Customer Reviews

Diamonds Are Forever [VHS]

5 star:		(65)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(35)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(14)

 

 

Although Diamonds Are Forever is a fairly weak entry in the James Bond series, the special edition DVD of this movie must rank among the best of all the 007 releases. The half-hour Inside Diamonds Are Forever documentary is both outstanding and informative, featuring such items as the background story behind Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd (including recent interviews with actors Bruce Glover and Putter Smith), and a fascinating revelation by Jimmy Dean, who admitted to some discomfort in portraying a thinly-disguised Howard Hughes-type character when his real life boss at the time was, in fact, Howard Hughes. The 45-minute biography of Cubby Broccoli is almost worth the price of the DVD alone, and the inclusion of four deleted scenes nicely pieces together what was originally an editing nightmare for this film, especially Plenty's mysterious appearance in Tiffany's pool. One final note: the Bond filmmakers have always prided themselves in delivering sanitized sex scenes without resorting to gratuitous frontal nudity. However, when running the scene in which Bond helps Marie "get something off her chest" in slow motion, during the pre-titles sequence, her left breast, including full nipple, is clearly revealed. In real time, the scene plays so fast that nothing can be seen, but it's a much different story in slow motion.

This Bond movie has it ALL. No doubt one of my favorites in the whole 007 empire. Tiffany Case is probably my favorite BOND girl, because she is no doubt the bad girl of BOND girls. The action in this movie only stops to let the clevage show, in short there is never a dull moment in this 007.
Sean Connery flirts with ALL the chicks, if he had class in the original handful of movies, well he completely did away with that in this venture. He's a wise cracker in this one, which adds a lot of wit to this. Quirky, clever dialouge all around...
"Which do yo prefer, blondes or brunettes?"
"Either, as long as the collars match the cuffs."
Then theres Plenty O'Toole (ha hah) also a very attractive little chick, even though she gets drowned somewhat early on in the film.. oh well, it left more room for Tiffany Case to run around half naked for the rest of the time.... Outstanding rump shot while she's switching the cassette tape inside the laborotary. "Showing a little more cheek than usual, Miss Case?"

Lets not forget that Q is very present in this one, like when he's rigging the slots in the casino, and wins every time. There is also a whole cast of other great characters in this, and the plot goes from one place to the next very rapidly... sometimes the 007 movies can get a little slow, but this one never stops.. even the opening credits with the theme sung by Shirley Bassey is pretty cool. If you don't really get down on the BOND franchise, you still may like this, as just a witty, fun, action movie. Jimmy Dean (yeah, the sausage guy) plays billionaire William Whyte.. another fine addition. By the way, in case I didn't mention it, Tiffany Case is like the hottest BOND girl ever... IMHO.

Poor Roger Moore. Those critics and James Bond fans who disliked the cartoony direction the 007 series took in the 1970's continue to point the accusing finger at TV's "The Saint." They should take aim at screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz instead. The scribe, who later went on to contribute to the "Superman" films before reaching his peak as the director of Dan Ackroyd's big screen desecration of "Dragnet," is the man responsible for turning Bond into a less bumbling version of Inspector Clouseau. But the blame really belongs to the producers and United Artists (then owned by Transamerica, not MGM) which insisted the series turn as far away as possible from the more somber tone of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." The result is this unimpressive follow-up, the pedestrian "Diamonds Are Forever." And Sean Connery, lured back to his star making role after newcomer George Lazenby abruptly quit the series after one film, is said to have encouraged this new emphasis on humor.

"Diamonds Are Forever" isn't quite a laugh-fest, but it fails to achieve what its producers intended, namely to return the series to the glory days of "Goldfinger." This film was intentionally crafted to resemble the 1964 classic that turned Bond into a phenomenon. It returns 007 to American soil, in this case, Las Vegas, as well as brings Shirley Bassey back to sing the excellent title song, and has Guy Hamilton taking a second shot as director, a position he would retain for two more films.

The film's biggest problem is the way it completely ignores the climax of "OHMSS" even as Bond once more clashes with Ernst Stavro Blofeld, whose actions brought Lazenby's Bond to tears (dry ones, no emotional outbursts from 007) and who is now portrayed by Charles Gray, who becomes the third actor to show his face as Bond's version of Professor Moriarty. Everything about the film is routine, including Jill St. John who looks lovely but is as overly familiar as everything else in the movie.

At first glance, Connery's appearance is jarring: heavier than when we saw him last in "You Only Live Twice," but with a more hirsute hairpiece. Before long, however, you forget about his battle with the aging process and settle back to enjoy his performance.

You can settle back and enjoy the film, too, especially John Barry's score and that silly car chase, but "Diamonds Are Forever" is one of the series' least memorable installments.

"Diamonds are Forever" qualifies as perhaps the most unusual and odd James Bond movie of them all. For this reason alone, it should be in your collection.

Sean Connery comes back for the "last" (see "Never Say Never Again") time as 007, chasing down Ernst Stavro Blofeld and his plot to use diamonds in his construction of a laser satellite capable of destroying any target. This conventional-sounding description actually lends no justice to the film. Connery is a particularly brutal (especially in the startling pre-title sequence) and abrasive 007 this time around, and he looks rather haggard at times to boot -- but then this makes the 007 character much more human and adds a sinister aspect that makes the portrayal more fascinating. Blofeld is portrayed by Charles Gray (the criminologist from the Rocky Horror Picture Show), who instead of the staid robotic diction of Joseph Wiseman opts for a smarmy, smug portrayal, grinning, cunning and lethal -- most irregular, but quite effective and entertaining. There's really just one Bond girl here (Jill St. John, at turns irritating) -- unless you count murderous vixens Bambi and Thumber, but James prefers to drown them rather than seduce them. However, the best characters are the lethal gay killers Mr. Wint (Bruce Glover) and Mr. Kidd (Putter Smith), who engage in their deadly art of eliminating all in Blofeld's way with panache, style and grim black humour. Their unsettling presence gives a real touch of menace to the movie that makes it luridly attractive.

The entire feel of the film is weird and hazy, which jibes well with the movie's date of release, especially from Maurice Binder's soft focus title sequence and throughout John Barry's haunting score (especially the somber, silvery sax tones of the Wint and Kidd theme, which will echo in your head endlessly), enhanced by the Vegas locale. Alas, the end of the movie becomes somewhat more conventional as Blofeld's plot is discovered and reliably countered, but it's certainly no worse for it.

In the annals of Bond movies, this is quirky, irregular and fascinating in its oddity. You'll enjoy it.

Extremely stylish James Bond film, which ushered in the "just for fun era" that didn't end (but was interrupted by For Your Eyes only) until Roger Moore's retirement in 1985. However, this one has several qualities which most of those others don't. First, Sean Connery's back and gives his most complete acting performance in a Bond film. I personally enjoy him more in this film than in any of his other Bonds. It was, for my money, his most relaxed and confident performance. And his less than perfect appearance, though shocking to some, made his portrayal of the world-weary Bond all the more appropriate. Second, the dialogue here is masterful and, for once, truly funny in an ultra-sophisticated sort of way; the witicisms are incredible clever, maybe more so than in any Bond before or since. You have to watch this one over and over just to catch all the ingenious banter. I also really enjoyed all the supporting characters performances as well. While he might have been a little more threatening, Charles Gray's Blofeld is the most memorable of the bunch, and I'd like to think that someone who plots world domination must be somewhat sophisticated and intelligent, rather than just a raving megalamaniac (Pleasance) or a mobster-like neanderthal (Savalas). Next, the producers opted for an older Bond Girl, ala Pussy Galore in Goldfinger, in casting Jill St. John as Tiffany Case and it works well. It would have been hard to stomach a twentish, innocent-looking hardbody in the role of this jaded, international smuggler. Also, in spite of being older and heavier than most Bond girls, Miss St. John comes across as one of the sexiest Bond girls ever and seems to perfectly compliment the aging Connery. The funny but deadly homosexual assassins Wynt and Kidd were perfectly cast, too. Now those are different Bond henchman! But again, there are many things different about this one. As I alluded to in my opening sentence, there's something inately stylish about this film as it possesses a surrealism that seems to be lacking in many of the later Bond films. The characters and sequences have a certain fanciful quality to them. Even the clothing/costumes worn by the characters stand out. The outfits of Tiffany Case and Blofeld especially. And strangely enough, they don't seem as dated as those worn in the two Roger Roger films that followed. Connery, too looks more at home in his suits and and tux than in any of his other Bonds. The moody music is great too. The opening title theme seems to get everything off to a "glittering" start. I liked the music accompanying the fight scenes and action sequences and for that reason was a little disappointed that John Barry opted to use the "James Bond Theme" for the climactic oil rig sequence instead of expounding on the film's score. I keep thinking of the moon buggy chase scene where Connery's knocks the guy off the ATV and the music kicks in as he drives away with Jill St. John observing from the outside, now that was excitng! Why couldn't Barry have come up with something similar for the finale? At other times, the music was appropriately eerie (the early South African scenes) and elegant (the scene at Tiffany's flat and the casino scene). While the plot once again deals with science fiction and the villain threatening the entire world, this time there's a couple of kickers, which I won't go into for fear of spoiling it for those who haven't yet seen this one. Suffice to say though that it's nice to know for once how the villain came upon the capital and means to execute his plan. In conclusion, I think anyone would find this Bond movie one the the most enjoyable of the series if they put it in the right mindset. It made a steady climb into my top five because the more I watched it, the more things I picked up on that made me like it even more. It's just fantastic fun, and last time I checked, there's nothing wrong with that.

Diamonds Are Forever is my favorite Bond film of all time! Its also the funniest. From the first time I seen it I knew it was the best Bond flick! Everything I like about Bond is in this film. I think Sean Connery had his best performance as Bond in Diamonds. His performance seems more complete than his other Bond films. He also seems more into playing the role than he did before. Jill St.John(Tiffany Case) is a definite cut above most Bond girls(unlike most of the girls, Jill's good actress). Her presense complements Connery very well in the film. The pair are great together. Charles Gray was fantastic as Blofeld. He makes a great baddie. The rest of the cast is great as well. Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd are funniest characters in the Bond series. I could go on forever but to sum it all up: Diamonds Are Forever is the best Bond film, Sean Connery gives his best performance as 007, Jill St.John is arguably the best(and funniest) Bond girl, Charles Grey is fantastic as Blofeld, and the rest of the cast is great as well. If you have a good sense of humour, like I do, then get ready the best Bond film ever!

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER marks Sean Connery's return to the role of Bond after the hiatus of ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. It was also his last Bond film to date (except for the swan song NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN in 1983).

The opening precredits sequence involves Bond's hunt for Blofeld, who killed Bond's wife Tracy in OHMSS. The story then develops into a melange of diamond smuggling, Las Vegas casinos, an eccentric billionaire (pork sausage king Jimmy Dean playing Willard Whyte, a sort of cornpone version of Howard Hughes), cheesy funeral parlors, moon buggies and laser beams, cloning, and a girl named Tiffany Case.

In terms of story, this film is one of the weakest of the Bond films,jumping frenetically from one scene to another in an attempt to cram in everything it possibly can. The film editing is awful. There's just no other word for it.

The movie is redeemed by the characters and the nonstop action sequences, all of which are wildly entertaining. Connery is suave and irrepressible in a white tuxedo. Jill St. John, who plays the aforementioned Miss Case, is brassy and sassy, sexy and fun. The two of them seem to be sharing a private joke all the way through the film.

We are also introduced to Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, a pair of openly gay assassins who kill with a creative streak and have a penchant for really bad puns. The appearance of Wint and Kidd and their relationship marks a kind of minor milestone in the Bond canon, showing that the series was moving unselfconsciously into the 1970s.

Minor but important roles are filled out by Bambi and Thumper, a pair of gymnasts specializing in assault, battery, and tumbling routines, and Plenty O'Toole ("Named after your father, no doubt") a casino girl reminiscent of a low-rent Sylvia Trench from the earliest Bond films.

Blofeld is played by Charles Gray. Gray's Blofeld seems more like a disgruntled waiter than a criminal mastermind. His cat does give us an excellent performance.

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER never takes itself seriously. This is not the film noir of FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. The series was taking its turn here toward the Roger Moore era of cartoon excess and "groaners", a downward spiral which continued until Timothy Dalton rescued Bond from utter obsolescence.

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER is Eon's version of an Andy Sidaris film. Sidaris' films are low-budget Bond take-offs, but in this instance, it would be hard to say who inspired whom. Like Baby Back Ribs, this film is sloppy but delicious.

The Special Edition DVD has much to recommend it, including deleted scenes (which to Eon Productions' credit, help make sense of the film) and interviews with some of the cast. There is also an excellent retrospective on the life of Cubby Broccoli. -

On a personal note, Diamonds Are Forever was the very first Bond film I've seen. I've been hooked on the James Bond series ever since and have had the pleasure of viewing every Bond flick from Dr. No to Die Another Day. Looking back on my first Bond movie experience, I thought Diamonds Are Forever was far-out, unique, but an excellent action caper. However, when I expanded my horizons and checked out Connery's earlier Bond films, Diamonds Are Forever looked rather ludicrous compared to Connery's previous performances. Aside from the fact that Connery appeared to burst a few wrinkles on his visage and popped up a few shades of gray on his hair, Connery's last Bond appearance was unique from his past five, in that there's a prevailing Roger Moore-ish feel to the movie. The storyline seems to be outlandish and shoddy in its exhibition, more puns pop up (a continuing trend onto the Moore tenure), and even the chase scenes are quite foolish (moon-buggies and dunebuggies?). Nonetheless, Connery is sent off with a bang, no pun intended, and Diamonds Are Forever is a rugged yet stylistic, comic, action-packed romp.

In essence, DAF is SPECTRE's, and for that matter, Blofeld's last gasp for global domination. Charles Gray, who played Henderson in You Only Live Twice, takes over the Blofeld role, a shrewd and rather smooth villain, at that. Blofeld, who was apparently dispatched by Bond before the opening title sequence, is back as a clone of the original Blofeld perhaps, as he utilizes a diamond smuggling circuit to build a high-powered satellite weapon. In the middle of this cartel is fiery redhead Tiffany Case (Tiffany St. John), of whom Bond extracts information to get to Blofeld eventually. Attempting to keep Bond off the track are a pair of insane homosexual assassins, Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd, a couple that is so bizarre, they are relatively inoffensive to the gay community. And if that wasn't enough, Bond has to get past right-hand men of Willard Whyte (Jimmy Dean a.k.a. I Can't Believe that sausage man was also an actor!), a casino magnate of whom Blofeld implements his casino business as a front.

Despite its awkwardness, Diamonds Are Forever delivers on all fronts. Gray is a suitable Blofeld and the deadly, but weird duo of Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd add a humorous touch to their creative evil genius. The Bond girls don't disappoint either. Jill St. John is rough along the edges, a pleasant diversion from the seemingly vulnerable Bond girls from the past flicks, save for Pussy Galore of Goldfinger. Lana Wood's short stint as Plenty O'Toole was memorable and rather revealing. And of course, Bambi and Thumper, who gave Bond a run for his money in that infamous fight scene at Whyte's desert hideaway. One of my favorite Bond chases, the car chase in Bond's cherry red Ford Mach 1 Mustang, although it lacked a certain flair about it was a wild romp of a chase. In particular, I enjoyed it because Bond drove a true American muscle pony car in the '70 Mach 1 and if I remembered right, it was the first and last American car Bond had driven. Connery's performance wasn't top-notch, but it was solid enough to make Diamonds Are Forever a must-see Bond flick.

Sean Connery returns in the seventh Bond film after the Roger Lazenby one movie interlude. Of all the Connery Bond films, this one was probably the most jam-packed with non-stop goodies. Of course, the goodies may distract some from the plot line, but they sure are fun.

The basic story, with numerous distractions, is that Ernst Blofeld is using diamonds to create an ultra powerful space laser that will allow him (not that you would have guessed) to blackmail the world for more millions than anyone could count in 1971. This Bond film has numerous subplots that nearly become vignettes in themselves.

At the very beginning of the movie we have an opening scene where Connery rips the bikini top off a beautiful woman while quipping that he wants her to get something off her chest. After a flash of breast, clearly seen in slow motion on DVD, the next scene leads to Bond finding Blofeld in a secret lair. The purpose of the secret lair later turns up as one of the subplots in the movie, and partially explains why Blofeld is hard to kill (can we say doubles?). The opening scene is loaded with tongue-in-cheek remarks that become the hallmark of this film, and presage the Roger Moore tendency to do the same.

The opening credits feature Shirley Bassey of "Goldfinger" fame belting out "Diamonds Are Forever", another wonderful Bond song.

Once you get into the actual movie, the details are so numerous, that to describe them all would take more space than I have available. Some highlights:

- Jill St. John is beautiful, looking really great in a bikini in this movie.
- Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint, two hit men that normally do a good job, but struggle with Bond, are the first overtly gay men in a Bond movie.
- Thumper and Bambi; no Disney characters here, and must be seen to be believed.
- Bond's Mustang Mach I; holy shades of the early 70s.
- Gadgets, gadgets, and even more gadgets.
- Here's a trick. Starting out by tipping your car up on the right two wheels, and somehow popping it up on the left two wheels during the chase.
- Exiting from a hidden underground tunnel through a camouflaged exit that Batman would have been ecstatic to have.
- Desert chase in a moon buggy.
- Being trapped in an underground pipe of some kind and chased by an automatic welder.
- Climbing up the outside of a hotel, with angled out walls.

The closing scene of this movie will seem familiar. Just as in "Thunderball", we have an assault on an enemy stronghold at sea. Last time it was ships and boats attacking a heavily defended Disco Valente. This time it's helicopter gun ships assaulting an oil platform with machine guns.

This movie is one of my personal Bond favorites. However, I like it for the science fiction gadget aspects more than being a spy movie. As a spy movie it is probably too contrived and cute, and while occasional tongue-in-cheek may relieve tension, here it becomes too omnipresent for some. I rate this movie 5 stars because it is just way too fun and has many cool gadgets for 1971. A movie worthy of your attention and a bowl of popcorn.

When I first saw DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER I thought it was esoterically good from an eclectic viewpoint. It was the last Connery James Bond movie I had viewed. I had already watched the first 5 that he made. They were a little too serious. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER was more like Roger Moore's James Bond movies. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER was very different from the earlier ones, especially George Lazenby's stand-alone ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. George Lazenby is the definitive James Bond in my mind. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER was closer to Roger Moore's THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN and the exceptional and misunderstood A VIEW TO A KILL.

Watching the movie I kept finding it so much more humorous from the earlier Connery ones and very enjoyable. All the villains were acting with a breezy and carefree caricature of what a James Bond villain should act like. It was as if I put on a Moore Bond movie. I think they were making a satire of their own series and the 60s spy craze.

The first six Bond films were played too straightforward. If there was any comedy at all it was played in a very indirect and dull manner. It was never lively but it was never done as a detriment of the story. It was always outlying the scene and meant to enhance it, not be the focus of it. This was wrong. It should have been central to the plot in such a way to advance each story in a more interesting way for greater audience interaction.

The villains in first six Bond films always played their parts with deadly seriousness most of the time. They lacked any humor from within themselves. Some of the villains were a bit quirky like Kleb, Benz and Oddjob. The idiosyncratic Kleb added some comic relief as she tried to kick Bond to death with a poisonous steel-pointed shoe in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. "She's had her kicks," remarks Bond. Not bad! Otherwise the villains in first six Bond films were all too serious and too threatening to James Bond. They should have lightened up.

The villains in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER with the exception of Peter Franks, are all real unadulterated unflappably cool! They all make it that much more enjoyable and entertaining. Bruce Glover as Mister Wint and Putter Smith as Mister Kidd, Blofeld's henchmen, are the hippest! Look at Red Grant and Vargas who were much too serious. When you think about it however, Vargas, in THUNDERBALL was sort of funny going around all the time in that black outfit in broad daylight! Actually he did not look too cool at all!

Blofeld's other bad guys in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER include Burt Saxby, Shady Tree, Mrs. Whistler, Slumber, Bambi and Thumper. Burt Saxby comes to his end in a funny scene; he gets fired literally by Willard Whyte. Whyte was supposed to be guarded by Bambi and Thumper, but Bond gets them all wet in Whyte's swimming pool. They don't stand a chance against Bond! There are just so many good actors in minor parts in this film. Don't forget Klaus Hergersheimer "checking radiation shields."

Even the good guys are plentiful in amusing roles. Jimmy Dean as Willard Whyte and Norman Burton as Felix Leiter are good. Jill St. John as Tiffany Case and Lana Wood as Plenty O'Toole are among the best "Bond Girls." "Q" has a good scene with Tiffany Case in the casino at a slot machine.

Many Bond fans didn't like Charles Gray's performance as Blofeld. He was not the same Blofeld we saw in "From Russia With Love," THUNDERBALL or YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. He certainly was not the same Blofeld we saw in ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. In fact there is a bit of a continuity problem with Blofeld as seen consecutively in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE and DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER. However, that is a topic for discussion at some other point. The main point here is that Charles Gray was the best and perhaps definitive Blofeld.

This was Sean Connery's best performance as Bond. It looks like he had an amusing time coming back. He delivered an exceptional self-parody of his previous performances of James Bond 007.

John Barry's score was much better than his earlier ones. In fact, it is one of his better James Bond scores. It is fun, moving, and dynamic and yet pure Bond! He brought back his 007 theme to score the helicopter attack on the Blofeld's oilrig. We didn't hear that again until MOONRAKER. Let the good times roll.

Ken Adam's designs for the Willard Whyte penthouse and Blofeld's mud bath hideout were similar to sets that were to come latter in the series. His best design was for the lunar surface set used at Willard Whyte's laboratories in the Nevada desert. The pipeline where "Bond smells a rat" was also very good.

This film set up the Roger Moore James Bond epics that were to come. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER is truly a paradox in the cinematic James Bond lineage. It is a contradiction of everything that came before and established the James Bond mystique. Yet, in the final analysis everything works in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER in a self-made world of complete absurdity.