Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
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Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
BOND#7: What Doesn't Stay in Vegas? Bond, James Bond!
SEAN CONNERY is James Bond 007 in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
starring JILL ST. JOHN CHARLES GRAY as Blofeld LANA WOOD as Plenty O'Toole
BRUCE GLOVER as Mr. Wint PUTTER SMITH as Mr. Kidd JIMMY DEAN BRUCE CABOT
NORMAN BURTON as Leiter * BERNARD LEE as M * DESMOND LLEWELYN as Q * LOIS MAXWELL as Moneypenny
Directed by GUY HAMILTON
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.
Bond, but not Connery, would return in Live and Let Die.
BoG's Bond Scores:
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
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Base of Galactic Science Fiction :: SCIENCE FICTION CINEMA :: Semi-Science Fiction Films :: Super Agents - James Bond and his ilk
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