For Your Eyes Only (1981)

THE CAST: Roger Moore (James Bond); Carole Bouqet (Melina Havelock); Topol (Columbo); Lynn Holly Johnson (Bibi Dahl); Julian Glover (Kristatos)

THE SUPPORTING CAST: Lois Maxwell (Moneypenny); Desmond Lewellyn (“Q”); Jill Bennett (Brink); Cassandra Harris (Lisl Von Schlaff); Walter Gotell (General Gogol)

CREDITS: Produced by Albert R. Broccoli; Directed by John Glen; Screenplay by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson; Music by Bill Conti; Title Song by Sheena Easton; Filmed on location in Greece, Spain, Italy and Pinewood Studios England. Running time 2 hours and 8 minutes.

VILLAIN`S IDIOSYNCRASY: None.

BEST LINE: “You were to question Gonzalez, not let Ms. Havelock perforate him.”

BOX OFFICE: $195,300,000 in worldwide gross; $383,157,981.03 adjusted for 1999

You`ll find a more down to earth, tough and gritty portrayal of 007 in For Your Eyes Only. Stripped away are most of the out landish and cartoonish elements that dogged Bond in Moonraker. While a scaled down version of Bond hasn`t worked in some of the other films, it does here, primarily due to Roger Moore`s standout performance.

For Your Eyes Only starts off with the sinking of one of Britian`s spy vessels, the St. George. Posing as a fishing vessel off the coast of Albania, it`s brought down by a well placed mine. All the men aboard die, and the ATAC (Automatic Targeting Attack Communicator) goes down with the men as well. ATAC contains codes to launch Britians ballistic missles , and should ATAC fall into the wrong hands, Britian`s own missles could be used to destroy her. The film then becomes a complex story of revenge, double crosses and backstabbing among Greek smugglers.

John Glen graduates from film editor to first time Bond director. He`d been with the 007 family since his time as editor of On Her Majesty`s Secret Service His knowledge and affinity for the earlier Bond films, free of gadgetry and juvenile quips, shows here, and he`s crafted a Bond film that for the most part, is a serious, plot twister of a thriller and with very little humor.

French actress Carole Bouquet took on the role of Melina Havelock, and like her novel counterpart Judy Havelock she to seeks avenge the killing of her parents at the hands of Kristatos. Bouquet was a startling 23, at the time of filming, to Roger`s 53. It seemed like the older that Bond got, the younger his women did.

Israeli actor Topol plays Colombo, a man whose honor is questioned by Kristatos. The previous year, Columbo played opposite future 007 Timothy Dalton in Flash Gordon. Lynn Holly Johnson was impressive as ice skater Bibi Dahl, a young girl whose not as innocent as her benefactor would like to believe. Mrs. Johnson played a blind ice skater two years earlier in Ice Castles.

Cassandra Harris played a vital role in `Eyes` as well as the 007 franchise as a whole. It was here on the movie set that her husband, Pierce Brosnan, came to visit. The story goes that someone pointed to Pierce and asked Cubby Broccoli who that man was. Cubby reportedly said: “If he can act, he`s our next James Bond”.

Up and coming musical superstar Sheena Easton was brought on to perform the title song. Hitting #4 on U.S Billboards Music Sales Chart, For Your Eyes Only remains one of the best Bond songs, and helped cement Mrs. Easton`s stature as a rising star on the music scene.

In many ways, For Your Eyes Only marked the beginnings of a new trend in Bond films. Bernard Lee (“M”) had died in January of `81, and in honor of Lee, the producers did not recast the character for that film. Glen would continue to mold his style of a more serious Bond film, and with the exception of A View To A Kill Glen would hold to that style. Brosnan would be spotted by Broccoli, and that intersection of destiny or fate would prove valuable 14 years later. It was a time of new foundations for later beginnings. And it was just a good film. Period.