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With the theft of a device called ATAC, which gives the user
sweeping command of British submarines and their weapons, the
British government has become vulnerable to the possibility of
losing control of their defenses to the highest bidder. ATAC could
effectively launch British missiles against anyone, even Britain,
and with so much at risk, there's only one man who could be assigned
the task to recover the device and find those responsible for
its theft. Sound familiar?
For Your Eyes Only is the twelfth film in the ongoing adventures
of James Bond, and some would say a return to form. After the
outlandish but phenomenally successful previous Bond escapade
Moonraker, the filmmakers felt they needed to bring 007 back down
from outer space in a more realistic, less fantastical adventure.
They succeeded. Fith For Your Eyes Only returns Bond with a much
harder edge than any other Roger Moore installment in the series,
and the result is one of my favorite Bond films. Just that rock-climbing
finale alone is worth the price of admission and my jaw still
drops everytime I watch it.
There are several ingredients to any successful Bond adventure:
woman, exotic locales, and gadgets. The first two are handled
here in typical Bond style. French actress and future face of
Channel Carole Bouquet is the always-desirable Melina, while figure
skater and Ice Castles babe Lynn-Holly Johnson giggles her way
through the role of Bibi. Watch out for both of them because I've
got a feeling that both their careers are going to be hot! (Editor:
Are you being facetious, Cliff?) Speaking of hot, how do you
like that Northern Italy in the middle of winter? That's just
one of the stops Bond makes while also passing through beautiful
locations such as Greece, the Bahamas, and some of the most unforgettable
mountaintops ever shot, all on his quest for ATAC.
The only missing ingredient in For Your Eyes Only is the normally
inventive if sometimes overbearing gadgetry. Again, after the
quasi-sci-fi episode that was Moonraker, the filmmakers wanted
to strip Bond of his reliance on toys and force him to be more
dependent on his wits. This leaves very little of the usual "Q's
going to give him exactly what he's going to need for this specific
mission" stuff. Just once, I'd like to see a scene where
Q gives Bond a bunch of crap he can't use...
If there's one major gripe I have with this Bond outing, it's
the horrible, disco inspired music by Bill Conti. Composer John
Barry, who had written the music for all the prior Bond films,
except Live and Let Die and The Spy Who Loved Me, was unfortunately
unable to contribute the score and recommended Conti as a substitute.
What Conti composed for the first Bond film of the 1980s was music
that had already dated the film even as it premiered. So now I
can't help but to grimace whenever the score strays too far outside
the familiar Bond themes that Barry had spent nearly twenty years
perfecting and into disco muzak.
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
MGM has done a remarkable service for James Bond fans the world
over by giving For Your Eyes Only a brand new anamorphic widescreen
transfer. I've always been impressed with what they've done with
each of their Bond films on DVD. They proudly continue the tradition
here. Detail is fabulous with even the smallest contributions
by production designer Peter Lamont coming through crystal clear.
Black level is dead on and shadow detail is very impressive considering
the date of the film and the quality of film sock available then.
Bond films, outside of Moonraker, tend to strive for a very realistic
look and this transfer has extremely strong colors with out any
hint of oversaturation or bleeding. There is the tiniest amount
of film grain apparent from time to time, but the print used was,
on the whole, very impressive with only a slight amount of nics
appearing as white dots on the screen. This print is also reasonably
free of dirt, much more than any of the other transfers for the
film I've seen in the past. I was unable to locate any compression
artifacting, and aside from some edge enhancement this is a most
film-like and spiffy presentation.
Audio: How Does It Sound?
The newly remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is another
story. While much of this soundtrack sounds fabulous, there's
one thing I just couldn't get past. This track is loud, especially
in the surrounds. The opening sequence involving the helicopter
escape with Blofeld was measuring right around 98db at reference
level and at times peaked over 100db. I don't tend to mind a loud
soundtrack, but this was at times bordering on painful. The excessive
volume levels were also pushing some of the dialog into the distortion
area.
As soon as everything in the soundtrack calmed down, FYEO actually
impressed me. The front soundstage is extremely wide and completely
directional. There are some split rear channel effects and the
.1 LFE channel does have quite a few nice punches to it. The dynamic
range was a bit limited, but to be expected with an eighteen-year-old
soundtrack. I credit the film's original mixers with creating
a great soundtrack, which was an excellent foundation for this
new re-master. Just don't turn this one up to reference level
or you'll probably start bleeding out of your eardrums.
A French 2.0 stereo track is also included, as are English and
French subtitles and English Closed Captions.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
Ahhh, here's where we get into the meat of the disc. For Your
Eyes Only has been given deluxe special edition treatment by MGM
and the final product seems a bit overwhelming at first, but in
the end is actually quite manageable.
First up, there are two audio commentaries. Let's clear
something up here. These are not actually screen-specific commentaries,
but rather the audio portions of interview sessions with the cast
and crew edited together over the appropriate section of the film.
There's a good side and bad side to this. The good side is that
it's very methodical and you're afforded the opportunity to hear
from far more people than you would on a typical commentary. The
commentaries have a host and you're guided through with an introduction
to each speaker and the subjects they are going to speak about.
The bad side is that without it being screen specific, both commentaries
are very detached and things on screen are explained as if you
have no reference for them. Also, a lot of what is contained in
the making of documentary has been lifted for each of the commentaries.
Commentary one is the director and cast and is more entertaining
with personal stories and nice little memories about filming,
while track two is the producer and crew and takes on much more
of a technical approach on the filming of For Your Eyes Only.
Next up is a brand-new 30-minute documentary. Narrated
by Patrick McNee, "Inside For Your Eyes Only" presents most of
the major cast and crew members, including actors Roger Moore,
Topol, and Lynne Holly-Johnson, director John Glen, producer Michael
G. Wilson, and several others, recollecting memories of their
time together and how this film was a departure of sorts for Bond.
One of my favorite moments in the movie, when Bond kicks the car
over the edge of the cliff, was sternly opposed by Moore, who
felt the act was just too cold-blooded for HIS Bond. Instead,
it became a defining moment for the character and the film anyway.
Four theatrical trailers are included (non-anamorphic
widescreen, 2.0 mono), but all of them are almost identical in
content and order except for some of the voiceover work that is
different in various places. After watching all four, I just want
to say one thing. Boy did trailers suck then. I have seen some
good ones from the 70's and early 80's, but most seem to be nothing
more than a three-minute collection of scenes from the film with
dialog sequences that make absolutely no sense without the context
of the movie to support them. Anyway, there are four of them if
you must have them. Also included are two original radio spots
for the film's theatrical release.
On page two of the special features menu is the Sheena Easton
music video. Ms. Easton has the distinction of being the only
Bond title song performer to actually appear on screen during
the opening credits. So, guess what the music video is? That's
right, it's the opening credit sequence without the credits. I
knew something was up immediately when the music video was presented
in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Anything produced and released to TV
in 1981 would NEVER be widescreen at that time in any ratio!
Right after that is a storyboard-to-film comparison for
two sequences in the movie. You're shown two selections to choose
from, the snowmobile chase and the retrieving the ATAC sequences.
After selecting one, the storyboard is shown followed by the film
piece that matches it. All with some background music to accompany
you. It's not as fancy and groundbreaking as the Tomorrow Never
Dies storyboard comparisons, but it serves it purpose just fine.
Now I need to go into what is NOT on the disc. As many of you
have read on various sites and press releases, For Your Eyes Only
is suppose to contain a still gallery showcasing over three-hundred
photos. There is a still gallery and it does contain quite
a collection of production and behind the scenes stuff, but it's
only about half of what was announced. What I do like about it
though is that the layout is broken down into fifteen different
sections with different headings for the underwater scenes, music
and titles, ski action unit, and "Around The World With 007,"
which contains posters from exactly where it says. With the still
gallery organized this way, you don't end up having to go through
one-hundred photos to get to a section you want to see now. It's
just more manageable like this.
The other feature announced was Playboy Bond Girl footage, but
it is nowhere on the disc. I don't what it was, and I assume I'll
never know now. All in all, that's a minor omission in the face
of what is made available. MGM has once again wrapped up this
nice package with wonderful motion menus that maintain a uniform
look and user interface with the other titles in the Bond special
edition series. Another fine piece of work by the folks at MGM
who appreciate their cornerstone property and have shown it a
level of respect that is rarely given to a film by a studio. (Note:
All the supplements are English only, and the documentary full
frame.)
DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop the disc
in your PC?
No ROM extras have been included.
Parting Thoughts
If it sounded like I was harshing on the supplements a little,
I wasn't. I really do think that MGM has put out a commendable
special edition, but I think many people (myself included) had
built up such anticipation over all these titles that expectations
were WAY too high for anyone to attain. This is one Bond film
that I never really tire of and MGM has really gone out of their
way to ensure that fans of James Bond will have a definitive version
of this film for years to come.
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