Review Detail
9.4 5 10
(Updated: May 20, 2023)
Overall rating
8.6
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
8.0
Visual Editing
8.0
Narrative
8.0
Enjoyment
9.0
Version viewed: FYEOv4.1c.H265.mkv
This “For Your Eyes Only” edit is called the “007 Cut”, but could have been subtitled the “For Your Ears As Well” cut [although yes, that does sound stupid!].
JOHN BARRY MUSIC. Nothing else needs to be said. But I will anyway…
If you don’t know, the aim of this edit is to present a more serious version of “For Your Eyes Only”. Much silliness is cut, and the ill-fitting Bill Conti score is removed. Starting the pre-titles with the spy ship sequence works well, it feels like a classic Bond opening. However, the whole pre-titles sequence of the St Georges, the minister briefing, the Gogol scene, and the Melina family killing does feel overlong to me, and I suspect that is because Bond does not appear at all. The Melina sequence ends on an eyes CU, so links to the title song, but IMO concluding the pre-titles with Bond at Tracy’s grave could have been a nice intro for him [not necessarily including the whole Blofeld/remote-control continuation of the scene, just the helicopter take-off then into the titles] and helped set up the more serious tone of the movie.
The removal of the helicopter sequence brings me to another aspect of the edit. Extraneous actions scenes are cut [motorbikes at the flower shop, thugs on the ice rink, submarine attack, etc] to bring the movie into a more restrained place. The obvious parallel would be “From Russia With Love”, but unfortunately “For Your Eyes Only” lacks all the elements that let FRWL get away with stretches of no action. There’s no SPECTRE, no Klebb, no mysterious No.1, no M, no Grant, no Kerim Bey, no Tatiana, etc. FYEO with many of the action beats cut out is a fairly dull movie IMO, particularly in the first half. [Rather incongruously, the whole ski-jump sequence in the middle of the bike/ski chase is still in this edit. Snipping that could have tightened up the whole chase considerably, not to mention it is a very silly scene which doesn’t fit the serious tone. Why would Locque and his goons sneakily stalk Bond only to attack him in full view of everyone on a ski-ramp?! An attack which, even if they were lucky, might only leave him with a broken leg.] Removing the silliness is a double-edged sword too, because Roger Moore’s strength in the role was the humour. I wouldn’t argue that toning down Bibi was a mistake, but it means great Rog moments like “Put your clothes on and I’ll buy you an ice cream” are lost. Losing action beats and humour beats does leave the movie with something of an empty, aimless feel at times. Fortunately, the addition of alternate music peps it up a bit and gives it some Bond “soul”.
The music replacement is the standout feature of this edit. The tracks are mostly appropriate and well integrated. I know the Bond soundtracks very well as I listen to them often, so was prepared to be mentally recognising sources during viewing, but even so it is a very enjoyable viewing experience. Perhaps using tracks where the title song melody of another movie is prominent was a little too distracting (i.e. Diamonds Are Forever), I imagine even a casual viewer might feel a discontinuity at that moment. In addition to Barry scores, David Arnold’s “Bond, James Bond” is used, probably due to being a long presentation of the Bond theme. It sounds a touch more modern than the rest of the score but the edit just about gets away with it.
A few technical points…
Sound.
The sound mix is good, a few moments are a little odd, very minor though and probably my familiarity with the original scores is a factor. However, there is one scene where the sound very obviously has an error. The section where Melina and Bond discuss the fake telegram has the dialogue turned down way too low. This is not a case of “hmm, does that sounds a little softer?”; the voices are much, much quieter than the scenes which precede and follow, and you might wonder if you just accidentally leaned on your remote. IIRC, there isn’t even any music at this point.
Video.
A few times across the whole movie I noticed a single frame from a different shot flash up on a cut. After viewing, I remembered exactly where one seemed to be, so checked for it. When Q says he has set up a satellite link and the minister says “Good”, the next shot starts with a single frame of a different shot.
Grading.
The movie looks really good. Colour grading to me may as well be magic so I can’t critique it in any detail, and I’ll just emphasise the point; the movie looks really good.
TL;DR
Bond fans, watch - and listen - to this edit, you won’t regret it.
This “For Your Eyes Only” edit is called the “007 Cut”, but could have been subtitled the “For Your Ears As Well” cut [although yes, that does sound stupid!].
JOHN BARRY MUSIC. Nothing else needs to be said. But I will anyway…
If you don’t know, the aim of this edit is to present a more serious version of “For Your Eyes Only”. Much silliness is cut, and the ill-fitting Bill Conti score is removed. Starting the pre-titles with the spy ship sequence works well, it feels like a classic Bond opening. However, the whole pre-titles sequence of the St Georges, the minister briefing, the Gogol scene, and the Melina family killing does feel overlong to me, and I suspect that is because Bond does not appear at all. The Melina sequence ends on an eyes CU, so links to the title song, but IMO concluding the pre-titles with Bond at Tracy’s grave could have been a nice intro for him [not necessarily including the whole Blofeld/remote-control continuation of the scene, just the helicopter take-off then into the titles] and helped set up the more serious tone of the movie.
The removal of the helicopter sequence brings me to another aspect of the edit. Extraneous actions scenes are cut [motorbikes at the flower shop, thugs on the ice rink, submarine attack, etc] to bring the movie into a more restrained place. The obvious parallel would be “From Russia With Love”, but unfortunately “For Your Eyes Only” lacks all the elements that let FRWL get away with stretches of no action. There’s no SPECTRE, no Klebb, no mysterious No.1, no M, no Grant, no Kerim Bey, no Tatiana, etc. FYEO with many of the action beats cut out is a fairly dull movie IMO, particularly in the first half. [Rather incongruously, the whole ski-jump sequence in the middle of the bike/ski chase is still in this edit. Snipping that could have tightened up the whole chase considerably, not to mention it is a very silly scene which doesn’t fit the serious tone. Why would Locque and his goons sneakily stalk Bond only to attack him in full view of everyone on a ski-ramp?! An attack which, even if they were lucky, might only leave him with a broken leg.] Removing the silliness is a double-edged sword too, because Roger Moore’s strength in the role was the humour. I wouldn’t argue that toning down Bibi was a mistake, but it means great Rog moments like “Put your clothes on and I’ll buy you an ice cream” are lost. Losing action beats and humour beats does leave the movie with something of an empty, aimless feel at times. Fortunately, the addition of alternate music peps it up a bit and gives it some Bond “soul”.
The music replacement is the standout feature of this edit. The tracks are mostly appropriate and well integrated. I know the Bond soundtracks very well as I listen to them often, so was prepared to be mentally recognising sources during viewing, but even so it is a very enjoyable viewing experience. Perhaps using tracks where the title song melody of another movie is prominent was a little too distracting (i.e. Diamonds Are Forever), I imagine even a casual viewer might feel a discontinuity at that moment. In addition to Barry scores, David Arnold’s “Bond, James Bond” is used, probably due to being a long presentation of the Bond theme. It sounds a touch more modern than the rest of the score but the edit just about gets away with it.
A few technical points…
Sound.
The sound mix is good, a few moments are a little odd, very minor though and probably my familiarity with the original scores is a factor. However, there is one scene where the sound very obviously has an error. The section where Melina and Bond discuss the fake telegram has the dialogue turned down way too low. This is not a case of “hmm, does that sounds a little softer?”; the voices are much, much quieter than the scenes which precede and follow, and you might wonder if you just accidentally leaned on your remote. IIRC, there isn’t even any music at this point.
Video.
A few times across the whole movie I noticed a single frame from a different shot flash up on a cut. After viewing, I remembered exactly where one seemed to be, so checked for it. When Q says he has set up a satellite link and the minister says “Good”, the next shot starts with a single frame of a different shot.
Grading.
The movie looks really good. Colour grading to me may as well be magic so I can’t critique it in any detail, and I’ll just emphasise the point; the movie looks really good.
TL;DR
Bond fans, watch - and listen - to this edit, you won’t regret it.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
M