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For Your Eyes Only

For Your Eyes Only

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Top-noth Bond
Review: This is the best of Moore`s Bond-films,the best of the 80-s,and one of the best in the series.Why?Because it has everything.Good plot,humor,believable characters,seriousness,and great actors plus great,although somewhat dated,music.Glover and Topol deliver excellent performances,as does Gothard and Villiers.Wonderful!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Liked it
Review: Well, after the quite fantastical "Moonraker", our hero 007 abandons his space shuttle and plants his feet firmly on the ground for this one. I initially found FYEO quite disappointing considering it came after the two most solidly earth-shattering entries in the series. Just compare FYEO with Moonraker and you'll see what I mean. But after seeing it a few more times I came to appreciate its considerable values. Instead of the usual world domination plan by an evil megalomaniac, the plot centres on the race to obtain the ATAC, a top-secret piece of military hardware that is lost when the Navy vessel St. Georges is sunk in mysterious consequences. After being assigned to recover it, Bond runs into Melina Havelock (played by the stunning Carole Bouquet) who is planning revenge for the murder of her parents. Bond gets caught up in a feud between two Greek smugglers, Milos Columbo (Topol) and Aris Kristatos (Julian Glover). 007 discovers that Kristatos is in league with the KGB, and is planning to hand the ATAC over to them. Sounds mundane at first glance but when you consider that the ATAC is capable of launching Polaris missiles to destroy major cities, the plot becomes far more sinister.

FYEO features some impressive stunt work, such as in the car- and ski chases. There is also one cliffhanger of a scene where Bond is climbing up a huge precipice towards the enemy hideout, however one of Kristatos' henchmen is slowly knocking out his rope guides.... But what really stands out is the cast. Roger Moore delivers a very effective performance in his fifth appearance as Agent 007, notwithstanding the fact he's old enough to be Melina's dad. It's funny, that Moore seems to fluctuate from looking ancient in one scene to looking quite young in another, something I've always noticed in his later films. Carole Bouquet provides a very effective leading Bond girl (partially because she's SO amazing to look at), while Topol and Julian Glover are sublime as ally and villain of Bond respectively.

There is no lack of action, as always: a highly amusing car chase in which Bond and Melina flee Kristatos' henchman in a Citroen 2-CV (what next?) and a very effective ski-chase later on with Bond on skis and his pursuers on motorbikes (unfair advantage? I think not). About flaws: a rather outrageous soundtrack, the annoying presence of Lynn-Holly Johnson as teenage ice-skater Bibi Dahl, and the finale is rather underwhelming. Plus, "M" veteran Bernard Lee is missing: he passed away during the lead up to production. A sad loss.

All-in-all "For Your Eyes Only" is a solid spy thriller in its own right, and those fans of Ian Fleming whose Bond has been missing from the screen for some time should be well satisfied.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: "Greeks, like Electra, avenge their loved ones !"
Review: I certainly agree with most everyone else ready to remind us that "nobody does it better" as James Bond than Sean Connery ! Connery created this role; he is undeniably a good actor outside the James Bond perimeter, and, unlike many of his peers, he is ever watchable !

But we should give Roger Moore credit for what he has accomplished. Unlike Connery, Lazenby, Dalton, or Brosnan, Moore's Bond is really English: the look, the accent, the demeanor, the punch lines. If you have reservations and really want to see Roger Moore at his best, watch "The Saint" - the British TV series of the 60's most of which are adaptations of Leslie Charteries short stories. "The Saint" follows "Maverick" (where Roger Moore plays his part), and ran almost simultaneously with the other delectable British TV series, "The Avengers", featuring Patrick Macnee, Diana Rigg, and Linda Thorson. Moore is young, handsome, and, in fact, Simon Templar, the character he plays there very well anticipates the 007 to come. It is James Bond without Q's help, and, perhaps less flamboyant ! The first 8 episodes have been recently re-released on VHS. Try "The Russian Prisoner" and "The Queen's Ransom".

The 1981 "For Your Eyes Only", is, probably, the best Bond Moore did. Good plot (and more complex) story, good acting and character development, good humor, lots of effective villains (compare this with the 1997 Pierce Brosnan's "Tomorrow Never Dies), plus one (played by Topol) who helps the good guys. solid spy-adventure, non-stop action, and Sheena Easton's great title song (1981 Academy Awards Nomination) ! This is a rare instance when 007 shows concern and protects "his girls" instead of (typically and easily) getting them. Carol Bouquet (as Melina Havelock), Cassandra Harris - Brosnan's wife (as Countess Lisle), and Lynn-Holly Johnson (as Bibi) play well their parts.

(4 stars only to allow 5 for "From Russia with Love", which I believe to be the best Bond movie, and, also, the one Sean Connery enjoyed the most doing).

"For Your Eyes Only" is for everyone's eyes - enjoy it, as I did !

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Disappointing Special Edition DVD can't mar Moore's best
Review: 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.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: UNBELIEVABLE DVD SPLENDOUR!
Review: I am a huge fan of the Bond genre, and I have been hoping MGM would invest its time in a superior dvd for each film installment. I was not dissapointed!

Color, sound, and everything else was on par with what I would consider the star treatment of a super movie. Even though you don't hear too much about this adventure (maybe because fans weren't used to Roger Moore being so ruthless), it is indeed a very good film.

One thing I can't say about FYEO is that is has aged well. Even though the print used for dvd is pristine and looks almost as if it were shot yesterday, the synthesized eightes music and the "high tech gadgets" (the videograph anyone?) date the film quite a bit. But hey, that can be half the fun. Just make sure the dvd you get is the special edition. The making of featurette and full length narrations are extremely interesting and watching the movie in widescreen is unbelievably impressive. WELL WORTH MY HARD EARNED MONEY!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: no more wide screen!
Review: We did not buy a large screen tv in order to see a small picture stretched across 60 inches of space with tiny people at a distance of 20 feet We will not be buying any movies until and unless these movies are available in regular format. We currently have all the James Bond movies in video and would like to upgrade to DVD so we're holding out for something a little more watchable.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This Sould Be For Your Eyes Only
Review: This movie is a none stop adventure that will leave you on the edge of your seat. Staring Roger Moore As James Bond (007). Bond is sent on a mission to help Melina Havelock. He is to find out what happened, but as always is side tracked. Melina is trying to avenge her parents who were killed on there yacht in front of her eyes. Her and Bond Work together threw the movie to bring justice to the death of Melina's parents.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Seemed like a made for TV movie
Review: This movie had a boring villain, no gadgets, a terrible soundtrack, and just didn't seem like a bond film at all. Maybe it's just that I don't like Roger Moore, but I found this movie to be very boring, especially when compared with any of the earlier films with Sean Connery or George Lazenby. The plot was pretty lame as well. Moore tries to retrieve some machine that would controll British submarines while some double crossing british guy tries to sell it to the Russians. A lot of the other reviewers seemed impressed with the stunts and action scenes, and I would have to agree that they weren't too bad, which is the only reason this film got two stars. A good Bond film however will have a fairly compelling storyline where the action scenes flow into it. In this movie though, it seemed like the entire film was just one big excuse for Bond to get chased down a mountain by guys on motorcycles. If only Moore could make another film like The Spy Who Loved Me.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: My personal favorite of the Bond series!
Review: Excellent film,the locales are exotic as is the leading lady (Carole Bouqet) Melina Havelock a vengeful vixen out to avenge her parents deaths at the hands of Kristatos (Julian Glover) a powerful man seeking the Atac system a device that gives the user unlimited control over Polaris nuclear submarines which every nation is eager to get their hands on most of all the Russians. Moore gives his best performance in the role playing Bond more subdued than usual, there are alot of memorable characters in the film Columbo(TOPAL)steals every scene he's in as Kristatos' arch rival who aids Bond to recover the device before the Russians get it. Oh and how can you forget Bibbi the floozy ice skater, come on thats every mans fantasy right there next to a gymnast,only Bond can be so lucky!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Roger's best, hands down.
Review: Roger Moore is at his absolute best in this top-notch action hit. The thing I like most, aside from the splendid acting by Moore and all the rest is the fact that the plot doesn't rely on a mad super criminal.

Rather it involves Bond in a race for ATAC, a powerful system that will give the bearer unlimited control over Polaris Nuclear Submarines. The plot is simple and self explanitory. In the race for ATAC, there's no silver medal for finishing second.

Lacking extremely explosive end-of-the-movie action scenes as in "The Spy Who Loved Me" and others, the movie departs from this trend and features a cliffhanging assault on a mountaintop fortress.

A top notch Bond movie, it's a must see for Bond buffs and novices alike.


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