For Your Eyes Only (Special Edition)

For Your Eyes Only (Special Edition)

List Price: $34.98
Our Price: $5.99
You Save: $28.99 (83%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.98 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases

DVD Cover Information

Movie Reviews of For Your Eyes Only (Special Edition)

Movie Review: Roger Moore At His Best in "For Your Eyes Only"
Summary: 5 Stars

The story involves the apparently accidental sinking of a British spy ship off the coast of Albania. This in itself might not have been a great concern except the ship carried a communications device called ATAC which can direct British submarine-launched missiles and the man who was leading the ATAC recovery effort is killed by a Spanish hitman. Bond's assignment is a simple one, find out who hired the hitman and why. Bond soon finds out that his mission will be far from simple particularly when murdered man's daughter Melina is seeking to avenge his death and it appears that the Soviets are somehow getting involved. To succeed, Bond must seperate friend from foe and at the same time prevent Melina's vendetta long enough to do so.

The casting for "For Your Eyes Only" is excellent all the way around with French actor Carole Bouquet playing Melina, famed British actor Julian Glover playing the sauve Kristatos and Topol of "Fiddler on the Roof" fame playing the Greek smuggler Columbo. Most of the series regulars such as Lois Maxwell and Desmond Llewelyn returned but unfortunately, actor Bernard Lee passed away before production began and as a tribute to him, his character "M" was not recast, the only time in the series "M" has not appeared on-screen. As a side note, an actor with a brief role in this movie was Cassandra Harris, who happened to be the wife of the man who would eventually assume the mantle of James Bond, Irish actor Pierce Brosnan.

The script of "For Your Eyes Only" would for the first time since "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" feature a Bond denuded of his gadgets. This point is emphasized by the loss of his trademark Lotus early in the film and his reliance of his own abilities to get him through the tight spots. This allowed Roger Moore, for once, shed his "wooden Bond" persona, and he gave his best acting performance out of all his Bond outings. Here, Bond fans get to see a wider range of emotions from their hero, particularly the cold-bloodedness of Bond when he has a killer of one of his colleagues at his mercy.

The tone of this story is not entirely serious. The car and ski chase scenes are not only performed in their usual, entertaining manner but are also done with a firm tongue-in-cheek. The opening sequence of the movie is also amusing, featuring Bond's old foe Blofeld for a brief uncredited cameo. The scenes featuring Bond and the over-eager ice skater Bibi Dahl (played by Lynn-Holly Johnson) are priceless, perhaps the only time we see an embarassed and uncomfortable James Bond on-screen.

There is plenty of drama though, include several excellent underwater confrontations and perhaps one of the most diabolical methods of killing Bond yet devised, originally written by Ian Fleming in his novel "Live and Let Die", where he and Melina are to be used by the villian as bait while trolling for sharks. The tension-filled scenes of Bond scaling a mountain face are also quite excellent.

Of the different video versions of the film this reviewer has seen, the special-edition DVD by MGM is by far the best. Not only is the print and soundtrack of excellent quality, the DVD is two commentary audio tracks and lots of documentary material. This DVD is a must-have for any James Bond fan or for that matter, any fan of the spy film genre. Not only is it arguably the best Bond film starring Roger Moore but it is an atypical Bond film for its era. Don't miss out this one!