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The Alternative Diamonds are Forever.

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  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,355
    Have a look here for the much better take from The Living Daylights that was also left on the cutting room floor! - at 1:04

  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    Yep! That would be another missed opprotunity for a great "Bond...James Bond"
  • Max0017Max0017
    Posts: 5
    Does anyone else remember that Blofeld didn't die for another four films in For Your Eyes Only?
  • TigerTiger
    Posts: 8
    DAF was always my least favorite Sean Connery/Bond film.
    To me, the revenge angle for the murder of Tracy, was weak. Anthing better than that cheesy mud bath crap.

    I just didn't like it...but then Roger Moore came into the fold---but don't get me started on that--those were my dark, watching with one eye opened.

    Bring back the FRWL style...
  • rjh121rjh121
    Posts: 3
    The miscue of not casting a proper Blofeld really damaged YOLT and DAF. My pick would have been Christopher Lee. You needed to cast someone with enough charisma to oppose the great man of Connery. I didn't feel that YOLT and DAF had enough of good vs evil like one felt when watching FRWL or GF. I can understand why Connery left the series- he needed to be challenged not left to playing with dolls! Oh yes, I agree the undubbed version is much better!!
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    I rather did like Donald Pleasance and Charles Gray. Yes, I know, how ridiculous, right? No, I thought their performances as Blofeld were very good. I can understand some form of dislike for Charles Gray, even though I liked his version as Blofeld, but seriously! The dislike for Donald Pleasance? I don't get that one.
  • rjh121rjh121
    Posts: 3
    Donald Pleasance is not manly!! Blofeld is supposed to have charisma- I saw an old bald man with a cat. Pretty threatening!!! huh?? I didn't feel that the character as played by Pleasance would have actually come up with any take over the world schemes. It was BAD!!!
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    Well, he was very creepy and menacing, if you ask me. His calm, relaxed voice, the scar, the cool authority he demanded. His first appearance when he turns around in his chair is the epitome of the whole "supervillain entrance" thing that has been parodied countless times.
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    I always did wish that Diamonds Are Forever had a better finale than we were given, because honestly what we got was a bit weak in my opinion. I used to not mind it as much, but now I'm really disappointed that the planned ideas went down the drain. I mean seriously, ditch frogmen with mines, a hot air balloon pursuit, and a fight to the finish on a salt mine? Goodness, who let that get away! We didn't even get a proper Bond vs. Blofeld battle, and this was their final face-to-face encounter!
  • HASEROTHASEROT has returned like the tedious inevitability of an unloved season---
    edited July 2012 Posts: 4,399
    of the 3 actors that played Blofeld on screen (in the official series).. my favorite, and IMO the best Blofeld will always be Telly Savalas.... his Blofeld had cool charm, but also menace - that neither Donald nor Charles could duplicate... his Blofeld you could imagine putting up a good fight against Bond - whereas both and Donald and Charles kind of run and hide as their thugs do the work for them..... Telly's had his thugs too, but when it came time to throw down on his own, you believed he could.
  • barryt007barryt007
    Posts: 19,339
    HASEROT wrote:
    of the 3 actors that played Blofeld on screen (in the official series).. my favorite, and IMO the best Blofeld will always be Telly Savalas.... his Blofeld had cool charm, but also menace - that neither Donald nor Charles could duplicate... his Blofeld you could imagine putting up a good fight against Bond - whereas both and Donald and Charles kind of run and hide as their thugs do the work for them..... Telly's had his thugs too, but when it came time to throw down on his own, you believed he could.

    Well put and i totally agree with all of the above,he was my favourite by a long shot.

  • SharkySharky
    Posts: 266
    The only blofeld i didn't like was Charles Grey, I quite liked Donald pleasence and Telly savalas is my favourite too. After reading the ditched ideas in Diamonds i quite like the idea of the salt mine sequence and if Blofeld had been killed in DAF it would've been more satisfactory than his actual demise in the pre-titles of FYEO imo.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    edited July 2012 Posts: 6,304
    I love the wide shot of the jetty (?) where the bikini girl is bathing.

    Wonder why that was cut out of the final film? Would have given the PTS (which feels a bit soundstage-based, frankly) more grandeur.

    Also, why didn't they force Gray to shave his head so that he would be bald like the other Blofelds? Lazy.
  • SharkySharky
    Posts: 266
    Another thing which has occured to me is that we could've got an amercanised Bond as John Gavin had been signed to play Bond. I wonder how that would've turned out.
  • myworldisenoughmyworldisenough
    Posts: 1,143
    DAF should have been a revenge flick, a direct sequel to OHMSS. Dark and emotionally charged with a spectacular fight scene to the death between Blofeld and Bond.
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    myworldisenough wrote:
    DAF should have been a revenge flick, a direct sequel to OHMSS. Dark and emotionally charged with a spectacular fight scene to the death between Blofeld and Bond.

    A final fight scene between Bond and Blofeld was originally planned to take place at an abandoned salt mine or something like that, but wound up getting axed, sadly. I would have preferred this to watching Bond wack Blofeld around in the little submarine, which I've felt was sort of boring and lame for the man who murdered his wife.
  • PrinceKamalKhanPrinceKamalKhan Monsoon Palace, Udaipur
    Posts: 3,262
    Sharky wrote:
    The only blofeld i didn't like was Charles Grey, I quite liked Donald pleasence and Telly savalas is my favourite too. After reading the ditched ideas in Diamonds i quite like the idea of the salt mine sequence and if Blofeld had been killed in DAF it would've been more satisfactory than his actual demise in the pre-titles of FYEO imo.

    Tom Mankiewicz has said that they couldn't really kill Blofeld off since EON might've wanted to bring him back for future installments. They didn't know in 1970 that McClory would pull his legal stunts concerning Blofeld and SPECTRE 5 or 6 years later.

  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    edited July 2012 Posts: 13,978
    I though I had posted this, so i'll do it now. I have already come up with my dream <a href="http://www.listal.com/list/diamonds-are-forever">Diamonds Are Forever (1974).</a>
  • VirageVirage
    Posts: 1,856
    Is that supposed to be a link @Major?
  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,978
    Fixed, I didn't put the " at the end of the link. #-o
  • PrinceKamalKhanPrinceKamalKhan Monsoon Palace, Udaipur
    Posts: 3,262
    MajorDSmythe wrote:
    I though I had posted this, so i'll do it now. I have already come up with my dream <a href="http://www.listal.com/list/diamonds-are-forever">Diamonds Are Forever (1974).</a>

    So do Bambi and Thumper become DAF's Irma and Penelope in your version, Major?

  • MajorDSmytheMajorDSmythe "I tolerate this century, but I don't enjoy it."Moderator
    Posts: 13,978
    PrinceKamalKhan wrote:
    MajorDSmythe wrote:
    I though I had posted this, so i'll do it now. I have already come up with my dream <a href="http://www.listal.com/list/diamonds-are-forever">Diamonds Are Forever (1974).</a>

    So do Bambi and Thumper become DAF's Irma and Penelope in your version, Major?

    I guess you could say that. Basically, they take on the duties that were assinged to Wint & Kidd. I wanted to make it a hybrid of the book, an improved version of the '71 film, but also put my own touch. So gone are W&K, with B&T's role greatly expanded on.
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    MajorDSmythe wrote:
    PrinceKamalKhan wrote:
    MajorDSmythe wrote:
    I though I had posted this, so i'll do it now. I have already come up with my dream <a href="http://www.listal.com/list/diamonds-are-forever">Diamonds Are Forever (1974).</a>

    So do Bambi and Thumper become DAF's Irma and Penelope in your version, Major?

    I guess you could say that. Basically, they take on the duties that were assinged to Wint & Kidd. I wanted to make it a hybrid of the book, an improved version of the '71 film, but also put my own touch. So gone are W&K, with B&T's role greatly expanded on.

    I respect the idea but I couldn't take Wint and Kidd out of DAF! They're a huge part of what makes the movie great for me! Such classic lines from their banter back and forth, such memorable methods of murder, and all around the creepy type of henchmen you'd easily remember.
  • echoecho 007 in New York
    Posts: 6,304
    00Beast wrote:
    MajorDSmythe wrote:
    PrinceKamalKhan wrote:
    MajorDSmythe wrote:
    I though I had posted this, so i'll do it now. I have already come up with my dream <a href="http://www.listal.com/list/diamonds-are-forever">Diamonds Are Forever (1974).</a>

    So do Bambi and Thumper become DAF's Irma and Penelope in your version, Major?

    I guess you could say that. Basically, they take on the duties that were assinged to Wint & Kidd. I wanted to make it a hybrid of the book, an improved version of the '71 film, but also put my own touch. So gone are W&K, with B&T's role greatly expanded on.

    I respect the idea but I couldn't take Wint and Kidd out of DAF! They're a huge part of what makes the movie great for me! Such classic lines from their banter back and forth, such memorable methods of murder, and all around the creepy type of henchmen you'd easily remember.

    Agree. Also, W&K are arguably the best part of the novel.
  • 00Beast00Beast
    Posts: 4,762
    echo wrote:
    00Beast wrote:
    MajorDSmythe wrote:
    PrinceKamalKhan wrote:
    MajorDSmythe wrote:
    I though I had posted this, so i'll do it now. I have already come up with my dream <a href="http://www.listal.com/list/diamonds-are-forever">Diamonds Are Forever (1974).</a>

    So do Bambi and Thumper become DAF's Irma and Penelope in your version, Major?

    I guess you could say that. Basically, they take on the duties that were assinged to Wint & Kidd. I wanted to make it a hybrid of the book, an improved version of the '71 film, but also put my own touch. So gone are W&K, with B&T's role greatly expanded on.

    I respect the idea but I couldn't take Wint and Kidd out of DAF! They're a huge part of what makes the movie great for me! Such classic lines from their banter back and forth, such memorable methods of murder, and all around the creepy type of henchmen you'd easily remember.

    Agree. Also, W&K are arguably the best part of the novel.

    I have not yet read the DAF novel, but I have seen the comic strip as I glanced through the James Bond Omnibous volume 1 at a bookstore recently, and I must say that I really like the fight between Wint and Kidd and 007. I wish something like this had been done for the movie instead of the campy, goofy dinner attack we got, complete with the dumb tie between the legs incident. Goodness....
  • 007InVT007InVT Classified
    Posts: 893
    Here's an alternative trailer for DAF, 'A true, gritty sequel to OHMSS, Bond is driven by revenge for the death of his wife. An epic trailer for a movie that never was.'

  • LudovicoLudovico
    edited May 2013 Posts: 15,125
    DAF was as far as I am concerned a failure on almost every level. More a Bond spoof than a Bond movie. I am not surprised that even the other scenarios were just as bad, if not worse than the finished product. Goldfinger's twin?
  • 00130013
    Posts: 1,817
    Take away the circus-circus sequence, Blofeld in drag and improve the final battle and it could have been a pretty decent film! (Even if it's not a sequel of OHMSS as I always think it is not.)
  • LudovicoLudovico
    Posts: 15,125
    Take a way a lot of things! And change most of the dialogues, get rid of the comedy, then you have a decent Bond movie. I think the downfall of DAF was an abysmal script by Tom Mankiewick, who seemed interested about the clichés about James Bond rather than the source material. No wonder he wrote a terrible script for a never produced Batman movie: he had the exact same attitude towards the subject. Shallow, an utter misunderstanding and/or lack of interest of/in the source material, laziness...
  • delfloriadelfloria
    edited May 2013 Posts: 1,860
    You just killed "James Bond". How the hell would Tiffany know who James Bond is? If Blofeld told Bond (as Saxby) to kill Whyte then how does the actual Saxby show up to kill Whyte? Just askin'.
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