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Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
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Overview
User Rating:
Release Date:
17 December 1971 (USA) moreTagline:
"Diamonds Are Forever"...forever...forever...forever... morePlot:
A diamond smuggling investigation leads James Bond to Las Vegas, where he uncovers an extortion plot headed by his nemesis, Ernst Stavro Blofeld. full summary | add synopsisAwards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination moreNewsDesk:
(18 articles)
Michael Sheen as Blofeld for Bond 23...? (From CinemaSpy. 17 June 2009, 12:10 PM, PDT)
Michael Sheen ‘In Talks’ For ‘Bond’ Villain Blofeld
(From MTV Movies Blog. 16 June 2009, 12:00 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
"Oh, providing the collars and cuffs match..." moreUS TV Schedule:
| Mon. July 13 | 9:30 AM | USA |
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only)| Sean Connery | ... | James Bond | |
| Jill St. John | ... | Tiffany Case | |
| Charles Gray | ... | Ernst Stavro Blofeld | |
| Lana Wood | ... | Plenty O'Toole | |
| Jimmy Dean | ... | Willard Whyte | |
| Bruce Cabot | ... | Albert R. 'Bert' Saxby | |
| Putter Smith | ... | Mr. Kidd | |
| Bruce Glover | ... | Mr. Wint | |
| Norman Burton | ... | Felix Leiter | |
| Joseph Fürst | ... | Dr. Metz (as Joseph Furst) | |
| Bernard Lee | ... | 'M' | |
| Desmond Llewelyn | ... | 'Q' | |
| Leonard Barr | ... | Shady Tree | |
| Lois Maxwell | ... | Moneypenny | |
| Margaret Lacey | ... | Mrs. Whistler |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parentsRuntime:
120 minCountry:
UKColor:
Color (Technicolor)Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 moreSound Mix:
MonoCertification:
Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Iceland:12 | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | West Germany:16 (nf) | South Korea:15 | Brazil:12 | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1971) | Peru:14 | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:GP (original rating) | USA:PG (re-rating) (1994) | UK:A (original rating) (cut)Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Willard Whyte is obviously based on Howard Hughes. Hughes, however, played a more substantial role behind the scenes allowing EON to film inside his casinos and at his other properties. His fee was reputed to be one 16mm print of the film. moreGoofs:
Errors in geography: When Mr Wint and Mr Kidd exit the tunnel, with Mr Bond in the trunk of the car, the cover that lifts up has a Saguaro Cactus on it. That type of cactus only grow in extreme southeastern California, southern Arizona and adjoining northwestern Mexico. moreQuotes:
[first lines]James Bond: [tossing chinese man around] Where is he? I shan't ask you politely next time. Where is Blofeld?
Chinese Man: Ca-Ca-Cairo.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: John Turturro/Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers (#20.6)" (1994) moreSoundtrack:
DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER moreFAQ
How does the movie end?What are some of the differences from the novel?
Just what happened to Plenty O'Toole?
more
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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.