Diamonds are Forever

Starring:Sean Connery, Jill St. John, Charles Gray, Lana Wood, Jimmy Dean, Bruce Cabot, Putter Smith, Bruce Glover, Norman Burton, Joseph FÃ¼rst, Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, Leonard Barr, Lois Maxwell, Margaret Lacey, Joe Robinson, David de Keyser, Laurence Naismith, David Bauer, Connie Mason
Director: Guy Hamilton
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Sean Connery retired from the 007 franchise after You Only Live Twice (replaced by George Lazenby in the underrated and underperforming On Her Majesty's Secret Service) but was lured back for one last official appearance as James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever. He's in fine form--cool but ruthless--in a sharp precredits sequence hunting the unkillable Blofeld (a suavely menacing Charles Gray in this incarnation), but the MacGuffin of a story (involving diamond smuggling, a superlaser on a satellite, and Blofeld's latest plot to rule the world ) is full of the groaning tongue-in-cheek gags that Roger Moore would make his signature. Goldfinger director Guy Hamilton keeps the film zipping along gamely from one entertaining set piece to another, including a terrific car chase in a parking lot, a battle with a pair of bikini-clad killer gymnasts named Bambi and Thumper, and a deadly game with a bizarre pair of fey, sardonic killers who dispatch their victims with elaborate invention. Jill St. John is the brassy but not too bright American smuggler Tiffany Case, and country singer and pork sausage king Jimmy Dean costars as a reclusive billionaire with not-so-subtle parallels to Howard Hughes. Shirley Bassey belts out the memorable theme song, one of the series' best. Connery retired again after this one but he returned once more, for Never Say Never Again 15 years later for a rival production company. --Sean Axmaker

James Bond Ultimate Edition Boxed Sets Bundle
Average customer rating:

The Ultimate Bond is the Ultimate

wonderfully restored movies!

007- Bond, James

Picked up whole collection in one pack - great deal

The Ultimate For The 007 Fan

James Bond Ultimate Edition Boxed Sets Bundle
Starring: Sean Connery , Pierce Brosnan , Roger Moore , George Lazenby , and Timothy Dalton
Manufacturer: MGM
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Sean Connery | James Bond | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video
Pierce Brosnan | James Bond | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video
Roger Moore | James Bond | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video
Collections & Documentaries | James Bond | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video
Timothy Dalton & George Lazenby | James Bond | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video
All Titles | James Bond | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video
Brosnan, Pierce | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Connery, Sean | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Dalton, Timothy | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Lazenby, George | ( L ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
Moore, Roger | ( M ) | Actors & Actresses | Stores | DVD | Video
All MGM Titles | MGM Home Entertainment | Studio Specials | Stores | DVD | Video
( J ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Ultimate Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B000MCI1RA
Release Date: 2007-02-06

Amazon.com

The Man with the Golden Gun: The British superspy with a license to kill takes on his dark underworld double, a classy assassin who kills with golden bullets at $1 million a hit. Roger Moore, in his second outing as James Bond, meets Christopher Lee's Scaramanga, one of the most magnetic villains in the entire series, in this entertaining but rather wan entry in the 007 sweepstakes. Moore balances the overplayed humor of the film with a steely performance and Lee's charm and enthusiasm makes Scaramanga a cool, deadly, and thoroughly enchanting adversary. --Sean Axmaker

Goldfinger: To own Goldfinger (1964) on DVD is to have at your fingertips the proof that Sean Connery is the definitive James Bond. No one but Connery can believably seduce women so effortlessly, kill with almost as much ease, and then pull another bottle of Dom Perignon '53 out of the fridge. Goldfinger contains many of the most memorable scenes in the Bond series: gorgeous Shirley Eaton (as Jill Masterson) coated in gold paint by evil Auric Goldfinger and deposited in Bond's bed; silent Oddjob, flipping a razor-sharp derby like a Frisbee to sever heads; our hero spread-eagle on a table while a laser beam moves threateningly toward his crotch. Goldfinger's two climaxes, inside Fort Knox and aboard a private plane, have to be seen to be believed. --Raphael Shargel

The World Is Not Enough:Bond 5.0, Pierce Brosnan, undercuts his usually suave persona with a darker, more brutal edge largely absent since Sean Connery departed. Equally tantalizing are our initial glimpses of Bond's nemesis du jour, Renard (Robert Carlyle), and imminent love interest, Elektra King (Sophie Marceau), both atypically complex characters cast with seemingly shrewd choices, and directed by the capable Michael Apted. The story's focus on post-Soviet geopolitics likewise starts off on a savvy note, before being overtaken by increasingly Byzantine plot twists, hidden motives, and reversals of loyalty superheated by relentless (if intermittently perfunctory) action sequences.--Sam Sutherland

Diamonds Are Forever: Sean Connery retired from the 007 franchise after You Only Live Twice but was lured back for one last official appearance as James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever. Goldfinger director Guy Hamilton keeps the film zipping along gamely from one entertaining set piece to another, including a terrific car chase in a parking lot, a battle with a pair of bikini-clad killer gymnasts named Bambi and Thumper, and a deadly game with a bizarre pair of fey, sardonic killers who dispatch their victims with elaborate invention. Connery retired again after this one but he returned once more, for Never Say Never Again 15 years later. --Sean Axmaker

The Living Daylights: Timothy Dalton made his 007 debut in the lean, mean mode of Sean Connery, doing away with the pun-filled camp of Roger Moore's final outings. This James Bond is ruthless, tough, and romantic. The Living Daylights, set during the thaw of the cold war, begins with the defection of Russian KGB General Koskov (Jeroen Krabb) and his revelation of a Soviet plot to eliminate Britain's secret agent force. Assigned to eliminate Koskov's Soviet boss (John Rhys-Davies), Bond uncovers a conspiracy involving Koskov and an American arms dealer (Joe Don Baker). Veteran series director John Glen's action scenes have never been better--especially the show-stopping mid-air battle on the net of a speeding cargo plane--and he returns the series to the smart, rough, high-energy adventures that made the Bond reputation. --Sean Axmaker

A View to a Kill: Roger Moore's last outing as James Bond is evidence enough that it was time to pass the torch to another actor. Beset by crummy action (an out-of-control fire engine?) and featuring a fading Moore still trying to prop up his mannered idea of style, the film is largely interesting for Christopher Walken's quirky performance as a sort-of supervillain who wants to take out California's Silicon Valley. Grace Jones has a spookily interesting presence as a lethal associate of Walken's (and who, in the best Bond tradition, has sex with 007 before trying to kill him later), and Patrick Macnee (Steed!) has a warm if brief bit. Even directed by John Glen, who brought some crackle to the Moore years in the Bond franchise, this is a very slight effort. -- Tom Keogh

Thunderball: James Bond's fourth adventure takes him to the Bahamas, where a NATO warplane with a nuclear payload has disappeared into the sea. Bond (Sean Connery) travels from a tiny health spa (where he tangles with a mechanized masseuse run amuck) to the casinos of Nassau and soon picks up the trail of SPECTRE's number-two man, Emilio Largo (Adolfo Celi), and his beautiful mistress, Domino (Claudine Auger), whom Bond soon seduces to his side. Equipped with more gadgets than ever, 007 escapes an ambush with a personal-size jet pack and takes to the water as he searches for the undersea plane, battles Largo's pet sharks, and finally leads the battle against Largo's scuba-equipped henchmen in a spectacular underwater climax. This thrilling Bond entry became Connery's most successful outing in the series and was remade in 1983 as Never Say Never Again, with Connery returning to the role after a 12-year hiatus. --Sean Axmaker

Die Another Day: The 20th James Bond adventure, Die Another Day succeeds on three important fronts: it avoids comparison to Austin Powers by keeping its cheesy humor in check, allows Halle Berry to be sexy and worthy of a spinoff franchise, and keeps pace with the technical wizardry that modern action films demand. Pierce Brosnan is paired with American agent Jinx (Berry) in chasing a genetically altered North Korean villain (Rick Yune) armed with a satellite capable of destroying just about anything. John Cleese and Judi Dench reprise their recurring roles (as "Q" and "M," respectively); they're accompanied by weapons-laden sports cars, a hokey cameo by Madonna (who sings the techno-pulsed theme song), and enough double-entendres to keep Bond-philes adequately shaken and stirred. Die Another Day makes you welcome the familiar end-credits promise: James Bond will return. --Jeff Shannon

The Spy Who Loved Me: The best of the James Bond adventures starring Roger Moore as tuxedoed Agent 007, this globe-trotting thriller introduced the steel-toothed Jaws (played by seven-foot-two-inch-tall actor Richard Kiel) as one of the most memorable and indestructible Bond villains. Jaws is so tenacious, in fact, that Moore looks genuinely frightened, and that adds to the abundant fun. This time Bond teams up with yet another lovely Russian agent (Barbara Bach) to track a pair of nuclear submarines that the nefarious Stromberg (Curt Jürgens) plans to use in his plot to start World War III. The Spy Who Loved Me is a galaxy away from the suave Sean Connery exploits of the 1960s, but the film works perfectly as grandiose entertainment. From cavernous undersea lairs to the vast horizons of Egypt, this Bond thriller keeps its tongue firmly in cheek with a plot tailor-made for daredevil escapism. --Jeff Shannon

License to Kill: Timothy Dalton's second and last shot at playing James Bond isn't nearly as much fun as his debut, two years earlier, in the 1987 The Living Daylights. This time Bond gets mad after a close friend (David Hedison) from the intelligence sector is assassinated on his wedding day, and 007 goes undercover to link the murder to an international drug cartel. Robert Davi makes an interesting adversary, but as with most of the Bond films in the '70s, '80s, and '90s--and especially since the end of the cold war--one has to wonder why we should still care about these lesser villains and their unimaginative crimes. Still, Dalton did manage in his short time with the character to make 007 his own, which neither Roger Moore did nor Pierce Brosnan did. --Tom Keogh

Goldeneye: The 18th James Bond adventure was a runaway box-office success when released in 1995, thanks to the arrival of Pierce Brosnan as the fifth actor (following the departure of Timothy Dalton) to play the suave, danger-loving Agent 007. This James Bond is a bit more vulnerable and psychologically complex--and just a shade more politically correct--but he's still a formally attired playboy at heart, with a lovely Russian beauty (Izabella Scorupco) as his sexy ally against a cadre of renegade Russians bent on--what else?--global domination. All in all, this action-packed Bond adventure provided a much-needed boost the long-running movie series, revitalizing the 007 franchise for the turn of the millennium. -- Jeff Shannon

Live and Let Die: Roger Moore was introduced as James Bond in this 1973 action movie featuring secret agent 007. This film marks a deviation from the more character-driven stories of the Connery years, a deliberate shift to plastic action (multiple chases, bravura stunts) that made the franchise more of a comic book or machine. If that's not depressing enough, there's even a good British director on board, Guy Hamilton (Force 10 from Navarone). The story finds Bond taking on an international drug dealer (Yaphet Kotto), and while that may be superficially relevant, it isn't exactly the same as fighting supervillains on the order of Goldfinger. --Tom Keogh

For Your Eyes Only: After a ship sunk off the coast of Albania, the world's superpowers begin a feverish search for its valuable lost cargo: the powerful ATAC system, which will give its bearer unlimited control over Polaris nuclear submarines. As Bond joins the search, he suspects the suave Kristatos (Julian Glover) of seizing the device. The competition between nations grows more deadly by the moment, but Bond finds an ally in the beautiful Melina Havelock (Caroline Bouquet), who blames Kristatos for the death of her parents. The non-stop action includes automobile chases, thrilling underwater battles, and even a breathtaking tour over razor-sharp coral reefs. But all of this is merely a prelude to 007's cliffhanging assault of a magnificent mountaintop fortress. -- Robert Lynch

From Russia with Love: Directed with consummate skill by Terence Young, the second James Bond spy thriller is considered by many fans to be the best of them all. Certainly Sean Connery was never better as the dashing Agent 007, whose latest mission takes him to Istanbul to retrieve a top-secret Russian decoding machine. His efforts are thwarted when he gets romantically distracted by a sexy Russian double agent (Daniela Bianchi), and is tracked by a lovely assassin (Lotte Lenya) with switchblade shoes, and by a crazed killer (Robert Shaw), who clashes with Bond during the film's dazzling climax aboard the Orient Express. From Russia with Love is classic James Bond, before the gadgets, pyrotechnics, and Roger Moore steered the movies away from the more realistic tone of the books by Ian Fleming. --Jeff Shannon

On Her Majesty's Secret Service: Australian model George Lazenby took up the mantle of the world's most suave secret agent when Sean Connery retired as James Bond (although Connery returned in Diamonds Are Forever before leaving the role to Roger Moore). In On Her Majesty's Secret Service, 007 leaves the Service to privately pursue his SPECTRE nemesis Blofeld (played this time by Telly Savalas), whose latest master plan involves a threat to the world's crops by agricultural sterilization. Lazenby hasn't the intensity of Connery but he has fun with his quips and even lampoons the Bond image in a playful pre-credits sequence. Former editor Peter Hunt makes a strong directorial debut, deftly handling the elaborate action sequences with a kinetic finesse. --Sean Axmaker

Dr. No: Released in 1962, this first James Bond movie remains one of the best, and serves as an entertaining reminder that the Bond series began (in keeping with Ian Fleming's novels) with a surprising lack of gadgetry and big-budget fireworks. In his first adventure James Bond is called to Jamaica where a colleague and secretary have been mysteriously killed. With an American CIA agent (Jack Lord, pre-Hawaii Five-O), they discover that the nefarious Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman) is scheming to blackmail the U.S. government with a device capable of deflecting and destroying U.S. rockets launched from Cape Canaveral. Of course, Bond takes time off from his exploits to enjoy the company of a few gorgeous women, including the bikini-clad Ursula Andress. This is Bond at his purest, kicking off a series of movies that shows no sign of slowing down. --Jeff Shannon

You Only Live Twice: The film boasts the best of the Bond title songs (this one sung on a dreamy track by Nancy Sinatra), but the movie itself is one of the weaker ones of the Sean Connery phase of the 007 franchise. The story concerns an effort by the evil organization SPECTRE to start a world war, but the not-so-super villain behind the plot is the awfully civilized Donald Pleasence. The thin script is by Roald Dahl (shouldn't we have expected a better Bond nemesis from the creator of mad genius Willy Wonka?), and direction is by British veteran Lewis Gilbert (Alfie). But the movie can't hold a candle to Dr. No, From Russia with Love, or Goldfinger. --Tom Keogh

Octopussy: Roger Moore was nearing the end of his reign as James Bond when he made Octopussy, and he looks a little worn out. But the movie itself infuses some new blood into the old franchise, with a frisky pace and a pair of sturdy villains. Maud Adams--who'd also been in the Bond outing The Man with the Golden Gun--plays the improbably named Octopussy, while old smoothie Louis Jourdan is her crafty partner in crime. Two Bond films were actually released in 1983 within a few months of each other, as Octopussy was followed by Sean Connery's comeback in Never Say Never Again. The success of both pictures proved that there was still plenty of mileage left in the old license to kill, though Moore had one more workout--A View to a Kill--before hanging it up. And that title? The franchise had already used up the titles to Ian Fleming's novels, so Octopussy was taken from a lesser-known Fleming short story. -- Robert Horton

Tomorrow Never Dies: Pierce Brosnan returns for his second stint as James Bond (after GoldenEye), and he's doing it in high style with an invigorating cast of costars. It's only appropriate that a Bond film from 1997 would find Agent 007 pitted against a media mogul (Jonathan Pryce) who's going to start a global war (beginning with stolen nuclear missiles aimed at China) to create attention-grabbing headlines for his latest multimedia news channel. It's the information age run amok, and Bond must team up with a lovely and lethal agent from the Chinese External Security Force (played by Honk Kong action star Michelle Yeoh) to foil the madman's plot of global domination. Luckily for Bond, the villain's wife (Teri Hatcher) is one of his former lovers and 007 finds ample opportunity to exploit the connection. Armed with the usual array of gadgets (including a remote-controlled BMW), Brosnan settles into his role with acceptable flair, and the dynamic Yeoh provides a perfect balance to the sexism that once threatened to turn Bond into a politically incorrect anachronism. He's still Bond, to be sure, but he's saving the world with a bit more sophisticated finesse. --Jeff Shannon

Moonraker: This was the first James Bond adventure produced after the success of Star Wars, so it jumped on the sci-fi bandwagon by combining the suave appeal of Agent 007 (once again played by Roger Moore) with enough high-tech hardware and special effects to make Luke Skywalker want to join Her Majesty's Secret Service. This time Bond is up against a criminal industrialist named Drax (Michel Lonsdale) who wants to control the world from his orbiting space station. Bond thwarts this maniacal Neo-Hitler's scheme with the help of a beautiful, sleek-figured scientist (played by Lois Chiles with all the vitality of a department-store mannequin). Despite Moore's passive performance (which Pauline Kael described as "like an office manager who is turning into dead wood but hanging on to collect his pension"), Moonraker had no problem attracting an appreciative audience, and there are even a few renegade Bond-philes who consider it one of their favorites. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

The Ultimate Bond is the Ultimate.......2007-06-27

If you love James Bond movies, wait, even if you just plain like Bond movies, get this collection. The movies look great and it is fabulous to watch how the character of Bond and the movies themselves evolve. Great for a film class or just someone who wants a lot of fun action adventure movies around. Plus at Amazon prices, you can't go wrong.

wonderfully restored movies!.......2007-06-27

We bought this set after reading a lot of reviews that said how nice the movies looked (restored). We were pleasantly surprised that the restored movies exceeded our expectation. The movies are very clean and there are absolutely tons of extras on each DVD.

There are only 2 annoying things. 1) they don't come in chronological order. We just rearranged them, but then you can't quite see the entire title from inside the box. 2) the slim cases were cheaply made. For the price it seems like they should be a little more sturdy.

Because of the slim cases, they don't take up very much room (for 20 DVD's plus extras). We are very happy with the set.

007- Bond, James.......2007-06-26

Simply..........Amazing! I am glad I waited to collect the series...They are Bigger & Better than the original in all facets.....My only complaint if I were to have one, is that they are not in order. Besides that one flaw I am Super Happy with this Awesome James Bond Collection.......

Michael from Minneapolis

Picked up whole collection in one pack - great deal.......2007-06-14

Really good deal for the big time Bond fan.

The Ultimate For The 007 Fan.......2007-06-09

Anyone who grew up with or loves James Bond Movies will enjoy this fine collection of films. If you are a fan and you don't have all the movies but want them, this is the collection to purchase. The Box Set and Art Work on the case's is quality along with every single disk.

James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 1 (The Man with the Golden Gun / Goldfinger / The World Is Not Enough / Diamonds Are Forever / The Living Daylights)

Average customer rating:

Fabulous Restoration Makes Bond Collection a Must!
James Bond Vol. 1
Thank goodness for these sets
Finally, sets that do the Bond legacy justice
I Was VERY Skeptical Of This Collection But...

James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 1 (The Man with the Golden Gun / Goldfinger / The World Is Not Enough / Diamonds Are Forever / The Living Daylights)
Starring: Roger Moore , Christopher Lee , Britt Ekland , Maud Adams , and Hervé Villechaize
Director: Guy Hamilton , and Michael Apted
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Action & Adventure | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

( J ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Ultimate Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video
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James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 2 (A View to a Kill / Thunderball / Die Another Day / The Spy Who Loved Me / Licence to Kill)
James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 4 (Dr. No / You Only Live Twice / Octopussy / Tomorrow Never Dies / Moonraker)
James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 3 (GoldenEye / Live and Let Die / For Your Eyes Only / From Russia With Love / On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
Casino Royale (2-Disc Widescreen Edition)
Never Say Never Again

ASIN: B00000BLFI
Release Date: 2006-11-07

Description

Disc 1: *Goldfinger (1964) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Guy Hamilton Audio Commentary Featuring Cast and Crew

Disc 2: **Goldfinger Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Sean Connery From the Set of Goldfinger Screen Tests On Tour With the Aston Martin DB-5 Honor Blackman Open-Ended Interview 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of Goldfinger The Making of Goldfinger The Goldfinger Phenomenon Original Publicity Featurette MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications

Disc 3: *The World Is Not Enough (1999) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director Michael Apted Audio Commentary Featuring Peter Lamont, David Arnold and Vic Armstrong

Disc 4: **The World Is Not Enough Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Deleted Scenes and Alternate Angles With Introductions by Director Michael Apted Alternate Angle, Expanded Angle Scene: The Thames Boat Chase James Bond Down River - Original 1999 Featurette Creating an Icon: Making the Teaser Trailer Hong Kong Press Conference 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of The World Is Not Enough The Making of The World Is Not Enough Bond Cocktail Tribute to Desmond Llewelyn Garbage 'The World Is Not Enough' Music Video The Secrets of 007 MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailer & Photo Gallery

Disc 5: *Diamonds Are Forever (1971) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director Guy Hamilton and Members of the Cast and Crew

Disc 6: **Diamonds Are Forever Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Deleted Scenes Sean Connery 1971: The BBC Interview Lesson # 007: Close Quarter Combat Deleted Footage - Oil Rig Attack Satellite & Explosions Test Reel Alternate & Expanded Angles 007 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of Diamonds Are Forever Inside Diamonds Are Forever Cubby Broccoli - The Man Behind Bond MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications

Disc 7: *The Man With The Golden Gun (1974) **The Man With The Golden Gun Bonus Disc Newly Recorded Audio Commentary Featuring Sir Roger Moore THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director Guy Hamilton and Members of the Cast and Crew

Disc 8: DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Roger Moore and HervÃ(c) Villechaize - The Russell Harty Show On Location With The Man With the Golden Gun Guy Hamilton: The Director Speaks Girls Fighting American Thrill Show Stunt Film The Road to Bond: Stunt Coordinator W.J. Millian Jr. 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of The Man With the Golden Gun Inside The Man With the Golden Gun An Original Documentary Double-O Stuntmen: A Look at the Greatest Stunts and Stunt Performers in the Bond Films MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications

Disc 9: *The Living Daylights (1987) THE COMPLETE SPECIAL FEATURES LIBRARY: MISSION DOSSIER Audio Commentary Featuring Director John Glen and Members of the Cast and Crew

Disc 10: **The Living Daylights Bonus Disc DECLASSIFIED: MI6 VAULT Deleted Scenes With Introduction by John Glen Happy Anniversary, 007 Silver Anniversary Featurettes Timothy Dalton: The New James Bond/Vienna Press Conference Timothy Dalton: On Acting Dalton and d'Abo Interviews The Ice Chase Outtakes - Deleted Footage With Director John Glen Narration 007 MISSION CONTROL Interactive Guide Into the World of The Living Daylights Inside The Living Daylights Ian Fleming: 007's Creator a-ha 'The Living Daylights' Music Video The Making of 'The Living Daylights' Music Video MINISTRY OF PROPAGANDA Original Trailers, TV Spots, Photo Gallery & Radio Communications

Customer Reviews:

Fabulous Restoration Makes Bond Collection a Must!.......2007-06-09

Although 'Deluxe' Bond editions have appeared, in recent years, the new 'frame-by-frame' restorations make "James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 1" ESSENTIAL, if you are a fan of the 007 films!

The title selections may be head scratchers, but the pristine quality of each film offers a look and sound that is breathtaking!

"The Man with the Golden Gun" (1974), Roger Moore's second outing as 007, suffers from the decline into campiness that would plague many of his films; targeted by hit man Christopher Lee, Bond journeys to Asia to track him down, aided by annoying Britt Ekland and ridiculous redneck sheriff Clifton James. While Maud Adams is lovely, and Thailand, breathtaking, Hervé Villechaize is silly, and the attempt to incorporate the kung fu craze, while amusing, turns 007 into a joke. Add an awful theme song, and you have a major disappointment! (2 stars out of 5)

"Goldfinger" (1964), for many fans, the 'perfect' Bond film, kicked off the 60's worldwide 007 craze; piggy meglamaniac Gert Frobe plans to nuke Fort Knox, and it's up to 007 Sean Connery, at his sexiest, to stop him. Fabulous women (Honor Blackman and Shirley Eaton), a superhuman henchman (Harold Sakata), an unforgettable theme song (sung by Shirley Bassey), and spectacular action makes this one solid gold. (5 stars out of 5).

"The World Is Not Enough" (1999), Pierce Brosnan's third 007 outing, is, arguably, his best; assigned to protecting sexy oil heiress Sophie Marceau from terrorist Robert Carlyle, Bond discovers nothing is as it seems! Offering Judi Dench's finest performance as M, and more plot twists than usual, one can almost forgive buxom Denise Richards' one-note portrayal, and the series' decline into derivativeness. (4 stars out of 5).

"Diamonds Are Forever" (1971), best-known as Sean Connery's 'comeback' as 007 after a one-film hiatus (and his final Eon Bond film), the film marks the beginning of the 'comic' Bond films of the '70s. Villain Charles Gray, as a sly, droll Blofeld, launches a diamond-powered laser satellite to blackmail the world. Shot largely in Las Vegas, Connery is graying and paunchy, Jill St. John, sexy, but ditzy, and one-liners and brainless action dominates the plot. Funny, but quite a letdown from "On Her Majesty's Secret Service". (3 1/2 stars out of 5)

"The Living Daylights" (1987), Timothy Dalton's debut as 007, is best remembered, today, as the film Pierce Brosnan would have starred in, had NBC not renewed "Remington Steele". The silliness of Moore's Bond is gone, as a more serious Dalton falls for cellist/would-be assassin (Maryam d'Abo), and uncovers an arms plot involving three villains (Jeroen Krabbé, Joe Don Baker, and Andreas Wisniewski). An Afghan/Soviet war subplot 'dates' the story, and the film, released in the same year as "Lethal Weapon" and "Batman", would not be a hit, but time has proven it to be a superior 007 outing. (4 stars out of 5).

Even if you've seen these films, I recommend this new collection; Bond films have never 'looked' better!

James Bond Vol. 1.......2007-05-19

The first James Bond movie that I saw was "Goldfinger". It was great. I wanted to see them all. Now I can with these great box sets. A lot of people don't like them because they're not in order. I like them that way. It gives you a good mixture. Let's get on to the reviews for all the movies in Vol. 1.

Goldfinger- This is the first James Bond movie that I saw. It is great. Sean Connery IS James Bond. If you've never seen a James Bond movie, watch this one first. 5 stars

Diamonds Are Forever- This one is great. It returns Sean Connery as James Bond. 5 stars

The Man with the Golden Gun- This one is pretty good. It stars Roger Moore as James Bond. I've always wanted to see this one. Now that I have, I am very happy. 5 stars

The Living Daylights- This has a weird title, but it is still good. It is the first James Bond movie with Timothy Dalton playing Bond. He is pretty good. 5 stars.

The World is Not Enough- This one is really good. I always like Pierce Brosnan as James Bond. He is excellent in his second to last movie as James Bond. 5 stars.

Overall, this recieves 5 stars.

Thank goodness for these sets.......2007-05-15

These four JB sets are the perfect way to get your Bond fix in enormous doses. The special features are great and the quality of the picture is unbeatable. My only small quibble is that the setup of the DVD menus is sort of obnoxious, but that seems to be the way of DVDs these days. If you are a Bond fan, or if you have a Bond fan in your home and want to give him an amazing gift (I did), these aren't to be missed.

Finally, sets that do the Bond legacy justice.......2007-03-31

James Bond Ultimate Collection.

INTRODUCTION:
When it comes to film franchises, very few measure up to Ian Fleming's legendary secret agent, James Bond. For decades this series has never failed to entertain. With girls, guns, gadgets, and everything in between, the series rarely fails to please. The franchise has been through many highs and lows in its several-decade history, and numerous collections of the films have been released over the years. In 2006, MGM released four Ultimate Collections.

OVERVIEW:
The James Bond Ultimate Collection consists of four box sets, each including ten discs - five films and a bonus disc for each. The boxes' content are as follows:
-Volume One (Gold): Goldfinger (1963), Diamonds Are Forever (1971), The Man With The Golden Gun (1974), The World Is Not Enough (1999)
-Volume Two (Blue): Thunderball (1965), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), A View To A Kill (1985), Licence To Kill (1989), Die Another Day (2002)
-Volume Three (Red): From Russia With Love (1963), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), Live and Let Die (1973), For Your Eyes Only (1981), Goldeneye (1995)
-Volume Four (Silver): Dr. No (1962), You Only Live Twice (1967), Moonraker (1979), Octopussy (1983), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

Note that these are sets of the official EON productions films. As such, non-EON productions such as the David Niven/Peter Sellers version of Casino Royale and Thunderball remake Never Say Never Again are not included.

REVIEW:
I'm not going to go through and review each individual film (that's what the movies' individual Amazon pages are for), I'm just gonna focus on the box sets and their execution here. Here is a list of the pros and cons for every set.

-THE GOOD-
-ALL TWENTY FILMS READILY AVAILABLE ON DVD AGAIN. It's been a long time since we've been able to get the movies on DVD, and it's about time they got reissued. Finally, this shortage has reached its end.
-A QUICK AND EASY WAY TO COMPLETE YOUR BOND COLLECTION. You could hunt down each individual film, and spend a lot more money and do a lot more searching. Or you could just get these four sets. Much quicker and easier.
-A BONUS DISC OF MATERIAL FOR EVERY MOVIE! If you're a Bond fanatic, you're going to get a kick out of all the extra material MGM gives you in these sets. Deleted scenes, trailers, interviews with cast and crew, these bonus discs are pure gold for you if you're a Bond die hard like me.
-REMASTERED. VERY WELL. Normally I don't mention remastering of movies in my reviews, as it's usually a rather shoddy job that does little to improve the picture quality. NOT THIS TIME. MGM has given us the films with FRAME BY FRAME RESTORATION. If you thought earlier issues of Bond films on DVD had crappy picture quality, MGM redeems themselves here. This is, hands down, THE GREATEST FILM REMASTERING JOB I HAVE EVER SEEN. Even Dr. No, the first Bond film, has stunningly beautiful picture quality! My hat goes off to MGM here. This is reason alone to buy the sets, even if you own the older boxes.
-SUPERIOR TO THE OLD DVD BOXES OF THE SERIES. Everything they did, these sets do better. Picture, extras, you name it, this set does it better.

-THE BAD-
-STILL NOT IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. This has been under hot debate from Bond fans as long as boxes of the films have been on the market. MGM clearly wants to make a few bucks. Let's face it, if all of the Connery films were in one set, everyone would buy that set and no others. Rather than getting the films in chronological order, we get uneven and scattershot mixes. For instance, the fourth box set features Dr. No and You Only Live Twice, two of the masterpieces of the series. But the set is dragged down by two of the major stinkers in the series, Moonraker and Octopussy. With every set it's this same "balancing act" phenomenon, with great films and weak ones alike. I must admit, a rather ingenious marketing strategy on MGM's part, but not what fans want (of course, you can do like I did and buy all the sets and make your own box and put them in order.) Fortunately, this is the ONLY major flaw of these sets.

OVERALL:
When it comes to the Bond films on DVD, "Nobody Does It Better" than MGM with these box sets. Beautiful picture and sound, extras galore, and all twenty films readily available again, there's no reason not to own these if you're a Bond fan. Even if you already have a few films on DVD or some of the older sets, these are still worth getting for the picture quality and bonus features alone.

EDITION NOTES:
These sets are all readily available. Any major DVD retailer should have them available.

I Was VERY Skeptical Of This Collection But..........2007-03-15

Before buying this collection, I was very skeptical. Being a long time James Bond fan, I invested plenty of money in the best VHS version of all these films. When DVD came out, I re-bought about half of the collection again. I must admit that the DVD releases of these films are some of the most disappointing DVDs in my collection.

My major complaints about the ORIGINAL DVD RELEASES were:
1.) Audio Mix -- The first release of the Bond DVDs featured only the original 2 channel audio mixes. The result was a disaster. The spoken dialog was BURIED under the soundtrack... resulting in me having to dive for the remote every five minutes. On top of the poor dialog / score mixing, the audio lacked definition and served as a constant distraction from watching the movie. There were no distinct lows, or distinct highs, just a lot of bland sounding audio.

2.) Picture Quality -- I suppose I couldn't complain too too much about this one. Given the age of many of these movies, I accepted the washed-out, often grainy image as nothing more than a symptom of the era the movie was made.

All in all, poor audio and poor picture makes for a pretty crappy experience. After having been disappointed by the first couple Bond DVDs I bought, I gave up on the collection. It was with this in mind that the announcement of the newly remastered series left me very skeptical.

The major criticism of this DVD set is that it is another ploy by MGM/UA to drain more money from every Bond fan's wallet. In the past, I had avoided these pathetic attempts at getting me to constantly upgrade versions of things I already owned.

However, let me tell you, this collection DOES NOT DISAPPOINT. The talk about the upgraded audio and video is NOT hype. Painstaking efforts were taken to re-scan the original prints of each film frame-by-frame. Once scanned, the image was digitally enhanced from the original prints. I was amazed at the richness and depth of color this process produced. During most parts, these movies look like they could have been filmed last year. Different color pigments are more noticeable, skin color and tone looks more lifelike, and the special effects look sharper. All in all, one couldn't ask for anything more from the picture quality of these versions. I have yet to a scene where I felt it could have been retouched better.

If the image quality isn't enough to make this collection worth buying, the new 5.1 DTS mixes seal the deal. Gone are the days of me fidgeting with volume during every other scene! The balance between dialog, ambient sounds, and score is perfect. I never would have imagined that movies made in the 60's and 70's could sound so good. Unlike the previous DVDs, these Ultimate Edition DVDs utilize my home theater to its maximum potential. Explosions rumble through my sub and the dialog comes clearly through my center channel; every word is audible. I own other DVDs from films made over the last couple of years that wish they could sound this good! Utilizing the DTS is a MUST!

Finally, while I consider myself fairly discriminating when it comes to audio and video clarity, I am by no means an audio or videophile. So, I don't think you need a $25,000 home theater setup to enjoy the enhancements these DVDs offer. I wrote this review based off of the following hardware:
32" Winbook 720p LCD HDTV
Up-converting Samsung DVD Player (connected via DVI)
Sony 7.1 (7x100w) Surround Receiver
Matching 5.1 MTX Surround Sound Speaker System

Hopefully, this will help clear up some confusion or doubt as to the value this collection offers.

Diamonds Are Forever - 2-Disc Ultimate Edition

Average customer rating:

Sean Connery's Swan Song
Lots of Gadgets and Details
bond's not here
A Paradox in the Cinematic James Bond Lineage
180 degree Turn Seems Endearing Now

Diamonds Are Forever - 2-Disc Ultimate Edition

Manufacturer: MGM/UA
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Ultimate Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Dr. No - Ultimate Edition
You Only Live Twice - 2-Disc Ultimate Edition
From Russia With Love - 2-Disc Ultimate Edition
On Her Majesty's Secret Service - 2-Disc Ultimate Edition
Live and Let Die - 2-Disc Ultimate Edition

ASIN: B000LY2L1Q

Product Description

2 Disc Collectors Edition

Customer Reviews:

Sean Connery's Swan Song.......2007-06-16

Yes, I know he was back one last time in "Never Say Never", but that was not one of the syndicated films. At best it was a poor remake of "Thunderball"

"Diamonds are Forever" I have to say has a love/hate relationship for me. I love Connery in the role of Bond. For me, he was the only real Bond. But I also found the movie frivolous and empty. For those who have bothered to read the novels, this is one of the better stories. But the screenwriters and producers sure gummed it up.

Earlier films had villains who were vile. This Blofeld (same guy who played Henderson in "You Only Live Twice") is just laughable. Wint and Kidd in the book were terrifying shadows of revenge. Those in the movie were just pathetic, punstering queers.

The Bond series was always known for special equipment, but here they went overboard (as they did with later Roger Moore stories). It's also somewhat unrealistic for the office staff (Moneypenny and Q) to be on location with Bond when MI6 is supposed to have an entire agent network at it's disposal. It was almost like 'the office takes a holiday' theme.

It's a small wonder when most affectionadoes are asked, "what is your favorite Bond film"; the answer in general is "From Russia With Love", "Goldfinger" or "Thunderball". The magic was right in those films and why the producers want to mess with a winning formula is beyond me. Some say that this film was a spoof of the earlier more serious films. I think, let the spoofs (Matt Helm, Derek Flint) do their thing, and keep Bond doing his.

There were some good parts to the flick ... Bond's fight with Franks, Bond mountaineering outside the Whyte House and .... I guess that's it. The plot is the same old tired 'hold the world for ransom' type thing which is so overdone that it's tiring.

The music of John Barry is a plus as is the title song by Shirley Bassey. The rest of the movie needs an enema.

*** Recommended with reservations for Connery fans.

~ pjm ~

Lots of Gadgets and Details.......2007-03-13

Sean Connery returned in the seventh Bond film after George Lazenby's one movie interlude. Of all the Connery Bond films, this one was probably the most jam-packed with goodies. Of course, the goodies may distract some from the plot line, but they sure are fun.

The basic story, with numerous distractions, is that Ernst Blofeld is using diamonds to create an ultra powerful space laser that will allow him (not that you would have guessed) to blackmail the world for more millions than anyone could count in 1971. This Bond film has numerous subplots that nearly become vignettes in themselves.

At the very beginning of the movie we have an opening scene where Connery rips the bikini top off a beautiful woman while quipping that he wants her to get something off her chest. After a flash of breast, clearly seen in slow motion on DVD, the next scene leads to Bond finding Blofeld in a secret lair. The purpose of the secret lair later turns up as one of the subplots in the movie, and partially explains why Blofeld is hard to kill (can we say doubles?). The opening scene is loaded with tongue-in-cheek remarks that become the hallmark of this film, and presage the Roger Moore tendency to do the same.

The opening credits feature Shirley Bassey of "Goldfinger" fame belting out "Diamonds Are Forever," another wonderful Bond song.

Once you get into the actual movie, the details are so numerous that to describe them all would take more space than I have available. Some highlights:

- Jill St. John is beautiful, looking really great in a bikini in this movie.
- Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint, two hit men that normally do a good job, but struggle with Bond, are the first overtly gay men in a Bond movie.
- Thumper and Bambi; no Disney characters here, and must be seen to be believed.
- Bond's Mustang Mach I; holy shades of the early 70's.
- Gadgets, gadgets, and even more gadgets.
- Here's a trick. Starting out by tipping your car up on the right two wheels, and somehow popping it up on the left two wheels during the chase.
- Exiting from a hidden underground tunnel through a camouflaged exit that Batman would have been ecstatic to have.
- Desert chase in a moon buggy.
- Being trapped in an underground pipe and chased by an automatic welder.
- Climbing up the outside of a hotel, with walls that are angled out.

The closing scene of this movie will seem familiar. Just as in "Thunderball," we have an assault on an enemy stronghold at sea. Last time it was ships and boats attacking a heavily defended Disco Valente. This time it's helicopter gun ships assaulting an oil platform with machine guns.

This movie is one of my personal Bond favorites. However, I like it for the science fiction gadget aspects more than being a spy movie. As a spy movie it is probably too contrived and cute, and while occasional tongue-in-cheek may relieve tension, here it becomes too omnipresent for some. I rate this movie 5 stars because it is just way too fun and has many cool gadgets for 1971. This movie is worthy of your attention and a bowl of popcorn.

Enjoy!

bond's not here.......2007-02-28

The return of Sean Connery in a humorist mood is odd after 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'. This is the simplest Bond film. It is not as exciting, but it is entertaining and fun to watch Bond's world of menace, terror, humour and sex. Look out for the sadistic scene, where Bond gets thrown around by Bambi and Thumper! Also the character of Willard White, the rich, vegas eccentric, is a hoot! At this point I'm tired of Connery because he doesn't seem to be in the game anymore and his performance is uninspired. And the script is too simplistic, like the coda at the end when Bond and Case the female heroine rid of the remaining villains, it's small-minded and not effective. But the film transfer, yet again is superb!

A Paradox in the Cinematic James Bond Lineage.......2007-01-06

When I first saw DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER I thought it was esoterically good from an eclectic viewpoint. It was the last Connery James Bond movie I had viewed. I had already watched the first 5 that he made. They were a little too serious. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER was more like Roger Moore's James Bond movies. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER was very different from the earlier ones, especially George Lazenby's stand-alone ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. George Lazenby is the definitive James Bond in my mind. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER was closer to Roger Moore's THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN and the exceptional and misunderstood A VIEW TO A KILL.

Watching the movie I kept finding it so much more humorous from the earlier Connery ones and very enjoyable. All the villains were acting with a breezy and carefree caricature of what a James Bond villain should act like. It was as if I put on a Moore Bond movie. I think they were making a satire of their own series and the 60s spy craze.

The first six Bond films were played too straightforward. If there was any comedy at all it was played in a very indirect and dull manner. It was never lively but it was never done as a detriment of the story. It was always outlying the scene and meant to enhance it, not be the focus of it. This was wrong. It should have been central to the plot in such a way to advance each story in a more interesting way for greater audience interaction.

The villains in first six Bond films always played their parts with deadly seriousness most of the time. They lacked any humor from within themselves. Some of the villains were a bit quirky like Kleb, Benz and Oddjob. The idiosyncratic Kleb added some comic relief as she tried to kick Bond to death with a poisonous steel-pointed shoe in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. "She's had her kicks," remarks Bond. Not bad! Otherwise the villains in first six Bond films were all too serious and too threatening to James Bond. They should have lightened up.

The villains in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER with the exception of Peter Franks, are all real unadulterated unflappably cool! They all make it that much more enjoyable and entertaining. Bruce Glover as Mister Wint and Putter Smith as Mister Kidd, Blofeld's henchmen, are the hippest! Look at Red Grant and Vargas who were much too serious. When you think about it however, Vargas, in THUNDERBALL was sort of funny going around all the time in that black outfit in broad daylight! Actually he did not look too cool at all!

Blofeld's other bad guys in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER include Burt Saxby, Shady Tree, Mrs. Whistler, Slumber, Bambi and Thumper. Burt Saxby comes to his end in a funny scene; he gets fired literally by Willard Whyte. Whyte was supposed to be guarded by Bambi and Thumper, but Bond gets them all wet in Whyte's swimming pool. They don't stand a chance against Bond! There are just so many good actors in minor parts in this film. Don't forget Klaus Hergersheimer "checking radiation shields."

Even the good guys are plentiful in amusing roles. Jimmy Dean as Willard Whyte and Norman Burton as Felix Leiter are good. Jill St. John as Tiffany Case and Lana Wood as Plenty O'Toole are among the best "Bond Girls." "Q" has a good scene with Tiffany Case in the casino at a slot machine.

Many Bond fans didn't like Charles Gray's performance as Blofeld. He was not the same Blofeld we saw in "From Russia With Love," THUNDERBALL or YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. He certainly was not the same Blofeld we saw in ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. In fact there is a bit of a continuity problem with Blofeld as seen consecutively in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE and DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER. However, that is a topic for discussion at some other point. The main point here is that Charles Gray was the best and perhaps definitive Blofeld.

This was Sean Connery's best performance as Bond. It looks like he had an amusing time coming back. He delivered an exceptional self-parody of his previous performances of James Bond 007.

John Barry's score was much better than his earlier ones. In fact, it is one of his better James Bond scores. It is fun, moving, and dynamic and yet pure Bond! He brought back his 007 theme to score the helicopter attack on the Blofeld's oilrig. We didn't hear that again until MOONRAKER. Let the good times roll.

Ken Adam's designs for the Willard Whyte penthouse and Blofeld's mud bath hideout were similar to sets that were to come latter in the series. His best design was for the lunar surface set used at Willard Whyte's laboratories in the Nevada desert. The pipeline where "Bond smells a rat" was also very good.

This film set up the Roger Moore James Bond epics that were to come. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER is truly a paradox in the cinematic James Bond lineage. It is a contradiction of everything that came before and established the James Bond mystique. Yet, in the final analysis everything works in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER in a self-made world of complete absurdity.

180 degree Turn Seems Endearing Now.......2007-01-02

When I first saw DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER I left the theatre slightly shaken and definitely stirred. That was in December 1971. I remember getting the soundtrack album for Christmas and that was about the only thing I thought was good about this film, but even that wasn't much consolation for my unsettling reaction to this Bond movie. Something about DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER was very wrong.

As I had sat watching the film I kept thinking why is this film going out of its way to be funny? Why were all the villains acting so hokey? It was as if I walked into a Matt Helm movie. Looking back, it was if the filmmakers were making a parody of their own series.

The first six Bond films were played straight. If there was any comedy it was never diverting or done at the expense of the story line. It was always peripheral to the scene and meant to enhance the scene, not be the focus of it. In fact all the humor of the first six Bond films usually emanated from James Bond himself. He frequently threw off paradoxical droll commentaries to accentuate the scene at hand, but always took his job seriously and was dedicated to the bitter end of each assignment.

The villains in first six Bond films always played their parts with deadly seriousness lacking any humor from within with the exception of the "bad girls," Pussy Galore, Fiona Volpe and Helga Brandt. Honor Blackman, Luciana Paluzzi and Karin Dor, respectively, played their roles as the female counterpart to the mystique of Connery's Bond. They were never silly as they exuded their cool sexuality with wry aplomb. Given the right time they each would have given Bond his comeuppance without batting an eyelash. Male or female, the villains in first six Bond films were all dangerous and a threat to James Bond not to be taken lightly.

The villians in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, with the exception of Joe Robinson as Peter Franks, never present any real threat. They seem to be there for the sole purpose of getting some chuckles like performers in a vaudeville act.

Bruce Glover as Mister Wint and Putter Smith as Mister Kidd, Blofeld's henchmen, are not even pale shadows to Robert Shaw's Red Grant, Harold Sakata's Oddjob, Philip Locke's Vargas or Yuri Borienko's Gruenther.

Blofeld's "front man" Burt Saxby, played by veteran actor Bruce Cabot, comes to his end in a most ridiculous scene, again just for laughs after he gives a credible performance. Other earlier "front men" such as Guy Doleman as Count Lippe and Teru Shimada as Osato were portrayed believably and disposed of just as believably in THUNDERBALL and YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. The preeminent mouthpiece for Blofeld was Ilse Steppat as Irma Bunt in ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. She ultimately and tragically murdered James Bond's bride.

Blofeld's scientists also can't seem to retain credibility for the entirety of the film. Joseph Furst performance as professor Metz falls completely apart in the final act like some misguided schoolboy. David Healy as the Vandenburg Launch Director is just ludicrous. It's all just supposed to be so very funny.

When you think back to DR. NO and the likes of Professor Dent (Anthony Dawson), Mr. Jones - the chauffeur from the airport (Reggie Carter), the "freelance" photographer for the Daily Gleaner (Margaret Le Wars), Miss Taro (Zena Marshall), Sister Rose (Michele Mok) and Sister Lily (Yvonne Shima) the odds were definitely against James Bond. In "Diamonds Are Forever" the villains are a no-show.

Almost every scene in this film is either played with a comic slant or is directed as pure hokum. One scene that is played straight is when Bond slaps Tiffany Case across the cheek demanding the identity of her contact after finding the body of Plenty O'Toole in the swimming pool. The fight scene in the elevator between Bond and Peter Franks is also played straightforward until Tiffany Case enters the scene. That's about it.

The plot is very confusing and it really doesn't matter because the film does not take itself serious.

Many Bond enthusiasts were not pleased with Charles Gray's performance as Blofeld. He was not the same Blofeld we saw, or didn't see in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, THUNDERBALL or YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. He was closer to Telly Savalas' performance in OHMSS but infinitely much more sophisticated. Given the tone of this film Gray's performance was on target. The continuity of the Blofeld character in this series, which showed signs of crumbling, disintegrated completely in this film.

I have never understood why so many critics through the years have stated that this was Sean Connery's best performance as Bond. It looks like he had fun making it, but again he was just going through the motions and delivered a good self-parody of his previous performances of the character.

John Barry's score was much more lightweight, not in substance, but in sound. He appropriately reflected the tone of the film. The string and percussion sections are much more prominent here than in earlier Bond films. Actually, it is one of his better Bond scores. The only weak part being the helicopter attack on the Blofeld's oilrig. He reverted back to his 007 theme, which he had used too much better effect in THUNDERBALL.

Ken Adam's designs for the Willard Whyte penthouse and Blofeld's cavernous mud bath lair were familiar and welcome additions from the man who helped set the visual style for the series.

There are just so many things different about this film from what I was used to seeing. The editing, costumes cinematography, plot, gadgets, and so forth were all changed. Somehow it seems very nostalgic, entertaining and a lot of fun today. Time does strange things.

This film is what changed the entire coarse of the series and was actually the vanguard for the Roger Moore's Bond.

Diamonds Are Forever (Ws Dub Sub Ac3 Dol Sen)

Average customer rating:

Diamonds Are Forever (Ws Dub Sub Ac3 Dol Sen)
Starring: Diamonds Are Forever
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Espionage | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

Dr No (1962) (Ws Dub Sub Ac3 Dol Sen)
You Only Live Twice
Octopussy (Ws Dub Sub Ac3 Dol Sen)
View to a Kill (Ws Dub Sub Ac3 Dol Sen)
Thunderball

ASIN: B000RPCK0Q
Release Date: 2007-09-04

Average customer rating:

Lovely!!!!!!!!!!! work it out Miss Bassey

Shirley Bassey - Divas Are Forever

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Musicals & Performing Arts | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Shirley Bassey - Standing Room Only
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Live at Carnegie Hall
Birthday Concert
Shirley Bassey - The Greatest Hits

ASIN: B000AUMGPW

Product Description

Filmed live in Antwerp, Belgium, during the Diamond Awards Festival this DVD Features all of Shirley's blockbusting hits, plus behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with the original Bond girl. SONGS: Goldfinger, Diamonds are Forever, S'Wonderful, Kiss Me Honey Honey, Never Never Never, New York New York, Big Spender, The Lady Is a Tramp, As Long As He Needs Me, Something, I Who Have Nothing, I Want to Know What Love Is, This Is My Life, I Wish You Love. Also includes: Shirley Bassey: "This is My Life" as well as a Biography and Photo Gallery. ++++ Officially licensed South Korean release is in English with optional Korean subtitles; 4:3 Fullscreen display with DTS Dolby Sound.

Customer Reviews:

Lovely!!!!!!!!!!! work it out Miss Bassey.......2007-05-21

What a lovely DVD Shirley Bassey is one bad chick,she an old school belter
maybe a black Judy Garland,miss Bassey has a great voice check it out.

The James Bond Collection, Vol. 2 (Special Edition)

Average customer rating:

Good Set, but Wow $$$$
3 Repeats in This Series!!!
A great mix of Bond movies
Holy be-jesus...
JB Ultimate Edit... mi6.co.uk

The James Bond Collection, Vol. 2 (Special Edition)
Starring: Sean Connery
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

( J ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Special Editions | Fully Loaded DVDs | Features | DVD | Video

Action & Adventure | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The James Bond Collection, Vol. 3 (Special Edition)
The James Bond Collection, Vol. 1 (Special Edition)
Never Say Never Again
Thunderball
Casino Royale

ASIN: B0000BYRO7
Release Date: 2003-11-18

Amazon.com

Sean Connery casts a long shadow over the James Bond legacy. He created the movie persona and starred in six of the first seven features, all but establishing the cool cold warrior as the world's most suave secret agent. The second Bond collection celebrates the Connery Bond with three of his classics, including From Russia with Love, 007's second and perhaps finest outing. A blond, buff Robert Shaw plays Bond's most ruthless nemesis, and Lotte Lenya and the great Pedro Armindáriz costar in this sleek, high-energy trip through the Iron Curtain. Connery travels to the Far East in You Only Live Twice, which introduces the international criminal conspiracy SPECTRE and its cat-loving mastermind, Blofeld (Donald Pleasence). After a brief retirement, Connery returned for Diamonds Are Forever, his final "official" appearance in the Bond series (15 years later he played Bond for a rival studio's Never Say Never Again). This more tongue-in-cheek adventure takes 007 to Las Vegas, where he battles Blofeld (this time played by Charles Gray) and his minions--namely, a pair of fey, sardonic henchmen and a team of bikini-clad karate killers.

Roger Moore took over the role and his fourth effort was Moonraker, a misguided sci-fi entry that takes Bond to space for a physically impressive but dramatically lackluster adventure with Richard Kiel's steel-dentured Jaws. After that brief digression, For Your Eyes Only returned Bond to globetrotting high adventure and teamed him with his most endearing ally (Topol as a gregarious smuggler). The torch was passed to Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights, an attempt to clear away the camp elements of Moore's portrayal and return to a lean, hard-edged spy thriller for the post-cold war era. It lacks the larger-than-life characters and spectacle of previous Bond pictures, but Dalton was a tough, ruthless 007 and a worthy inheritor of the legacy, which was then passed on to Pierce Brosnan. In The World Is Not Enough, Bond takes on post-Soviet geopolitics, with Robert Carlyle as the villainous Renard and Sophie Marceau and Denise Richards as love objects.

Description

Includes From Russia with Love, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, The Living Daylights, and The World Is Not Enough.

Customer Reviews:

Good Set, but Wow $$$$.......2006-11-29

Let me start off by saying that this collection has some good points. Those good points are From Russia with Love, a great Sean Connery movie, For Your Eyes Only which a pretty good Roger Moore film, and (many may disagree with me on this one) my favorite Brosnan Bond, The World is Not Enough. The other films in this collection are ok, but I don't think there is any film in the Bond series that I really dislike. Now that being said, DON'T PURCHASE THIS SET. I don't know who the people are that are reviewing this with 5 stars and saying great low price, but I wonder if they are the ones trying to sell them. My problems with this set is the picture and sound quality. They are what you would expect on a movie from the era each film was produced. The older Connery Bond movies look like your watching them on 1960's film. The other problem I have with these sets are the prices. To purchase this set used will cost you about $170, the price new is over $200. There is no reason to pay that much for this set. I would recommend if you are looking for the Bond collection to purchase the Ultimate Editions (UEs). The movies have been restored so picture quality is great. The UEs are also set in 5.1 surround sound, and the special features are great. Also the price of the UE compared to this set is a lot better, when you consider that you can purchase all 4 of the UE for about the same price this Vol 2 will cost you. In sort if you want the Bond movies, buy the Ultimate Editions.

3 Repeats in This Series!!!.......2006-09-04

I just bought James Bond Collection, Vol. 2 for my brother and much to my surprise found that THREE of the titles were also in Vol. 1 of the series (which he has). What a rip-off! Paid over $100.00 for 3 new discs. Very disappointing.

A great mix of Bond movies.......2006-08-19

This is my favorite of the 3 Special Edition boxsets. For one thing, it's got 3 great Connery movies: "From Russia With Love" (007 tries to get a Russian decoding machine while surviving a SPECTRE trap); "You Only Live Twice" (007 in Japan must take on SPECTRE, which has been kidnapping spaceships to start war between the USSR and the USA); and "Diamonds Are Forever" (classic Connery 007, in Las Vegas tracking a diamond smuggling trail that leads to Blofeld). I find all those Connery ones entertaining, and YOLT and DAF are two of my personnal favorites, both very entertaining and with great settings. Next, there are two Roger Moore flicks: "Moonraker" (007 goes onto a space station to stop a madman from destroying the world); and "For Your Eyes Only" (007 must recover a stolen piece of technology). "Moonraker" is a bit silly, but I'll admit I find it to be entertaining and I enjoy it more than most Moore films. And "FYEO" is my favorite Moore film, the most hard edged and realistic. There's also a Timothy Dalton film, "The Living Daylights" (007 must stop a group of Soviet renegades from smuggling heroin). It's Dalton's first film, and he's my second favorite, next to Connery. Dalton's Bond is more dark and serious, yet "TLD" is still a good thriller. Finally, there's Pierce Brosnan's third outing, "The World Is Not Enough" (007 tries to stop a nuclear sub exploding and destroying much of the world's oil supply). "TWINE" is one of Brosnan's best, certainly better than his first two. Overall this boxset contains some of the lightest Bond movies, and some of the darkest, offering a good variety of styles and a good variety of Bonds.

Holy be-jesus..........2005-11-19

For all the positive reviews, am I the only one who noticed that the cheapest you can get one of this box set for amounts to over $25 a movie? Maybe its just because it the holiday season and due to the amount of shopping impressed upon me at this time of year, but it occurs to me that this is rather outrageous.

JB Ultimate Edit... mi6.co.uk.......2005-09-21

For any James Bond fan. If this superb collection of James Bond DVDs weren't enough for you; there is good news coming your way. SONY and MGM are planning to re-release all twenty(20) of the James Bond Movies to DVD in (what they're calling) The James Bond Ultimate Edition DVD Collection. Straight official article from mi6.co.uk Here is the link:

http://www.mi6.co.uk/sections/articles/dvd_ultimate_editions.php3?=&s=

These new Ultimate Edition DVDS are due in Q32006 coinciding with the release of Casino Royale (21st James Bond Film). These DVD releases are gonna be one of the top DVD projects of 2006!

Picture Quality? They are using Imagica Machines; which are ultra-sophisticated digital film-scanners. One frame every four seconds, which is how long it takes Imagica to scan across the frame 4,000 times. The Imagica they are using creates digital replicas of the frame consisting 4,000 horizontal lines of data. The process is called 4K scanning. It's gonna look sharper than ever; believe it.

Sound Quality? The Company Mi Casa has chosen the brand new Bryston SP 1.7 multichannel preamplifirer/processors for to use in the James Bond remastering project. Although you'll be able to switch back to the original traditional mono sound track if you desire.

Extra special features? Brand New Documentaries and new special bonus material; plus cast and crew intervies from the past 42 years. Including rare and previously seen footage from the productions. Also newly added, Roger Moore has just recorded his commentary tracks for his seven bond films.

I just can't wait. Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan (my favorite Bond) coming back to DVD in the best action spy adventures; the best collection yet.

So they're out next year in 2006. Probably October, with the release of Casino Royale who'll once again being directed by Martin Campbell (GoldenEye). Theatrical Release Date October 19th, 2006.

Average customer rating:

Diamonds Are Forever
Starring: James Bond Ultimate Collection
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Similar Items:

Goldfinger
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ASIN: B000KP6EBY
Release Date: 2006-11-28

Average customer rating:

A Paradox in the Cinematic James Bond Lineage
THE BEST SEAN CONNERY JAMES BOND MOVIE
Setting a New Tone for the James Bond Series
Lots of Gadgets and Details

Diamonds Are Forever [Region 2]
Starring: Sean Connery , Jill St. John , Charles Gray , Lana Wood , and Jimmy Dean
Director: Guy Hamilton
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B00004VUHC

Customer Reviews:

A Paradox in the Cinematic James Bond Lineage.......2006-11-27

THE BEST SEAN CONNERY JAMES BOND MOVIE.......2006-11-22

When I first saw DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER I thought it was really good. It was the last Connery James Bond movie I had viewed. I had already watched the first 5 that he made. They were a little too serious. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER was more like Roger Moore's James Bond movies. DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER was very different from the earlier ones, especially ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. It was closer to THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN and A VIEW TO A KILL.

Watching the movie I kept finding it so much funnier from the earlier Connery ones and very enjoyable. All the villains were acting so cool, cool cool. It was as if I put on a Moore Bond movie. I think they were making a satire of their own series and the 60s spy craze.

The first six Bond films were played too straightforward. If there was any comedy at all it was played in a very indirect and dull manner. It was never lively but it was never done as a detriment of the story. It was always outlying the scene and meant to enhance it, not be the focus of it. This was wrong. It should have been central to the plot in such a way to advance each story in a more interesting way for greater audience interaction.

The villains in first six Bond films always played their parts way too seriously! They lacked any humor from within themselves. Some of the villains were kind of funny like Kleb, Benz and Oddjob. Kleb added some comic relief as she tried to kick Bond to death with a poisonous steel-pointed shoe in "From Russia With Love." "She's had her kicks," remarks Bond. Not bad! Otherwise the villains in first six Bond films were all too serious and too threatening to James Bond. They should have lightened up.

The villains in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, with the exception of Peter Franks, are all real unadulterated cool, very cool! They all make it that much more enjoyable and entertaining.

Bruce Glover as Mister Wint and Putter Smith as Mister Kidd, Blofeld's henchmen, are the coolest! Red Grant and Vargas were much too serious. When you think about however, Vargas, in THUNDERBALL was sort of funny going around all the time in that black outfit in broad daylight!

Blofeld's other bad guys in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER include Burt Saxby, Shady Tree, Mrs. Whistler, Slumber, Bambi and Thumper. Burt Saxby comes to his end in a funny scene; he gets fired literally by Willard Whyte. Whyte was supposed to be guarded by Bambi and Thumper, but Bond gets them all wet in Whyte's swimming pool. They don't stand a chance against Bond! There are just so many good actors in minor parts in this film. Don't forget Klaus Hergersheimer "checking radiation shields."

Even the good guys are plentiful in amusing roles. Jimmy Dean as Willard Whyte and Norman Burton as Felix Leiter are good. Jill St. John as Tiffany Case and Lana Wood as Plenty O'Toole are among the best "Bond Girls." "Q" has a good scene with Tiffany Case in the casino at a slot machine.

Many Bond fans didn't like Charles Gray's performance as Blofeld. He was not the same Blofeld we saw in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, THUNDERBALL or YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. He was better than all of them.

This was Sean Connery's best performance as Bond. It looks like he had an amusing time coming back. He delivered an exceptional self-parody of his previous performances of James Bond 007.
John Barry's score was much better than his earlier ones. In fact, it is one of his better James Bond scores. It is second only to THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN. He brought back his 007 theme to score the helicopter attack on the Blofeld's oilrig. We didn't hear that again until MOONRAKER.

Ken Adam's designs for the Willard Whyte penthouse and Blofeld's mud bath hideout were similar to sets that were to come latter in the series. His best design was for the lunar surface set used at Willard Whyte's laboratories in the Nevada desert. The pipeline where "Bond smells a rat" was also very good.

This film set up the Roger Moore James Bond epics that were to come.

Setting a New Tone for the James Bond Series.......2006-11-21

When I first saw DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER I left the theatre slightly shaken and definitely stirred. That was in December 1971. I remember getting the soundtrack album for Christmas. The soundtrack album: that was about the only thing I thought was good about this film, but even that wasn't much consolation for my unsettling reaction to this Bond movie. It just didn't sit quite well with me. Something about DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER was very wrong.

As I had sat watching the film I kept thinking why is this film going out of its way to be funny? Why were all the villains acting so hokey? It was as if I walked into a Matt Helm movie. Looking back, it was if the filmmakers were making a parody of their own series.

The first six Bond films were played straight. If there was any comedy at all it was delivered in a very subtle and sophisticated manner. It was never diverting or done at the expense of the story line. It was always peripheral to the scene and meant to enhance the scene, not be the focus of it. In fact all the humor of the first six Bond films usually emanated from James Bond himself. He frequently threw off paradoxical droll commentaries to accentuate the scene at hand, but always took his job seriously and was dedicated to the bitter end of each assignment.

The villains in first six Bond films always played their parts with deadly seriousness lacking any humor from within with the exception of the "bad girls," Pussy Galore, Fiona Volpe and Helga Brandt. Honor Blackman, Luciana Paluzzi and Karin Dor, respectively, played their roles as the female counterpart to the mystique of Connery's Bond. They were never silly as they exuded their cool sexuality with wry aplomb. Given the right time they each would have given Bond his comeuppance without batting an eyelash. Male or female, the villains in first six Bond films were all dangerous and a threat to James Bond not to be taken lightly.

The villains in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER with the exception of Joe Robinson as Peter Franks, never present any real threat. They seem to be there for the sole purpose of getting some chuckles like performers in a vaudeville act.

Bruce Glover as Mister Wint and Putter Smith as Mister Kidd, Blofeld's henchmen, are not even pale shadows to Robert Shaw's Red Grant, Harold Sakata's Oddjob, Philip Locke's Vargas or Yuri Borienko's Gruenther.
Blofeld's "front man" Burt Saxby, played by veteran actor Bruce Cabot, comes to his end in a most ridiculous scene, again just for laughs after he gives a credible performance. Other earlier "front men" such as Guy Doleman as Count Lippe and Teru Shimada as Osato were portrayed believably and disposed of just as believably in THUNDERBALL and YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. The preeminent mouthpiece for Blofeld was Ilse Steppat as Irma Bunt in ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. She ultimately and tragically murdered James Bond's bride.

Blofeld's scientists also can't seem to retain credibility for the entirety of the film. Joseph Furst performance as professor Metz falls completely apart in the final act like some misguided schoolboy. David Healy as the Vandenburg Launch Director is just ludicrous. It's all just supposed to be so very funny.

When you think back to DR. NO and the likes of Professor Dent (Anthony Dawson), Mr. Jones - the chauffeur from the airport (Reggie Carter), the "freelance" photographer for the Daily Gleaner (Margaret Le Wars), Miss Taro (Zena Marshall), Sister Rose (Michele Mok) and Sister Lily (Yvonne Shima) the odds were definitely against James Bond. In "Diamonds Are Forever" the villains are a no-show.

Almost every scene in this film is either played with a comic slant or is directed as pure hokum. One scene that is played straight is when Bond slaps Tiffany Case across the cheek demanding the identity of her contact after finding the body of Plenty O'Toole in the swimming pool. The fight scene in the elevator between Bond and Peter Franks is also played straightforward until Tiffany Case enters the scene. That's about it.
The plot is very confusing and it really doesn't matter because the film does not take itself serious.

Many Bond enthusiasts were not pleased with Charles Gray's performance as Blofeld. He was not the same Blofeld we saw, or didn't see in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, THUNDERBALL or YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. He was closer to Telly Savalas' performance in OHMSS but infinitely much more sophisticated. Given the tone of this film Gray's performance was on target. The continuity of the Blofeld character in this series, which showed signs of crumbling, disintegrated completely in this film.

I have never understood why so many critics through the years have stated that this was Sean Connery's best performance as Bond. It looks like he had fun making it, but again he was just going through the motions and delivered a good self-parody of his previous performances of the character.

John Barry's score was much more lightweight, not in substance, but in sound. The scoring of the helicopter attack on the Blofeld's oilrig is a case in point. John Barry appropriately reflected the tone of the film. The string and percussion sections are much more prominent here than in earlier Bond films. Actually, it is one of his better Bond scores. He reverted back to his 007 theme, which he had used too much better effect in THUNDERBALL.

Ken Adam's designs for the Willard Whyte penthouse and Blofeld's cavernous mud bath lair were familiar and welcome additions from the man who helped set the visual style for the series.
There are just so many things different about this film from what I was used to seeing. The editing, costumes cinematography, plot, gadgets, and so forth were all changed.

This film is what changed the entire course of the series and was actually the vanguard for the Roger Moore's Bond.

Lots of Gadgets and Details.......2006-02-02

Sean Connery returns in the seventh Bond film after Roger Lazenby's one movie interlude. Of all the Connery Bond films, this one was probably the most jam-packed with goodies. Of course, the goodies may distract some from the plot line, but they sure are fun.

The basic story, with numerous distractions, is that Ernst Blofeld is using diamonds to create an ultra powerful space laser that will allow him (not that you would have guessed) to blackmail the world for more millions than anyone could count in 1971. This Bond film has numerous subplots that nearly become vignettes in themselves.

At the very beginning of the movie we have an opening scene where Connery rips the bikini top off a beautiful woman while quipping that he wants her to get something off her chest. After a flash of breast, clearly seen in slow motion on DVD, the next scene leads to Bond finding Blofeld in a secret lair. The purpose of the secret lair later turns up as one of the subplots in the movie, and partially explains why Blofeld is hard to kill (can we say doubles?). The opening scene is loaded with tongue-in-cheek remarks that become the hallmark of this film, and presage the Roger Moore tendency to do the same.

The opening credits feature Shirley Bassey of "Goldfinger" fame belting out "Diamonds Are Forever", another wonderful Bond song.

Once you get into the actual movie, the details are so numerous, that to describe them all would take more space than I have available. Some highlights:

- Jill St. John is beautiful, looking really great in a bikini in this movie.
- Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint, two hit men that normally do a good job, but struggle with Bond, are the first overtly gay men in a Bond movie.
- Thumper and Bambi; no Disney characters here, and must be seen to be believed.
- Bond's Mustang Mach I; holy shades of the early 70s.
- Gadgets, gadgets, and even more gadgets.
- Here's a trick. Starting out by tipping your car up on the right two wheels, and somehow popping it up on the left two wheels during the chase.
- Exiting from a hidden underground tunnel through a camouflaged exit that Batman would have been ecstatic to have.
- Desert chase in a moon buggy.
- Being trapped in an underground pipe and chased by an automatic welder.
- Climbing up the outside of a hotel, with walls that are angled out.

The closing scene of this movie will seem familiar. Just as in "Thunderball", we have an assault on an enemy stronghold at sea. Last time it was ships and boats attacking a heavily defended Disco Valente. This time it's helicopter gun ships assaulting an oil platform with machine guns.

This movie is one of my personal Bond favorites. However, I like it for the science fiction gadget aspects more than being a spy movie. As a spy movie it is probably too contrived and cute, and while occasional tongue-in-cheek may relieve tension, here it becomes too omnipresent for some. I rate this movie 5 stars because it is just way too fun and has many cool gadgets for 1971. This movie is worthy of your attention and a bowl of popcorn.

Note that this particular version of the movie is an imported version, and consequently is priced differently from the other version currently available. I advise you to research the versions available prior to selecting the one that meets your needs.

Average customer rating:

Average Bond
Connery's Last Hurrah to the Eon Bond Series.
Bond's Second Fall: Dull, Cheesy, and One of the Worst in the Series
Good morning! I was out walking my rat and I seem to have lost my way.
Dull. Boring. Bad. Stupid.

Diamonds are Forever
Starring: Sean Connery , Jill St. John , Charles Gray , Lana Wood , and Jimmy Dean
Director: Guy Hamilton
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Classics | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Espionage | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00004W9C9
Release Date: 2000-10-17

Amazon.com

Sean Connery retired from the 007 franchise after You Only Live Twice (replaced by George Lazenby in the underrated and underperforming On Her Majesty's Secret Service) but was lured back for one last official appearance as James Bond in Diamonds Are Forever. He's in fine form--cool but ruthless--in a sharp precredits sequence hunting the unkillable Blofeld (a suavely menacing Charles Gray in this incarnation), but the MacGuffin of a story (involving diamond smuggling, a superlaser on a satellite, and Blofeld's latest plot to rule the world ) is full of the groaning tongue-in-cheek gags that Roger Moore would make his signature. Goldfinger director Guy Hamilton keeps the film zipping along gamely from one entertaining set piece to another, including a terrific car chase in a parking lot, a battle with a pair of bikini-clad killer gymnasts named Bambi and Thumper, and a deadly game with a bizarre pair of fey, sardonic killers who dispatch their victims with elaborate invention. Jill St. John is the brassy but not too bright American smuggler Tiffany Case, and country singer and pork sausage king Jimmy Dean costars as a reclusive billionaire with not-so-subtle parallels to Howard Hughes. Shirley Bassey belts out the memorable theme song, one of the series' best. Connery retired again after this one but he returned once more, for Never Say Never Again 15 years later for a rival production company. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Average Bond.......2007-06-15

The last official Bond movie with Sean Connery in the leading role is a strange mixture of the best of Bond and some of the worst. For me it has very happy memories as it was the first James Bond film I saw at the cinema. The opening scenes in particular are very impressive on the big screen, and on rewatching again recently I could see why as a teenager I was so impressed by the film.

On the plus side it has Connery of course, who remains the best Bond. At the time of this film he was 41 and its still amazing to think he was replaced by Roger Moore who was 3 years older. Connery is fine in Diamonds are for ever, displaying the usual Bond dry sense of humour and playing the role with typical panache. Charles Gray as Blofeld also deserves a mention for his role.

However watching the film now its seems a little shallow, not very believeable (what Bond film is though?) and perhaps because we've seen so many Bond films over the years any sense of originality has been lost. Also after the terrific opening scenes the film gradually loses momentum with the escape in the moon buggy perhaps being the low point.

Seeing it in widescreen again is certainly good, and if you just let it wash over you its an OK way pass a couple of hours, but their are better Connery Bonds films than this to be bought first.

Connery's Last Hurrah to the Eon Bond Series........2007-04-01

After a one film hiatus, Sean Connery returned one last time to play super agent James Bond in the Eon Bond Series. Connery is back and in fine form as he tracks down some ruthless diamond smugglers out to hold the free world at ransom with a strange new secret weapon. Here is where the Bond series started it's campy 70's silliness, which mars this Bond effort down a notch. Even some of the action sequences fall flat in this one (especially the moon buggy bit). Only the Vegas car chase and the elevator fight stand out. Still "Plenty" to enjoy in this one. Jill St. John makes for a sardonic and sensuous love interest as Tiffany Case. One could have wished Natalie's kid sister Lana Wood had a bigger role as Plenty O'Toole, though. You Only Live Twice returnee Charles Gray is the least effective Blofeld in the series, but he has fun with it. Bruce Glover and Putter Smith are hilarious as the two gay assasins, Mr. Wint and Mr. Kid.

***1/2 out of *****

Bond's Second Fall: Dull, Cheesy, and One of the Worst in the Series.......2007-03-24

For better or worse, after the relative box-office slump of ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE, producers Brocolli and Saltzman decided to woo Sean Connery back to do one more film for an amazing sum. Connery, who had said he would never do another Bond film, donated all of his money to his own foundation. While his performance is competent and smooth as ever, he seems all business. No longer in love with the character and having realized long before that the character was stagnant, Connery mechanically works his way through DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, an outright bore of the Bond series and, in my opinion, one of the worst (certainly Connery's worst). While some have tried to save the film by arguing that it is a parody of the Bond genre, it plainly isn't. It was an attempt to return Bond to his former glory days and generate profit for the producers. Far from trying to lampoon the Bond formula, the producers were trying to resuscitate it. And they failed.

After the opening "gun barrel" sequence, we quickly find Bond on a personal mission to kill Blofeld once and for all after the death of Bond's only true wife (discounting the false marriage in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE) in ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE. (At least, this is what we must assume, since no mention of the marriage is made in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER). Bond catches Blofeld in the process of producing clones for himself in an underground laboratory and, after a couple of struggles with both Blofeld and a duplicate, Bond drowns Blofeld in a vat of mud. It is a very short and quick opening teaser and immediately runs into the titles sequence. The titles involves various diamonds, slowly revealed to be various pieces jewelry worn by beautiful women, all set to the title song sung by Shirley Bassey (who also sang the GOLDFINGER title).

The plot of DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER is quite strange. In an opening similar to GOLDFINGER, we learn that large quantities of South African diamonds have been smuggled recently and yet, surprisingly, have not made their way to the market. Worried that the diamonds will be released in order to inflate the diamond market, Bond is sent in to infiltrate the smuggling operation, disguised as Peter Franks. Bond quickly succeeds, meeting up with Tiffany Case (Jill St. John), an attractive diamond smuggler who is suspicious of Bond's identity. Bond's mission is almost compromised from the start when the real Peter Franks makes an entrance, forcing Bond to fight him in a terrific elevator sequence that is reminiscent of the train fight in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. After a smuggling attempt goes awry (thanks to Bond), Bond is discovered and learns of the real purpose of the operation he is infiltrating. It turns out that Blofeld is behind it all (Bond killed only two duplicates in the opening teaser)! Blofeld has been smuggling diamonds to create a laser satellite that is capable of destroying anything on Earth. Blofeld has been hiding his operation by posing as recluse Willard Whyte (Jimmy Dean), whom he has secretly kidnapped unbeknownst to the world, and using Whyte's resources and industrial facilities to manufacture his powerful laser. Blofeld plans to destroy various nuclear installations in America, Russia, and China. The purpose? Blofeld is organizing an international auction, offering nuclear supremacy to the highest bidder! Will Bond be able to stop him in time?

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER feels like a film that was stitched together, rather poorly, from a myriad of interesting elements. One feels that the producers had a bunch of ideas on the cutting floor and attempted to piece them together into a logical story order. The infiltration of a smuggling ring, the wonderful fight sequence in the elevator, the quirky and gay hitmen Mr. Wint (Bruce Glover) and Mr. Kidd (Putter Smith), a not-so-subtle rendition of the famous Las Vegas recluse Howard Hughes, a fight on an oil rig, et cetera. All of these elements are fairly interesting in their own right, but the combination doesn't yield what the producers were hoping for. What is it about this film that feels so ridiculous? One of the major problems, in my opinion, is situating Bond in Las Vegas. Bond in America is dull. His class, wit, and sophistication are only cheapened when placed in the cheesy context of Las Vegas in the 1970s. Bond is supposed to take us to exotic locations--not to a strip club. Furthermore, the action is not quite on par with the rest of the series. I think everyone will agree that the chase scene in which Bond escapes through the desert on a moon buggy is absurd. The chase is boring, the buggy looks ridiculous and prop-esque, and there is no suspense. The climactic fight on the oil rig is equally boring. Sure, we have a big set and big explosions. But there is no cutting edge stuff here.

Connery, as mentioned, looks very tired here. Tiffany Case is a bit refreshing, but quickly becomes dim-witted and dull. And the Bond girl with the clever name, Plenty O'Toole (Lana Wood) is only in the film for all of five minutes. Blofeld is now played by Charles Gray, who first made his appearance as Bond's Japan contact in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. Gray's performance takes Blofeld back to the ridiculousness of YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE, even appearing in drag at one point. There isn't much more to say. The acting is dead in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER.

Now, some have tried to defend DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER by claiming that the film is an outright attempt to make a parody of the Bond genre. After pro