Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"A Family Project!"...., June 5, 2004
This review refers to the DVD edition(Miramax) of "Diamonds"...Thoroughly entertaining, more then a bit sentimental, and highly enjoyable, "Diamonds" is a gem of a film. It's a charming comedy that will have you smiling from beginning to end. Kirk Douglas, Dan Aykroyd, and Corbin Allred are three generations of the Agensky men who take you on an adventure you won't soon forget. Lance(Aykroyd) and the teenage Michael(Allred) are a father and son who's relationship is in dire need of some help.They are spending sometime together before Lance's ex remarries and Michael will move away with the newlyweds. They are en-route to visit Harry(Douglas), father of Lance, and their relationship is also in need of some major mending. Harry in his younger days, was "The Polish Prince" a welter-weight boxing world champion, but alas, has of recent lost his loving wife, and has had a stroke, and only has his memories to make him feel like the man he once was. For years, Harry has been retelling the family stories of his younger days, and one story especially, of some hidden "magic diamonds" is one he can't let go of. Although thought to be one of Harry's pipe-dreams, Lance and Michael are convinced to take a little adventure with grandpa to search for this long lost treasure. It's a joyous, funny, and sentimental ride with these three men who start out just trying to like each other, but somewhere between Canada and Reno discover how important they each are to the others. Oh and along the way..there's more bonding of another kind...ahem... they make a little pit stop at, as Harry puts it, a "Chicken Ranch". And what a treat not only for the boys, but for the audience as well, as the wonderful Lauren Bacall is "Sin-Dee", the Madam of the brothel and dubs their little adventure "a family project". Then there's the always fun and delightful Jenny McCarthy, who will be giving Michael his first experience of "life". Aykroyd is wonderful as the son and father trying to bring the three generations together. Allred is charming as the younger Agensky trying his best to annoy his Dad. Bacall..well, she's always a welcome treat and will steal your heart away once more.
Kirk Douglas will move you to no end. His real life stroke does not keep him from being the great star that he is and playing a stroke victim, shows us that life is wonderful and you've got to move ahead no matter what the circumstances. He plays the part with great humor, courage and is not only very inspiring but will charm the socks off of you as well. The film has some great music that you might not be able to get out of your head for a while. Footage from Douglas's great boxing movie "Champion" is cleverly incorporated and shown as flashbacks to his younger days. The DVD is a good buy. It's a beautiful widescreen picture with vibrant colors from the beautiful scenery of the road trip to the flashing lights of Reno. The surround sound in 5.1 is excellent. There are cast and crew bios,and an entertaining featurette "The Life and Times of Kirk Douglas" included. It may be viewed in French and has English captioning. I found going through the set-up menu a little slow, but absolutley worth the wait. This film is heart warming, funny, inspirational and better than a month of therapy! Enjoy....Laurie
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Kirk Douglas in a triumphant return, July 28, 2000
Kirk Douglas is one of the all time great leading men in the last century. At 83 and having suffered a stroke, I'm sure no one ever thought he would be acting again. Think again. Douglas is back, and although he is hampered somewhat by the effects of the stroke, he is as feisty, energetic and dramatically potent as ever.Douglas plays Harry, the patriarch of a three-generation family in this bittersweet comedy exploring the relationships between a father, his son and his grandson. Harry is seen early in the film doing exercises to recover his speech and strengthen his facial muscles after a stroke. A former welterweight champion, Harry tells his son (Dan Akroyd) and grandson (Corbin Allred) that when he was younger, he had a friend hold 13 diamonds for him, and if he could find the friend; he could recover the diamonds. So, the three men set out on a mission in quest of the booty. The story is bittersweet character study of the three men, their relationships and misadventures. It is a bit overly nostalgic and the dialogue often meanders. However, the good points outweigh the bad. Douglas gives a plucky performance as the aging patriarch. This is his film, and he dominates every scene. His would have been an excellent dramatic performance for anyone regardless of age and health. When those facts are considered, it makes the performance truly inspirational. It speaks volumes about Douglas' indomitable character. It is obvious that he worked very hard to overcome his disability and he was determined not to let it get the best of him. There is also some great vintage b/w footage of Kirk Douglas, who played a prizefighter in the movie "Champion" (1949). Lauren Bacall was also delightful and the scenes that she and Douglas played together were touching and wonderful. Bacall is still lovely, poised and confident, and her portrayal was sensitive and powerful. Seeing the two of them together was like watching two masters at work. I enjoyed this film, even though the story and characters were somewhat unoriginal. I rated it a 7/10. It brought back two screen legends and more than a few magical moments in watching them perform.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
4 White Brilliant, Some Fancy Yellow, Some Pink & Champage, November 4, 2004
This is not a story about diamonds but a beautiful story about the father and son's bonding. It begins with the old dad played by Kirk Douglas, who always brags about having a dozen of magic diamonds hidding somewhere, worth millions of dollars. None of his children believes him. Until someday, his grandson listens and excites about it. He drags his dad (played by Dan Aykroyd) to help his grandfather to find those diamonds. Adventure begins. Throughout the journey, they not only fix up but also strengthen their father-and-son relationship all together. And eventually, they find the magic diamonds but with a twist --- a $5 cubic zirconia necklace and a deck of card printed with grandma's picture. Yet, at the end of the film, there's another twist.
Overall, this is a very good movie. It will make you laugh abit and cry abit. Just the DVD is lacking of some extra features, which only comes with closed captions, bios, and a bonus material "The Life and Times of Kirk Douglas".
*** Otto Yuen's DVD Special Rating for Diamonds ***
1. Film Rewatchability: MEDIUM
2. DVD Featurability: WEAK
3. Picture Quality: VERY GOOD
4. Sound Quality: VERY GOOD
(Reviewed by Otto Yuen, 4-Nov-2004)
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