Blu-ray Review: James Bond on Blu-ray - Page 3

For Your Eyes Only (1981)

The Film:

The ‘80s were not kind to James Bond. For Your Eyes Only appears terribly dated today, much more so than the films from the ‘60s and ‘70s. The abundance of cheesy sound effects are nearly suffocating and it’s hard not to feel like you’re playing a bad video game much of the time your watching the movie. Add the typical ‘80s ballad by Sheena Easton as the theme song, and it’s an effective reminder of the cultural wasteland that was much of that decade.

Aside from these contextual problems, For Your Eyes Only is not a bad Bond film. Julian Glover plays a great villain and it’s fun to see Bond get a sort of sidekick (who’s not female) in Columbo. Much of the plot of the film was a reaction to the outlandish Moonraker, and was an attempt to make the material more serious. As long as you put that in the context of the believability of most Bond films, it succeeds. The story is solid, and the portion of the film at the ski village in beautiful Cortina, Italy is magnificent.

Carole Bouquet is a forgettable Bond girl, and Moore is really starting to show his age, but For Your Eyes Only is still fun despite how dated it is.

The Blu-ray Disc:

The more recent the film’s release, the better the picture quality gets as For Your Eyes Only has a noticeably sharper picture than the earlier films. This is the first out of the series to really look like it’s presented in high definition, with a very clean transfer and colors that seem to pop out of the screen from time to time. The scenes filmed against the white backdrop of snow look especially great.

Also a plus, the annoying sound mix problem is significantly better here, though there are moments where the sound effects still seem to overwhelm the dialogue. That may be speak more to the obnoxiousness of the sound effects than the quality of the DTS mix however.

Special Features:

Unlike the other two discs, this one contains several deleted and expanded scenes that are mostly superfluous. The disc does contain two on-location featurettes specifically focusing on the locations – Greece and Cortina – that are quite interesting and definitely the highlight. For those that like to revel in the ‘80s, there’s a Sheena Easton music video that defies good taste.

Die Another Day (2002)

The Film:

I’ve never been much of a fan of the Pierce Brosnan Bond films, and it’s certainly not Brosnan’s fault. Even in his last turn as Bond here, he displays an admirable commitment to the character. The film itself is a little more hit or miss.

Article Author: Dusty Somers

Dusty Somers hails from Seattle, and is a journalism student at the University of Oklahoma. He enjoys spending time and watching films with his wife, and looks forward to their imminent return to the great Northwest.

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