ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

I think the best way to start this thread is with a few IMDB trivia items and my own comments on them.

So . . . here we go!
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Director Steven Spielberg had been very much interested in directing a James Bond spy film in his earlier years prior to Bridge of Spies (2015) and did have talks with then Bond franchise producer Albert R. Broccoli about directing For Your Eyes Only (1981) but Broccoli told him he only wanted British directors to helm the Bond series. Shortly afterwards, George Lucas offered Spielberg an iconic hero of his own, in the form of Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

Note from me: Just imagine a James Bond movie with the polish and pizazz of Raiders of the Lost Ark!

Carole Bouquet was dubbed. However, she dubbed herself in the French version.

Note from me: Well now, there's irony for you! The actress' voice was to French for the English version . . . but just right for the French version.

Begging Bond to spare his life, Ernst Blofeld baffles viewers with the cryptic line "I'll buy you a delicatessen, in stainless steel!" It is reported that the phrase is attributable to Albert R. Broccoli, who recalled accounts of 1930s New York mafia gangsters offering full-service delis as a bribe to cohorts, complete with stainless steel countertops.

Note from me: The jokey-but-action-packed opening sequence certainly doesn't fit with the filmmakers intentions to make this Bond less like Moonraker, which was criticized as being too concerned with "over-the-top villains and screwball comedy".

Roger Moore's vertigo made the rock-face climax especially hard to do. Moore has said that he took a small amount of Valium and drank a glass of tall beer before some of the scary climbing sequences which helped him through the close-up shots. Stunt-man Rick Sylvester performed most of the work. Moore only had to dangle over a 4 foot drop, while Sylvester dangled over a 20 feet drop.

Note from me: A Valium and a beer. Jeez, you'd think the filmmakers would have talked poor Roger into having a vodka martini (shaken, not stirred) to bolster his courage for his terrifying scene . . . four feet off the ground!

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. The PM was portrayed by Actress-Comedienne Janet Brown, who was well known for performing impersonations of Thatcher.

Note from me: This was an effective bit of humor in the closing scene, but it was another example of how this Bond film wasn't really less jokey than the previous films.

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 (1987) due to Remington Steele (1982) commitments.

Note from me: It's a small world, after all! An actress in this movie was the wife of a future Bond actor! What are he odds of that happening?

The title song is the first in the Bond series in which we see the person who is singing, in this case Sheena Easton.

Note from me: The first time I saw Sheena Easton (on American Bandstand singing Morning Train) I thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world! But I can't find a Youtube video of that, so here she is from For Your Eyes Only.


_____ For Your Eyes Only Opening Title Sequence

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Later, when I saw her on Solid Gold, I thought she was the sexist woman alive!

____________________ Sheena Easton- Strut

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By the way, am I the only guy who thinks the woman in the poster has skinny legs? I couldn't resist the urge to file them out a little!

Original Chicken-Leg Version



Shapely "Brewsterized" Version!


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[The Spike]

The Chinese have a saying; "Before setting off on revenge, you first dig two graves"!

For Your Eyes Only is directed by John Glen and adapted to screenplay by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson from source stories by Ian Fleming. It stars Roger Moore, Carole Bouquet, Julian Glover, Topol, Michael Gothard and Jill Bennett. Music is scored by Bill Conti and cinematography by Alan Hume.

Bond 12 and 007 is assigned to locate the whereabouts of the ATAC, a secret device that transmits orders to Polaris carrying submarines. He must do so quickly because the Soviets are also in pursuit, and they appear to be aided by a wealthy shipping magnate.

In spite of the gargantuan box office garnered by Moonraker, Albert Broccoli was hurt by criticism that it had strayed too far from the basic 007 formula. Making good on his word to get Bond back to reality, he mostly succeeded in making For Your Eyes Only a stripped back thriller. Gone is the over reliance on hi-tech wizardry, Moore (in his best performance as Bond) is back to being down to earth, being a Bond using his wits and toughness to get out of tricky situations, and the film goes for short sharp shock action scenes instead of giant battles enveloped by even bigger sets. There's much tension as well, none more so than with the finale, where again the big bang pyrotechnics have been replaced by a mountain peak accent and assault; where Bond uses a boot lace to save his skin! Now that's the Bond we love and admire. We even get the return of a bit of flirting between Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) and Bond, while Q (Desmond Llewelyn) is on witty form.

Characters are strong, a major plus point in the film. Topol (charismatic and on scene stealing form) and Glover offer up fascinating characters, with Glover excellent as Kristatos, providing the franchise with a cultured and believable villain. Melina Havelock (Bouquet convincing) is tough and driven by revenge for her murdered parents, adept with a crossbow she makes a sturdy accomplice for Bond, and thankfully their union isn't bogged down mid mission by the "between the sheets" angle. Elsewhere, 007 editor John Glenn directs the first of his 5 Bond movies, impressive first outing with the underwater scenes particularly striking. Hume brings Corfu to life via his colour lenses and Conti oversees one of the series' best title theme songs, song with deep emotional beauty by Sheena Easton. His overall score is merely adequate, with decent nationalistic flavours, but the theme song is so strong it lingers to this day in the memory of all Bond fans.

It's not all great in this stripped back Bond world, though. The pre-credits sequence makes the terrible mistake of negating Bond's visit to the grave of his late wife, Tracy, by then having him jostle and jape with a bald villain in a wheelchair (is it meant to be Blofeld?): with unconvincing lines and delivery in the mix as well. Lynn-Holly Johnson's Bibi Dahl character is as pointless as it gets, out of place and superfluous to the plot. While some chase sequences, as fun and pulse raising as they are, are over extended and stretch the running time to longer than required. No mind, though, with Bond back to being a man again instead of a button pusher, and brilliant scenes like the keel-hauling peril, For Your Eyes Only was a major hit that raked in over $195 million at the World box office. James Bond's appeal, and that of the man playing him, was very much in vogue. 8/10
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The quality of mercy is not strnen.

[Krel]

My favoriet Roger Moore Bond movie, followed by "The Spy Who Love Me", which had Shane Rimmer as U.S. submarine Commander.

Roger Moore had problems with the scene where Bond kicks the car off the cliff. He was worried that the audience would think it cruel and turn on Bond for killing a helpless man. They convinced him that the audience would be with Bond, as the man was a killer that murdered Bond's friend.

They had a problem with the man that operated the submarine that attacked Bond. He thought that the situation was so ridiculous that he couldn't stop smiling. To make him look more menacing, they installed a colored light to shine on his face to change his look.

I like the character of Bibi Dahl. She showed that there were limits to how young Bond was willing to go. Although Lynn-Holly Johnson was only a year younger than Carole Bouquet, her character was suppose to be a teenager.

David

[Bud Brewster]

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I'll never understand why the die-hard fans of Sean Connery can even tolerate Roger Moore while objecting to thee Pierce Brosnan version!

Moore was a piss-poor Bond . . . while Pierce Brosnan was a step up, at least in terms of carrying the character into the next generation.

Roger Moore's films are vastly inferior to Connery's — while Brosnan's movies pump up the action, the intelligence, the production standards, and the special effects!

Guys . . . I just don't get it!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[tmlindsey]

I never had a problem with Roger Moore, but I never liked his Bond films because of the camp silliness.

Brosnan was a fine Bond but I found his films to be mostly forgettable.

I also found Timothy Dalton to be fine as a very different kind of Bond. The "more realistic" kind almost everyone hated when it was Dalton, but loved when Daniel Craig did his "more realistic", tough-and-ugly version.

And, yes, Sheena Easton was a Goddess descended to Earth.
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"Have you never wondered what it would be like to walk between the ticks and tocks of Time?"

[Bud Brewster]