Man With The Golden Gun: Less is MOORE Edition, The

Updated
Man With The Golden Gun: Less is MOORE Edition, The
Faneditor Name:
Original Movie Title:
Franchise:
Fanedit Type:
Original Release Date:
1974
Original Running Time:
125
Fanedit Release Date:
Fanedit Running Time:
107
Time Cut:
18
Brief Synopsis:
The Man With The Golden Gun is now taken a little more seriously, which means no silly karate fight outside of the karate school, a shorter boat chase without the annoying kid selling an elephant statue and most importantly, no J.W. Pepper (which unfortunately meant losing the entire car chase).
Intention:
The Man With The Golden Gun should've been way more iconic than it turned out. Apparently there was more filmed of the final duel between these two titans, which a trailer can show, but who knows if we will ever see what it could've and should've been. For now, I wanted to, as always, tighten things up and lose a majority of jokes that just don't land. Also, Alice Cooper's song is way more awesome!
Release Information:
Digital
Cuts and Additions:
-Added Alice Cooper's version of the title song
-Tightened up initial encounter between Ms. Anders and Bond
-Cut Scaramanga basically fondling Ms. Anders with the Golden Gun on his boat
-Cut random goons eyeing up Bond as he leaves the compound because it gives away too quickly that they know he isn't who he says he is
-Cut Bond saying "he must've found me titillating"
-Cut the agent dropping off Bond with his nieces in the car
- Cut the whole karate fight scene with the agent and his nieces. Now, Bond jumps through the window of the karate compound/school and heads for a boat
-Cut Bond's lines as he is trying to hit the henchmen with the motor
-Cut all of the kid selling the elephant statue and JW Pepper
-Cut Bond's line "a gun and a bag of peanuts" as Nick Nack holds a gun on him
-Cut the entire car chase because J.W. Pepper is visible throughout 95% of the shots of Bond's car
-Cut "this should run a few electric toothbrushes" when Scaramanga shows Bond around his island and the solex
-Cut henchman fondling Goodnight
-Trim Bond saying he's never killed a midget before
-Cut scene between Bond and Goodnight and talking about the boat being on autopilot since Nick Nack would've tried to kill them mid-sex and not after their first round of sexy time
-Added Alice Cooper's version of the title song to bring the film to a close

User reviews

4 reviews
Overall rating
 
9.9
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0(4)
Audio Editing
 
10.0(4)
Visual Editing
 
10.0(4)
Narrative
 
9.8(4)
Enjoyment
 
9.5(4)
(Updated: March 19, 2023)
Overall rating
 
9.4
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
9.0
Enjoyment
 
8.0
The Man With the Golden Gun is a movie I tend to rate higher than most people, and higher than I probably should, despite its enormous flaws. Mainly because of two reasons: I am a massive Christopher Lee fan, and I find the character of Scaramanga a fascinating nemesis for Bond, being in a nutshell a dark reflection of 007, the only real difference between them being that Bond works for a legitimate government and tends to just kill bad people. I just wish the film was more centered on Bond vs. Scaramanga and less on yet another doomsday device, but oh well.

So in regards to this edit, I found it to be an extremely solid one, but at the same time one that doesn't really fulfill my vision for the film, which is incidentally one that I've been intending to eventually edit myself. A lot of the cuts would be the expected ones, and exactly the ones Ed has implemented, but other spots would differ quite significantly.

The points in which we differ are basically two: one is that this edit sadly cuts my favorite bit in the film, Scaramanga fondling Andrea with the golden gun. For me that scene enhances the character inmensely, conjuring into the viewer's mind images of twisted sexual perversion (again, the dark reflection of Bond himself) that make the subsequent dialogue in which Andrea tells Bond how much he hates Scaramanga come across as so much creepier.

And the other thing is that in this edit one of my major problems with the movie stays mostly unaddressed: the extreme stupidity of Goodnight (for my tastes the worst main Bond girl of them all, and before you say "Christmas Jones", there the problem was the casting, not the character), and the way Bond treats her like absolute trash. Sadly, those things play here like in the official version.

In any case, most everything else is greatly improved, and if your issues with the film aren't the same as mine, this will work absolutely great for you, as loads of goofiness have been removed, and expertly so. Any complaints I may have, have everything to do with my own vision and nothing with Ed's work. Editing-wise it's completely flawless, as are video and audio quality.

I may favor a different approach, but this is still a really good edit with so much to recommend!
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 1 0
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
Man with the Golden Gun was always one of the lesser Bonds as both a book and a film. However, I always felt it had the right elements in place to be so much better. Thankfully, this cut of the film accomplishes that. The bits that should've been trimmed are gone, along with the less than successful attempts at humor. Unfortunately, there's not much that can be done about Goodnight, who remains one of the weaker Bond girls simply because the writing isn't there for her. There's also no saving the ludicrous attempts at pretending that Roger Moore is somehow a martial artist. Christopher Lee and Nic-Nac remain the highlight of the movie. This is easily the best version of this film I've seen. Fantastic work!

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
B
Top 100 Reviewer 55 reviews
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
The Man With The Golden Gun (LESS IS MOORE Edition) - MusicEd

Filesize = 12.4 GB, Video = 1920 X 1080p AVC, Audio = 384 kbps AAC 2-Channel stereo. No subs.

An acceptable Moore outing gets a trim, and now hews closer to a Connery Bond.
Biggest cut, J.W. Pepper, who was unendurable in **Live And Let Die”” and completely pointless for the second Moore vehicle. Of course, the car chase is likewise in the disposal, which is also great if you, like me, find chases overlong padding.
Using the Alice Cooper band’s “The Man With The Golden Gun” makes common sense, though Lulu’s version echoes Bassey’s brassy rendition. AC was more relevant at the time, Lulu more British.
Editing, video and audio is excellent. Video especially so.
The audio is murky in places, primarily Maud Adams around the 1:05 point.
Filesize is pretty big, beyond the range of most DVD-R. I doubt enthusiasts of fanedits will devote limited drive space to saving these larger edits.
This edit makes a solid case for Moore as 007. Subsequent forays would grow sillier and bloated, in keeping with the zeitgeist of the 70’s.
MusicEd’s overhaul is superb. Bond fans should see this, I wish Roger Moore had seen it.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0
Overall rating
 
10.0
Audio/Video Quality
 
10.0
Audio Editing
 
10.0
Visual Editing
 
10.0
Narrative
 
10.0
Enjoyment
 
10.0
This was a film I had trouble with because it's execution was terribly bad. There are scenes where it attempts to take aspects seriously while later it would take another turn into goofiness. This film edit straightens it's seriousness almost like a Connery film which is pleasing, the removal of certain scenes for example involving J.W. Pepper thankfully keeps on track instead of eyeing away from the plot too much, and the replacement of Lulu's theme with Alice Cooper's unused cover fits perfectly. I recommend a watch for fans who give less fingerprints on checking the original film.

User Review

Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
Digital
Report this review Comments (0) | Was this review helpful? 0 0