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MI6Community Bondathon:
1.) DN
2.) OHMSS
3.) LALD
4.) GF
5.) YOLT
6.) FRWL
7.) TB
8.) DAF
I have watched up to DAF. So I could do a double feature LALD-TMWTGG.
If memory serves, Sean praising the script for DAF was occurring during a promotional interview for that film, so perhaps he was just "doing his job" (to promote the newest film) a little too professionally. Remember too, that some corrections to the script for FRWL (clarifying Spectre's role in things) were made AFTER SHOOTING WAS COMPLETED. That's why they have to use footage of Rosa Kleb walking towards Blofeld's aquarium, and then run it backward to make it appear that Kleb is moving AWAY from the aquarium, while the corrected dialogue is looped in. I suspect that Sean's memories of the shooting script of FRWL do not precisely match the film that was eventually released.
All that stated, if Sir Sean does indeed today believe that the script to DAF is the best of them all...well, fine. I'm a heretic. I can live with it.
MI6Community Bondathon:
1.) DN
2.) OHMSS
3.) LALD
4.) GF
5.) YOLT
6.) FRWL
7.) TB
8.) DAF
9.) TMWTGG
We interrupt this potentially thrilling car chase in order to bring you the comedy stylings of Sheriff J.W. Pepper, with added gurning. Includes the special guest, the slide whistle!
Still, there is an awful lot to enjoy in Commander Bond’s 9th cinematic adventure, such as Moore's performance – we get to see the nasty side to his persona, coupled with the terser interpretation that Moore gives Bond - it's almost as he is being haunted by the spectre of Scaramanga; the scenes between Messrs Bond and Scaramanga are uniformly superb; Andrea Anders is an interesting character, truly tragic*; stunning cinematography; the flavours of the locations seep through; the way in which Bond tracks down Scaramanga is quite novel, there’s a real mystery element to this passage; Hamilton keeps the pace up throughout and Mary Goodnight has a magnificent abdomen.
Golden Gun is really a straight laced film, apart from the middle third, from when Hip picks Bond up, schoolgirls in tow, to when Pepper makes his last, cringe inducing appearance, where by the movie is almost a slapstick comedy. The first and final thirds go in some way for making up for this humourless bit of the film.
*The scenario of trapped woman and the villain would be revisited in Skyfall, with Sévérine and Silva, with the latter having some of the traits of the literacy Scaramanga.
The memory of Golden Gun is always unpleasant. Yet, when I do pop Golden Gun in to my Blu-Ray player, I’m delighted to find it’s not as bad as I remembered it, being an absolute hoot for the most part.
Royale’s Ranking -
1. From Russia With Love
2. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
3. Dr. No
4. Goldfinger
5. Thunderball
6. You Only Live Twice
7. The Man With The Golden Gun
8. Diamonds Are Forever
9. Live and Let Die
I’m going to put Golden Gun above both LALD and DAF, as it has more about it, than those two films. Which is quite a shock, as TMWTGG has always been amongst the bottom feeders on my rankings.
New ranking
1. OHMSS
2. GF
3. FRWL
4. DN
5. LALD
6. TB
7. YOLT
8. TMWTGG
9. DAF
Previous Ranking
1. The Spy Who Loved Me
2. On Her Majesty's Secret Service
3. Casino Royale
4. From Russia With Love
5. Skyfall
6. Goldfinger
7. Octopussy
8. Spectre
9. Dr No
10. The Living Daylights
11. Goldeneye
12. Live And Let Die
13. Licence To Kill
14. A View To A Kill
15. For Your Eyes Only
16. Moonraker
17. Thunderball
18. Quantum Of Solace
19. Diamonds Are Forever
20. Tomorrow Never Dies
21. You Only Live Twice
22. The Man With The Golden Gun
23. Die Another Day
24. The World Is Not Enough
The increased use of humor in the Bond series also takes a rather startling precedence with this film. DAF had already started Bond down this path, and with Moore in the title role the humor became even more pronounced. Given my stated disdain for this direction (see my earlier entry re: LALD a few days back) one might be inclined to suspect that I have no great love for Sheriff J.W. Pepper in this film. One would be incorrect in making that assumption; on the contrary, I feel that Pepper works brilliantly in this particular movie. (I am not as forgiving of this character’s presence in TMWTGG, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.) The most potentially controversial aspect of LALD the novel when considering adapting it for the screen is the topic of race. In the ‘50s, Ian Fleming was very much ahead of his time by presenting his novel’s main villain, Mr. Big, as the first black criminal genius in world history…by the early ‘70s, much of Fleming’s output in dealing with issues of race was considered patronizing at best and flat-out demeaning by some. Turning LALD into a near-entry into the blaxploitation genre was a master-stroke in terms of neutralizing those objections…but if the only racial tensions depicted in this film were matters of black people looking down on whites the film would have been rightly rejected as being entirely false in its portrayal of American race relations. Enter Sheriff Pepper. For every “waste the honky” line from Mr. Big or his henchpersons, J.W. is there with two exclamations that “You in a heap’a trouble, Boy!” J.W. Pepper works in this film because he captures and reflects a damning reality regarding race relations in the USA circa 1971. Without him, there would be a crucial emptiness on this topic that would have damaged the film substantially.
Mr. Big’s cast of henchpeople is also one of my favorite aspects of this film. Most villains will make do with one Oddjob or Jaws type if they’re lucky; many can only offer a single Vargas or Locque for Bond to dispose of quickly. Here we have a nice assortment of reasonably memorable henchtypes; TeeHee and Whisper are particularly memorable but I’m quite partial to Adam (maybe it’s just that snazzy black & white jacket he wears) and the Cab Driver is also a real favorite of mine. I’m not sure why, maybe it’s his big grin while he’s offering to take Bond to a Ku Klux Klan meeting. Baron Samedi is probably the best of this memorable cast of secondary villains. The sound of his voice and his laughter stays with the viewer long after the film has ended., and Geoffrey Holder’s graceful, menacing movements make Samedi a presence that should have been given a bit more screen time. At any rate, I like Mr. Big’s gang more than I really like Big himself. Let’s face it: the rubber face mask Yaphet Koto wears while in the guise of Big is just too obviously false for every moment that he’s on screen. Dr. Kananga’s plot to dominate heroin trafficking worldwide by flooding the market with artificially cheap product doesn’t really hold up to scrutiny either, but I suppose it’s no more unbelievable than Goldfinger’s plan to irradiate the US gold supply or several of the plots attempted by Blofeld. Let me just say this: San Marcos is supposed to be a tiny island. I doubt there’s enough room on this fictional island to seriously threaten the opium-producing regions throughout the rest of the world. Additionally, both Big Time Gangster and President-for-Life of a fictional island nation are full-time occupations. Where does Kananga/Big find the time to do both?
Have I mentioned how much I like Jane Seymour in this film? Yes, I believe I have. Have I heaped much glory on Paul McCartney for the theme song, still getting airplay on oldies radio stations today? Probably not. Have I noted that George Martin’s score is one of the best non-Barry scores ever to grace a Bond film? If not, let’s note both of those points right now. Good work, all concerned. I would like to mention that I don’t think Maurice Binder’s title sequence really meets the challenge presented by Sir Paul’s theme song, though. The abrupt tonal shifts of McCartney’s theme song are echoed in other McCartney compositions of that era (see, or rather hear, for instance “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” of around the same period.) After hearing this theme song on the radio several times prior to seeing the movie, I wondered how the titles would reflect the startling changes provided in the song. I was quite disappointed in my original viewing to find that those shifts aren’t reflected in the titles at all. It’s as if Binder produced the title sequence without even listening to the song, or anything else for that matter. “How long does it have to run? Three minutes and thirty-seven seconds? What’s in the movie? Black people and voodoo? Fine, that’s all I need to know, I’ll take it from here.”
So, in summary: there’s a lot to like about this movie…but to my eye, there’s also a fair amount to be concerned about. The absence of Q, for example. The fact that Quarrel Jr. is substituted for his father without having inherited much of his father’s charm or emotional substance for another. But David Hedison is a fine Felix Leiter after we’ve seen too many non-entities as Felix, and the Jazz Funerals of New Orleans are another highlight of a film with almost as many highlights as low points. Despite my many stated misgivings with this film, I have to give it a B-/C+ in terms of a letter grade. As far as my rankings, let’s say:
1) Goldfinger
2) From Russia With Love
3) On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
4) Thunderball
5) Dr. No
6) You Only Live Twice
7) Live And Let Die
8) Diamonds Are Forever
Roger Moore, of all people, was probably the nastiest, darkest Bond yet. Nervously looking over his shoulder as he tries to find Scaramanga before Scaramnga finds him, he mistreats everyone he meets in an effort to track the villain down.
The first hour of the film is an eye opener as far as the character of Bond goes. Moore's Bond disposes of Sandor and Locque quite brutally in future films, but he has an edge in this film which is at times quite alarming.
Bond actor and performance
Roger Moore gives another superb performance as James Bond. As many have said before, he gives, arguably, his best performance here in a movie that isn’t thought of as highly as others. He’s extremely confident, cool and he even shows us a tougher, crueller side, in his interrogation of Miss Anders when trying to gain information about Scaramanga. He has a great chemistry with those he is acting against, especially Christopher Lee.
I must say, however, that his karate skills leave a lot to be desired. His fight with the main man at the karate school, getting the better of him at times wasn’t very realistic. Having the 2 girls take on the fighting duties, while it looks great, kind of makes Bond look weak.
Bond girl/s and performance
Again, we see a doomed Bond girl, this time in the form of Miss Anders, played by Maud Adams. I like her in her this and she pulls the role off well. One other thing, I have never, actually, thought of her as a looker but, on this watch, I have come to realise that she is absolutely, stonking gorgeous. Roll on Octopussy.
Britt Ekland as Mary Goodnight. Not the most efficient of agents and, even though not a double agent like Rosie from LALD, about as much use. It’s almost like Ekland was told to play her as a dumb blonde. Spending the last half hour or so in a bikini doesn’t help her case, despite the fact that she does look bloody great in it. Only memorable for the bikini.
Bond henchman and performance
Herve Villechaize plays Nick Nack, one of the most memorable of henchmen that appears in the James Bond movie series. It could have been easy to use the actor as a comedy part of the movie (that was left to Clifton James) but they don’t (well, I guess to an extent they do at the end) and I think he is all the better for that. He’s played with quite aplomb by Villechaize and he does come across as someone not to mess with despite his stature. The fight with Bond at the end is for comedy I feel and it could have been left out of the movie.
Bond villain/s and performance
Christopher, along with Roger Moore, is the best thing about this movie. He gives us a great performance as Scaramanga. He certainly is quite the threat and you feel that Bond really is up against it, even though we know 007 will win.
Again, as has been mentioned before, Lee and Moore have a great chemistry together and this is certainly shown in the dinner scene. Poor Ekland is just a spare part in that scene and you forget she is there as the 2 actors chew the scenery up without a problem.
As with Nick Nack, a very memorable villain.
Supporting cast performances
I can’t say a wrong word about Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell or Desmond Llewellyn. They are as much part of the James Bond movies as the lead actors are themselves and they always deliver their parts very well, no matter how small the role is or how the role changes.
Soon-Tek oh appears as Lt Hip. He comes across, initially as a no nonsense agent and you wonder what sort of character he is going to be. At first I thought yeah, he’s ok but then he shows he’s another, quite useless, agent when he speeds off from Bond after the fight at the karate school. And this, despite his nieces in the back, I assume, telling him they’ve left Bond behind.
We also see the return of Sheriff JW Pepper, played by the excellent Clifton James. Again, he’s there for the comedy aspect of the movie. I think he’s great but I don’t think he’s that well used here, mainly because during a quite excellent car chase, there is too much of it played for laughs.
Other supporting characters, such as Hai Fat, all do their bit, but nothing to make the movie stand out more.
Same gun barrel as we had with LALD I believe but the music is different. Again, Moore looks great, the music is excellent, no complaints here.
One thing though, and this is because of trailers, I kind of keep waiting for Sir Rog to start walking to the screen after he’s taken his shot towards camera. Like I said, it’s something we see in the trailers and I quite like it.
PTS
The pts is great, featuring Scaramanga, Nick Nack and Rodney. All great efforts from the 2 of them and it’s a shame we didn’t see more of Marc Lawrence in a Bond movie. It’s a great set up and, tenuously, a little reminiscent of FRWL, basically ending with the villain of the piece doing damage to 007, albeit this time it’s a wax dummy, rather than a guy in a mask.
Locations
Some excellent locations in this movie, shown off very well. Macau looks great but this pales into insignificance with the locations that come after. Kowloon, where we have the Bottoms Up club, looks as seedy as the name of the club suggests, giving off an excellent atmosphere, Kowloon Bay with the sunken Queen Elizabeth is a great spot for a Bond movie, but, the pièce de résistance is the stunning Phang Nga Bay. A more beautiful location, you’ll struggle to find anywhere and a place that has now, affectionately, become known as James Bond Island. The thing about this location, apart from the beauty of it, is that it fits perfectly with Scaramaga’s plan, as well as looking remote, which fits with not many people knowing what he looks like. Perfect place.
Gadgets
Hmm, can’t seem to remember 007 using any gadgets that may have been given to him apart from the 3rd nipple he uses, not to great effect mind, in trying to fool Hai Fat in to thinking that he is Scaramanga.
Most of the gadgets are actually used by others, mainly Scaramanga, the cigarette packet with golden bullets (although that was created by Lazar), the car plane and, more importantly and more memorable, the golden gun of the title. The gun is a clever piece of kit, put together by various different items and, when put together, looks quite excellent.
Action
Moore has his fair share of fights during the movie, the fight at the belly dancing club is probably the best of the bunch, it being in a confined space. The others, the karate school fight, Moore doesn’t look overly convincing and it is unavoidably evident how choreographed the fight is. The fight after that, with Lt Hip and his nieces, looks much more convincing in my opinion. There’s also the fight at the end with Nick Nack, which just seems added for comedy effect.
The best action sequence in the movie is the brilliant car chase. The AMC Hornet is a great car and I think that once Bond takes that car, you know there is going to be a great stunt. Like LALD, there’s a Cannonball Run/Dukes of Hazzard/Smokey and the Bandit style to the car chase but it does look spectacular. The 360 spin stunt across the bridge still stands out as one of the best stunts seen in Bond movie, one that this movie will always be remembered for.
There are a couple of issues with this sequence though; one is having Sheriff JW Pepper in the middle of it. Despite me loving Clifton James, this is there purely for comedy value and takes away some of the intensity of the scene. More annoying, is the slide whistle sound effect added to the stunt on the bridge. A brilliant stunt, this again, takes something away from it; it’s almost a comedy sound effect. Personally, I’d like to have heard the James Bond theme kick into gear from the stunt onwards and on with the chase.
Humour
Lots of humour in this movie. We have the usual Bond one-liners (“Speak now, or forever hold your piece” always make me laugh heartily) that I always enjoy and my wife will tell you I laugh at them all the time, no matter how many times I’ve seen a movie. There’s the Sheriff who, initially, gave me some laughs but only up until the point where he is thrust into the car chase and takes away some of the intensity of it. Maybe it’s good to have some light relief, but not for me. Nick Nack, despite his lack of stature could easily have been made the butt of lots of humour in this movie but I’m glad to say that this didn’t happen, not until the end anyway when he had the final scene between himself, Bond and Goodnight. A slapstick moment that seemed to be added for no other reason than to have a laugh. Not a fan.
Plot plausibility
Scaramanga being a hitman is completely credible but, generally, the plots within Bond movies are as plausible as you believe them to be. They are pure escapist fun, although they can have some reflection on the real world.
Villain’s scheme
There are two parts to Scaramanga’s scheme. First, I would say foremost but I’m not sure it is, is his greed. Similar to Goldfinger, he comes across as rather greedy. One million per hit as a hitman and he’s taken over a solar power plant that, with added Solex Agitator, that he wants to sell to the highest bidder. Greed, it’s a powerful thing.
However, is that part of his mission the most important? He sees Bond as his equal and wants to prove that he can beat him, if you will. Despite having the chance to finish Bond he doesn’t as he wants to meet him face to face. He proposes a duel to which Bond agrees, yet, cowardly (?) he disappears into his fun house. It’s a rather arrogant move and it’s like he just wants to toy with Bond before finishing him off. Anyway, we all know how that ended don’t we?
Guy Hamilton was back on directing duties for this. To me, he seems to be the most erratic (not sure if that’s the correct word) of directors that the Bond series has seen (those who do more than one anyway). We had the sublime GF, the campy DAF, the excellent thriller in LALD and then the, less than exceptional The Man With The Golden Gun. To be fair though, he does get great performances from his main cast members, with Moore putting in his, arguably, best performance as 007. I don’t know, just some inconsistencies in the movie, although this is down to script as well.
Opening title design
There are some nice little parts within but, for the most part, I found them rather uninspiring and not up to the standard we have seen before.
One question – Is the girl at the beginning of the opening titles, the same girl we see serving drinks at the Bottoms up club?
Script
The script is neither here nor there and we end up with a movie that isn’t sure of what it wants to be. A thriller with 2 equals trying to get the best of each other, a homage to the Kung Fu movies of the 70’s or a silly adventure with scenes that should be more exciting and tense than they are due to too many comedy elements. However, despite this, we do have a wonderful Bond and a great villain.
I still want to know why Lt Hip and his nieces left Bond behind. Quite clearly, the girls are tell Hip that he’s left behind, yet he didn’t stop for him. Seemed to be just to fit in the boat chase.
Cinematography
One thing that this movie really has going for it, is the way that it’s shot. There are some stunning scenes throughout but the scenes that show off Phan Nga Bay are quite spectacular.
Music
John Barry – don’t think we need to say much more than that do we? Wonderful music as always from the maestro of the 007 movies.
The theme song is another thing. I know a lot of people really don’t like it but, for some reason, I have always quite enjoyed it as a Bond movie. There are worse coming in my opinion, so this certainly wouldn’t finish bottom of any Bond theme ranking I put together.
Editing
Not an expert on this but the editing seems fine, despite a few issues.
Costume design
I think we were spoilt with LALD myself as that was a costume designers dream, I’m sure. Here, Moore looks great as always in the tailored suits he wears. Some of the other choices leave a bit to be desired. Christopher Lee does look immaculate in the white suit, with Chew Mee looking spectacular in her birthday suit, haha.
I’ll be honest and say I’m not a massive fan of 70’s fashion.
Sets
Some nice set design here, which is mostly the case in a Bond movie. The solar energy plant is decent as is the island interior. For me though, the best set in this movie is the interior of the Queen Elizabeth. For M etc. to have offices set up inside there was a great, creative idea and it looks superb.
Thank you. First time I've ever noticed that. Cheers.
Possibly more impressed by Roger Moore in this movie than before or since. He is excellent throughout the Macau and Hong Kong scenes. His early scenes with M, his meeting with Lazaar, tailing and making contact with Andrea (when he roughs her up it's still quite a jarring scene). Throughout these sequences Moore is magnificent to say the least.
His half smile when he comes to a silent agreement with M about his next move on Scaramanga is curious, and strangely beguiling.
Moore is also excellent in his later scene with Lee when Bond refuses to be seduced by Scaramanga's fawning compliments about the 'best of the best'. Bond's indignation is palpable.
Christopher Lee is in fine Dracula mode. Not as great a performance as many think, but Lee is a powerful presence nonetheless. His line delivery is exceptional and perfectly timed ("He always liked that mausoleum...put him in it")and that steely stare can turn a man to stone.
Ltnt Hip makes Mary Goodnight look positively outstanding. How he survives the film is anyone's guess.
With Goodnight herself it is maybe more a case of over exuberance than downright incompetence (unlike Rosie in Live And Let Die for example). Her main job though is to flounce around in a little night dress or bikini, which is fine by me.
Andrea remains the film's sacrificial lamb. A rather tragic figure, who lures Bond into her life to rid her of Scaramnaga (although these motives seem at odds when they first meet and she attempts to have him thrown out of the hotel).
Nick Nack - a little shit to be sure. What are his motives exactly? He wants his bosses fortune. Are his tests designed to get Scaramanga killed? They are of course - how else will the main man stay sharp and focused. But can Scaramanga trust the little imp? Really?
Pepper is back. I sort of like the character. "This is my department boy"
Yea, right.
Bernard Lee and Desmond Llewelyn almost give us a comic double act ("Shut up Q")
Some of my favourite moments between the two are in this film.
The film of course isn't a strong Bond film but the cast is good and the performances top-notch.
So far so good.
The pre title scene starts with a shot of Scaramanga's three nipples. Straight in, no messing.
How did the gangster get on the island? Based on the route Bond takes later it seems strange to see him wandering up the beach with no noticeable mode of transport.
Again Guy Hamilton has gone for a Bond free PTS.
Love the use of locations here and the way the flavour of them is highlighted by John Barry's score. Barry didn't rate his music for this one, feeling it was rushed, but Barry's lesser work is better than many other's best stuff.
Scaramnaga gets the best gadgets - the golden gun of course being the highlight. He doesn't just use it for killing, but for controlling Andrea - the scene where he phallic ally runs it over Andrea's face and body is more than just a little disturbing.
The action varies in quality. The initial scrap in the dancer's changing room is good, but who were those men and why were they there?
The build up to the fight is clumsy and awkward, but Moore throws himself into the fight with gusto.
The kung fu stuff is so-so. Interesting to see Bond watch the posturing black belt perform his build up and then kick him unconscious. It precedes the famous but similar Indiana Jones shooting the sword man sequence by several years.
The car chase is very good, and ends with the justly lauded broken bridge leap.
Again (as with Live And Let Die)the humour plays a part in the film without becoming the focal point. Mainly it's Sheriff Pepper playing comic to Bond's straight man.
Mary Goodnight and the scenes in and out of Bond's bedroom (a staple of British farce theatre) are also played mainly for laughs.
"I approve"
"The wine?"
"Oh no. The frock. Tight in all the right places and not too many buttons"
This is Bond at his leery best.
I quite enjoy the plot progression and the villain's plans and motives. Simple enough and a change from Blofeld's world domination plans.
Not a great deal to say here. Guy Hamilton is clearly running on fumes, bereft of ideas. How else can we explain some of the plot decision making (most obviously the part where Hip drives off without Bond- that could have been worked out easily enough if they had wanted to).
There are some very good bits of dialogue and some excellent sets. Love the Queen Mary set especially.
The scenery is lovely, the costumes impressive, apart from Scaramanga's ridiculous track suit.
So what exactly is wrong with The Man With The Golden Gun? I guess when you put everything together it all seems so very underwhelming.
The action is ok, but not as well thought out as Live And Let Die.
The plot is ok but not as flamboyant or involving as anything from the 60s.
The climax uses 5 characters which means it lacks spectacle. Even so the removal of the solax conjures up some tension.
The end fight with Nick Nack, rather than adding an exciting postscript which we had in the last film, is played totally for laughs, and all I could think was 'What a waste of good wines'.
Thankfully Moore is on top form and carries it all along nicely, just before he decided to reintroduce Simon Templer-isms into his portrayal.
Next up, The Spy Who Loved Me, which, currently, stands at #1 in my ranking.
I get the feeling its a little game nic nac and Scaramanga are playing. A tongue in cheek "you get me killed, you inherit this". And at one million a hit Nic Nac won't stand much chance of inheritance. Scaramanga gets target practice. I don't get the impression Nick Nack dissatisfied
And also theres a small boat by the shore when the gangster arrives on the island
Right. Strange how you can see a film a hundred times and miss something obvious.
Yes I agree about Nick Nack, it does seem like a sort of deadly game. Nick Nack will inherit everything yet he won't simply poison Scaramanga's wine, he will always play by the rules.
Moore does give a strong performance with what he's given...but much of what he's given just isn't a very likeable character, and Moore's Bond should always be a charming rogue. Maybe it's because of the pressure that Bond feels, believing that Scaramanga has him in his sights at all times...but this Bond is simply a jerk, especially with women. He starts of pissed at Goodnight from the moment he sees her, and he treats her with a thinly-veiled contempt throughout most of the rest of the film, abandoning that tack only in the few moments when he thinks it might be a good time to try to get her into bed. Knowing what we know about Andrea's treatment by Scaramanga (fetishistically stroking her w/ his Golden Gun....eww.... her cringing during that scene is subtly played and quite effective...) it's actually somewhat disturbing to see Bond slap her around trying to get information from her.
But Moore's worst moments as Bond come in one long, cringe inducing passage at the martial arts school and during his escape from it. Kicking one opponent in the face while he's supposed to be bowing at the beginning of a match -- bad form, that, one entirely out of place from a gentleman -- to having to be rescued by the karate girls...and then failing to make it into the escape car while Lt. Hip drives away, only so that he can get into a pointless boat chase...then be unable to turn the fuel line in his boat back on so that he'll have to promise 20,000 bhat to a young urchin who rescues him from this ridiculous situation, only to welch on his promise, pushing the urchin rudely out of the boat so he can continue the chase. I'm sorry...I know most of this scene is intended to be played for laughs, and if I just turn off my critical sensibilities I can laugh along too...but as far as I'm concerned, this extended sequence is the lowest point that any Bond has ever reached, and Brosnan's windsurfing a computer-generated wave in DAD can't hold a candle to this particular dungfest in my own personal opinion.
J.W. Pepper is entirely out of place in this film. While I enjoyed him tremendously in LALD, I really can't believe that a racist lout like him would choose to take his vacation in Asia -- not unless he really enjoys the concept of spewing his humorously-intended venom on a whole new continent, to a whole new race of people he hasn't yet had the opportunity to offend. As I said in my review of LALD, there is a good reason for Pepper's inclusion in that story. Here, he's a turd in a punchbowl. I hope he's still languishing in a Thai jail somewhere.... And unlike most people, I just can't get too upset by the slidewhistle in the great corkscrew car stunt. The soundtrack makes a humorous comment on the action taking place. Big whoop. A great stunt is still a great stunt. I'll save my ire for the characters on-screen doing stupid things, like Goodnight following NicNac WHILE SHE'S HOLDING THE SOLEX AGITATOR, which is their only real goal. The little fellow is secondary, Goodnight, you're holding the game winning gadget. Get the hell out of there with it and...oh no, now you've let yourself get captured. Bad guys win. Goodnight is a twit.
So much of a twit that she can't even feel a thing when her bum turns on the solar powered laser that nearly fries Bond. So much of a twit that she doesn't realize that tossing Reggie Jackson (was that really Reggie Jackson? Okay, you learn something new every day. This was MY "Gee, I never noticed that!" moment for this film...) into the cooling vats is going to result in still another Exploding Villain Hideout. So much of a twit that she'll be happy to fall into bed with a guy who's been treating her like a jerk once the credits roll. And one thing I've never been able to explain away: mission over, M telephones Bond via the phone on Scaramanga's junk for the post-mission wrap-up. How in the world did M get Scaramanga's phone number? Nobody can FIND the guy! That was an essential part of the whole set-up! And M had the guy's phone number the whole time? Oh well, now that Bond's got the solex agitator, the energy crisis has been solved and we can just wean ourselves off of fossil fuels and there's no need for the western powers to get involved in any future wars in the mid-east, right?
Oh, but I haven't mentioned Scaramanga's fun house yet. Well, it was fun in a tacky, mindless sort of way. How many of you said to yourselves, the first time you saw that Scaramanga had a Bond dummy in that funhouse, "The real Bond is going to use this set-up to get the drop on the bad guy." Tension over, roll on Jimmy Bond. I've got my hand raised over here -- anybody else? Seriously, I recognized this set up the first time I saw the movie back in 1975. It was nice to see our generic hoodlum again, but hey -- why did Scaramanga have to put an actual bullet into the dummy's gun, anyway? Do these guys HAVE to set up their own demise every time? I guess they do. I'll tell you what, if I were Hi Fat (oh, and there's another gripe I have with this film: Hi Fat? Chew Me? These aren't clever names, they're stupid racist caricatures. I suppose he's got a brother named Lo and she's got a sister named Bite. Argh!) anyway... if I were Hi Fat or any other self-respecting villain, the instant I get James Bond or Batman or whoever in my clutches, none of this complicated deathtrap stuff for me. One bullet right in the temple. Movie over, I win. Good thing I just don't have the temperament to be a villain, I suppose...
MY RANKINGS:
1) GF
2) FRWL
3) OHMSS
4) TB
5) DN
6) YOLT
7) LALD
8) DAF
9) TMWTGG
That is exactly the way to describe Pepper. He was a necessary evil in LALD, but not in TMWTGG.
I sympathize, because for years I felt the same way. Although now I rather like that this might be the only time in Moore's tenure where the pressure gets to him so much that it causes him to act out in ways that are unfamiliar to him (and us), and in such unsavory fashion to boot. I guess you could make an argument for OP when he's chasing the bomb, but that is more of a case of doing whatever it takes to save thousands of lives. In GUN, he's being terrorized on a psychological level and it's all about self preservation.
(Please note that these are just my own memories at play, and if you remember hearing "For Your Eyes Only" on the radio back in the day, well, more power to you! Maybe I just wasn't listening to the right stations at the time. Most recently, I heard the theme to "Skyfall" on the radio pretty constantly, but was only able to find "Spectre" online, and never once heard it on the radio.)
Beatles, FYEO was indeed played extensively on Norwegian radio in 81.