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Diamonds Are Forever - 40 years old today

Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
edited December 2011 in Bond Movies Posts: 13,356
Diamonds Are Forever, the seventh Bond film and sixth and final* to star Sean Connery, is 40 years old today. It was released and had it's world premiere on the 14th of December 1971.

Happy Birthday!

Will MI6 be putting up some kind of looking back/retrospective I wonder?

*Yeah, I know.

Comments

  • AlexanderWaverlyAlexanderWaverly
    Posts: 2,115
    Here's one:

    http://hmssweblog.wordpress.com/2011/12/11/diamonds-are-forevers-40th-anniversary-a-star-returns/
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    Sweet! Happy Birthday to DAF!
  • TopGearJB007TopGearJB007
    Posts: 624
    My second favorite Bond film is 40!
  • WillardWhyteWillardWhyte Midnight Society #ProjectMoon
    Posts: 784
    Ahh what a grand film! I will have to watch this soon to celebrate!!!
  • 0BradyM0Bondfanatic70BradyM0Bondfanatic7 Quantum Floral Arrangements: "We Have Petals Everywhere"
    Posts: 28,694
    Diamonds truly are forever...
  • Agent7FAgent7F
    Posts: 825
    Well It one of my favourite Bond movies. I was glad Sean Connery came & starred in it. It to me a classic James Bond movie.
  • DoubleOhhSevenDoubleOhhSeven
    Posts: 1,778
    Sean Connery was back!!! This time with a bear belly to fight gay assassins and mud clones, forget about his dead wife, and go head-to-head with a Blofeld in drag. Come to think of it that was one bizarre Bond film :D
  • timmertimmer
    edited December 2011 Posts: 4,622
    "Making mudpies Mr. Bond?"What a great way to usher in the second decade of Bond with a film, this exciting, this colourful, this much fun and with Sean holding it all together.
    Wint and Kidd- best henchmen ever. Gray as Blofeld- best Blofeld ever. No-one beats these three for deadly camp performances.
  • actonsteveactonsteve
    Posts: 1,492
    When ITV wants to flll their schedules and checks which films have been popular over the year they always head for 70s Bond films - and always this one. It has been a regular on the box since its TV premiere on Christmas day 1980...

    Easily one of the more enjoyable offerings.
  • AlexanderWaverlyAlexanderWaverly
    Posts: 2,115
    timmer wrote:
    "Making mudpies Mr. Bond?"What a great way to usher in the second decade of Bond with a film, this exciting, this colourful, this much fun and with Sean holding it all together.
    Wint and Kidd- best henchmen ever. Gray as Blofeld- best Blofeld ever. No-one beats these three for deadly camp performances.

    Technically speaking the line was, "Making mudpies, 007?" (not a criticism of the post, just presenting as fyi).

  • quigdettequigdette
    Posts: 1
    Life in a Blender's song "Sean Connery" celebrates the 40th anniversary of DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER.....http://fromunderthebasement.blogspot.com/2011/12/life-in-blender-celebrates-40th.html
  • JBFan626JBFan626
    Posts: 1,497
    "Where is Blofeld?!? I shant ask you again"
  • PrinceKamalKhanPrinceKamalKhan Monsoon Palace, Udaipur
    edited December 2011 Posts: 3,262
    Happy Big 4-0! :)

    "Keep leaning on that tooter, Charley, and you're gonna get a shot in the mouth!"

  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    @PrinceKamalKhan: What an epic trailer! An awesome way to make DAF more serious in tone, appropriately following the events of OHMSS. Still, DAF is what it is, and I find it to be an excellent Bond film!
  • timmertimmer
    Posts: 4,622
    AlexanderWaverly wrote:

    Technically speaking the line was, "Making mudpies, 007?" (not a criticism of the post, just presenting as fyi).
    Yes quite. 007 works much better.

  • BangOnTimeBangOnTime
    Posts: 58
    Happy Birthday, DAF!

    I love this movie, one of the better in my opinion, though I know many disagree with me there. :P
  • PrinceKamalKhanPrinceKamalKhan Monsoon Palace, Udaipur
    Posts: 3,262
    00Beast wrote:
    @PrinceKamalKhan: What an epic trailer! An awesome way to make DAF more serious in tone, appropriately following the events of OHMSS. Still, DAF is what it is, and I find it to be an excellent Bond film!

    Agreed.

    Here's another teaser trailer to celebrate its big 4-0:


  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,256
    A guilty pleasure Bond for me, but it's a pleasure to watch nonetheless. This film reminds us of those trickier days in the franchise, when they were left somewhat confused after OHMSS.

    Happy B-day.
  • DoubleOhhSevenDoubleOhhSeven
    edited December 2011 Posts: 1,778
    DarthDimi wrote:
    A guilty pleasure Bond for me, but it's a pleasure to watch nonetheless. This film reminds us of those trickier days in the franchise, when they were left somewhat confused after OHMSS.

    Happy B-day.

    Yeah it defiantly was a tricky time for EON. Funny how they followed up what was at the time the most serious Bond film with a precursor to the light Roger Moore days. As if audiences demanded the exact opposite of OHMSS or something. Honestly DAF is one of my least favorites. It just feels like a Roger Moore film starring Sean Connery. Maybe it would've worked better if Moore debuted here instead of LALD so the 70s would be entirely his.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,256
    To be honest, I kinda like Connery in DAF. I really think he gave a good performance. He's so easy-going in this film, as if he walked on the set, read his lines and left again. But I like the result. Comes off as an arrogant Bond, the type I like. I'm not sure DAF would have been a good debut film for Moore.
  • DoubleOhhSevenDoubleOhhSeven
    edited December 2011 Posts: 1,778
    Yeah I guess having 3 different Bonds with 3 different Blofelds in as many films would've been a bit strange. Plus it kinda closes the door on the whole Spectre saga, anticlimatically ofcourse, which took up the majority of Connery's Bond's time. So I guess it was more appropriate for Connery.
  • BAIN123BAIN123
    edited December 2011 Posts: 11,189
    Personally I think Conners performance was better here than in YOLT. Nonetheless I prefer Twice as it just has a bit more...life to it IMO.

    Diamonds is one of my least favourites but it does have it's merits Happy Birthday.

    How exactly does Shady Tee open Bonds coffin so soon after the flames are covering it without burning his hands? ;)
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,423
    Hmm, Renard's father, perhaps?


    No pain.....
  • TopGearJB007TopGearJB007
    edited December 2011 Posts: 624
    I honestly do not see how you guys can put DAF at the bottom of your Bond lists. It sits proudly in the second spot on my list.

    A few reasons why:

    - Sean Connery is Bond
    - Great performance from Charles Grey as Blofeld.
    - Two of the best henchman in the series.
    - Great one liners
    - Jill St. John ;)
    - 1971 Mustang Mach 1 Chase
    - "BAW HAW!"
    - "Who is your floor?"
    - Fantastic PTS
  • Agent7FAgent7F
    Posts: 825
    TopGearJB007 wrote:
    I honestly do not see how you guys can put DAF at the bottom of your Bond lists. It sits proudly in the second spot on my list.

    A few reasons why:

    - Sean Connery is Bond
    - Great performance from Charles Grey as Blofeld.
    - Two of the best henchman in the series.
    - Great one liners
    - Jill St. John ;)
    - 1971 Mustang Mach 1 Chase
    - "BAW HAW!"
    - "Who is your floor?"
    - Fantastic PTS

    What you wrote there look helpful & great. B-) ;)
  • BounineBounine
    Posts: 2,599
    DAF was my worst Bond film until the Brosnan films and QOS tarnished the silver screen. At that point DAF became a masterpiece in comparison. But hey, that's just me of course.

    Happy Anniversary Diamonds!
  • St_GeorgeSt_George Shuttling Drax's lovelies to the space doughnut - happy 40th, MR!
    Posts: 1,699
    Happy dies natalis to DAF! (Odd to wish a film a happy birthday, but whatever)


    So Diamonds, eh? A diamond in the rough? Well, that may be a very good way of putting it... :p

    <a href="http://www.tg-films.info/films_d/pics/diamonds.jpg">Blowers: "<i>There'll still be watching this moment in forty years time, you know, my dear</i>"
    Tiffany: "<i>Oh my God, the future is going to be hell!</i>"</a>
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,999
    St_George wrote:
    Happy dies natalis to DAF! (Odd to wish a film a happy birthday, but whatever)


    So Diamonds, eh? A diamond in the rough? Well, that may be a very good way of putting it... :p

    <a href="http://www.tg-films.info/films_d/pics/diamonds.jpg">Blowers: "<i>There'll still be watching this moment in forty years time, you know, my dear</i>"
    Tiffany: "<i>Oh my God, the future is going to be hell!</i>"</a>

    There is a Volvo 740's worth of Pussy jokes I could make in regards to that pic. But I shall not go there.

    And happy birthday, Leyand. Not one of my favourite Bonds, but not one of my least favourite ones either.
  • Baltimore_007Baltimore_007
    Posts: 5,634
    I watched this earlier today, first time ever actually I had actually watched an owned copy rather than a taping off TV etc, it's now part of my collection

    Maybe I was a bit hard on Connery before, Yes he does look older, as you would expect, but there's still clear signs of the youth of Doctor No or Russia there. Here it was blatantly obvious they wrote it for laughs and getting prepared for the japery of Moore yet to come as the straight faced Connery of the early 1960s has sadly departed and what we have now is a slightly fatter faced version just making up the numbers and having half a mind on the One and a quarter million dollar salary he was paid to do it.

    Redeeming qualities include a very nice looking St John, she is/was an attractive woman here, some decent set pieces as the Elevator Fight in Amsterdam, The underground pipeline 'walking a rat', hell I even enjoyed the Bambi/Thumper tussle even. It's nowhere near the best Bond adventure ever but it does entertain here and there. The Wint and Kidd partnership does offer some genuine mirth whenever they are on screen, particularly the end bit on the liner. (Lana) Wood does get on one's nerves though, was pleased in a way she got killed off. Charles Gray fails terribly as Blofeld, we went from a credible Savalas to a trainwreck of a character with Gray, and cross dressing too?, was that really necessary, the head of Spectre and all.

    The Bassey theme was not too bad, not really a fan of Binders title designs but it wasn't too bad this time out. Pre credits were too short, Connery doesn't look interested sometimes, and when was Nairobi in South Africa ?, someone was absent from Geography class and the ending on the oil rig is rather dull all told. It's not that bad a Bond experience but not a particularly good one either. As said the ending on the ship is genuinely amusing and worth watching of anyone's time. Shame about all what came before.

    Overall rating 5.5 /10


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