Pierce Brosnan in The Fourth Protocol (1987). Photo credit: Stanley Bielecki.
Vitals
Pierce Brosnan as Valeri Alekseyevich Petrofsky, cold-blooded undercover KGB operative
Suffolk, England, Spring 1987
Film: The Fourth Protocol
Release Date: March 20, 1987
Director: John Mackenzie
Costume Designer: Tiny Nicholls
WARNING! Spoilers ahead!
Background
Many James Bond fans know that Pierce Brosnan was first offered the role in the 1980s, but the announcement ironically improved Remington Steele‘s ratings to the point that the series was renewed and Brosnan had to turn down the Bond role to honor his commitments to the series. Three months before the next Bond film—The Living Daylights starring Timothy Dalton—was released in June 1987, Brosnan appeared in a different espionage thriller, The Fourth Protocol.
Indeed, the plot of a British agent trying to stop a rogue Soviet mission to detonate a “false flag” nuclear device at an American airbase must have sounded awfully familiar to Bond fans who watched Roger Moore do the same thing four years earlier in Octopussy… but this time, the maverick British spy is an MI5 agent named John Preston (Michael Caine), squaring off against Brosnan as KGB Major Valeri Petrofsky.
Caine and his friend Frederick Forsyth co-produced the film, adapted from Forsyth’s novel of the same name. The Fourth Protocol begins with the assassination of the famous Cold War defector Kim Philby (Michael Bilton)—which must have come as some surprise to the real Philby, who was still alive in Moscow at the time the film was released.
Around the start of the new year, Petrofsky is ordered by KGB chairman General Govorshin (Alan North) to accept “a mission of the utmost importance,” which promises “honors and promotions beyond [his] dreams” upon his return. Thus, Petrofsky assumes the cover of “James Edward Ross” as he travels to East Anglia, where he rents a flat neighboring a U.S. Air Force base to organize the scheme that his confederate Irina (Joanna Cassidy) estimates could kill up to 5,000 people.
This post was suggested by a BAMF Style reader who was kind enough to submit his request with a donation. Thank you, Scott!
What’d He Wear?
Petrofsky’s cover identiy as James Ross includes owning a motorcycle, so he frequently dresses the part in a black leather biker jacket—worn both on its own and with matching trousers. This distinctive style originated when Schott developed the “Perfecto” in the late 1920s, introducing many of the aspects that would be characteristic of moto jackets for a century to follow.
Brosnan’s screen-worn biker jacket in The Fourth Protocol strips the style down to basics, retaining the asymmetrical front zip but lacking the pocket zippers and a self-belted waist. In lieu of this belt, silver-toned buckles cinch the fit over each side of the waist.
The broad lapels are still rigged with snaps that can fasten it down to the body of the jacket or can close the left lapel over the chest when fully zipped up, and the sleeves have zip-up cuffs to adjust the fit over the wrist. Rather than the standard array of zippered pockets, Petrofsky’s jacket has a symmetrical arrangement of four jetted pockets: two vertical-entry chest pockets and two horizontal-entry hip pockets.
Petrofsky pairs his biker jacket with a clean white shirt and blue jeans when meeting his contact in an airport hotel bathroom.
When Scott requested this post, he mentioned that Petrofsky may wears a Lewis “Lightning” model, also a favorite jacket for Joey and Scott Ramone in the late ’70s. Petrofsky’s pockets and side buckles (rather than belt) are indeed consistent with the Lewis Lightning as well as contemporary Belstaff jackets, though the jacket lacks Lewis’ signature brand patch on the left chest; the visible label when Preston finds Petrofsky’s jacket hanging among his motorcycle gear may help identify its true brand.
Below Petrofsky’s motorcycle helmet and gloves perched on a windowsill, note the label visible on his hanging biker jacket.
Petrofsky’s protective gear when riding his motorcycle includes matching black leather pants and riding gloves. With long gauntlets covering the wrists, these black leather gloves are padded over the backs of his hands, and the thumb, index, and middle fingers are finished in a black suede while the last two fingers are standard leather.
Made from a black cowhide to match the jacket, Petrofsky’s flat-front motorcycle trousers have ribbed padding over the thighs but little other extraneous detail, to avoid excess pieces that could snag and jeopardize the rider’s safety.
The leather trouser bottoms were designed to be tucked into his tall riding boots. Following the tradition of generations of motorcyclists before him, Petrofsky wears black bullhide leather engineer boots. These rugged boots were developed in the 1930s for train firemen but also found a solid footing (I’m sorry) among bikers who appreciated the calf-high shafts and laceless design—protecting their legs from heat and potential snags in a motorcycle’s drive-belt. Instead of laces, the boots are fitted with a buckled strap over the instep and another over the gusset atop each shaft.
The signature buckled straps of Petrofsky’s shine from the tops and ankles of his engineer boots as he rides his BMW.
Petrofsky occasionally wears his jacket orphaned without the rest of his riding gear. On these occasions, he sports blue denim jeans styled with the standard configuration of belt loops and five pockets—two back pockets and two front pockets, with a watch/coin pocket inset on the front-right pocket. The jeans lack a visible brand signature. He holds these jeans up with a black leather belt that closes through a squared silver-toned single-prong buckle.
Petrofsky idly rotates the bezel on his TAG Heuer watch while resting in bed wearing only his jeans, listening to Radio Moscow (featuring the voice of co-producer and source novelist Frederick Forsyth as the announcer!)
Whether in full leather riding gear or sporting the jacket with jeans, Petrofsky always wears a white cotton shirt with a high point collar and front placket, worn open neck with top few buttons undone. The shirt follows the design of a common—and typically American—off-the-rack dress shirt with its breast pocket and button cuffs.
The Fourth Protocol was the first in a string of Pierce Brosnan’s non-Bond action films where he sported his black PVD-coated Heuer 1000 Professional. A commenter at the TAG Heuer forums noted its subsequent appearances in Live Wire (1992), Death Train (1993), and Dante’s Peak (1997) before the actor would become more definitively associated with the Omega Seamaster that his James Bond was issued by MI6 and the product placement gods.
Three years after Heuer launched its 1000 Series Professional quartz divers in 1979, they introduced the “Black Coral” variants that were entirely coated in a black PVD. These well-received watches helped revive the Swiss brand’s popularity, which continued after its 1985 acquisition by Techniques d’Avant Garde that formed TAG Heuer S.A.
Brosnan’s Heuer 980.026L pre-dates the acquisition, identified by the leaner Heuer logo on the dial as opposed to the taller TAG Heuer logo. The steel case measures approximately 38mm—two millimeters more when accounting for the crown and crown guards—and is coated in a matte black PVD to match the Jubilee-style five-piece link bracelet. The uni-directional rotating bezel is marked with white bars for each minute—with numeric intervals every 10 minutes—and a luminous dot at the top. The bezel frames a matte black dial that features luminous dots at each hour marker, except for the white-wheeled date window at the 3 o’clock position.
After mistaken for a cruiser in the airport hotel lobby where he met his contact, Petrofsky violently dispatches of the man who could have later identified him. Note the black Heuer diver and gold pinky ring on his left hand.
On his left pinky, Petrofsky wears a gold ring that swells out to a black oval setting. The ring may be part of his James Ross persona, or it may be one of the major’s own affectations; we can’t tell as he always wore gloves when out of disguise in his KGB uniform.
Preston surveils Petrofsky while delivering his motorcycle helmet to the seaside cafe, layering a light khaki trench coat over his black leather motorcycle gear. Lined in the tan, white, black, and red tartan well-known as the Burberry house check (as opposed to Preston’s own Aquascutum coat), Petrofsky’s trench coat features the conventional Army-informed design elements like shoulder epaulets, right-shoulder and back storm flaps, full-belted waist, side pockets, and a double-breasted ten-button front.
You can hear more about the costumes of The Fourth Protocol in episode #168 of Pete Brooker’s podcast From Tailors With Love.
The Gun
Even undercover, Petrofsky carries a Makarov, the standard Russian service pistol since its development in the early 1950s. Nikolay Makarov took inspiration from the earlier German-made Walther PP series of pistols when designing this blowback-operated double-action pistol, which demonstrated a robustness and reliability that stood out when the Soviet government was testing new sidearms to replace the aging Nagant revolver and Tokarev pistol. Also known as the “PM” (Pistolet Makarova), this compact pistol fires the proprietary 9x18mm Makarov cartridge, fed from eight-round box magazines.
A pistol, PVD-coated diver, and pot full of borscht… what more does a Russian spy need?
What to Imbibe
A different sequence features Petrofsky accepting an invitation out to drinks with Tom McWhirter (Matt Frewer), a gregarious USAF captain on the airbase. McWhirter orders them “two large Moscow Mules… pronto. Maybe that’ll kick a hole in that famous British reserve,” McWhirter ironically comments of the Russian agent—who would certainly be able to hold his vodka better than anyone else at the bar.
Rather than being served in the traditional copper mug, the bartender pours the mixtures of Smirnoff, Schweppes ginger beer, and a lemon slice into short-stemmed goblets. McWhirter then toasts Petrofsky with “Na zdorov’ya… that’s Russkie for ‘up yours’,” before Petrofsky takes a beat, returns the toast, and downs the glass in one gulp.
The Bike
A decade before Brosnan’s Bond was racing a 1997 BMW R1200 C through the streets of Hong Kong (having already crashed a seemingly indestructible 750iL sedan through a Hamburg parking garage), Major Petrofsky was enthusiastically appreciating the German automaker’s talent as he sped through East Anglia aboard a 1985 BMW K75 C motorcycle.
1985 was the first year for the K75, which BMW Motorrad developed alongside the earlier-introduced K100 “Flying Brick”. Though the K75 engine had the same bore and stroke as the four-cylinder 987cc engine in the K100, the K75’s three-cylinder engine yielded a displacement of 740cc that produced 75 horsepower (in all markets except the United States, where EPA regulations reduced the output to 68 hp), pushing to a top speed over 120 mph. Both models are mated to five-speed Bosch sequential manual transmissions and feature approximately 80% interchangeable parts, with the same wheelbase, seat height, and steering geometry.
Petrofsky specifically drives a K75 C, a variant with more than 9,000 produced that was distinguished from the K75 base model by its “bikini”-style quarter fairing.
The K75’s balance shaft reportedly made it a smoother ride than the K100. While K100 production ended after 1992, the K75 would continue to be manufactured through 1995 until it was superseded by the K1100 series.
How to Get the Look
Pierce Brosnan in The Fourth Protocol (1987). Photo credit: Stanley Bielecki.
Unless you actually intend to be riding a motorcycle, I’d advise against attempting Brosnan’s head-to-toe leather and instead use a black leather biker jacket to add a tasteful edge to a white shirt and jeans. However, while Petrofsky sports black lace-up shoes with this casual fit, you may want to consider engineer boots that maintain a thematic harmony with the jacket.
- Black cowhide leather biker jacket with snap-down lapels, asymmetrical front zip, vertical jetted chest pockets, jetted hip pockets, set-in sleeves with zip-back cuffs, and buckled side-cinch straps
- White cotton shirt with point collar, front placket, breast pocket, and button cuffs
- Blue denim jeans with belt loops and five-pocket configuration
- Black leather belt with silver-toned squared single-prong buckle
- Black leather engineer boots with silver-toned buckles
- Gold pinky ring with black oval stone
- Heuer 1000 Professional ref. 980.026L dive watch with black PVD-coated steel 38mm case, uni-directional rotating bezel, and matte dial (with luminous hour indices and 3:00 date window) on black PVD-coated steel five-piece “Jubilee”-style bracelet
Do Yourself a Favor and…
Check out the movie.
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