Diamonds Are Forever

James Bond (Sean Connery) investigates a diamond smuggling ring, which leads him to Las Vegas. There he meets beautiful Tiffany Case (Jill St. John), fends off kooky hit men, and comes face-to-face with his arch-nemesis Blofeld (Charles Gray). Sean Connery's last 'official' Bond film doesn't get a lot of love from the serious crowd but I happen to like it. Among the criticisms are that it's "too Americanized," "too much like a comic book," and "too trashy." If you're the type who gets your panties in a twist over any of those things you will probably agree with the detractors on this one.

Personally, I thought it was a lot of fun. Sean Connery's perfect. My favorite Bond. Charles Gray is a nice Blofeld. Kidd & Wint (Putter Smith, Bruce Glover) are enjoyably quirky henchmen. Jill St. John's a great Bond girl. It's got good action, hot women, a memorable Shirley Bassey theme song, and lots of humor. Voluptuous Lana Wood's Plenty O'Toole is one of the sexiest Bond girls ever. This is the one with Bambi & Thumper as well as Jimmy Dean, the sausage king! There's a lot to like about it. If you're someone who enjoys the Bond movies for colorful escapist adventure more than for dark espionage stories, you should like this as much as I do.

The movie resulted to be Sean Connery's last appearance as Bond before he returned again in ¨Never say never again¨ by Irwin Keshner . M ( Bernard Lee )assigns an under-grade mission to Bond dealing with diamonds robbing but the events go worse . This time Bond confronts Blofeld (Charles Gray) and a strange couple , Mr Kid and Mr Wint (Bruce Glover and Putter Smith ) in a intrigue about diamonds smuggling and a final with satellite full of nuclear weapons , holding of the world to ransom . Bond is helped by a Howard Hughes type recluse (Jimmy Dean) and of course Q (Desmond Llewelyn ). And the extraordinary presence of a marvelous girl (Jill St John) and secondary appearance another Bond female ( Lana Wood, Natalie Wood's sister ) in the ordinary Casino of Las Vegas .

The film contains spectacular fights , action packed , car chases , apocalyptic and overwhelming scenarios along with the typically glossy ingredients series but Sean Connery looks a little bit boring ,in fact is his Bond last film , before his surprising return . It is held together by fine acting and above all, and overwhelming level of tongue-in-cheek . Sean Connery as James Bond is cool , he has coldness and toughness , typical characters of the famous personage , but also earns in irony , suavity and smoothness . The interesting screenplay based on Ian Fleming's novel is written by Richard Maibaum and the recently deceased Tom Mankiewicz. The action is very good , the cinematography by Ted Moore is magnificent , the sets decent , but the real clincher is the fact that Bond is once more performed by a hero with the right stuff . The struggles were carefully choreographed by very accomplished athletes as a pair gorgeous killer karate female bodyguards and performed like a dance routine requiring each participant to hit their mark at the correct time . The picture is produced by habituals Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli filmed on location in Amsterdam , Netherland , Los Angeles ,Nevada and Pinewood Studios ,London,England. The atmosphere is faithful to the actual location but the interiors on a set at Pinewood Studios. Appropriate and wonderful -as usual- musical score by John Barry .Main title song is catching and marvelously performed by Shirley Bassey . The motion picture is well directed by Guy Hamilton who also directed ¨Live and let die¨, ¨the man with the golden gun¨ with Roger Moore and the best Bond : ¨Goldfinger ¨also with Sean Connery . Indispensable and essential watching for James Bond fans .

MASTER PLAN: steal a lot of diamonds to fashion an orbiting super-duper laser to, guess what, blackmail the world! The pre-credits teaser functions as an epilogue to "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," with Bond hunting his arch-nemesis, Blofeld, in a quick series of scenes throughout the world. The filmmakers tried to recapture the best of "Goldfinger" in this one, using the same director and singer Bassey on the credits again. Ending up with even a pale imitation of the best Bonder is not such a bad thing, but it also points to the lack of originality besetting the series by this time. This one probably breaks the record for unusual types of killings, mostly courtesy of gay assassins Wint & Kidd, who go through a bunch of victims very quickly early on. The odd flavor and juxtaposition (detail of diamond smuggling over surreal liquidations) is an attempt to make Bond edgy & relevant now that the seventies began. The danger with all the attempts to be unusual, whether in regard to deaths or chases, is that it dips into a cutesy atmosphere a bit too far. Those fans fond of the seriousness in the previous film would probably not be amused, since it comes across as a dark parody of the usual spy stuff. That being said, Wint & Kidd, who represent the worst excesses of this film, end up as the highlights. From their very first scene in the desert, where they seem to draw inspiration from a scorpion, these two oddballs have the audience guessing on what they would do next - they are goofy, yes, but also lethal - interesting because they are somewhat original.

Bond's mission, tracking an involved diamond smuggling operation, takes him briefly to Amsterdam, but he ends up in Las Vegas for most of the story. A subplot involves a missing billionaire, obviously patterned after Howard Hughes, who was still living as a recluse at this time. M and, especially Moneypenny, have less screen time in this one, though Q pops up in an amusing scene testing one of his gizmos on some one-armed bandits (Vegas is no match for Q). Though the scenes in Vegas itself are less exotic than those of most Bond films, the film also makes good use of the surrounding desert terrain and there are numerous grand sets, notably a huge futuristic lab building, complete with tests of a fake moon landing, as well as a house built into the rocks. There is a good auto chase on the streets of Vegas, which has the infamous 'two-wheely' by Bond thru an alley. The two weird assassins pop up every now and then; they even have their own theme score, an eerie yet playful little tune. One of them looks very strange (Smith, a jazz musician with no acting experience), while the other (actor Glover, father of Crispin Glover) looks more normal but has very strange inflections to his speech. Every time they show up, a strange tension surfaces for the viewer. Besides Wint & Kidd, other outrageous foes for Bond include Bambi & Thumper, two wild martial arts girls who nearly knock his teeth in. Their scene has a lot of energy and you won't soon forget them. The story is well-paced for the most part, with less of those slow spots that afflicted many of the later Bonders. However, a couple of deleted scenes with the Plenty character makes things a bit confusing for her character arc.

Connery is, of course, several years older since his last Bonder, but he looks pretty much the same as he did in "You Only Live Twice." There may be a hint of grey around the edges and, in his scenes with M, it no longer comes across as 'the old man and the wiseguy kid' repartee, despite their best efforts. But Bond is still the ideal male here and it's still believable that femme fatale Tiffany falls for him by the end. She's a curious mixture of flaky girl and worldly woman, usually flippant in her approach, sort of reflecting the trivial nature of this Bonder, where nothing happening is really of grave import. That's why, when Blofeld's (him again) real plan is revealed, it's a bit out of left field; all of sudden, we see a super laser detonating missiles around the globe and everything has changed into matters of international import. Blofeld, as played by Gray, is more urbane and effeminate than the previous two versions, more attuned to a villain planning world domination, but he's also too civilized, too polite to Bond in the climactic sequence, diffusing his threatening presence. CIA liaison Leiter recalls the non-descript Leiter of "Goldfinger," as well. The climax on that oil rig sea platform in Baja is not very well done, with Blofeld's end especially disappointing (he would not return, except in the teaser of "For Your Eyes Only"). But, the epilogue is excellent. Bond, but not Connery, would return in "Live and Let Die." Bond:8 Villain:7 Femme Fatales:7 Henchmen/women:8 Leiter:6 Fights:8 Stunts/Chases:8 Gadgets:6 Auto:7 Locations:6 Pace:8 overall:7

Diamonds Are Forever is often described as a Roger Moore film starring Sean Connery, but it goes even farther than that. Whereas Moore ushered in ironic/silly codings, Diamonds contains the most overtly camp humour the series ever indulged in. The film also contains the most amount of nudity, and arguably the rudest jokes of the franchise. The title quote is Connery's quip to a girl with ever-changing wigs, while later we get the immortal "I'm afraid you've caught me with more than my hands up."

There's the sense of the odd, or uneasy, about this one all the way through. From the theme title (and what a great song!) precipitated by a cat's cry to the homosexual henchmen Mr.Wynt and Mr. Kidd. Their unnerving air is not the result of their gay, slightly homophobic, portrayal, but in Putter Smith's performance as Kidd. Not a trained actor, but an accomplished jazz bassist, this off-kilter playing creates an unconscious, unsettling atmosphere.

It's this juxtaposition which compels throughout. Like seeing Britain's top espionage agent doing the childhood "snogging with yourself" routine then smashing a man's head through a window just seconds later. It's a superficially lightweight film, but with a nasty, almost bitter undercurrent. Connery's obvious resistance to the role actually serves it well here, given that this is the first post-wife Bond movie. Bernard Lee plays an unusually terse M to complement this abrasive 007. Such a starch display cuts through the smug underpinnings of the character and makes the cheesy one-liners more palatable. He looks older than in any of his other Bond films - Never Say Never Again included – but this also fits his anguished, bereaved state. In line with this most misogynistic of Bond pictures, Jill St. John's character development passes from intelligent, through to devious and down into simpering bimbo.

Incidental music is a bit disattached, and often feels like it belongs to another film. It works against, rather than with, the picture it's there to support. Yet although not quite the best of the series, this and the following Live and Let Die are the most distinctive in look, feel and style. They're light, pacy, poppish takes on the format, full of comicbook verve and wit. Guy Hamilton's direction is also very good; making the most of the LA location with use of expansive aerial shots.

The plot seems fairly complex, though maybe that's because it's underdeveloped and submerged beneath slightly irrelevant setpieces. I had to smile at the line "Get him off that machine, that isn't a toy" as Sean boards the moonbuggy. I remember after the film it became one, a primary-coloured Dinky version with a spinning radar. Brings back memories, that.

Blofeld, who has now taken up cloning and cross-dressing, is played here by Charles Gray. Although at the time it was four years before he would become the criminologist in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, the two are now inseparable, in my mind at least. As if this wasn't enough high camp to go round, there's also Connery being demolished by Bambi and Thumper, a couple of sadistic female gymnasts.

If something about this quirky, offbeat Bond (and some sources list it as the seventh least successful in terms of gross) doesn't quite gel, then it greatly improves on repeat viewings.

In this 7th Bond movie, there is little of Bond's prowess in sex and violence... Connery's return to his role for a final throw is simply disappointing... Seeking a diamond smuggler, Bond has adventures in Amsterdam, in a Los Angeles crematorium, in various Las Vegas gambling parlors, and in a secret factory in Nevada desert...

For that Bond receives an urn containing a hoard of gems; leads the police on a wild chase; drives a Moonbuggy and a tiny Mustang convertible on two side wheels; wins at the Craps table; struggles superbly with two hot-tempered vixens; rips off a woman's top bikini; substitutes a fake computer tape; tries to escape from a blazing coffin; and knocks what he thinks is the real Blofeld // For the audience, it's intended to function as a glorious reinstatement of Connery-Bond, avenging Tracy's murder...

Jill St. John is the free agent who defies Bond's charm, but is reduced to a weak heroine, as she displays none of the class we've come to expect of a Bond girl... Nevertheless this redheaded diamond smuggler becomes the first American Bond beauty who does know how to wear a 'nice little nothing.' Jill inspires the best line in the movie...

Charles Gray becomes the third actor to portray a wildly sophisticated Blofeld on-screen following Donald Pleasance and Telly Savalas… He succeeds as the reclusive tycoon Ernest Stavro Blofeld who creates doubles of himself to confuse Commander Bond... He hates martial music and takes no chances with his staff... His hit men are "gay and fun," Mr Kidd and Mr Wint... Putter Smith is the sadistic Mr Kidd and Bruce Glover is his sinister sidekick Mr Wint… Jimmy Dean plays the multimillionaire Willard Whyte unaware that his company is being improperly used by Blofeld for his devil scheme for world domination...He is held prisoner in his desert mansion which is protected by two female karate experts nicknamed Bambi and Thumper...

Lana Wood becomes the glamorous society girl who meets Bond at a Las Vegas crap table… One night she barely had enough time to remove her top, and gets an undeserved but chilling sendoff...

Desmond Llewelyn is Bond's gadget man, Q, who tries out an electromagnetic controller for his own amusement that makes an entire raw of slot machines hits jackpots...

Lois Maxwell is, as always, the loving Moneypenny in emigration uniform, this time, who still is aching for a diamond ring; Bernard Lee is the imposing 'M' who assigns 007 to infiltrate the smuggling ring and find out who was stockpiling stolen diamonds; Norman Burton is the CIA agent Felix Leiter who greets Bond and asks which part of the stiff holds the gems; Joseph Fürst is the brilliant scientist Dr Metz, who thinks that Blofeld is a mankind's benefactor, and a believer in world disarmament; and Bruce Cabot is Whyte's treacherous right-hand-man...