James Bond - The Man with the Golden Gun

20 January 2015

The Man with the Golden Gun 1974

• Director:  Guy Hamilton
• Based on the novels  by Ian Fleming
• Cast: Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Maud Adams, Hervé Villechaize, Clifton James, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell
• Personal “oh yeah him/her” reaction, i.e. have seen this actor in:
• Roger Moore  – The Saint
• Christopher Lee – Dark Shadows, Hugo, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Sleepy Hollow, Mio min Mio and probably others
• Britt Ekland – Get Carter
• Maud Adams – Radioskuggan, Playing for Time
• Why? Curious. Hal and I saw several Bond films in a Bond festival in the early 70’s and enjoyed them. Sean Connery is the only Bond we have ever seen.  Friends have said later actors have been good too. And with Judi Dench they can’t be all bad.  So we bought the box...
• Seen:  January 10, 2015  

Now we’re really coming to unknown Bond territory. I hardly even recognise the title. Or the song, though I can hear that it’s Lulu singing.

This film boasts not one, but two Swedish stars, Britt Ekland and Maud Adams (who’s actually very good in her other roles). They’re beautiful to be sure but do little to lift this most uninteresting film. There is little to distinguish it from the earlier Bond films except that there’s less humour (almost none and what is there is not funny) more misogynism and more 70’s feeling (that’s not good).

Of possible interest is the prescience of today’s environmental energy disaster with the unexpected wisdom of hinting at the benefits of solar energy and the dangers of nuclear energy. The schoolgirl karate experts and the stunning scenery also give it a small plus.

But why, oh why, did they have to make these films so long?

1 ½ * of 5