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.
This polarizing scene from Octopussy (1983) starts out lighthearted but ends with high tension as an undercover James Bond disguises himself as a circus clown to defuse a nuclear bomb. All in all, it is by far the dorkiest look of Roger Moore’s Bond, but looking past his costume and apparent masterful makeup artistry, I’m not sure there is a more defining “James Bond saves the world” scene in all of the movies.
Sure, Bond has defused many a bomb in his time, and even another nuclear one in Goldfinger (1964) albeit without a large audience like Bond has here. And yes, maybe they could’ve dressed Bond in something more flattering (a ringmaster with a top-hat, perhaps?), but the buildup for this scene and how an obstinate American general eventually tells everyone in the audience to shut up and let the absurdly dressed clown Bond defuse the bomb makes it all the more climactic. You can feel the tension! And I also think (to a degree) Bond’s look of desperation is made even more urgent because of his clownface makeup!
I won’t get over Bond’s look in this scene any time soon (and I wish at the end of the scene he would’ve just kept his red nose on for the full effect or took it off entirely, rather than having it hang awkwardly on his neck), but I also won’t let it take away from it significance amongst other times in the series when Bond heroically saves the world. Not many other scenes can top this one in that regard!
1. Roger Moore’s clown costume in Octopussy (1983) takes the cake…the ultimate dorkiest Bond moment!
One of the, if not *the*, most out of place sounds/music in any James Bond movie has to go to the use of the song “California Girls” from the “snowboard” scene from the opening sequence of A View To A Kill (1985). Yes, I get that Bond eventually travels to California (and meets girls there I guess?) in the movie and he is technically snowboarding with the snowmobile blade (which is like “California surfing” I guess?), but I’m still going to give the song choice a thumbs down.
I may have approved if the song chosen was the original version by the Beach Boys, but a quick Google also shows this is a cover by Gidea Park, and it sounds like an average one at that. They should have scrapped the idea. How Bond maintains his feet on the blade and gains enough momentum to surprise the skiing bad guys was puzzling enough for the chase, let alone the song choice. It’s fun for sure, but not particularly great.
I was also unfortunately reminded of this scene after watching Pierce Brosnan’s Bond’s absurd snowboarding/gliding scene from Die Another Day (2002):
*shudders*
If this Blu-ray cover is legit, someone needs to answer for approving this! Sir Roger can’t be happy about his likeness…
This scene single-handedly elevates Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale) one of the best James Bond villains. His ostentatious estate, his delicate Chopin piano-playing, his even-keeled demeanor and monotone voice – yet he exudes extreme power over everyone that he interacts with, even his two doberman pinscher dogs. His lack of ego is offset by his stoic brutality, and his “see that some harm comes to him” line is an ultimate villain quote!
