|
By
NICK ZEGARAC
After a decade's worth of
high adventure as Britain's super spy, Sean
Connery effectively retired from the series with
"Diamonds Are Forever." His successor was Roger
Moore, a man well-versed in spy-ware, thanks to a
long stint as Simon Templar on the BBC television
series "The Saint." Moore's intro to the Bond
franchise was "Live and Let Die," a richly
textured voodoo spellbinder that completely
endeared Moore to audiences as the next 007.
Unfortunately, more was expected from Moore than
he ultimately delivered in his follow-up "The Man
With The Golden Gun."
In this film, James Bond is officially relieved of
his duties to hunt down a paid assassin, Francisco
Scaramanga (Christopher Lee -- who is actually a
first cousin to Bond author Ian Fleming). But the
bullet with 007 engraved on it hasn't been sent by
Scaramanga. It's been sent by his frightened
mistress Andrea Anders (Maude Adams) in the hope
that Bond will kill her murderous lover before he
kills her.
Despite being generally maligned by critics,
there's a lot to recommend this film now, many
years removed from all the hype that preceded it.
There's a stunning car chase that ends when one of
the cars turns into a biplane, a brilliant bit of
stunt work in a 360 degree loop-de-loop across a
broken bridge and the ultimate meltdown of
Scaramanga's exotic tropical fortress. Brit Ekland
is the bobble-headed Bond girl du jour -- Mary
Goodnight, aptly named for she's more of a
problematic sleep walker than aid to 007. Herve
Villechaise is Scaramanga's sadistic sidekick
Nick-Nack.
Ironically, despite the fact that Nick-Nack is
spared the fate of his master, his character never
resurfaced on subsequent Bond adventures, unlike
Richard Kiel's Jaws. The one liners on this
occasion are biting and hilarious, a prelude to
the over-all effect of fevered cartoonishness that
was to follow. Still, the formula proves
irresistible.
The same can't be said for MGM's lackluster DVD
presentation. The anamorphically enhanced movie
suffers from faded colors, soft focus, orange
flesh tones and a considerable amount of film
grain. Exterior colors often register a muddy haze
of brownish gray while interior scenes tend to be
generally better balanced. Contrast levels are, at
times, too low. The overall visual presentation is
digitally harsh at times, suffering from
pixelization and edge enhancement throughout. The
audio is stereo surround, but just barely --
sounding strident, forced and front channel
directed. Once again, MGM gets top marks for its
menu design and extra features on this Bond movie.
Two documentaries are extensive. An audio
commentary, trailers, TV spots and promotional
stills and art round out the extras. Still, it's
the visual presentation of the movie that should
have been this disc's top priority. |
