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Missing image ForYourEyesOnlyNew.jpg 2003 Penguin Books paperback edition For Your Eyes Only is a collection of James Bond short stories by Ian Fleming, first published in 1960. The title story of the collection lent its name to the twelfth James Bond film, which was released in 1981 and was the fifth film to star Roger Moore as the suave and sophisticated British Secret Service agent. The film, produced by Albert R. Broccoli and directed by John Glen, was an EON Productions / United Artists movie and adapted both "For Your Eyes Only" and "Risico" from this collection, as well as part of the novel Live and Let Die. Other stories from this collection also provided source material for later Bond movies (see below). The title of the collection is derived from a piece of jargon often used in government circles with regards to secret documents. An "Eyes Only" notification indicates either a) the information contained is for the knowledge of authorized readers only, b) information contained is not to be discussed with anyone, or c) all of the above.
The short story collectionMissing image ForYourEyesOnlyBook.jpg 1962 Pan Books paperback edition. For Your Eyes Only, subtitled "Five Secret Occasions in the Life of James Bond", marked a change of pace for Ian Fleming, who previously had written only full-length novels featuring his character, James Bond. This book contained five short stories, several of which were reportedly based upon scripts for a proposed James Bond TV series.
As mentioned above, "For Your Eyes Only" and "Risico" were adapted closely for the 1981 film version of For Your Eyes Only. "The Hildebrand Rarity" provided the character of Milton Krest for the 1989 Bond film Licence to Kill, while "From a View to a Kill" provided part of its title (and nothing else) to the 1985 entry, A View to a Kill. "Quantum of Solace" was an experimental piece with no secret agent elements; that, combined with a title that was likely to confuse audiences, means that it is the only Ian Fleming story that has never to date been referenced in any way by the Bond movie series.
Plot summaries"Quantum of Solace""Quantum of Solace" was the first of these stories to be published, appearing in the May 1959 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine. It is not a spy story, and Bond appears only in the background. Told in the style of W. Somerset Maugham, the tale has Bond attending a boring dinner party with a group of rich, snobbish people he cannot stand. He listens as a colleague tells him a harrowing tale about a woman in an abusive relationship and how she survived. The woman turns out to be one of the party guests Bond had passed judgment on earlier. "Quantum of Solace" is one of the few Ian Fleming James Bond stories that has never been adapted as a comic strip. "The Hildebrand Rarity""The Hildebrand Rarity" also predated the publication of the collection, appearing first in the March 1960 issue of Playboy. Bond is on holiday in the Seychelles when he finds himself aboard the Wavekrest, captained by an uncouth millionaire named Milton Krest who verbally and physically abuses everyone around him. When Krest is found murdered, Bond finds himself helping to cover up the crime. Comic strip adaptation"The Hildebrand Rarity" was adapted as a comic strip which was published in the British newspaper, the Evening Standard (as were the adaptations of the three other short stories below). The strip was published from May 29 to December 16, 1967, and was adapted by Jim Lawrence and illustrated by Yaroslav Horak. This adaptation was reprinted by Titan Books in the early 1990s. "From A View to a Kill""From a View to a Kill" sees Bond investigating the murder of message carriers for the "Allied Supreme Headquarters" (a.k.a. Nato) in France. The title is taken from a version of the words to a traditional hunting song "D'ye ken John Peel?": "From a find to a check, from a check to a view,/ From a view to a kill in the morning". Comic strip adaptationThe adaptation of "From a View to a Kill" ran from June 25 to September 9, 1961, adapted by Henry Gummidge with art by John McClusky. It was reprinted by Titan Books in 2004. "For Your Eyes Only"In "For Your Eyes Only" Bond receives a personal assignment from M: sneak into the United States and kill the man who assassinated the Havelocks, close friends of M. But when Bond arrives on the scene he finds the Havelocks' daughter, Judy, has arrived there first. Comic strip adaptationThe illustrated adaptation of "For Your Eyes Only" was published from September 11 to December 9, 1961, again adapted by Gummidge and McClusky. It was reprinted by Titan Books in 2004. "Risico""Risico" has Bond investigating a drug smuggling operation that leaves him questioning who to trust: his contact Kristatos, or crime kingpin Colombo? Comic strip adaptationThe illustrated version of "Risico" ran in the Evening Standard from April 3 to June 24, 1961, once again adapted by Gummidge and illustrated by McClusky. It was reprinted by Titan Books in 2004. The filmPlot summary
The film is notable for the pre-credit sequence which sees what is believed to be the final comeuppance of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Bond's enemy in four previous films (although he is deliberately not named due to copyright issues). This was because of attempts by film producer Kevin McClory to produce a rival Bond film based on his ownership of the screen rights to the book of Thunderball, including the copyright on Blofeld, and the producers wished to show that the Bond films did not need Blofeld. Two years later McClory's effort would hit the screens as Never Say Never Again but it does not fit the EON films' continuity. Recently MGM was able to gain the distribution rights of Never Say Never Again. The film focuses on the recovery of the vital Automatic Targeting and Attack Communicator (ATAC), lost in the Ionian Sea when the British spy ship St Georges is sunk by an old mine hauled up in its fishing nets. The ATAC system is used by the Ministry of Defence to communicate and co-ordinate the Royal Navy's fleet of Polaris submarines. Sir Timothy Havelock, a marine archaeologist and MI6 agent, and his wife are murdered by a Cuban hitman, Hector Gonzales, while he is searching for the wreck of the St Georges. Bond is sent after Gonzales to find out who hired him, but is beaten to it by Havelock's daughter, Melina, who kills him before Bond can find out. After identifying a man in Gonzales' estate who appeared to be paying him, Bond is led to a well connected Greek businessman and intelligence informant, Aris Kristatos, who tells Bond that the man he saw is employed by Milos Columbo, a Greek smuggler. However, when Bond confronts Columbo, it emerges that Kristatos is actually in the employ of the KGB to recover the ATAC, and had set up Columbo as the villain as he knew too much about Kirstatos' KGB leanings. Bond is aided in his pursuit of Kristatos and the ATAC by Melina and Columbo. In the films climax, Bond throws the ATAC system over a cliff rather than hand it to the KGB chief General Gogol, with the quip "That's détente, comrade. I don't have it, you don't have it." After the ever-more outlandish plots of The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker - the latter film literally taking Bond out of this world - it was decided that the James Bond series needed to return to reality, and FYEO goes back to the more basic style of Dr. No and From Russia With Love. One of the most famous sequences of the film is when Bond's venerable Lotus Esprit is destroyed and is forced to make his escape in a Citroën 2CV, which was considered symbolic of Bond turning away from the more extreme gadgets of the past. The reaction to this change of pace was generally favorable, although the film does not rank among the top box office moneymakers in the series. Today it is often cited as one of the strongest films of the series and is usually considered a contender alongside Spy Who Loved Me as Moore's best Bond film. Cast & characters
Crew
SoundtrackMissing image 007FYEOsoundtrack.jpg Original For Your Eyes Only soundtrack cover The theme song was performed by Sheena Easton and she was the first artist in the film series' history to perform a Bond theme song on-screen during the Maurice Binder title sequence. Madonna would later one-up Easton by not only singing the theme song, but also appearing in a cameo role during the film. Bill Conti composed the soundtrack. Track listing
LocationsFilm locationsShooting locationsVehicles & gadgets
See alsoComic book adaptationMarvel Comics published a two-issue comic book adaptation of the For Your Eyes Only movie in 1981, written by Larry Hama with art by Vince Coletta with cover art by Howard Chaykin. It was also reprinted the same year in magazine and paperback book form. Trivia
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