For Your Eyes Only (film)

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For Your Eyes Only

For Your Eyes Only film poster
James Bond Roger Moore
Directed by John Glen
Produced by Albert R. Broccoli
Written by Ian Fleming (stories)
Screenplay Michael G. Wilson,
Richard Maibaum
Music by Bill Conti
Main theme  
Composer Bill Conti
Michael Leeson
Performer Sheena Easton
Distributed by United Artists (1981)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (1982-present)
Released June 24, 1981 (UK)
June 26, 1981 (USA)
Running time 122 min.
Budget $28,000,000
Worldwide gross $195,300,000
Admissions (world) 70.3 million
Preceded by Moonraker
Followed by Octopussy
IMDb profile

For Your Eyes Only is the twelfth film in the EON Productions James Bond series and the fifth to star Roger Moore as British Secret Service agent, Commander James Bond 007. Produced by Albert R. Broccoli and directed by John Glen, it was released in 1981 and was an adaptation of Ian Fleming's short stories "For Your Eyes Only" and "Risico" from the For Your Eyes Only collection, as well as part of the novel Live and Let Die.

Contents

[edit] Overview

For Your Eyes Only is noted for its pre-title sequence which sees what is believed to be the final comeuppance of the supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Bond's enemy in five previous films. The sequence of the film was initially scripted to aid the introduction and establishment of a new actor to portray James Bond since Roger Moore, who had starred in four previous films as Bond, was reluctant to return. The sequence begins with Bond laying flowers at the grave of his wife, Tracy Bond, but ends with Blofeld attempting to get even with Bond for foiling his plans and for the downfall of his criminal organization SPECTRE. The industrial chimney in the opening scene was part of the North Thames gasworks in London. For this film, Blofeld is deliberately not named due to copyright issues with Kevin McClory, who owns the film rights to Thunderball which supposedly includes the character Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the organization SPECTRE, and a number of other material associated with the development of Thunderball. The demise of Blofeld was added to show that the James Bond series did not need Blofeld and was also done after a number of attempts by Kevin McClory to produce a rival Bond film based on his ownership of the screen rights to Thunderball. This includes a failed attempt in the late 1970s of an original Bond film that resulted in a lawsuit brought about by EON Productions and United Artists. Nevertheless McClory was able to film a remake of Thunderball entitled Never Say Never Again which was released opposite Octopussy in 1983.

Initially it seemed Roger Moore would not return as 007 for this outing, so interviews and screentests were held for a replacement. At the forefront were Lewis Collins, famous for his role as Bodie in The Professionals, Michael Billington and Ian Ogilvy, who like Moore had made his name playing Simon Templar in Return of the Saint. Eventually, however this came to nothing as Moore signed on to play the superspy once again.

Other controversial incidents also occurred with the release of For Your Eyes Only. The first involving the film's teaser poster artwork, which showcased a model in thong-like shorts holding a crossbow with Bond framed between her long legs. This was deemed in some U.S. states as indecent exposure. A later version of the teaser was released with a superimposed pair of shorts painted over the original artwork. The other controversial incident wasn't revealed until some time after the release, in which it was discovered that one girl, Caroline Cossey (aka Tula), that was used in a pool scene turned out to be transsexual. Urban legends about the incident greatly exaggerated Cossey's role, from a non-speaking "girl at pool" to someone who had "heavy love scenes" with Moore.[1] In reality, Cossey appears only fleetingly and is only clearly visible in one or two shots.

For Your Eyes Only marked a creative change of direction for the Bond film series. John Glen was promoted from his duties as a film editor to director, a position he would occupy throughout the 1980s. A result of this was a harder-edged directorial style, with less emphasis on gadgetry and large action sequences in huge arenas (as was favoured by Lewis Gilbert). More emphasis on tension, plot, and character was also added in addition to a return to Bond's more serious roots.

An example of this is a scene in which Bond kicks a car with a villain inside over a cliff, essentially murdering him in cold blood, though it is clearly in retaliation for the earlier cold-blooded murder of Agent Ferrara. This was, and still is to this day, somewhat controversial amongst fans to whether Ian Fleming's James Bond would commit such an act. Roger Moore was also strongly opposed to the aforementioned scene in which Bond kills the villain Locque, claiming his Bond wouldn't do such a thing. (The scene does appear more at home in a Sean Connery or Daniel Craig 007 film.) This, however, contradicts the fact that his Bond kills at least two, possibly three, people in cold blood in an earlier film, The Spy Who Loved Me (a thug whom Bond lets fall from a roof, the villain Karl Stromberg whom Bond executes after he's been disarmed, and possibly a woman whom Bond is seen to use as a human shield during an assassination attempt). Nonetheless, this scene was the strongest display of Bond exercising his licence to kill since the killing of Professor Dent by Sean Connery's Bond in Dr. No.

Throughout the entire James Bond series of films, this is the only film where M is absent. Bernard Lee had died while preparing for the film, and instead of recasting, the role was left vacant out of respect. Miss Moneypenny, M's personal secretary claims that he is on leave, and his chair is filled by his 'Chief of Staff', Bill Tanner, with M's lines being shared between Tanner and Sir Fredrick Gray (Minister of Defence). The role was recast for Octopussy.

Several changes to the eponymous short story were made for the film. Both Mr. and Mrs. Havelock were Jamaican in the short story, whereas in the film, Havelock is British, and his wife is Greek. Subsequently, the location of their assassination, Jamaica, was replaced by Greece in the film. Havelock's daughter, "Judy," was also renamed "Melina" in the film to give her a more ethnic sounding name.

Today For Your Eyes Only is often cited as one of the strongest films of the series and is usually considered a contender alongside The Spy Who Loved Me as Moore's best Bond film. Overall, For Your Eyes Only accumulated a box office gross of $195,300,000, and became the second highest grossing Bond film after its predecessor, Moonraker.

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

After the title sequence in which Bond escapes being trapped inside a helicopter that is remotely controlled by the villain—turning the helicopter on his enemy, who is in a motorized wheelchair, picking him up, and dumping him down a smokestack—the film turns its focus to the recovery of the vital Automatic Targeting and Attack Communicator (ATAC). This device is lost in the Ionian Sea after the British spy ship St. Georges is sunk by an old mine hauled up in its fishing nets. The ATAC system is used by the Ministry of Defence to communicate and co-ordinate the Royal Navy's fleet of Polaris submarines. If ATAC was retrieved underwater by another superpower, the submarines' ballistic missiles (equipped with nuclear weapons) could be used against major western cities.

Sir Timothy Havelock, a marine archaeologist hired by the British Secret Service, and his wife are murdered by a Cuban hitman, Hector Gonzales, while he is searching for the wreck of the St Georges. Gonzales pilots the seaplane that brings Havelock's daughter Melina to Havelock's yacht, then turns the plane's hidden machine guns on the Havelocks. Only Melina survives. Bond is subsequently sent after Gonzales to find out who hired him but is beaten to it by Melina, who kills him before Bond can find out.

After identifying a hitman in Gonzales' estate (Locque) who appeared to be paying him, Bond is led to a well-connected Greek businessman and intelligence informant, Aris Kristatos, who tells Bond that the man he saw is employed by Milos Columbo, a Greek smuggler. But when Bond confronts Columbo it emerges that Locque is actually in the employ of Kristatos who himself is in the employ of the KGB. Kristatos is attempting to recover the ATAC for the KGB, and had set up Columbo as the villain as the latter knew too much about Kristatos' KGB leanings. Columbo proves this connection to Bond by allowing Bond to take part in a raid on one of Kristatos' factories where they find Locque. After attempting to escape, Locque becomes trapped in his car on the edge of a cliff. Bond tosses Locque his trademark dove pin, which he leaves on his victims, and then gives the car a kick over the edge.

In the climax Bond, Columbo's team, and Melina break into a mountaintop monastery being used by Kristatos to meet Gogol where he will turn over the ATAC. In order to gain access to the mountaintop, one would normally use an open basket that is winched up into a building hanging over the edge of the mountain, but this is being guarded. So Bond climbs up the sheer face of the mountain and, after reaching the top, helps his team up in the open basket. Bond eventually retrieves the ATAC system and then subsequently throws it over a cliff rather than keep it or hand it over to the KGB chief General Gogol, with the quip "That's détente, comrade. You don't have it, I don't have it."

[edit] Cast & characters

[edit] Crew

[edit] Soundtrack

Main article: For Your Eyes Only (soundtrack)

[edit] Locations

[edit] Film locations

[edit] Shooting locations

Many of the underwater scenes, especially involving close-ups of Bond and Melina, were actually faked on a dry soundstage. A combination of lighting effects, slow-motion photography, wind, and bubbles added in post-production, gave the illusion of the actors being underwater. Apparently actress Carole Bouquet had a preexisting health condition that prevented her from actually attempting any underwater stuntwork.

[edit] Vehicles & gadgets

Main articles: List of James Bond vehicles and List of James Bond gadgets

After the ever-more outlandish plots of The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker — the latter film literally taking Bond out of this world — it was decided that the James Bond series needed to return to reality. For Your Eyes Only attempts to go back to the more basic style of Dr. No and From Russia with Love. One of the most popular sequences of the film is when Bond's venerable Lotus Esprit is destroyed after a henchman working for Gonzales attempts to break into the car, which in turn activated the car's self-destruct function that was built into its security system. The destruction of his car forces Bond and Melina to make an escape in a Citroën 2CV, which was considered symbolic of Bond turning away from the more extreme gadgets of the past. Bond later acquires another car, a red Lotus Esprit Turbo from Q Branch when he arrives in Cortina.

The helicopter in the opening sequence is a Bell 206 JetRanger. The helicopter of General Gogol was the Polish Mil Mi-2 (Soviet design, manufactured in Poland), with original registration SP-SAP repainted to 8P-8AP.

[edit] Miscellanea

  • Stuntman Paolo Rigon was killed during filming of the bobsled track portion of the ski chase. During the sequence Rigon's sleigh overturned with Rigon trapped beneath. He later died due to the injuries he sustained.
  • Cassandra Harris played the role of Countess Lisl. At the time of filming, Harris was married to future James Bond, Pierce Brosnan. It was due to Harris's role that Brosnan and Albert R. Broccoli first met, and by some accounts became a favourite of Broccoli's as a possible contender for Bond after Roger Moore. Although Brosnan was offered the role 5 years later, he was unable to take the role due to his contract with the television show Remington Steele.(never confirmed)
  • The scene of Bond laying flowers on his wife's grave is most often cited to support the concept that James Bond in the films is the same character played by different actors rather than a cover identity. The inscription on Tracy Bond's grave is 'We have all the time in the world' which is was the title of the theme song from 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' in which she appeared.
  • The scene in which Melina and Bond are dragged through the water for the sharks to eat was a sequence in the novel Live and Let Die.
  • The "Burglar Protected" stickers on Bond's Lotus came from a car alarm company called Autosafe.
  • In the end credits of The Spy Who Loved Me it says "James Bond will return in For Your Eyes Only"; however after the tremendous box office success of Star Wars in 1977 the producers decided they wanted to cash in on the subsequent science fiction craze and make Moonraker instead.
  • This was the last James Bond film to be solely released by United Artists; following the MGM and United Artists merger, the films would be released by "MGM/UA Distribution Co" up until Tomorrow Never Dies when it changed to "MGM Distribution Co.".
  • The appearance of Sheena Easton singing the title song during the opening credits is the only time a singer has done so in the entire series.
  • Blondie were approached to do the theme song.
  • The German title for For Your Eyes Only is In tödlicher Mission (On Deadly Mission), because the translation would be something like Streng geheim (Top Secret), which was already used for the German title of Moonraker
  • The only Bond series that indirectly made reference to a contemporary British Prime Minister sitting in office. Without directly naming Margaret Thatcher, Scottish impressionist-comedian Janet Brown who is known for Thatcher impressions was seen supposedly thanking James Bond.

[edit] Comic book adaptation

For Your Eyes Only movie comic book adaptation by Marvel Comics
Enlarge
For Your Eyes Only movie comic book adaptation by Marvel Comics
Main article: James Bond comic books

Prior to the film being released Marvel Comics was given permission to publish a two-issue comic book adaptation. The first issue was released in October 1981 and was soon followed by the second issue in November of the same year. It was also reprinted the same year in magazine and paperback book form.

Two major differences in the comic book include the addition of M, who was technically in the initial drafts of the screenplay until Bernard Lee's death in early 1981 and the villain's given name, which for unknown reasons was "Ari Kristatos" instead of the film version's "Aris Kristatos" (or "Aristotle Kristatos"), although he is referred to as "Uncle Ari" both by Bond and Bibi Dahl in the movie. The comic also includes additional suggestive dialogue by Bibi Dahl (aimed at Bond) that was never used in (or was perhaps edited from) the film.

Credits for both issues of the comic book adaptation include:

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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v • d • e
The James Bond films

Official films
Dr. No • From Russia with Love • Goldfinger • Thunderball • You Only Live Twice • On Her Majesty's Secret Service • Diamonds are Forever • Live and Let Die • The Man with the Golden Gun • The Spy Who Loved Me • Moonraker • For Your Eyes Only • Octopussy • A View to a Kill • The Living Daylights • Licence to Kill • GoldenEye • Tomorrow Never Dies • The World Is Not Enough • Die Another Day • Casino Royale • Bond 22
Unofficial films
Casino Royale (1954 TV) • Casino Royale (1967 spoof) • Never Say Never Again

John Glen
James Bond For Your Eyes Only (1981) | Octopussy (1983) | A View to a Kill (1985) | The Living Daylights (1987) | Licence to Kill (1989)
1990s Checkered Flag (with Michael Levine) | Aces: Iron Eagle III | Christopher Columbus: The Discovery
2000s The Point Men
Television "Man in a Suitcase" (1967 - 1968) | "Space Precinct" (1994 - 1995)
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