For Your Eyes Only (Special Edition)
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Movie Reviews of For Your Eyes Only (Special Edition)
Movie Review: One of my all-time favorite Bond movies in a nice package
Summary: 5 Stars
THE MOVIE
There wasn't much further 007 could go as far as sci-fi wizardry and fantastic characters after the cartoonish MOONRAKER that had seen James Bond propelled into space.
What was called for was a `back to basics' approach that emphasized realism, exotic locations, less gadgetry, down to earth villains and a return to the ruthlessness that Roger Moore had exhibited in movies such as THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN and THE SPY WHO LOVED ME. What better way for the filmakers to return Bond to his roots than to tap into original Fleming source material.
Taking characters and situations from not only the Fleming novel FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, but also the keel-hauling sequence from LIVE AND LET DIE writers Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson wove together a complex and enticing cold war spy drama that included some of the staple setpieces underwater and on the slopes that had served the character so well in the past.
As the late John Brosnan noted in his review of the movie this production is essentially one long chase, but in the one solitary tip of the hat to the fantastic plots of the previous two movies, here the stakes could not be higher. Those stakes are the fate of all the British nuclear missiles in the polaris fleet. Forget the kidnapping of a few nuclear warheads in previous movies, here the balance of nuclear brinksmanship is at risk and ultimately the fate of the world.
This movie sports several of my favorite characters from the entire EON canon. Topol plays a brilliant, amiable Greek smuggler named Columbo and the good natured trust and friendship between him and Roger Moore's James Bond is clearly evident in every scene they share together. Noted British television actor Julian Glover plays Greek mercenary and chief villain Kristatos and I love the understated mannerisms and menace that literally oozes from every line. The movie also has one of the series most beautiful women with the appealing Carole Bouquet and this particular Bond fan had a huge crush on Lynn Holly Johnson who portrayed the chipper Bibi Dahl. Add these elements together and place it against the backdrop of the Italian Alps and the Adriatic and you have one of the best entries in the series.
THE DVD
This DVD was one of the first wave of the newly refurbished Bond DVDs (most had previously been released in the snapper cases). Arriving in stores in Oct. 1999 I quickly snatched them up and devoured them.
Whereas the later two sets all had DVDs with two documentaries on them this one has just the one on the Making of the movie. For Bond fans this is a true treat because we get to see new on camera interviews with the likes of Rick Sylvestor, Topol and Lynn Holly Johnson. Narrated by Patrick MacNee it's both breezy and fascinating.
With only the one documentary and the standard selectioon of trailers, music and radio spots, we do have two audio commentaries (rather than the one that appeared in the later sets). Unfortunately these are the spliced together kind which means that often what the interviewees are talking about is not relevant to what is playing out on screen. Whereas this means we get a lot of information it does tend to get a bit dry and I would have preferred a scene specific track with participants sitting together in a studio discussing the movie as it plays.
Still...this is a great movie and the packaging isn't too shabby. For the time (late 1999) these DVDs were viewed as on-top as far as special features go because at that time most movies being released were bare-bones editions.
Highly recommended.
UPDATE- It should be noted that there is a rerelease of this movie coming up on DVD which will feature a newly recorded scene specific audio commentary by Bond actor Roger Moore. So, it may well be worth holding off on a purchase until these Ultimate Editions are released towards the end of 2006.
Movie Review: For all Eyes
Summary: 5 Stars
It seems that the quality of Roger Moore's Bond films was up and down continuously. After the silliness of "Moonraker" I wondered whether Moore was going downhill. As it turns out the follow up to "Moonraker" was one of the best Bond films ever. In this film Moore plays a serious secret agent in the tradition of "From Russia with Love," which is perhaps the closest previous Bond film in tenor to this film.The plot of the film is from the heart of the cold war. A British spy ship is off the coast of Albania gathering information when it is accidentally sank in a bizarre accident. Included on this ship is the A.T.A.C. system, which is capable of launching submarine ballistic missiles. The British government doesn't know whether the ship's crew was able to destroy the A.T.A.C., so they try to find the ship.
Soon we meet one of the best casts from any Bond, including the stunningly beautiful Carole Bouquet as Melina Havelock, daughter of ocean archeologists that attempt to locate the ship for the British government and are murdered. Julian Glover plays Aristotle Kristatos, as coldly evil as Christopher Lee in "The Man with the Golden Gun." The equally evil Topol as Columbo aids Kristatos. Working with Bond is Michael Gothard as Emile Locque, a smuggler but a Greek patriot as well. The only point of silliness in the cast is the inclusion of the lovely Lynn-Holly Johnson, who was incredibly effective with Robbie Benson in "Ice Castles."
Bond struggles figuring out who the good guys are and who the bad guys are, aided by Melina all the way. Moore's Bond in this film is serious with minimal one liners, as close as Moore ever got to Sean Connery. The gadgetry is minimal with much of the action focused on Moore in one of his most physical roles. The scenes flow smoothly, with good action throughout while keeping a plausible story line.
While I usually find a lot to complain about regarding the technical aspects of Bond films, in this one I'll only point out one obvious flaw. Melina talks about how she has been around the world with her parents as they have investigated underwater archeological sites. Clearly Melina is an expert diver as we see in several scenes. Yet when Bond and she go looking for the A.T.A.C., Bond explains patronizingly to her regarding the air mix they'll use and other details regarding the dive. Melina should have been an expert in this area, but in order to show how knowledgeable Bond is he explains what should have been obvious to Melina. A minor point that was only minimally distracting.
Following the tradition of Bond films, the music for this film was by then mega-star Sheena Easton, filmed with bare shoulders during the opening credits. The opening credits for this movie were not nearly as inspired as the movie itself, but another minor point given the excellence of the movie.
Most Bond films are enjoyable to watch, even when they are silly. Fortunately this one is a good spy film with Roger Moore at the peak of his game. This Bond film is one of the best of the 20+ Bond films and worthy of having in any film collection.
Movie Review: Disappointing Special Edition DVD can't mar Moore's best
Summary: 5 Stars
The new range of special edition DVD versions of the Bond films are being released in groups from 1999-2002, and fortunately this fine effort was in the first batch. Others have remarked on what most fans regard as the very best of the Moore Bonds, and I won't dispute them here. From it's nifty nod to the George Lazenby performance in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" to the fine ensemble acting, to the sheer style of the non-traditional ending, FYEO succeeds because it marks one of the few times the producers took special pains to incorporate Fleming into the script. For that effort, a full five stars are well-deserved.Where this product fails, however, is in living up to the standards this Special Edition series has set for itself. Like other entrants in this series, FYEO has audio commentaries by the filmmakers. As with all the Special Editions, the Ian Fleming Society, perhaps the most 'serious' of the Bond Fan Clubs, provides a narrator who ties together the sometimes meandering recollections of various memebers of the cast and crew. Unfortunately on this outing, the narrator's voice is heard far more than the filmmakers', and what the narrator has to say is often inane.
For instance, something on the order of five minutes is given to a painfully detailed discussion of the Citroen car used in the chase scene, and its place in 20th century Europe. Interesting stuff for trivia buffs, but it hardly lends useful, direct information about the film itself.
Frequently, too, the narrator seems eager to do rather arbitrary comparisons between this Bond and another. It's interesting, in its way, but it prevents us from hearing primary source information from the filmmakers.
Worse, there are very few times where the audio commentary actually speaks about the action on the screen. Oh, to be sure, you find out how certain stunts were effected, but whole scenes go by without comment on either track.
This goes in stark contrast to the much superior "Thunderball SE", wherein the extra material truly amplifies your enjoyment of the film.
Having said all this, of course, I would still recommend that you buy this version of the film over any other. It does uncover some of the mysteries of the production. But it's probably not where you want to start if you're a student of the filmmaking process. Far better in this series for its depth of commentary is "Thunderball" or even "License to Kill"--even though both are actually less enjoyable films than FYEO.
Movie Review: Moore's best outing as Bond.
Summary: 5 Stars
This film was far and away Roger Moore's best Bond film. It's also an incredibly stark contrast to its immediate predecessor, "Moonraker". "Moonraker" followed the "Goldfinger" blueprint - an almost outrageously villianous villain (supported by an even more outrageously unusual henchman), involved in the most large scale, diabolical of plots. It's almost a shame that "Goldfinger" was such a success (well... not quite, since "Goldfinger" was such a superb movie), since it gave rise to a real trend for such over-the-top villians and over-the-top threats in the Bond series. That sort of thing can work, when done masterfully, as it was in "Goldfinger", but it's awfully hard to keep to that level of artistic greatness. "For Your Eyes Only" is very much more like "Dr. No", or "From Russia With Love". It's a believable film. It's the kind of espionage thriller that you really believe could almost be based on a true story. There are no comic book villains. There is no B-movie serial threat. This is the kind of thing that feels like it could plausibly take place in the shadow world of spies. The plot concerns a secret, high tech submarine tracking and communication system. If the Soviets should get their hands on a sample of this system, then a vital component of NATO defense technology would be compromised. Yet even if the Russians had gotten the A.T.A.C. system; even if Bond had failed in his mission, it's the kind of thing that most people would never even have heard about until fifty years later when the political situation had changed, technology had advanced, and the relevant documents had been declassified. You can easily suspend disbelief and imagine that this sort of thing could happen (allowing for a bit of dramatic license that is).
This grittier, more realistic, Cold War spy thriller story was a refreshing change from the comic book Bond of "Moonraker", or even "The Spy Who Loved Me". It was a much needed return to the less flamboyant Bond of the Fleming novels. It's almost a pity Roger Moore didn't make his exit with this movie. It would have been a fantastic swan song, and far better than the unworthy "A View to a Kill", which only proved that in terms of artistic success, the excess of the "Goldfinger" formula was the exception rather than the rule.
Movie Review: Easily Moore's Finest Bond Hour - the most realistic Bond since LIVE AND LET DIE.
Summary: 5 Stars
Between the overblown action spectacles of THE SPY WHO LOVED ME and MOONRAKER, and the overblown stupidty of OCTOPUSSY and VIEW TO A KILL, Roger Moore had the good fortune to be involved in this gem of a Bond movie. FOR YOUR EYES ONLY is the first time since Moore's own MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN that Bond was really grounded in reality. Everything that occurs in this film is within the realm of believeability.
The secret to its success is in removing the tradtional arsenal of gadgetry and forcing Bond to rely instead on his survival skills. Right from the get-go, we know we are in for something different when Bond's new souped-up gadget car blows up before he even gets to hop in! Throughout the movie, Bond is left to his own gut instincts to survive. Nowhere in the film is this better seen than in the extended ski slope chase. From the get go, he loses his gun, and must therefore out-think and out-ski his would-be assassin through a series of fun chases down the long ski slope.
In addition to this goodness is a fun car chase where Bond, having lost his car, has to make do with a Voklswagen Beetle to make his getaway. There is also some underwater action including a submersible vehicle fight, and a deep sea salvage dive. And the film climaxes in an amazing cliff-climbing mission to an isolated fortress!
The movie foregoes the global domination themes of the previous two films in favor of some cold-war espionage involving a top secret device that went down with a ship. It is a race between Bond and competing agencies to recover the box first. Nice to have something more believable to follow!
The film's only weak point is Bond girl Carol Bouqet - she is easy on the eyes, but her delivery is only a few notches above the dreadful Barbara Bach from SPY WHO LOVED ME. Also, the villain is pretty plain and boring.
But, all that pales in comparison to the more even keeled and down-to-earth action and plotting the movie has to offer. To top it all off, you get to see Bond's final showdown with Blofeld in the movies opening sequence! It's all good, baby!