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Also filmed in Corfu, although appearing later in the film when the story moves to Greece, was a memorable sequence which once again reinforced the pared-down approach of the story. As Locque (Michael Gothard) drives his Mercedes through the narrow tunnels of Corfu’s Old Fortress, Roger Moore’s Bond runs breathlessly up a long series of steps to confront the killer, culminating in the signature image of 007 positioning himself into a two-handed firing stance, and framed in a stone archway at the top of the cliffs, before shooting Locque in the shoulder through his car windscreen. An injured Locque drives off (actually stunt driver Remy Julienne) but crashes his car leaving it perched precariously on the cliff edge. The script called for Bond to angrily kick the teetering car off the cliff, but Roger Moore felt very uncomfortable performing the action, and felt his Bond would not be so ruthless. Long discussions between the actor and director followed, with a compromise reached whereby Bond eventually tosses a pin found on the body of his associate Ferrara (John Moreno) into the car which causes the vehicle to topple off the cliff, and then kicking it to help it on its way. |
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The whole sequence is expertly handled by the director and actors, and can now be seen as one of the stand-out moments in the whole of Roger Moore’s tenure as 007; after all, in the story Locque had killed Ferrara and was also responsible for the death of Cassandra Harris’ character, Countess Lisl von Schlaf, so the script justified Bond’s ruthless actions, and the film is all the better for it. The death of the Countess as she is hit by Locque’s dune buggy is another stand-out moment. The actual stunt was performed by Cyd Child, who was hit by the buggy at such force she smashed into the windscreen after rolling onto the bonnet, and was injured in the process. The stunt as it appears in the film is equally startling, and another example of the script taking a more realistic approach, as the death of the Countess is not telegraphed in any way, instead happening as if by accident as the chase progresses. Although her role was very small Cassandra Harris was a memorable addition to the film, and played very well in her short scenes with Topol and Paul Brooke (as Bunky) at the Corfu casino. |
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Roger Moore’s introductory scenes with Topol are also well played as the two are both wary of each other before the real villain of the film is revealed. The whole story structure of Bond being kidnapped by Columbo’s men after his beach rendezvous with Countess Lisl (Lisl Baum in Ian Fleming’s original short story) was lifted more or less verbatim from Fleming’s RISICO. The following gun battle in Kristatos’ warehouse is another very well executed sequence, enhanced by the use of miniature photography and explosions under the control of Derek Meddings. The scene is reminiscent of the gypsy camp fight in From Russia With Love (1963) as Bond moves through the action picking off men with typical aplomb. The lengthy sequence had been expertly visualised by John McLusky in the 1961 Daily Express comic strip adaptation of RISICO, but the film version also does justice to Ian Fleming’s source material with its well-choreographed action scenes, culminating in the death of Locque (Kristatos in the short story). |
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As the production moves to Greece the story moves away from Ian Fleming, although retains the low-key setting of a mountaintop hideaway opposed to a space station or Supertanker. The climbing sequences are well handled overall, but marred by the use of some obvious studio backdrops and unnecessary camera moves, which give away the fact that Roger Moore is clearly not very high off the ground during his part of the sequence. That said, the stunt performed by Rick Sylvester (with whom John Glen had worked with on the pre-credit sequence of The Spy Who Loved Me), is very well executed and filmed in a way that genuinely made cinema audiences collectively take a sharp intake of breath as Bond is kicked off the mountain and falls 300-feet, ending up suspended beneath the mountaintop monastery of Meteora. The spectacular stunt was performed in one take, and like the ski-parachute jump in The Spy Who Loved Me, is now only diminished by seeing it on a much smaller screen than originally intended. |
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Returning to the UK, production resumed with filming of the pre-credit sequence, which by now had nothing to do with the rest of the film, and was merely an excuse to show off some exciting stunt work and start the film with a bang! For Your Eyes Only starts off relatively low-key as Bond visits Tracy’s grave at Stoke Poges Church in Slough (also the location area of the golf course in Goldfinger). This nod to Bond’s late wife was the second time she was referred to in Roger Moore’s tenure, after Major Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach) had reminded the audience that Bond was a widower in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). The re-introduction of Tracy also lends some continuity to the film and re-establishes the fact that although the actor may be different, the character of Bond is still the same person. A similar link happens when Bond throws his hat onto Moneypenny’s hat stand, although Roger Moore is never seen wearing a hat in any of his Bond films; the throwaway gag is just another nod to other similar scenes that featured this sequence in the series. The reference to Tracy also means that the filmmakers can use the architect of her death in the pre-title sequence, although the character of Ernst Stavro Blofeld is never named for legal reasons. Despite not being named, the bald-headed, cat-stroking, neck-braced character in a wheelchair can only be one man… most Bond fans (or even casual cinemagoers) would get the reference. The helicopter sequence is another superbly executed combination of live action stunt work (Martin Grace doubled Roger Moore clinging to the helicopter) while Marc Wolff masterfully flew the helicopter, and miniature photography, full-sized practical effects, forced perspective and clever editing, once again under the supervision of special effects maestro Derek Meddings, gave this pre-credit sequence breathtaking excitement. Despite the technical brilliance of the sequence, the incongruous introduction of Blofeld (played by John Hollis and voiced by Robert Rietty) and his ignominious demise being dropped down a chimney stack at Becton Gas Works in London, the whole sequence is at odds with the serious tone of the rest of the film. However, it does its job and the clever segue and use of Sheena Easton in Maurice Binder’s classy main title sequence reminds us that this is a James Bond film after all; the parade of poolside bathing beauties later in the film reinforces this fact. The only nod to Roger Moore’s advancing years appears to have been the introduction of Lynn-Holly Johnson as Bibi Dahl (a play on words - Baby Doll), the 23-year-old girlfriend of Kristatos, who Bond refuses to seduce in his Cortina hotel, and instead suggests, “You get your clothes on and I’ll buy you an ice cream.” |
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