For Your Eyes Only (1981)

My Review

Roger Moore returns as James Bond in “For Your Eyes Only” and is in a race against time to recover a British encryption devise from a sunken ship before the Soviets get their hands on it; the mechanism is crucial in controlling the UK’s nuclear submarines. All the action and drama proceeds from there in this twelfth 007 movie, well directed by John Glen in his directorial debut. This is also the fifth featuring Roger Moore, who continues to bring his dry English wit (complete with puns) to the role. The tightly written screenplay was penned by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson.

The cast includes Roger Moore, Chaim Topol, Lynn-Holly Johnson, Julian Glover, Carole Bouquet, Cassandra Harris, Michael Gothard, Jill Bennett, Jack Hedley, Walter Gotell, James Villers, Desmond Llewelyn, John Moreno, Geoffrey Keen, Lois Maxwell, John Wyman, and Janet Brown and John Wells as Margaret and Denis Thatcher.

The fun and watchable “For Your Eyes Only” was the eighth highest grossing film of 1981 for producer Albert R. Broccoli, Eon Entertainment, and United Artists. It was filmed in Greece, Italy, England, with underwater scenes shot in the Bahamas. At the Academy Awards ceremony, Cubby Broccoli was awarded a special Oscar, the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award. There was one other Oscar nod for Best Original Song – “For Your Eyes Only” (music by Bill Conti, lyrics by Mark Leeson, performed by Sheena Easton). Lynn-Holly Johnson was nominated for Worst Supporting Actress from the Stinkers Bad Movie Awards.