Sage. Gotta love the sage version. Artery clogging American breakfast goodness. Purnells Old Folks is up there, too. Edit: Where can. I get that passport? Suits life in States these days.
My favourite joke in the “henchmen are back” climax is when one of them menacingly pulls out a corkscrew... Holds for a moment... And then pulls the cork from the bottle.
I'm not even a huge fan of the Bond series but this show has become appointment viewing! I will drop whatever I'm watching whenever I see a new episode come up!
When this series first popped up I thought "Eh, not for me." Then two weeks ago I put one on in the background. It hooked me enough that I listened to all so far. And now I'm so into this that over the weekend I watched "Diamonds are Forever" as homework in preparation for the video. :)
I've never watched more than five minutes of consecutive wrestling, but I still tune in to SideWalkSlam every time. Hearing LRR analyze things they're into is entertaining in itself.
@@notme222 I haven't gotten that far but I basically started the same with the "no thanks not for me" reaction. Should've known better than to doubt the LRR crew.
I’m surprised that Bond disguising himself by pretending to make out on the street, except it’s just him with his arms wrapped around himself, never came up
"If God had wanted man to fly... " "... He would have given him wings, Mr. Kidd." Love this one. I love Mr. Kidd and Mr. Wint, I love Charles Gray as Blofeld, I even like Bambi and Thumper. However dumb and campy it is, I love it.
I always liked the scenes of Bond doing "spy" stuff in this movie, ie when he pretends to be a tenant in the apartment or a scientist in the lab. Neat to see him infiltrating just by playing off social interactions
I’m not a big fan of this film overall, but all those scenes are awesome. Tom Mankiewicz has such a knack for dialogue, no one who hates this movie can deny that it’s at least very witty.
I think for 1971 having gay characters who aren't stereotypical, and are in a good relationship, and just happen to be gay was really progressive. That it was largely added by the actors explains a lot, given how the Bond writers treat women I don't see them doing that intentionally.
Diamonds are Forever is in my top 3 Favourite Bond Movies, and possibly my most watched Bond from age 4 to present...Only 20 mins and my world has been rocked... I thought I had stumbled on a Mandela Effect, for easily over 30 years I've thought the Henchmans name was Mr. Wind and thinking the guys are pronoucing that weirdly.. but no I've been completely wrong. Please Graham and Matt continue giving me quality entertainment and re-educating my childhood memories.
Can we have the movie rankings at the end of the video shown on screen in future episodes? There's now so many that it's hard to remember the two whole lists.
1:21:20 I mean as someone who has family in las vegas, yeah they expand out there exceptionally fast. That 2 lane road through the desert ends up being a whole-assed suburb in like 6 months time.
Speaking of Sean Connery looking older here, and Roger Moore aging over his movies: Sean Connery did 6 movies over 10 years. George Lazenby did 1 movie. Roger Moore did 8 movies over 13 years. Timothy Dalton did 2 movies over 3 years. Pierce Brosnan did 4 movies over 7 years. Daniel Craig did 5 movies over 15 years. Daniel Craig did not do as many movies as Sean Connery, but he's not been doing it much longer than anyone else did.
I can only think that it was the cigarettes and booze that aged those born before 1940. After all, Connery was only 41 in 1971 and he probably made the movie when he was 40 in 1970.
@@williamh0809 That's weird that Connery was considered to be an aging Bond in "Diamonds Are Forever" when he was actually four years YOUNGER than Roger Moore in "Live And Let Die".
@@jerryshunk7152 Moore, especially from ''The Spy Who Loved Me'', was the right man at the right time (except the last film). 28.01 - 29.06 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vQ5PC7m45_0.html
Overall Movie Rankings G: - OHMSS (Lazenby) - From Russia with Love (Connery) - Goldfinger (Connery) - Dr. No (Connery) - You Only Live Twice (Connery) - Thunderball (Connery) - Diamonds are Forever (Connery) ... - Casino Royale 1967 (It's complicated) Matt: - From Russia with Love (Connery) - OHMSS (Lazenby) - Dr. No (Connery) - You Only Live Twice (Connery) - Goldfinger (Connery) - Thunderball (Connery) - Diamonds are Forever (Connery) ... - Casino Royale 1967 (It's complicated)
First three bond movies I conciously can remember are For your eyes only which i saw at the cinema, the Spy who loved me , and Diamonds are forever which would be from TV about that time I must have been 8ish I LOVED DaF probably because of the moon buggy. By the time of Timothy Dalton I'd seen them all multiple times, I loved OHMSS and really didn't like from Russia with Love!! still don't, Ovo I've seen the rest since and I still think OHMSS is top 3 with Skyfall and the Living Daylights!! Though there are a heap of good ones
So I've decided to listen to this specific one because what I most remember about the movie is the explicit homophobia, which is saying something considering casual homophobia was a normal thing to me as a teenager. So I was very surprised you seemed to agree the movie doesen't frame their sexuality explicitly as a bad thing, just implicitly. Then I compared the original to the German dub... Bond's line "That's rather potent. Not the cork, your aftershave. Strong enough to bury anything." (Not too bad as puns go.) was translated "Riecht ziemlich kräftig. Nicht der Korken, ihr Aftershave. Zu süß und zu schwul." ("Smells rather strong. Not the cork, your aftershave. Too sweet and too gay.") So some prick decided the English version lacked homophobia and the Protagonist, a male role model for insecure douchebags, if there ever was one, needed to come out as decidedly anti-gay... Yay
Its actually one of the tackier and more "youre telling me a secret agent is an open and known member of the Playboy club? Christ, no wonder everyone knows who he is, the mans a slut."
It was more of nod to Playboy's support of Ian Fleming. It started in 1960 when Playboy published the short story 'The Hildebrand Rarity' in its March issue. Coincidentally, the issue also featured a pictorial of Jill St. John, who would go on to play Tiffany Case in DAF. Playboy also serialized the novel OHMSS for American audiences over the April, May and June 1963 issues. Playboy would later go on to publish the short story 'The Property of a Lady' and 'You Only Live Twice' in upcoming issues.
Not Tacky at all in 1970 Playboy was huge because it was right in the middle of the sexual revolution hence all the sexual content of Bond Films . Its easy to judge it today in the post Reagan era war on sexuality and fun that has lasted since 1980 .
I always felt like Bond was so violent in asking people Blofeld was because he wanted revenge for the death of his wife. And after that with M, Bond’s heart just isn’t in his work anymore.
I'm surprised at how relatively low you both were on the theme song, for me Diamonds are Forever is THE bond theme song above all others. It's just so damn memorable and catchy.
Fun fact I just spotted - in the shot of Mr Kidd being turfed over the side of the ship, you can see the lifebelt reads Canberra - -the SS Canberra was running P&O cruises at the time, but would later transport British troops to the Falklands, then to repatriate Argentine POWs after hostilities.
I had forgotten all about this movie until now. I wonder how much Gaiman's Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandermar were inspired by those two... Edit: I had to look it up, and apparently "Wint/Kidd and Croup/Vandermar were both inspired by the hangmen in the 1823 novel Quentin Durward".
Oh man, I love the idea of bringing back Goldfinger's twin brother. "Mr Bond, you haf defeated my brozer, Goldfinger, but now you face me, Diamondtoe!"
Always felt they were so scared Bond would flop without Connery, they made OHMSS the best movie ever just to carry Lazenby. Then Connery came back, they heaved a sigh of relief and phoned in this utter piece of piffle.
Piffle, lol. This is one of maybe 3 bond movies I actively avoid. I don't know if it's just that they phoned it in, I think broccoli was as done with Connery as Connery was with them.
I just noticed this: in the opening title, we see Bond walking in disguised as a doctor. We then see the Dr he knocked out on the ground, *still clearly wearing his uniform that Bond ostensibly stole from him for his disguise*
This is actually one of my favorite Bond flicks despite it being pretty convoluted and admittedly lame. Thanks to your excellent commentary, you explained a dozen plot threads I never figured out.
You know, when Lazenby's agent stepped in and said Bond was dead as a franchise, he wasn't entirely wrong. The Connery-style Bond was definitely dead, and this film shows why. Also, Eon's running out of source material if it wants to keep using Fleming's plots. The Spy Who Loved Me is basically a romance novel about a naive woman caught up in a hotel insurance scam. Moonraker's about a Nazi who wants to hit London with a rocket - not a bad idea, but kinda lacking in world-shattering drama. Live and Let Die is about someone who finds pirate gold and uses it for Nefarious Purposes. Fleming's Bond plots were never brilliant, but you can hear the bottom-of-the-barrel scrape by this point.
By this point, they were nearly to the point of trying to film ‘007 in New York’, a short story that was ultimately nothing more than James Bond’s internal monologue about food and hotels in the title city. There’s a reason that it and ‘The Hildebrandt Rarity’ have never been filmed....
Poor Tiffany. I kind of hope someone tells her about this that way she at least will see people defending her for doing what she could considering they treated her character like crap. We appreciate you Jill St John
Just traveled here from your “Die Another Day” review. I’m surprised that I had never noticed how many similarities there really are from “Diamonds Are Forever,” to “Die Another Day.” They ARE practically the same movie, except as you guys mention that D.A.D. was the extreme version of this Bond film. The altering of a person to look like another. Diamonds in a satellite that makes sunlight enhanced lasers to destroy things. The round glass floor in a villian inhabited lair. I probably missed the similarities between the two, because while I’ve seen “Diamonds Are Forever” half a trillion times since I was a kid (my dad was a huge Bond fan), I just disliked “Die Another Day” after one viewing in the theater and kind of forgot the plot/story over the years.
I remember watching this and being all "yep, James Bond." And being...content about it. Wint And Kyd were the best part of the movie though. Also I got the Daily Drop elevator reference.
really enjoying this podcast more than I could have guessed after seeing the first episode pop up in my subscription box, and it also gives me a grasp on the passage of time during quarantine as an added bonus!
" Bert Saxbee ", was played by Bruce Cabot. He did dozens of films with John Wayne, who got him into this film. He was ill, and passed away shortly after its release.
I've seen the Offence. It's quite surreal and very much feels like the stage play it's adapted from. But man is Sean Connery SOOO good in it. It's worth watching for his performance alone.
James Bond: Diamond is Unbreakable Finally caught up on my binge, y'all are doing great. As someone who recognizes Bond from those movies Austin Powers parodied, hearing these passionate retellings might be the best way to experience these movies for the first time.
The backstory for the Howard Hughes connections becomes apparent from Cubby Broccoli's autobiography. Cubby was basically Hughes's wingman in the 30s and Hughes made it clear that the movie had his approval.
So, I watched this film yesterday with my sister, and we found the "plot" to be horrendously contrived. I'll add that I found the back-to-back moon buggy and Vegas car chases to be too much car chase in a row. And both my sister and I were shocked at the problematic circus act ya'll mentioned, because wow. Just wow. I do wish there'd been more of a Q "here are your gadgets, Bond" type of scene. I like those scenes. Overall, I don't mind having rewatched it for the first time in a very long time, but the film fell very flat for me. At least my sister had gone over Howard Hughes a few days prior due to some unrelated conversation so we had context for Willard Whyte.
I was watching episodes of "A Bit Of Fry And Laurie" not too long ago, and in one sketch, Stephen Fry introduced himself as Peter Franks. I just about fell out of my chair laughing. Also, I've ridden in those giant hovercrafts and they were awesome! The cars are stored in the middle, and passengers seat in large cabins on either side of the hovercraft. If the sea is rough, it turns into a bit of a rollercoaster ride. The crossing took 45 minutes (Calais/Folkestone), whereas the ferries took an hour and 15 minutes.
Some more background on the alley stunt--The stunt of driving a car on two wheels was known as “high-skiing”. The original stunt driver for the film was Buzz Bundy (who just died on May 2020 at the age of 90). He was noted as the only driver that would high-ski a car driver-side up, which is more difficult for most drivers, but the only way he said could do it. I met him at a Tournament of Thrills auto daredevil show in 1971, shortly after he performed the stunt for the movie. I have his autograph on the program to this day. The funny thing about the movie sequence is that a car driven on two wheels has the same width as when it is driven horizontally, so it will offer no advantage in passing through a spot that is too narrow for a car on its four wheels.
Was raised on Bond and am loving the recapping of these with all of the behind the scenes info. Also commenting on the same things I would be scratching my head about😂. Only one I couldn't get through was the old Casino Royale, but looking forward to going back and listening to that one
"Binder's opening titles feel kind of half-assed" yeah you can feel the autopilot by the 80s. It's like '81: in which Binder discovers music videos, '83: in which Binder discovers lasers, '85: in which Binder discovers dayglow paint and black lights, '87-'89: autopilot, pure and simple
I actually think the multiple tape swap scenes are great and would be much better received if the rest of Case's character wasn't made to look so bad. Bond and Case are both trying to competently complete their assignment but things get mixed up because of their lack of proper communication due to the circumstances.
I always figured what Tiffany spotted in the Casino was the diamonds on Blofeld's cat's collar. She had been dealing with them, so seeing a pet wearing a £10k necklace might strike her as odd.
I always felt like the idea here was to feature the Rat Pack, but it didn't work out, so they made this instead. The film's one saving grace imo is the Barry score, in particular '007 and counting'- drop dead gorgeous track.
I will say that I appreciate how over the course of Bond movies, Blofeld is never above doing his own henchman work, like the drive by in OHMSS, or full drag to sneak out of the casino in this one
I find it hilarious that it is give or take now if the episode is going to be shorter or longer than the movie. I would also argue that it retconned HMSS. I mean the movie starts with Bond hunting across the globe for the man who killed his wife.
Hmm. In my modern interpretation I thought "They were bold enough to give gay representation to villains. That's great for 1971." But maybe you're right and it was done along the lines of "How can we make these two even stranger?" Which would be unfortunate. I'm going to undermine that by pretending it isn't true, and instead being glad that even hired killers found love. Silva was gay in Skyfall, which I think was a good thing.
It's a step along the way. Making gays the villians had been happening for decades even when Diamonds Are Forever was new. If it was only that they were queeny villains, it would be no step forward in representation, but I do see them as differentiated from early gay-as-villain films like Rebecca (Where insane Mrs. Danvers was clearly a lesbian, but they couldn't say it in the film)
Right. But the issue is, going back to silent films, gays and lesbians were either villains or the archetype called “the sissy” meant to be looked down upon. Never “this is a normal character in the film who just happens to be gay.” That really never happened. You didn’t really see that until the 80s with Billy Crystal’s character on Soap.
I love the first half of this movie where we actually see Bond following the chain of evidence (and dead bodies!) up to Blofeld. But once it gets to the cars chasing the moon buggy (which has to have a top speed of about 10mph!) it goes completely off the rails.
Man, I remember really loving this movie, and song, and title sequence...and I'm sad to know you guys seem to think it doesn't hold up as well. It could just be me missing the context, I don't know, but I might have to give this one a rewatch myself. Still, always happy with the show, glad you guys are doing it. it's become a weekly highlight for me.
I bet the one scene Matt remembers from Never Say Never Again is the one with the video game because it's the one and only thing I remember from the movie.
Oh my god, I can't believe it took me till most of the way through this video to finally register what how similar Graham's normal speaking voice is to Adam West!
please consider reviewing the 1967 film "O.K. Connery" AKA Operation Kid Brother". It stared Sean Connery's Real Life Brother, Neil Connery, as the Brother of 007 being brought into the spy world.
I wonder if the reason the fight with Bambi and Thumper went that way was because Bond is in the Bittish Navy, so the writers thought he had training in underwater combat? Not well-explained in the movie though.
58:37 - "Klaus Hergesheimer [or whatever his name is]" - Fun fact, played by actor Ed Bishop who was also in You Only Live Twice, I believe as one of the Russian technicians at their space control. You actually showed a still of him. At the time of this filming he was starring in a UK released SciFi TV series called simply "UFO", which I loved as a kid.
@28:20, you bring up an interesting point. Is Blowfeld Spectre? Is everything he does considered to be for Spectre? No one calls Blowfeld "number 1" nor does he call anyone else by a number. Maybe Specter has been disbanded or just taken apart by Bond. Maybe all those guys in the beginning Bond was beating information out of were the last members of Spectre. Could have been an interesting plot point.
The 2 things I liked about the movie. 1 The mustang fastback, that was a cool car, even though that was an epic fail on the stunt edit! 2. Dame Shirley Bassey's theme, her voice was made for 007.
I like the idea that the alley isn't straight, so they go around a turn and basically get pushed up the opposite wall, putting them on the other wheels
When Tiffany Case comes homes she asks Bond what her brunette wig is doing in the pool which explains why Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd mistakenly killed Plenty O’Toole.
I like this one purely on a camp basis: laser-firing satellites, moon cars, ocean-based oil rigs, 70's Vegas, Jill St.John's beehive hairdo, Jimmy Dean's Pure Pork Sausage (okay, it's not IN the film, but for any American of the era NOT to make the connection would require Herculean efforts mentally)... -how the gun got in the mashed spuds. er, mud, is one question. What the hell was the guy using it going to do when the gunk-stuffed barrel blew his hand off is another. Coat it in melted butter? -Hollywood executive: "We're paying you enough money, Connery, for you to handle the smell. Besides, aren't you supposed to _like_ potatoes where you come from? Oh, that's Ireland. And you're a Scotsman. Fuck it, who cares?" -I do like Charles Gray in everything he's done. But these days I keep expecting Blofeld to tell us his plan to do the Time Warp. -As I said back at "Goldfinger," this is my second favorite Bond theme, and when we get to it my 3rd fave is going to make folks give me serious side-eye. -Naturally, this plot is WAY the hell away from the original book, which was just a simple diamond smuggling ring. It still takes place mostly in Vegas, but it ends back at the South African mine from the start of the story, where Bond uses an AA gun to shoot down the head of the ring as he tries to fly away in a helicopter. -In the book, Wint & Kidd are just a couple of standard mob thugs, with about as much chemistry as a bowl of spa potatoes (yes, we're going to call back the spuds). In the movie... In '73 when I first saw the film on TV, the duo kind of confused me. I was a small boy, growing up in the 70's, and I was raised Catholic. Said confusion lifted roughly around the same time I gave up Catholicism for Lent before the decade was out. None of that changes the fact that the duo completely steal the show from the rest of the cast, and they are the most memorable characters in the entire film, and yes that includes Bond. Nowadays they'd have ACT-UP and half of Hollywood calling for their scalps, but things were simpler (dumber) back then. -Hovercrafts will never NOT be cool. -That joke about Tiffany's name landed just as poorly in '71 as it does in 2020, because Van Cleef & Arpels is a /French/ jewelry firm and thus too "frou frou" for the average 'MERICAN to know. -Cheap, tacky, and gross. If you add in "hot as Hell" and you have the authentic Vegas experience. I'd like to see a Bond movie where they have to do a scene in one of the Indian Gaming centers. "You will find your contact at Casino Morongo. The buffet is half off on weekdays!" -My headcannon on the Plenty O'Toole killing is that it was Wint & Kidd's day off and Blofeld sent in second stringers. -Before gear is used for space missions, it's customary to test it in conditions that try to simulate the feel of wherever it is the gear will be used, and the moon set was a very bad attempt at showing this.There _is_ a movie where they showed a space mission being faked called "Capricorn One," but that was done six years later. (And if you can, see this movie. It's great.) -Somewhere in Las Vegas is an alleyway shaped like a Mobius strip. -The entire pipe sequence is wacky as hell. BUT, this is not the only time we'll see a pipeline pig in a Bond movie. -There people who think that Bambi & Thumper were meant to be a distaff version of Wint & Kidd, but the actresses involved weren't working together like the males ones were. And you know what they say: No Glover, no lover. (I'll go stand in the corner.) -Over all, I call this the point where the silly goes over the top for the series, and doesn't really recover until after Moore's stint. But I till find it more enjoyable than... yeah, I'm gonna keep harping on it.
He could have taped the gun barrel before going for a mud soak, or something similar. Why Blofeld thought his doubles needed such protection in the treatment (but not like, a guard?) I don't know. Maybe that guy in particular was just super paranoid. But everyone knew the name and association of Tiffany's jewelry at the time: that's the whole plot of an iconic movie from the era, isn't it?
When I was a kid I used to stand at the edges in the elevators, fearing (or perhaps hoping) that the floor would fall. This movie is silly, but it seems to be THE Bond movie for me.
There's one huge piece Matt and Graham didn't mention about this movie and that's the real-life feud Jill St. John (Tiffany Case) and Lana Wood (Plenty O'Toole) have for each other. Apparently, Connery was romantically linked with both Wood and St. John during filming, which made for tension on set. Later, in 1981, Lana's sister, Natalie, drowned while yachting with her then husband, Robert Wagner (Number 2 in Austin Powers). A year later, St. John and Wagner began dating and the two eventually got married in 1990. In a 1999 Bond Girl reunion, St. John refused to be photographed with Wood and in 2016, Wood confronted Wagner and St. John at an event honoring the latter about Natalie Wood's drowning case being reopened. Oh, what a tangled web Diamonds weaved
I know realism wasn't a big thing for this movie, but I just Googled some facts. Diamonds burn at about 850°C, crematoria reach 800-1000°C. Taking a chance, weren't they?
Once again a highly entertaining podcast. We've gone straight from probably my favourite Bond movie of all time in OHMSS to one of my least preferred entries in the series. Connery has some great comedic moments, but I just think he looks weird and out of shape here. In the early movies he was both incredibly suave and seemed like he could kick your ass, but that's really not the case here. Charles Gray is also awfully miscast as Blofeld and I didn't care for most of the action scenes aside from the elevator fight. The climax I think is particularly dull with Bond willingly getting himself captured in a vain, drawn out attempt at switching the tapes and then afterwards he just swings Blofeld's escape pod around during the battle. I'm also not crazy about the really hammy acting from from many of the supporting cast like Plenty O'Toole and even Willard Whyte, whom you enjoyed. It's clearly meant to be over the top, but I just feel like this type of acting belongs more in a Pink Panther movie or a Monty Python skit than in a Bond film.
24:45 The actress from harry potter who plays umbridge says she remembers that the books say "she had a face like a toad". And apparently some friends of hers were like "oh look, they're casting! You should definitely audition, you'd be perfect for that role!" "Thanks"
I think this movie is fun and also very rewatchable. Sean Connery actually seems like he cares and does a good job as Bond after a four year hiatus. Yeah the movie is campy but compared to what we’d get during the Roger Moore era it’s quite tame haha. Jill St. John starts off as a capable Bond girl but unfortunately just becomes a damsel in distress by the end of the movie. And I thought Charles Grey was well cast as Blofeld and in my opinion this is the only time that character was funny. Great review!
@@williamh0809 Yeah but like a stupid twit she puts the real one in! I was mainly referring to how in the firefight on the oil rig , she picks up a submachine gun and is so incompetent at shooting it the kickback pushes her off the rig into the ocean. Then there's the final Wint and Kidd scene on the cruise ship where they're both attacking Bond and all she does is say is "eeeek!" while Bond dispatches both goons by himself.
