The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) All Talk In Here Please

edited October 2011 in Bond Movies Posts: 5,634
Let's get it out the way, so Mr Moore can take center stage for a short time etc

This is the last Bond movie I watched, so,


Bond actor ranking 3/5. - Moore's second appearance and not a bad effort, still at an age or certain capability where he can indulge in fisticuffs and not look as cringeworthy as later efforts. Still the odd bits of lame humor arise here and there but are kept to a minimum as to what was to follow in future appearances.

Snooze rating 1.5/5 - This does keep you busy, and I didn't get tired watching it again, usually something to keep the interest going, right from the Scaramanga island teaser, through to Hong Kong and Thailand and beyond

Best parts. - Wanted to say that the re-inclusion of Clifton James was a neat idea, this character makes me laugh out loud sometimes, the tirades at the south east asians at parts was genuinely amusing, especially in the car with Moore while chasing Scaramanga, before the * bridge somersault. (The least said the better). Christopher Lee makes for an intriguing bad guy, although the Villechaize character seemed a bit out of place. Ekland is a fine looking Bond girl, I appreciated Adams more in Octopussy though and Lulu actually does a decent job with the music, although for some reason I should hate it, but one of the more energetic intro themes.

Lousy parts. - Too many stand out errors, from the M16 phone on the Scaramanga boat through to Moore being 60 feet up some scaffold in the dark and being on the ground and in position seconds later, sure they cut some out somewhere. The Karate school bit seems a blatant rip off of the 'Enter the Dragon' craze of the time, just as the end of Moonraker was with Star Wars. The ending on the Lee junk seems a bit dull, Moore scampers around a room with table legs chasing a midget and dodging wine bottles etc.

Overall effect. - I always enjoy watching this, Moore did well in his second outing, a lot of fun and colorful characters, Lee offers some genuine tension, lots of exotic locations, Scaramanga has a neat hide out with lots of tricks, attractive women, Moore humor kept to a minimum, and one of the better pre credits sequences of the Moore tenure, I give it a 4/5

Comments

  • I actually love the return of Pepper and watching the girls beat the hell out of HiFat's students. Even better is HiFat cussing out the guy reporting the incident! It's Goodnight's gross incompetence that kills every scene she is in, and that makes M look bad, and that should never happen. Can't forget the slide whistle either. Anyone who would prefer that to a great Barry musical buildup must have the maturity level of a pre-teen. Definitely one of my favorite Moore efforts in returning the character to a level of realism.
  • AgentJamesBond007AgentJamesBond007 Vesper’s grave
    edited October 2011 Posts: 2,630
    I agree with you at the most part, @Baltimore. Christopher Lee does make an intriging villain :)
  • QsAssistantQsAssistant All those moments lost in time... like tears in rain
    Posts: 1,812
    This one is my favorite Moore Bond movie and it is towards the top of my list of overall favorite Bond movies.
  • Posts: 4,762
    I actually love the return of Pepper and watching the girls beat the hell out of HiFat's students. Even better is HiFat cussing out the guy reporting the incident! It's Goodnight's gross incompetence that kills every scene she is in, and that makes M look bad, and that should never happen. Can't forget the slide whistle either. Anyone who would prefer that to a great Barry musical buildup must have the maturity level of a pre-teen. Definitely one of my favorite Moore efforts in returning the character to a level of realism.
    I don't remember the scene in which Hai Fat cusses out the reporter. Is this in the Special 007 Edition?
  • What confuses me in this film is how Goodnight was treated after she was captured - no imprisonment, no interrelation, no torture. I mean c'mon, the first view we see of her after Bond goes to rescue her is in a bikini?! :O Scaramanga would've been smart enough to question her on some information even though he's using her as bait...
  • QsAssistantQsAssistant All those moments lost in time... like tears in rain
    Posts: 1,812
    What confuses me in this film is how Goodnight was treated after she was captured - no imprisonment, no interrelation, no torture. I mean c'mon, the first view we see of her after Bond goes to rescue her is in a bikini?! :O Scaramanga would've been smart enough to question her on some information even though he's using her as bait...
    Why torture the cute girl when you can just put her in a bikini and watch her run around your island? :-D
  • I actually love the return of Pepper and watching the girls beat the hell out of HiFat's students. Even better is HiFat cussing out the guy reporting the incident! It's Goodnight's gross incompetence that kills every scene she is in, and that makes M look bad, and that should never happen. Can't forget the slide whistle either. Anyone who would prefer that to a great Barry musical buildup must have the maturity level of a pre-teen. Definitely one of my favorite Moore efforts in returning the character to a level of realism.
    I don't remember the scene in which Hai Fat cusses out the reporter. Is this in the Special 007 Edition?
    It's always been in the movie. It's the scene when HiFat is on the phone in his home office. Scaramanga walks in joking about it and then kills him and takes over. The cussing is in a foreign language.
  • Posts: 1,092
    I like it but it's all a bit soft, not enough real peril. It starts off fantastic but then nosedives into Bond mediocrity.
  • Posts: 1,497
    You're likely to bring DC007 out of hiatus with this thread!...I'm personally charmed by all of the 'wtf were they thinking?' moments. The NicNac fight at the end is hilarious. I always found the little fellow quite dangerous in this film. He's like a pesky mosquito, so the end fight does do the job for me.

    (As a side note, I believe there is a Golden Gun appreciation thread already. Wouldn't it make sense just to put this conversation in there?)
  • Posts: 5,634
    I watched this very Bond release about an hour ago, first time in quite a while, I sat through the entire duration and never left my seat in fact, that maybe speaks volumes

    I said before Moore plays it mainly straight faced but there was definite later moments of ill advised humor evident that would become quite a problem in his later years. Chris Lee is great as the lead villain, Scaramanga, the best Bond villain of the Moore tenure without question, and also Herve Villechaize also deserves massive credit for a great performance as his tiny henchman. His facial expressions were amazing sometimes, and he goes so well with Lee in this movie. Maud Adams fails to shine as Miss Andrea 'I didn't recognize you with your clothes on' Anders, and sadly Britt Ekland also fails to impress as Bonds contact in Hong Kong and liason officer, although she is the more alluring. What I liked also was the return of Clifton James as the accident prone Pepper, so pleased they got him back, and some of his lines are genuinely hilarious. I enjoyed every moment he was with Moore in Thailand and the car chase, although it must be stated, the stupid annoying sound effects of the somersault bridge still make one damn irritated

    The teaser goes on longer than expected, and is actually suspensful and fun, and it's the prelude to a vigorous Lulu soundtrack that resonates energy. I never understood the scene with Moore in Beirut and the belly dancer and heavies, just wasn't necessary maybe, you're led to believe he swallows the bullet but manages to salvage it and take it back to Q for inspection, maybe I was paying too much attention to detail. Scaramangas lsland hideaway is indeed exotic and interesting as we take a tour round when Bond first lands his seaplane before that gets destroyed -, 'This is the part I really like'. The Dinner scene with Lee, Ekland and Moore really works, you can feel the tension, Moore does really well in this, and Goodnights looks of concern really make it a great few minutes. 'There's a useful four letter word and you're full of it' - one of my favorite sequences of the movie I feel. The ending, as said before, is confusing and over far too quickly for my liking. Bond manages to descend from a construction type set up from some distance up after losing his Walther, and next second is on the ground in place of his waxwork, with weapon in hand, it is a bit strange and spoils the enjoyment a little, the final duel was over far too soon, and I even wanted Scaramanga to stay alive or even kill Bond as I enjoyed his (Lee) performance so much

    Why this film gets castigated so much I really don't know, it's one of the best of the 1970s and probably Moore's third finest work after LALD and FYEO. So much to get involved in, great action, impressive scores, suspenseful, outstanding Villains in Lee and Villechaize. The girls are a bit banal and colorless, but the story and action more than componsates for that. A quite enjoyable watch this night

    8/10
  • Posts: 2,341
    I actually liked the film back in 1974. I still think they were trying to find out who Roger Moore's Bond actually was. It took a third outing for Cubby and EON to finally get it right.
    I liked the girls, both Maud and Britt. I thought Britt was sexy and really cute with that thick British accent.
    Villain was tops. I thought he was the best in years.
    The boat chase, though not as long or engaging as the one in LALD but pleasing. JW Pepper was funny and his racist comments may have been over the top but I grew up in the south and this is what I expect from southern sheriffs.
    The theme song was uninspiring.
    I was surprised to see it ranked so low among Bond fans. I liked it better than TSWLM and MR.
  • Posts: 5,634
    Gets unfairly criticized is the bottom line for me. Moore might not have been the best Bond, but here is not only plausible, but looks the part, it was surprsing to see how much he had aged by the start of the 1980s in the role I kept thinking to myself. I much prefered Adams in Octopussy, the death scene in Thailand seems a bit silly, and how does Hip notice she's dead and that Nick Nack in down behind Moore simply on the basis of walking past briefly with his peanuts, unless he was already aware. Why does Hip also drive away after the karate contest and leave Moore behind also. Really enjoyed tonights viewing though for the most part, Lee is a villain with force, he was superb, I was genuinely disappointed when he finally exited the movie
  • Posts: 12,837
    I prefer TSWLM, OP and LALD, but I always enjoy TMWTGG.
  • Posts: 4,762
    I too have recently had a revelation about The Man with the Golden Gun. When I last watched it back in April, I was quie surprised at how much I really enjoyed it. The vast Southeast Asian locations, Roger in a surprisingly cold-blooded performance, Christopher Lee as Francisco Scaramanga, many of the action sequences like the nightclub fight, the ninja school fight, and the car chase, and even bits of the soundtrack really pulled me in! I'm looking forward to watching it again when I get around to it in my Bondathon.
  • St_GeorgeSt_George Shuttling Drax's lovelies to the space doughnut - happy 40th, MR!
    Posts: 1,699
    There's already a general thread for Golden Gun - no point in there being two surely. Suggest we continue the discussion there...

    http://www.mi6community.com/index.php?p=/discussion/777/speak-now-or-forever-hold-your-piece-lets-discuss...-the-man-with-the-golden-gun-1974-poll#Item_45

    There's also a reviews thread in which reviews of individual films can go too... ;)
  • Posts: 5,634
    @George I put the last watch in here because Darth Dimi had already closed two past Golden Gun threads from archives and said on both times that any future reviews or comments were to redirected here, that's why I included it where I did yesterday

    I am aware of the individiual threads also for each release but thought they more suitable for actual fans of the respective movies, i.e DaltonCraig would be first to respond in that space, I've aleady done Live and Let Die in it's own space and so on. There are still a lot of duplicate threads all over the MI6 pages, sometimes it can be hard to put things into proper places. Just thought it might be relevant

    @Beast Pleased you enjoyed it when you did. Incidentally there were no Ninjas in Golden Gun, what you saw was a 'Karate school', and a blatant rip off of the previous years release of Enter the Dragon (1973) with it. I will always defend this particular release against those who choose to ridicule or bash it
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited January 2016 Posts: 15,686
    The other day I watched TMWTGG for the first time in 2016. And once again I was pleasantly reminded that this is my favorite Bond film.

    Roger Moore gives a remarkable more serious performance as James Bond, but of course he doesn't lose his impeccable class and trademark humour. This film, like TB is the perfect Holiday Bond, a must-watch on cold european days that will warm you up watching Sir Rog going about his business in South East Asia.

    Straight after a eery PTS and the Opening Credits, happens one of my favorite scenes in the whole franchise: the M briefing scene. It doesn't feature any spectacular action. For me, it's the setting of this scene: M's wooden desk, the padded office, the thick red door. All of this makes me feel incredible cozy in that office with Bond and M. When having a cigarette and a drink during this sequence, I feel like I am right in the middle of a gentlemen's club with Sir Rog!

    John Barry once again delivers a stunning soundtrack. Some of the highlights are the oriental version of the Bond theme when Bond arrives in Macau, the Fun House cue, the action track during the car chase and the music during Bond's search of Scaramanga's island.

    Britt Ekland is a controversial Bond girl. Yes she is quite light-headed, but she is a major hottie, especially in that bikini, and that is what I first look for in a Bond girl: the eye candy factor. Maud Adams' first (out of 2) performance with Moore is splendid. She really has great chemistry with Sir Rog.

    Christopher Lee as Scaramanga is one of my favorite villains in the series. Cool, calm, sophisticated, he is a true match for Moore's Bond.

    Sheriff J W Pepper is back, and once again he proves he is one of my favorite secondary characters. Some highly hilarious moments to be spent with him on screen.

    Conclusion: A splendid holiday adventure with Sir Rog, coupled with a great down to earth plot, a colourful bunch of secondary characters and the typical Barry strokes of genius. I really think that when TMWTGG 'clicks' for you, you will then forever enjoy watching this unique installment in the 007 franchise.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited March 2016 Posts: 17,687
    I actually love the return of Pepper and watching the girls beat the hell out of HiFat's students. Even better is HiFat cussing out the guy reporting the incident! It's Goodnight's gross incompetence that kills every scene she is in, and that makes M look bad, and that should never happen. Can't forget the slide whistle either. Anyone who would prefer that to a great Barry musical buildup must have the maturity level of a pre-teen. Definitely one of my favorite Moore efforts in returning the character to a level of realism.
    SirHenry mostly nailed it for me. But I like Goodnight... :-??
    It's my favourite Moore Bond (followed by Octopussy). Pushing the kid off the boat was SO perfect!
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