Next time you're bored at the office: A full length audio commentary for From Russia With Love...

Aaron Neuwurth, on whose fine podcast (Out Now with Aaron and Abe) I occasionally guest, was an early fan of Brandon Peter's nearly-complete James Bond retrospectives.  As such, he invited Brandon and I on to participate in a handful of 007 audio commentaries.  We've done three as of now, having just recorded GoldenEye last night.  But until that one and the one we did last week for Moonraker (spoiler - it's much better than you remember), please enjoy this enjoyable and information-packed chit-chat for one of the more beloved early 007 adventures, From Russia With Love.

Scott Mendelson

Brandon Peters dissects the 007 series part 12: For Your Eyes Only

With Skyfall dropping in theaters in just a few months, along with the 50th anniversary of the James Bond series, a close friend and fellow film nerd, Brandon Peters, has generously offered to do a comprehensive review of the entire 007 film franchise. Today is the twelfth entry, with a full review of the 'back to basics' spy thriller, For Your Eyes Only. I hope you enjoy what is a pretty massive feature leading up the November 9th release of Skyfall. I'll do my best to leave my two-cents out of it, give or take a few items I have up my sleeve (including a possible guest review from my wife as she sings the praises of her favorite 007 film, you won't believe what it is). But just because I'm stepping aside doesn't mean you should. Without further ado...

For Your Eyes Only

1981

Director:  John Glen

Starring: Roger Moore, Julian Glover, Carole Bouquet, Chaim Topol, Cassandra Harris

Rated PG

Think twice 007, it’s a long way down.

            ~looks like him, talks like him, dresses like him, but isn’t credited as Blofeld

STATS

Kills: 14

Girls:  Melina Havelock, Countess Lisl von Schlaf, Bibi Dahl

Car:  the Lotus from SPY returns, is blown up and replaced with 1981 Lotus Espirit Turbo

Locales: Greece, Italy

Odd Villain Trait:  Erich Kriegler – another rendition of big strong blonde brute

Song:  “For Your Eyes Only” performed by Sheena Easton

Moonraker was a massive success for the 007 franchise.  It was the highest grossing film of the series (w/o adjusting for inflation) making over $200 million worldwide, locking down the series for some more longevity.  Moonraker was a huge film and took Bond to some extraordinary limits (outer limits, if you may).  For Your Eyes Only grounds Bond back in reality and attempts to take it back to the feel of some of the older entries.

Brandon Peters dissects the 007 series part 02: From Russia With Love

From Russia With Love1963
Director: Terrence Young
Starring: Sean Connery, Daniela Bianchi, Pedro Armendariz, Robert Shaw, Lotte Lenya
Rated PG

Welcome to SPECTRE Island!  ~Morzeny

STATS:

Bond Girls: Sylvia Trench, Gypsy Twins, Tatiana Romanova
Kills: 18
Car: None
Locales: Istanbul, SPECTRE Island
Odd Villain Trait: Red Grant is super strong, super stealthy, super blonde goon henchman
Song: “From Russia with Love” performed by Matt Monro

The success of Dr. No allowed Eon productions to stay on course with their five film plan for bringing the 007 novels to the big screen. The next would be From Russia with Love, due in part JFK’s mention of it as one of his favorite novels in Time magazine. With twice the budget this time around, From Russia With Love would build on the successes of the first film, amp up the new franchise, introduce some new ideas, and actually create the rare sequel that clearly tops the original.