The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) is the ninth film in the James Bond series and Roger Moore’s second appearance as 007. Directed by Guy Hamilton, the film sends Bond to the Far East in pursuit of Francisco Scaramanga, an elite assassin who charges one million dollars for a kill and uses a distinctive golden gun. Christopher Lee gives Scaramanga considerably more personality than the average Bond villain, while Britt Ekland plays MI6 agent Mary Goodnight and Maud Adams appears as Scaramanga’s troubled mistress, Andrea Anders. The story also revolves around the Solex Agitator, a device capable of harnessing solar energy, eventually leading Bond to Scaramanga’s private island for one of the series’ most memorable final confrontations.
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) was filmed mainly in Thailand, Hong Kong and Macau, with studio work completed at Pinewood Studios in England. The most famous location is Khao Phing Kan in Phang Nga Bay, where the exterior of Scaramanga’s island hideaway was filmed, with the striking limestone pillar of Ko Tapu rising from the water beside it. The association became so strong that the area is now widely known as James Bond Island. Bangkok supplied much of the film’s later action, including canal sequences, the car chase through the city and scenes around the Ancient City at Muang Boran, where the Dvaravati House became Hai Fat’s martial arts school. In Hong Kong, Bond follows Andrea Anders to The Peninsula Hong Kong, visits the real Bottoms Up Club in Tsim Sha Tsui and boards the wreck of the RMS Queen Elizabeth in Victoria Harbour, which was transformed into MI6’s secret Far Eastern headquarters. Dragon Garden at Castle Peak doubled for Hai Fat’s Bangkok estate, while Western Market and other Hong Kong streets can also be spotted during Bond’s investigation. Filming in Macau included the floating Macau Palace casino and the hydrofoil journey between Macau and Hong Kong. Scaramanga’s island interiors, solar-energy installation and other elaborate sets were created back at Pinewood Studios, where miniature work was also used to complete the destruction of his island complex.
Hong Kong Dragon Garden
Hong Kong Dragon Garden is in I Spy, The Peking Medallion, The Last Grenade, Men of the Dragon, The Man with the Golden Gun, The Head Hunter and more.
Khao Phing Kan
Khao Phing Kan, popularly known as James Bond Island, has been used in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997).
The Peninsula Hong Kong
The Peninsula Hong Kong is in Soldier of Fortune, The Man with the Golden Gun, Dynasty, Everlasting Love, Bloodsport, The Greatest Lover and many more.