Released in 1981, For Your Eyes Only is the twelfth film in the James Bond Series and the fifth to star Roger Moore in the title role. Loosely based on two short stories from Ian Fleming’s book For Your Eyes Only, the movie combined elements from the title story and from Risico. The film also contains some elements from Fleming’s 1954 novel, Live and Let Die. In order to blend the plots of the two short stories, several changes were made for the film. Since the film is set in Greece, closer to the location of Risico than to that of For Your Eyes Only, the Havelocks were changed from being Jamaican, as in the short story; to an Anglo-Greek couple (Mr. Havelock is English and Mrs. Havelock is Greek). Havelock’s daughter, “Judy,” was also renamed “Melina” in the film, the Greek word for honey (a reference to the first big screen Bond girl).
Many (including me), regard For Your Eyes Only as Roger Moore’s best outing as James Bond. After the high-tech, somewhat bloated storyline of Moonraker in 1979, the filmmakers returned to Bond’s roots, grounding the character with the style and mannerisms Ian Fleming had put forth in his original novels. Some of this change likely had to do with a new director. John Glen was promoted from his duties as a film editor to director, a position he would occupy throughout the 1980s. The result is a film with less emphasis on gadgetry and big action sequences (favored by previous director, Lewis Gilbert). Instead, more emphasis is put on plot, character and tension.
In the pre-title sequence, Bond is picked up at his wife’s gravesite by a helicopter; he escapes after being trapped in the aircraft. It is remote controlled by someone who is presumed to be Blofeld — Bond turns the helicopter on his enemy, who is in a motorized wheelchair, picking him up, and dropping him into a smokestack. This scene is in no way related to the rest of the film and is never mentioned again. We then learn that a British targeting computer, the ATAC is lost when the covert ship carrying the device is sunk outside of Greece. The British intelligence community hires Sir Timothy Havelock (Jack Hedley) to locate the sunken vessel, but he and his wife are murdered by a Cuban assassin during a visit by his daughter Melina (Carole Bouquet). With Havelock dead and Melina seeking revenge, James Bond (Roger Moore) is called in to resolve the tension.
Bond’s investigation leads him to the hitman´s Cuban estate where Gonzalez (Stefan Kalipha) captures Bond and begins to question him. Melina ends up killing Gonzalez, putting Bond’s mission in jeopardy. Two things are quickly apparent: Martinez was not the pivotal figure behind Havelock´s murder and Melina is James’ love interest this time around. Bond Travels to Greece and learns that another hitman Emile Locque (Michael Gothard) and Greek businessman Milos Columbo (Topol) are behind the murder of Havelock.
After a few twists and turns, Bond finds himself the object of desire for Kristatos sponsored Olympic skating hopeful Bibi Dahl (former pro skater, Lynn-Holly Johnson) who is far too young for Bond, but desperately wants to make love to him. Many fans have criticized Johnson’s performance but I think there’s some validity in it. The scenes finally acknowledge Moore’s age (he was 53 but looks ten years older). Her wholesomeness–complete with a voice like a Muppet and unabashed desire to get Bond in the sack prompts some amusing dialogue: “You get your clothes on,” Bond insists, “and I’ll buy you an ice cream.”
Bond eventually learns that Kristatos is the crook who had hired Locque and is looking to sell the ATAC device to the Russians. As is customary with Bond films, there are plenty of car chases, witty one liners and suspenseful moments for our favorite spy. As always, I don’t want to give away the ending but Bond is forced to find his way out of a tough situation once again.
There are a couple of things that took place with For Your Eyes Only that are worth noting. First, this was the first film made after the death of series regular Bernard Lee, the original “M.” Rather than cast a new actor, James Villiers (as Chief of Staff Bill Tanner), and Geoffrey Keen (as the Minister of Defence) each takes a turn sitting behind M’s desk. Second, Sheena Easton appears on screen singing the title song, the only artist ever to do so in a Bond film.
Roger Moore was probably getting a bit too old for the role of James Bond by the time For Your Eyes Only rolled around. Regardless, his charm, wit and inherent sense of cool made up for his age. Director John Glen deserves much of the credit for the success of this film. There is some great stunt work and Glen wisely got rid of the Star Wars like effects that dominate Moonraker.
This transfer is remarkably clean. There is nary a speck of dirt or a blemish to be found. The resulting image has a very smooth veneer, and if it wasn’t for the requisite late ’70s softness, it would be tougher to judge what era this film was produced.
The film’s color palette remains a bit drab, however. For Your Eyes Only has never been the most vibrant Bond film in the canon and though hues are very clean here they don’t exactly pop. Detail is good, though again the softness of the source flattens depth. Black levels are consistent, as is contrast. There are also no apparent artifacts with this 1080p/AVC MPEG-4 encode. For Your Eyes Only is not the visual tour de force of the Bond series, but it looks about as good as it probably ever will on Blu-ray.
MGM has produced a DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio 5.1 Surround (48kHz/24-bit) remix for For Your Eyes Only that is simply outstanding.
Right from the opening pre-title sequence (where Bond finally gets his revenge on Blofeld), the surround channels are alive with sound. Rear effects sound fully discrete as the move from channel to channel. Heft of dynamics is quite expansive, with genuine low bass churning out of the subwoofer with strength and a distinct presence to the higher registers. Dialogue is strong and even. As is, it certainly exceeded my expectations.
Three commentary tracks are provided under “MI6 Commentary.” The first Commentary by Sir Roger Moore finds the British actor giving quality information but is delivery is very dry. The Commentary by Director John Glen< and Members of the Cast is another quality compilation, but narrated this time by David Naler. The third and final Commentary by Michael G. Wilson and Crew is another compiled bit of interviews and stories with Naler again providing narration.
A number of bonus features can be found under “Declassified: MI6 Vault.” “Deleted Scenes and Expanded Angles” contains two deleted scenes introduced by director John Glen. Hockey 007 Style (2:05) showing a Zamboni scene that would have occurred after the hockey scene in the film. Joining Forces (1:07) is another quick scene with the film´s Bond girl. Expanded Angles are provided for Death of Locque (:43) and the scene can be viewed as the original scene, expanded angle or with the multi-angle feature enabled and begins with an introduction by Glen (1:11). Bond in Greece (5:58) has producer Michael Wilson discuss the decision to shoot in Greece and how the film was created from two Ian Fleming stories. Bond in Cortina (4:17) has Wilson talking more about the film, but this time focuses on the mountain snow sequences in Cortina. Neptune´s Journey (3:33) has Wilson talking about the underwater filmed sequences shot in the Bahamas. Credits for the Blu-ray are also included.
“007 Mission Control” and “Image Database” are two submenus that have been included on all six of the first wave of Bond on Blu-rays. The Mission Control is a set of bookmarks taking the viewer to many different scenes in the film. As is the case with most of the Bu-ray discs, Opening Titles – Textless (2:46) plays the opening song without credits and you can enjoy “For Your Eyes Only” by Sheena Easton as if it were a music video. Exotic Locations (5:02) has the familiar voice of Maude Adams talk about the locations used for the twelfth film and provides some nice trivia about the locations. The Image Database provides photographs from 1981 that pertain to the making of and marketing of For Your Eyes Only.
“Mission Dossier” contains the meat of materials for For Your Eyes Only. Inside For Your Eyes Only (29:48) is a making of documentary that is a little glossier and promotional in feel than earlier making-of features provided for the first wave of Bond on Blu-ray. It is still a good view and finds Cubby Broccoli´s stepson Michael Wilson taking over control of the series. The Animated Storyboard Sequence – Snowmobile Chase (1:14) and Animated Storyboard Sequence – Underwater (1:46) show animated storyboards detailing two of the action scenes from the film and they are set to music from the film and contain footage from the picture to fill in the holes. The final item under “Mission Dossier” is the Sheena Easton Music Video (2:46) of “For Your Eyes Only” that is basically identical to what appears in the “Opening Titles – Textless” feature found elsewhere.
The “Ministry of Propaganda” concludes the bonus offerings contained on the Blu-ray disc. One Theatrical Trailer (3:49) is contained under “Theatrical Archive” and is worth a quick look to see how the film was marketed back in 1981. Under “TV Broadcasts,” three items can be found. The For Your Eyes Only TV Trailer (3:55) and For Your Eyes Only Second TV Trailer (3:55) are remarkably long for television trailers, while the TV Teaser Trailer seems no different than the other two. The “Radio Communication” submenu includes two radio advertisements; Bond, James Bond (:35) and When it Comes to Action… (:35). This set of marketing material was not as impressive as the four older films released concurrently on Blu-ray.
