For Your Eyes Only
For Your Eyes Only, the twelfth James Bond film, was made in 1981 and is the fifth film to star Roger Moore as suave and sophisticated British Secret Service agent, James Bond. Produced by Albert R. Broccoli and Directed by John Glen, the film was an Eon Productions / United Artists movie based on the novel by Ian Fleming.
Plot Summary
Spoiler warning: Plot or ending details follow.
The film is notable for the pre-credit sequence which sees what is believed to be the final comeuppance of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Bond's enemy in four previous films (although he is deliberately not named due to copyright issues). This was because of attempts by film producer Kevin McClory to produce a rival Bond film based on his ownership of the screen rights to the book of Thunderball, including the copyright on Blofeld, and the producers wished to show that the Bond films did not need Blofeld. Two years later McClory's effort would hit the screens as Never Say Never Again but it does not fit the EON films' continuity. Recently MGM was able to gain the distribution rights of Never Say Never Again.
The film focuses on the recovery of the priceless ATAC communication transmitter, lost in the Ionian Sea when the British vessel St Georges is sunk by a mine.
After the outlandish plot of Moonraker, it was decided that the James Bond series returned to reality, and FYEO goes back to the more basic style of Dr. No and From Russia With Love. One of the most famous sequences of the film is when Bond's venerable Lotus Esprit is destroyed and is forced to make his escape in a Citroën 2CV.
Theme Music
The theme song was performed by Sheena Easton, the first artist in the film series' history to perform a Bond theme song on-screen in the Maurice Binder title sequence. Bill Conti composed the soundtrack.
Locations
Vehicles & Gadgets
- ATAC - Automatic Targeting Attack Communicator, the ATAC was lost when the St. Georges was sunk.
- Lotus Esprit - Bond's car used for it's second time, the first in The Spy Who Loved Me. In addition to the usual Q-Branch refinements, it comes with a self-destruct button.
- Citroën 2CV - A vehicle taken by Bond to make a "fast" getaway.
Cast & Characters
- Director: Lewis Gilbert
- Producers: Albert R. Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson, Ian Fleming
- Screenplay by: Richard Maibaum, Michael G. Wilson
- Music: Bill Conti
This is the only James Bond movie where M is absent. Out of respect to the late Bernard Lee, the first M, they didn't hire an actor to play the role. In the sequel Octopussy, Robert Brown was cast to play the role.
