“The Eye That Never Sleeps” is more than a chapter designation in Ian Fleming’s novel, “Diamonds Are Forever”. It is an expression we coin at 007Forever to refer to the watchful eyes of line producers, directors, script editors, etc. who are vigilant to check on their films in progress for “bad matches,” moments when movie continuity or logic goes awry.
It stands as a great testimony to the staff of EON Productions these last 35-plus years that the Bond films are as outstanding as they are, with few goofs, though fanatics who have seen the movie 97 times always manage to catch something…
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Cheers and happy viewing!
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE
While Bond is in the car with Aki and talking on the monitor with Tiger Tanaka, the background and foreground projection shows a bend coming up in the road but Aki doesn`t turn the steering wheel so technically they should have gone straight off.
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
Gun barrel opening: Bond stumbles during his turn and shoot as in Thunderball and You Only Live Twice.
In the scene with “Marie,” the camera cuts to a shot of Bond, who moves too far away at one point, too close for a conversation and back again. Dubbing is not too hot here either. Check it out.
Q’s Amazing Jacket: During the teaser, Bond splashes mud on his jacket. He stands up and the jacket is spotless again. Squirting “Blofeld” with water in that scene, the “deceased” blinks and flinches.
Maurice Binder’s main sequence has Blofeld’s cat do a few strange moves across the titles. Watch closely.
As Sir Donald walks to his liquor table and Bond follows, the camera and crew are a reflection in Munger’s bookcase. Same thing happens as Peter Franks drives to the customs office and parks his car out front of an office window. The crew lingers even as Moneypenny grabs Bond’s car.
Sir Donald says, “The whole process, from start to finish, operates under an airtight security system. It’s an essential precaution, even though the industry prides itself on the loyalty and devotion of its workers.” The second time he repeats this entire line!, he adds the word “necessary” after “essential.”
Wint kills the dentist with a deadly and dreaded rubber scorpion. Beware this incredibly deadly beast in the Las Vegas desert also! Watch out!
The helicopter lands in the desert with a red stripe on the rear of the craft. Wint and Kidd hand the pilot a box containing diamonds as the red stripe changes to a green stripe.
The famous elevator fight is one of the finest action scenes ever shot on film. Peter Franks hefts a crowbar, however, that he mysteriously drops, re-lifts and drops again very quickly as he is sprayed with the fire extinguisher.
Shady Tree opens Bond’s smoking hot coffin with his bare hands. Ouch!
Willard Whyte spares no expense, even for his pipeline, inside which, underground at night, Bond can see quite well, thanks.
In the sideshow at the casino, the fellow running the action identifies “the beast” as originating from Nairobi, South Africa. Nairobi is in Kenya, not even in Southern Africa.
Bond’s famous rental, a ‘71 Ford Mustang, has California plates at the shop in Las Vegas. Bond leaves McCarrin Airport in the ‘Stang, driving it just down the street and into the lot of the “Whyte House”—a movie “fast trip” if ever there was one. If we can go that fast in July, we will see plenty of sights during our Bond Weekend 1999!
Bond sneaks aboard Dr. Metz’s minivan with a henchman in a car behind the minivan—the henchman does not bat an eye at Bond’s breaking and entering! The bumbling Metz does not notice Tiffany Case following close behind all the way to Techtronics, either.
The moonbuggy crashes through the wall of Techtronics through a rather small hole—watch closely. The famous buggy wheel flies off and back on again in two quick cuts. “Q” picked up a variation on this in a recent BMW sedan, you know—re-inflating tires, actually John Gardner’s idea.
Leaving Techtronics, 00-you-know-who says “If you see a mad professor in a mini bus, just smile.” The boom microphone on the shoot appears in the front windshield and throughout this entire scene.
During the car chase down Fremont Street, it appears as if people have gathered to watch the filming of a movie—not too much different from our Bond Weekends, really, when we wear our costumes on Friday night! During the chase, when cars go on the sidewalk, four people are nearly struck. They run out of the way just in time—actually disappearing like David Copperfield in the next shot! Watch closely.
Luckily, outside the Golden Nugget casino, a barricade is thoughtfully blocking pedestrians from injury! (Bond drives past the Golden Nugget Casino a dozen times in less than a few seconds, by the way—those Mustangs do go fast.)
When the police chase Bond and Tiffany through the parking lot, you can see wooden panels on the side of a building to cushion the impact of the police car, which crashes into it.
Need we mention that Bond tilts the Mustang to the right to get through the gap between buildings, but upon emerging, the car is tilted to the left? Probably not, but did you notice the fake alleyway was widened for the Mustang to pass through, then narrowed so the police car couldn’t give chase? The Mustang was angled wider on two wheels than on four.
When Bond rides the elevator outside the Whyte House, you can see his shadow on the street below. This is when he is at the top of the elevator. Now 007 casts a big shadow, but not that big. Apparently, his shadow is on the rear projection screen that shows the background of the street.
When Bond seeks help from Q in finding Willard Whyte, Q changes Bond’s voice so that he sounds like Blofeld’s accomplice, Bert Saxby. Blofeld gives “Saxby” an order to assassinate Willard Whyte. How does the real Saxby know to do so later?
When Bond is fighting Bambi and Thumper they throw him into a stack of metal tubes. You can see that all the tubes fall over Bond, but the last one takes a little longer time before it falls over completely. Once this tube hits the floor, there is no loud crash like there was for the previous ones—perhaps another of Q’s patented tricks.
During the fight between Bambi and Thumper, a close look at the black villainess’s dive into the pool shows her to be a different stunt actress, wearing a wig. Once she is in the pool, however, she is clearly a white stuntwoman in poor makeup!
After Bambi and Thumper have pushed Bond in the pool, he manages to get the upper hand and hold them underwater. His hair is a mess—obviously, Roger Moore was called in as a stunt double, though, for Bond’s coif is back to normal, moments later. During the pool fight, Bond holds Bambi underwater with his right hand and a moment later releases her from under his left hand. Following the above, Bond climbs out of the pool completely soaked yet his clothes are dryer than his martini when he meets Willard Whyte!
Saxby is shot in typical Bond style, with little blood and no bullet hole.
When Q uses his “RPM controller” in the Whyte House casino, no jackpot bells indicate any big wins.
It is essential to the plot that Tiffany is ignorant that Blofeld runs the smuggling pipeline. She tells Bond, “All I hear are voices on the phone…” yet she chooses to follow Blofeld walking through the hotel lobby with “her” white cat.
Master chemist and scientist Ernst Blofeld says, “Science was never my strong suit!” Charles Gray as Blofeld also has a full head of hair. Apparently, he is not just the President of SPECTRE, he’s also a member!
Q’s “inflatable container” for the oil rig scene is truly wondrous—its parachutes unhook and completely disappear without any aid from Bond. Did you catch those inflatables again lately in the movie The Avengers?
Bond escapes from confinement under the oil rig and bullets impact close to him. An explosives charge to simulate bullet hits can be seen in mid-air and a plume of smoke when the “gunshots” have ceased.
Five “good guy” helicopters fight the oil rig, including one carrying Willard Whyte, who manages to switch copters in mid-air. Watch closely for his “different” than “same” copter.
LIVE AND LET DIE
The high priest is bitten by his snakes when he fells into the coffin. But minutes later he stands with a snake above his head. (By the way – it is NOT a poisonus snake – it is a constrictor!!!)
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN
In the pretitle sequence an assasin is sent to kill Scaramanga. On his gun he carries a silencer, yet when he shoots it, you can clearly hear the sound of a gun without the silencer attached.
THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
When James takes the Lotus Esprit into the water, he askes her if she can swim and Anya lets out a scream of fright. Yet minutes later she is pushing buttons in the car and confessing she stole the blueprints to the car years ago. Well, if she stole the blueprints years ago, why was she so scared?
Bond is fleeing his pursuers on skis in Austria (actually Asgards Peak in Canada) when he skis off a cliff. Look closely and you will see the path had been cleared previously by the crew for the stunt to take place.
MOONRAKER
When Bond is fighting in the plane if you look at the flap at the back of his jacket there are two slits but when he has been pushed out of the plane the jacket changes to just one slit at the back.
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FOR YOUR EYES ONLY
Playing Chemin de Fer, 007 gets a five and an ace. Yet the croupier gives Bond the win by stating he accumulated a count of nine.
When Bond kicks Locques car over the cliff you can see that the car has no engine. Yet it was a fully functioning car just seconds before. Did Bond strip the car for it`s engine and other parts before killing Locque? And when Locque`s body is thrown from the car, it`s clear that the “body” is a dummy, or mannequin.
In the sunken ship sequence between Bond, Melina, and the intruder in the diving suit, a cable can be seen pulling Mrs. Bouqet up towards the ceiling in order to “tear” her wetsuit. The man in the diving suit was supposed to be strong enough to push Melina up towards the ceiling, but the producers obviously gave him a little help.
OCTOPUSSY
In the pre-credits sequence, as the Acrostar flies through the warehouse, you can see if you look carefully enough the pole upon which the mock jet is impaled on.
When Vijay is “fishing” (while James is with Octopussy), his shirt is 2 buttons shy of being buttoned to the top. When the intruders sneak attack him from front and behind, they rip his shirt 4 buttons down and nearly to the navel. Then when Gobinda walks down the steps and looks at Vijay, his shirt is back to being buttoned 2 buttons from the top. Then, when we look at Vijay from the vantage point of the goon with the buzzsaw, we see Vijay`s shirt is unbuttoned 3 or 4 notches again.
During the film`s climax, the stuntman doubling for 007`s parachute can clearly be seen when the wind blows open his jacket. Later, when Gobinda falls off the plane, you can clearly see the orange straps of his parachute underneath his jacket as he spins away.
A VIEW TO A KILL
Mayday and Zorin put Bond in the Rolls Royce and let it roll into the lake. Yet you can see the cable pulling the car into the lake (obviously gravity needed a helping hand).
In the mine shaft scene between Bond, Mayday and Stacy, Mayday grabs Stacy`s uniform and tries ripping it to shreds. Stacy slips out of it in an effort to give Mayday the slip, but Mayday rips the left side of Stacy`s skirt clear up the left thigh. And yet amazingly Stacy emerges from the shaft with skirt intact. She`s also wearing high heels, but on the Golden Gate Bridge her heels somehow managed to give way to flat heeled shoes.
How does Stacy manage to be snuck upon by a blimp? In any case, the harness that holds Christopher Walken in as he reaches out to grab Tanya Roberts can clearly be seen for about two seconds. Also, note the change in hair style between Mrs. Roberts and her stuntwoman as the stuntwoman gets swept up into the zeppelin.
THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS
When James and Kara are surrounded by Czech police out on the large, icy lake, Kara yells out James` name. Yet he had never told her his name. How did she know? 007 would never have passed up an opportunity to say his famous line.
The hole in the ice that Bond`s tire rim cut is quite large when first cut. But when the police car falls into the lake, the circle seems to have shrunk. Also, notice how Bond`s car tire is blown off in one sequence but then later shows up when he makes the car jump over the Czech border patrol. Apparently “Q” invented re-inflating tires but failed to publcize the invention till Bond`s Tomorrow Never Dies mission.
Kara makes Bond a vodka martini at their villa in Tangier. She asks him: “Did I get it right?”, implying that they`d not only had drinks before, but that he`d taken the time to show her how he likes his martini made. Yet when was there ever time to stop for martinis?
During the climactic showdown in the C-130 Hercules (disguised to represent a Russian transporter), Necros and Bond fight in the bay doors. They are clearly open. But then in the very next wide shot of the plane, the cargo doors are closed. Not only are the doors closed, but the wire the model is hanging on shimmers ever so briefly in the light.
Bond tells Kara to get in the jeep quickly. There`s no place to land. The plane`s propellers stop twirling in mid air, yet before it crashes all four propellers are twirling again. What`s worse, when Bond and Kara propel out of the back of the plane, it`s mere feet off the ground. Yet when it slams into the mountain, it has managed to climb several hundred feet in seconds.
Bond infiltrates Whitaker`s villa in the dead of night. Yet when he knocks out the guard patrolling the pool area, it is daylight outside. Somone did a poor job of masking or filtering the time of day the scene was shot.
When Koskov`s plane lands in Afghanistan, it`s equipped with a kitchen, overhead compartments, and seated rows. The next day none of that is in the plane, and instead a jeep has been put in place. While this isn`t technically a blooper, did Koskov switch planes? Was the plane`s seating area portable? A little explanation wouldn`t have hurt. Then there`s the matter of Kara, Necros and Koskov and Saunder`s assasination at Prater Park. It`s hard to believe that Necros didn`t know that Koskov had a girlfriend, let alone that she was the sniper and was alive and well and with Bond in Prater Park. If he had, the whole dynamic of his plan would`ve changed because he then would`ve known Bond was on to the three of them (Necros, Koskov and Whitaker).
LICENSE TO KILL
Bond, in a stolen tanker truck, realizes he`s about to be shot at with one of the Stinger Missles. So he steers the tanker over a mini-hill and tilts the truck on it`s left wheels. This allows the Stinger Missle to miss Bond and hit a tanker Bond forced into the side of a mountain minutes earlier. The only problem with this sequence is the long shot that shows the area behind Bond is flat, straight and without a tanker truck.
Bond mentions to Lupe that he thought she hated “that thing” (the Iguana). How could he know that since he wasn`t around when she told that to Sanchez?
In “License”, Bond and Leiter can be seen circling the church at low altitudes in the chopper, but when they jump out, they are suddenly very high up!
In License To Kill, Sanchez gets back at Leiter for capturing him. Leiter is permanently maimed, and his new bride raped and murdered. The question is: Why wasn`t there retaliation against Bond? After all, it was Bond that reeled Sanchezes plane in. The writers threw in the line that Bond was “just along for the ride”, but that was essentially thrown in to make it look like Sanchez wouldn`t waste his time on a man like Bond, and thus allow Bond to track Sanchez down in Isthmus and kill him. This still doesn`t make sense because Bond goes to Isthmus and uses his real name. It`s highly unlikely that Bond`s name never came up when Killifer briefed Sanchez on who captured him. If Sanchez was only interested in Leiter, why kill Della? Essentially, this was one plot point injustice overlooked that eventually created even more plot holes.
GOLDENEYE
When Bond and Natalya slide down the dish, pads and rollers can clearly be seen underneath them in several key shots (particularly when Natalya`s legs are up in the air).
James and Natalya are nearly over the lake and into the woods, yet when then the missle hits the plane there manages to be enough water for the plane to skid across.
When Bond leaves the casino and runs up the stairs at the outdoor theatre, he views the yacht by putting the single lens of the binoculars to his LEFT eye. Then the scene cuts to the nameplate of the yacht (MANTICORE) and Bond is looking through the lens with his RIGHT eye–Alex Ayres
Why do Trevelyan’s guards shoot machine guns near 006’s gas tanks, the very thing someone was killed for earlier in Russia? Did Bond then slide a gun or a limpet mine across the floor? Watch carefully.
Bond somehow gets a pair of racing gloves on while riding the second motorcycle.
Questionable: When Bond is done racing Onatopp, the MI6 evaluator demands that Bond stop the car at once. Bond pulls the emergency brake, and stops the car. The problem is this: Bond is driving on the right side of the car, but he is shown pulling the emergency brake with his right hand. The emergency brake is in the middle, so how could Bond pull the brake with his right hand?
Answer: On all Aston Martin DB5s, the emergency brake is located between the driver’s seat and the door. It is perfectly normal for Bond to pull the emergency brake with his right hand. (Yes, you have to climb over it to get out of the car!)
The Aston Martin DBS and V8 cars have their brake in the middle, and the DB7 put it back out by the door again (though in recent models it retracts after being set).
It was, however, stupid of Bond to pull the brake–since locking the Aston`s rear wheels would make his car skid sideways–out of control. With four-wheel power disc brakes at his disposal, using the mechanical handbrake was reckless and irresponsible. Q would have told him that. –Tim Adams and Jim Sieff
Bond’s plane is just crossing the shoreline when he is struck by a missle yet his plane makes it safely to land.
Natalya’s gun in hand flips back and forth due to an editing error when she has boarded a helicopter.
TOMORROW NEVER DIES
When Bond first uses his Ericcson Cellular to drive the car remotely at the airport, you can see someone driving it in the floorboard. His shadow is briefly visible.
Bond and Wai Lin both take an outdoor shower in the slums of Vietnam. And yet when Wai Lin handcuffs Bond to the shower and walks off to retreive her flowery shirt, she is suddenly dry as a desert and her hair is wind blown and perfectly coiffed.
In Tomorrow Never Dies, Stamper is on a roof across Bonds hotel. First, there is a view from above with a black Merc SL in front of the Hotel, then it is gone only to reappear (after a quick spin arond the block?)
When the BMW goes off the roof of the parking deck, you can see that the car has a tinted glass moonroof – not the body-color metal sunroof that you see on the car in all the other scenes. Also, in the `driverless` chase scene, you can see black spots on the front of the side view mirrors which were the cameras the real driver used to see where he was going. (The info on the cameras came from a great article published in the BMW Car Club of America`s magazine — Roundel –around the time TND was released.) D. Ziglar contributed to this report.
THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH
Elektra King’s earrings come on and off mysteriouslywithout explanation. This scene has another continutity error when Valentine bursts into through the door to see his nephew’s hat on a table. You see Elektra grab the gun and hat…twice!
How does Bond’s Z8 come back together again for the end of the film?
Bond and Jones jump out of the pipeline with Bond’s left jacket sleeve ripped and repaired again mysteriously.
The sunglasses that Bond wears while skiing are the CK 2007 shades. The sunglasses Bond wears in the casino are quite different. The CK 2007 has thicker, wider frames and arms around the wearer’s ear. The CK 2007 were not blue though the casino glasses were.