For Your Eyes Only
A return to gritty realism for James Bond.
It was directed by John Glen, who had previously worked as a film editor on the series.[1] The film marked a deliberate shift toward a more grounded, Cold War thriller style after the space-themed Moonraker.[2] The premiere of For Your Eyes Only took place on 24 June 1981 at the Odeon Leicester Square in London.[3]
Quick Facts
- Director
- John Glen
- Screenplay
- Richard Maibaum; Michael G. Wilson
- Based on
- "For Your Eyes Only"; "Risico", Ian Fleming
- Producer
- Albert R. Broccoli
- Starring
- Roger Moore
- Carole Bouquet
- Chaim Topol
- Lynn-Holly Johnson
- Julian Glover
- Cinematography
- Alan Hume
- Editing
- John Grover
- Music
- Bill Conti
Facts from the source article.
Key facts and history
Eon Productions first planned this film after The Spy Who Loved Me, but the success of Star Wars led them to make Moonraker instead.[4] John Glen was promoted to director because the studio could not afford previous directors Terence Young, Guy Hamilton, Lewis Gilbert, or Peter Hunt.[1] The film's story drew from two Fleming short stories, "Risico" and "For Your Eyes Only," plus an unused keelhauling scene from Live and Let Die.[5] The pre-credits sequence features an unnamed bald villain in a wheelchair, voiced by Peter Marinker, who resembles Ernst Stavro Blofeld.[6][7]
This character was deliberately not named due to legal disputes with Kevin McClory over the rights to Blofeld.[8] Roger Moore was reluctant to film the scene where Bond kicks a car over a cliff, but was persuaded to be more ruthless.[9] The film premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on 24 June 1981, setting a UK opening-day record.[3]
What the cited sources add
Marvel Comics published a comic adaptation as issue 19 of Marvel Comics Super Special, written by Larry Hama and pencilled by Howard Chaykin.[10][11] The film's US television premiere on ABC on November 13, 1983, delivered a 16.3 household rating and nearly 25 million viewers.[12] French filmmaker Robert Bresson admired the film, saying it "filled me with wonder because of its cinematographic writing."[13]
References
- Wikipedia, "For Your Eyes Only (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Field, "Some kind of hero : 007 : the remarkable story of the James Bond films", 2015; "For Your Eyes Only", MGM Home Entertainment; Field, "Some kind of hero : 007 : the remarkable story of the James Bond films", 2015; Cork Stutz 2007, p. 299; Benson 1988, p. 226; Lindner 2003, p. 29 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "For Your Eyes Only (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Cork Stutz 2007, p. 299; "For Your Eyes Only", MGM Home Entertainment; "For Your Eyes Only", MGM Home Entertainment; "For Your Eyes Only", MGM Home Entertainment; "For Your Eyes Only", MGM Home Entertainment (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "For Your Eyes Only (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Premieres", The Illustrated London News, 27 June 1981; "DATELINE: London, June 26", PR Newswire, 26 June 1981; "DATELINE: London, June 26", PR Newswire, 26 June 1981 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "For Your Eyes Only (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Field, "Some kind of hero : 007 : the remarkable story of the James Bond films", 2015; "For Your Eyes Only", catalog.afi.com; "Another Interview With: Christopher Wood) @ Universal Exports, The Home of James Bond, 007", www.universalexports.net; Rothman, "'Moonraker' Was Made Because of 'Star Wars'", 25 September 2012 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "For Your Eyes Only (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "For Your Eyes Only", catalog.afi.com; "Another Interview With: Christopher Wood) @ Universal Exports, The Home of James Bond, 007", www.universalexports.net; Benson 1988, p. 226; Barnes Hearn 2001, p. 137; Smith 2002, p. 178; Barnes Hearn 2001, p. 137; Benson 1988, p. 226; Benson 1988, p. 226 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "For Your Eyes Only (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pfeiffer Worrall 1998, p. 128; Hailstone, "Peter Marinker interview -- PART TWO", YouTube, August 10, 2020 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "For Your Eyes Only (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Benson 1988, p. 226 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "For Your Eyes Only (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Barnes Hearn 2001, p. 137; Field, "Some kind of hero : 007 : the remarkable story of the James Bond films", 2015; Boshoff, "Double agent Bond held hostage in studio wars", The Daily Telegraph, 22 October 1997; Smith 2002, p. 178 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "For Your Eyes Only (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "For Your Eyes Only", MGM Home Entertainment; Barnes Hearn 2001, p. 137; "For Your Eyes Only", MGM Home Entertainment (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "For Your Eyes Only (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Pfeiffer Worrall 1998, p. 128; Thompson Frankenhoff Bickford 2010, p. 368 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "For Your Eyes Only (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chaykin 2011, p. xvii (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "For Your Eyes Only (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "ABC Open for For Your Eyes Only, Nov 13 1983", YouTube, 14 March 2022 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "For Your Eyes Only (film)" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Bresson in Germany", 11 May 2010; Robert Bresson, "Chatterbox: Armond White & Robert Bresson", Film Comment, July 2005, p. 8; Ciment 2009, p. 36 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article For Your Eyes Only (film) (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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