For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Agent 007 is assigned to hunt for a lost British encryption device and prevent it from falling into enemy hands.

Director:

John Glen

Writers:

Richard Maibaum (screenplay), Michael G. Wilson (screenplay),

Stars:

Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Topol

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roger Moore	...	James Bond
Carole Bouquet	...	Melina Havelock
Topol	...	Milos Columbo
Lynn-Holly Johnson	...	Bibi Dahl
Julian Glover	...	Kristatos
Cassandra Harris	...	Lisl
Jill Bennett	...	Jacoba Brink
Michael Gothard	...	Locque
John Wyman	...	Erich Kriegler
Jack Hedley	...	Sir Timothy Havelock
Lois Maxwell	...	Miss Moneypenny
Desmond Llewelyn	...	Q
Geoffrey Keen	...	Minister of Defence
Walter Gotell	...	General Gogol
James Villiers	...	Tanner

Storyline

After disposing of a familiar looking face, Bond is sent to recover a communication device, known as an ATAC, which went down with a British Spy ship as it sunk. Bond must hurry though, as the Russians are also out for this device. On his travels, he also meets Melina Havelock, whose parents were brutally murdered. Bond also encounters both Aristotle Kristatos and Milos Colombo. Each of them are accusing the other of having links with with the Russian's. Bond must team up with Melina, solve who the true ally is and find the ATAC before it's too late.

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Plot Keywords:

british | agent | ship | spy | submarine | 

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Taglines:

No one comes close to JAMES BOND 007

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

UK

Language:

English Greek Italian

Release Date:

26 June 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sólo para sus ojos

Filming Locations:

Achillion Palace, Gastouri, Corfu, Greece

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$62,300,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

127 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (Dolby Stereo)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of Countess Lisl was played by Cassandra Harris who, at the time of filming, was married to future Bond actor Pierce Brosnan. Brosnan would be offered the part just five years later but be unable to appear as Bond in The Living Daylights due to Remington Steele commitments.

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Goofs

When the mountaintop monastery guard is struck by Bond's piton, the blade enters his chest dead center, a few inches below the adam's apple. Yet when the body lands on the ground, the blade has moved to the man's left shoulder.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Vicar: Mr. Bond, Mr. Bond. I'm so glad I caught you. Your office called. They're sending a helicopter to pick you up. Some sort of emergency.
James Bond: It usually is. Thank you.

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Crazy Credits

James Bond will return in OCTOPUSSY

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Connections

Featured in The Men Behind the Mayhem: The Special Effects of James Bond (2000)

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Soundtracks

"For Your Eyes Only"
Performed by Sheena Easton
Music by Bill Conti
Lyrics by Michael Leeson
Produced by Christopher Neil

User Reviews

Moore's finest Bond.

'For Your Eyes Only' starts the tenure of John Glen at the helm of the Bond series. He had worked previously on many of the Bond movies but during the eighties he directed all 5 Bond movies, and with the exception of 'A View To A Kill', they are up there with the best of the whole series. Certainly 'For Your Eyes Only' and the follow up, 'Octopussy' are the best of the Moore years, and I don't think it would be overstating it to say that Glen may have single handedly saved the franchise.

By the end of the 1970s Bond had turned from Ian Fleming's masterspy into an entirely comic book creation, culminating in the preposterous shenanigans of 'Moonraker' in 1979. At the start of a new decade a new style is clearly apparent, with a back to basics story that actually involves some spying, and a genuine threat to world peace. It's pushing it to say that the story is believable, but it is realistically told and is certainly a more adult affair than the previous efforts.

The film starts with the final nail in the coffin for Blofeld. After years of legal wrangling over who had the rights to the character the filmmakers decided to show that they didn't need him anyway and unceremoniously dumped him once and for all. We are also immediately put in the mood for a far more serious Bond when he visits his late wife's grave, an unusual moment, not least because the movies rarely referenced previous actors in the role. Here we are reminded that Moore wasn't playing Bond at the time of his marriage. That serious tone pervades throughout the movie, with less wisecracking than usual, and a subdued villain, at odds with the expected megalomaniac we are used to. But the film is all the better for it. There are some fantastic action set-pieces including a chase in a Citroen 2CV, and a ski chase that tops even that of 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service', along with a tense finale that is literally a cliffhanger. Bond is actually forced to use his wits, and much of the action and escapes are less contrived than one would expect. It's also good to see (after 'The Spy Who Loved Me' and 'Moonraker') that the filmmakers have tried to get back to Fleming's Bond, with many ideas lifted from the original stories. The scene with Bond and Melina dragged behind the speedboat, for example, is taken directly from the novel of 'Live And Let Die', and many characters appear in Fleming's short story of the same name.

Add to the mix a fine cast, notably Carole Bouquet as another strong character in the list of 'Bond women', and you have a satisfying and thrilling entry in the series.