On Her Majesty's Secret Service - The LS Cut

Major tinkering by one of the site’s best editors. Included is a terrific audio commentary which is particularly enjoyable and entertaining, in which the editor elaborates on alterations and shares his enthusiasm for this, his obvious favorite Bond outing. Also included is a third audio track featuring an unaltered music score.

Video - 1920 X 1080p mp4. Solid editing and wise choices all the way around. The Alpine scenery always featured stunning blues and whites, and the night scenes hold up masterfully. I can appreciate that numerous small cuts are often trickier to pull off rather than wholesale pruning with the editing chainsaw. Source selected, by the way, was the HD mp4.

Audio - Mono. Really? Yes, truly, though Last Survivor does discuss that in his commentary. Keep in mind the original was mono, as well, so I can understand his reluctance not to use the “upgraded” sound. No subs, though clarity of dialogue excellent throughout.

Narrative - I grasp Last Survivor’s concept, trying the excise the condescending and belittling scenes and comments aimed at Lazenby. In that regard, LS has succeeded marvelously. Lazenby comes across smoother and more professional. There were no modifications to the structure, consequently the story remains cohesive.

Enjoyment - No change as far as I am concerned. The action sequences were and remain outstanding, far ahead of their time, actually. Barry’s score is one of my favorites. Most of the actors are fine, Savalas surprisingly so. Ms. Rigg notwithstanding, the “Bond girls” were sorority also-rans.

In the audio commentary, Last Survivor makes a persuasive case for Lazenby as a most excellent Bond. Sorry, I never bought Lazenby as 007 when the film was released, and if anything I am even less convinced now. Aside from the poorly choreographed, laughable fisticuffs, which seem closer to serial cliffhanger antics, there is Mr. Lazenby’s overall presence. The actor exudes palpable menace, an absolute necessity for a 00 agent, yet there is, for me, a distressing thuggish quality to Lazenby. As a villain, he could have been ideal; an anti-Bond if you please. Yet as Bond himself? Hardly. Lazenby would always pick the wrong wine.

Although this is my favourite Bond film, there were always little things about this movie that niggled. This fanedit has removed all of them! This was a great watch and the edits were seamless, I thoroughly recommend this fanedit!

This is a great edit. You have taken a great Bond film and subtly improved it. You took out most of the parts that always made me cringe a little. I think you very much accomplished the goal of focusing on Tracy throughout more, which was a great idea in my opinion. I thought the cuts were smart and I personally wouldn't want them any deeper. Great job!

First, please forgive this rather short review....
I thought this was excellent! Most serious James Bond fans know that this is a good movie and that Lazenby made a great Bond, but only got the chance this one time.
I don't have much to say beyond Well Done! I couldn't point to anything "wrong" with this edit at all. I've given it 10s across the board except a 9 for enjoyment, and that is only because it still feels just a little long to me. But I don't have any great suggestions for where more could have been cut. Overall, I highly recommend this.

A flawless edit front to back. OHMSS is a top five Bond film for me so I wouldn't have thought that an edit would be necessary, and yet this was so well done I'm not sure I like it any less than the original.

This is a film I have seen multiple times and yet I genuinely didn't notice a single cut. I didn't read the cutlist until after viewing so, while watching, I really couldn't tell much of what was being trimmed and removed, yet, in the end, LastSurvivor managed to axe a full 15 minutes, improving the pacing in the process.

Of course, edits are always subjective, and I'm not sure I completely agreed with everything. I will say I have a fondness for the humor that comes with the nixed "other fellow" line and Bond's seductions, though I do understand why they were cut. As well (and others have noted this) the removal of "Hillary"'s uninterest in women is problematic, and Campbell's capture is missed somewhat. Ultimately, however, these cuts, along with the other edits, go a long way towards LS's primary goals. He sought out to make sure the film didn't spend enough time away from Tracy to forget about her, and he succeeded.

The Hillary Bray second act flies, and feels more like a short side interlude to the primary love story (in fact it's more or less the only part of the film where he's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"). The result is, in many ways, a subtly, but decidedly, different tone for the film. This really is more of a romance than a typical Bond flick (in that regard it's probably best to watch with the audio track that has "All the Time in the World" play during the title sequence [even though the Barry composition is much better]).

I can't honestly say that this replaces the original for me, but I do truly appreciate it. It's not better, per se, but it is different, and, perhaps, just as great. There were some things that were cut that I missed, but probably for the best, as the edit wouldn't be nearly as interesting or unique with them included. A different film, but commendably so. An edit well worth your time if you have any love for the world's greatest super spy.