Bond Is Back – Bigger And Bolder Than Ever!
Ah, what a difference massive box office success makes! After the 1979 film “Moonraker” became the biggest Bond film ever, 007 returned to the big screen with a sexy swagger – but did it pay off?
My review of every James Bond 007 film in order lands on the 12th entry in the series, with this wild poster!
After 007’s “out of this world” outer space adventure in “Moonraker”, the Producers wanted a return to the style of the early Bond films – less science fiction and more earthbound action. “For Your Eyes Only” followed a grittier, more realistic approach – but still wrapped up in an explosive, action-filled package!
While still packed with stunts, the film shows a Bond who is less campy…as the Director said at the time:
“We had gone as far as we could into space. We needed a change of some sort, back to the grass roots of Bond. We wanted to make the new film more of a thriller than a romp, without losing sight of what made Bond famous—its humour.”
— John Glen
As you can see, the poster shows lots of action around the edges, while showing off one of the more provocative posters in the series. Time to discuss the 1981 007 film “For Your Eyes Only!”
Here is the trailer:
The film’s opening sequence is a masterwork: Bond is shown at the beginning placing flowers on his wife’s grave – nice touch – before we see Blofeld stroking his cat, and the opening chase sequence is on!
A terrific helicopter sequence sees Bond clinging to the outside as the copter flies through an abandoned warehouse! The sequence ends with Bond behind the controls and Blofeld’s wheelchair hooked on the landing gear – a very entertaining and funny bit of revenge before we head into the opening credits – and one of the most popular theme songs of them all.
Sheena Easton’s voice sounds terrific, and she actually appears in the title sequence, the first time a theme song singer has been part of it.
After that rousing opening, we get right to the plot: Bond is dispatched to recover a strategic communications device before it finds its way into the hands of the Russians. When the secret device that controls Britain’s Polaris submarines goes missing after the spy ship carrying it sinks, 007 joins forces with a vengeful woman – Melina Havelock, who is seeking to avenge the murder of her parents.
Carole Bouquet is the film’s official “Bond Girl”, and is one of the more empowered ones in the series…she seeks revenge and we see her take it out on men several times – before of course teaming up with Bond as they discover they both have the same end goal.
For. much of the film, Bond takes on a “protective father” role, and she is given every opportunity to showcase her strength both physically and mentally, a true empowered woman that adds greatly to the story.
By the way, this is the only Bond movie to date in the official franchise not to feature M. Actor Bernard Lee died of cancer just as filming was set to start. As a result, Q’s role in this movie was expanded to fill the gap.
The plot moves forward briskly, helped by incredible stunt set pieces that see bad guys flying their cars into olive trees, a ski chase with motorcycles, and a bobsled chase as well. Add dune buggy battles, gun fights on boats and underwater explosions, and this one never slows down before revealing an incredible set for the finale.
Roger Moore is up for all of the action pieces, doing a great job while also tossing off the requisite quips throughout. The film’s explosive conclusion calls for 007 to climb this!
The Monks Get Mad!
This is Meteora Mountain – and that is a monastery at the top, rented by the Producers for a great climax…but there was a problem: the Monks who lived there didn’t want them! To protest, they placed sheets and plastic on top of the roofs and external walls to make it difficult to film!
At a special hearing of the Greek Supreme Court, they decided that the Monks only had rights over the interiors of the mountain-top monastery, but the exteriors were the domain of the people and the local government. The movie crew was able to film exteriors on the mountain, but they built the interior sets on sound stages.
Now, another great car chase scene tested Roger Moore’s willingness to be a “grittier” Bond again:
Moore was reluctant to film the scene of Bond kicking a car, with a hit man inside, over the edge of a cliff, saying that it “was Bond-like, but not Roger Moore Bond-like.”
Moore had been quoted as saying that the original 007, Sean Connery, was a killer, but his Bond was more of a lover.
Producer Michael G. Wilson said that Moore had to be persuaded to be more ruthless – he just didn’t want to become that version of Bond.
There was a tragedy on the set as well. 23-year-old stuntman Paolo Rigoni died during the filming of the bobsled chase. This was due to a poorly designed track. Rigoni was not the only one to lose his life there, however. During an actual competition on the same course, another bobsledder was killed at the same exact spot. The track was later modified for a less severe turn.
So my verdict? “For Your Eyes Only” is a great action film, and Roger Moore was on a roll…after the disastrous “Man With The Golden Gun”, he came back with 3 straight hits – massively so! This edition hits all the right notes: the campiness of “Moonraker” was toned down but the big and bold locations and action set pieces were riveting….bravo Bond!
The film was another smash hit for Roger Moore’s 007, grossing almost $200-million worldwide.
Now, as for the wildly popular theme song sung by Sheena Easton, it turns out she wasn’t the first choice! Debbie Harry was hired to sing it, but she wanted a song from her band Blondie to be included in the movie and when they said “NO”, she used her version of the son on the band’s 1982 album “The Hunter.”
She wasn’t the first Artist to be rejected – see the 4th song on this album?
That’s Alice Cooper’s album, which includes the them song they wrote that was rejected as well – and it does indeed sound like a Bond theme!
Here are more rejected Bond themes:
Roger Moore was on a roll and the next film to come in the series woudl be this one:
That review to come next – and if you want to see the “wrong” Bond, click on my review of “Moonraker” to see what I mean:
So Roger Moore’s 007 was on a roll – but the original Bond was returning soon! I’ve got the “battling Bond” movies coming up next!
Yes, Sean Connery may have quite the role twice before, but wait until you see what brought him back! If you want to remember one of his 007 films, check out my review of “You Only Live Twice”:
And if you want to see how it all began, click here to see my review of “the birth of Bond!”
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Categories: Action Films, British Cinema, Film Fight Club, Great Films, Movies, Pop Culture, Revenge Movies, Talent/Celebrities
johnrieber 
love it
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so interesting how his character developed over time, and partially dependent on how the actor saw themselves as the character
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John, this was a great review. I really like how you compare the films and put them in order. So, after Moonraker, Moore was able to be grittier and do some daring scenes. It worked. What an opener and a closer!
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I find the Moore’s perspective on his Bond versus Connery’s to be interesting. Either way, I remember liking that they had gone away from the campiness of Moonraker. Your review definitely makes me want to go back and watch. I remember the marketing push for the movie (and certainly Sheena Easton’s song) making more of an impression on me too. Of course, that could have been adolescent hormones too.
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Thanks so much for your comment. I was very tough on Moore’s first two 007 films, so I’m giving credit that they were delivering big pop culture entertainment at that time – and yes, so glad that pulled back from the Moonraker campiness – but it was the biggest grossing Bond of all time for a decade! Still much more to come, so thanks for reading, it is much appreciated!
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The Greek Isles were stunning…..chuq
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I don’t remember this one, so must have given it a miss at the cinema. I never bothered with Bond films on TV either.
Best wishes, Pete.
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One of my favourites. While there is still a lot of humour in this one, I love that overall it is more serious, grittier and darker than most of Roger’s other films in the series. Love Bond’s relationship with Melina. I love how protective he is of her and how he tries to warn that she could lose herself in her desire to seek revenge.
The song and instrumental score is some of the most beautiful music in the entire series.
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The latest Bonds are so very dark and hard to follow.
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One reason I am reviewing them in order is to see how the character progresses for good and bad – I expect to get some strong feedback when I begin reviewing the Craig era…
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Well the darker tone is taking the character and series back to the books. Of course the Timothy Dalton era in the 80’s took the series back to darkness and more realism first. Bond was never supposed to be funny but the gags crept in massively to the films from Goldfinger onwards.
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And my next two reviews will show how they let the campy aspect of Moore’s 007 take over a bit too much, leading to Dalton and his problematic and short reign ….thanks again for the great insight!
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Thanks for your comment! Yes, they toned down his lecherous side a bit and kept him more grounded…great point about his protective relationship with Melina…and I chose to just ignore the gag at the end of the film…which is a groaner for sure but what can you do? Great hearing from you, thanks so much for the comment!
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The ending is cringe! But it is what it is.
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I added a line to the review based on what you wrote about the film – thank you for that! In the earlier reviews I went more “plot point by plot point” but these last few Roger Moore Bonds were more about escapist entertainment that serious plots…something I will get into with the next review – thanks again for your insight!
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