46 replies to this topic

[Fiona Volpe lover]

DAF is really underappreciated in my view, probably partly because it followed the brilliant OHMSS, and partly because it's basically a Roger Moore Bond film with Sean Connery and a little more violence in it. But I think it's great fun, with lots of great lines. Although Richard Maibaum co-wrote it, it bears the all the marks of Tom Mankiewiecz's other two Bond screenplays-lots of deliciously witty [and a few crude[ lines, outlandish henchmen [I love Wint and Kidd], a very light touch but little actual tension, a tailing off towards the end, etc. And that's fine as far as it goes. I think DAF is most enjoyable until near the end, with the oil rig climax being rather pathetic.

Connery is fine in this film, he's sharp and amusing and kind of breezes his way through the whole film. Little attempt is made to hide his age, which is fine with me. I'n not sure about Jill St. John though-she's pretty anough, but her character starts out tough and savvy and she ends up as a dumb bimbo who falls on her front whilst firing here gun. I actually like Charles Gray-no, he's not exactly menacing but he suits the tone of the film and says some of the best lines with great relish.

The action does err on the comic side but it's enormous fun [I even like the moon buggy] and I LOVE the lift-fight, a great little brutal fight reminiscent of the one in FRWL. When I was a kid and saw this I was genuinely worried for Bond during the cremation sequence. The main Las Vegas setting is I believe a great setting for Bond and there are loads of great elements in the script. Maybe it doesn't hang together all that well, but in all I really like the film. It's great 'switch-your-brain-off' Bond like LALD, MR and OP. Great title song and score too, on the 'expanded' soundtrack it's probably Barry's most diverse.

I think I prefer DAF to GF [probably the only person who does lol].

[tim partridge]

What I dislike most about DAF is that it was clearly far too influenced by all of the (by then already dated) American pop culture that Bondmania influenced. After OHMSS took Bond and spy movies in general to a place we had never been before, with pure sincerity, all of a sudden we get an insincere, self concious spoof that wants to be Get Smart, Flint and (the original film of) Casino Royale, all with a heavy infuence from the BATMAN TV show. Why chase the rear end of the bandwagon that Bond created? I despise Kidd and Wint particularly, both cheap, sleazy and lowering the tone of the franchise for the sake of lowbrow humour. The overall tone is so smug and it's Hamilton at his worst, turning Bond into a fashionable parody of the moment, that made the whole thing chinzy and dated before it was even finished.

On that Americanised aspect: DAF does feel VERY Americanised, not just in the Las Vegas location, but also the script and dialogue (Mankiewicz), the dated studio system alike production values (Universal Studios), the humour, etc. Even the MI5 sequences feel like something from a 70s Disney film, complete with the cute educational film (about mining). No 60s-early 70s era Cool Britannia here, sadly. Go watch Get Carter if you want that.

I felt Connery slept his way through DAF. I like Jill St John, I think the scene with her and Bond in the bed was really sexy, but generally I cannot stand her self concious performance (the machine gun moment being the big cringer). Charles Gray, as the third exposed Blofeld, is obviously not the same disturbed maniac who killed Tracy or even hollowed out a volcano. It really does feel like villain of the week territory, again, much like TV's BATMAN. Remember when Eli Wallach played Mr Freeze after George Sanders and Otto Preminger? Gray does feel like an episodic TV understudy for Savalas or Pleasance. Oh, and there he is in drag. It screams nothing but contempt for the character and the whole 007 universe.

The other thing is that the film at best looks like an intentional cheap spoof, but at worst looks like an unintentional cheap spoof. Moreso considering once again the drop from OHMSS to this. I dig Adam's sets but (as I have said elsewhere)I think Ted Moore's dated and lazy cinematography is horrible. The opening in the cave set, with the TV compositions, half-assed, campy staging and blocking feels like something from the third season of TV's BATMAN. The cruise ship as well. The car/buggy chases are staged more like cheesy circus clown acts than suspenseful action scenes, but all very lazily without any creativity. The special effects are also Z-rate. So glad they hired Derek Meddings on the next film (and the rest is history). Once more, the clashing Americanisation I think plays a part in this.

As DAF is a Hamilton Bond film, it seems that making a sincere effort with the film was always below him, unless he found some worthwhile iconography, sight gags or money shots to overlabour with sincerity. Hamilton seems to avoid being caught telling a well paced story from start to finish, even though he'd be willing to do that (brilliantly, I might add) on an Agatha Christie movie. As I have said in other threads, it's highly frustrating. For example, the oil rig climax feels completely unfinished, in that we don't see what happens to Blofeld and the oil rig has a few lame explosions before we abruptly cut to that cruise ship. Even visual touches like those stylised guard sideburns in the PTS wink and nudge at you. Why would you stylise and draw attention to a non-character like that? Directorial boredom, methinks.

John Barry's loungey score is dreamy heaven. Easily my favourite of the series.



That said, the moments of Hamilton's innate talent shining through (off the top of my head):

The abstract opening shot of the Japanese paper wall. A wonderfully timed suspense gag.

The bra strangle.

The meow before the title song stinger. Again, the timing on this is expert. Hitchcock couldn't have done it better, IMO.

Bond making out with himself.

The elevator fight with Franks.

The cremation.

Bond tunneling with the rat.

Bond scaling the Whyte House.

Bond shooting Blofeld clone in the head with his abseiling gun.

The entire satellite montage to that beautiful Barry score. The direction and flow of the sequence is so captivating that your imagination can fill in the blanks left open by the bad special effects.



Still, I'd rather watch DAF any day of the week over say THUNDERBALL, or even alot of the Terence Young movies, which are way more sincere but don't cut it for me in the same way that Hamilton does when he gets it right.

Edited by tim partridge, 07 December 2008 - 07:23 PM.

[ComplimentsOfSharky]

I'm a big supporter of DAF.

I'm glad you got that off your chest.


DAF is bottom 5 on my list but if you're in the right mood it can be fun.

Love that elevator fight though.

[Professor Dent]

Definitely a fun movie. Barry's score is great. The past few times I've been to Vegas, I've watched this on the flight there. Always seems like an appropriate choice.

[Royal Dalton]

It isn't the greatest Bond film of all time. But it's a fun film to watch on the big screen with an audience.

[staveoffzombies]

It has it's moments and it's definitely fun. Still ranks on the lower end of my list, but I enjoy it from time to time.

And the collars and cuffs line...amazing.

[HildebrandRarity]

I wonder what the Gay community thought/thinks of Wint and Kidd?

[sthgilyadgnivileht]

What I dislike most about DAF is that it was clearly far too influenced by all of the (by then already dated) American pop culture that Bondmania influenced. After OHMSS took Bond and spy movies in general to a place we had never been before, with pure sincerity, all of a sudden we get an insincere, self concious spoof that wants to be Get Smart, Flint and (the original film of) Casino Royale, all with a heavy infuence from the BATMAN TV show. Why chase the rear end of the bandwagon that Bond created? I despise Kidd and Wint particularly, both cheap, sleazy and lowering the tone of the franchise for the sake of lowbrow humour. The overall tone is so smug and it's Hamilton at his worst, turning Bond into a fashionable parody of the moment, that made the whole thing chinzy and dated before it was even finished.

On that Americanised aspect: DAF does feel VERY Americanised, not just in the Las Vegas location, but also the script and dialogue (Mankiewicz), the dated studio system alike production values (Universal Studios), the humour, etc. Even the MI5 sequences feel like something from a 70s Disney film, complete with the cute educational film (about mining). No 60s-early 70s era Cool Britannia here, sadly. Go watch Get Carter if you want that.

I felt Connery slept his way through DAF. I like Jill St John, I think the scene with her and Bond in the bed was really sexy, but generally I cannot stand her self concious performance (the machine gun moment being the big cringer). Charles Gray, as the third exposed Blofeld, is obviously not the same disturbed maniac who killed Tracy or even hollowed out a volcano. It really does feel like villain of the week territory, again, much like TV's BATMAN. Remember when Eli Wallach played Mr Freeze after George Sanders and Otto Preminger? Gray does feel like an episodic TV understudy for Savalas or Pleasance. Oh, and there he is in drag. It screams nothing but contempt for the character and the whole 007 universe.

The other thing is that the film at best looks like an intentional cheap spoof, but at worst looks like an unintentional cheap spoof. Moreso considering once again the drop from OHMSS to this. I dig Adam's sets but (as I have said elsewhere)I think Ted Moore's dated and lazy cinematography is horrible. The opening in the cave set, with the TV compositions, half-assed, campy staging and blocking feels like something from the third season of TV's BATMAN. The cruise ship as well. The car/buggy chases are staged more like cheesy circus clown acts than suspenseful action scenes, but all very lazily without any creativity. The special effects are also Z-rate. So glad they hired Derek Meddings on the next film (and the rest is history). Once more, the clashing Americanisation I think plays a part in this.

As DAF is a Hamilton Bond film, it seems that making a sincere effort with the film was always below him, unless he found some worthwhile iconography, sight gags or money shots to overlabour with sincerity. Hamilton seems to avoid being caught telling a well paced story from start to finish, even though he'd be willing to do that (brilliantly, I might add) on an Agatha Christie movie. As I have said in other threads, it's highly frustrating. For example, the oil rig climax feels completely unfinished, in that we don't see what happens to Blofeld and the oil rig has a few lame explosions before we abruptly cut to that cruise ship. Even visual touches like those stylised guard sideburns in the PTS wink and nudge at you. Why would you stylise and draw attention to a non-character like that? Directorial boredom, methinks.

John Barry's loungey score is dreamy heaven. Easily my favourite of the series.



That said, the moments of Hamilton's innate talent shining through (off the top of my head):

The abstract opening shot of the Japanese paper wall. A wonderfully timed suspense gag.

The bra strangle.

The meow before the title song stinger. Again, the timing on this is expert. Hitchcock couldn't have done it better, IMO.

Bond making out with himself.

The elevator fight with Franks.

The cremation.

Bond tunneling with the rat.

Bond scaling the Whyte House.

Bond shooting Blofeld clone in the head with his abseiling gun.

The entire satellite montage to that beautiful Barry score. The direction and flow of the sequence is so captivating that your imagination can fill in the blanks left open by the bad special effects.



Still, I'd rather watch DAF any day of the week over say THUNDERBALL, or even alot of the Terence Young movies, which are way more sincere but don't cut it for me in the same way that Hamilton does when he gets it right.

Agreed about the Cinematography (although it is better on the UE) and the 'Batman' feel, plus all your plus points of Hamilton's innate talent are spot on IMO.
The climax was indeed unfinished which is why it looks unfinished.
I like this film, but you get the feeling that the approach was like; 'ok we've got Connery back, lets not bother with much else, we know the film will make money'. I believe the shooting schedule was fast due to Connery's contract arrangements, but we do see him enjoy being Bond again, and he takes the audience along with him like the pro he is.

[O.H.M.S.S.]

I think Diamonds Are Forever is a good movie. Sean Connery is always a joy to watch, Charles Gray the most underrated villain of the series, a great John Barry soundtrack and fantastic production design by Ken Adam (who else?) and it has my favourite gunbarrel sequence.

You just have to take DAF for what it is, a fun movie.

Edited by O.H.M.S.S., 19 December 2008 - 12:55 PM.

[dee-bee-five]

I wonder what the Gay community thought/thinks of Wint and Kidd?

Those of us who have a sense of humour and don't see homophobia round every corner find them a hoot. And, actually, as I wrote elsewhere on CBn, I think their wisecracking like some third-rate vaudeville turn while going about their murderous business is incredibly subversive. And it makes them, for me, amongst the most successful of all Bond henchmen.

I'd rather watch DAF any day of the week over say THUNDERBALL.

Me, too. Hell, I'd rather watch The Man With The Golden Gun than Thunderbore.

[Double-Oh Agent]

I love Diamonds Are Forever. It's my second favorite Connery film after Goldfinger. It does have it flaws (horrendous special effects, the scene of Plenty learning Tiffany's name and address inexplicably winding up on the cutting room floor, and the lack of it being a revenge flick. I find the PTS fine as well as the light tone after it up until Bond learns that Blofeld is still alive. At that point, I would have preferred Bond get at least a little pissed off again at Blofeld and make the rest of the mission be a little more personal like in the PTS. Oh well. It's still fun regardless.)

That said, DAF has terrific one-liners--arguably the best in the series--good dialog, many iconic moments, a terrific score by John Barry and likewise title song by Shirley Bassey (her best in my opinion), and Wint and Kidd are great in every scene they're in.

My favorite bits:

Bond strangling Marie
The elevator fight with Franks
Bond left to burn in the crematorium--you truly do not know how he's going to survive this time
Plenty's introduction to Bond
Bond's escape from the Las Vegas P.D.
Bond's killing of Blofeld's last remaining double
and Bond's final encounter with Wint and Kidd--nasty ways to go

[MadThing007]

One of my favourite Bond! See Sean Connery in the Bond's tuxedo..again . I like the idea of the Blofeld's clone, very interesting,...but not very developped...This movie has a lot of good idea, much some of them or not developed, and the explosions effects at the end are quite weird

(Sorry for my scolar English )

[Wade]

Love all the films, but DAF was my first. And it hooked me. My favorite memories are the haunting, echoing Barry score, the unexpectedly snappy dialogue, mountaineering about outside the Whyte House, and Bond's handling of Marie in the PTS.

My favorite mammaries? Lana Wood. ("But of course you would.")

[baerrtt]

I've said it before but compared to some of Moore's entries DAF is THE (imo) standout example of a humourous Bond film actually being consistently funny rather than being purely corny.

Watching the film post-Austin Powers I've found the Bond spoofs over the decades more and more redundant when you take into account that the franchise itself could take the mick out of it's conventions and occasionally bizarre universe more effectively than any parody.

The contradiction of Bond being a well-known spy, Blofeld's 'disguises', henchmen that seemed to come from another planet etc all are made good fun of in DAF and I still believe that the criticism from fan quarters over the years had/has risen due largely to the fact that it wasn't a 'gritty', revenge thriller followup to OHMSS starring Lazenby.

[Ultraussie (Jordan.adams)]

"what is this some kind of pervert camp?"
Plenty o'toole

"Oooooh... YEE AHH YE ARGH!!!!"
Mr. Wint.



I love those quotes. Especially Mr. Wints from the ending.
Bond got his croutch, he was aroused.

DAF was one of the more humorous Bond films.
And thats how I liked LTK.

[DamnCoffee]

Actually, he says "What the hell is this? A perverts convention or something!?"

[Dainshdude118]

This was the first Bond film I ever saw and I still love it!!!!!!!!