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YOLT vs. DAF
chrisisall
Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
Both Connery, both OTT (noticeably smaller budget on DAF though), both with Charles Gray, both with crazy/jumpy Blofeld cats, both with curious organizational economics...
Which is your favourite?
I think I like YOLT more for the definite 60's vibe & the sheer destructive stuff, but DAF has so many really funny lines & an awesome coda that I can't be sure.
Thoughts?
Which is your favourite?
I think I like YOLT more for the definite 60's vibe & the sheer destructive stuff, but DAF has so many really funny lines & an awesome coda that I can't be sure.
Thoughts?
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Comments
DAF has a better tone, a better Connery, is more interesting, and the dialogue is absolute fire.
Pretty much tied for me. They're not all that similar. It's hard to pick. I'll go with DAF just so it has some votes as I assume, on these boards at least, YOLT is generally preferred.
1. FRWL
2. TB
3. YOLT
4. DN
5. GF
6. DAF
Nothing guilty about it in my opinion. It's a damn good film. Dark, witty comedy of the absurd mixed with excellent tension and a swaggering aloof performance from Mr. Connery.
Ah yep! :)>-
I don't see why people hate DAF (actually I can kinda see but that's not the point), as it is really enjoyable movie for me.
DAF on the other hand, while entertaining (I become happy even by thinking about it) and a movie I like, is too lightweight and goofy for being a serious contender to YOLT. It has some weird scenes I'm not too fond of (the circus, Bambi & Thumper) and is to americanised. Add to that the not very handsome locations and you got a movie near the bottom of my list. But don't get me wrong, I like DAF and have given it a thumbs up on Rotten Tomatoes.
It is believed that Diamonds Are Forever was only ever intended to be part of a dream sequence between OHMSS and Live and Let Die, the dream ending when Bond wakes up.
YOLT epitomises Bond more than any other single movie in the franchise.
Every parody and piss-take in movie and TV history owes a debt of gratitude to YOLT.
Ask anyone on the street to define James Bond films and the likelihood is their initial thoughts will include a bald headed, crack faced Donald Pleasence and cat, a hollowed out volcano, a funny little helicopter, ninjas tumbling down ropes, man eating piranhas, rockets eating other rockets and so on and so forth.
This film is the moment early Bond and 70s Bond met in the middle and probably represents the series better than any other individual film.
John Barry's music - beautiful.
Connery - magnetic.
And the sight of Bond being pursued across the rooftops by a bunch of Blofeld's goons, with Bond dispatching them one after the other, is one of the series most breath-taking, exciting and funny moments.
It's a big, stupid, mad piece of film making and without it the series would be all the poorer.
DAF?
A bizarre, disjointed, lazy film. Sometimes I enjoy it, sometimes I don't. But it never reaches the epic proportions of YOLT.
That said, for me, Goldfinger is the ultimate Bond film.
Outside of these two films you have Ursula Andress emerging from the sea, the character of Jaws and arguably Craig in his speedos that would make the top 10 moments everyone remembers (non-Bond fans that is).
Agreed! See thread I have just started!
can you prove that?... or is that just your opinion?
Yes
DAF has an outstanding score (too good for the film IMO) but I really don't have much positive to say about it. As mentioned, I've not watched it for a while, and whenever I do I'm disappointed, primarily by the use of the US as a location. It comes across like a 70's tv show (Starsky and Hutch or Chips or Charlies Angels or Vegas) because of this to me. I realize they had a smaller budget, but they should have filmed it somewhere else. The tacky 70's flavour also hurts it. Blofeld & Tiffany Case weren't too memorable either. The best bit I remember was Bond breaking into Willard Whyte's top floor hangout. I'll see what I think when I watch it again.
So YOLT takes the win here, but that's not saying much.
You're absolutely right. I remember having some sound problems with a crappy sound bar (since exchanged for a much better speaker system) I had bought when I last watched YOLT, and I have never seen DAF on my big screen tv (it's been that long). So I'm long overdue for a rewatch. With my new system, I'm sure I'll enjoy them both more now. Will report back soon with an update.
I have since made peace with the idea that Bond survives by staying with life, not death. As much as he liked Aki, she was gone. Kissy was there, and alive. I dropped my nonsensical romantic/heroic notions & now I appreciate that Bond is (in YOLT) a survivor. He exists for NOW.
Presently it's one of my favourite Connery films, along side DN & FRWL.
DAF however, is merely nostalgic & humerous eye candy with a great Barry score...
I thought Connery was actually better in DAF than he was in YOLT. He seemed bored in YOLT (particularly in the Ninja camp). He was more sprightly and assured in DAF, although his appearance was terrible. They should have shaved the thick burns (realizing that this particular look was going to date the film) and they should have at least dyed his hair. No doubt he should have lost weight too. However, he really did seem more with it in DAF....like he was glad to be back. His lines were also much better in DAF (there was more of the slightly crude humour that only he could deliver so effortlessly).
I actually enjoyed DAF more overall as well, only because it seemed more balanced throughout. YOLT is far superior in the beginning to about 2/3 in until the ninja training camp, when it falls flat due to pacing IMO....around the time Connery goes Japanese. DAF just moves along somewhat with a consistent pace throughout. DAF also seems much more modern to me (there is too much green screen in YOLT) although YOLT has that great 60's vibe and clothing, and its plot is far more ambitious. DAF is a much smaller scale production but moves along much faster and is the better for it.....I don't think it's bloated in the slightest.
I marginally preferred Helga Brandt, Osato & Hans to Bambi/Thumper (although I really liked these two) & Wint & Kidd (and I only recently realized why Barry used that climbing saxophone whenever they are on screen - genius!). I preferred Aki/Kissy to Tiffany Case but actually liked Charles Grey's Blofeld more than the arguably more iconic Donald Pleasance's (although they are both pretty naff in my estimation).
I marginally prefer DAF's score to YOLT's but it's very close between these two. Both classics. I can't really choose between the title tracks. They are quite different but great, depending on one's mood.
DAF is mainly let down by the US setting which really robs it of a lot of the Bondian class together with the less classic 70's fashions IMO. If only they had filmed it somewhere else the movie would have really gone up in my ranking. Oh well.
The win goes to DAF (surprisingly) due to more balanced pacing and a more engaged but less visually appealing Connery. No doubt YOLT is much more iconic, but I just preferred DAF this time around. Wonders never cease!
Diamonds just is ehhhh.
I second the motion!