The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Adventure, Action, Thriller • 2h 5m
Overview
Cool government operative James Bond searches for a stolen invention that can turn the sun's heat into a destructive weapon. He soon crosses paths with the menacing Francisco Scaramanga, a hitman so skilled he has a seven-figure working fee. Bond then joins forces with the swimsuit-clad Mary Goodnight, and together they track Scaramanga to a Thai tropical isle hideout where the killer-for-hire lures the slick spy into a deadly maze for a final duel.
Director: Guy Hamilton
Cast: Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Maud Adams, Hervé Villechaize, Clifton James, Richard Loo, Soon-Tek Oh, Marc Lawrence, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Marne Maitland, Desmond Llewelyn, James Cossins, Charlie Chan Yiu-Lam, Carmen du Sautoy, Gerald James, Michael Osborne, Michael Fleming, Sonny Caldinez, Yuen Qiu, Francoise Therry, Joie Vejjajiva, Nikki Van der Zyl, Michael Goodliffe
Director: Terence Young
WB 4K Blu-ray, despite prevalent frozen grain
Director: Terence Young
WB 4K Blu-ray, despite prevalent frozen grain
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Director: Lewis Gilbert
Director: Guy Hamilton
Director: Guy Hamilton
Director: Terence Young
WB 4K Blu-ray despite frozen grain
Director: Terence Young
WB 4K Blu-ray despite frozen grain
WB 4K Blu-ray despite some frozen grain
WB 4K Blu-ray despite some frozen grain
Director: Guy Hamilton
Director: Guy Hamilton
Director: Martin Campbell
Director: Martin Campbell
Director: Sam Mendes
Director: Sam Mendes
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
US Universal 4K Blu-ray (for original forced subtitles font)
IMAX sequences have not been released on home video to date
Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga
US Universal 4K Blu-ray (for original forced subtitles font)
IMAX sequences have not been released on home video to date
Directors: Val Guest & Ken Hughes & John Huston & Joseph McGrath & Robert Parrish
Directors: Val Guest & Ken Hughes & John Huston & Joseph McGrath & Robert Parrish
Director: Guy Hamilton
Director: Guy Hamilton
Director: Guy Hamilton
Director: Guy Hamilton
Director: Guy Hamilton
Director: Guy Hamilton
Director: Guy Hamilton
Director: Guy Hamilton
Director: John Woo
Director: John Woo
Director: Ken Hughes
MGM Blu-ray's stereo track.
MGM's 7.1 track is a remix with a few flaws and much worse fidelity. Capelight's stereo and 7.1 track are both from the remix.
The movie was originally premiered as a roadshow release, with a a 70mm 6-Track Stereo mix. This mix, unfortunately has not been released on home video.
The closest thing to that mix, is the stereo track included on the 2010 Blu-ray. It sounds great, with high fidelity and little filtering. It's lossy, but that doesn't matter very much.
Both the DVD 5.1 and the Blu-ray 7.1 tracks (identical on both discs) are a new remix, rather than a repackaging of the original mix. The 7.1 track sounds quite muffled, though not evenly so. The Capelight Blu-ray's lossless stereo track uses the same remix, but with higher fidelity than the surround tracks, sounding significantly less muffled. Compared to the original, this remix sounds wider and more "cleaned up". The remix contains a handful of errors, for example the intermission cue fades out, rather than ending correctly.
Comparison samples
Director: Ken Hughes
MGM Blu-ray's stereo track.
MGM's 7.1 track is a remix with a few flaws and much worse fidelity. Capelight's stereo and 7.1 track are both from the remix.
The movie was originally premiered as a roadshow release, with a a 70mm 6-Track Stereo mix. This mix, unfortunately has not been released on home video.
The closest thing to that mix, is the stereo track included on the 2010 Blu-ray. It sounds great, with high fidelity and little filtering. It's lossy, but that doesn't matter very much.
Both the DVD 5.1 and the Blu-ray 7.1 tracks (identical on both discs) are a new remix, rather than a repackaging of the original mix. The 7.1 track sounds quite muffled, though not evenly so. The Capelight Blu-ray's lossless stereo track uses the same remix, but with higher fidelity than the surround tracks, sounding significantly less muffled. Compared to the original, this remix sounds wider and more "cleaned up". The remix contains a handful of errors, for example the intermission cue fades out, rather than ending correctly.
Comparison samples
Director: David Lynch
Criterion 4K Blu-ray or Germany Plaion 4K Blu-ray - subtle difference in encoding to the Criterion in encoding, trading blows in different shots, with Plaion taking a slight edge with less highlight blocking
1993 MGM LaserDisc/2000 Region 1 MGM DVD
Criterion's 2.0 sounds muffled due to noise reduction and EQ.
Plaion's 2.0 lacks bass and has a very bright EQ, more resembling the 5.1 remix. Plaion’s 2.0 doesn't have any filtering unlike the Criterion, see https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=23831289&postcount=110
Director: David Lynch
Criterion 4K Blu-ray or Germany Plaion 4K Blu-ray - subtle difference in encoding to the Criterion in encoding, trading blows in different shots, with Plaion taking a slight edge with less highlight blocking
1993 MGM LaserDisc/2000 Region 1 MGM DVD
Criterion's 2.0 sounds muffled due to noise reduction and EQ.
Plaion's 2.0 lacks bass and has a very bright EQ, more resembling the 5.1 remix. Plaion’s 2.0 doesn't have any filtering unlike the Criterion, see https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=23831289&postcount=110
Director: Bob Clark
Director: Bob Clark
Director: John Badham
Director: John Badham
Director: Michael Curtiz
Director: Michael Curtiz
Director: Tod Browning
Director: Tod Browning
Director: Woody Allen
4k restoration not released
4k restoration, not sure about blurays https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/manhattan-trailer-woody-allen-4k-digital-print-diane-keaton-meryl-streep-1201785874/
Director: Woody Allen
4k restoration not released
4k restoration, not sure about blurays https://www.indiewire.com/features/general/manhattan-trailer-woody-allen-4k-digital-print-diane-keaton-meryl-streep-1201785874/
Director: John Huston
2023 WB 4K Blu-ray
2023 WB 4K Blu-ray
Director: John Huston
2023 WB 4K Blu-ray
2023 WB 4K Blu-ray
Director: John Sturges
Director: John Sturges
Edit History
5/4/2026
Format
From
1080p Blu-ray
To
4K Streaming
From
1080p Blu-ray
To
4K Streaming
Best Video Release
To
4K Streaming SDR master on streaming seems to look quite a bit better than the Blu-ray
MGM Blu-ray is the best physical media release
Caps of the 4K SDR master: 007 on Home Media: The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
11/25/2025
Format
Added
1080p Blu-ray
Added
1080p Blu-ray
Best English-Friendly Release
Added
MGM Blu-ray
Added
MGM Blu-ray
Best Video Release
Added
MGM Blu-ray despite Lowry master issues
Added
MGM Blu-ray despite Lowry master issues
Best Audio Release
Added
MGM 1993 laserdisc
Added
MGM 1993 laserdisc
Blu-ray.com
Added
https://www.blu-ray.com/The-Man-with-the-Golden-Gun/19712/#Releases
Added
https://www.blu-ray.com/The-Man-with-the-Golden-Gun/19712/#Releases
