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James Bond - Diamonds Are Forever (Ultimate Edition 2 Disc Set) [1971]


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Bond and Vegas are a perfect match
Review date: 2008-09-06 Rating: 8 out of 10

Diamonds Are Forever saw the welcome return of Sean Connery as 007. This was his 6th and final (official) outing in the role. Based on some elements of the original Ian Fleming novel, Bond follows a diamond smuggling 'pipeline' and goes from Amsterdam to Las Vegas, and then on to the finale on an oil rig off the coast of Southern California.

The film is rather offbeat in nature compared to more 'serious' spy stories such as 'From Russia With Love'. Still, Diamonds Are Forever, as well as having a great title song, has its classic moments, such as: the fight in the Amsterdam lift with Peter Franks, the crematorium scene, Bambi and Thumper, moutaineering up a Vegas hotel, the moon buggy chase and, of course, the leftfield (but sinisterly effective) bad guys in Mr. Kydd and Mr. Wint.

Some of the Bond purists may not appreciate this film, but for me, it's still a solid Bond movie with the usual features (glamour girl, quips, car chases, grand locations etc).




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Reviews


more S.T.E.N.C.H. than S.P.E.C.T.R.E.
Review date: 2008-03-24 Rating: 2 out of 10

THIS film lost out [in the 1971 UK box-office returns] to the big-screen version of LWT's ' ON THE BUSES'.....and if that doesn't tell you all you need to know about the pulling-power of this lamest of BOND entries....well, I don't know what does.

I saw this when it was released on the big screen, and the media 'blitz' that surrounded it's arrival was phenomenal........this is, in all probability, THE biggest let-down [certainly in the BOND franchize]of any mass-marketed film.

The 'plot' is a haphazard, muddled shambles [i.e. a scene of BOND trapped in a coffin about to be incinerated ends abruptly, and without proper explanation of how he is saved]; this, coupled with uneven, mis-matched 'set-pieces',[ a 'movie set' moon base; about as 'real' as anything else within the stilted, lifeless script]-----diluted even further by a fey, listlessly effeminate CHARLES GRAY hopelessly squandered in a laughably non-menacing role,-----all sum up the cretinous, banal non-entertainment that encapsulates this sorry mess.

GOOD POINTS: CONNERY reportedly donated his [then-high] 1 M dollar fee to a Scottish trust, so some good did come out of it.

look out for an aged BRUCE CABOT [FAY WRAY'S love interest--other than the giant ape---in the 1933 'KING KONG'].

If you DO insist on collecting the entire BOND canon on a film-by-film basis, I suggest that you leave this trite, irritating morrass of half-digested non-ideas til last to be collected: it is almost ENTIRELY [at least JILL St JOHN looks nice] a total waste of yours--or anyone else's--time.

only SHIRLEY BASSEY'S evocative, era-defining theme standard is of any true merit.

Connery and Hamilton return with one of the better Bond movies
Review date: 2008-01-23 Rating: 8 out of 10

When George Lazenby turned down the offer to continue as James Bond, Sean Connery was brought back for one last movie before Roger Moore took over. They also brought back "Goldfinger" director Guy Hamilton. "Diamonds Are Forever" is set mostly in Las Vegas and Bond once again fights Blofeld (this time played by Charles Gray). The running time is back at an even two hours, and it doesn't suffer from an uneven pace as "Thunderball" and "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" did. The story is good and the movie has two of the Bond series' best henchmen, Mr Kidd and Mr Wint. In my opinion, this is one of the best Bond movies after "Goldfinger" and before "The Spy who Loved Me".

A disaster from beginning to end
Review date: 2008-01-07 Rating: 2 out of 10

There's not a great deal to be said about this film that hasn't been said on these boards before. With the blood, sweat and tears pour out in OHMSS, we were introduced to a new, grittier kind of Bond. I don't know who decided that it didn't work, but clearly someone did. 'Diamonds Are Forever' was the follow up, and is cemented at the very bottom of most Bond lists.

Sean Connery looks like he couldn't care less what's going on in this film. It seemed to be a case of take the money and... stroll. The plot is all but non-existent but still manages to confuse and bore. The action is timid and dull, the locations are far from inspired and Charles Gray is nothing short of pathetic in the role of Bond's nemesis, Blofeld, who seems to have gone from uber-villain to uber-camp cabaret act. Seriously, he's about as fearsome as my grandmother.

It is important to bear in mind that Blofeld murdered Bond's wife at the end of the last film. In spite of this, Bond seems to consider him a mild annoyance in this movie, rather than the object of his blind rage. The scenes between the two of them look like they were shot on different days, there is that little tension between them.

Thinking about it, there is really nothing at all memorable about this tripe. Even John Barry's score felt mediocre after OHMSS. This film is a disgrace to the franchise and to Connery's career. The only small redemption is that Connery's used the whopping fee he earned for this to make 'The Offence' with Sidney Lumet. Ignore 'Diamonds' and watch that. You'll thank me later.

As terrible as this movie is, the new DVD is fantastic. As with all the new Bond DVDs, the picture and sound have been remasted to stunning effect. Watching these films on an upscaling DVD player, you will be amazed at how clean they look, sound and feel. Extras are superb too, with a nice 30 minute documenatry and a wealth of other tidbits.

Connery clocks on at the Bond factory again
Review date: 2007-12-12 Rating: 6 out of 10

Connery's last Bond film for Broccoli and Saltzman is very familiar stuff. Diamonds Are Forever is one of those once popular Bond films whose reputation among the faithful seems to drop every year as OHMSS's rises. Certainly it makes for a poor follow-up and the weakest of the `Blofeld Trilogy.' Its biggest sin is the incredibly lazy pre-title sequence of Bond tracking down and disposing of one Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Aside from the lazy TV-movie look, this isn't a man hunting the murderer of his wife but someone having a bit of a laugh at work. The sequence only really makes much sense if you regard it as a sequel to You Only Live Twice that's determinedly pretending OHMSS never happened after Lazenby incurred the producers' wrath by walking out on the series.

Once you can get over the massive shift in tone from the previous film, or the fact that the film rarely makes much of an effort in its determination to part you from your money, it's still moderately entertaining in its very undemanding way. But there's no disguising the fact that after the first half the film becomes increasingly reliant on Connery's starpower, leaving a shoddy patchwork of half-hearted setpieces and weak puns as the filmmakers imaginations dry up. Unfortunately Connery walks through it all with the satisfied laziness of a man who knows he's being paid too much and is on triple-overtime while Guy Hamilton directs like a man determined to finish on the dot of 6:00pm come hell or high water rather than lose those restaurant reservations. It's particularly telling that when Bond trips slightly when walking with M after the title sequence they didn't even reshoot the scene - too much of the film has a "Nah, that'll do" feel to it.

It's also one where the rejected motive for the film's diamond smuggling - to stockpile enough to perpetually blackmail all the diamond companies with the threat of flooding and destabilizing the market - is rather more promising than the giant space laser-weapon that they opt for instead. It's not helped by the distinctly unthreatening villains, who take camp to new lows. Despite having a few good quips, by turning Charles Gray's Blofeld into a virtual standup comedian it's hard to take him seriously long before he turns up in drag, while the film's pair of camp killers, Wint and Kidd, are an even more unmenacing pair, played purely for cheap laughs. The sight of Putter Smith shuffling towards the camera with a pair of burning kebabs in the post-plot murder attempt that became a regular feature of Moore's outings and which here looks seemingly tagged on as if an afterthought, certainly qualifies as one of the series lowpoints. Still, there are a few nice moments like the opening smuggling montage or the fight in the elevator, John Barry delivers a nice score and there are a couple of nice Ken Adams designs - particularly the Slumber Chapel of Rest, designed like a stained-glass diamond. Connery's worst Bond film is still better than Moore's worst, but you really need to dial your expectations down low for this one.

The two-disc Ultimate edition boasts a fairly modest upgrade in extras from the previous release - a 1971 BBC interview with Connery, a featurette on the elevator fight, a few alternate and expanded angle scenes, some test footage and an additional couple of deleted scenes.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Lana Wood
Sean Connery
Jill St. John
Bruce Cabot
Charles Gray

Creators:
Sean Connery (Primary Contributor)
Jill St. John (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: MGM Entertainment
Manufacturer: MGM Entertainment
EAN: 5035822516991
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: Box set, PAL, Widescreen,
Release date: 2006-07-17
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 120 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1971
Language: Greek (Subtitled)
Language: Dutch (Subtitled)
Language: Norwegian (Subtitled)
Language: Finnish (Subtitled)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Danish (Subtitled)
Language: Swedish (Subtitled)
Language: Hindi (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)

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