I think it's the best of the Roger Moore Bonds. -{ They definitely tried
To inject some Fleming back into the series, and I think Moore gives one
Of his best performances as 007. {[]
We don't have too many mines floating around our coastline, though there are still a few unexploded Japanese bombs here and there, I'm told, from some plot to float them over by balloons.
But here in the States, it's not a common occurrence at all, nor was it just a single audience that reacted that way. I've shown the film to people and had them ask "Who did that?" or "How'd that get there?" sorts of questions.
So since you find the mine accident to be a drawback of the film, how do you think it should have been done differently to improve the story?
On a personal level, I don't find it a problem at all. I think it's perfectly understandable.
For the masses who are not Bond fans and do not pay close attention, a quick, more clarifying line or two in M's office would have sufficed:
Tanner: She may have struck an old mine.
Gray: Those waters are full of them. From the war. We left them to discourage Soviet submarines.
Another thing to remember is the context. The two Bonds that immediately preceded FYEO were Moonraker and TSWLM. Both were big, simplisitic, and over-the-top, using lots of screen time to explain the plot and villain in one form or another. They were also just updates of You Only Live Twice, which featured SPECTRE instead of the latest billionaire. So in addition to their easy to understand, formulaic stories, the basic setup was already quite familiar to many people in the audience.
FYEO was a more subtle film, requiring a closer study of the narrative to understand what was happening. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what Bond's doing when zapping things with a laser beam or why a giant with metal teeth is a bad guy; on the other hand, even accepting the uneasy truce between Kristatos and Columbo, two criminals ("Why don't they just kill each other?"), meant the audience had to watch their actions and gauge their motivations carefully -- again, more like real life. FYEO is built on a more dramatic premise rather than the fantasy of typical Moore Bonds.
A lot of people in the audience didn't expect nor want to work that hard. These were the days after Star Wars, a blockbuster that taught people they didn't have to think at all. And since the mine scene comes early, and a lot of people were prepped by the fantasy Bonds, some of them didn't get that the mine was an accident. They assumed it had to be planted by someone because that's what the villains in Bond movies do, right? Once that idea was in their heads, combined with a lack of wanting to work harder to pay attention to the story, such individuals missed the dialogue later that all but explains everything.
FYEO only was not just a throwback to Fleming, but it was written to be more like an episode of Secret Agent (Danger Man). But audiences in the late 70s and early 80s were looking more for Get Smart.
Yes, the mine incident gets lost on today's audience. The generations that followed the post war baby boom would have no idea what the WWII mines were or looked like. Many don't even know that they were even used - they only are aware of land mines. It's depressing.
I also think this is Moore's best entry because they try to keep it like a Fleming story. There are still bits inserted to let us know it's an EON/Moore film (Bibi character for example), but overall it's a solid piece. Yes, the soundtrack dates (but then many film soundtracks do) and the the whole PTS is a waste of film. The idea was not bad - having Bond kidnapped and getting control of the helicopter - and the stunt work is good. However, using it in order to kill off Blofeld (everyone knows it is - EONs little joke) was for me an embarassing way to start a serious film, as well as showing EON's problem with being sincere with the script. There was enough sillies laced throughout it (Q is a Greek monk) that it was just not necessary and even worse, it showed a lack of disrespect for the character - though if you think about it, the disrespect was done in DAF, so I suppose tossing him off into a chimney like just a piece of garbage tossed into a dustbin was just a continuation of the joke.
I normally just fast forward past the PTS and go straight to Sheena singing so it doesn't spoil the rest of the film for me.
We don't have too many mines floating around our coastline, though there are still a few unexploded Japanese bombs here and there, I'm told, from some plot to float them over by balloons.
But here in the States, it's not a common occurrence at all, nor was it just a single audience that reacted that way. I've shown the film to people and had them ask "Who did that?" or "How'd that get there?" sorts of questions.
So since you find the mine accident to be a drawback of the film, how do you think it should have been done differently to improve the story?
On a personal level, I don't find it a problem at all. I think it's perfectly understandable.
For the masses who are not Bond fans and do not pay close attention, a quick, more clarifying line or two in M's office would have sufficed:
Tanner: She may have struck an old mine.
Gray: Those waters are full of them. From the war. We left them to discourage Soviet submarines.
Another thing to remember is the context. The two Bonds that immediately preceded FYEO were Moonraker and TSWLM. Both were big, simplisitic, and over-the-top, using lots of screen time to explain the plot and villain in one form or another. They were also just updates of You Only Live Twice, which featured SPECTRE instead of the latest billionaire. So in addition to their easy to understand, formulaic stories, the basic setup was already quite familiar to many people in the audience.
FYEO was a more subtle film, requiring a closer study of the narrative to understand what was happening. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what Bond's doing when zapping things with a laser beam or why a giant with metal teeth is a bad guy; on the other hand, even accepting the uneasy truce between Kristatos and Columbo, two criminals ("Why don't they just kill each other?"), meant the audience had to watch their actions and gauge their motivations carefully -- again, more like real life. FYEO is built on a more dramatic premise rather than the fantasy of typical Moore Bonds.
A lot of people in the audience didn't expect nor want to work that hard. These were the days after Star Wars, a blockbuster that taught people they didn't have to think at all. And since the mine scene comes early, and a lot of people were prepped by the fantasy Bonds, some of them didn't get that the mine was an accident. They assumed it had to be planted by someone because that's what the villains in Bond movies do, right? Once that idea was in their heads, combined with a lack of wanting to work harder to pay attention to the story, such individuals missed the dialogue later that all but explains everything.
FYEO only was not just a throwback to Fleming, but it was written to be more like an episode of Secret Agent (Danger Man). But audiences in the late 70s and early 80s were looking more for Get Smart.
I've always wondered if FYEO would have still been Grounded if it was filmed after TSWLM like it was supposed to?
Probably not. TSWLM was a big money maker, so I don't think they would have touched a more serious story like that with a 100 foot pole. Since audiences seemed to want big budget spectacles with lots of effects and jokes, EON wasn't about to change course. Hence, MR.
[
A lot of people in the audience didn't expect nor want to work that hard. These were the days after Star Wars, a blockbuster that taught people they didn't have to think at all. And since the mine scene comes early, and a lot of people were prepped by the fantasy Bonds, some of them didn't get that the mine was an accident. They assumed it had to be planted by someone because that's what the villains in Bond movies do, right? Once that idea was in their heads, combined with a lack of wanting to work harder to pay attention to the story, such individuals missed the dialogue later that all but explains everything.
]
What can I say to this?
Two countries divided by a common language..
1. For Your Eyes Only 2. The Living Daylights 3 From Russia with Love 4. Casino Royale 5. OHMSS 6. Skyfall
I agree with this.
It seems that this film is the one that passes under the radar in the Bond canon, and I think this is unfair. It is so refreshing to see Roger Moore in a more serious Bond film and he does a fantastic job. After the previous two over the top spectaculars I love that this film gets back to basics with both subtle plotting and subtle performances.
Not many cons for me apart from possibly my least favourite PTS. Great scene at the cemetery ruined by helicopter/Blofeld/chimney which seem to belong in a totally different film altogether and was completely unnecessary.
Still it can't spoil the enjoyment of what is a great film.
Definately For Your Eyes Only is one of the strongest Moore Bonds. For me, it ranks second-equal with Live and Let Die. Of course I will always hold a candle for The Spy Who Loved Me as the greatest of all Roger Moore Bond films...
I agree with this.
It seems that this film is the one that passes under the radar in the Bond canon, and I think this is unfair. It is so refreshing to see Roger Moore in a more serious Bond film and he does a fantastic job. After the previous two over the top spectaculars I love that this film gets back to basics with both subtle plotting and subtle performances.
Not many cons for me apart from possibly my least favourite PTS. Great scene at the cemetery ruined by helicopter/Blofeld/chimney which seem to belong in a totally different film altogether and was completely unnecessary.
Still it can't spoil the enjoyment of what is a great film.
The whole PTS to FYEO was brilliantly done -{
It was EON saying 'Were done with SPECTRE and Blofeld'
1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
I'm sure everyone already knows this but ......
The original pts of FYEO was to have been the sinking of the fishing trawler, but
Was felt not to be exciting enough after MR and TSWLM. So the helicopter pts
was introduced.
"I've been informed that there ARE a couple of QAnon supporters who are fairly regular posters in AJB."
And the Graveyard Scene was originally going to introduce the new Bond -{
If they had of changed Bond at that time I wonder who would have played him. In one of the dvd interviews they screentested Sam Neil and James Brolin around that time, perhaps just a little bit later.
I think the helicopter stunt was well done but doesn't suit the tone of this film. FYEO was the film that brought Bond back to basics and was respectful to Fleming's creation - the scene with Bond at Tracy's graveside was poignant and brilliantly done. Dropping Blofeld down a chimney stack via a helicopter just seems out of place for a film as understated and thoughtful (relatively speaking) as FYEO.
It would be much better suited at the start of DAF. With Tracy's murder fresh in the memory, Blofeld pleading for his life before being dropped down said chimney would have made me happy, and it would have suited the overall jokier and camper elements of that film.
But I always feel that one of the greatest literary and cinematic villains ever created deserved a far more fitting finale to the one he and we were given.
It would've been better if a sniper were aiming for the helicopter. Then, Bond drives the copter into the sniper. Interrogating him above the smokestack, for him to reveal he's working for Spectre (and where Blofeld is). Then, the scene switches to Bond killing Blofeld in cold blood with a blunt instrument.
I would think hitting Blofeld in the head with a lead pipe or something of the sort would be much more visceral than a gunshot, or throwing him down a smokestack.
Thanks for clarifying the mine thing. I didn't get that either. It definitely makes me think more of the film.
I seem to recall someone else here not understanding this a while ago. What about it did you find confusing? I think I had no problem understanding the mine since as I kid I had watched a Gilligan's Island episode about Gilligan fishing in an old WWII mine. That's how I, an American born in the 1980s, knew about mines floating around in the oceans until someone accidentally set them off.
I was born in the 1960s, and I saw some of the shows you're referring to in first run, and I can tell you my contemporaries in some cases were confused by the scene.
The Bond films -- and spy spoofs of them -- were replete with bizarre deaths and strange sabotages, often without dialogue to explain them. That just seemed to be part of the formula for spy movies for a long, long time. The mine seemed to be right out of that. Don't forget, there's no dialogue till later to confirm that it was an accident. Those of us watching the film carefully got it. But quite a few audiences don't watch movies very carefully, which is one reason that over the years they've gotten more and more simplistic and action-oriented.
I would think hitting Blofeld in the head with a lead pipe or something of the sort would be much more visceral than a gunshot, or throwing him down a smokestack.
When Fleming meant Blunt Instrument, he was saying that Bond is welded by those in Positions of Power above him.
1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
I was 17 when FYEO came out and this is easily the movie that I anticipated the most in my lifetime. I doubt if I could ever describe how excited I was about this movie.
The biggest plus for me was that I walked out of the theater completely satisfied with it.
I remember the movie poster on an ad. column next to our house and the anticipation.
After I've left the theatre, I was absolutely blown away and knew that I just became a lifetime James Bond Fan! {[]
President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
I like Melina; she's intelligent and resourceful, even if it's a muted performance.
I think Roger Moore does all right here- thankfully Bond draws the line at Bibi and I found Melina and Bond only mildly icky (obvious age difference but he did seem to care about her, even though he didn't love her). Moore does look pretty old in many moments; I think the film works best when he's being resourceful (such as the thing with the shoelace) rather than trying to sell him as Action Man. It does feel very dated but there's certainly many good bits there.
I don't mind the ending; it's cheesy but that's what Bond was at the time, so the writers were playing to the audience's expectations.
Comments
Ditto to this! {[]
For the masses who are not Bond fans and do not pay close attention, a quick, more clarifying line or two in M's office would have sufficed:
Tanner: She may have struck an old mine.
Gray: Those waters are full of them. From the war. We left them to discourage Soviet submarines.
Another thing to remember is the context. The two Bonds that immediately preceded FYEO were Moonraker and TSWLM. Both were big, simplisitic, and over-the-top, using lots of screen time to explain the plot and villain in one form or another. They were also just updates of You Only Live Twice, which featured SPECTRE instead of the latest billionaire. So in addition to their easy to understand, formulaic stories, the basic setup was already quite familiar to many people in the audience.
FYEO was a more subtle film, requiring a closer study of the narrative to understand what was happening. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what Bond's doing when zapping things with a laser beam or why a giant with metal teeth is a bad guy; on the other hand, even accepting the uneasy truce between Kristatos and Columbo, two criminals ("Why don't they just kill each other?"), meant the audience had to watch their actions and gauge their motivations carefully -- again, more like real life. FYEO is built on a more dramatic premise rather than the fantasy of typical Moore Bonds.
A lot of people in the audience didn't expect nor want to work that hard. These were the days after Star Wars, a blockbuster that taught people they didn't have to think at all. And since the mine scene comes early, and a lot of people were prepped by the fantasy Bonds, some of them didn't get that the mine was an accident. They assumed it had to be planted by someone because that's what the villains in Bond movies do, right? Once that idea was in their heads, combined with a lack of wanting to work harder to pay attention to the story, such individuals missed the dialogue later that all but explains everything.
FYEO only was not just a throwback to Fleming, but it was written to be more like an episode of Secret Agent (Danger Man). But audiences in the late 70s and early 80s were looking more for Get Smart.
I also think this is Moore's best entry because they try to keep it like a Fleming story. There are still bits inserted to let us know it's an EON/Moore film (Bibi character for example), but overall it's a solid piece. Yes, the soundtrack dates (but then many film soundtracks do) and the the whole PTS is a waste of film. The idea was not bad - having Bond kidnapped and getting control of the helicopter - and the stunt work is good. However, using it in order to kill off Blofeld (everyone knows it is - EONs little joke) was for me an embarassing way to start a serious film, as well as showing EON's problem with being sincere with the script. There was enough sillies laced throughout it (Q is a Greek monk) that it was just not necessary and even worse, it showed a lack of disrespect for the character - though if you think about it, the disrespect was done in DAF, so I suppose tossing him off into a chimney like just a piece of garbage tossed into a dustbin was just a continuation of the joke.
I normally just fast forward past the PTS and go straight to Sheena singing so it doesn't spoil the rest of the film for me.
+1.
Probably not. TSWLM was a big money maker, so I don't think they would have touched a more serious story like that with a 100 foot pole. Since audiences seemed to want big budget spectacles with lots of effects and jokes, EON wasn't about to change course. Hence, MR.
What can I say to this?
Two countries divided by a common language..
I agree with this.
It seems that this film is the one that passes under the radar in the Bond canon, and I think this is unfair. It is so refreshing to see Roger Moore in a more serious Bond film and he does a fantastic job. After the previous two over the top spectaculars I love that this film gets back to basics with both subtle plotting and subtle performances.
Not many cons for me apart from possibly my least favourite PTS. Great scene at the cemetery ruined by helicopter/Blofeld/chimney which seem to belong in a totally different film altogether and was completely unnecessary.
Still it can't spoil the enjoyment of what is a great film.
The whole PTS to FYEO was brilliantly done -{
It was EON saying 'Were done with SPECTRE and Blofeld'
The original pts of FYEO was to have been the sinking of the fishing trawler, but
Was felt not to be exciting enough after MR and TSWLM. So the helicopter pts
was introduced.
If they had of changed Bond at that time I wonder who would have played him. In one of the dvd interviews they screentested Sam Neil and James Brolin around that time, perhaps just a little bit later.
"Do you expect me to talk? "No Mister Bond I expect you to die"
It would be much better suited at the start of DAF. With Tracy's murder fresh in the memory, Blofeld pleading for his life before being dropped down said chimney would have made me happy, and it would have suited the overall jokier and camper elements of that film.
But I always feel that one of the greatest literary and cinematic villains ever created deserved a far more fitting finale to the one he and we were given.
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
" I'm glad I insisted, you bring that cello !".
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
I seem to recall someone else here not understanding this a while ago. What about it did you find confusing? I think I had no problem understanding the mine since as I kid I had watched a Gilligan's Island episode about Gilligan fishing in an old WWII mine. That's how I, an American born in the 1980s, knew about mines floating around in the oceans until someone accidentally set them off.
The Bond films -- and spy spoofs of them -- were replete with bizarre deaths and strange sabotages, often without dialogue to explain them. That just seemed to be part of the formula for spy movies for a long, long time. The mine seemed to be right out of that. Don't forget, there's no dialogue till later to confirm that it was an accident. Those of us watching the film carefully got it. But quite a few audiences don't watch movies very carefully, which is one reason that over the years they've gotten more and more simplistic and action-oriented.
When Fleming meant Blunt Instrument, he was saying that Bond is welded by those in Positions of Power above him.
just a little irony is all.
AJB007 Favorite Film Rankings
Pros and Cons Compendium (50 Years)
The biggest plus for me was that I walked out of the theater completely satisfied with it.
I remember the movie poster on an ad. column next to our house and the anticipation.
After I've left the theatre, I was absolutely blown away and knew that I just became a lifetime James Bond Fan! {[]
Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
I think Roger Moore does all right here- thankfully Bond draws the line at Bibi and I found Melina and Bond only mildly icky (obvious age difference but he did seem to care about her, even though he didn't love her). Moore does look pretty old in many moments; I think the film works best when he's being resourceful (such as the thing with the shoelace) rather than trying to sell him as Action Man. It does feel very dated but there's certainly many good bits there.
I don't mind the ending; it's cheesy but that's what Bond was at the time, so the writers were playing to the audience's expectations.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS