For Your Eyes Only (1981)
d. John Glen, 128 minutes

Opening Credits, Title Sequence

Gun-barrel Sequence: Designed by Maurice Binder Main Title Sequence: Designed by Maurice Binder Title Song: "For Your Eyes Only" (sung by Sheena Easton). It was the first instance in which the singer of the title song appeared in the title sequence.

Film Plot Summary

In the pre-title credits sequence (the first to be set in the UK itself), Bond (Roger Moore) was visiting his late wife Teresa's grave (the first instance in all the Bond films) when he was picked up in a helicopter sent from Universal Exports (a cover name for MI6), due to an emergency. As it flew over London, it was remotely controlled and commandeered by a balding, maniacal villain in a wheelchair (he was presumably previous SPECTRE villain and Bond enemy Blofeld (John Hollis), who was seen stroking his white Persian cat, but his face was not visible and he was unnamed). [Blofeld was an accomplice to the death of Bond's wife, in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), killed by his assassin Irma Bunt.]

After the pilot was electrocuted with an electric shock administered through his headphones (# 1 death), the villain amused himself by sending the copter careening through the sky above him. Bond daringly climbed out onto the copter's skids, threw the pilot's body from the pilot's seat and regained control just in time to avoid colliding with an abandoned building. Then, he picked up the motorized wheelchair (with one of the copter's landing skids) and as the bad guy pleaded for his life, and offered to buy Bond a "delicatessan in stainless steel" (a Mafia term?), Bond dropped him into an industrial factory's smokestack-chimney (# 2 death, # 1 Bond kill).

The British electronic surveillance ship St. Georges (disguised as a trawler) exploded and sank off the coast of Albania in the Ionian Sea, when it caught a floating WWII mine entangled in its nets (number of deaths unknown). [Later, it was revealed that the sinking was an act of sabotage.] Onboard was a vital piece of defense equipment - a top-secret British missile-launching command system known as A.T.A.C. (the Automatic Targeting Attack Communicator, a MacGuffin). As the trawler experienced massive blasts, the ATAC's self-destruct mechanism was unable to be deployed.

At the Ministry of Defence in London, England, it was feared that the device, now resting in the wreckage on the shallow ocean floor, might be seized by an enemy power. Soviet General Gogol (Walter Gotell), attended by pretty personal secretary Rubelvitch (Eva Rueber-Staier), was in a race to retrieve the ATAC transmitter ("If it comes on the market, we should not lose such a remarkable opportunity"). Gogol had already made contact with his "usual friend" in Greece to acquire it.

In Greece, half-Greek daughter Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet) was flown via seaplane from an Athens, Greece shopping trip to the Triaina, the research yacht of her parents at Corfu, owned by marine archaeologist Sir Timothy Havelock (Jack Hedley) and his wife Iona (Toby Robins). After the seaplane departed, it suddenly circled around, swooped down, and Melina witnessed the murder of her parents, strafed on the deck by its front-mounted machine-guns (# 3-4 deaths).

Back in London, agent Bond (Roger Moore) reported to MI6 headquarters, where he greeted secretary Miss Moneypenny ("a feast for my eyes") in the outer office. He interrupted her as she applied make-up to her face from a concealed, spring-loaded case and vanity mirror found in her top file drawer cabinet. He gently kissed her on the cheek, and then met with Minister of Defence Frederick Gray (Geoffrey Keen) and Chief of Staff Tanner (James Villiers) - "M" was on leave. [Long-time "M" actor Bernard Lee had died shortly before production.] Bond was assigned by Gray to retrieve the ATAC -- an ultra-low frequency coded transmitter used for communication and to order British nuclear submarines to launch Polaris ballistic missiles. If the device fell into the wrong hands, it would render the entire Polaris fleet useless. More dangerously - every order could be countermanded, and it could be used to order British nuclear submarines to attack their own cities or those of allies. Havelock had been part of a secret and unofficial British salvage team, employed by the British Secret Service but based in Greece, to locate the sunken wreck. Before he could send in his report, he and his wife were killed. Bond was sent to find the suspected Cuban assassin who piloted the plane, Hector Gonzales (Stefan Kalipha), in a mission dubbed Operation Undertow: "Isolate him and apply the necessary pressure to find out who hired him." Bond was handed the classified file, marked: "FOR YOUR EYES ONLY."

Bond was sent to question Gonzales in his Madrid-area villa - he drove his white Lotus Esprit to the Spanish estate's gates, but then crept onto the grounds, evading guards. Bikinied beauties lounged around the pool as Bond observed Gonzales paid off (the man was later identified as Russian agent Emile Leopold Locque (Michael Gothard)) with a case filled with cash. Bond was then disarmed (of his Walther PPK) by two guards, apprehended, and questioned by Gonzales, who ordered the killing of the British Secret Service agent. Bond was spared when another intruder, a hooded Melina, used her deadly crossbow to shoot an arrow into the back of Gonzales as he dove into his swimming pool (# 5 death) - it was a vengeful execution. 007 used the shocking murder to his advantage to escape, using a pool table umbrella as a make-shift parachute. She saved him by killing one of his pursuers with her crossbow (# 6 death), and they fled together. Bond's burglar-protected Lotus Esprit exploded when one of the guards smashed one of its windows and was killed (# 7 death).

The two fled in Melina's tiny yellow Citroen 2 CV, although they were "out-horse-powered" by two bigger cars (filled with armed hit-men) as they jostled through windy streets in a small Spanish village and then down a hair-pin turning mountain road and through Spanish highlands. Their car overturned twice during the chase, but kept running, and Bond was able to out-wit and disable the other two vehicles through clever driving maneuvers (driving backwards, flying across the roof of another car, etc.).

After cleaning up in Melina's room at a local hotel, Bond arranged to catch a flight at the airport. She was planning to continue her father's work on his yacht. The strong-willed female claimed she still had "unfinished" business - the murder of the man who paid Gonzales. Bond advised her to give up her vengeful quest: "The Chinese have a saying: 'Before setting out on revenge, you first dig two graves.'" She replied: "I don't expect you to understand. You're English, but I'm half-Greek. And Greek women, like Elektra, always avenge their loved ones."

Back in London, Bond urged a continued search to pursue Gonzales' paymaster, but needed to first identify him. He used a 3D Visual-Identigraph in "Q's" (Desmond Llewelyn) laboratory (the security code for the door was "Nobody Does It Better" from The Spy who Loved Me), where he was also introduced to other gadgets: a deadly arm cast, and a spiked umbrella. The composite drawing created by "Q" from Bond's recollections was matched with police agency databases around the world. The pay-off man was identified as Emile Leopold Locque, an enforcer in the Brussels underworld and a convicted murderer who escaped from prison by strangling his psychiatrist. He had also worked for drug syndicates in Marseilles and Hong Kong, but currently was reported working for Greek smugglers. The Italian Secret Service had allegedly located him in Cortina, Italy. The Chief of Staff instructed MI6's man in Northern Italy, agent Luigi Ferrara (John Moreno), to contact Bond there.

Bond drove a second Lotus Esprit (a metallic bronze color) into the wintry town of Cortina in Northern Italy, staying at the Miramonti Hotel. He met Luigi Ferrara at the top of the gondola ski lift at Tofana the next morning. At the Olympic ice rink, the Italian agent introduced 007 to his "reliable Greek contact" - a well-connected Anglophile and informant involved in shipping, insurance, and oil exploration -- he was the well-respected, cultured ex-Greek resistance fighter Aristotle ("Ari") Kristatos (Julian Glover). Ari was observing his young protege and blonde niece, teenaged ice-skater Bibi Dahl (Lynn-Holly Johnson) (pun: "Baby Doll") on the ice while practicing her routines - she was his sponsored Olympic hopeful, although he also revealed pedophilic tendencies. Bibi and her ex-skating coach-trainer, stern-faced Jacoba Brink (Jill Bennett), were both introduced to Bond.

Kristatos identified the picture of Locque, calling him "Columbo's right hand" - he was allegedly in the hire of Milos Columbo (Chaim Topol), known as "the Dove" in the Greek underworld. Kristatos claimed Columbo, his constant rival, was a Greek smuggler (of diamonds and gold), and also involved in drugs, white slavery and contract murder. He was located in Greece, running a fleet of intercoastal freighters in the Aegean. In the village of Cortina, Bond again crossed paths with Melina Havelock - Bond realized that she was lured there by a fake telegram. He rescued her from two black-garbed motorcyclists on Yamaha snow motorbikes (equipped with handle-grip activated machine-guns and spiked tires). One of the assailants was sent crashing through a florist shop window. Melina resisted being sent away by Bond, for her own safety. She argued: "It was my parents they killed, not yours." He urged her to let him handle things, trust him, and return to the Triaina at Corfu and wait. She reluctantly agreed: "I'll go back and wait, but not for long."

When Bond returned to his hotel room, he was awaited by recently-smitten Bibi, who emerged towel-wrapped from his shower and seductively entered his bed and removed the towel ("I'll do anything for you"). Flattered but astounded, Bond politely declined her amorous overtures ("but you're in training"), and told her to get dressed, because her uncle wouldn't approve. She claimed her Uncle Ari still thought she was a virgin, and that love-making helped build up muscle tone. Bond promised to buy her an ice-cream after she was dressed. She advanced on Bond and gave him a long smooch as they left the room, and he escorted her to a biathlon competition, where they watched handsome East German cross-country skiing champion Eric Kreigler (John Wyman). Bibi foolishly asked for a drink at the finish line with the competitor. Bond parted ways with her, advising: "Don't grow up anymore...The opposite sex would never survive it."

Bond was chased downhill on skis by Kriegler (with his biathlon rifle) and two more armed black-suited motorcyclists on motorbikes (with front-mounted machine-guns), but he evaded their deadly pursuit. Afterwards, he observed the two hitmen and Kriegler speaking to Locque. Their ski chase was extended further to the Olympic ski-jump area, where the motorcyclists pursued Bond - down the ski-jump, through a beginner's slope, over and through a chalet balcony filled with lounging skiers, inside a bob-sled track, and then into a farm.

Before leaving Cortina, Bond drove (with Ferrara) to the indoor ice hockey rink to visit Bibi again. She greeted him, and after a brief visit, kissed him as she left for a rubdown. She asserted: "I could eat you up alive." Then, Bond was again assaulted by three uniformed hockey players practicing on the ice in the darkened rink. He sent all three of them into the goal - and the scoreboard kept track: Esprit 3, Cortina 0. When Bond returned to his Lotus Esprit, he found Ferrara murdered (# 8 death). His throat was slit, and he was clutching a white dove stick-pin - Columbo's symbol.

Back in Greece, Bond met Melina coming ashore for shopping in Meteora, and he comforted her, although she shrugged - she was still grieving over her father's death. That night in the local casino where Bond was to dine with Kristatos, he first gambled a bit and viewed Columbo's "expensive mistress," Austrian Countess Lisl von Schlaf (Cassandra Harris).at the gambling table - she was shilling for the house and betting with other people's money. During dinner, Kristatos informed Bond about Columbo's operation to refine heroin in Greece before sending it to England. The business magnate suspected Bond was working for the British Narcotics Board, and then suggested the only way to stop Columbo: "You may have to kill him." (As they ate and conversed, their conversation was taped by a miniature tape recorder planted by Columbo in a candle-glass jar on their table).

During their dinner, Countess Lisl - at a nearby table, engaged in a slight altercation with Columbo, calling him a "disgusting man." Bond followed after her into the casino, and although wary and suspecting a trap, Bond offered to escort her to her beach-house in Kristatos' borrowed, chauffeured limousine. There, she made suggestive romantic gestures toward 007 (offering him "champagne and oysters in the fridge. Why not come in for a bite?"), and before a roaring fire, wearing only a nightie slipping off her shoulder and partially exposing her breasts, she admitted that Columbo had wanted her to seduce Bond to learn more about his identity and mission. The tables were turned when her fake fortune and status as an Austrian countess (she was from Liverpool) were divulged to Bond (Lisl: "My nightie's slippin'" Bond: "So is your accent, Countess") - then she kissed Bond before a passionate seduction during their one-night affair (# 1 tryst).

The next morning as they strolled along the beach, they were taken by surprise by Locque and his accomplice Claus (Charles Dance) riding in dune buggies. The ill-fated countess Lisl was run down and killed (# 9 death) by Locque, after which Claus and Locque held Bond at gunpoint. Claus was himself killed with a harpoon in the back (# 10 death), shot by one of four men wearing wet suits marked by the dove insignia - men who worked for Columbo. Locque fled in his vehicle. As Bond leaned over the Countess' body and bid her goodbye, he was knocked out. When he revived, he found himself on Columbo's sailing ship, where he was taken to the smuggler's onboard office. Columbo (with a passion for pistachio nuts) convincingly argued: "It is Kristatos you want, not me. He told you about himself. He's the one with the powerful connections. Locque works for him, not for me." He explained how he was indeed a smuggler (gold, diamonds, cigarettes, and pistachio nuts), but the heroin trade was left to Kristatos. Columbo's rival had set him up as the enemy by attributing his own crimes to him. Columbo also claimed that his rival worked as a double-agent during the fighting in Crete in WWII, and was now a traitor, working with Russia against both their countries. Kristatos' objective was to convince others to have Columbo assassinated, because he knew too much about Kristatos' leanings toward the KGB ("Well, I know too much about him. He wants me out of the way. By using a British agent to do his dirty work for him, your government might give him another medal"). Bond asked: "Why should I believe you?" Columbo promised to prove his assertions about being a converted ally that evening, when they visited Kristatos' warehouse in Albania.

That evening, Columbo's boat sailed to an Albanian wharf, the location of Kristatos' warehouse, where Locque was supervising the unloading of a shipment. Columbo's crew (with Bond) raided the wharf and warehouse, resulting in a number of deaths (unknown number of additional deaths, including a few Bond kills). Locque fled into the warehouse where Bond and Columbo pursued and found large fake paper rolls filled with raw opium and naval mines similar to the one that sank the St Georges. Locque detonated a large mine-bomb to destroy the entire building (and its incriminating evidence). Bond pursued Locque's car on foot up a tunneled mountain road and steep stairs. He shot Locque through the windshield and wounded him in the shoulder, leaving Locque's car dangling and teetering precariously at a cliff edge. Bond approached and held out the "dove" stick-pin left on Ferrara's corpse: "You left this with Ferrera, I believe" - he tossed it at Locque and then kicked the car over the edge, sending the hitman to his death (# 11 death, # 2 Bond kill) (Bond: "He had no head for heights!").

Wearing scuba gear, Bond swam to where Melina was engaged in historical research of 5,000 year old Greek temple ruins at a dive site, clearing the seabed. Her father had used the location as a front for his investigation into the sinking of the St. Georges. As they ascended to the surface, Melina left her dive air tank behind. On board her yacht, Bond told her: "Kristatos killed your father, because he didn't want him to find the St. Georges before he did." They surveyed her father's daily logs, and found in his last entries (the day he was killed) that he had taken several surveys in a mini-submarine named Neptune in the area of the wreck. In a secret operation, they took the Neptune to the same location, where they discovered the ATAC undamaged inside the sunken wreckage of the St. Georges. (While they surveyed the wreckage, Kristatos' men had overrun the Triaina yacht above them.) After Bond cut the wires of the ATAC to disarm it and detach it, they were suddenly attacked by a diver wearing massive, deep-sea JIM diving equipment. Melina's air hose was ruptured, and as she raced back to the Neptune, Bond killed the diver by planting the ATAC's explosive timer on his suit (# 12 death, # 3 Bond kill). After Bond joined Melina in the craft, they were rammed and ripped apart by an armed one-man Mantis submarine. Bond outmaneuvered the Mantis and they were able to surface. When they came upon the yacht, they discovered it was held by Kristatos. Henchman Apostis (Jack Klaff) relieved them of the retrieved ATAC, and they were taken captive.

Kristatos was revealed to be hired by the Russians and the KGB to retrieve the sunken ATAC transmitter system in return for a huge sum. In the presence of the Havelock's pet parrot Max, Kristatos announced the ATAC would be taken to St. Cyril's, his vertiginous mountain hideout, for an arranged rendezvous and pick-up (to be arranged by Kriegler). The two were tied together - Melina told Bond: "I didn't think it would end like this." Bond was more self-assured: "We're not dead yet." They were dragged behind Kristatos' boat over razor-sharp coral through shark-infested waters. Bond severed the rope binding his hands, and with Melina holding on, he dove deep and lashed their pull-rope around a giant piece of coral rock. When the boat strained to pull away, the rope snapped. As a result, one of Kristatos' crew members was propelled overboard and consumed by sharks (# 13 death). The two then hid on the ocean floor, sharing air from Melina's conveniently-placed dive tank at the ruins, until Kristatos believed that they were dead. Back on the yacht, Max repeated the location of the ATAC: "ATAC to St. Cyril's" to Bond and Melina.

In the local village of St. Cyril's, Bond met with "Q" - disguised as a bearded priest in a confessional booth of a church. Bond uttered: "Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned." "Q" responded: "That's putting it mildly, 007." With the aid of Kristatos' rival Columbo and five of his men (and Melina with her crossbow), Bond was provided with the location of Kristatos' mountaintop hideout - the abandoned St. Cyril's Monastery. Bond prepared to climb up the sheer rock face and infiltrate the villain's base. After the back-breaking climb up the steep rock precipice, Bond was confronted by Apostis, who kicked him in the face, and he was thrown backwards from the cliff. Although his pitons and rope held, Bond was left dangling in mid-air. Apostis dislodged two of Bond's three piton rope-anchors, sending him back down his rope line. Eventually, Bond was able to climb up and throw one of his spikes into the chest of Apostis, killing him (# 14 death, # 4 Bond kill). He then used an electronic winch attached to a rope-bucket/basket to bring up the others. During their final ascent, Melina aimed her crossbow and defensively wounded one of the alerted armed guards.

When young Bibi learned of her sponsor Kristatos' association with the Russian KGB and Cubans, she rebelled ("I'm splitting"), incurring her uncle's personal wrath. Her trainer Jacoba Brink shared her disdain for Kristatos when he falsely accused her of betrayal: "Poisoned her against me!" During Brink's attempt to flee from the monastery, she became Bond's ally. And as Bibi was leaving as well, she swore at Kristatos: "You can go to hell," and she was slapped across the face. Russian KGB head General Gogol was arriving by helicopter to retrieve the ATAC from Kristatos, while Bond engaged in a brutal fight with one of the guards - the two of them crashed through a stained-glass window, where 007 found himself confronted by the stronger, more brutish Kriegler. Bond was saved when Bibi deflected the gun in Kriegler's hand, although she was viciously slapped to the ground. During their hand-to-hand struggle, Kristatos fled the room, taking the ATAC with him. When Kriegler was distracted, Bond pushed him through a window to his death (# 15 death, # 5 Bond kill). Afterwards, Columbo pursued after Kristatos, and as they fought, the ATAC fell to the ground and Bond snatched it up. He then dissuaded Melina from killing Kristatos with her crossbow ("No Melina, that's not the answer"), but she resisted: "Out of my way, James." He assented and reminded her again of the Chinese saying: "All right, but be prepared to dig those two graves." Unnoticed by both of them, Kristatos reached for a switchblade, but Columbo saved both of them when he threw a knife into the villain's back (# 16 death). Bond approached toward General Gogol who had landed on the helipad - and suddenly destroyed the ATAC command system by heaving it over the cliff edge, to defuse the threatening Cold War situation: (Bond: "That's détente, comrade. You don't have it; I don't have it").

Upon his return to the Triaina with Melina that evening, they passionately kissed each other. She asked: "You know what I'd like?...A moonlight swim." They both disrobed - her light blue robe and his white robe dropped to their feet, revealing their nakedness. She uttered: "For your eyes only, darling..." Bond left his Seiko watch/radio transmitter on the parrot's perch before taking a skinny-dip moonlight swim with Melina (# 2 tryst). "Q" and the Minister of Defence wrongly believed that Bond was patched in and speaking to Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (impersonator Janet Brown) and husband Denis (John Wells) at 10 Downing Street. As the British leader thanked Bond for his successful mission - the parrot responded: "Thank you, thank you," and then inappropriately squawked: "Give us a kiss, give us a kiss." The Minister of Defense was humiliated and embarrassed, and asked "Q" to reprimand Bond, but it was too late - the parrot had dropped the watch-transmitter into the ocean.

Film Notables (Awards, Facts, etc.)

The 12th film in the series.

The fifth film to star Roger Moore as James Bond. This was the first of five films directed by John Glen, who directed all of the 1980s Bond films.

After the silly Moonraker had veered away from the original 007 formula (from earlier films and Fleming's novels), this film returned to a more gritty, no-frills, realistic approach - and more serious tone (with fewer tongue-in-cheek jokes). However, the movie was marred by the end-of-film appearance of an impersonated Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

This film marked the last screen appearance in the series for arch-villain Blofeld, although the character was disguised and unnamed.

In this film, teenaged and underaged 'Bond Girl' Bibi Dahl ("Baby Doll") (Lynn-Holly Johnson) was reportedly the first and only Bond girl that the 007 agent rejected!'

In real life, Bond Girl Countess Lisl (Cassandra Harris) was the wife of a future Bond, Pierce Brosnan.

Nominated for one Academy Award (with no win): Best Original Song (Sheena Easton's "For Your Eyes Only").

With a production budget of $28 million, and gross revenue of $55 million (domestic) and $195 million (worldwide).

Set-pieces: the car chase scene in Spain (with Bond in Melina's Citroen after his first Lotus exploded), the downhill ski chase in Northern Italy after Bond by Aryan motorcyclists and Kriegler (through the woods, down a ski-jump, through a chalet balcony and bobsled track, and across snowy countryside), the ice-skating rink hockey "game" between Bond and three hockey player assailants, Bond's foot chase after Locque's car ending on a cliff-edge, the boat-dragging scene in shark-infested waters, and the concluding mountain-climbing sequence during an assault on Kristatos' St. Cyril's monastery hide-out.

Bond Villains: Bald Man with White Cat (John Hollis), General Gogol (Walter Gotell), Hector Gonzales (Stefan Kalipha), Emile Leopold Locque (Michael Gothard), Aristotle ("Ari") Kristatos (Julian Glover), Eric Kriegler (John Wyman), Apostis (Jack Klaff)

Bond Girls: Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet), Bibi Dahl (Lynn-Holly Johnson), Countess Lisl Baum (Cassandra Harris)

Number of Love-Making Encounters: 2

Film Locales: London, England, Ionian Sea (off Albania), Moscow, Russia, Corfu and Meteora, Greece, Madrid, Spain, Cortina, Northern Italy, Albanian coast, St. Cyril's, Greece

Gadgets: ATAC (Automatic Targeting Attack Communicator) - an encoded, ultra-low frequency transmitter, Melina's crossbow, 3D Visual-Identigraph, gadgets in Q's lab (deadly swinging, spring-loaded plaster arm cast and deadly spiked umbrella which closed on a person's neck when wet - "Stinging in the rain"), Columbo's miniature tape recorder, JIM diving equipment (one-man diving suit), Seiko Watch (with digital message display) and Radio Transmitter

Vehicles: red/white Universal Exports helicopter, British St. Georges Trawler (electronic surveillance spy ship), Gonzales' seaplane (with front-mounted machine-guns),Triaina yacht, two Lotus Esprit Turbo vehicles (one with an explosive anti-theft device) - one white, one metallic bronze, yellow Citroen 2 CV, two Yamaha snow motorcycles (with handle-grip activated machine-guns and spiked tires for snow), Columbo's sailing ship, two-man Neptune submarine, one-man Mantis submarine

Number of Deaths (Bond Kills): 16 (5+)