Live and Let Die

"Bond is back. Back in action. Back with excitement."

1973 2h 1m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 2,384

AdventureActionThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

James Bond must investigate a mysterious murder case of a British agent in New Orleans. Soon he finds himself up against a gangster boss named Mr. Big.

“Bond is back. Back in action. Back with excitement.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Amazon Prime VideoSubscription

Amazon Prime Video with AdsSubscription

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Roger Moore
James Bond
Yaphet Kotto
Kananga/Mr. Big
Jane Seymour
Solitaire
Clifton James
Sheriff J.W. Pepper
Julius Harris
Tee Hee
Geoffrey Holder
Baron Samedi
David Hedison
Felix Leiter
Gloria Hendry
Rosie Carver

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Guy Hamilton
Writers: Tom Mankiewicz
Languages: English, Hungarian
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $126M — a 18.1× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

53 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Hungarian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "James Bond Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Guy Hamilton, shot by Ted Moore. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by George Martin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Raymond Poulton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Roger Moore and Yaphet Kotto and Jane Seymour carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Guy Hamilton directs. Ted Moore behind the camera. George Martin scores. Raymond Poulton cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English, Hungarian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $126M — a 18.1× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
253 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Hungarian.
4Part of the "James Bond Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Guy Hamilton, shot by Ted Moore. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by George Martin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Raymond Poulton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Roger Moore and Yaphet Kotto and Jane Seymour carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Bond is back. Back in action. Back with excitement.".
10IMDB entry: tt0070328 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 23 themes, including "new york city", "london, england", "sheriff", "dual identity".
12Released under 19 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Ted Moore
Original score: George Martin
Editing: Raymond Poulton
Costume design: Julie Harris
Makeup / hair: Paul Rabiger
Runtime: 121 min · 2h 1m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $7,000,000
Box office: $126,400,000
Return: 1806% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Live and Let Die (1973)

Part of

James Bond Collection

The James Bond Collection is a legendary spy film series based on Ian Fleming’s novels, following MI6 agent 007, James Bond, as he takes on global threats with style, gadgets, and charm. Produced by EON Productions, the franchise spans 25 official films (1962–2021) and has featured six actors, from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig. Known for its thrilling action, iconic villains, Bond girls, and unforgettable theme songs, the series remains a cornerstone of the spy genre. With espionage, luxury cars, and shaken-not-stirred martinis, Bond continues to captivate audiences worldwide.

Also by

Guy Hamilton

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2018-08-27
★ 7/10
Roger Moore’s fun and colorful debut as 007 Agent 007 (Roger Moore) travels from Harlem to the Caribbean to Louisiana to stop a black heroin mogul (Yaphet Kotto) fortified with a multifarious organization and a lovely tarot card reader (Jane Seymour). This was Moore’s dynamic debut as Bond. He did 7 films for the franchise in 13 years from 1973-1985. The tone of “Live and Let Die” is similar to Sean Connery’s final canon Bond flick, “Diamonds Are Forever” (1971). Moore’s stint is my favorite run in the series with all seven films being kinetic, amusing, scenic and just all-around entertaining. There’s not one stinker in the bunch and they were all profitable at the box office. Aside from the picturesque globetrotting, “Live and Let Die” features several colorful characters beyond those already noted: The metal-armed Tee Hee (Julius Harris), the chortling voodoo minion Baron Samedi (Geoffrey Holder) and redneck Sheriff JW Pepper (Clifton James). On the female front, Seymour is young & cute while Gloria Hendry is impressively fit as Rosie. The head-turning Madeline Smith has a small role. In addition, there are several memorable thrilling parts, like the amusing airport sequence, Bond using crocogators as stepping stones, the great bayou boat chase and the closing train cab brouhaha. As far as the movie being “racist,” as SJW’s whine, the character Agent Quarrel Jr. (Roy Stewart) blows that whole eye-rolling idiot-theory. The film runs 2 hours, 1 minute and was shot in Manhattan, Jamaica and Louisiana (New Orleans & the bayous) with additional work done in England. GRADE: B+
GenerationofSwine2023-01-11
★ 10/10
By my clock, this era started with Diamonds are Forever... the era of the Silly Bond. But Diamonds are Forever was a Connery Bond and it kind of sucked because of it. So... Live and Let Die is the first of the GOOD silly Bond movies. Now don't get me wrong, I'm on team Connery. Team Connery all the way... but Live and Let Die is still a GREAT 007 film despite the total change in mood and persona. It moved away from the heartless assassin to pick up a more comedic and Fx driven fair that worked better for Moore. And because it is a new 007, the fish out of water setting works to drive it home. It's not the first time 007 set foot in the United States, but it is Harlem in 1973 and it is The Big Easy, and these are places that a white British man with an Oxford education would be a HORRIBLE person to act as a spy in. He's going to stick out like a sore thumb, and he does... ... and that is probably why they choose it as a setting to usher in Moore's era Bond. Because Moore was going to be different. He was the fish out of water in the franchise, and the setting helps drive it home. But, who cares, it was silly Bond, but it was FUN Bond. It was just fun in a different way than Connery was. But it was still fun, and fun is still entertaining.
drystyx2023-04-04
★ 7/10
This 007 film aged very well. 007 follows in the footsteps of three prior agents who were assassinated. There's a lot of "jive" in this one, since this is the one where the villain is black, and he uses mostly black helpers, so the white James Bond really sticks out. And thus we get a lot more comedy here. There's a bit of a condescending attitude towards Harlem here, and too much respect for the few who are the criminals of Harlem, but this is a "comedy" 007 adventure. The beautiful Solitaire is the love interest, and there's a lot of belief in the supernatural here. That's part of the "condescending" part. This movie was very bad in 1973, but it aged well, because in 1973 the "red neck sheriff" was such a trite cliche that one had to groan in 1973. But today, after all the movies that have tamed down the image of the red neck lawman, it's a fresh bit of comedy, and that's why this movie has aged well. It comes close to breaking into the top ten 007 films of all time due to its lack of negativity that has been the Hollywood formula since about 1965.