Moore’s Bond at his most ruthless in For Your Eyes Only (1981).
I hear Max the Parrot’s stupid line in my sleep after watching For Your Eyes Only (1981). Why even have the bird in the movie? Was it *really* that important to have this kind of slapstick comic relief in a James Bond movie? Let alone animal slapstick comedy? It’s one of the questionable scenes in FYEO that puzzle me to this day alongside the “hockey” scene that holds its own in the eye-rolling department.
Sure – like all James Bond movies – FYEO has some good parts, but overall I’m not its biggest fan.
At the start of For Your Eyes Only (1981), we see James Bond (Roger Moore) visit the grave of his late wife, Teresa Bond:
The inscription reads:
TERESA BOND
1943 – 1969
Beloved wife of
JAMES BONDWe have all the
time in the World
Although I like the fact that they finally acknowledged the death of Bond’s wife, it’s puzzling that it took a full 12 years (an entire six Bond movies) since On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) when she was murdered, to do so. Surely such a traumatic death would have affected Bond greatly, and I’d say Diamonds Are Forever (1971) (the follow-up to OHMSS) is flawed at the outset for at least not referencing it while Bond traipse around Las Vegas.
Maybe they decided to put it on the backburner because it’s obviously a sad event, and nobody wants to be sad watching a James Bond movie (ahem, NTTD). Or maybe the death was such a big event in the series they decided to avoid acknowledging (or forgot?) it until a lot of time had passed…was this Bond’s first visit to the grave?
Kind of a missed opportunity in my eyes, regardless. They could’ve worked a graveside visit later into the movie (who wants to see Bond graveside visit in a movie’s opening sequence anyway? ahem, again, NTTD!) or weaved it into a joint revenge plot with Melina Havelock’s revenge of her parents’ death. All in all, I’m glad they made the reference to Tracy’s death but the method could’ve been better. And a pity it was rather forgotten after this scene until NTTD really.
57 years ago today, the first James Bond movie, Dr. No premiered.
The below graphic is composed of letters from different James Bond movies. Can you name the movie for each letter?
Happy Global James Bond Day 2019!
Check the answers for each letter after the jump!
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Here are all of the times Ernst Stavro Blofeld’s feline friend made an appearance in the James Bond movies. Which cat is your favorite?
Blofeld’s cat in From Russia With Love (1963)
Blofeld’s cat in You Only Live Twice (1967)
Blofeld’s cat in Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Blofeld’s cat in For Your Eyes Only (1981)
Blofeld’s cat in Never Say Never Again (1983)
Blofeld’s cat in Spectre (2015)
“James Bond Will Return” is a signature phrase splashed at the end of (almost) every James Bond movie that promotes 007’s never-give-up/against-all-odds attitude and shows a sense of pride in the world’s longest running movie series.
Throughout the years, it has been used to reveal the movie title of the forthcoming James Bond movie, albeit sometimes in error. It has also not been used at all. Some quick facts:
- It does not appear at the end of any of the unofficial movies (Casino Royale (1954), Casino Royale (1967) and Never Say Never Again (1983)
- It does not appear in Dr. No or Thunderball
- It has been bland with just words (The World Is Not Enough), has had a fancy backdrop (The Living Daylights), and has had a custom image to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the James Bond movies (Skyfall)
- The incorrect next movie is listed at the end of The Spy Who Loved Me as For Your Eyes Only – the next movie is in fact Moonraker (thanks, Star Wars)
- The title of A View To A Kill is incorrect at the end of Octopussy, adding “From” to the beginning of the title
Regardless, below are all of the instances where “James Bond Will Return” appears in the credits from all of the movies:
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of From Russia With Love (1963)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Goldfinger (1964)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of You Only Live Twice (1967)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Live And Let Die (1973)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Moonraker (1979)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of For Your Eyes Only (1981)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Octopussy (1983)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of A View To A Kill (1985)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of The Living Daylights (1987)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Licence To Kill (1989)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of GoldenEye (1995)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of The World Is Not Enough (1999)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Die Another Day (2002)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Casino Royale (2006)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Quantum Of Solace (2008)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Skyfall (2012)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of Spectre (2015)
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- “James Bond Will Return” from the end of No Time To Die (2021)
Which is your favorite?
