this movie. Other countries used Personal Revenge (France); The Cancelled Licence (Japan); and With A Right To Kill (Norway). Brazil, Finland, Portugal and Spain simply translated the actual title.
- First EON Productions James Bond movie to receive a '15' Rating by the British Board of Film Classification. The highest rating in all previous entries in the series had been a 'PG' level rating.
- The first James Bond film to receive a PG-13 rating in the USA.
- In some South American media, the Lupe Lamora character was incorrectly attributed to Rudy Rodriguez, a Venezuelan ex beauty-queen who was a very popular soap opera actress and sex symbol at the time and who has a close resemblance to Talisa Soto. So for some years after it was usual to see Rodriguez introduced as a "Bond Girl" in some showbiz programs.
- First James Bond movie to include tobacco warnings in its closing credits. This was in the form of a United States Surgeon General warning. Smoking of tobacco, cigarettes, cigars occurs in a number of Bond movies and this is the only one of them to include a health warning. The film featured product placement of the Philip Morris Company's Lark Cigarettes.
TRICKED OUT TANKERS, GUNS, AND OTHER VEHICLES-
- Vehicles featured included several Kenworth W900B tanker trucks; a Rolls Royce Silver Shadow and Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II; a Lincoln Continental Mark VII LSC, James Bond's hire car in Key West; Sanchez' silver metallic Maserati Biturbo; a 4-seat high-wing single-engine Cessna 172 Skyhawk airplane, a Cessna 185 seaplane and a 2-seat tricycle Cessna 150 airplane; a Piper PA-18-150 "Super Cub" crop-duster float-plane and Piper J-3 "Cub" airplane; Aerospatiale 350B A-star and US Coast Guard Aerospatiale HH-65A Dauphin helicopters; a Harbour Pilot's boat; a black and yellow two-seater Shark Hunter submersible (mini wet submarine) as seen before in The Spy Who Loved Me; a Wavekrest remote-control Sentinel underwater exploratory submersible; Sharkey's fishing boat Pa Ja Ma; a Cigarette 1 Cafe Racer; the WaveKrest marine research vessel; and an electric golf-car at the Olimpatec Meditation Institute.
- The movie featured several Kenworth W900B trucks. Three were specifically modified, one so as to be able to do back-wheelies, one with dual-steering and one with a high supercharge engine. They were named Pamela One, Pamela Two and Pamela Three, after the character Pam Bouvier (Carey Lowell) in the movie. 5 Others were simply modified so as to increase their horse power. P1 required new suspension be applied to the rear fault axle as well as a new front axle and fitted with steering brakes. Its horsepower was increased to 1000 hp, two to three times the normal capacity. Truckweld co-ordinated the modification. P2 was the largest and most detailed modification of all the trucks for the film Licence to Kill. Apparently, it had not been done before and the process involved electronic engines and two throttle steer peddles being able to operate independently of one another. Truckweld co-ordinated the modification. Although a rig was constructed to help the 18 wheeler truck tilt onto its side, it wasn't necessary as the stunt driver was able to pull off the stunt without the aid of camera trickery. P3 had increased horsepower by fitting new turbo charges and injectors. Other vehicles in the scene included a deluxe Maserati and a 2-seat tricycle Cessna 150 crop-duster airplane. The scene was produced by Barbara Broccoli and took 7 weeks to film.
- The Leiter's bridal car was a white Lincoln Limousine.
- James Bond's weapon (on loan from the U.S. Coast Guard) during the opening pre-credits sequence was a 9 mm 16 round Beretta 92F (at the time of filming, Beretta 92F pistols were issued to U.S. civilian law enforcement agencies and the U.S. military). This marks the first time that Bond is seen with a Beretta in decades (in Dr. No, M ordered that Bond carry a different pistol, his signature Walther PPK as a replacement).
- Pam Bouvier's alias as Ms. Kennedy is a reference to Jacqueline Kennedy, whose maiden name was Bouvier. Her weapon was a .25 caliber Beretta 950 automatic.
- Dario's handgun, which he pointed at Bond at the fortress, was a Walther P5; which was used by Bond himself in Octopussy.
MUSIC AND GAMING NOTES-
- This film marked the retirement of John Barry from composing scores and songs for the series. Michael Kamen took over composing duties on the film as John Barry was undergoing throat surgery at the time. Creative differences with the band A-Ha on the The Living Daylights allegedly also contributed.
- This is the only James Bond film not to mention the name of the song or its artist in the opening credits sequence.
- Eric Clapton and Vic Flick were asked to write and perform the title song along with composer Michael Kamen. Apparently, they re-recorded and made a video of a new version of the James Bond theme with the guitar riff played by Flick. The MGM/UA music department, who by then had gained a great deal of say in these matters, rejected the song as "terrible" and EON went along with it. Kamen would later admit in Jon Burlingame's James Bond Music book that he was very disappointed to have not written the title song, the first to date, and the song has yet to see the light of day.
- Gladys Knight's eventually chosen title song is the longest of all the Bond songs. In the UK, it peaked at the No. #6 position on the charts. A Christian soul singer, Knight apparently objected to having to sing a song with the word "kill" in it, but eventually she conceded. The song is apparently based on the "horn line" from the Goldfinger title song and consequently royalty payments were allegedly made to John Barry, Leslie Bricusse, and Anthony Newley. The music video of this song was directed by Daniel Kleinman, who succeeded Maurice Binder as title designer on GoldenEye.
- The closing credits song "If You Asked Me To" sung by Patti LaBelle was featured on the B-side of the main title song's 45 rpm single and became an unexpected minor hit. The LaBelle song charted in a rhythm and blues top 10 and was later sung in a cover version by Céline Dion, where it became an even bigger hit.
- All the instrumental tracks on the movie's soundtrack are amalgams of various sequences and musical cues from the film and are not direct excerpts of the film's score.
- In the final chase sequence just after 007 lands on the tanker, Sanchez fires at Bond hitting the truck's fuel tanks. The sound of the bullets ricocheting off the tanks plays the start of the James Bond theme.
- Domark released a video game, "007: Licence to Kill", and later with Tengen, "James Bond: The Duel".
- Apart from the spin-off video-game "007: Licence to Kill", the film's title previously lent its name to a card game twenty-two years earlier in 1967. Produced by Golden Wonder, the packaging boasts the tagline: "An Exciting New James Bond Game". There are 52 playing cards which include four "Licence to Kill" cards, 48 "Enemy Agent" cards and there are twelve "Assignment Cards". The cover of the manual for the card game read: "O.H.M.S.S - TOP SECRET - OO AGENTS ONLY".
- Talisa Soto, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa and Grand L. Bush went to appear in video game based films. Soto and Tagawa appeared in Mortal Kombat as Kitana and Shang Tsung respectively, and Grand L. Bush appeared in Street Fighter as Balrog.
- In 2012, Carey Lowell lent her likeness and voice while reprising her Licence to Kill role as Pam Bouvier in the video game 007 Legends.
FLEMING AND OTHER REFERENCES-
- First EON Series James Bond film not to take its title from an Ian Fleming James Bond novel or short story, even though there were still some usable titles available such as "Property of a Lady", "Quantum of Solace", "007 In New York", "Risico" and "The Hildebrand Rarity". "Licence to Kill" is a phrase commonly used in the books, however. The story takes the loss of Felix Leiter's arm (here a leg) from the novel "Live and Let Die." "The Hildebrand Rarity" (a short story based on a never-filmed TV script) provided the scene where Sanchez beats his mistress with a whip made from the tail of a stingray--in the story it was Milton Krest who beats his wife with a similar implement.
- This is the third Bond film to use plot situations from the novel Live And Let Die, the others being Live and Let Die itself, and For Your Eyes Only.
- A good portion of Bond's plan to get close to Sanchez comes from the novel "Goldfinger", when Bond recounts to himself his exploits in breaking up a Central American drug ring.
- First James Bond film movie to be released as a novelization since Moonraker.
CAMEOS-
Michael G. Wilson- voice of a DEA Agent.
Wayne Newton- The Las Vegas performer played a small part, in a credited performance as a televangelist called Professor Joe Butcher. His character was a dig at televangelists at the time (including Jim Bakker) who had been exposed during the mid-1980s as being involved in extra-marital affairs and/or general promiscuity. Being in a Bond movie fulfilled a personal dream of Newton's.
For one thing, I had no idea of the spookiness of filming the final tanker scene. It's all pretty interesting. It sounds like this was, in many ways, not an easy film to make.
Hopefully between the trivia and the questions, we can help resolve some of the more pressing issues of the film, chief among them how Ian Fleming's creation is or isn't in conflict with how the man himself envisioned him.
1. In the PTS, some have conjectured that Sanchez had to have seen Bond when he looked back after Bond had captured his getaway plane, although all he could have seen when he really looks back is Bond's feet facing him. He certainly doesn't seem to recognize him at all when they first meet. Do those who feel Sanchez should have, have any merit to their argument?
2. We know that Bond slept with Lupe, but in "Bond Girls Are Forever", Carey Lowell says that Pam didn't. Yet they are seen kissing and then disappearing below the deck of a boat drifting along without gas, which gave me a different impression altogether. What did you think?
3. According to some who have read the Fleming books, Bond's refusal to obey M's orders to go to a mission in Istanbul, instead electing to exact revenge on Sanchez, is antithetical to the character. Do you agree? Or is it just an overreaction by Flemimg purists to another cinematic adaptation and expansion of the "Live And Let Die" novel where Bond does indeed pursue revenge, albeit under the auspices of an assigned mission, where the villain who did this happens to be his assigned target anyway?
4. Is it me, or did Della Leiter seem to be a little "too friendly" with her best man? I'd especially like to hear what the ladies think about this.
5. If your new wife was gang raped and murdered, and you were maimed for life, would you be as jovial as the still hospital bed bound Leiter at the end, merely because your best pal satisfied your need for revenge and killed the bastards responsible? Basically, the question is was his attitude out of place, or was the revenge taken enough reason for his smile?
2. I always thought Bond and Pam slept together on that bed. The scene was set up that way.
3.Yes, it goes against the ethos of Fleming's Bond, but these were highly exceptional and emotional circumstances, which centered around the murder of Tracy on Bond's wedding day and the memories that resurfaced.
4. Della always came across as overtly friendly that bordered on the slutty.
5. That final scene with Felix always annoyed me most. It's as if he'd totally forgotten the events that had occurred previously. "Hey ho, my wife's dead and I've lost a leg but life sure is grand"
1. That did bug me, but I always assumed he couldn't see his face. But still, I would think a war lord would become suspicious at anyone bearing the slightest resemblance to a man who recently got in his way.
2. I always assumed they slept together, no matter what Carey Lowell says that is the impression I (and I assume most) get from the film.
3. I think it is not completely expected from the character but, then again, as you said, it's not something completely unexpected from the book Bond. What I think is a bit antithetical is the way he does it, like he lost a bit of his cold blood and starts doing things a bit amateurishly. We can argue that it was due to this being a very personal case for him but I am of the opinion that revenge is indeed a plate that is served cold and Bond would have planned the entire thing a bit better.
4. Oh, that question. My answer is yes, I think she is too friendly with him. In fact she seems to be more friendly with her best man than with her husband :-B If I were Leiter I would be very worried.
5. Another thing that always bothered me! I think his reaction is very out of place. He has just suffered a massive psychological and physical trauma, it doesn't matter that his friend got his revenge, his "wounds" would be far too fresh for him to be smiling so carelessly. Would it be asking too much to see a painful smile instead?
2. The gong was definitely banged there.
3. It's a *bit* disconcerting, but as Willy said, it was an exceptional circumstance.
4. I've known girls like Della; she rang true as a SUPER friendly ex-party girl.
5. Have YOU ever been on industrial strength pain killers? I have. :O
Seriously though, it's jarring, but I read that Hedison showed up only having read that page of the script without any context.