Fanmade Films 4 Wiki
in: Films, 1980s films, 1981 films, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films

For Your Eyes Only

Sign in to edit
For Your Eyes Only 1981 poster 4

For Your Eyes Only is a 1981 British spy film directed by John Glen (in his feature directorial debut) and produced by Albert R. Broccoli. The film stars Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond, and co-stars Carole Bouquet, Chaim Topol, Lynn-Holly Johnson, and Julian Glover.

The twelfth film in the James Bond franchise produced by Eon Productions, For Your Eyes Only was written by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson, based on two Ian Fleming short stories "For Your Eyes Only" and "Risico". In the plot, Bond attempts to locate a missile command system while becoming tangled in a web of deception spun by rival Greek businessmen along with Melina Havelock, a woman seeking to avenge the murder of her parents. Some writing elements were inspired by the novels Live and Let Die, Goldfinger, and On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

After the science fiction-focused Moonraker, the producers wanted a return to the style of the early Bond films and the works of 007 creator Fleming. For Your Eyes Only followed a grittier, more realistic approach and a narrative theme of revenge and its consequences rather than the fantasy narrative of Moonraker. Filming locations included Greece, Italy and England, while underwater footage was shot in The Bahamas. Scottish pop star Sheena Easton performed the title theme song.

For Your Eyes Only was released in the UK on 24 June 1981 and in the US two days later; it received a mixed to positive critical reception. The film's reputation has improved over time, with reviewers praising the more serious tone in comparison to previous entries in the series. The film was a financial success, generating $195.3 million worldwide. This was the final Bond film to be distributed solely by United Artists; the company was absorbed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer soon after this film's release.

Storyline[]

Plot[]

British agent James 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 and a wealthy hero of the Greek resistance movement to find the equipment.

Genres[]

  • Action
  • Spy
  • Adventure
  • Thriller

Motion Picture Rating[]

  • 13 (Argentina)
  • M (Australia)
  • 12 (Brazil)
  • PG (Canada) (Manitoba/Ontario)
  • A (Canada) (Nova Scotia)
  • G (Canada) (Quebec)
  • 15 (Denmark) (DVD and Blu-ray rating)
  • K-16 (Finland)
  • K-15/13 (Finland)
  • K-16/13 (Finland)
  • Tous publics (France)
  • II (Hong Kong)
  • 12 (Hungary)
  • 12 (Iceland)
  • A (India)
  • UA (India) (TV)
  • 15 (Ireland) (original rating)
  • PG (Ireland) (2006, re-rating)
  • T (Italy)
  • G (Japan) (2015)
  • U (Malaysia)
  • B (Mexico) (original rating)
  • A (Mexico) (re-rating)
  • 12 (Netherlands)
  • PG (New Zealand)
  • PG (Nigeria)
  • 15 (Norway) (DVD and Blu-ray rating)
  • 16 (Norway) (1981, cinema rating)
  • Apt (Peru)
  • PG (Philippines) (self-applied)
  • 16 (Poland) (self-applied)
  • M/12 (Portugal)
  • 12+ (Russia)
  • PG (Saudi Arabia)
  • PG (Singapore)
  • PG (South Africa)
  • 15 (South Korea)
  • A (Spain) (ICAA)
  • 15 (Sweden)
  • PG (UK)
  • A (UK) (original rating)
  • PG (UK) (re-rating)
  • PG (UK) (TV rating)
  • PG (UK) (2001, video rating)
  • PG (USA)
  • PG (United Arab Emirates) (Blu-ray rating)
  • 16 (West Germany)

Images[]

Cast and Crew[]

Director[]

  • John Glen

Writing Credits[]

  • Richard Maibaum (screenplay by) and
  • Michael G. Wilson (screenplay by)

Cast[]

  • Roger Moore - James Bond
  • Carole Bouquet - Melina
  • Topol - Columbo
  • Lynn-Holly Johnson - Bibi
  • Julian Glover - Kristatos
  • Cassandra Harris - Lisl
  • Jill Bennett - Jacoba Brink
  • Michael Gothard - Locque
  • John Wyman - Erik Kriegler
  • Jack Hedley - Havelock
  • Lois Maxwell - Moneypenny
  • Desmond Llewelyn - Q
  • Geoffrey Keen - Minister of Defence
  • Walter Gotell - General Gogol
  • James Villiers - Tanner
  • John Moreno - Ferrara
  • Charles Dance - Claus
  • Paul Angelis - Karageorge
  • Toby Robins - Iona Havelock
  • Jack Klaff - Apostis
  • Alkis Kritikos - Santos
  • Stag Theodore - Nikos
  • Stefan Kalipha - Gonzales
  • Graham Crowden - First Sea Lord
  • Noel Johnson - Vice Admiral
  • William Hoyland - McGregor
  • Paul Brooke - Bunky
  • Eva Reuber-Staier - Rublevich (as Eva Rueber-Staier)
  • Fred Bryant - Vicar
  • Robbin Young - Girl in Flower Shop
  • Graham Hawkes - Mantis Man
  • John Wells - Denis Thatcher
  • Janet Brown - The Prime Minister

Other Cast (in alphabetical order)[]

  • Tony Alleff - Maltese Captain (uncredited)
  • Maureen Bennett - Sharon, Q's Assistant (uncredited)
  • Andy Bradford - Guard at St. Cyril (uncredited)
  • Jeremy Bulloch - Smithers (uncredited)
  • Tim Condren - Gonzales' Henchman (uncredited)
  • Caroline Cossey - Girl at Pool (uncredited)
  • Graeme Crowther - Columbo's Man (uncredited)
  • Clive Curtis - González Henchman (uncredited)
  • Roger Davidson - Trawler Officer of the St. Georges (uncredited)
  • Lalla Dean - Girl at Pool (uncredited)
  • Evelyn Drogue - Girl at Pool (uncredited)
  • Sheena Easton - Self - Singer in Title Sequence (uncredited)
  • Peter Fontaine - Captain of the St. Georges (uncredited)
  • Nicholas Frankau - Trawler Officer of the St. Georges (uncredited)
  • Cornelius Garrett - Trawler Navy Officer (uncredited)
  • Laurie Goode - Skier (uncredited)
  • Laoura Hadzivageli - Girl at Pool (uncredited)
  • John Hollis - Ernst Stavro Blofeld (uncredited)
  • Michel Julienne - Henchman Driver (uncredited)
  • Koko - Girl at Pool (uncredited)
  • Chai Lee - Girl at Pool (uncredited)
  • George Leech - Henchman Shark Victim (uncredited)
  • Kim Mills - Girl at Pool (uncredited)
  • Gareth Milne - Guard at St. Cyril (uncredited)
  • Ralph G. Morse - Skier in Lift (uncredited)
  • Debbie Newsome - Girl in Cortina (uncredited)
  • Chris Parsons - Skier (uncredited)
  • Greg Powell - Henchman Shot by Melina (uncredited)
  • Lenny Rabin - Ski-Jump Spectator (uncredited)
  • Robert Rietty - Ernst Stavro Blofeld (voice) (uncredited)
  • Vanya Seager - Girl Who Kisses Henchman (uncredited)
  • Bob Simmons - Henchman Lotus Explosion Victim (uncredited)
  • John Simpkin - Skier (uncredited)
  • Guy Standeven - Q Branch Technician (uncredited)
  • George Sweeney - Helicopter Pilot (uncredited)
  • Victor Tourjansky - Man with Wine Glass (uncredited)
  • Harry Van Engel - Q Branch Technician (uncredited)
  • Max Vesterhalt - Girl at Casino (uncredited)
  • Viva - Girl at Pool (uncredited)
  • Lizzie Warville - Girl at Pool (uncredited)
  • Chris Webb - Henchman (uncredited)
  • Paul Weston - Henchman (uncredited)
  • Michael G. Wilson - Greek Priest at Wedding (uncredited)
  • Alison Worth - Girl at Pool (uncredited)

Producers[]

  • Albert R. Broccoli (produced by)
  • Michael G. Wilson (executive producer)
  • Tom Pevsner (associate producer)

Details[]

Countries[]

  • UK
  • USA

Language[]

  • English
  • Italian

Release Dates[]

  • June 25, 1981 (UK)
  • June 26, 1981 (Canada)
  • June 26, 1981 (USA)
  • July 1981 (Israel)
  • July 1981 (Philippines)
  • July 1981 (South Africa)
  • July 2, 1981 (Belgium)
  • July 2, 1981 (Netherlands)
  • July 3, 1981 (Ireland)
  • July 4, 1981 (Japan)
  • August 5, 1981 (Italy)
  • August 6, 1981 (Hong Kong)
  • August 6, 1981 (West Germany)
  • August 7, 1981 (Austria)
  • August 10, 1981 (Denmark)
  • August 21, 1981 (Finland)
  • August 21, 1981 (Norway)
  • August 22, 1981 (France)
  • August 22, 1981 (Sweden)
  • September 14, 1981 (Spain) (Barcelona)
  • September 14, 1981 (Spain) (Madrid)
  • September 16, 1981 (Mexico)
  • September 17, 1981 (Argentina)
  • September 17, 1981 (Uruguay)
  • September 18, 1981 (Brazil)
  • September 24, 1981 (Portugal)
  • October 8, 1981 (Colombia)
  • October 21, 1981 (Italy) (Milan) (preview)
  • October 22, 1981 (Greece)
  • November 19, 1981 (Australia)
  • December 12, 1981 (Spain)
  • November 27, 1982 (South Korea)
  • January 1984 (Turkey)
  • February 6, 2007 (Philippines) (DVD premiere)
  • November 16, 2008 (United Arab Emirates) (Blu-ray release)
  • March 8, 2010 (Czechia) (DVD premiere)
  • September 15, 2015 (Singapore) (DVD premiere)

Also Known As[]

  • For Your Eyes Only (original title)
  • Sólo para sus ojos (Argentina)
  • 007: For Your Eyes Only (Australia) (video title)
  • For Your Eyes Only (Australia)
  • For Your Eyes Only (UK)
  • For Your Eyes Only (USA)

Production[]

Ian Fleming wrote the original story "For Your Eyes Only" as an episode of a cancelled James Bond television series at CBS in 1958. Eon Productions originally intended to produce For Your Eyes Only after The Spy Who Loved Me. However, after the success of Star Wars in 1977 the producers decided to produce Moonraker instead. Moonraker was successful yet was very expensive to produce, and shortly afterwards United Artists suffered a major financial flop with Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate. This, along with the early 1980s recession, required For Your Eyes Only to have a lower budget. For Your Eyes Only marked a change in the make up of the production crew. The previous series directors Terence Young, Guy Hamilton, Lewis Gilbert, and Peter Hunt were unable to direct because the studio could not afford to hire them, and John Glen was promoted from his duties as a film editor to director, a position he would occupy for four subsequent films. Glen brought on much of his second-unit direction team from The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker, including cinematographer Alan Hume. The transition in directors and lower budget resulted in a harder-edged directorial style, with less emphasis on gadgetry and large action sequences in huge arenas as was favored by Gilbert in the previous two films. Emphasis was placed on tension, plot and character in addition to a return to Bond's more serious roots, whilst For Your Eyes Only "showed a clear attempt to activate some lapsed and inactive parts of the Bond mythology."

The film was also a deliberate effort to bring the series more back to reality, following the success of Moonraker in 1979. As co-writer Michael G. Wilson pointed out, "If we went through the path of Moonraker things would just get more outlandish, so we needed to get back to basics". To that end, the story that emerged was simpler, not one in which the world was at risk, but returning the series to that of a Cold War thriller; Bond would also rely more on his wits than gadgets to survive. Glen decided to symbolically represent it with a scene where Bond's Lotus blows itself up and forces 007 to rely on Melina's more humble Citroën 2CV. Since Ken Adam was busy with Pennies from Heaven, Peter Lamont, who had worked in the art department since Goldfinger, was promoted to production designer. Following a suggestion of Glen, Lamont created realistic scenery, instead of the elaborate set pieces for which the series had been known.

Writing[]

Before the project was postponed in favor of Moonraker, Tom Mankiewicz had written a storyline and Christopher Wood submitted a first draft in January 1978. However, their screenplay did not influence the final film. Richard Maibaum was once again the scriptwriter for the story, assisted by Michael G. Wilson. According to Wilson, the ideas from stories could have come from anyone as the outlines were worked out in committee that could include Broccoli, Maibaum, Wilson and stunt coordinators. Much of the inspiration for the stories for the film came from two Ian Fleming short stories from the collection For Your Eyes Only: Risico and For Your Eyes Only. Another set-piece from the novel of Live and Let Die – the keelhauling – which was unused in the film of the same name, was also inserted into the plot. Other ideas from Fleming were also used in For Your Eyes Only, such as the Identigraph which comes from the novel Goldfinger, where it was originally called the "Identicast". These elements from Fleming's stories were mixed with a Cold War story centred on the MacGuffin of the ATAC. An initial treatment for this film was submitted by Ronald Hardy, an English novelist and screenwriter in 1979. Hardy's treatment included the involvement of a character named Julia Havelock whose parents were assassinated by a man named Gonzales.

The pre-title sequence of For Your Eyes Only has been described as either "out-of place and disappointing" or "roaringly enjoyable". The scene was shot to introduce a potential new Bond to audiences, thus linking the new actor to elements from previous Bond films (see casting, below).

The sequence begins with Bond laying flowers at the grave of his wife Tracy Bond, before a Universal Exports helicopter picks him up for an emergency. Control of the helicopter is taken over by remote control by a bald man in a grey Nehru jacket with a white cat. This character is unnamed in either the film or the credits, although he looks and sounds like Ernst Stavro Blofeld as played by Donald Pleasence or Telly Savalas. Director John Glen referred to the identity of the villain obliquely: "We just let people use their imaginations and draw their own conclusions ... It's a legal thing". Originally the character was going to be explicitly identified as Blofeld, but was deliberately not named due to copyright restrictions with Kevin McClory, who owned the film rights to Thunderball, which supposedly includes the character Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the organisation SPECTRE, and other material associated with the development of Thunderball. Eon disputed McClory's ownership of the Blofeld character, but decided not to use him again: the scene was "a deliberate statement by Broccoli of his lack of need to use the character."

Maibaum later said "We tried to return to the earlier films with For Your Eyes Only but we didn't have Sean to make it real. And I was very disappointed with the way the love story was handled. The whole idea was that the great lover James Bond can't get to first base with this woman because she was so obsessed with avenging her parents' death. Nothing was ever done with it. It was as if the director didn't feel there was a love story there at all."

Filming[]

Production of For Your Eyes Only began on 2 September 1980 in the North Sea, with three days shooting exterior scenes with the St Georges. Although the previous film had been shot almost entirely outside of the United Kingdom, the new Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's tax cuts allowed the shoot to return to Britain. The interiors were shot later in Pinewood Studios, as well as the ship's explosion, which was done with a miniature in Pinewood's tank on the 007 Stage. On 15 September principal photography started on Corfu at the Villa Sylva at Kanoni, above Corfu Town, which acted as the location of the Spanish villa. Many of the local houses were painted white for scenographic reasons. Glen opted to use the local slopes and olive trees for the chase scene between Melina's Citroën 2CV and Gonzales's men driving Peugeot 504s. The scene was shot across twelve days, with stunt driver Rémy Julienne – who would remain in the series up until GoldenEye – driving the Citroën. Four 2CVs were used, with modifications for the stunts – all had more powerful flat-four engines, and one received a special revolving plate on its roof so it could get turned upside down.

In October filming moved to other Greek locations, including Meteora and the Achilleion. In November, the main unit moved to England, which included interior work in Pinewood, while the second unit shot underwater scenes in The Bahamas. On 1 January 1981, production moved to Cortina d'Ampezzo in Italy, where filming wrapped in February. Since it was not snowing in Cortina d'Ampezzo by the time of filming, the producers had to pay for trucks to bring snow from nearby mountains, which was then dumped in the city's streets.

Many of the underwater scenes, especially involving close-ups of Bond and Melina, were 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. Actress Carole Bouquet reportedly had a pre-existing health condition that prevented her from performing underwater stunt work. Aquatic scenes were done by a team led by Al Giddings, who had previously worked on The Deep, and filmed in either Pinewood's tank on the 007 Stage or an underwater set built in the Bahamas. Production designer Peter Lamont and his team developed two working props for the submarine Neptune, as well as a mock-up with a fake bottom.

Roger Moore was reluctant to film the scene of Bond kicking a car, with Locque inside, over the edge of a cliff, saying that it "was Bond-like, but not Roger Moore Bond-like." Michael G. Wilson later said that Moore had to be persuaded to be more ruthless than he felt comfortable. Wilson also added that he and Richard Maibaum, along with John Glen, toyed with other ideas surrounding that scene, but ultimately everyone, even Moore, agreed to do the scene as originally written.

For the Meteora shoots, a Greek bishop was paid to allow filming in the monasteries, but the uninformed Eastern Orthodox monks were mostly critical of production rolling in their installations. After a trial in the Greek Supreme Court, it was decided that the monks' only property were the interiors – the exteriors and surrounding landscapes were from the local government. In protest, the monks remained shut inside the monasteries during the shooting, and tried to sabotage production as much as possible, hanging their washing out of their windows and covering the principal monastery with plastic bunting and flags to spoil the shots, and placing oil drums to prevent the film crew from landing helicopters. The production team solved the problem with back lighting, matte paintings, and building both a similar scenographic monastery on a nearby unoccupied rock, and a monastery set in Pinewood.

Roger Moore said he had a great fear of heights, and to do the climbing in Greece, he resorted to moderate drinking to calm his nerves. Later in that same sequence, Rick Sylvester, a stuntman who had previously performed the pre-credits ski jump in The Spy Who Loved Me, undertook the stunt of Bond falling off the side of the cliff. The stunt was dangerous, since the sudden rope jerk at the bottom could be fatal. Special effects supervisor Derek Meddings developed a system that would dampen the stop, but Sylvester recalled that his nerves nearly got the better of him: "From where we were [shooting], you could see the local cemetery; and the box [to stop my fall] looked like a casket. You didn't need to be an English major to connect the dots." The stunt went off without a problem.

Bond cameraman and professional skier Willy Bogner, Jr. was promoted to director of a second unit involving ski footage. Bogner designed the ski chase on the bobsleigh track of Cortina d'Ampezzo hoping to surpass his work in both On Her Majesty's Secret Service and The Spy Who Loved Me. To allow better filming, Bogner developed both a system where he was attached to a bobsleigh, allowing to film the vehicle or behind it, and a set of skis that allowed him to ski forwards and backwards to get the best shots. In February 1981, on the final day of filming the bobsleigh chase, one of the stuntmen driving a sleigh, 23-year-old Paolo Rigon, was killed when he became trapped under the bob. The incident, which took place a week after the FIBT World Championships 1981 where USA-1 bobsled driver James Morgan was killed in a crash during the four-man sled competition, resulted in the shortening of the track for future FIBT events.

The pre-credits sequence used a church in Stoke Poges, Buckinghamshire as a cemetery, while the helicopter scenes were filmed at the abandoned Beckton Gas Works in London. The gas works were also the location for some of Stanley Kubrick's film, Full Metal Jacket (1987). Director John Glen gained the idea for the remote-controlled helicopter after seeing a child playing with an RC car. Since flying a helicopter through a warehouse was thought to be too dangerous, the scene was shot using forced perspective. A smaller mock-up was built by Derek Meddings' team closer to the camera that the stunt pilot Marc Wolff flew behind and this made it seem as if the helicopter was entering the warehouse. The footage inside the building was shot on location, though with a life-sized helicopter model which stood over a rail. Stuntman Martin Grace was a stand-in as Bond when the agent is dangling outside the flying helicopter, while Roger Moore himself was used in the scenes inside the model.

Release and reception[]

For Your Eyes Only was premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on 24 June 1981, setting an all-time opening-day record for any film at any cinema in the UK with a gross of £14,998 (£61,158 in 2021 pounds). The film entered general release in the UK the same day. For Your Eyes Only had its North American premiere in Canada and the US on Friday 26 June, at approximately 1,100 cinemas.

The film grossed $54.8 million in the United States, (equivalent to $101.5 million at 2011 ticket prices or $163 million in 2021 dollars, adjusted for general inflation) and $195.3 million worldwide, becoming the second highest grossing Bond film after its predecessor, Moonraker. This was the last James Bond film to be solely released by United Artists, as by this time its owner, Transamerica Corporation, finalized the sale of the company to MGM. Following the MGM and United Artists merger, later runs including future entries were released under "MGM/UA Distribution Co".

The promotional cinema poster for the film featured a woman holding a crossbow; she was photographed from behind, and her outfit left the bottom half of her buttocks exposed. The effect was achieved by having the model wear a pair of bikini bottoms backwards, so that the part seen on her backside is the front of the suit. The poster caused some furor—largely in the US—with The Boston Globe and the Los Angeles Times considering the poster so unsuitable they edited out everything above the knee, whilst the Pittsburgh Press editors painted a pair of shorts over the legs. There was significant speculation as to the identity of the model before photographer Morgan Kane identified her as Joyce Bartle.

Retrospective reviews[]

Opinion on For Your Eyes Only has improved with the passing of time, though some reviews are still mixed to positive: as of January 2019, the film holds a 73% 'fresh' rating from Rotten Tomatoes, being ranked eleventh among the 24 Bond films. Ian Nathan of Empire gives the film only two of a possible five stars, observing that the film "still ranks as one of the most forgettable Bonds on record." In 2006, IGN chose For Your Eyes Only as the sixth best Bond film, claiming it is "a good old-fashioned espionage tale", a placement shared by Norman Wilner of MSN, who considered it "the one Moore film that seems to reach back to Connery's heyday", and Entertainment Weekly chose it as the tenth best in 2008, saying it was a "return to low-tech, low-key Bond [with] ... some of the best stunts since the early days". In October 2008 Time Out re-issued a review of For Your Eyes Only and observed that the film is "admirable in intent" but that it "feels a little spare", largely because the plot has been "divested of the bells and whistles that hallmark the franchise".

James Berardinelli wrote that the film was "a solid adventure, although it could have been better", while Danny Peary thought "There are exciting moments, but most of it is standard Bond fare," going on to describe For Your Eyes Only as "an attempt to mix spectacle with [the] tough, believable storylines of early Bond films ... [it] is enjoyable while you're watching it. Afterward, it's one of the most forgettable of the Bond series." Raymond Benson, the author of nine Bond novels, thought For Your Eyes Only was Roger Moore's best Bond film.

Although Chris Nashawaty of Entertainment Weekly ranks Carole Bouquet playing Melina as the "worst babe" of the seven Roger Moore James Bond films, his colleague, Joshua Rich disagreed, putting her tenth in the overall 10 Best Bond Girls listing from the 21 films released up to that point. Entertainment Weekly also ranked Lynn-Holly Johnson as Bibi Dahl as ninth on their list of the 10 worst Bond girls from the 21 films that had been released. After 20 films had been released, IGN ranked Bouquet as fifth in their 'top 10 Bond Babes' list, and The Times thought she was sixth on their list of the Top 10 most fashionable Bond girls after 21 films had been released.

Company Credits[]

Production Companies[]

  • Eon Productions (made by) (as Eon Productions Ltd.)

Distributors[]

Technical Specs[]

Runtime[]

  • 127 mins

Color[]

  • Color

Sound Mix[]

  • Dolby Stereo
  • DTS (3.1 Surround)

Aspect Ratio[]

  • 2.39:1
  • 4:3 (Pan & scan prints, along with the opening and closing credits in proper scope aspect ratio with black bars)

Trivia[]

  • 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.
  • The scene in which Melina and Bond are dragged across a coral reef for the sharks to eat was a sequence originally appearing 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: Episode IV A New Hope in 1977 the producers decided they wanted to cash in on the subsequent science fiction craze and make Moonraker instead, thus For Your Eyes Only was held back to become the next Bond film after Moonraker. Ironically, For Your Eyes Only was produced as a conscious attempt to pull back from the sci-fi trappings of the previous two Bond films.
  • Cassandra Harris was married to future Bond actor Pierce Brosnan.
  • In the film, Bibi is infatuated with Bond (played by 54 year old Roger Moore). Later in the movie she believes that Kristatos (played by 46 year old Julian Glover) is attempting to move her to Cuba with hopes of seducing her and claims he's too old for her. In real life Moore is eight years older than Glover. But it is made clear that Bond is still meant to be in his 40s while Kristatos is much older than the actor portraying him.
  • This is the first of only two Bond films in which General Golgol is depicted as an actual adversary, though he departs on good terms with Bond here, possibly because of their interaction in The Spy Who Loved Me.
  • Bernard Lee, who portrayed M in the first eleven Bond films, died in January 1981 before his scenes as M were filmed. Out of respect, a new M is not featured in this film as Broccoli refused to have the character recast, with Moneypenny saying that M is "on leave." Lee's dialogue is distributed among Q, Bill Tanner and Frederick Gray. To date this is the only Bond film in which an individual identified as M does not appear. There wouldn't be a new M until the next film, Octopussy with Robert Brown in the role.
  • Julian Glover, who plays Aristotle Kristatos, previously tried out for the role of Bond.
  • In 1980-early 1981 some news media, including the noted SF magazine Starlog erroneously identified this movie by the title Sea Wolves, confusing it with the Second World War thriller of that title, produced around the same time as For Your Eyes Only, in which Moore played a 007-like character.
  • Around the time of the film's release, Moore appeared in the comedy film The Cannonball Run playing a man named Sydney Goldfarb who believed he was Roger Moore playing James Bond; he spends the film in a Bond-like tuxedo, spoofing the 007 character, and his character drives an Aston Martin DB5 in the movie.
  • In this movie's conclusion, Bond uses his shoelaces to create a Prusik knot, attaching himself to his climbing rope so he can ascend a mountain. This technique, which is indeed possible to do with shoelaces, was invented by Austrian mountaineer Karl Prusik, and is common amongst climbers. The Prusik knot celebrated its 50th anniversary the year this movie was released, having first appeared in an Austrian mountaineering manual for rope ascending in 1931.
  • In the opening sequence, James Bond visits his deceased wife's grave at Stoke Poges Church, adjacent to Gert Fröbe's golf course, from Goldfinger (1964). The scene was written when Sir Roger Moore was considering retirement from the franchise, to provide story continuity between different Bond actors. Ironically, the teaser scene has absolutely nothing to do with the plot of the movie that follows, leaving it more connected to earlier Bond movies, than to the one it opens.
  • The closing scene with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, marked the first time a real-life head of government was portrayed on-screen in a James Bond movie. She was portrayed by Janet Brown, who was well known for performing impersonations of Thatcher.
  • The title song is the first in the James Bond film franchise in which we see the person who is singing, in this case, Sheena Easton. The song was a Top 10 hit on both the U.K. charts (number eight) and U.S. charts (number four, July 25, 1981). It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song, and was featured in a song and dance number at the Oscars on March 29, 1982. It featured dancers dressed as villains and henchman, such as Dr. No and Ernst Stavro Blofeld, as well as the real Harold Sakata and real Richard Kiel, reprising their roles as Oddjob and Jaws, respectively. A dancer played James Bond, and at the end of the sequence, he took off in a rocket with Sheena Easton, who had been singing the title song live. This was just one of a medley of five song and dance numbers for each Best Song nominee on the night, and it also acted as a preamble to the presentation by Sir Roger Moore of the Irving Thalberg Honorary Award to Albert R. Broccoli in honor of the James Bond film franchise. Starting with this movie, and the rise of the MTV Generation, all Bond movies have had music video tie-ins.
  • For the first time since On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), we see Bond toss his trilby onto the stand to announce himself to Moneypenny. Roger Moore was never seen wearing it during his time in the role, despite repeating the procedure in the next two entries.
  • Directorial debut of John Glen. He previously worked in three other Bond movies as an editor. Due to this movie's success, Glen returned to direct all of the Bond movies of the 1980s, a total of five movies.
  • The third consecutive Bond movie where Bond's mission takes him to Italy. He wouldn't return there until Casino Royale (2006).
  • The last official Eon Productions appearance of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, until he returned in Spectre (2015), in which Christoph Waltz assumed the role.
  • Last EON Productions James Bond movie solely released by United Artists. They merged with MGM before the release of the next Bond movie, Octopussy (1983).

Connections[]

Follows[]

Followed by[]

References[]

  • From Russia with Love (1963) - The A.T.A.C. is similar to the Lektor, Kriegler is similar to Grant, Columbo is similar to Kerim Bey
  • Goldfinger (1964) - Shot of Melina Havelock walking through woods with crossbow-and-arrow is similar to Tilly Masterston walking through woods in "Goldfinger'. Both these Bond Girls are out for revenge against a Bond Villain for killing loved one(s) and are both appoaching their target hit.
  • On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969) - Beach fight; the winter sports activities sequences are similar; the epitaph in the opening scene of Bond's wife's tombstone is "we have all the time in the world" which were James Bond's last words to his late wife in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' (1969); in both movies, Bond is with a Countess, on a beach, threatened by mooks, and kicks a gun out of a thug's hand, and wears a tuxedo without a jacket; Bond at a casino with a Countess where the women are losing at Baccarat; the opening teaser sequence unofficially features Blofeld just after Bond has visited his late wife's grave; Melina is half-English, half-Greek whilst Tracy was half-English, half-Italian; Bond is allied with a crime syndicate figure who doesn't sell drugs; Bond escapes in both movies by riding in the car of the female lead who does the majority of the driving; both movies have a wedding scene; Bond rides in a helicopter piloted by someone else ; both movies have Bond speaking with a priest ; both movies are partly set in Alps ; both show a Bond Girl on ice and have Bond on skis getting shot at, and have a bobsled track chase sequence; mountain climbers are shown in both movies; both movies have a Germanic female character who is in charge of girl(s); in both movies Bond and the crime syndicate allie assault a mountaintop bunker.
  • The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
  • The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
  • Moonraker (1979)

Referenced in[]

  • The Living Daylights (1987) - There are four parallels in the film to the earlier James Bond movie 'For Your Eyes Only' (1981). When Koskov is being detained and debriefed during lunch, he mentions Gogol's dislike for the new policy of détente. At the end of 'For Your Eyes Only' (1981), Bond throws the A.T.A.C. off of the mountain, and tells Gogol, "That's détente General. You don't have it, I don't have it". In the kitchen of the same building, is a parrot that has a striking resemblance to Max, the Havelocks' parrot from 'For Your Eyes Only' (1981) (the James Bond encyclopedia by John Cork and Collin Stutz confirms it is the same bird). During the lunch, Koskov says of Pushkin, "We were once like brothers". In 'For Your Eyes Only' (1981), Kristatos also uses the same line when speaking about Columbo. In Morocco, Brad Whitaker's villa features a swimming pool with a bevy of bikini-clad Bond Girls, similar to the villa with bikini-clad Bond Girls in 'For Your Eyes Only' (1981).
  • True Lies (1994)
  • Die Another Day (2002) - The scene as Bond hangs onto the ice cliff (before it collapses) resembles the climax near the monastery, especially as the rope slips and Bond drops some distance further down the cliff, although this time, it was all performed from a vehicle. The yellow diving helmet in Q's lab.
  • Skyfall (2012) - Bond hands Tanner the shrapnel from Patrice's shots in a baggie and says "For her eyes only," in regard to giving the results to M. A main villain is killed by a well-thrown knife to the back
  • Spectre (2015) - Bond offering Mr. White his gun as a sign of trust like when Milos Columbo offers Bond his gun for the same; Death of leading Bond Girl's parent(s); Fight in helicopter with Bond hanging onto its exterior; Film's villain owns a Rolls Royce Silver Wraith; Arch villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld appears during opening sequence
  • No Time to Die (2021) - James Bond visits Vesper Lynd's grave at a mausoleum early in the film just as the character visited Tracy's grave at the start of this Bond movie. Ana de Armas's character is named Paloma which is the Spanish word for "Dove". The nick-name of Milos Columbo (Topol) in the earlier James Bond movie 'For Your Eyes Only' (1981) was The Dove. Action sequence on a fishing trawler vessel which ends up sinking. Appearance of a church religious parade during a chase sequence. SPOILER: Bond kills Logan Ash by pushing a Land Rover onto him just as Bond kicked the Mercedes to dispose of Locque.

Spoofed in[]

  • Ultimate Spider-Man: For Your Eye Only (2012) (TV Episode) - Episode title
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.