Diamonds are Forever

Rating:
Summary: Low-point for Connery's Bond
Review: As much as I try to like "Diamonds are forever", I can't. Connery looks old/tired and the script has him do everything in a sort of go-through-the-motions jest. The musical score is good, Jill St. John is a delight and the ending finally had Bond acting like Bond. Then the movie is over. It seems like the 1970s malaise had settled into the Bond film. When Roger Moore takes over in the thrilling "Live and Let Die" the Bond films become fast-paced action adventures with it difficult to deliver a realistic story line. Why Connery and company let "Diamonds are forever" drift into self-parody is a mystery to me, this was the whole point of Connery; he was believable and we were watching something that could really happen. My view is the last REAL 007 movie made by Connery was "You only Live twice".

Rating:
Summary: He deserved the dough
Review: One of my favorite Bond movies. Connery earn his unusual ( for the time ) fee for this role as he hunts for the killer of his wife only to find him behind a mission after he believed he finished the job.

Jill St. John is very hot and does a fine job and the supporting cast follows through well. The cut in the effects budget shows with the parking lot chase but I always felt that Connery as Bond was the attraction rather than the gimicks.

A winner

Rating:
Summary: Making Mud Pies, 007?
Review: The 7th James Bond movie. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER introduced a fascinating character in the series with Willard Whyte, a reclusive billionaire who runs an empire from a Las Vegas penthouse. Whyte is played to perfection by none other than the sausage king himself Jimmy Dean - a legendary tycoon himself during the late 50s and 60s for a series of hilarious commercial and comedy skits. Dean cleverly enthuses the role of Whyte with his own persona. As such, the whole extravagant gambling activities seen throughout the film give a unique appeal for Sean Connery's final apperance as James Bond. The film also showcases memorable action sequences with a more spunky heroine in Jill St. John.

THE ASSIGNMENT: M introduces Bond to the problems of diamond smuggling. Despite apparent air-tight security at South Africa's diamonds mines, a large quantity has recently gone missing. Even more alarming than the larceny is that none of the stolen jewels have found their way on to the world market. Bond is sent off to discover who is stockpiling the diamonds, and why. He begins by impersonating smuggler Peter Franks, and ends up in Las Vegas - and to his shock face to face with Ernst Stavro Blofeld! Blofeld has devised another way to hold the world at ransom - a giant laserbeam generator suspended in orbit around the Earth which uses diamonds to intensify its' energy to the point where it can cause rockets, missiles, and submarines to simply self-detonate. Blofeld is effectively conducting an international auction with nuclear supremacy going to the highest bidder. Who better than 007?

THE VILLAINS: Charles Gray as Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Joseph Furst as Professor Metz, and Putter Smith and Bruce Glover as the whimsical homosexuals Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED! BUY IT!

Rating:
Summary: A Bit More Cheek Than Usual, Miss Case?
Review: 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. -

Rating:
Summary: Sparkling
Review: "Diamonds Are Forever" is the 7th in the James Bond 007 series from 1971. Agent 007 is assigned to stop diamond smugglers. This movie marks the return of Sean Connery to the role of Bond. He does a decent job here, but afterward he retired again and Roger Moore took over the role. Jill St. John does a good job of playing Tiffany Case, one of the smugglers. Norman Burton does a forgettable job of playing Felix Leiter. (The best Leiter was Jack Lord in "Dr. No" [1962]).

This movie really has two things going for it: an outstanding soundtrack and some of the best villains of the entire Bond series. Shirley Bassey sings the title track. Her's is a return performance, as she also sang the title tracks to "Goldfinger" (1964) and "Moonraker" (1979). The two villains, Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint, are henchmen of Ernst Blofeld. It is just hilarious how they make deadpan one-liners which parody those of Bond!

This is one of my favorite Bond movies, but I am rating it down one star because it seems to bog down near the end. Ironically, I saw a DeBeers diamond commercial which said "A diamond is forever" while I was preparing this review. Apparently, the movie title has some marketing power to it!

Rating:
Summary: Not as bad as Moonraker
Review: Connery is the only saving grace to this film. The film has a rushed, cheap quality to it. The producers must have been so pleased to have Connery back one last time they forgot about minor stuff like exotic sets (Las Vegas coming on the heels of Japan and the Swiss Alps is a let-down), decent special effects, and a good editor--how did Plenty end up dead? what about the car on two wheels switching sides?--see the movie and you'll understand. Also, someone should have at least tried to get Telly Savalas back as Blofeld for some continuity. Blofeld is 007's Moriarty and while even Savalas didn't quite match the literary Blofeld, he at least had far more presence than Donald Pleasance or Charles Gray. Having Connery back one more time was good, but production values really took a hit in this one. Still, it wasn't as silly as Moonraker.

Rating:
Summary: Connery's 007 Deserved Better
Review: After rejecting "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" in 1969, Sean Connery was enticed by United Artists to reprise James Bond for a $1 million salary plus two film projects of his choosing. It's a shame that "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971) turned out to be his weakest 007 effort. This time around, the Bond producers deliver less than their usual value for money -- cutting corners to compensate for Connery's salary and a tighter shooting schedule. How else can one explain the lame climax on Blofeld's oil rig, which was more elaborate in the original script (ending in a Bond-Blofeld chase). Had George Lazenby continued as Bond, with director Peter Hunt at the helm, one senses that "Diamonds Are Forever" might have been a stronger adventure -- with a more generous budget. Instead, Connery's return sets the stage for Roger Moore's tired reign, judging by the film's increasing emphasis on comedy. "Diamonds Are Forever" has its moments: an excellent pre-credits sequence; the memorable car chase through the Las Vegas strip; and Bond's confrontation with TWO Blofelds. Unfortunately, the film is a convoluted mess, with a few glaring production flaws (watch the moon-buggy chase) and a surprising disregard for continuity (such as the fate of Plenty O'Toole). Despite Connery's stylish performance, it lacks the excitement and polish of previous 007 efforts. One can be grateful that Connery decided to play Bond for a final time in "Never Say Never Again" (1983) -- a more satisfying farewell than "Diamonds Are Forever."

Rating:
Summary: diamonds are forever
Review: The name's Bond, James Bond. That's the first line that comes to mind when I think of James Bond and nobody said it better than Sean Connery, star of Diamonds are Forever. After reading Ian Fleming's Diamonds are Forever, and then watching Guy Hamilton's interpretation of the literature, I only have one thing to say. Despite neither one being very good, the film is much more entertaining. Fleming had a relatively simple plot with dull action scenes. However, Hamilton merged thrilling action scenes with a plot that was a bit too complicated.
Out of all of the six actors who have played the most notorious secret agent, Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, Roger Moore, David Niven, Timothy Dalton, and George Lazenby, only one has the charm, the wit, and the accent that just can't be put in words. That'd be Sean Connery. In the book the narrator sounds dull and unexciting, even when it's an action scene. "Suddenly there was a great tongue of fire, followed by a few breathless seconds later by a terrible iron crash as if a battleship had run hard onto rocks. And then a muffled clanging that seemed to come from under their feet. And finally a deep distant boom from the bowels of the earth and a barrage of miscellaneous echoes."- Page 125 of Diamonds are Forever. It sounds too much like a list; it doesn't fit with the situation. In addition, there's no humor, it's too dry. But in the movie there are plenty of funny one liners. For example, when a female introduces herself as Plenty, then Bond responds with, "but of course you are." Then Bond and Ms. Plenty head up to Bond's room where some of Whyte's men interrupt their make out session. Bond says, "I think you have me with more than my hands up." Or when Bond first meets Tiffany Case and she leaves the room with a blond wig, and returns with a brunette wig. Bond asks, "Weren't you a blond when I came in?" She says that it's possible and Bond replies, "I tend to notice little things like that, whether a girl is a blond or a brunette." Then Case says that she'll finish dressing. Bond retorts, "Oh please don't, not on my account."
I hate it when an author composes an action book. When I read a book, I want to be able to have a clear picture of the scene in my head and so far with my experience of reading action books, I've never been able to get a clear picture of an explosion, or a shootout. It seems to me that when ever it comes to an explosion, the author always leaves me with a feeling of confusion and this book was no different. "After some time he pulled the knife out of his shirt with a sharp jerk. He didn't look at it, but reached up and drew the curtain aside and threw the knife far out into the blackness beyond. Then, still gazing out into the quiet night, he put up the safety of the Beretta and, with a hand that suddenly seemed sheathed in lead, thrust the gun back into place."- Page 151 of Diamonds are Forever. I need to know who "he" is, did the knife hit? That's Bond's Beretta, but did he kill the fat man? Did Bond pull out the knife? All those questions need to be answered if I am to get a clear picture of this scene in my head. But with a movie, there is always a clear picture in front of you, no questions. You can see that building go up in flames, hear the BOOM, and feel a sense of surprise and excitement.
Although it may seem like Diamonds are Forever is a great movie from what I've previously said, it's plagued with problems of its own. The movie has an excellent beginning with Bond finding Blofeld and killing him (or so we think). Then the story got absurd. It's almost funny how stupid it got after we learn of Blofeld's double and his laser shooting satellite. By the way, didn't Blofeld die in the beginning? It seems to me that Blofeld has 9 lives, just like his cat. The only good part in the middle was the car chase from the deserts of Nevada to the streets of Las Vegas. But even that made absolutely no sense when his car escaped by driving on its side through an alley. Then we get to the ending and Blofeld's entire plan is destroyed simply by Bond stealing a cassette tape.
Even though most people think that books are better than movies, I think they don't know what they're talking about. Despite the movie having a pretty bad plot, the charisma of Sean Connery makes it worth your time. The book doesn't have Sean Connery to save it. Plus the action bites. I don't think that I've fully expressed how awful I think the book was. It gave a new meaning to the term, cruel and unusual punishment.

Rating:
Summary: 1st Class Production marred by Flabby Script
Review: And the script isn't the only thing that's gone flabby. Though only forty at the time Diamonds was shot, Connery looks a good ten years older. Tired, flabby and sporting bushy eyebrows and long sideburns, Connery was beginning to look like he was following in Elvis' 70's-era footsteps. Ironically, Connery's next Bond appearance (though not an "official one") in "Never Say Never Again" came a full twelve years later and found him looking in much better shape.

Thankfully, Connery does give a good--even funny--return performance. Kudos also to a typically 1st class production and Shirley Bassey title song. Dragging things back down are a comic book script and an extremely irritating Jill St. John.

Rating:
Summary: It's more comedy then adventure.
Review: Guy Hamilton was an odd 007 director. Trading in thrills for more laughs in this somewhat odd 007 movie. Sean looks a bit tierd from playing the role, Jill St. John is more laughable then romanitic and Jimmy Dean is well, Jimmy Dean.

Take it for what it's worth.