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Post by ck100 on Dec 17, 2021 6:32:46 GMT
I know a lot of people aren't fond of this James Bond film and look at it as the start of the campy era for Bond, but I think Diamonds is a fun ride if you turn your brain off and don't take it seriously. Certainly not among Connery's best James Bond movies, but I don't think it's his worst. Same with ranking the movie among all the other Bond movies. On the downside, Charles Gray's Blofeld is hardly threatening, intimidating, or menacing. The campy elements do hurt the film a bit. Connery is going through the motions for his high paycheck, and looks aged and out of shape since his previous film, even though he's back officially one more time. The whole satellite laser and control tape thing feels half-baked. On the upside, Connery is still entertaining to watch despite going through the motions. The chases and elevator fight are fun. The title song is quite good. And Mr. Wynt and Mr. Kidd are oddly enjoyable along with colorful work from the leading ladies and Jimmy Dean.
Leonard Maltin Movie Guide Review:
Diamonds Are Forever (1971) - 3.5 out of 4 stars
"After a one-picture hiatus, Connery returned as James Bond in this colorful comic-book adventure set in Las Vegas; closer in spirit to Republic serials than Ian Fleming, but great fun. Panavision."
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Post by twothousandonemark on Dec 17, 2021 6:43:35 GMT
I need a shower after it.
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Post by darkreviewer2013 on Dec 17, 2021 7:10:52 GMT
Haven't seen it in many, many years and I remember nothing. I know I didn't care for it though and when my bro re-watched some years back he asserted that I was missing nothing much. The worst Sean Connery Bond.
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Post by FridayOnElmStreet on Dec 17, 2021 9:29:22 GMT
My second least favorite Bond film.
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Post by wmcclain on Dec 17, 2021 12:48:29 GMT
Diamonds Are Forever (1971), directed by Guy Hamilton. James Bond pursues a diamond stockpiling ring from Amsterdam to Las Vegas and discovers archenemy Blofeld collecting them for a death ray satellite. It's a shockingly weak plot: limp, dull, trivial and incoherent. Said to be a victim of too many last minute rewrites. It picks up a bit in the middle with Las Vegas car chases, but lapses back into tedium. The Odd Couple assassins (Mr Wint and Mr Kidd) are just awful. I've always liked Jill St John. She has more brains and grit than many Bond Girls. In the first series self-reference I remember, when 007 switches ids with a thug he's just killed, she exclaims: "You've just killed James Bond!". Bond #7 is Sean Connery's sixth: he skipped On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). They pulled him back with vast piles of money and promises to support non-Bond films. He said he enjoyed doing Bond but disliked the time required and excessive hoopla. This was his last until Never Say Never Again (1983) twelve years later. John Barry score. Available on Blu-ray. 
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Post by politicidal on Dec 17, 2021 13:30:23 GMT
It’s pretty bad. Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd are probably the most amusing thing about it.
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Post by Nalkarj on Dec 17, 2021 14:42:10 GMT
Yes, it’s bad, but I find it a lot of goofy fun and better paced than, say, the last three-quarters of Thunderball. (It’s also more entertaining than the Fleming book it’s based on, that’s for certain.)
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Post by Popeye Doyle on Dec 17, 2021 14:48:56 GMT
“I didn’t know there was a pool down there.”
Connery, only in his early 40s at the time, is looking a bit rough. Maybe it’s the toupee or the paunch, but he is long removed from his Goldfinger days.
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Post by Lux on Dec 17, 2021 15:32:26 GMT
“I didn’t know there was a pool down there.” Connery, only in his early 40s at the time, is looking a bit rough. Maybe it’s the toupee or the paunch, but he is long removed from his Goldfinger days. You haven't seen many people in their early 40s have you. |
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Post by Archelaus on Dec 17, 2021 16:07:41 GMT
It's not one of my favorites, but it has one of the best theme songs in the series. Sean Connery looks disengaged for most of the film. He was hired back at the last minute so he had little time to get back in shape, which explains his older appearance. Charles Gray lacked the menace as Blofeld. Jill St. John (who oddly enough dated George Lazenby before doing this film) as Tiffany Case started as a sassy Bond girl, but was reduced to a bimbo by the end. Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd were fairly memorable henchmen.
That said, the first half was pretty good, but it's the second half that becomes too jokey for my tastes. I give it a 6/10.
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Post by mstreepsucks on Dec 17, 2021 18:54:38 GMT
It's lame.
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Post by taylorfirst1 on Dec 17, 2021 20:57:28 GMT
One of my favorite James Bond movies.
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Post by Stammerhead on Dec 17, 2021 21:42:28 GMT
It’s the first Bond I saw at the cinema so it has a special place in my nerdish heart even though it’s full of flaws. Anyway…  |
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Post by Winston Wolf on Dec 17, 2021 21:53:02 GMT
Only watched it once, and it was ages ago, but I remember really liking it and thinking it was underrated. May rewatch it soon.
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Post by Isapop on Dec 17, 2021 22:05:56 GMT
With its lack of a sustained plot and its action scenes being played for laughs, DAF ranks below the Bond films that preceded it. I attribute this mainly to Tom Mankiewicz' (writer) presence and Peter Hunt's (editor and second unit director) absence.
But with Ken Adam, Gordon McCallum, and John Barry still on board, DAF at least still looks and sounds like a Bond film. And with Sean Connery providing a strong center to hold it all together, DAF is still better than the true crap that was to follow for years (and years) afterwards.
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Post by Lux on Dec 17, 2021 22:41:23 GMT
With its lack of a sustained plot and its action scenes being played for laughs, DAF ranks below the Bond films that preceded it. I attribute this mainly to Tom Mankiewicz' (writer) presence and Peter Hunt's (editor and second unit director) absence. But with Ken Adam, Gordon McCallum, and John Barry still on board, DAF at least still looks and sounds like a Bond film. And with Sean Connery providing a strong center to hold it all together, DAF is still better than the true crap that was to follow for years (and years) afterwards. No true crap followed for years and years afterwards, Pop. |
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basmaticathury
Junior Member
@basmaticathury
Posts: 3,130
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Post by basmaticathury on Dec 18, 2021 3:20:08 GMT
Connery abuses two women on screen in DAF...woah!...
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Post by phantomparticle on Dec 18, 2021 10:20:30 GMT
Why not?
For decades women have said they want to be treated equally, and some of the Bond women are quite deadly, unless you consider Rosa Kleb a grandmotherly pussycat. If he can kick the crap out of his male antagonists, he can rough up the lethal ladies, as well.
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Post by Stammerhead on Dec 18, 2021 11:30:37 GMT
Why not? For decades women have said they want to be treated equally, and some of the Bond women are quite deadly, unless you consider Rosa Kleb a grandmotherly pussycat. If he can kick the crap out of his male antagonists, he can rough up the lethal ladies, as well. So should Bond have treated Goldfinger equally and also given him a buttock slap? 
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Post by Popeye Doyle on Dec 18, 2021 11:32:23 GMT
Why not? For decades women have said they want to be treated equally, and some of the Bond women are quite deadly, unless you consider Rosa Kleb a grandmotherly pussycat. If he can kick the crap out of his male antagonists, he can rough up the lethal ladies, as well. So should Bond have treated Goldfinger equally and also given him a buttock slap?
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