Synopsis:

Ian Fleming’s 007 gets a new lease of life in the form of newcomer George Lazenby, as Bond finds himself on a mission to Switzerland which could lead to the final capture of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the head of Spectre. Obtaining the information on Blofeld’s whereabouts however, comes at a cost, particularly when it derives from the head of a European Crime Syndicate, the daughter of whom, becomes part of a deal which will have unforeseen personal consequences for Bond.

Intentions:

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is a bonafide classic within the 007 franchise. However, it doesn't mean the film is without its flaws, with the middle section of the film in-particular suffering from pacing problems which keeps Tracy, arguably the best Bond girl of them all (certainly the most important), away from the screen for far too long. The "LS" Cut attempts to fix these pacing problems, tightening the film's narrative in the process and also removing the blatant nods to the Connery era where possible.

Change List:

- After Bond has stopped Tracy committing suicide, removed the shot of him gently slapping her face to bring her around. Seems more natural that she gradually comes around, especially as she's not unconscious anyway. - Cut Bond breaking the fourth wall with his line "This never happened to the other fella" - Inserted Louis Armstrong's "We have all the time in the world" over the start credits (,alternate audio track only - Barry's instrumental theme remains in the primary audio track) - Trimmed the aftermath of Bond's fight with one of Draco's henchmen, removing the shot where his eyes roll upwards and he passes out. Also removed Bond talking to himself as he exits the room, commenting on the quality of the caviar. - As Bond is taken to meet Draco, removed the janitor whistling the theme tune to Goldfinger. - Removed Draco's dialogue "To dominate her... to make love to her enough to make her love him". It always seemed too over the top, even for a Bond film from the 60's. - Trimmed scene of Bond packing up his desk as he contemplates retirement from the secret service. This is to remove too many blatant attempts at paying tribute to previous Bond movies. Music also replaced with Barry's score from OHMSS. - Tracy and Bond fall in love montage, replaced Louis Armstrong's vocal "We Have all the time in the world" with Barry's instrumental version, sound effects added (,alternate audio track only - Armstrong's vocal version remains in the primary audio track) - Streamlined scenes of Capmbell following Bond as he arrives in Switzerland - Bond's helicopter journey to and subsequent arrival at Blofeld's research laboratory trimmed - Replaced the "playful" instrumental version of "We Have all the time in the world" as Bond is searching his room for any survelience devices, with a more fitting and slightly tense piece by John Barry - Substantially shortened the scene between Bond and the Angels of Death in the Alpine Room - Cut Nancy waiting for Bond in his room. His seducing of Ruby is enough for this movie, particularly as he should really have Tracy on his mind ;) - Cut Bond and the girls curling, and the scene between Blofeld and Bond. All we have now is Campbell trying to climb to the top of Piz Gloria, only to get caught by Blofeld's guards, albeit unseen (added music during Campbell's ascent) - Slighty trimmed the sequence where Bond is trying to get back inside (having been caught and locked inside a room which houses the inner-workings of the cable car system), whilst the Angels of Death receive their ever so special christmas presents - As Bond escapes back to town, have cut down the sequences leading up to his rendezvous with Tracy at the ice rink, including the excising of his fight amongst all those bells with one of Blofeld's men (a good fight scene no doubt, but at this point you're just wanting him to meet up with Tracy again, so let's move things on) - Stock car rally sequence, very slightly trimmed - Various cuts made during the attack on Piz Gloria, including the rearranging of a scene where Bond skids across the ice on his belly, fixing a continuity error - Rearranged the countdown of the planted explosives to make it seem more natural and believable - Made some cuts to the bobsled chase between Bond and Blofeld, mainly to address the worse uses of front/rear screen projection work - Cut the use of the James Bond theme during the credits. Coming after such a heartfelt and sad ending to the film, it just doesn't work at all. Replaced with an extended version of the instrumental "We have all the time in the world".

Additional Notes:

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Other Sources:

Special Thanks:

Sophie Welch, TMTYC, Neglify, and anyone who followed the "In the Works" thread on this site.