The Man With The Golden Gun (Special Edition)

Starring:Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Maud Adams, HervÃ© Villechaize, Clifton James, Richard Loo, Soon-Tek Oh, Marc Lawrence, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Marne Maitland, Desmond Llewelyn, James Cossins, Yiu Lam Chan, Carmen du Sautoy, Gerald James, Michael Osborne, Michael Fleming, Sonny Caldinez
Director: Guy Hamilton
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Description

Disc 1: *Goldfinger (1964) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Guy Hamilton Audio Commentary Featuring Cast and Crew

Disc 2: **Goldfinger Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Sean Connery From the Set of Goldfinger Screen Tests On Tour With the Aston Martin DB-5 Honor Blackman Open-Ended Interview 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of Goldfinger The Making of Goldfinger The Goldfinger Phenomenon Original Publicity Featurette MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications

Disc 3: *The World Is Not Enough (1999) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director Michael Apted Audio Commentary Featuring Peter Lamont, David Arnold and Vic Armstrong

Disc 4: **The World Is Not Enough Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Deleted Scenes and Alternate Angles With Introductions by Director Michael Apted Alternate Angle, Expanded Angle Scene: The Thames Boat Chase James Bond Down River - Original 1999 Featurette Creating an Icon: Making the Teaser Trailer Hong Kong Press Conference 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of The World Is Not Enough The Making of The World Is Not Enough Bond Cocktail Tribute to Desmond Llewelyn Garbage 'The World Is Not Enough' Music Video The Secrets of 007 MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailer & Photo Gallery

Disc 5: *Diamonds Are Forever (1971) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director Guy Hamilton and Members of the Cast and Crew

Disc 6: **Diamonds Are Forever Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Deleted Scenes Sean Connery 1971: The BBC Interview Lesson # 007: Close Quarter Combat Deleted Footage - Oil Rig Attack Satellite & Explosions Test Reel Alternate & Expanded Angles 007 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of Diamonds Are Forever Inside Diamonds Are Forever Cubby Broccoli - The Man Behind Bond MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications

Disc 7: *The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) **The Man With The Golden Gun Bonus Disc Newly Recorded Audio Commentary Featuring Sir Roger Moore THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director Guy Hamilton and Members of the Cast and Crew

Disc 8: DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Roger Moore and HervÃ(c) Villechaize - The Russell Harty Show On Location With The Man With the Golden Gun Guy Hamilton: The Director Speaks Girls Fighting American Thrill Show Stunt Film The Road to Bond: Stunt Coordinator W.J. Millian Jr. 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of The Man With the Golden Gun Inside The Man With the Golden Gun An Original Documentary Double-O Stuntmen: A Look at the Greatest Stunts and Stunt Performers in the Bond Films MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications

Disc 9: *The Living Daylights (1987) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director John Glen and Members of the Cast and Crew

Disc 10: **The Living Daylights Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Deleted Scenes With Introduction by John Glen Happy Anniversary, 007 Silver Anniversary Featurettes Timothy Dalton: The New James Bond/Vienna Press Conference Timothy Dalton: On Acting Dalton and d'Abo Interviews The Ice Chase Outtakes - Deleted Footage With Director John Glen Narration 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of The Living Daylights Inside The Living Daylights Ian Fleming: 007's Creator a-ha 'The Living Daylights' Music Video The Making of 'The Living Daylights' Music Video MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications

Customer Reviews:

Fabulous Restoration Makes Bond Collection a Must!.......2007-06-09

Although 'Deluxe' Bond editions have appeared, in recent years, the new 'frame-by-frame' restorations make "James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 1" ESSENTIAL, if you are a fan of the 007 films!

The title selections may be head scratchers, but the pristine quality of each film offers a look and sound that is breathtaking!

"The Man with the Golden Gun" (1974), Roger Moore's second outing as 007, suffers from the decline into campiness that would plague many of his films; targeted by hit man Christopher Lee, Bond journeys to Asia to track him down, aided by annoying Britt Ekland and ridiculous redneck sheriff Clifton James. While Maud Adams is lovely, and Thailand, breathtaking, Hervé Villechaize is silly, and the attempt to incorporate the kung fu craze, while amusing, turns 007 into a joke. Add an awful theme song, and you have a major disappointment! (2 stars out of 5)

"Goldfinger" (1964), for many fans, the 'perfect' Bond film, kicked off the 60's worldwide 007 craze; piggy meglamaniac Gert Frobe plans to nuke Fort Knox, and it's up to 007 Sean Connery, at his sexiest, to stop him. Fabulous women (Honor Blackman and Shirley Eaton), a superhuman henchman (Harold Sakata), an unforgettable theme song (sung by Shirley Bassey), and spectacular action makes this one solid gold. (5 stars out of 5).

"The World Is Not Enough" (1999), Pierce Brosnan's third 007 outing, is, arguably, his best; assigned to protecting sexy oil heiress Sophie Marceau from terrorist Robert Carlyle, Bond discovers nothing is as it seems! Offering Judi Dench's finest performance as M, and more plot twists than usual, one can almost forgive buxom Denise Richards' one-note portrayal, and the series' decline into derivativeness. (4 stars out of 5).

"Diamonds Are Forever" (1971), best-known as Sean Connery's 'comeback' as 007 after a one-film hiatus (and his final Eon Bond film), the film marks the beginning of the 'comic' Bond films of the '70s. Villain Charles Gray, as a sly, droll Blofeld, launches a diamond-powered laser satellite to blackmail the world. Shot largely in Las Vegas, Connery is graying and paunchy, Jill St. John, sexy, but ditzy, and one-liners and brainless action dominates the plot. Funny, but quite a letdown from "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". (3 1/2 stars out of 5)

"The Living Daylights" (1987), Timothy Dalton's debut as 007, is best remembered, today, as the film Pierce Brosnan would have starred in, had NBC not renewed "Remington Steele". The silliness of Moore's Bond is gone, as a more serious Dalton falls for cellist/would-be assassin (Maryam d'Abo), and uncovers an arms plot involving three villains (Jeroen Krabbé, Joe Don Baker, and Andreas Wisniewski). An Afghan/Soviet war subplot 'dates' the story, and the film, released in the same year as "Lethal Weapon" and "Batman", would not be a hit, but time has proven it to be a superior 007 outing. (4 stars out of 5).

Even if you've seen these films, I recommend this new collection; Bond films have never 'looked' better!

James Bond Vol. 1.......2007-05-19

The first James Bond movie that I saw was "Goldfinger". It was great. I wanted to see them all. Now I can with these great box sets. A lot of people don't like them because they're not in order. I like them that way. It gives you a good mixture. Let's get on to the reviews for all the movies in Vol. 1.

Goldfinger- This is the first James Bond movie that I saw. It is great. Sean Connery IS James Bond. If you've never seen a James Bond movie, watch this one first. 5 stars

Diamonds Are Forever- This one is great. It returns Sean Connery as James Bond. 5 stars

The Man with the Golden Gun- This one is pretty good. It stars Roger Moore as James Bond. I've always wanted to see this one. Now that I have, I am very happy. 5 stars

The Living Daylights- This has a weird title, but it is still good. It is the first James Bond movie with Timothy Dalton playing Bond. He is pretty good. 5 stars.

The World is Not Enough- This one is really good. I always like Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. He is excellent in his second to last movie as James Bond. 5 stars.

Overall, this recieves 5 stars.

Thank goodness for these sets.......2007-05-15

These four JB sets are the perfect way to get your Bond fix in enormous doses. The special features are great and the quality of the picture is unbeatable. My only small quibble is that the setup of the DVD menus is sort of obnoxious, but that seems to be the way of DVDs these days. If you are a Bond fan, or if you have a Bond fan in your home and want to give him an amazing gift (I did), these aren't to be missed.

Finally, sets that do the Bond legacy justice.......2007-03-31

James Bond Ultimate Collection.

INTRODUCTION:
When it comes to film franchises, very few measure up to Ian Fleming's legendary secret agent, James Bond. For decades this series has never failed to entertain. With girls, guns, gadgets, and everything in between, the series rarely fails to please. The franchise has been through many highs and lows in its several-decade history, and numerous collections of the films have been released over the years. In 2006, MGM released four Ultimate Collections.

OVERVIEW:
The James Bond Ultimate Collection consists of four box sets, each including ten discs - five films and a bonus disc for each. The boxes' content are as follows:
-Volume One (Gold): Goldfinger (1963), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), The Man With The Golden Gun (1974), The World Is Not Enough (1999)
-Volume Two (Blue): Thunderball (1965), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), A View To A Kill (1985), Licence To Kill (1989), Die Another Day (2002)
-Volume Three (Red): From Russia With Love (1963), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Live and Let Die (1973), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Goldeneye (1995)
-Volume Four (Silver): Dr. No (1962), You Only Live Twice (1967), Moonraker (1979), Octopussy (1983), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Note that these are sets of the official EON productions films. As such, non-EON productions such as the David Niven/Peter Sellers version of Casino Royale and Thunderball remake Never Say Never Again are not included.

REVIEW:
I'm not going to go through and review each individual film (that's what the movies' individual Amazon pages are for), I'm just gonna focus on the box sets and their execution here. Here is a list of the pros and cons for every set.

-THE GOOD-
-ALL TWENTY FILMS READILY AVAILABLE ON DVD AGAIN. It's been a long time since we've been able to get the movies on DVD, and it's about time they got reissued. Finally, this shortage has reached its end.
-A QUICK AND EASY WAY TO COMPLETE YOUR BOND COLLECTION. You could hunt down each individual film, and spend a lot more money and do a lot more searching. Or you could just get these four sets. Much quicker and easier.
-A BONUS DISC OF MATERIAL FOR EVERY MOVIE! If you're a Bond fanatic, you're going to get a kick out of all the extra material MGM gives you in these sets. Deleted scenes, trailers, interviews with cast and crew, these bonus discs are pure gold for you if you're a Bond die hard like me.
-REMASTERED. VERY WELL. Normally I don't mention remastering of movies in my reviews, as it's usually a rather shoddy job that does little to improve the picture quality. NOT THIS TIME. MGM has given us the films with FRAME BY FRAME RESTORATION. If you thought earlier issues of Bond films on DVD had crappy picture quality, MGM redeems themselves here. This is, hands down, THE GREATEST FILM REMASTERING JOB I HAVE EVER SEEN. Even Dr. No, the first Bond film, has stunningly beautiful picture quality! My hat goes off to MGM here. This is reason alone to buy the sets, even if you own the older boxes.
-SUPERIOR TO THE OLD DVD BOXES OF THE SERIES. Everything they did, these sets do better. Picture, extras, you name it, this set does it better.

-THE BAD-
-STILL NOT IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. This has been under hot debate from Bond fans as long as boxes of the films have been on the market. MGM clearly wants to make a few bucks. Let's face it, if all of the Connery films were in one set, everyone would buy that set and no others. Rather than getting the films in chronological order, we get uneven and scattershot mixes. For instance, the fourth box set features Dr. No and You Only Live Twice, two of the masterpieces of the series. But the set is dragged down by two of the major stinkers in the series, Moonraker and Octopussy. With every set it's this same "balancing act" phenomenon, with great films and weak ones alike. I must admit, a rather ingenious marketing strategy on MGM's part, but not what fans want (of course, you can do like I did and buy all the sets and make your own box and put them in order.) Fortunately, this is the ONLY major flaw of these sets.

OVERALL:
When it comes to the Bond films on DVD, "Nobody Does It Better" than MGM with these box sets. Beautiful picture and sound, extras galore, and all twenty films readily available again, there's no reason not to own these if you're a Bond fan. Even if you already have a few films on DVD or some of the older sets, these are still worth getting for the picture quality and bonus features alone.

EDITION NOTES:
These sets are all readily available. Any major DVD retailer should have them available.

I Was VERY Skeptical Of This Collection But..........2007-03-15

Before buying this collection, I was very skeptical. Being a long time James Bond fan, I invested plenty of money in the best VHS version of all these films. When DVD came out, I re-bought about half of the collection again. I must admit that the DVD releases of these films are some of the most disappointing DVDs in my collection.

My major complaints about the ORIGINAL DVD RELEASES were:
1.) Audio Mix -- The first release of the Bond DVDs featured only the original 2 channel audio mixes. The result was a disaster. The spoken dialog was BURIED under the soundtrack... resulting in me having to dive for the remote every five minutes. On top of the poor dialog / score mixing, the audio lacked definition and served as a constant distraction from watching the movie. There were no distinct lows, or distinct highs, just a lot of bland sounding audio.

2.) Picture Quality -- I suppose I couldn't complain too too much about this one. Given the age of many of these movies, I accepted the washed-out, often grainy image as nothing more than a symptom of the era the movie was made.

All in all, poor audio and poor picture makes for a pretty crappy experience. After having been disappointed by the first couple Bond DVDs I bought, I gave up on the collection. It was with this in mind that the announcement of the newly remastered series left me very skeptical.

The major criticism of this DVD set is that it is another ploy by MGM/UA to drain more money from every Bond fan's wallet. In the past, I had avoided these pathetic attempts at getting me to constantly upgrade versions of things I already owned.

However, let me tell you, this collection DOES NOT DISAPPOINT. The talk about the upgraded audio and video is NOT hype. Painstaking efforts were taken to re-scan the original prints of each film frame-by-frame. Once scanned, the image was digitally enhanced from the original prints. I was amazed at the richness and depth of color this process produced. During most parts, these movies look like they could have been filmed last year. Different color pigments are more noticeable, skin color and tone looks more lifelike, and the special effects look sharper. All in all, one couldn't ask for anything more from the picture quality of these versions. I have yet to a scene where I felt it could have been retouched better.

If the image quality isn't enough to make this collection worth buying, the new 5.1 DTS mixes seal the deal. Gone are the days of me fidgeting with volume during every other scene! The balance between dialog, ambient sounds, and score is perfect. I never would have imagined that movies made in the 60's and 70's could sound so good. Unlike the previous DVDs, these Ultimate Edition DVDs utilize my home theater to its maximum potential. Explosions rumble through my sub and the dialog comes clearly through my center channel; every word is audible. I own other DVDs from films made over the last couple of years that wish they could sound this good! Utilizing the DTS is a MUST!

Finally, while I consider myself fairly discriminating when it comes to audio and video clarity, I am by no means an audio or videophile. So, I don't think you need a $25,000 home theater setup to enjoy the enhancements these DVDs offer. I wrote this review based off of the following hardware:
32" Winbook 720p LCD HDTV
Up-converting Samsung DVD Player (connected via DVI)
Sony 7.1 (7x100w) Surround Receiver
Matching 5.1 MTX Surround Sound Speaker System

Hopefully, this will help clear up some confusion or doubt as to the value this collection offers.

Average customer rating:

I'd give it 3 out of 5
Reused plots
Three stars for Lee and Villechaize
Underrated-- for all the right reasons
Goodnight, Sir.

The Man With The Golden Gun
Starring: Roger Moore , Christopher Lee , Britt Ekland , Maud Adams , and Hervé Villechaize
Director: Guy Hamilton
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Espionage | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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Similar Items:

The Spy Who Loved Me
Moonraker
Goldfinger
Live and Let Die
Dr. No (Special Edition)

ASIN: B000NIBUR6
Release Date: 2007-05-22

Amazon.com

The British superspy with a license to kill takes on his dark underworld double, a classy assassin who kills with golden bullets at $1 million a hit. Roger Moore, in his second outing as James Bond, meets Christopher Lee's Scaramanga, one of the most magnetic villains in the entire series, in this entertaining but rather wan entry in the 007 sweepstakes. Bond's globetrotting search takes him to Hong Kong, Bangkok, and finally China, where Scaramanga turns his island retreat into a twisted theme park for a deadly game of wits between the gunmen, moderated by Scaramanga's diminutive man Friday Nick Nack (Fantasy Island's Hervé Villechaize). Britt Ekland does her best as the most embarrassingly inept Bond girl in 007 history, a clumsy, dim agent named Mary Goodnight who looks fetching in a bikini, while Maud Adams is Scaramanga's tough but haunted lover and assistant (she returns to the series as the title character in Octopussy). Clifton James, the redneck sheriff from Live and Let Die, makes an embarrassing and ill-advised appearance as a racist tourist who briefly teams up with 007 in what is otherwise the film's highlight, a high-energy chase through the crowded streets of Bangkok that climaxes with a breathtaking midair corkscrew jump. Bond and company are let down by a lazy script, but Moore balances the overplayed humor with a steely performance and Lee's charm and enthusiasm makes Scaramanga a cool, deadly, and thoroughly enchanting adversary. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

I'd give it 3 out of 5.......2007-06-14

Good movie for the hardcore Bond fan, but not one of the best.

Reused plots.......2007-06-01

The problem with Bond movies is the tired use of the same evil scheme to knock off the world. Austin Powers spoofed this so well in those films. I do like the Bond films, but can not watch them back to back like friends of mine who go on Bond binges. I would simply throw up after such an event.

The Man with the Golden Gun is not one of my favorites because it comes across as hokey to me. The other reviewers have given you the entire movie from beginning to end so if you haven't seen the film, you know now what happens.

I'll simply say this is not the best in the Bond series because Scaramanga is boring, yet he would have appeared more sinister with three pierced nipples whilst lounging on the beach. If you must complete your collection, buy the DVD but for the non-Bond fan, I'd say pass on it. I would also pass on Diamonds are Forever, Never Say Never Again, License to Kill, and The Living Daylights. Definitely get Gold Finger, From Russia with Love, You Only Live Twice and On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Some people would disagree with me about the Lazenby film, but I liked it because of the ending.

Thanks.

Three stars for Lee and Villechaize.......2007-05-22

The original Connery films (Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, and even the less-than-5-star Diamonds Are Forever) still stand head and shoulders over any Bond releases that followed them. There. I said it.

I never gained an appreciation for Moore's Bond. I didn't care for the droll, smirky approach. Every time he unleashed one of his catty bon mots it just felt a little squirmy, you know?

Any film that features Christopher Lee as the villain and Hervé Villechaize as his evil henchman demands to be watched, and for that reason alone, "Man With The Golden Gun" holds a unique position in the canon of Moore's Bond films. The scene with Lee in his room filled with mirrors as Villechaize intones "Where is your little gun?" is particularly entertaining.

Britt Ekland as the film's requisite Bond Girl? One of the worst, but the crown still goes to Maud Adams in "Octopussy."

You say potato, I say potato. Roger Moore starred in a series of films featuring a character named James Bond. This was one of them. Connery brought the character to life, Moore kept it in the box office.

Underrated-- for all the right reasons.......2007-05-11

Bond film directors get little scrutiny, yet, despite the obvious fact that this is a producer-driven franchise, there are definite hints of an individual stamp on certain series entries, and never more so than with the four films helmed by Guy Hamilton. Consider him the Tim Burton of 007 movies. His Bonds, like Burton's Batmans, are odd comic-book affairs, rife with surreal flourishes, dashes of sadism, and a general sense of childish mayhem. With "Goldfinger" he helped seal the winning James Bond 'formula', but when he returned to helm three more Bonds in the early 70s, he seemed set to deconstruct that formula.

"The Man With the Golden Gun" is his last outing, and only Roger Moore's second, and like "Live and Let Die" it definitely belongs in that earlier, "Goldfinger"-inspired world. Oscar-winning cinematographer Ted Moore did his last work on a Bond film here, and it's miles away from the inviting, disco-slick sheen that marked "The Spy Who Loved Me" three years later. Whether or not there was budgetary restraint on this film, in many ways "The Man With the Golden Gun" seems determined, in big ways and in small, to get away with doing the bare minimum for a Bond movie-- and subsequently, there's an odd, dreamlike resonance to the film's eerie blankness. Perfect example: whenever a Bond villain's hidden fortress is penetrated, we're treated to the spectacle of a few battalions' worth of jumpsuit-clad anonymous henchmen busy with their boss' nefarious work. But not here!: no, Scaramanga's compound can only boast, besides the duplicitous Nick Nack, who's really a third-party unto himself, but one single lousy thug! Who is readily dispatched by Britt Eckland's Goodnight, who is easily the dopiest Bond heroine ever. And, for that very reason, I find something surreally threatening about him, the lone Cerberus of Scaramanga's Hadean funhouse.

Scaramanga, played by Christopher Lee, belongs to the small anti-tradition of virile Bond villains, like "Thunderball"s Largo and "Licence to Kill"s Sanchez. He is the least apocalyptic of all Bond nemeses-- for him no grandious visions of blowing up the planet or even ruling it. Despite the film's OPEC-era MacGuffin, Scaramanga poses the least credible threat to civilization of any Bond villain. But this only heightenes the tangible sense of this murderous free agent's psychosis. Even Largo and Sanchez work to run an organization--Scaramanga has not only the smallest payroll of 007 badguys, he even professes a carefree ignorance of how his hidden fortress' scientific apparatus works! Far from imbibing any cuddly pet obsessions like a fetishistic love of gold, he lives only for the pleasure of murder-- and a murderous sexual sadism. Though he apes a certain distorted code of chivalry, Bond rightly calls him on it; at bottom, Scaramanga is a nightmare distortion of James Bond, all uncultivated, loner murderous sadism. It is sometimes said that Lee doesn't get the chance to flesh the character out, but think about it-- with this character, less is more, and in this minimalist cartoon of a film, Scaramanga may emerge as the most Shakespearean and least Marlovian (in Harold Bloom's terms) of all James Bond villains.
Of the ladies, obviously Maud Adams is more affecting than poor Britt Eckland, but let's say that Eckland's Goodknight is the comic relief in this otherwise rather dark (by the escapist standards of the series) movie. I agree that the slide whistle during the corkscrew car stunt is an unworthy intrusion, yet it seems to fit the distanced attitude this film takes to its action sequences. It's as if Guy Hamilton wants only the squaring-off of the gunsmen, with nothing else to intrude. Bond's interlude at the deathly martial arts academy is safely quarantined from the rest of the film, especially with the help of the proto-Austin Powers cadre of karate-kicking teenyboppers (the film's closest thing to a display of girl power!). Though the Lulu theme-song is much derided, I'll bravely pronounce that I think it rocks, and John Barry's score throughout is admirable stuff, in keeping with his best Bond tradition. Roger Moore himself is still the dark cad of a 007 he played in "Live and Let Die", in his own way as callous and gleefully destructive as Bugs Bunny. Thank god his heart's with the British Empire!
And, in conclusion, I'll salute one further much underrated aspect of the film-- that final (before, that is, containing Nick Nack on the boat) suspense sequence dislodging the MacGuffin from the laser. Simple, simple stuff, but watching those clouds pass in ominous interlude as the Thai sun waits to fry 007 and (in a less harrowing sense) Britt Eckland's bikini-clad oblivious self with him, I sometimes think I haven't enjoyed such a moment so much since Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint dangled somewhere beneath George Washington's chin! . . .

Goodnight, Sir........2007-05-09

The nefarious (I've no idea what that means, but I know it works) super-assassin Francisco Saramanga is out to kill Bond. Because he's like that. Scaramanga charges a million dollars a hit and is the only person in the world who has a slim chance of getting to Bond. Concerned for his safety, M takes Bond off active duty.

Never perturbed (not really sure of that word either), Bond still investigates and soon discovers that Scaramanga has stolen the 'priceless' Solex Agitator. Oh yeah, one of those! A mere MacGuffin and no more. In his mission to retrieve said 'agitator' Bond travels to Thailand and Hong Kong and gets into many silly fights, one involving a midget butler. He even finds time stress-out hillbilly Sheriff JW Pepper once more and...erm...'roger' his gorgeous assistant Mary Goodnight.

It's very dumb and thoroughly unsophisticated but it's all in the name of fun and Roger Moore's light, somewhat innocent way of playing Bond just keeps you smiling all the way through. I also liked John Barry's score, despite the fact he claims it's his weakest effort on the series.

TMWTGG was the last Bond film to be shot in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio and I do feel that if it was shot in Panavision then it would have more slick and polished look. 33 years on, TMWTGG looks too grainy and dated and appears older than it is. I'm not sure why Guy Hamilton chose to film it this way when 4 previous Bond films had already been made in Scope widescreen.

Definitely one of the lesser Bond movies but saved by sense of humor and never-ending fun. Rent this one.

The DVD is in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound and a fair amount of extras.

The Man With The Golden Gun (Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

I'd give it 3 out of 5
Reused plots
Three stars for Lee and Villechaize
Underrated-- for all the right reasons
Goodnight, Sir.

The Man With The Golden Gun (Special Edition)
Starring: Roger Moore , Christopher Lee , Britt Ekland , Maud Adams , and Hervé Villechaize
Director: Guy Hamilton
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Thrillers | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Espionage | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Spy Who Loved Me
Moonraker
Goldfinger
Live and Let Die
Dr. No (Special Edition)

ASIN: B00004RG63
Release Date: 2002-10-22

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

I'd give it 3 out of 5.......2007-06-14

Good movie for the hardcore Bond fan, but not one of the best.

Reused plots.......2007-06-01

Three stars for Lee and Villechaize.......2007-05-22

Underrated-- for all the right reasons.......2007-05-11

Goodnight, Sir........2007-05-09

The James Bond Collection, Vol. 1 (Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

oh sean,sean,where have you been?
Good...but not THAT good
James Bond Collection, Vol. 1
Great...more Bond...
Must Have Bond, James Bond

The James Bond Collection, Vol. 1 (Special Edition)
Starring: Sean Connery
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

( J ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video

Action & Adventure | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video
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The James Bond Collection, Vol. 2 (Special Edition)
The James Bond Collection, Vol. 3 (Special Edition)
Never Say Never Again
The James Bond Story (1999)
Diamonds are Forever

ASIN: B00006BH8G
Release Date: 2002-10-22

Amazon.com

The James Bond Collection, Vol. 1 collects the same feature-packed DVDs that appeared in previous Bond boxes, but in a new combination of titles, one with a decidedly golden gleam. In 1962 Sean Connery defined the cinematic James Bond as a tough, charming, and thoroughly professional cold war spy with a license to kill in the lean, hard-edged Dr. No. With Ursula Andress (as the original Bond girl Honeychile Ryder, who makes her entrance in a bikini), Bond battles a renegade supervillain with little more than his wits, his cunning, and his Walther PPK. In Goldfinger (1964) Connery's steely presence helped forge the formula of tongue-in-cheek wit, wondrous secret agent toys created by Q, and megalomaniac supervillains bent on world destruction.

Roger Moore brought a light tone and a suave assurance to the series, and in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), he battles million-dollar assassin Christopher Lee, one of Bond's most magnetic adversaries. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), perhaps Moore's finest hour, is a return to the extravagant set pieces and cold war thrills of Connery's pictures and introduces Richard Kiel's steel-dentured Jaws to the series. Timothy Dalton made his second and final appearance as Bond in Licence to Kill (1989), the toughest of the Bond films since Connery's early efforts. Though not a fan favorite, it's a sleek, solid adventure with an edge missing from the Moore pictures.

Pierce Brosnan is the latest to take on the 007 mantle, combining the best of Connery's cool and Moore's humor. GoldenEye (1995) is a grand globetrotting adventure with lovely Bond girls and a tough new M (Judy Dench). Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) doesn't recapture that magic mix of action, gadgetry, and romance, but does feature the first Bond girl to match 007 blow for blow: Hong Kong action superstar Michelle Yeoh. The DVD editions of the films each feature audio commentary tracks by the director and key members of the crew, making-of documentaries, and a host of stills, TV spots, and trailers. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

oh sean,sean,where have you been?.......2006-12-26

i don't know if anybody mentioned this(ihaven't read all the reviews)but why is it these movies aren't released in box sets according to the indiviual actors who played the secret agent?you know,a sean connery set,a roger moore set,etc.for years i've been yelling for a connery set(whom i consider the best,though they're all good)but to no avail.as many times as they've released these,you'd think they would've done so.therefore i was dissapointed when these collections came out.please give us a chance to pick the bonds we like,without throwing them all together.

Good...but not THAT good.......2006-11-29

Ok, this is the best set in this collection in my opinion. The movies are some of my favorites in the series. You have 2 great Sean Connery movies in Dr. No and Goldfinger; probably the best Roger Moore movie in The Spy Who Loved Me, and a great Brosnan film in Goldeneye (How can you not like Sean Bean as a bad guy) The problem I have with this collection is the quality and the price. While watching these movies I noticed, especially on the older movies, the poor picture quality. I felt like I was watching a movie on 1960's film. I also had disk problems with this set. My copy of Goldfinger would skip as the menus came up. The only other physical problem with this set is that on my copy (and most copies) of Tomorrow Never Dies there was a little camera icon at the top for like half of the movie. Now, you can usually get rid of it by pushing clear, but it is still very annoying. My biggest problem with this set is the price. It costs about $100 for Volume 1 and the other 2 sets can be upwards of $160. That means to have all the bond movies in this set could cost you around $400. I would recommend the new Ultimate Edition (UE) James Bond collection to anyone looking at this set. The picture and disk quality of the (UE) are SOOOO much better, and you can buy all 4 sets for a little over $200.00 total. So to sum up this is a good set, but the UEs are a MUCH better value and the quality is considerable better. My advice spend your money on the Ultimate Editions.

James Bond Collection, Vol. 1.......2005-09-16

Although I'm not sure who's at fault, I ordered all three volumes of the James Bond Collections, from three different sellers. This seller failed to include the box for the set, which angered me. I was pretty sure that it did not say in his description that the box wasn't included! He is purchasing the movies individually and selling them as a box set (to command more money)and to me that is very misleading! I wanted to have all three box sets and ended up with 7 seperate Bond movies without the box! I won't ever buy from this seller again!

Great...more Bond..........2005-08-24

Great, they brought out more James Bond. As if the original Dr. No theme wasn't annoying enough before, now it sounds twice as good (or bad if you don't like the music). And if you dont want to spend more than $100.00 each set, watch Spike TV during Thanksgiving - they repeat all the James Bond movies so much it really gets on your nerves. Good stories, the movies weren't so good...

Must Have Bond, James Bond.......2005-08-12

This collection includes various Bond movies from four of the actors that have played James Bond in the "official" Bond movies, which excludes "Never Say Never Again." My only complaint about the three collections is that the movies are not in order. I have all three sets because I like Bond rather than wanting all the Bond movies by one of the three actors. However, you have to take them as you can get them sometimes.

Each of the movies in this collection is a "special edition," which is a fancy name for DVDs that include extras that range in value from high to low. I have been very fascinated with some of the commentaries (those by Terence Young were very fascinating) and some of the features just seemed like filler. However, what I found interesting other may not, and vice versa. Rather than listing all the extras, a list of which is available, I will discuss the movies briefly.

"Dr. No" launched the Bond franchise. Sean Connery set the tone for Bond, suave, debonair, and terminally cool. He drove nice cars and had a penchant for dry one-liners. Ursula Andress set the tone for future Bond women, and Dr. No was coolly ruthless. Ken Adam's sets were artistic and artfully filmed by Terence Young, who also provided the stylistic role model for Connery's Bond. In the extras you learn that Connery was mentored by Young and acquired expensive tastes and hobbies in the process.

Many people consider the second movie in this collection, 1964's "Goldfinger," to be the best Bond film ever. Bond's villains continued to be ruthless and megalomaniacs, and Connery has a close encounter with a laser. Shirley Bassey belts out the title song and sets the standard for future Bond music. James Bond also quips that drinking Dom Perignon above 38 degrees Fahrenheit is "...as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs." Fortunately, Paul McCartney did not take it personally as he recorded the title track to the 1973 Bond movie "Live and Let Die." Bond also got ever more gadgets from Q, played by Desmond Llewelyn, who went on to appear in more Bond movies than any other major actor.

The third movie in the collection is Roger Moore's second outing as Bond. "The Man with the Golden Gun" from 1974 is a mixed bag. Christopher Lee as Scaramanga and Herve Villechaize are two of the most bizarre and ruthless Bond villains ever. There are fewer gadgets than in some of the surrounding Bond movies, but Moore's performance is a bit wooden and Clifton James was a bit over-the-top as comic relief. The title song by singer Lulu is pretty good, but pales in comparison to many of the other title songs in the series.

The fourth movie in this collection attempted to put Bond back on track. The 1977 movie "The Spy Who Loved Me" had a very serious undertone. The gadgets are back, but effective. We meet Jaws (Richard Kiel) and Karl Stromberg (Curt Jürgens). We also meet incredible Bond women Caroline Munro and Barbara Bach. The stunts are awesome, the plot is incredible, the locations fantastic and the title song by Carly Simon pushed Bond music back into relevancy. This movie was one of Roger Moore's best as James Bond.

Timothy Dalton's second film, 1989's "License to Kill," is the weaker of the two Dalton Bond films. However, the supporting cast is excellent, including Carey Lowell of "Law and Order" fame, Robert Davi, Talisa Soto, and David Hedison as Felix Leiter in his last appearance in a Bond film. The location shots are very good, and the stunts are among the best of any Bond film. They actually had those semi-tractor trailers up on two wheels, according to the extras. The bad guy may have been a mere drug czar, but everyone was suitably evil. Gladys Knight takes the honors for the title song and Patti LaBelle sings the pop hit "If You Asked Me To" to close the movie.

The last two movies in this collection are Pierce Brosnan's first and second Bond movies. In 1995's "Goldeneye," Bond is more dynamic and a more traditional spy. This movie raised the location stakes by filming for the first time in Russia, along with a number of other exotic locations. The gadgets are better, and the women are nearly more than Bond can handle, especially Xenia Onatopp. This movie contains more plot twists than a typical Bond movie, so be prepared to think a little as things go boom. Tina Turner does the title song reasonably well, but her performance has powerful competition in many of the other recent Bond films.

The final film in this collection is 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies." The supporting cast this time is phenomenal, with the great actor Jonathan Pryce as Elliot Carver, Teri Hatcher as his wife Paris Carver, and Michelle Yeoh as Chinese agent Wei Lin, among numerous others. Jonathan Pryce steals nearly every scene he is in, reminiscent of some other great Bond villains. The locations are ever more incredible, digital effects abound, and the stunts are even more thrilling. That motorcycle jump was really performed! Cheryl Crow does a great job on the title song, and the excellent video is included.

Because of all the extras these DVDs require hours to watch. While the value of the extras varies, watching them gives a fan much more information about the difficulties of making each movie, and how many of the stunts were performed. I consider these movies to be among the gems of my DVD collection. I recommend this set very highly as long as you plan on collecting all the Bond films.

The Man With The Golden Gun - 2-Disc Ultimate Edition

Average customer rating:

A Middling Bond: An Average Bond, No More, No Less
Solid Spy Story with Ill-Advised Comedy
moore returns
Perhaps the most undervalued Bond of them all
Esoteric James Bond Film

The Man With The Golden Gun - 2-Disc Ultimate Edition

Manufacturer: MGM/UA
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000LY4O4I

Product Description

2 Disc Collectors Edition

Customer Reviews:

A Middling Bond: An Average Bond, No More, No Less.......2007-03-30

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN is a bit of an odd entry in the Bond series. Overall, the film feels a bit "cheap" compared to the films that immediately followed it. The sets are not quite elaborate enough and appear flimsy, the locations are not exotic enough, and the villain is no supervillain. Despite these faults, however, I must say that I enjoyed THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN more than its predecessor LIVE AND LET DIE. The film does not feel quite as dated and the filmmakers seemed to have wanted a bit of a harder edge on Moore, now in his second outing. Thus, while THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN certainly fails to make it into the top five of the Bond series, it is no slouch and one of the better Moore films.

After the opening "gun barrel" sequence, we suddenly open up on a beautiful private island beach and get our first glimpse at the film's villain, Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) and his diminutive manservant Nick Nack (Herve Villechaize). Nick Nack plots an assassination attempt against his boss by hiring an assassin to take him out. After a duel throughout Scaramanga's house of mirrors studio, Scaramanga dispatches with the assassin with a single bullet from his trademark golden gun. Apparently, Scaramanga plays such games in order to keep his edge. The scene closes on a life-size replica of Bond himself before fading into the opening titles. The titles are another Maurice Binder treat, featuring the golden gun seamlessly blended with the silhouettes of acrobatic women twirling on its barrel. Despite the artistry, however, the title song is one of the worst in the entire series, with awful lyrics to boot--quite a letdown after the McCartney song in LIVE AND LET DIE.

The plot of THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN is a bit of a twist on the standard Bond plot and, were it not for the ridiculous addition of the Solex Agitator, would have been quite interesting. British intelligence has just acquired a golden bullet with Bond's codename "007" etched onto its surface and believes that Scaramanga, known for his trademark golden bullet, has been hired to assassinate James Bond. Bond fills us in on Scaramanga's backstory--a circus trickshot performer turned KGB assassin. After being overworked by the KGB, Scaramanga went private and charges one million dollars per assignment. Fearing that Bond's mission may be compromised, M relieves Bond of duty and Bond plans to kill Scaramanga first. Thus, everything is set up for what could have been a much better film--two top-level assassins matching wits in the ultimate game of cat-and-mouse. Instead, the screenwriters decided to introduce a plot involving a scientist working on a plan to end the energy crisis by harnessing solar power. Scaramanga lays his hands on a solex agistator, a critical device needed to increase the efficiency of solar power generation. With this device, Scaramanga can sell it to the highest bidder, extort the oil companies to delay its release, or use the device for his own evil plans. Overall, this plot twist is lame and THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN would have been a better film if it had just focused on its title villain.

Despite the plot that falls apart at the end, THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN is still a reasonably entertaining Bond film. Roger Moore is more confident in his role and has adopted a bit of a harder edge. Make no mistake, he is still ever ready with a pun. But he looks better here. Christopher Lee's performance as Scaramanga is also quite interesting. I'd have to say that Scaramanga is one of the most interesting Bond villains in that he seems to exemplify the darker sides of Bond's personality. If only the script had allowed for more character development and a true duel, Scaramanga would have been even more memorable. Nick Nack, on the other hand, is nothing short of annoying. Perhaps the AUSTIN POWERS series has had an effect on me, but Nick Nack is not a very good henchman. He is annoying and feeble. Just compare him to Red Grant in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. Enough said. Britt Ekland is beautiful, but boring, as Bond's love interest Mary Goodnight.

THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN has its fair share of exploitation. An extended martial arts sequence seems thrown in for no purpose, the entire solar energy plotline (that should have been cut) seems to be riding on the oil crisis of the 1970s, and the movie even brings back an annoying, but unforgettable, character from LIVE AND LET DIE: Sheriff J.W. Pepper (Clifton James). No one knows why he was included in LIVE AND LET DIE and he is even more out of place in this picture. Once again, he is on the chase (ala SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT), but this time he's riding shotgun with Bond. It's obviously pure comic relief, but it falls pretty flat. The highlight of this sequence is the best stunt in the film--indeed, it is one of the best Bond stunts period up until this point. Driving an AMC Hornet, Bond jumps the car over a river, performing a complete 360 roll. It is a spectacular stunt, but for some stupid reason, the sound effects guys decided to lay a "slide whistle" over it. It is completely ridiculous and an otherwise great stunt is cheapened by it.

After listing all of these defects, I find myself questioning why I defended the film in the first place. I guess it just comes down to the simple fact that it was more enjoyable to watch than LIVE AND LET DIE and the fact that Scaramanga easily creates interest as a villain, until he becomes wrapped up in a solar energy plot. The Ultimate Edition looks and sounds great, as usual, and includes all of the features you would expect, including a "Making of" documentary. All in all, this is one of the better Moore flicks and should be seen, if only for the sake of completeness.

Solid Spy Story with Ill-Advised Comedy.......2007-03-13

The most spy-like of James Bond movies seem to get the lowest ratings. Thus Roger Lazenby's portrayal of Bond as pure spy and this movie were poorly received. It's too bad because the original Ian Fleming stories focused on James Bond the spy and not James Bond the man with all the gadgets, as does this movie.

James Bond finds himself against one of his worthiest adversaries, Christopher Lee as Francisco Scaramanga. Scaramanga is a technically ignorant hit man who sees Bond as a worthy opponent. Early in the movie are hints that Scaramanga would like to face off against James Bond one on one. While Scaramanga may lack a technical background, he is intelligent and extremely accurate with a gun, a single shot gun that fires gold bullets. Lee does so well as Scaramanga that he pretty much makes this movie, and in the process makes Roger Moore's performance seem wooden in comparison. While Lee and Moore's performances may overbalance an excessively humorous script, it is as though this movie had a comedy and a drama overlapping, and the incongruities sometimes make the movie difficult to watch.

Bond is chasing after the Solex, a device for converting solar energy to electrical energy in 1974 when it appeared that oil was going to run out within a decade. Businessman Hai Fat (Richard Loo) wants the Solex to obtain a profitable monopoly on solar energy technology, and he will have Scaramanga eliminate anyone who gets in his way. However, Scaramanga decides to eliminate Hai Fat and takes the Solex for himself.

In the chess game between Hai Fat and Bond is another boat chase scene in Thailand where the character of Sheriff J.W. Pepper (Clifton James), introduced in "Live and Let Die," appears once more. The boat chase scene through the canals of Bangkok (I think) is interesting, though I would not want to have ended up in one of those canals as Clifton James did. The introduction of Clifton James may have provided some humor, but the humor distracts from the serious nature of the conflict between Bond and Scaramanga. The Sheriff Pepper character comes across as needless filler and a distraction.

In terms of sidekicks Scaramanga wins out. Herve Villechaize as Nick Nack was an interesting character. Maud Adams as Andrea Anders is a tortured soul looking for some sort of absolution. Bond on the other hand gets beautiful but way too ditzy and klutzy Mary Goodnight (Britt Eklund). While she looks good in a bikini she offers little to a man-of-the-world such as Bond.

I enjoyed the British base on the partially sunken Queen Elizabeth, which had been removed from Hong Kong harbor by the time of the release of the movie. I also enjoyed the transition of the car to airplane by Scaramanga in his getaway from Bond with the Solex. I also thought Scaramanga's island home in The People's Republic of China was cool, but the room with liquid helium tanks for superconductive storage of electricity was another version of Dr. No's reactor room and was technically too implausible to be truly interesting.

This movie has a lot going for it, with a solid spy plot and minimal reliance by Bond on gadgets. Lee and Moore have a lot of acting potential, as do Villechaize and Adams along with many of the Bond regulars, but the addition of Eklund and Pepper and excessive, unnecessary jokes distract from the plot. Much of this humor comes across as filler. Disregarding the unnecessary humor, this movie could readily have been a 4 or 5 star movie. However, with the uneven plot and poorly conceived humor, I have to give this Bond movie 3 stars.

Good Luck!

moore returns.......2007-03-03

Roger Moore returns in 'The Man With The Golden Gun' with flair and charm. This film is reminiscent of Connery's 'From Russia With Love'. It has a similar tone, pace and mood. Guy Hamilton directs his fourth Bond and has opted like in 'Live And Let Die' for the 1:85 ratio instead of the wide ratio we were becoming familiar with in 'Goldfinger', 'Thunderball', 'You Only Live Twice and 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'. The 1:85 ratio in this case gives a sense of intimacy and modifies the feeling of the Bond films. The very entertaining ..'Man With The Golden Gun' has all the elements in place; beautiful women, including Maude Adams, who plays the doomed heroine with sincerity, also the charming Britt Eckland, who is a great contrast to Maude's character in her light-headed and fancy-free portrayal of 'Miss Goodnight'. There's the great character actor Clifton James reprising his role of the ignorant Sheriff from 'Live And Let Die' and in the role of one of the best villains in Bond; Scaramango, played by veteran actor Christopher Lee. Joining Scaramango's clan is the sidekick Nick-Nack played with devilish charm by Herve Villechaize and Bond's sidekick is an Asian police officer played with confidence and competence by Boom-Taik Oh. There are some exciting martial arts to keep the action up to speed, betrayals and wit to keep it interesting, such as the scene between villain Scaramango and Bond who have an engaging tete a tete at the dinner table, discussing their opposite points of view on what is their 'license to kill'. There's beautiful photography and a gorgeous location of Scaramango's lair with the finishing touches all nicely laid-out till the end in this re-mastered ultimate edition.

Perhaps the most undervalued Bond of them all.......2007-02-19

The Man With the Golden Gun was producer Harry Saltzman's last hurrah before selling out his share in the Bond series to United Artists to ensure the maximum inconvenience to his detested partner Cubby Broccoli. It's certainly not premium Bond: at times it threatens to turn into an episode of The Avengers, what with Scaramanga's funhouse, his midget servant Nick Nack, its human statues or the off-kilter angles of MI6's Hong Kong HQ located in the rusting wreck of the Queen Elizabeth, not to mention Roger Moore's more Steed-like Bond. Although there are hints of the lows to come in Moore's tenure - Bond being saved by a pair of schoolgirls or defeating a villain by pretending to be a tailor's dummy - this is still recognisable an old-school Bond film, with thankfully few gadgets, although it's disappointing that the producers provide Scaramanga with an island lair and super-weapon to give Bond something to blow up at the end (a rather half-hearted effort to be sure: instead of a private army, Scaramanga simply has Herve Villachaize and a maintenance man). Britt Ekland's irritating `typical silly woman' comic relief was a bit hard to take in 1974 and gets worse with each passing year, but Christopher Lee's Scaramanga is one of the more interesting Bond villains, not least because of his imagined empathy with his prey - he regards himself as Bond's moral and professional equal, the kind of pathological snobbery Fleming's books were full of but the films increasingly abandoned.

Unlike many of the 2-disc `Ultimate Editions,' this is a fairly substantial upgrade, carrying over all of the original features and adding plenty more - a new commentary by Roger Moore, behind the scenes footage, interview with director Guy Hamilton and an amusingly cheesy extract from a British TV interview with Moore and Villachaize. The only disappointment is that the deleted Molotov Cocktail sequence from Bond and Scaramanga's duel that featured heavily in the teaser trailers has not been located and included.

Esoteric James Bond Film.......2007-01-05

When I first saw "The Man with the Golden Gun" on its release I had mixed reactions about it. "Live and Let Die" had been such a departure from the James Bond we had been used to seeing, it was good to see some of the old elements return to this film.
The character of James Bond had been revamped in "Live and Let Die" in an attempt, I suppose, to dissociate Roger Moore's interpretation of Bond from that of Sean Connery's. In "Live and Let Die" gone were the "Martinis shaken not stirred," the Dom Perigone, Bond's virility, worldliness and sardonic wit. Even his wardrobe was over-the-top.
In "Live and Let Die" gone also was John Barry's score, Desmond Lewelin as Q, M's briefing at "Universal Exports" headquarters, the gambling casinos, engagingly futuristic and lavish sets, the sensuous and worldly bevy of Bond women.
"The Man with the Golden Gun" opens with Maurice Binder's gun barrel trademark, accompanied with the "James Bond Theme" this time played on strings, instead of guitar. That was a real innovation by John Barry, which he continued to use for Roger Moore. It was clearly evident Barry was back.
The first camera shot is of a surrealistically exotic locale on a beach where a beautiful girl towels down a tall ark man emerging from the water. The man is Scaramanga, the Man with the Golden Gun. John Barry's familiar background music accentuates the Epicurean surroundings and the film immediately looks like it has returned to more familiar Bondian territory.
As the film unfolded many of the aforementioned elements missing from "Live and Let Die" returned. There also seemed to be a more substantial plot as it initially unfolded. However, there were still undesirable elements that crept into the film as it progressed.
Britt Ekland seemed like she would have been a natural throwback to the sex symbols of the 60s akin to previous Bond Girls such as Ursula Andress, but her vaudevillian interpretation of Mary Goodnight was a fatal flaw. Another flaw was the return of Clifton James as Sheriff J.W. Pepper. Their performances were distractions from the main plot hindering the continuity of the story line.
The film flounders in the middle until it gets back on track when Bond finally travels to Scaramanga's island for a face to face confrontation. The film follows the Bond formula here. The villain gloats as he gives Bond a tour of his lair and technical wizardry he has acquired. They dine over some dialogue on the merits of good vs. evil and in the end come to the final showdown.
I'll admit that I always had a soft spot for this film ever since I first saw it. It returned many familiar elements absent from "Live and Let Die." For instance, we see Bond return to the gambling tables via the Casino de Macao. Many fans greeted the return of these elements in a positive response. Other fans still recognized the questionable elements that were still present in "The Man with the Golden Gun" and found these deplorable and responded accordingly. To older Bond fans the return of Sheriff J.W. Pepper wasn't exactly a welcome sight.
An often-overlooked asset to this film is Maud Adams' performance as Andrea, Scaramanga's beautiful mistress. She brings genuine compassion to the role as the tormented individual who can not escape her master. Only before each killing does Scaramanga exploit her sexually in ritualistic foreplay to increase his aim on the unfortunate individual he has been contracted for. In one scene Scaramanga cruelly rubs the golden barrel of his pistol against her lips in a symbolically phallic gesture in a moment of triumph after a successful killing. You can see the pain on Andrea's face and you feel empathy for her. Even though she appears here in the prerequisite sacrificial lamb role, she stands out as one of the best Bond girls of the series.
Lee's performance as the enigmatic Scaramanga was refreshingly energetic. He gave the assassin an amiable quality on the surface hiding a darker side beneath the skin.
Roger Moore's performance was an improvement over his first interpretation of Bond as a foppish and silly dandy. Moore appeared to give Bond a tougher edge in this one even though the script attempted to undo him. Given Roger Moore's previous performance and his meager screen accomplishments as Bond at that point in the series, the "duel between titans" it was not.
Some of the cinematography was very good. Bond's solo flight through the uprooted rock formations near Phuket, Thailand to Scaramanga's island was impressive. In the pre-title sequence there is an excellent camera shot that follows gangster Hood and Nick Nack through an anteroom. As they enter the parlor the camera continues to dolly forward while the lens zooms back giving the viewer an impression of the expanse and opulence of Scaramanga's domicile, a melding of the man-made with nature's volcanic rock.
Production designer Peter Murton's work on this film has always been underrated. Scaramanga's posh living quarters overlooking his grotto rivaled earlier set designs by Ken Adam. Also very impressive were extraordinary miniatures by Derek Meddings.
One bit of innovation combing location filming, miniatures and set design was the use of the half-submerged Queen Elizabeth, its hull at a 30-degree angle, scorched and rusted at rest in Hong Kong harbor. Hidden in the bowels of the sunken ship is the headquarters for the Hong Kong station of the British Secret Service. "It's the only place in Hong Kong where you can't be bugged" says a naval officer to Bond.
John Barry's scoring gave the film his much-needed familiar sound. Even though it was apparently much loftier, it was still very welcome.
If this were to be the last film in the series it would have been a sad final testament. Luckily greater things were yet to come. One is able to look back and just enjoy it on the beautiful DVD.

Average customer rating:

The Man With the Golden Gun
Starring: James Bond Ultimate Collection
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Average customer rating:

I'd give it 3 out of 5
Reused plots
Three stars for Lee and Villechaize
Underrated-- for all the right reasons
Goodnight, Sir.

The Man with the Golden Gun [Region 2]
Starring: Roger Moore , Christopher Lee , Britt Ekland , Maud Adams , and Hervé Villechaize
Director: Guy Hamilton
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00004W488

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Customer Reviews:

I'd give it 3 out of 5.......2007-06-14

Good movie for the hardcore Bond fan, but not one of the best.

Reused plots.......2007-06-01

Three stars for Lee and Villechaize.......2007-05-22

Underrated-- for all the right reasons.......2007-05-11

Goodnight, Sir........2007-05-09

Average customer rating:

I'd give it 3 out of 5
Reused plots
Three stars for Lee and Villechaize
Underrated-- for all the right reasons
Goodnight, Sir.

The Man with the Golden Gun [Region 2]
Starring: Roger Moore , Christopher Lee , Britt Ekland , Maud Adams , and Hervé Villechaize
Director: Guy Hamilton
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Spy Who Loved Me
Moonraker
Goldfinger
Live and Let Die
Dr. No (Special Edition)

ASIN: B00004SH4T

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

I'd give it 3 out of 5.......2007-06-14

Good movie for the hardcore Bond fan, but not one of the best.

Reused plots.......2007-06-01

Three stars for Lee and Villechaize.......2007-05-22

Underrated-- for all the right reasons.......2007-05-11