Moving into the eighth spot on my list of the best 007 posters from the United States we find a film that on nearly every other list I have made about this franchise is at or near the bottom. About the only bright spots of this movie are the villain and the poster, with every other aspect of the movie being either dull or obnoxious.
8. The Man With The Golden Gun
The artists throw a lot on the page with this poster, but unlike other marketing designs that have come before it on this list, everything seems to be well placed and it doesn't feel like it is overkill on the action sequences and character reveals. One of the things I like most about this poster is that the title character, the man with the golden gun, isn't found except for his hands on the aforementioned weapon and a bullet with our hero's number etched into the casing. By leaving the villain unrevealed, it heightens the mystery and suspense of who he is and why he is out to get James Bond.
While I do enjoy the above poster, the second version of the domestic one-sheet, labeled Style B, is even better.
It was a big gamble for the producers to advertise that Scaramanga would be as iconic a villain as those featured in this poster. Prior to the release of this movie, Dr. No, Rosa Klebb and Red Grant, Goldfinger and Oddjob, and Blofeld were the series' top villains, and it remains that way today as well. Francisco Scaramanga, played by Bond novelist Ian Fleming's cousin Christopher Lee, who was mostly known at the time for his role as Dracula, had a lot to live up to once that poster was released in movie theaters across America. Luckily for him, he did not disappoint.
Scaramanga is ruthless, cunning, sophisticated, and pretty much in every way the exact match to James Bond. What separates him from our hero is that he is an assassin and gun for hire, whereas 007 does his duty for queen and country. Lee personifies Scaramanga and added another classic villain to the film's series.
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