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For Your Eyes Only: A Fan Edit (Released)

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9/13/21 UPDATE

FanEdit.org 2021 Paradigm Award Runner Up!

version 4.0

PM for details on where to get it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dzz4nhKMwpw&feature=youtu.be

https://forums.fanedit.org/showthread.php?tid=15474

The 12th James Bond film is a favorite of mine. After the silly Moonraker, the film makers decided it was time to return to a more serious tone, with a traditional spy plot. The film mostly succeeds, but there a few missteps that have always bothered me. My goal is to make FYEO a more “classic” Bond film.
The big idea is to tighten the film, and replace the Bill Conti score with classic John Barry music from other Bond films.

the editing of scenes was a big process, but the music replacement is by far the biggest undertaking. There a too many changes to list them ALL. the trims and changes number in the thousands. The music editing and placement is extensive. Hardcore fans are sure to recognize some music from other films, but a casual fan might assume the music was scored especially for this film. It just… sounds like James Bond music. 😃 Its all timed to work perfectly with dramatic moments within the film. I’m quite proud of the work Ive done.

fanedit.org academy review

“For your Eyes Only’ is one of my top-5 Bond movies, it’s one of the few that does a near-perfect balancing act between serious and fun (plus Melina is the strongest and best ever Bond girl ever IMO). It has a few moments of silliness though and while I do love the Bill Conti synth score (he has done some beautiful scores), I have always wondered what a more traditional Bond score would be like. nostromo777 has made the dreams of everybody who has wanted a fanedit of FYEO, come true. The re-scoring is better than even my wildest dreams. I thought I’d miss some moments but even beautiful pieces of scoring from Conti such as when Melina’s theme plays (after her parents are murdered) are replaced with a Barry passage so similar in tone and feel that I was amazed. The moment when Bond says “You left this with Ferrara I believe” and then you add a slow arrangement of the Bond theme, was so, so cool (I had to rewind and enjoy that moment quite a few times!). Where did you find that new piece of beautiful piano for the end scene, genius! At many points, I found myself forgetting that the score had been replaced (which I mean as a compliment) because you replaced it with pieces so natural to the scenes… …one of my all-time favourite edits” -TM2YC, Fanedit.org admin

"It seems like most people regard The Spy Who Loved Me as Roger Moore’s best outing as 007. I disagree. For Your Eyes Only is his best in my opinion, and this edit of it only makes it better. I would scarcely call many 007 movies spy thrillers, especially the Moore era ones, but this one is. Removing bits of the annoying ice skater girl helped a lot. The music throughout was very cool—using some of the Thunderball music during underwater scenes was perfect. And, indeed, the classic James Bond theme was very welcome during some scenes. I was worried that all the humor would be removed, but what remained was ideal. The Craig era could really learn a lot from the music in this edit. Actually, the Brosnon era could have as well. This cut achieved what the best of the Connery era achieved–when it ended, the music was echoing in your head and you felt like putting on a nice suit and driving really fast and dangerously. It reminded me of that feeling of wanting to be James Bond because he was the coolest guy on earth with his own personal theme song! (Indiana Jones may be the only other character in history with as great a theme song). The narrative and enjoyment level here is perfect. It isn’t my “go to” version because the file size is prohibitively humongous so I had to delete immediately after watching, but if not for that, this is the version I prefer. It is the best cut of Roger Moore’s best Bond outing. It is easily the most realistic Bond since Goldfinger and until The Living Daylights (and finally again with Casino Royale). This is THE essential Moore era Bond and the ideal edit of For Your Eyes Only. Highly recommend! anarchemist

"Nostromo777 makes a good Bond film better!

The narrative is improved with a tighter plot. The music is remarkably improved by replacing Conti’s (badly dated) score for a selection of Barry’s 007 scores. Some of the musical cues will be recognizable to Bond fans, which could distract you momentarily. But it’s worth it when you compare this edit to the original!

The sound replacement work is such an accomplishment that that alone already merits checking out this edit!" -lapis-molari, Fanedit.org admin

7/19/18 UPDATED CHANGELIST

there a too many changes to list them ALL. the trims and changes number in the thousands. here is a broad overview.

UA/MGM LOGO. replaced with 1981 UA logo
Original pre-credits opening with graveside scene and helicoptor removed. new opening is the sinking of St Georges,murder of the Havelocs
opening title/song re-synced and pitch corrected with the original album version Sheena Easton’s song
toned down MI6 chief of staff’s disdain for 007
identigraph scene dramatically shortened
motorcycle attack on Melina removed
hockey player attack removed
submarine attack removed
Bond and Melina’s afternoon shopping removed
Margaret Thatcher removed

in addition to the above major alterations, there are these changes that alter the timing and feel of the movie

nearly every scene in the movie has tightened editing, multiple rear projection shots removed during ski chase, multiple "underwater" effects removed
some new explosion sound effects, new underwater sound effects
color timing changed on a scene-by-scene basis to make it feel more “cinematic”
replace Conti score with Barry score
gun barrel effect added: when transitioning from the gun barrel  opening to the first shot of the st. Georges, an optical iris effect cas been added
 Bill Conti's on screen credit during the opening credits has been digitally removed and replace with John Barry's.
 Pre-movie and post movie credits added to reflect my edit work

The film’s original running time is 127 mins.
New running time is 99 minutes.
editing using Adobe premiere, audio sourced from the original soundtracks

Technical Details:
H264
1080p
23.97fps
5.1 640kbps

aka nostromo777 on myspleen

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Just a quick mention that Im still working on this. This summer marks the 35th anniversary of For Your Eyes Only being released to theaters.

Here is great article with a few Bond fans discussing the films legacy.
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/columns/history-legacy--showmanship/for-your-eyes-only-35th

This qoute sums up my feeling on the film, and why I started this project.

“For Your Eyes Only enjoys a reasonably enthusiastic following among Bond fans. It’s certainly not top-of-the-pack but its attributes have aged well while its weaker elements don’t seem any worse than they did in 1981. The movie greatly misses a John Barry score and a bit of judicious editing could have made it much better by trimming some of the embarrassing gags, but in the end, it has held up well — and provided fans with what many think is Moore’s best interpretation of Bond.”

aka nostromo777 on myspleen

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Thank you mods for moving this to the right forum.

aka nostromo777 on myspleen

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July 5 update:

The recent passing of Roger Moore has revitalized my interest in finishing this project. Good news: its nearly done. Ive aquired Adobe Premiere Pro, so the editing process has taken a major step forward. Thankfully, the 5.1 mix isolates the Bill Conti score to the left, right, and surround channels, so removing it while keeping dialoge and sound effects intact has proven much easier than anticipated.

Final touches are happening now.I hope to be sharing this cut on the spleen in the coming weeks.

some comparisions: original followed by recolored
http://imgur.com/a/3WjzB

aka nostromo777 on myspleen

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Cool work so far. I would like to demo this when you have a work print.

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Nearing the finish line. Running time currently at 1hr 38 mins. Im going to preview it to a few of my friends, then most likely make a few tweaks based on their feedback. Then, I’ll release it to the spleen.

aka nostromo777 on myspleen

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This is really exciting for me! Over father’s day I had recently re watched this for the first time in quite a while. I Agree with basically all your decisions as well.

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Rendering the release candidate now. My friends and I will be reviewing it in the next few days.

aka nostromo777 on myspleen

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Ive always liked the opening - a bit of silly fun before the proper story begins - but I completely understand cutting it all in favour of the attack.

Removing Margaret Thatcher is a good policy in all aspects of life, not just fan editing. Well done.

I’m looking forward to watching this!

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Mark’s Down On Your Syntax said:

Ive always liked the opening - a bit of silly fun before the proper story begins - but I completely understand cutting it all in favour of the attack.

Removing Margaret Thatcher is a good policy in all aspects of life, not just fan editing. Well done.

I’m looking forward to watching this!

I love the stuntwork in this scene, and the graveside scene is also quite nice. But neither really make sense in the finished edit.

aka nostromo777 on myspleen

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update: editing complete. doing another pass to correct some audio levels. dialoge and music levels were a bit off.

Hope to release this in < 2 weeks.

aka nostromo777 on myspleen

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I just recently watched the Blu Ray of this for the first time. I’m very excited to see your cut! I think the tightening your doing will improve the good action that is in this film!

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Ok folks, the finish line is near. Just finishing up a last few tweaks. I hope to have this loaded on the spleen by the weekend.

I realize OT.com may not have a huge 007 fanbase, but this is where I like to hang out.
Thanks to the few of you that have offered encouragement. This was a huge project for me. Im very pleased with the final result.

aka nostromo777 on myspleen

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this edit is complete… ill let you know when its posted to the spleen.

aka nostromo777 on myspleen

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Look for this on the spleen

aka nostromo777 on myspleen

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Could you please send me your fan edit? FYEO is one of my favorite Bond films, I’d love to see what you did with it! Thanks!

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Kermanator said:

Could you please send me your fan edit? FYEO is one of my favorite Bond films, I’d love to see what you did with it! Thanks!

As i said, its on myspleen.

http://originaltrilogy.com/announcement/Requesting-invites-to-private-torrent-sites-ie-Myspleen/id/52834

It looks like youre new here. Generally speaking, most content isnt shared here on originaltrilogy. Discussion about content occurs here but most content is actually aquired elsewhere.

aka nostromo777 on myspleen

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PM for details on where to get a 720p version.

aka nostromo777 on myspleen

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Just watched your edit Echo3 , and I just wanted to say how much I enjoyed it.

The film really benefited from the removal of the really silly lighter parts, and the use of different music.
It made it a more serious Bond movie IMHO, and less ‘cringy’. Not having the somewhat ‘creepy’ scene with Lynn Holly Johnson coming on to Roger Moore in there was also a benefit, that scene always felt a bit weird given the ages.

I am curious, the scene with Bond at the grave of Tracey in the original opening, that was cut out, I am assuming you cut that out because of the whole helicopter, fake Telly Savalas, attempt at humour scene that came after it. I quite liked the grave side scene for its links to the past, and to Flemings Bond, but can see the issue with what came after it. Was that the reason for cutting that part out, or did you have another reason in mind.

Once again, really good edit, which I enjoyed greatly.
Good word!
Duncan

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thanks for the kind words. Glad you enjoyed it

aka nostromo777 on myspleen

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Watched this edit last night was terrific i’ve seen alot of bond fan edits this is up there with the best.

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version 2 done. see OP.

aka nostromo777 on myspleen