62 replies to this topic

[dinovelvet]

Golden Gun is great. Easily the closest Moore got to Fleming's Bond.

Especially when he grabbed a sumo wrestler's buttocks.

Desperate times call for cheeky measures.

Butt of course.

I guess Bond was a bit of an a*se about it.

EDIT: (hmm, didn't know the a-word was censored here)

How curious. What's behind that? We'll have to get to the bottom of this censorship nonsense.

[David_M]

Enough rear end puns already. Throw the bums out.

[Matt_13]

As I said earlier, this thread inspired me to create a fan trailer for Golden Gun; this is what I came up with...

Excellent work Matt.

[O.H.M.S.S.]

As I said earlier, this thread inspired me to create a fan trailer for Golden Gun; this is what I came up with...

I liked that.

[scaramunga]

I love The Man With The Golden Gun. Best Bond film? Not sure, but an entertaining one for sure. Lee is great as the villain. Love the locations in this one too.

If you don't have the blu ray of the film, I highly recommend picking it up. I think Moonraker and The Man With The Golden Gun look amazing on blu ray. It was almost like seeing the films for the first time again.

[ChristopherZ22]

The Man With the Golden Gun (along with A View To A Kill, Goldfinger, and Dr. No) got me interested in Bond way back in the stone age of the mid-80s. It remains one of my favorite Bond films; it is certainly my favorite Roger Moore.

I have always been a Christopher Lee fan, and I especially like his Hammer horror films. I think he is one of the best Bond villains, and I love his private Island with the cheesy funhouse. Cheesy can mean fun rather than bad. I also love Herve's Nick Nack, who has this strangeness about him I also find fun and even interesting.

Moore gives one of his best performances.

It has great cinematography and uses the far East locations (Thailand) very well. Golden Gun has a cleaner and more crisp look than the dreary and dirty looking Live and Let Die.

The action is the film's weakness I suppose, but I think the picture was intended to be low key. The low key and unspectacular action scenes don't bother me that much, especially since I enjoy the film visually. The other problem is Sheriff Pepper; he's entertaining, but I am not sure if he belongs in the film. He seems out of place. A redneck racist wouldn't normally go to Thailand on vacation. I am guessing his wife forced him to go; which the film hints at since Pepper often seems annoyed, especially when his wife is dragging him around to look at "cute little elephants."

I wish Golden Gun got more recognition. It has great villains. Fun locations. It also has a good Moore performance.

I haven't mentioned Goodnight and Andrea Anders. They are not the greatest of Bond women, but they are sexy which is a big plus and is probably all that is needed in these films.

Edited by ChristopherZ22, 04 January 2010 - 10:47 PM.

[SecretAgentFan]

So, I watched it again after many, many years and...

Fantastic Bond film. I agree with this thread´s author in all counts. Much less silly than I had remembered. Very straight forward, instead. The coldest Moore ever. This film will shoot straight up my best Bond list.

[Q's Tie Collection]

It's amazing how people make such damning judgements over films they last saw years ago. A myth begins. "I won't watch Golden Gun because everyone KNOWS how bad it is". I've always liked the film. It isn't Bond's greatest adventure, but then again, I get the feeling that it was never supposed to be. It was produced and released very quickly. It was Roger Moore's Quantum of Solace.

I know this film to be the 'secret pleasure' of many a Bond fan. You aren't *supposed* to like it, but lots of people do.

Plus it has Christopher Lee as the bad guy. Christopher. Lee.

It has great moments, and movies are about great moments. That's what we remember.

[Mr. Blofeld]

I just last year watched TMWTGG; it made me feel really uncomfortable...

[Judo chop]

TMWTGG is a disappointment in that it fails to reach the heights it sets our eyes on.

BUT... I'll tell you what. If there's a template to use for a new CraigBond film, TMWTGG strikes me as being a perfect place to start. It's got the perfect combination of seriousness and escapism for the future of the Craig era, IMO.

[00Twelve]

TMWTGG is a disappointment in that it fails to reach the heights it sets our eyes on.

BUT... I'll tell you what. If there's a template to use for a new CraigBond film, TMWTGG strikes me as being a perfect place to start. It's got the perfect combination of seriousness and escapism for the future of the Craig era, IMO.

I've found it to be much less of a disappointment in my recent viewing. Sure, the duel had a ho-hum climax that was forseeable from the end of the PTS, Goodnight was nothing but eye candy, and J-Dub outstayed his welcome, but on the whole, I could quite easily imagine the rest in a Fleming manuscript. And I'll be big and admit for the first time-- It's better than the book.

[Judo chop]

I've found it to be much less of a disappointment in my recent viewing.

But, is that because you once disliked it much more than you should have?

I find my opinion of the film has been pretty consistent over the years. (Which cannot be said for most other Bond films.) I've always thought MWGG was a disappointment in that it lacks suspense, which I feel is the lifeblood of its story. It may honestly have my favorite of all Bond plots, but I’ve always felt the film doesn’t live up to the story’s inherent strengths which is why I’d be open to seeing this one remade, much more so over any other of the previously made Bond films, for sure.

[Mr. Blofeld]

I’ve always felt the film doesn’t live up to the story’s inherent strengths which is why I’d be open to seeing this one remade, much more so over any other of the previously made Bond films, for sure.

What about YOLT? While I wouldn't favour so much of a remake, I would be open for a proper adaptation of the book.

Also, if TMWTGG is remade with a similar plot, why not have him work freelance for Quantum? He kills a scientist who threatens Quantum's dominion of resources with a revolutionary new technology, but in doing so catches Bond's attention, as he is investigating the scientist's associates... one of which is Guy Haines, who had led him to the scientist in the first place.

In this story, Quantum would be the set-up for the plot; they would recede into the background early in the film, yet crop up from time to time, keeping tabs on Scaramanga and Bond. Scaramanga was initially hired by Quantum soley because he was not previously associated with them, and so no one would trace the assassination back to Quantum, but in a stroke of genius, the organization realizes they can use Scaramanga to distract Bond from the big fish; namely, themselves.

All this plays out, of course, as Scaramanga and Bond circle closer and closer, preparing themselves for the final confrontation only one can survive...

[00Twelve]

I've found it to be much less of a disappointment in my recent viewing.

But, is that because you once disliked it much more than you should have?

It's come with a change in perspective brought on by time and life in general. Escapism isn't so bad, and Fleming realized it as well as anyone else. Before, I didn't understand why fantastical characters and settings should ever have a proper place in the Bond films. That was the thinking of an obvious youth that took this series way too seriously. I believe C.S. Lewis said it best: "When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."

What matters, rather, is that the escapism is executed well. And it dern well is.

As far as the suspense goes, there was certainly room for improvement. No argument there. And not only in the cat and mouse game, but in plot development. I think the revelation that Andrea sent the bullet comes rather clumsily and a little too straightforwardly. I might have preferred that Bond deduce that fact himself, giving us the twist as he asks something along the lines of, "It was you that sent the bullet, wasn't it?" or something similar (but written with actual skill). Pretty tedious nitpick, though. The cat and mouse suspense doesn't really exist the way you want it to simply because Scaramanga isn't really hunting Bond. Not until Bond shows up on the island. There could have been ways, I'm sure, to have the false scares be a little more poignant, but it would take more than a remake to fix that suspense issue. It'd take a lot of different fundamental story details.

They could certainly make an actual cat and mouse movie where Bond is being targeted, and that could be interesting. I think it was more creative to humiliate and assassinate Bond in FRWL, but it would be interesting to see how a story played out where Bond knew the Grant/Scaramanga-like figure was after him.

[elizabeth]

TMWTGG is my favorite bond film (as i've mentioned millions of times before). roger lays off the jokes for a bit and is actually concerned about what is happening and his mission. the funhouse scene, while i do enjoy it, i think it's a bit childish for a bond villain's lair.

[ChrissBond007]

I love TMWTGG. Sure it's not one of the biggest action-packed ones in the series. But it's a very stylish movies, with a lot of fun, but also some great ''cold'' moments (like the confrontations between Bond and Scaramanga). Not to mentoin that I'm really a fan of the way the characters were played in this one (Bond himself, Scaramanga, Mary Goodnight, Nick Nack were all great in my opinion)

I used to critice this one a lot because of the lack of actionscenes, but I've really begining to like it in the last few years and now it's probably one of favourite Bondmovies.

[Genuine Felix Leiter]

One of the things I love about the movie is that Roger has a bit of a dark edge to him in this one. Beating up Andrea, being blatantly unmanogimous in front of Goodnight, I think this along with Live and Let Die show a side to Roger that would be gone from TSWLM onwards. I know from what I've read that Roger was uncomfortable with that direction and was leaning more towards what we got later on, but I actually didn't mind that more cynical edge.

[Attempting Re-entry]

I feel that this is most definitely one of the coolest Bond movies out there.

Cool music, too.

One drawback is that, for me, Golden Gun and Live and Let Die kinda look like made-for-TV productions; a certain "cheapness" seems to be in evidence. Once you get past that, it's all enjoyable.

[Safari Suit]

I'm always slightly weary of comparisons to TV-movies and such, but certainly I do find TMWTGG to be the cheapest looking/feeling Bond film somehow, even though the locations are a step up from LALD (and many would say DAF).

[PrinceKamalKhan]

As I said earlier, this thread inspired me to create a fan trailer for Golden Gun; this is what I came up with...

Good job, Mharkin. I especially like 0:42-0:45.

I recently rewatched TMWTGG and it is quite good. Far better than it's been given credit for. It's considered weaker than LALD but except for 2 elements(I rank Jane Seymour higher than Britt Ekland, Wings' classic title song is better than Lulu's), I consider TMWTGG an improvement on its more commercially successful predecessor. John Barry is back which is a plus as is the return of Desmond Llewellyn's Q. Bond gets instructions from M at his office and flirts with Miss Moneypenny at her office for the first time since OHMSS. Bond wears a tuxedo and returns to the gambling tables while Southeast Asia makes a far more exotic locale than Louisiana and New York. In many ways it also improves on DAF(the film it resembles most) as well with its more exotic locations(SE Asia easily trumps Las Vegas and Baja), stronger villain(Scaramanga easily beats Charles Gray's Blofeld) and stronger 2nd leading lady(Andrea is more effective than Plenty). 46-year old Moore looked better than 40 year-old Sean Connery. Britt Ekland and Jill St. John are about equal. Jill was sassier but I like Bond girls with long hair which works in Britt's favor. As stated before, Moore gives his least politically correct performance in the role. While many say the funhouse ending is given away at the beginning, I first saw TMWTGG as a child so it was a genuinely suspenseful surprise for me. And the "Goodnight? Goodnight?" "Goodnight, Sir." ending is the best of all 7 Roger Moore endings IMHO. At that time(1974 that is) it was probably the best post-OHMSS Bond film yet. It's definitely vastly superior to AVTAK, the other "worst" Moore Bond film(that is when folks aren't saying MR is) and the 2nd most underrated Moore Bond film after MR.

[blueman]

I count TMWTGG as the last actual Bond film till the reboot with CR. It may have plot problems, and some execution problems, but on balance way less so than subsequent Bonds (till CR) IMO.

Always watchable, the silly bits just seem to elide by these days, leaving a 90% great Bond film. I mean DN/FRWL/GF/OHMSS all have their silly bits one has to stomach, TMWTGG makes the cut easily IMO (more so than say TSWLM, a fun film but Bond? Really? Wouldn't Fleming spin in his grave over that one: the jokey tone starting in full-swing in Egypt screams the Dino Matt Helm films more than anything Fleming ever wrote, or likely even read! Once Jaws dropped the boulder on his foot, I knew Bond had died ).

[PrinceKamalKhan]

I count TMWTGG as the last actual Bond film till the reboot with CR. It may have plot problems, and some execution problems, but on balance way less so than subsequent Bonds (till CR) IMO.

In many ways, TMWTGG was the end of an era. In a way the series can be divided into 3 eras:

1) The Harry Saltzman/Albert Broccoli era(1962-1974)
2) The Albert Broccoli/Michael Wilson era aka the John Glen era(1977-1989)
3) The Babs and Mike era(1995-present)

Always watchable, the silly bits just seem to elide by these days, leaving a 90% great Bond film. I mean DN/FRWL/GF/OHMSS all have their silly bits one has to stomach, TMWTGG makes the cut easily IMO (more so than say TSWLM, a fun film but Bond? Really? Wouldn't Fleming spin in his grave over that one, the jokey tone starting in full-swing in Egypt screams the Dino Matt Helm films more than anything Fleming ever wrote, or likely even read! Once Jaws dropped the boulder on his foot, I knew Bond had died ).

Matt Helm? I always thought TSWLM(indeed, all the Lewis Gilbert films) reminded me of James Coburn's Derek Flint films. Not that I mind. I love both the Flint films and the Gilbert 007 films. Although to be fair, TSWLM does contain the first overt reference to Tracy post-OHMSS.

[blueman]

Flint, Helm, whatever - those spoofs ain't Bond, and when Bond embraces a like vein I cringe (and Fleming spins a lot I think, lol). Not cuz that's a bad vein, I like the spoofs too. Just prefer Bond straight with as much Fleming tossed in as possible (spoof is the opposite of what Fleming wrote IMO, so spoofy Bond = no Bond).

[PrinceKamalKhan]

Flint, Helm, whatever - those spoofs ain't Bond, and when Bond embraces a like vein I cringe (and Fleming spins a lot I think, lol). Not cuz that's a bad vein, I like the spoofs too. Just prefer Bond straight with as much Fleming tossed in as possible (spoof is the opposite of what Fleming wrote IMO, so spoofy Bond = no Bond).

However, I think spoof Bond didn't begin with Moore, or in the 1970s with DAF, or with Lewis Gilbert or even with Helm and Flint. I think spoof Bond began as early as 1964's GF with Bond emerging from the water with that decoy duck on his head, his taking off his wetsuit to reveal a dry tuxedo underneath, and his Aston Martin DB5 with modifications. For good or ill, I think spoof Bond has been part of the series almost as long as Fleming's Bond has. I know Fleming died before the release of GF but I wonder if he saw rough footage of the comedic modifications to the series in the 3rd Bond film and gave an opinion of these aspects.

[Genuine Felix Leiter]

I feel that this is most definitely one of the coolest Bond movies out there.

Cool music, too.

One drawback is that, for me, Golden Gun and Live and Let Die kinda look like made-for-TV productions; a certain "cheapness" seems to be in evidence. Once you get past that, it's all enjoyable.

I think it is more evident in the climax on Scaramanga's island. That power plant he has should be staffed to the roof with extras, yet all we get is one ugly bloke with a moustache.

I actually watched it recently myself and it never fails to entertain me, I loved it when I was a youngster, it was one of my first exposures to the Bond series and I always have that sense of nostalgia about it when viewing it, even though now that I'm older I always spot more flaws with it.

[Guy Haines]

It's a mixed bag for me. Roger never looked better, IMHO, and he does well with what he's given here, but in some cases that ain't much. It is interesting to see him act the cad and bully in certain scenes, since it goes against what would become his Bond image, and Roger's image in general, but when you come into it with a mental image of "Roger Bond", it can come off like he's having the worst week of his life. He's not just "tough," he's cranky and short-tempered and generally unpleasant to just about everyone, which isn't that satisfying to me, frankly. Indeed his ill humor spreads to everyone else in the film; M even tells poor old Q to "shut up"!

I thought it worked well in LALD to have Roger's Bond be so focused on his job that he doesn't notice or care that he's laying waste to half of New York and Lousiana, and being so nonchalant and bemused when poor Felix is left to pick up the pieces. For me that works better than putting Roger in the position of "straight man" and having to put up with the idiocy of Mary Goodnight and Sheriff Pepper. It's two different approaches to comedy, and for me the first works much better than the second.

Christopher Lee is terrific, and if they'd kept the plot centered on a personal grudge match between him and Bond, this could've been a great one. Instead they shoe-horned in the Solex Macguffin, a "secret hideout" and a laser cannon, and it never feels like anything more than a contractual obligation ("Hey, gotta put that stuff in; it's a Bond, you know"). The same sort of thing ruined GE for me; two double-ohs in a grudge match is interesting, but the umpteenth killer satellite scheme is so very not.

As for Bond "cheating," I don't think he goes through any agony over it. Scaramanga has already cheated by running into the funhouse in the first place, instead of shooting it out on the beach. And as we saw at the karate school, Roger-Bond will do whatever it takes to win, as well he should. One of the things I like about Roger's Bond is that he's older and wiser; he doesn't have a young man's need to prove he's tougher and better...he just wants to do what needs doing quickly and if possible without breaking a sweat, so he can get back to his drink (preferably NOT "Phu-Yuck"! :-) ).

I guess I'd put TMWTGG somewhere in the middle of the pack. Not the worst, but it doesn't get a lot of spins in the player.

I agree with a lot of what you say here. Specifically, the "Solex Agitator" storyline was irrelevant, probably added because the film makers felt that even a villain who is freelance assassin rather than an all powerful megalomaniac needed a decent lair complete with weapon of mass destruction - if only to give Bond something to blow to bits in the final reel!

And they didn't even have any henchmen in black overalls on hand to run like hell when the solar energy station exploded - why bother with a Ken Adam style villain's base if you don't have any extras to run around in it looking busy?

Regarding "cheating" - have you seen the deleted scene, which I think was included in one of the trailers, in which it turns out that Scaramanga had some extra gold bullets hidden in his belt after his first shot in the duel missed the target? So much for "I only need one".

That said, Christopher Lee was one of the best villains in the series - a class act. He makes you overlook TMWTGG's other shortcomings.

[elizabeth]

That said, Christopher Lee was one of the best villains in the series - a class act. He makes you overlook TMWTGG's other shortcomings.

I agree - he played the part to perfection. Because of this, he's the guy that everyone pictures when they think of a Bond villain.

[Guy Haines]

That said, Christopher Lee was one of the best villains in the series - a class act. He makes you overlook TMWTGG's other shortcomings.

I agree - he played the part to perfection. Because of this, he's the guy that everyone pictures when they think of a Bond villain.

Certainly, Lee's Scaramanga was very different from the rather thuggish individual in the original Fleming novel. Christopher Lee was related to Ian Fleming, by the way. And as for the character name "Scaramanga", it was reputedly the surname of a fellow student of Fleming's at Eton College, with whom he didn't get on.

That's the way to get revenge in later life - write a series of best selling books and name the wrong 'uns after your least favourite people!

[Sark2.0]

The Solex plot is one of my least favourite Bond plots, as it's irrelevant, uninteresting and even the villain doesn't know or care about it. And the comic relief - bleh. Flying car: why? Bond dismissing Scaramanga's disturbing backstory with a joke: hmm, that was disappointing. Goodnight giving in to Bond's desire for her: way to make the audience lose all interest in that character.

Roger Moore is fun to watch in this, though, and not just because it's different from his usual schtick. He does a really good job.

You're referring to the "Well we all get our jollies one way or another" line? I actually quite liked it. I've even used it myself when someone says they like something strange.

[Lachesis]

I'm a big Christopher Lee fan but somehow I cannot warm to this movie, and its always vying for last position of the Brocolli Bonds.

As mentioned the solex Maguffin just doesn't really seem to matter but then rest of the plot is so simple the journey just comes across as marking time. The locale is beautiful (partcularly Scaramanga Isle) but there is something cheap about the production, the sets are unconvincing and/or flatly filmed. For me there are also a series of ignoble firsts, this is the first time a single stunt becomes the star of the film and its one that not only seems impossibly contrived but the associated humour is overtly intrusive. Its the first Bond where I actually would have been happy to see Bond lose, Moore is not realexed or comfortable in the role and isn't excuding his usual charm or charisma, Christopher Lee is just too good, too entertaining, and then there is the sidekick role Nick-Nak for Lee and Goodnight for Moore both comedy elements that irritate rather than amuse me. And then to the climax...which is anything but climactic.... It more closely resembles Matt Helm movie than real Bond in the end, which is sad because Scaramanga Vs Bond should be an awesome affair.

Anyways the great thing about the Bond films is that there's one for every taste, just about, and even the ones you like less are diverse enough to ensure you take something memorable away from the viewing. Certainly TMWTGG is the most unique of Moore's outings.