27 replies to this topic

[Friedrich Baxter]

Was he in the conspiracy with Blofeld? Or was his crossing nothing more then an indication of a dream or somethin?

[Macca]

But why does Bond give the priest a kind of confused glance when he's doing the crossing (and Bond's getting into the chopper) ??
That to me suggests that the production team at least wanted us to think that something dodgy MIGHT be going on with the priest..
Maybe I've just got a suspicious mind, but it was a good point about Blofeld wanting to kill Bond personally...

[Dmitri Mishkin]

I don't know. Something about the way the priest originally kind of wobbles on over to Bond, with that exhausted expression on his face, makes me believe that the priest is merely an innocent bystander.

Because traditionally, it's been fairly obvious when a character is in kahoots with the baddie - either a knowing glance, or sly smirk usually is a telltale sign.

Dunphboy's explanation makes a lot of sense however. The priest's cross symbolizing his wish for Bond's safety is almost an ominous sign of the peril that 007 will later experience. Maybe it was even a hint for the viewer?

macca_bond (16 Jan, 2002 07:45 p.m.):
But why does Bond give the priest a kind of confused glance when he's doing the crossing (and Bond's getting into the chopper) ??

I don't know if it's confusion. It looked like an acknowledgement, or simple glance over to me. It might not have had any special meaning at all...

[Blofeld's Cat]

In my mind he is a real priest, who gives the impression of knowing Bond from previous visits to the grave.

The crossing, to me, is a sign from him to Bond as a sort of "hope things are alright", based on the urgent message from the office.

However, Bond's take on the crossing seems to suggest that something may be afoot, but I feel its just a device to hook the audience into thinking that something is afoot and the pre-credit sequence is about to hot up.

[Jim]

I agree with the Cat. It's a curious little moment designed to make both Bond and the audience feel wary, expectant even.

Pity it then descends into rubber skull cap delicatessen sinister chuckling lunacy.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Jim (17 Jan, 2002 08:09 a.m.):
Pity it then descends into rubber skull cap delicatessen sinister chuckling lunacy.

Jim, you forgot to include screwed-up electronics in there somewhere.

I always found it strange that Blo****'s wheelchair control panel worked in such a way that by pressing a button next to the left monitor actually turned on the right monitor, and vice-versa.

Your the expert on wheelchairs, can you explain it?

[SPECTRE]

A very interesting topic that I always wonder about when I see the film.

Rolex: I don't believe that the chopper was from the Secret Service at all. After all, the pilot wasn't. If I recall correctly, after the pilot is killed, Blofeld says "one of my less useful men", or something to that effect. But I don't really know what to think about the priest. It makes sense that he would be blessing Bond and the helicopter. And I don't see a need for Blofeld to have an evil priest. Blofeld himself could have called a normal priest and identified himself as a Secret Service man and told him to tell Bond a chopper was coming. But its also interesting that Blofeld would know Bond was there at that certain moment. Its possible Bond visits on a certain day and time, and Blofeld had him followed to learn this... I'm not really sure..

[White Persian]

Rolex (18 Jan, 2002 11:50 a.m.):Blofeld is in a wheelchair is this because he broke his back in the Battle Sub in DAF on the oil rig? If he did, how the hell did he get back to land? Surely the sub was damaged and I doubt he swam!

Blofeld wore a neckbrace (and was bald) at the end of OHMSS. Clearly being bounced around like a yoyo in the sub in DAF aggravated the old neck injury, and the acute disappointment at yet *another* foiled masterplan caused alopecia which undid the DAF hair transplant.

[Blofeld's Cat]

Friedrich Baxter (21 Jan, 2002 09:24 p.m.):
Don't forget what Blofeld said when the pilot fell off the helicother. 'One of my less usefull people!'. So it's for certain that the pilot was IN the conspiracy! Was he perhaps nr.56? ;-)

The Ministry Of Defence is in the aviation business but SIS wouldn't be. They wouldn't have their own choppers and pilots, but would most likely have a charter flight company that would be fully vetted and security cleared. The pilots maybe from the RAAF, maybe not.

In any case Bond wouldn't know if the helicopter and pilot was actually sent by SIS. In this case it wasn't.

Blof*** sent a message to the church, the priest passed it onto Bond who got into the helicopter thinking it was organised by SIS.

Not Remote Control Airways.

[Friedrich Baxter]

Don't forget what Blofeld said when the pilot fell off the helicother. 'One of my less usefull people!'. So it's for certain that the pilot was IN the conspiracy! Was he perhaps nr.56? ;-)

[Jim]

Blofeld's Cat (17 Jan, 2002 08:38 a.m.):

Jim (17 Jan, 2002 08:09 a.m.):
Pity it then descends into rubber skull cap delicatessen sinister chuckling lunacy.

Jim, you forgot to include screwed-up electronics in there somewhere.

I always found it strange that Blo****'s wheelchair control panel worked in such a way that by pressing a button next to the left monitor actually turned on the right monitor, and vice-versa.

Your the expert on wheelchairs, can you explain it?

No, and I can't explain how the hell he got that wheelchair up there in the first place. Although I suppose the mundane answer is an elevator, but I really can't see Blo**** calmly oscillating his head with a blissed out smile in time to the muzak as the thing goes up.

I expect he made a mistake when he was ordering the thing and was too embarrassed to acknowledge that he'd cocked up, so he just exterminated the bloke who built it instead.

[Friedrich Baxter]

Oke, oke, but if the priest wanted to give 007 a blessing, why did he looked very villain-like. His face is saying: "Die Mr. Bond, DIE !!!"

[Dunph]

Friedrich,

The priest was merely looking solemn, though the filmmakers obviously alluded to the fact that something bad was about to happen.
Bond takes this sign to be a bad omen, and so gives the affair a typical Roger Moore eyebrow. But seriously, this use of 'geste' as Brecht would call it, is simply meant to hint to the audience that something will happen. It doesn't mean that there's any significance in the gesture itself.

Though, as I have said, it's fun if you do read into it, and rather spooky. But still, it means nothing.

[zencat]

Blofeld's Cat (17 Jan, 2002 03:38 a.m.):
In my mind he is a real priest, who gives the impression of knowing Bond from previous visits to the grave.

The crossing, to me, is a sign from him to Bond as a sort of "hope things are alright", based on the urgent message from the office.

However, Bond's take on the crossing seems to suggest that something may be afoot, but I feel its just a device to hook the audience into thinking that something is afoot and the pre-credit sequence is about to hot up.

I tend to agree with this...but I've always kind of wondered about it. It's very old-school SPECTRE to employee an evil Priest.

[Icephoenix]

I think he was a priest, but Blofeld gave him a mighty big threat (say...death!) But he knew Bond could handle it. With that cross thing...
1. He was blessing to god Bond would be ok
2. Warning him.

[Friedrich Baxter]

THINK THINK PLEASE!!!!!

The priest said: "Mr. Bond Mr Bond. your office called! They are sending an helicopter to pick you up?!!" (And it's an helicopter totally equiped with remote control flying!)

Nobody can say what he was thinking. Nobody can say that he was the evil nr.6 of SPECTRE or just an ordinary priest. But I like to think that he was EVIL!

[Blofeld's Cat]

White Persian (19 Jan, 2002 10:35 p.m.):

Rolex (18 Jan, 2002 11:50 a.m.):Blofeld is in a wheelchair is this because he broke his back in the Battle Sub in DAF on the oil rig? If he did, how the hell did he get back to land? Surely the sub was damaged and I doubt he swam!

Blofeld wore a neckbrace (and was bald) at the end of OHMSS. Clearly being bounced around like a yoyo in the sub in DAF aggravated the old neck injury, and the acute disappointment at yet *another* foiled masterplan caused alopecia which undid the DAF hair transplant.

I just spilt my tetleys.

[Rolex]

FEYO pre credits is very strange story as it has more questions than answers
For me priest is innocent as he notifies that his office has sent a chopper; which is true as Blofeld kills the pilot as it’s rigged. So, my question is who is the mole in the secret service that rigged the chopper? Blofeld is in a wheelchair is this because he broke his back in the Battle Sub in DAF on the oil rig? If he did, how the hell did he get back to land? Surely the sub was damaged and I doubt he swam! From the look of him he has reverted back to his original form: bald and wearing that Neru type suit. Why then would he revert back so everybody can recognize him? One last question is where is his driver? Being severely disabled, surely he would have at least 1 henchman to drive him to the disused warehouse.
Very bizarre stuff. Bet Hey they said they were bringing back a Blofeld character for Bond 20 maybe they will thread these questions into answers!

[Macca]

I've always wondered that - but I like to think that he's in with Blofeld. That begs the question - why does he cross his chest? If he really is a man of God - he's a bit crap at it; trying to send a man to his death like that!
He's probably just a Blofeld henchman though, and the crossing is an ironic gesture of the cover he was given to confuse Bond.

[Jim]

I don't buy it. Why not just creep up behind Bond and shoot him in the head? (writes Scott Evil).

I think you might be reading too much into this...

[Friedrich Baxter]

Gustav Graves sound to me very much like Ernst (Gu)Stavros Blofeld. There is also one other question for me. Bond had much humour in treating Blofeld very 'badly'. But if I was 007, I could not have much humour (All right, keep your hair on!). I would have acted very agressive. I would like him to suffer much more. And that's much more understandable, if 007 didn't forget what Blofeld's henchwoman did to Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo Bond.

Very nice remark though! 007 obviously referred to the DAF Blofeld, because he was joking about his hair (or toupet).

[Dmitri Mishkin]

Having watched FYEO rather obsessively for the recent while, I've been asking myself the same question.

My conclusion? I don't think the priest is in kahoots with Blofeld. I think the priest's gesture of the 'cross' was a way of demonstrating approval for Bond's visit to his late wife. A sort of, "You have come back to see her, may you be blessed."

Jim, you were wondering why the priest wouldn't just "creep up" and shoot him in the back of the head (a very Scott Evil-ean idea indeed)? Even if the priest was in with Blofeld, I think Blofeld would have wanted Bond's death all to himself. (You remember he couldn't stop laughing at the expense of 007 in the helicopter).

[Dr. Tynan]

No kidding, that's something I was thinking about today (was the priest in on the plot to kill OO7?).

Now I aint so sure. I agree with Dimitri Mishkin that Blofeld would have wanted Bond's death all to himself. Doesn't Blofeld say "I've looked forward to this moment, Mr Bond, I intend to enjoy it to the full" That might be a sign of that.

Mr Benson, also thinks it was maybe dream. Of sorts.

[Dunph]

I'm sorry to shatter this inherent illusion, but the priest appears, to me, not to be in it with SPECTRE.

The priest in For Your Eyes Only was merely blessing the vehicle and sending it on it's way, praying that nothing would affect it and cause it to crash.

The irony arises when it transpires that Bond's 'Office' just happens to be a 'Blofeld Double' (remember, never fully credited as Blofeld himself) controlling the helicopter by Remote Control, and the helicopter that Bond is travelling in does happen to come into less than favourable circumstances.
Upon later watching, when we know something bad is about to happen, does this mere Godly gesture have significance. Other than that, you should read nothing into it at all (though it's fun if you do).

Saying that though; the filmmakers include this element to do just that; spook you, and Bond.

[DLibrasnow]

Yeah I don't buy that the Priest was in on the killing Bond bit. He was just passing on a message and he crossed his chest to bless the vehicle.

[4 Ur Eyez Only]

well he did call Bond by his name "bond" so he did knw him... so I always thought that he must know the guy has a very dangerous job and he was just worried about him

[Tarl_Cabot]

Obviously being interupted at a cemetary during a very personal moment by a helicopter escort meant a serious emergency was happening and so the preist was concerned for Bond. He knows what he does for a living...?

[DLibrasnow]

Not sure if the priest knew what Bond did for a living, he is after all a SECRET agent.
Nothing unusual that he knew Bonds name, I am sure that 007 is quite a frequent visitor to his wifes grave.
As for the crossing....."If God had intended man to fly......."