Release Details - Credits - Music - Cast - Notes

release details

Date of release: 24 June 1981 (UK), 26 June 1981 (US) Running time: 127 mins Aspect ratio: 2.35 : 1 Classification: PG (UK), PG (US) Alternative titles: A Deadly Mission (Germany), Agent 007: Strict Confidence (Denmark), From a Deadly Viewpoint (Sweden).

credits

Directed by: John Glen Produced by: Albert R Broccoli Screenplay by: Richard Maibaum and Michael G Wilson Executive producer: Michael G Wilson Associate producer: Tom Pevsner Production designed by: Peter Lamont Director of photography: Alan Hume Second unit directed and photographed by: Arthur Wooster Supervising editor: John Grover Special visual effects: John Richardson Action sequences arranged by: Bob Simmons Main title designed by: Maurice Binder

music

Music by: Bill Conti Main theme: "For Your Eyes Only" Performed by: Sheena Easton Music by: Bill Conti Lyrics by: Michael Leeson Highest chart position: 8 (UK), 4 (US) Additional: "Make It Last All Night" Performed by: Rage Music by: Bill Conti Lyrics by: Shelby Conti and Chris West Usage: Playing at Gonzales's Spanish villa. Note: The details for this song are not given in the film's credits. Musical notes: For the only time to date, the performer of the title song actually appears during the title sequence. This allowed it to be used as the video for the song (without the actual credits, of course)

cast

James Bond: Roger Moore Melina Havelock: Carole Bouquet Milos Columbo: Topol Bibi Dahl: Lynn-Holly Johnson Aris Kristatos: Julian Glover Contessa Lisl von Schlaugh: Cassandra Harris Jacoba Brink: Jill Harris Emile Leopold Loque: Michael Gothard Eric Kriegler: John Wyman Sir Timothy Havelock: Jack Hedley Miss Moneypenny: Lois Maxwell Q: Desmond Llewelyn Minister of Defence (Frederick Gray): Geoffrey Keen General Gogol: Walter Gotell Chief of Staff (Bill Tanner): James Villiers Luigi Ferrara: John Moreno Claus: Charles Dance Karageorge: Paul Angelis Iona Havelock: Toby Robins Apostis: Jack Klaff Santos: Alkis Kritikos Nikos: Stag Theodore Hector Gonzales: Stefan Kalipha First Sea Lord: Graham Crowden Vice Admiral (Jack): Noel Johnson McGregor: William Heyland Bunky: Paul Brooke Rublevitch: Eva Rueber-Staier Vicar: Fred Bryant Girl in Flower Shop: Robbin Young Mantis Man: Graham Hawkes and Denis Thatcher: John Wells The Prime Minister (Margaret Thatcher): Janet Brown Uncredited: Mysterious man in wheelchair with white cat: John Hollis Voice of mysterious man in wheelchair with white cat: Robert Rietti Helicopter Pilot: George Sweeney Would-be Car Thief: Bob Simmons Smithers: Jeremy Bulloch St Cyril's Guard: Andy Bradford Ski Jump Spectator: Lenny Rabin Henchmen: Clive Curtis, George Leech, Greg Powell Pool Girls: Lalla Dean, Evelyn Drogue, Laoura Hadzivageli, Koko, Chai Lee, Kim Mills, Tula, Vanya, Viva, Lizzie Warville, Alison Worth

notes

The gunbarrel: The same footage is used as the previous two films, but Bill Conti's music sounds as if it is on steroids. There is also a difference at the end of the gunbarrel sequence; since Thunderball, after Bond fades the first shot of the film is visible through the hole which then gradually opens up. But here, after the opening shot of the graveyard is visible through the hole, the black area disappears all at once. Using the title: The assignment folder for Operation Undertow given to Bond by the Chief of Staff is marked "For Your Eyes Only" in a somewhat unsubtle manner. Then at the end of the film when Melina disrobes she tells Bond that what he sees is "For your eyes only, darling". The novel approach: The early part of the film uses the Fleming story from which it took its title as its basis. Fleming's "For Your Eyes Only" concerns Bond undertaking a personal mission for M to assasinate Gonzales, a hitman who murdered the Havelocks, a middle aged couple who were friends of M. However, Gonzales is actually killed by Judy, the Havelocks' daughter, herself intent on revenge. The story is ingeniously worked into the film's espionage plot, although the name of the Havelocks' daughter is changed to Melina, presumably to better reflect the Greek heritage that she is given. Later parts of the film are influenced by another short story - "Risico". This story concerns Bond's involvement with a feud between two Italian smugglers, Kristatos and Colombo. With a change of location to Greece (and a change of spelling for one of the smugglers to Columbo), the film took a lot of material from the story, in particular the part of the plot where it first appears that Columbo is the villain and Kristatos is trustworthy. Certain scenes in the film are taken from the story, principally Bond's dinner with Kristatos in the casino restaurant, and the subsequent scenes where Colombo gains Bond's trust, including the attack on the warehouse. Further Fleming material in the film is the sequence where Bond and Melina are keel-hauled by Kristatos, a scene which appeared in the novel of "Live And Let Die", with Melina having replaced Solitaire. Finally, the Identigraph which Bond and Q use to identify Locque is based on a device called the Identicast which features in the novel of "Goldfinger". On Her Majesty's Secret Service: Bernard Lee died prior to the filming of For Your Eyes Only and as a mark of respect the part of M was not recast for the film. Instead, M was said to be on leave and his role in the film was given to the Chief of Staff. This is the second film to feature the character (following a brief appearance in The Man With The Golden Gun). The film's character bears little resemblance to Bill Tanner, the Chief of Staff of Fleming's novels, although this is understandable under the circumstances. The character is never named as Tanner on screen (only referred to as Chief of Staff), but is only credited as this. The helicopter that is sent to pick up Bond at the start of the movie is marked "Universal Exports", the cover name used by the Secret Service. However, given that the helicopter has been sent by someone intending to kill Bond it appears that this cover has been blown. Two members of the Q Branch staff are named - Smithers (later to reappear in Octopussy) and Sharon (who makes the tea from Bond and Q). The northern Italy branch of the Secret Service is based in Milan. Its staff includes Luigi Ferrara. Bond and Ferrara use a code phrase in order to confirm each other's identity: "The snow this year is better at Innsbruck." - "But not at San Moritz." Locations: London (including a suburban church nearby); the Ionian Sea off Albania; Moscow; Greece (including Corfu); near Madrid, Spain; Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy; Albania itself. The villain: Aris Kristatos, a Greek tycoon (from Cefalonia) whose interests include shipping and oil exploration. He is supposedly an Anglophile who fought in the Greek resistance in World War 2 and then against the Communists, for which the British gave him a King's medal. However, he is really a drug smuggler and double agent working for the Russians. Following the sinking of the British spy ship St Georges, Kristatos is employed by the Russians in order to retrieve the ATAC (Automated Targeting and Attack Communicator), an ultra-low frequency transmitter that is used to control Britain's Polaris missiles. Kristatos employs Emille Leopold Locque, a convicted murderer who originally became known as an enforcer in the Brussels underworld. He escaped Namer prison by strangling his psychiatrist, before moving on to work for drug syndicates in Marseille and Hong Kong and finally Greece. Kristatos is also accompanied by Eric Kriegler, an Olympic biathlon champion who is also a KGB agent. Kristatos has a deadly rival in the shape of Milos Columbo (known as "The Dove"), a greek smuggler who fought alongside him but now knows the truth. In order to get rid of him, Kristatos sets Columbo up as the Russian agent, but it is Columbo who triumphs when he finally kills his rival. The girl: Melina Havelock, the daughter of Sir Timothy Havelock, a British marine archeologist who was carrying out an unofficial mission to recover the ATAC. When Havelock and his Greek wife are killed by the Cuban hitman Hector Gonzales, Melina sets out on a mission of revenge Bond's conquests: Just Lisl and Melina - Bond actually turns down Bibi, believing her to be too young. Gadgets: Bond drives a Lotus Esprit as he did in The Spy Who Loved Me, although it's an updated model here, registration OPW 654W. It is originally white in colour and it features a rather extreme anti-theft device that causes it to explode when one of Gonzales's guards tries to steal it. However, Q is able to reassemble it, although it changes colour to red. We don't see any more gadgets, although Bond warns Ferrara not to play with any of the switches. In order to trace Locque, Bond and Q make use of the 3D Identigraph, a system that allows a face to be constructed and then matched with records held by the Suretee, Interpol, Mossad, the West German Police and the CIA. We also see Q Branch testing a rather deadly arm cast and umbrella. Bond has a watch containing a radio. Recurring characters: Blofeld is back - in a manner of speaking. With Kevin McClory claiming the rights to the character as part of his screen rights to Thunderball, the head of SPECTRE was removed from early drafts of The Spy Who Loved Me. Hence the appearance in the pre-credits sequence of For Your Eyes Only of Blofeld in all but name - a bald-headed cat lover who is confined to a wheelchair (perhaps after being bashed around in a submarine on the end of a crane?). An early version of the script had the villain referring to it being the tenth anniversary of his last encounter with Bond, but this was cut, presumably as it too closely identifies Diamonds Are Forever in 1971. Geoffrey Keen and Walter Gotell again recreate their roles as the Minister of Defence and General Gogol respectively. This is the only film in which Bond and Gogol are shown to be on opposing sides. Gotell is joined by Eva Rueber-Staier, who recreates her role as Rubelvitch, Gogol's secretary, from The Spy Who Loved Me (although she is here credited as "Rublevich"). It is hinted that Rublevitch and Gogol have a somewhat closer relationship than their Secret Service counterparts. The film features the final cameo appearance of crew member Victor Tourjansky, otherwise known as "the man with the bottle"; after being amazed at events in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker he is here a witness to some of Bond's ski-ing stunts in Cortina (although here he is only holding a wine glass rather than a bottle). Continuity: The films opens with a lovely continuity touch - Bond visiting the grave of Tracy, his wife. The gravestone gives the year of her death as 1969 (the year that On Her Majesty's Secret Service was released) and features the inscription "We have all the time in the world" - a phrase that features heavily in that film. However, if one thinks about this scene it is curious what Tracy is doing being buried in suburban England, which she never actually visited. Whatever, the gravestone gives the year of Tracy's birth as 1943. Diana Rigg, who played Tracy, was born in 1938. General Gogol's office is identical to that seen in The Spy Who Loved Me, and is even preceded by the same establishing shot of the Kremlin and very similar music. Cameos: Executive producer and co-writer Michael G Wilson appears as a Greek priest in the scene when Bond meets with Q in a church. Oscars: "For Your Eyes Only" was nominated for Best Song in 1981 but lost to "The Best That You Can Do" from Arthur. I didn't catch the name?: Bond gives his trademark introduction to Melina (when they can catch their breath after the car chase in Spain) and when he first meets Kristatos. Vodka Martinis: None. Bond drinks ouzo with Kristatos in the Corfu restaurant. Gambling: Bond plays chemin de fer in the Corfu casino. He wins one million drachma from Bunky, his English opponent. Bond bits: Bond speaks Spanish, Italian and Greek. When Bond meets Lisl he claims to be a writer who is researching a novel on Greek smugglers. Other trivia: The fact that the British PM is Margaret Thatcher implies that Frederick Gray is a Conservative politician. However, he was first shown to be in office during The Spy Who Loved Me in 1977, when, in the real world at least, Britan had a Labour government! Anything else?: The wheelchair bound villain in the precredits sequence is given one of the more inexplicable lines of any Bond films - "Mr Bond - I'll buy you a delicatessen...in stainless steel". No one has been able to figure out precisely what this means. The entry code to the room at Q Branch that houses the identigraph plays "Nobody Does It Better", the theme to The Spy Who Loved Me. The girl who works in the flower shop in Cortina, Robbin Young, was the winner of a Playboy competition to appear in a Bond movie. Suffice to say, readers of that magazine got to see a lot more of Ms Young... For Your Eyes Only makes the unusual move of ending with cameo appearances by actors portraying real people, namely the British Prime Minister of the time, Margaret Thatcher, and her husband Denis. They were played by Janet Brown and John Wells, who were well known on British television for impersonating the Thatchers.

The Bond Film Informant was compiled by Matthew Newton. © Copyright MJ Newton. No part of this site may be reproduced without permission unless otherwise stated.