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The Man With The Golden Gun
BOND- 3. Moore is playing much the same as LALD, though there does seem to be a streak of nastiness to Bond this time (for Moore) that doesn't quite fit with the way Roger plays it or indeed how he sees the character, he works well with what he is given.
WOMEN- 2. And that is all for Miss Anders, probably the worst batch of Bond girls ever. Goodnight is just awful as a character and as Brit's acting goes. Woefully ineffective, M must have had a really downer on Bond to assign her to help him! The other secondary ladies are just unmemorable and looking back to the gorgeousness of the sixties ladies you have to ask what happened - better thing around the corner!
VILLAINS- 5. And that goes for the excellent Sir Christopher of Lee for his Scramanga, playing him as Bond's opposite, he has class, sophistication and all the gadgets! A really good villain who deserved a better film. The supporting villains are a mixed bunch and Nic Nac just become annoying and ridiculous.
HUMOR- 3. Some quite good humour, Bernard Lee does his pee'd off at Bond bit really well, though the actor is beginning to look a little off colour, was he ill on the last few Bonds? Some of the humour is a tad juvenile.
ACTION- 2. Not a lot of action, yet another car chase with crashes, though thankfully not overdone as previous Hamilton outings (thank god this was his last effort!). Nothing really memorable, even the Kung Fu school seemed tired and just there to cash in on the then latest craze.
SADISM- 1.Not really a sadistic film, was Hamilton asked to turn it down from previous efforts? Perhaps the most sadistic thing about the film is the producers forcing Mary Goodnight upon us!
MUSIC- 3. Barry's back, but oh dear, with only a very short time to complete his score he seems to have plundered from previous scores most notably OHMSS. The theme song belted out by the lovely Lulu (she'd have probably made a better Goodnight if they could have written the character better!), has the most terrible double entendres ever, 'who's he going to Bang?' 'he has a powerful weapon' etc, enough to make even Sir Roger blush.
LOCATIONS-4. Locations that deserve a better Bond, Phuket sometime referred to as James Bond Island just looks so different from anything previously used, a real stand out location. Although not really a location (set) the Beirut nightclub just looks like a pretty poor set left over from an episode of The Saint! Plus the Hong Kong location was great, just don't like M and Moneypenny appearing in the Queen Elizabeth as a makeshift office - hate it when they travel to Bond's location.
GADGETS- 4. Flying cars, fun houses (I hate that and those sequences), golden guns, etc a gadget fest, but this time the villain gets them! Wonder what Roger thought of that.
SUPPORTING CAST- 3. Well what have we here? some Kung Fu girls, a chinese agent who's more of a hindrance than a help, who also refuses to tell Bond where they are going on several occasions after 'rescuing' him from the hit outside the Bottoms Up! A agent stationed in Hong Kong, Mary Goodnight, who's as much use as chocolate oven, a diminutive henchman who becomes a joke, thankfully Lee and Maxwell are up to the mark.
OVERALL SCORE AND RECOLLECTIONS- 30 or 3.0 Seen by many at the time as the artistic nadir of the Bonds, a tired film with only Christopher Lee's magnificent villain to give it any kudos. By the time this was in production I had taken to reading the books, having noticed that previous films had the legend 'from the novel by Ian Fleming' and the previous ended with 'James Bond will Return in The Man With The Golden Gun', so I sought out that very novel and started my love affair with the books. Have to say Golden Gun is not the best place to start!
Even on first viewing I didn't much care for the fun house, especially as it telegraphed the ending, in the teaser trailer there seems to be more of a duel between Bond and Scaramanga outside, I wish they had used that, and I'd be happy to see the sequence turn up whole as an extra soon. Of course Britt Ekland was big at the time being Rod Stewart's latest shag, but oh dear what an awful character.
Not my favourite Bond by a long shot, but there are a few that are worse. The film was rushed out, Saltzman was getting tired of Bond and he and Broccoli parted company after this. A great poster though! Take a rest Mr Bond, your biggest mission is to come…
You must have been quicker on the uptake than I was if you noticed Bond's missing fingers were back when you first saw the film. I remember being so engrossed wondering how Bond was going to kill Scaramanga without his gun that I didn't know he switched places with the wax figure until he moved and that was when I saw the fingers on the left hand were back. Is that what you meant by telegraphed Lancaster? I'm curious about that, because of course it was fairly obvious that Scaramanga would be killed in the fun house where he killed many others, but I honestly didn't see how Bond would do it until that point. It's still a brilliant piece of writing as far as I'm concerned.
Looking forward to more reviews, we usually have at least 3-4 by now. I hope no one else has dropped out without telling me. Especially looking forward to what NicNac has to say given his screen name.
BOND 4 roger seemed more comfortable this time around his humor, wisecracks, were spot on.
Women 4 I actually liked Britt Ekland, I found her cute and witty kinda bimbo but that was what the script called for and she delivered. she melted my heart. Maud Adams was a gem.
Villains 3 Lee is good and would receive a 5, he was the best villain in a long time. However his midget side kick Nic Nac? really drags the score down. He could have been a good baddie had he not been made such a joke at the end. The scene when he tries to kill bond while he was in bed with Goodnight is okay (notice the look on sweaty face while he watched them..I expected him to start masturbating right there). then the scene was played for laughs, the champagn bottles, Moore chassing him around the room, the stupid music...
Humor 4 this has so many funny moments. Moore chasing nic Nack around the bed, the karate school climax, the boat chase, JW Pepper, the days of serious 007 were over.
Action 2 there are not many suspenseful scenes here. It was a let down when compared to LALD
Sadism 1 not much violence this time around. Really toned down.
Music 2 not one of Barry's best. the silly theme song, the goofy flutes when Nic Nack was on screen. Shytt.
Locations 5 utilized well.
gadgets 4 not too many. the golden gun, the solex thingagig. The flying car was kinda over the top but it all contributed to the narrative.
Supporting Cast 5 everyone was in top form and I also liked hearing M tell Q to shut up. The look on his face when he heard of the flying car...Bond's sidekick, the Chinese Agent was good.
Overall score 34 or 3.4 I enjoyed the movie at the time. There was more humor this time around but it seemed too sharp in contrast to Christopher Lee's hard as nails Scaramanga. Nic Nack was a balance but it was in poor taste but it kept to the silliness of the overall film. EON was still trying to figure out just who or what Moore's Bond was. Moore had some tense moments, like slapping Maud Adams around but it was obvious that this was not his strong suit. He was more in his element playing the silly scene where he was hiding Goodnight in the bedroom closet.
We could only hope that the Third Time would be the Charm:
JAMES BOND WILL RETURN IN
THE SPY WHO LOVED ME
That was very sharp of you to see the wax figure in the beginning and think that would play such a role in the ending. Kudos on that, I didn't see it coming as a 13 year old for sure. And I agree that it did seem odd for wax Bond to have a loaded gun in his hand.
@ OHMSS69- Very good review, you have the current high score for the film. It gives me hope that it will finish higher than DAF in the long run, at least I think it's a better film. Don't agree with your scores for women but I agree that Britt played it well for what it called for. I guess I'm not much for brainless bimbos, although obviously they have their benefits ;). Reading your thoughts on Villechaize and his sweaty face cracked me up. All I could think of was the excerpt from Moore about that horny little bastard paying for like 45 different women while on location in Hong Kong, and still complaining that some wouldn't touch him even with payment! I heard stories about him flirting with Britt and Maud but I must say that I never heard that one before Sir Roger told it recently. I now have a new found respect for Herve, that is rock star! Bravo Herve, bravo! =D>
I had not heard Moore's comments about Herve being the horny devil and I believe it. E the True Hollywood Story did a special on him and he was quite a party animal in the late Seventies and Eighties. (As we all know, he took his life in the Nineties). He made the disco night scene and was always seen with tall Amazonian super model types.
TMWTGG is a better film than DAF. I was always surprised at the hate it was getting from afficiandos years later.
The playful Bond from LALD seems absent here as a much more cagey Bond goes to greater and more sadistic lengths to obtain information. He is still an honourable man who takes the moral high ground when dining with Scaramanga, but his weakness for women is still in tact and often creates unnecessary problems for himself.
Moore is excellent throughout 4/5
Women
Mary Goodnight, an eager young field agent who tries hard to help Bond but inadvertantly helps Scaramanga instead, the villain's mistress Andrea who lures Bond in to her world as a means of escape, but is doomed from the start, Saida an exotic dancer, and Chew Me, a Chinese pun. Well, they are girls, and Bond gets to snog three of them I suppose....2.5/5
Villains
Scaramanga, played by Christopher Lee the man who single handedly made vampires sexy (no one has really attempted it any other way since). An actor of such enormous presence it really is remarkable that few people can remember many of his films.
In Golden Gun Lee is as cool and commanding as Bond. It's a very good performance.
Elsewhere we have his sidekick Nick Nack and his 'boss' Hai Fat. Scaramanga doesn't need to say anything to give off the impression that these people are quite disposable, and indeed Hai Fat's fate offers one of the film's finest one liners (the bit about the mauseliam). 3.5/5
Humour
Well, the film's humour verges towards juvenile, with Sherrif Pepper's antics, Goodnight's incompetance and some visual humour that often defies belief (Bond swallowing the 'charm' springs to mind). Some of the genuine titters raised in LALD eg Mrs Bell ending up in Intensive Care, some of Pepper's dialogue, the chicken hat simply don't spill over here, although the 'forever hold your peice' moment is rightly praised. And there is enough witty dialogue and amusing moments elsewhere to claw the score back. 3./5
Action
A couple of punch ups, a river chase, some kung fu, a car chase...help me here, help me. If Cubby and Harry could ever be accused of taking an audience for granted then it's right here in TMWTGG, trotted off quickly to galvanise the franchise after the success of LALD.
We don't get enough quality action to satisfy the hardiest of Bond fans, although after sitting through some half hearted sequences the least we could expect is a moment of sheer delight. And it very nearly happens. The 360 degree car flip is the moment the film is remembered for. A peice of stunt driving that simply raised the bar. That the great John Barry would then step in and unpick the good work with a childish sound effect is almost enough to make one switch the film off there and then, but this is John Barry, and he has saved Bond films before this with his music, so all is forgiven John aaaallllll is forgiven. 2/5
Sadism
Bond of all people is the sadistic one here, but that's just a girl slap and a gun pointing at someone's crotch 1/5
Music
John Barry. Arguably his least impressive score, and certainly his least impressive theme song. However, Barry's worst is better than most other's best and the various ways he re-works the main theme is quite engaging. 3.5/5
Location
Macua, Hong Kong, Thailand. Excellent use of the capsized ship. Beautiful locations used well 4/5
Gadgets
Get that gun heh? Who needs third nipples and flying planes when you can have a golden gun like that one. I'm in love. 4/5
Supporting Cast
Q and M both hit the mark, and their bickering on the sunken ship is priceless. Ltnt Hip and his neices, Sheriff and Mrs Pepper, amongst others. A mixed bag of good characters and..well, bad ones I suppose. 2.5/5
Overall
TMWTGG is alive with good performances, cracking dialogue, wonderful locations and a top villain. So much of thwe film is done well, so why does it feel tired and dull? Can we blame Guy Hamilton? Yes, let's.
Production problems arose of course, with Harry's lack of interest and Richard Maibaum drafted in late, but the world of movies is an unforgiving one, and no one is interested in excuses.
Golden Gun survives as the film that brings an era to a close. The old Bond films had been shaped and fine tuned over the years into an audience friendly product, but this was the end of the line. Cubby was on his own, and he needed to look hard at his product, strip it down, rebuild it, and show the audience every single $ up there on the screen.
30/50
Hamilton definitely was a mixed bag as far as Bond directors go. He directed two of the series' greats and most memorable films in GF and LALD, yet completely fell down with DAF and this one. I have to wonder if it was him, or the scripts that made them go wrong. Cubby and Harry obviously liked him, only John Glen directed more films with his 5 in the 1980's. Second, when you mention that Lee made vampires sexy and that no one else had really attempted otherwise since, from my experience with women who loved vampire films, and I'm not counting here these goofy pasty faced teen ones of recent years (I did used to have some fun with my wife about those films, telling her she was not age appropriate and other cradle robbing jokes which usually ended when a certain hand signal), Frank Langella's name has often come up. Gary Oldman has his fans too, but the women I knew really went for Frank.
My question is one I'm curious to hear about from everyone. What was your impressions of Scaramanga's fun house, in particular the final showdown there? Anyone reviewer who didn't answer this already, and I'd like to hear from non originals reading this thread about this as well, is welcome to speak.
The funhouse was a great idea but I felt it lacked sufficient tension to work well. If Bond had been injured and looked in real trouble then maybe it would have worked better. Scaramanga following Bond's trail of blood? I'm not sure. It was a welcome break from the big boiler suited shoot outs, that's for sure.
Ah, you're right I didn't read that correctly, my mistake. Ever see Francis Lederer's Dracula? I thought he did a great job for a one off. Well received critically too. Plenty of bad vampires out there though. Robert "Count Yorga" Quarry comes to mind. Just dreadful. Even the hippies were lame if you knew the real deal like I did growing up with them in the neighborhood.
Obviously, unless you are like Lancaster and saw it coming in the PTS, I think it was Barry's music plus not knowing how Bond would win that really made that tension happen for me. Barry's fun house pieces are just amazing to me, so dark and the crescendo of "Return To" from about 4 and a half minutes in until the ending of the piece 2 minutes later just lives so well in my memory going all the way back to opening weekend. They just don't make them like him anymore :((
PS, Owned a silver DB5 for many years. (It was driven George in the Return of the Man from UNCLE.)
That's an understatement. My connections to the great man told me the word "disgust" was mentioned.
Welcome fellow original! If you'd like to join in the reviews, drop me a PM and I'll go through the criteria with you. If not, feel free to comment on any and everything and share all your memories. We're trying to preserve all of that for the younger generations while we can still do so, thus anything you add is appreciated. So you owned a DB5? There'll be plenty of people who envy you that and I'm not sure that I don't hate you already ;). If only that big lottery payday had come through, I would have outbid everyone for the original.
1. From Russia With Love- 4.07
2. Goldfinger- 4.04
3. Thunderball- 4.01
4. Live And Let Die (5 reviews)- 3.90
5. On Her Majesty's Secret Service- 3.87
6. You Only Live Twice- 3.51
7. Dr. No- 3.50
8. The Man With The Golden Gun (4 reviews)- 3.15
9. Diamonds Are Forever- 2.91
Thus far we've completed voting for first 7 of the 9 films available for reviews, and hopefully next week we'll have them all caught up. Great job everyone! Once again, below is a list of who hasn't reviewed a particular film, so you know which ones you have done and which you haven't. As always, you are under no obligation to do so, but it would be great if you could do each film when you can so we have a complete picture of how we all collectively feel. Also, please try to review your prior scores for different categories for the sake of consistency. If anyone is going away or has decided to drop out, kindly let me know. If any original wants to join in these reviews, let me know first.
As usual, if I have to break a tie, it will be done by dropping the highest and lowest scoring reviews for each film. The average of the remaining 5 will dictate who gets the tiebreaker and an extra percentage point.
LIVE AND LET DIE- No votes from DB5 and 4EverBonded
THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN- No votes from Kerim, DB5, and 4Ever Bonded
That's the latest from statistics central. Tomorrow I will review and release the tenth entry, "The Spy Who Loved Me". Have a great weekend everyone!
"Well, well, well. A British agent in love with a Russian agent. Detente indeed"
The year is 1975. After being treated to Bond movies in back to back years for the first time since 1964-1965, the franchise runs into some serious problems that would delay the next film longer than the normal 2 year period. It begins with the financial and personal problems of co-producer Harry Saltzman, who falls into serious debt over bad business deals and into depression over the terminal illness of his beloved wife, ultimately forcing him to sell his Bond interests. After that situation is resolved with Cubby Broccoli now completely in charge of EON Productions, the next delay occurs in finding a director. After both Guy Hamilton and Steven Spielberg decline, YOLT director Lewis Gilbert agrees to return for a second time. Having by then decided to film Ian Fleming's 1962 release "The Spy Who Loved Me", the 10th for both the novels and film series, Broccoli also realizes that aside from Fleming only having granted the legal rights to the title and nothing more, the source material was problematic anyway as a good portion of the original story was told from a female narrative and thus unusable. With SPECTRE and Bond's involvement in "Operation Thunderball" part of the source material, Broccoli initially hires 5 different writers to perfect a new script with the idea to bring back Blofeld and SPECTRE to finish the story arc, before settling on Bond veteran Richard Maibaum as the writer. When Maibaum's original script doesn't come up to expectations, Gilbert brings in writer Christopher Wood to assist Maibaum with the revisions, and claiming Moore's first two films were "too close to Connery", he convinces Broccoli that making Bond "more English, more smooth, and more humorous" would do the trick. At this point another unexpected hurdle arises when injunction happy Thunderball producer Kevin McClory files yet another upon learning that EON planned to use Blofeld and SPECTRE as part of the new adventure. Not willing to incur further delays or waste money on legalities, Blofeld and SPECTRE are written out of the film entirely. McClory's injunction is denied and production continues.
The premise is also one lifted nearly straight out of the Connery days and specifically YOLT. Now instead of Ernst Stavro Blofeld and SPECTRE plotting to inaugurate nuclear war, this time we have a deranged gazillionaire shipping magnate named Karl Stromberg who has developed a system that tracks and paralyzes nuclear submarines, and a special ship capable of swallowing them out of sight. After both the British and the Soviets lose subs armed with long range Polaris nuclear missiles, they assign their best agents to uncover who did it and recover both the subs and their deadly cargo before the unthinkable happens- and little do the respective governments realize that the insane Stromberg is planning just that in order to create a new undersea world that he alone will rule!
Principal filming began on Mount Asgard in Nunavut, Canada in July 1976, with the death defying ski jump that ends the PTS. It moves to Sardinia in August 1976, and Egypt the following month. Other locations used in the film were the Bahamas, Spain, and Portugal for the water footage, as well as England, Scotland, Malta, Switzerland, and the Japanese island of Okinawa. In addition, the requirements for Ken Adam's interior designs led Broccoli and Pinewood Studios to create the "007 stage" to house future Bond efforts. Budgeted for $14 million dollars, the film debuted in London on July 7th, 1977 and would go on to gross an impressive $185 million worldwide that broke previous series highs while reminding the world that Bond was still a box office force to be reckoned with. Composer Marvin Hamlisch's efforts were recognized as the film would receive multiple Academy Award nominations for Best Song and Original Music Score, a Golden Globe for Best Original Score, a Grammy for Best Score for a Motion Picture and the BAFTA Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music ("Nobody Does It Better") in 1978. The film was also Oscar nominated for Best Art Direction (Ken Adam, Peter Lamont and Hugh Scaife), and for a BAFTA for Best Production Design/Art Direction.
THE CAST-
- Roger Moore as James Bond
- Barbara Bach as Anya Amasova/Agent Triple X
- Curt Jürgens as Karl Stromberg
- Richard Kiel as Jaws
- Caroline Munro as Naomi
- Walter Gotell as General Alexis Gogol
- Bernard Lee as M
- Desmond Llewelyn as Q
- Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny
- Geoffrey Keen as Frederick Gray
- George Baker as Captain Benson
- Edward de Souza as Sheikh Hosein
- Shane Rimmer as Commander Carter
- Milton Reed as Shandor
- Michael Billington as Sergei Barzov
- Vernon Dobtcheff as Max Kalba
BOND- Sir Roger Moore's 3rd and admittedly favorite turn as the world's most famous secret agent shows a substantial change in direction in making the role his own. The grittier, more workmanlike portrayal seen in his first two efforts gives way to a suave, relaxed, sophisticated character lighter in tone that separates himself from his predecessors. His performance is the best one of what I call his "Bond lite" trio and generally very solid, but for my taste it's not his best Bond performance and mostly not what I look for in the character- 3/5
WOMEN- Are there ever, and every one of them is just smokin' hot in my book! The lead role of Russian Major Anya Amasova, or Soviet agent XXX if you will, is played by Barbara Bach, who is better known to the world-at-large as the wife of Beatles drummer Ringo Starr. Bach is quite a beautiful woman, but not a very convincing "equal" to Bond due in part to a lack of acting skills and bad accent (see Famke Janssen for how to do Russian). The Amasova character should have been stronger but it was a sign of the times that she'd take the back seat to Bond in the end, and I've always wondered if that aspect of the script had something to do with her controversial exit comments. My favorite Bond babe in this one was English stunner Caroline Munro as Stromberg crony Naomi. She probably had less than 10 lines but her facial expressions and pure sex appeal stole the movie from the other women. Wished she had a larger role but then, she holds the distinction of being the first woman Bond actually kills. Yugoslavian actress Olga Bisera also impresses as the beautiful, ill fated Felicca, there's Sue Wanner as the Russian "Cabin Girl", a spicy Sardinian hotel clerk, and a bevy of Egyptian harem girls. Again, these girls are as hot as any group you'll find in a Bond movie but there has to be more than good looks- and their collective acting isn't near what the women of Thunderball and Casino Royale bring to the table- 3/5
VILLAINS- Veteran German actor Curt Jürgens shines as megalomaniac shipping magnate Karl Stromberg, who obsesses with creating an undersea civilization and is preparing to destroy mankind to achieve his dream. Stromberg I find to be one of the best villains in the series. He's not in it for the money. His menace is made perfectly clear when he coldly feeds his secretary to his killer shark, and then smiles happily while his two business associates all but wet their trousers entering the same elevator. His main henchman is a paid killer called "Jaws", played by veteran American charactor actor and real life giant Richard Kiel. Loosely based on mobster Sol "Horror" Horowitz from the original novel, Jaws is different- like Horror he sports a pair of metal teeth that he uses to rip out jugular veins in vampire-like fashion. He's portrayed as indestructible and seemly impossible to kill. Unfortunately, the role becomes almost comedic at times. The role of another henchman named Sandor, played by English wrestler Milton Reed, bears resemblances as well to Horror's novel partner in crime "Sluggsy Morant". Other villain-types have minor roles, overall these were good villains- 4/5
HUMOR- Tons of witty one-liners that would come to define the Moore portrayal of Bond are present. This turned out to be his forte, and like Connery before he is great at it. Some of the humor is unintentionally provided by Jaws, which wasn't necessarily a good thing and led to bouts of disbelief in the form of sight gags- 3.5/5
ACTION- Mostly chock full of great action whether it be a ski chase 6,000 feet up on Mount Asgard, two fights in Cairo, a high speed car chase on winding mountain roads in Sardinia, and the great finale aboard the Liparus. Sounds all thumbs up, right? Unfortunately, it has a down side in Jaws. He's a little bit too indestructible. He's the Terminator 7 years early. After a while, every escape borders more and more on camp in place of reality. Not enough to stop me from grading the category highly on everything that is realistic, but too much for a perfect score- 4/5
SADISM- Nevermind Jaws, the shark, the secretary's severed arm seen by Bond, the torn jugulars- anyone who is willing to so calmly nuke millions entirely deserves the maximum grade- 5/5
MUSIC- Despite all the nominations for his work, when you scratch below the surface you find that more than half of Hamlisch's score is cue oriented, much like the recent work of David Arnold. The title song "Nobody Does It Better" is a series classic that receives airplay to this day, and Hamlisch does a good job using it in romantic cues involving Bond and XXX. What I thought was just unbelievably brilliant on the part of Hamlisch was adding the classical music of Bach and Mozart playing during the shark kill, and later as Stromberg calmly returns to his meal after having murdered three people. One track in "Eastern Lights" is an interesting mix of Barry and biblical epics and very well done. "The Pyramids" and "Mojave Club" (Mojaba Club in the movie) and several other cues capture an Egyptian feel rather well. "The Tanker" is also quite dramatic and brings some suspense. Outside of the above, "Bond 77" and other pieces are either disco uncool or not Bondian in feel and don't work at all for me. In summation I don't feel the overall soundtrack is more than average and mostly overrated aside from the title song, and it lacks Barry and Martin's flair. Ultimately, I see it as more of an effort to capitalize on existing trends and sell records rather than create something new- 3/5
LOCATIONS- The Alps and Mount Asgard, Egypt, Sardinia, and Ken Adam's magnificent designs- what's not to love? Simply breathtaking for the most part, I want to visit every one of them- 5/5
GADGETS- Another category where the movie succeeds. The Connery Aston Martin is updated by the equally impressive underwater capable Lotus, and Bond's miniature microfilm reader comes in very handy. Q's Egyptian lab doesn't disappoint but doesn't add anything as far as something Bond uses, even the villains have a few of their own and this film is both memorable and effective for me in this category- 5/5
SUPPORTING CAST- Other than more work than usual for M and Q, who are excellent, we get the introductions of two recurring characters who would appear throughout the Moore tenure. First we have Geoffrey Keen as Frederick Grey, a government minister who is mostly M's official liaison. Serious as he generally is, he becomes half a comedy figure as he often winds up embarrassed in front of his superiors by Bond's womanizing and other antics. We also see the return of Walter Gotell, who played Morzeny in FRWL. Here he is introduced as General Alexis Gogol, head of the Soviet KGB. American actor Shane Rimmer does well as Captain Carter, assisting Bond in taking down Stromberg's forces, Edward DeSouza plays a rich local sheikh and old friend of Bond from his university days who points Bond towards the microfilm source, even future M Robert Brown appears as a naval officer. An entertaining, well cast ensemble memorable both then and in future films- 4.5/5
OVERALL SCORE AND RECOLLECTIONS- My best recollections of being in the theater on it's debut weekend was that it was a grand adventure with spectacular Ken Adam sets that recalled the Connery days, and it was very popular that summer with moviegoers including my high school classmates. We had never had a wait for the next film that stretched into 2 and a half years at that point and I was very impatient by then. Like LALD, the title song was very popular and got people interested in the movie. Dad wanted to buy a Lotus, all three of us lusted after this group of women, and we were wowed by Ken Adam's sets and the exotic locations. As far as flaws, it does have some that are glaring. It's a fairly unoriginal adventure and at times overly reliant on rehashing an old storyline and copying trends rather than establishing something new. And then there's a little too much Jaws and too much camp. Yet if I have a guilty pleasure in the Bond series, then this one is it- it's not my ideal cup of Moore brand tea but I truly enjoy it despite the flaws and always enjoy a watch several times a year. It aims for the moon as far as high adventure with a sense of humor and for me, it succeeds. Considered a classic entry by many, including myself, it scores 40 out of 50 points for me, or an average of 4.0
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The Man With The Golden Guh-UHhhhhhhhNN!!
BOND - 3 out of 5. Moore is smoothly sailing along in this one, rather the same as LALD but ... even when I first saw this in the theatre, I didn't like the way he treated the women in this film. He was not really a gentleman, not nice, the slap did bother me, and although Goodnight was a ditz he was not really decent to her, I felt. He is glib and has the eyebrow just right a bit, but I liked him much better in other films (notably TSWLM asnd FYEO which are coming up). So yes, he is self assured and a suave Bond but there is something missing. And he dropped his gun in the funhouse (annoyed me no end when I first saw this movie - would Bond drop his gun? No I don't think so).
WOMEN- 3 out of 5 Well, I think Maud Adams was strikingly beautiful and Britt was really cute and pretty (and not her fault the character was written as so inept and just not given much of a role in the movie). Maud and Roger were good together, and I was pleased she became Otocupussy some years later. But the women were not scintillating really, not a major force in this Bond film. Not even strongly relevant characters.
VILLAINS- 4 out of 5. Every bit of that score goes to Christopher Lee who is superb here as a true villain. I love how smooth, suave, elegant, and calculating he is. He feels that he and Bond are a match, rather the same - and that in itself is a nice dynamic, if played by a strong enough actor; and Lee definitely is. The one-on-one tension wtih Bond was good. I rather wish Lee was not killed in this film, but would come back to stalk Bond in another movie again. He was that good; a delicious villain. I would have liked to have had that be a recurring role, for at least one more movie. Nic Nac truly only annoyed me, and he annoyed me from the first moment. Not menacing, just a very height-impaired jerk. I wanted to throw a pie in his face and kick him off the island (and the movie) right off the bat.
HUMOR- 3 out of 5 Okay, I like JW Pepper. He is so outrageous and is a very well done parody (OTT) of a certain kind of loud-mouthed, closed-minded, bigoted southern sherriff (goodness knows what native Louisiana folks thought of him!). He made me laugh. Some of the humor in this film is just a bit too juvenile for my tastes and just not the best, rather serviceable. I even thought the school girls kicking butt was just okay.
ACTION- 2.5 out of 5 Not a lot of really exciting action, except for the car flip - but that has been deservedly remembered ever since as truly spectacular.
SADISM- 2 out of 5 I don't see the sadism in this movie, other than Scaramanga saying he took pleasure in killing. No torture, no cirgarettes on arms, little fingers cut off, anyone fed to sharks, etc.
MUSIC- 3 out of 5 And that seems generous. I don't much like the admittedly catchy title song (yet it sticks in my mind -argh!!), but Barry did use it well throughout the film, he really did. And the music at the end was a perfect match. But overall rather forgettable for me. But, as everyone says, it is John Barry; meaning it was still better scored than many movies.
LOCATIONS- 4 out of 5 The locations were great in this Bond movie - spectacular scenery and exotic. I especially like the huge rock outcroppings (how do I describe them) - when Bond's plane flies thru them, that is so enchanting. All the locales were top quality.
GADGETS- 4 out of 5 Well there were plenty of unusual or fun gadgets. I personally didn't like the fun house (I just don't like those kinds of things), but the flying car was well done (especially for its time) and the best bit was the actual golden gun.
SUPPORTING CAST- 3 out of 5 A mixed bag for me honestly, but M, Q and Moneypenny are enjoyable. As mentioned JW was memorable (for probably every fan, either love him or hate him) and I thought his wife was well cast, too. But no great ally, I couldn't stand Nic Nac, no super Bond girl. Just okay.
OVERALL SCORE AND RECOLLECTIONS- Well, it is not a favorite of mine ... not when I saw it in the theatre, not now. However, it is not tremendously bad or at the very bottom of the pit - and that is because, for me, Chrispher Lee raises the quality of every scene he is in; and the locations helped. I did also sense the ending when I first saw Bond as a figure in the fun house; it did seem likely in the back of my mind, so I wasn't surprised at the ending with Scaramanga being killed as the figure then proved to be actually Bond with a loaded gun. I didn't think about the gun issue: I guess I was assuming he had gotten back the one he had dropped and reloaded it. So a few things irked me about the movie and took away from it being pure enjoyment, but I'm not going to say it was horrible. It was serviceable and adequate as Roger's second Bond film - and those two damning words fit, along with mediocre. Just a missed mark (sorry, Scaramanga/Christopher Lee ... you deserved more). And Roger could shine better ... as he did with his very next Bond flick. (I feel like I'm finished with my appetizer now and on to the scrumptious main course!)
Bond 5/ Roger finally hit his stride. His humor, good looks, charm, and seriousness all blended together. He is well fit and wears his clothes well, his romancing of KGB agent Anya with his wit all blended well for his third outing.
Women 4 Barbara Bach looks good, Naomi is smoking. Even the hot blond in the PTS contributed.
Villains 3.5 Stromberg played by Kurt Jurgens is okay. He captures the melomaniacal super villian,but all he does is set around and pushes buttons. He lacked the charisma of a Largo or Scaramanga. Jaws is good as a great henchman and Sandor was fun as well.
Humor 4 I have to give it to them. The script is well played with a good blend of over the top humor and suspense. A lot of tongue in cheek but for some reason it seemed to find a nice blend this time around.
Action 5 this film is not short on action sequences. It really put the two previous films to shame. From the PTS, to the climatic finish.
Sadism 3 The deaths are there but handled with minimal blood and gore. Perhaps in keeping with the light hearted mood. Lewis Gilbert's earlier film YOLT is more graphic and bloody than this one. Even when Jaws bites a jugular, we see no blood whereas in actuallity the victim would be covered in blood. To me the most disturbing scene was where Stromberg feeds his treacherous secretary to a shark and his taunting her over the PA system while she swims for her life. but what would be a bloody and gory there is no blood...)
Music 4 I really liked the theme song by Carly Simon. It is one of my favorites and it was nominated for best song. LALD by McCartner gets all the love but Carly Simon's hit is by far heads and shoulders better. Marvin Hamish does a good job with an updated soundtrack that is a real plus.
Locations 5 what can I say? Well utilized and gave the feeling of being there. Exotic as heck and great.
Gadjets 4 All the gadgets do contribute to the narrative. My only complaint is that there are just too many and too cartoonish at times. A car into a submarine? Riduculous as it sounds (like the flying car in TMWTGG) but for some reason we accept this absurdity and it sells itself extremely well.
Supporting Cast 4 again high marks. Godel as General Gogol supreb as is M, Moneypenny, Q is is usual annoyed self and all just blend beautifully.
Overall 41.5 rounded to 42 or 4.2
I must say this is not one of my favorite Bond adventures, however based on the scores I rank it high. Many experts consider it to be Moore's best film (I'm not in that group)
Always felt the over reliance on gadgets and the ryclcled plot from an earlier adventure drags it down in my opinion. But the public loved it back in the summer of 1977 and it made a crapload of $$.
I think you just delivered it!
The Spy Who Loved Me
BOND- 4. Roger Moore, in this film made Bond his own. Moore has said that of all his Bond films this is his favourite, and it is easy to see why. Getting away from the Connery-ish Bond of TMWTGG and fine tuning it to his strengths. Moore is not my idea of Bond, but he certainly had fun in this film, delivering his bon mots as only he can, some classic one liners and reactions.
WOMEN- 4. Wow! from the gorgeous and very sexy BB, to CM, VL and assorted totty this is a Bond film that is very easy on the eye. When I saw this at the cinema in summer '77 I was of an age to really appreciate the finer female form, a huge leap up from Moore's previous Bonds, especially TMWTGG. Lovely ladies one and all.
VILLAINS- 5. The wonderfully web-fingered Stromberg who doesn't want to start WWIII, just decimate the world and start a new one under the sea. If you've got an evil plan then why not go BIG! Jurgens is magnificent as old school megalomaniac. With two henchmen, the under used Shandor, the indestructible Jaws (I my opinion the one major failing of TSWLM is that not only does he survive numerous certain death situations but he does not die at the end of the film, the shark really should have got him.
HUMOR- 4. Sir Rog is in his element here with some great one liners, facial reactions and situations, the only let down is the more comedic elements from Jaws as the film goes on which dilute the scary-ness of this particular villain. The little scene with the hotel receptionist (the gorgeous Varlerie Leon) delivering a message always make me laugh.
ACTION- 5. After the lacklustre action of TMWTGG we get an action-packed Bond adventure that leaves one breathless, from the opening ski chase to the destruction of the Liparus and Atlantic we have a great action-adventure.
SADISM- 5. A girl gets fed to a shark, two top scientist are blown up in a helicopter (the funeral was at sea), and the idea of wiping out civilisation to start again undersea, a henchman who rips peoples jugulars, even though a fun film, the is a sadistic streak, as there should be, we need to boo the villain after all.
MUSIC- 4. Very much of its time, MH's score is a serviceable Bond score, I think it works well and the humour is even present in the score with strains of Lawrence of Arabia as Bond and Anya trudge though the dessert. I have no problem with the score, not the best, but certainly not the worst.
LOCATIONS-4. Ah, location, location, location. A truly globe-trotting Bond (the first?) with exotic location in gorgeous widescreen that make you wish to visit. I remember wanting to go to Sardinia while watching this the first time. Great locations well used.
GADGETS- 4. Remote control exploding motorcycle-sidecars, underwater lair that raises up majestically from the sea to the strains of classical music, an amphibious Lotus (really, really wanted a Lotus after watching this), micro film reader, poisonous cigarette and a hat-full of gad in Q's lab, gadgets galore.
SUPPORTING CAST- 4. A spot-on supporting cast. With M, Q and Moneypenny as good as ever, and everyone from ministers to arab contacts and beyond all well cast and giving top notch performances, a well cast film and special mention to Shane Rimmer who to me is Felix Leiter in all but name. Having been in YOLT, voiced on Thunderbirds and appeared in numerous British TV programmes, Rimmer was giving a great supporting role and ran with it, a great performance.
OVERALL SCORE AND RECOLLECTIONS- 43 - or 4.3 Now this is not my favourite Bond, not even my favourite Moore Bond, but it is a special Bond film. If it had not delivered it could well have been Bond's swan song. I skipped off school, with half-a-dozen mates, to see this in the cinema. It was playing at Plymouth's Drake cinema, when there was only two screens, but screen One was enormous, not like the multiplex screen we now have. I saw it a total of three times that summer - and Plymouth is 25 miles from where we live and our family had no car, so no small effort was put into watching this film. At the time I loved this film, thought is was probably the best Bond so far, but even then I was a little surprised that Jaws actually survived, and found this a little unbelievable, didn't think there was anyway he could have survived the shark and this let the film down a bit for me. I thought all the women were very nice, and fell in love with Barbara Bach she is so sexy in this film, very easy on the eye.
The cinema erupted with the PTS ski-jump, which due to four of the five cameras either not working or not following the action we get the jump in one take, something that really makes this special, if it had cut to reverse angle or close-up it would have ruined the total awesomeness of the stunt.
I just loved watching this in the cinema, over the years though I have noticed things about it that don't make sense or seem a bit ridiculous so I don't like it as much as I did. Even so, I still enjoy watching this film and am looking forward to seeing it in its blu-ray glory soon. A film to watch if you want spectacle, humour, action and some gorgeous women, not the best Bond but certainly one of the most important in the series…but oh dear it all goes tits up in the next mission!
And may I say some of your comments throughout all of these review are really great, make me smile or laugh (including your last line, Lancaster007).
BOND- We learn that Bond took a first in Oriental languages at Cambridge (or was it Oxford?), knows and appreciates Japanese culture, but probably puts too much faith in the power of oysters.
Connery is magnificent, delivering his usual brand of laid back and cool ruthlessness. At odds with the overall pace and scale of this film his performance still has all of the ingrediants that won him the role years before. 4.5/5
WOMEN- A gorgeous group of Oriental ladies including lovely, doomed Aki and Bond's 'bride' Kissy. 4/5
VILLAINS- In 100 years time when historians look at the legacy of this series and maybe discuss the Bond villains, one image will shine brightly above all others: the cracked skull of manic Ernst Blofeld as played by Donald Pleasance. It's a brief appearance, but an unforgettable one nontheless. Elswhere we have big talking but hopeless Blofeld puppet Mr Osato, deadly beauty Helga Brandt and the first in a long line of Red Grant clones whose name escapes me.
Plenty of villains but only Blofeld shines through 3.5/5
HUMOR- Amusing take on East/West cultural differences, funny Q and Penny scenes (when Q and Penny scenes still were funny), some classic and classy one liners and a visual joke of such scope and ambition that I for one never fail to whoop and punch the air when I see it (see Action). 5/5
ACTION- Plenty of wonderful, epic and classic moments. Little Nellie takes to the air, Ninjas tumble and leap here, there and everywhere, rockets blast off into space, planes plummet, Bond engages in one of his finest punch ups, a huge magnet drops a car into the sea and in arguably the finest single aerial shot of the entire series Bond races across the rooftops dispencing Osatos goons as John Barry's amazing music wells. It's silly, but it's also funny and it works - with nobs on. 5/5 (I need a 6 here really)
SADISM- Helga and her nasty little sharp tools, pirrhana fish that strip a man's flesh to the bone in minutes (or a woman's in this case), death by poison and ultimately the threat of Bond being married off to a woman with a face like a pig 4/5
MUSIC- It swells, it soars, it sways, it seduces. John Barry at his most luscious, exotic and beautiful. And a theme to die for. 5/5
LOCATIONS- Japan, Hong Kong and Ken Adams' Volcano interior that defies belief. Japan is presented so lovingly, it's people, cultures and sites. 4/5
GADGETS- Little Nellie is a joy, but plenty of other gadgets that enhance the film but never detract from the overall experience 5/5
SUPPORTING CAST- M, Q and Penny all present, all in blistering form. A young, intelligent and engaging head of secret service in Japan, Tiger Tanaka. Bond's contact in Japan is Dikko Henderson well played by Charles Gray (his relief that Bond clouted the correct leg is a laugh out loud moment). A splendid cast 5/5
OVERALL SCORE AND RECOLLECTIONS 45/50
YOLT is ultimately the film that bridges the gap between the original take on Bond and the fanciful films of the 70s. The blueprint film for the next decade if you like.
Lovingly parodied by all and sundry for years to come, it's like dipping into a bag af sweets and seeing the delights therein.
YOLT is not boring, Connery is not bored. Anyone hankering after the Bond of the Fleming books was out of touch with what the cinema audiences wanted. Cubby was not.
I saw this in a re-run during the 70s in a double bill with FRWL. Even then I appreciated the more intelligent earlier film but YOLT and it's wonderful excesses has always remained a massive favourite.
It was Cambridge.
Watch 08.40 of this review - funny :))
Personally, while I feel YOLT is an underrated little gem, has my all time favorite Bond girl in Kissy, and feel like you that "bored" Sir Sean was not compared to DAF and the garbage scow that was NSNA (which will not be reviewed here and count for anything), I also feel there are quite a few movies ahead of it and just wouldn't rate it that high. But it's an interesting take on it nonetheless and I appreciated the read.
I like YOLT and feel it gets a very tough time from some fans. It has flaws and is arguably the weakest of the films made in the 60s but IMO it's still an enjoyable adventure.
"I...love...you...repeat it please to make sure you get it"
"Don't worry, I get it!"
Sir Henry, I know I went a little over the top, but i do see YOLT as an important milestone in the series and grossly undervalued by fans. It has more iconic Bond film moments than any other in the series (arguably), and deserves recognition.
It's a great Bond film as opposed to a Bond film that is a great film (like maybe OHMSS, GF and FRWL), and I would stand it above DN (which I love) and TB (which I like) in any ranking.
However, although I have ranked it highly as having all the ingrediants of a great Bond film (which is what this is about) it won't necessarilly out-rank other 60s gems when I get around to them.
You make a great point about YOLT's template being influential on other films to come. Certainly as I mentioned in my initial review, Mike Myers found a lot of moments worth revisiting. I find it interesting that Lewis Gilbert was the director both here and in the fanciful films of the 70's, assuming you mean Spy and MR by that. There's a pattern there just like with Guy Hamilton and his editing gaffes and cop car crashes.
While appreciated, this would probably be more appropriate when we actually get around to reviewing this film. For the record though, I like TND and while I feel it was probably Brosnan's best effort as Bond, GE is the better film.
Goodo, I didn't figure it would be added to the score as I thought the scoring had probably closed. And even so my review doesn't alter the overall scoring too much. ;-)