It means that having a 5 minute long climax in the lair (whilst having a half-hour of minutes of things that have nothing to do with the movie) was a horrible executive decision on EON's part.
Here's what I would have done with the movie.
Keep the first act of the movie as is. Cut the sumo wresting and kung fu. Have Goodnight stay with Bond as his companion, replacing JW Pepper instead of being kidnapped. Bond dines and duels with Scaramanga while Goodnight secretly disables the solar facilities. Scaramanga's plan is to monopolize solar power and refuse it to the west instead of a giant laser.
It means that having a 5 minute long climax in the lair (whilst having a half-hour of minutes of things that have nothing to do with the movie) was a horrible executive decision on EON's part.
Here's what I would have done with the movie.
Keep the first act of the movie as is. Cut the sumo wresting and kung fu. Have Goodnight stay with Bond as his companion, replacing JW Pepper instead of being kidnapped. Bond dines and duels with Scaramanga while Goodnight secretly disables the solar facilities. Scaramanga's plan is to monopolize solar power and refuse it to the west instead of a giant laser.
That would potentially take out a lot of elements from the film including the flying car which is one of the highlights of the film. As if Goodnight is not kidnapped, there is no need to show the flying car (unless there is a sequence where Scaramanga acquires the Solex and Bond is forced to pursue him)
Now assuming that Scaramanga acquired the Solex from Andrea and Goodnight managed to put a tracking device on Scaramanga, which is how Bond could trace him to the Island, there would be issues with Goodnight accompanying Bond in the Seabee unless you want to re-create GE scenes where Bond and Natalya fly over Costa Rica (In your pre-edit you also mentioned about the Seabee being shot down by Scaramanga instead of it landing on the island much like in GE so appears as if you are trying to recreate GE in TMWTGG)
Personally, I prefer the classy TMWTGG's climax over GE's
From what I've heard, the female character in Fleming's novel version was a unique character but EON decided to ramp up the misogyny with Ekland's character instead.
You haven't even bothered to read the novel and your griping about this?
I agree that Mary Goodnight was a letdown in the film. Guy Hamilton must have thought the idea of female agents was hilarious. (Note how much fun was poked at Rosie Carver being a lousy agent)
However, Bond's reluctance to work with a woman could be traced back to the Casino Royale novel.
There is so little enemy action in TMWTGG that most of the action in the 3rd act is propelled by Goodnight's ineptitude. I doubt Bond would have even followed Scaramanga except that he had Goodnight locked in his trunk. She also blows up the island and almost kills Bond with the solar beam.
(PS- I still really like this movie)
My current 10 favorite:
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
Welcome to AJB, RandolphQ. Please take a look at our introduction for new members in the Site Help forum, and if you like introduce yourself in the Welcome thread in Off-Topic.
Hi all, im new to the forum and find the posts on TMWTGG really interesting
It certainly appears to be somewhat of a marmite film for fans, with quite varied opinions..
Its actually one of my fave films, probably as it was one of the main films i remember growing up with through my childhood so holds some nostalgic memories...
I actually like Moore's performance in this one, and find him settled into the role and looking his best...The 'synthed and sped up' opening theme is a little clumsy with the vocals, and i know Barry himself was disappointed, but the supporting score and slower/gentler romantic twist on the main theme is bang on in my opinion and holds up well compared to the others
Love the locations, exotic feel and Lee as Scaramanga is sublime..
I guess i just love the simpler duel concept over a highly technical and complicated plot.
Hi all, im new to the forum and find the posts on TMWTGG really interesting
It certainly appears to be somewhat of a marmite film for fans, with quite varied opinions..
Its actually one of my fave films, probably as it was one of the main films i remember growing up with through my childhood so holds some nostalgic memories...
I actually like Moore's performance in this one, and find him settled into the role and looking his best...The 'synthed and sped up' opening theme is a little clumsy with the vocals, and i know Barry himself was disappointed, but the supporting score and slower/gentler romantic twist on the main theme is bang on in my opinion and holds up well compared to the others
Love the locations, exotic feel and Lee as Scaramanga is sublime..
I guess i just love the simpler duel concept over a highly technical and complicated plot.
I find myself feeling much the same about the film, from what I can remember this is actually the first Bond film I watched when I was about 6-7 when it was on TV one-night. It's quite an iconic film with the locations and music etc., so I have quite a bit of nostalgia for it.
I like it as a fun film, with some decent performances by Moore and Lee. Somethings about the film have dated and don't work that well, but hey, it's a romp!
LoeffelholzThe United States, With LovePosts: 8,998Quartermasters
My DVD is going to have to suffice for the forseeable future
Check out my Amazon author page!Mark Loeffelholz
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
I re-watched this last night, I've got quite a bit of nostalgia for this film and it does have some standout scenes - but this film is definitely slipping in my rankings.
Overall some things are just too stupid and cartoonish in this film:
- Goodnight is too frustrating and a waste of time - to me this is probably the worst film for it's treatment of woman - physically too.
- Basically the whole section from the Grisly Land until Scaramanga's Island is boring and very "B" movie.
- PTS is weak and a dull set-up. Would be better if it was the whole Bill Fairbanks/Saida in Beirut.
Having seen it just once, my initial neutral thought of this film was:
What if Tim Burton made a Bond movie in the Roger Moore era?
haha good point. That's one of the reasons I enjoy TMWTGG so much is it has that quirky, weird style. I'm glad that not all Bond movies are straight-forward action movies like LTK or TND.
My current 10 favorite:
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
Having seen it just once, my initial neutral thought of this film was:
What if Tim Burton made a Bond movie in the Roger Moore era?
haha good point. That's one of the reasons I enjoy TMWTGG so much is it has that quirky, weird style. I'm glad that not all Bond movies are straight-forward action movies like LTK or TND.
So as my Bond marathon continues, last night I watched MWTGG.
As others have said this film came out in 1974 just a single year after LALD. I had just started my apprenticeship so this was the first Bond film I saw as a young adult. Once again as is the case with certainly the early 1970's Bond movies, life in the UK was one of strife and struggle with constant strikes, high unemployement and maybe an odd powercut here and there.
In the cinema in 1974 Bond was competing with the new Bruce Lee driven Kung Fu craze. Enter The Dragon, Fists Of Fury, The Big Boss and The way Of The Dragon were all films I also saw in 1974. Other notable film releases that year were Towering Inferno, Earthquake, Blazzing Saddles and The Godfather Part 2.
Some of the scenes in MWTGG are stolen directly from the 1973 Enter The Dragon film. The mirrors in the funhouse for example and even the contest at the Kung Fu school, these all appear in Lee's ETD.
I actually really enjoyed watching this and it was a lot better than I had remembered. Some of the stunts are fantastic the "Knight Rider" turn in the car chase, and the car turning 360 degrees jump, awesome stuff. I hate the penny whistle or whatever it is that is played during this stunt, and I wish in a future release they could do a version where it's edited out. That stunt would be far better with just silence imo.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I wish the producers would go back to the use of stuntmen when it comes to car chases etc instead of ex formula One racing drivers, for some reason imo they produce better results.
Christopher Lee plays a good part and is convincing as Scaramanger. Lets not forget he was still portraying Dracula at that time with 5 Dracula films being released from 1970 to 1976. So I felt some people would find it strange to see him playing a different role.
I feel the film moves on at a reasonable pace. Miss Goodnight (Bonds Secretary in the novels) is just there for no other reason but provide "eye candy".
The finale with the destruction of Sacamangas base I think is done really well bearing in mind it was all minature camera work. I wish they would go back to minatures especially when some of the CGI in some of the later movies is well "shoddy" to say the least.
Once again Roger Moores Bond is totally different to Connery's. The slapping about of the girl just didn't sit right for me. If Connery had been Bond then that wouldbe different.
Overall though at the end of the film I felt a nice and warm glow inside, I had actually thoroughly enjoyed the film. Not the best Bond (some of the best stunts though) and I would sit this at number 13 directly behind LALD in my ranking charts.
Miss Goodnight (Bonds Secretary in the novels) is just there for no other reason but provide "eye candy".
Not true…almost all the action in the second half of the film is driven by Mary Goodnite.
Think who forced Bond to follow Scaramanga to his island? MG (by getting herself locked in the truck WITH the solex)
Think who blew up Scaramanga's base? MG (Knocked the guard into the vat)
Think who almost got Bond cooked by the laser? MG (bumped the controls with her butt)
Without Mary Goodnite to stir things up it would have been a very uneventful film.
My current 10 favorite:
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
Comments
It means that having a 5 minute long climax in the lair (whilst having a half-hour of minutes of things that have nothing to do with the movie) was a horrible executive decision on EON's part.
Here's what I would have done with the movie.
Keep the first act of the movie as is. Cut the sumo wresting and kung fu. Have Goodnight stay with Bond as his companion, replacing JW Pepper instead of being kidnapped. Bond dines and duels with Scaramanga while Goodnight secretly disables the solar facilities. Scaramanga's plan is to monopolize solar power and refuse it to the west instead of a giant laser.
That would potentially take out a lot of elements from the film including the flying car which is one of the highlights of the film. As if Goodnight is not kidnapped, there is no need to show the flying car (unless there is a sequence where Scaramanga acquires the Solex and Bond is forced to pursue him)
Now assuming that Scaramanga acquired the Solex from Andrea and Goodnight managed to put a tracking device on Scaramanga, which is how Bond could trace him to the Island, there would be issues with Goodnight accompanying Bond in the Seabee unless you want to re-create GE scenes where Bond and Natalya fly over Costa Rica (In your pre-edit you also mentioned about the Seabee being shot down by Scaramanga instead of it landing on the island much like in GE so appears as if you are trying to recreate GE in TMWTGG)
Personally, I prefer the classy TMWTGG's climax over GE's
"The 1973 AVE Mizar attached a Cessna Skymaster airframe to a Ford Pinto. Its inventor was killed when the wings collapsed during a test flight"
So it appears as if at that time Flying Cars were a topic of discussion too, along with the oil crisis
You are not a true Bond fan. Only true Bond fans appreciate the movies at their original length.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
You haven't even bothered to read the novel and your griping about this?
I agree that Mary Goodnight was a letdown in the film. Guy Hamilton must have thought the idea of female agents was hilarious. (Note how much fun was poked at Rosie Carver being a lousy agent)
However, Bond's reluctance to work with a woman could be traced back to the Casino Royale novel.
There is so little enemy action in TMWTGG that most of the action in the 3rd act is propelled by Goodnight's ineptitude. I doubt Bond would have even followed Scaramanga except that he had Goodnight locked in his trunk. She also blows up the island and almost kills Bond with the solar beam.
(PS- I still really like this movie)
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
It certainly appears to be somewhat of a marmite film for fans, with quite varied opinions..
Its actually one of my fave films, probably as it was one of the main films i remember growing up with through my childhood so holds some nostalgic memories...
I actually like Moore's performance in this one, and find him settled into the role and looking his best...The 'synthed and sped up' opening theme is a little clumsy with the vocals, and i know Barry himself was disappointed, but the supporting score and slower/gentler romantic twist on the main theme is bang on in my opinion and holds up well compared to the others
Love the locations, exotic feel and Lee as Scaramanga is sublime..
I guess i just love the simpler duel concept over a highly technical and complicated plot.
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
I agree, not the sharpest tools in the box, but surely there allowed a special dispensation for how they pull off the bikini look
In that movie they both are at the height of their beauty...in particular Maud Adams as Andrea Anders...she was stunning
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
I like it as a fun film, with some decent performances by Moore and Lee. Somethings about the film have dated and don't work that well, but hey, it's a romp!
"Better make that two."
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
"Better make that two."
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
"I am not an entrant in the Shakespeare Stakes." - Ian Fleming
"Screw 'em." - Daniel Craig, The Best James Bond EverTM
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
Overall some things are just too stupid and cartoonish in this film:
- Goodnight is too frustrating and a waste of time - to me this is probably the worst film for it's treatment of woman - physically too.
- Basically the whole section from the Grisly Land until Scaramanga's Island is boring and very "B" movie.
- PTS is weak and a dull set-up. Would be better if it was the whole Bill Fairbanks/Saida in Beirut.
"Better make that two."
Having seen it just once, my initial neutral thought of this film was:
What if Tim Burton made a Bond movie in the Roger Moore era?
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
haha good point. That's one of the reasons I enjoy TMWTGG so much is it has that quirky, weird style. I'm glad that not all Bond movies are straight-forward action movies like LTK or TND.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
One of the reasons my girlfriend has never seen this film.
I personally don't mind it when I'm watching it alone and in a sexist mood.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK
Good point
"Better make that two."
#1.TLD/LTK 2.TND 3.GF 4.GE 5.DN 6.FYEO 7.FRWL 8.TMWTGG 9.TWINE 10.YOLT/QOS
"Better make that two."
As others have said this film came out in 1974 just a single year after LALD. I had just started my apprenticeship so this was the first Bond film I saw as a young adult. Once again as is the case with certainly the early 1970's Bond movies, life in the UK was one of strife and struggle with constant strikes, high unemployement and maybe an odd powercut here and there.
In the cinema in 1974 Bond was competing with the new Bruce Lee driven Kung Fu craze. Enter The Dragon, Fists Of Fury, The Big Boss and The way Of The Dragon were all films I also saw in 1974. Other notable film releases that year were Towering Inferno, Earthquake, Blazzing Saddles and The Godfather Part 2.
Some of the scenes in MWTGG are stolen directly from the 1973 Enter The Dragon film. The mirrors in the funhouse for example and even the contest at the Kung Fu school, these all appear in Lee's ETD.
I actually really enjoyed watching this and it was a lot better than I had remembered. Some of the stunts are fantastic the "Knight Rider" turn in the car chase, and the car turning 360 degrees jump, awesome stuff. I hate the penny whistle or whatever it is that is played during this stunt, and I wish in a future release they could do a version where it's edited out. That stunt would be far better with just silence imo.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, I wish the producers would go back to the use of stuntmen when it comes to car chases etc instead of ex formula One racing drivers, for some reason imo they produce better results.
Christopher Lee plays a good part and is convincing as Scaramanger. Lets not forget he was still portraying Dracula at that time with 5 Dracula films being released from 1970 to 1976. So I felt some people would find it strange to see him playing a different role.
I feel the film moves on at a reasonable pace. Miss Goodnight (Bonds Secretary in the novels) is just there for no other reason but provide "eye candy".
The finale with the destruction of Sacamangas base I think is done really well bearing in mind it was all minature camera work. I wish they would go back to minatures especially when some of the CGI in some of the later movies is well "shoddy" to say the least.
Once again Roger Moores Bond is totally different to Connery's. The slapping about of the girl just didn't sit right for me. If Connery had been Bond then that wouldbe different.
Overall though at the end of the film I felt a nice and warm glow inside, I had actually thoroughly enjoyed the film. Not the best Bond (some of the best stunts though) and I would sit this at number 13 directly behind LALD in my ranking charts.
"Do you expect me to talk? "No Mister Bond I expect you to die"
Not true…almost all the action in the second half of the film is driven by Mary Goodnite.
Think who forced Bond to follow Scaramanga to his island? MG (by getting herself locked in the truck WITH the solex)
Think who blew up Scaramanga's base? MG (Knocked the guard into the vat)
Think who almost got Bond cooked by the laser? MG (bumped the controls with her butt)
Without Mary Goodnite to stir things up it would have been a very uneventful film.
1. GE 2. MR 3. OP 4. TMWTGG 5. TSWLM 6. TND 7. TWINE 8.DN 9. GF 10. AVTAK