Clockwise from top left: Skyfall, The World Is Not Enough, The Spy Who Loved Me, Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice (MGM)Graphic: The A.V. Club
Since the first time he suavely announced “Bond. James Bond,” cigarette dangling from his lips, in 1962’s Dr. No, we’ve been naturally compelled to...
Since the first time he suavely announced “Bond. James Bond,” cigarette dangling from his lips, in 1962’s Dr. No, we’ve been naturally compelled to...
- 9/6/2023
- by Scott Huver
- avclub.com
Being an international super spy comes with its share of drawbacks, which apparently include upsetting censors around the world. While James Bond has faced numerous censorship struggles throughout his more than 60-year on-screen run, he's often had a particular issue in his home country. For example, the original ending of 1971's "Diamonds Are Forever" was a little too S&m for the British censors, and was initially supposed to depict Jill St. John's Tiffany Case being tied to a bed by the charmingly bizarre Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd (Bruce Glover and Putter Smith respectively). That was very quickly nixed by UK censors who felt it was a little too kinky even for Bond.
But kink was less of a concern for the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) than violence. In a 2006 interview with Caped Wonder, "Diamonds" writer Tom Mankiewicz explained how "largely, the Brits cared a great...
But kink was less of a concern for the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) than violence. In a 2006 interview with Caped Wonder, "Diamonds" writer Tom Mankiewicz explained how "largely, the Brits cared a great...
- 8/20/2023
- by Joe Roberts
- Slash Film
When Sean Connery returned to the James Bond films after skipping out on "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (which is a great movie but seen as lesser at the time), anticipation was high. In 1971, Connery was Bond. George Lazenby was some pretender. There wasn't a tradition of handing over the character to a new actor yet. This was his grand return, and the film's creatives needed to get it right. They even brought back "Goldfinger" director Guy Hamilton to call the shots.
On a financial level, everyone was happy. "Diamonds Are Forever" was the third-highest grossing film at the domestic box office in 1971. On an artistic level ... it's one of the worst films in the series. Connery is clearly only in it for the paycheck, the story is weirdly low-stakes and silly, and the Las Vegas setting feels chintzy.
The film does have two major bright spots though. First, there's...
On a financial level, everyone was happy. "Diamonds Are Forever" was the third-highest grossing film at the domestic box office in 1971. On an artistic level ... it's one of the worst films in the series. Connery is clearly only in it for the paycheck, the story is weirdly low-stakes and silly, and the Las Vegas setting feels chintzy.
The film does have two major bright spots though. First, there's...
- 11/13/2022
- by Mike Shutt
- Slash Film
Sixty years is a long time in the lifespan of a human being. And in the life cycle of a fictional character’s popularity, it’s usually unthinkable: a vast ocean of time which is rarely crossed by products of something as fleeting and fickle as pop culture. Nevertheless, six decades since Sean Connery first donned the tuxedo and uttered the iconic line of “Bond, James Bond,” the 007 character has endured in popularity.
In fact, during the character’s golden jubilee in 2012, Bond became arguably bigger than ever with the 50th anniversary also coinciding with the highest grossing Bond film at the box office, courtesy of Skyfall… of course that record only holds if you don’t count inflation, or certainly the amount of tickets sold by Connery’s fourth outing as MI6’s best man, Thunderball (1965). Either way, even the dour and brooding Craig movies still act as a reflection,...
In fact, during the character’s golden jubilee in 2012, Bond became arguably bigger than ever with the 50th anniversary also coinciding with the highest grossing Bond film at the box office, courtesy of Skyfall… of course that record only holds if you don’t count inflation, or certainly the amount of tickets sold by Connery’s fourth outing as MI6’s best man, Thunderball (1965). Either way, even the dour and brooding Craig movies still act as a reflection,...
- 11/4/2022
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
Diamonds are Forever
Directed by Guy Hamilton
Screenplay by Richard Maibaum & Tom Mankiewicz
UK, 1971
Following up On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, widely considered by most fans to be the best Bond incarnation pre-reboot, here the series takes a step back to recast the iconic Sean Connery in the role of mischievous misogynist Jimmy B, and promptly trips over itself in a strangely crass and dull outing. Replacing the wooden George Lazenby with the series’ original super spy proves to be mere consolation rather than icing on the cake bomb.
Diamonds are Forever surprisingly starts with direct continuity, with Bond leading a ruthless and fisticuffs laden hunt across the world for wife killer Ernst Stavros Blofelt (played here by Charles Gray). He eventually tracks down the evil mastermind and gives him a searing exit to proceedings, or so it seems. Getting back to the small matter of his day job...
Directed by Guy Hamilton
Screenplay by Richard Maibaum & Tom Mankiewicz
UK, 1971
Following up On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, widely considered by most fans to be the best Bond incarnation pre-reboot, here the series takes a step back to recast the iconic Sean Connery in the role of mischievous misogynist Jimmy B, and promptly trips over itself in a strangely crass and dull outing. Replacing the wooden George Lazenby with the series’ original super spy proves to be mere consolation rather than icing on the cake bomb.
Diamonds are Forever surprisingly starts with direct continuity, with Bond leading a ruthless and fisticuffs laden hunt across the world for wife killer Ernst Stavros Blofelt (played here by Charles Gray). He eventually tracks down the evil mastermind and gives him a searing exit to proceedings, or so it seems. Getting back to the small matter of his day job...
- 11/3/2015
- by Scott Patterson
- SoundOnSight
Villains have always been and will always be some of the most fascinating and memorable characters in the world of genre film. Here we will take a look at the greatest villains of cinema from the 1990’s.
The criteria for this article is the same as in my previous articles Cinema’s Greatest Villains: The 1970’s and Cinema’s Greatest Villains: The 1980’s: the villains must be from live-action films-no animated features-and must pose some type of direct of indirect lethal threat. The villains can either be individuals or small groups that act as one unit.
The villains must be human or human in appearance. Also, individuals that are the central protagonists/antiheroes of their respective films were excluded.
Brad Dourif as The Gemini Killer in The Exorcist III (William Peter Blatty, 1990): Veteran actor Dourif is intense and unforgettable as an executed murderer inhabiting someone else’s body in...
The criteria for this article is the same as in my previous articles Cinema’s Greatest Villains: The 1970’s and Cinema’s Greatest Villains: The 1980’s: the villains must be from live-action films-no animated features-and must pose some type of direct of indirect lethal threat. The villains can either be individuals or small groups that act as one unit.
The villains must be human or human in appearance. Also, individuals that are the central protagonists/antiheroes of their respective films were excluded.
Brad Dourif as The Gemini Killer in The Exorcist III (William Peter Blatty, 1990): Veteran actor Dourif is intense and unforgettable as an executed murderer inhabiting someone else’s body in...
- 8/11/2013
- by Terek Puckett
- SoundOnSight
Diamonds are Forever
Directed by Guy Hamilton
Screenplay by Richard Maibaum & Tom Mankiewicz
UK, 1971
Following up On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, widely considered by most fans to be the best Bond incarnation pre-reboot, here the series takes a step back to recast the iconic Sean Connery in the role of mischievous misogynist Jimmy B, and promptly trips over itself in a strangely crass and dull outing. Replacing the wooden George Lazenby with the series’ original super spy proves to be mere consolation rather than icing on the cake bomb.
Diamonds are Forever surprisingly starts with direct continuity, with Bond leading a ruthless and fisticuffs laden hunt across the world for wife killer Ernst Stavros Blofelt (played here by Charles Gray). He eventually tracks down the evil mastermind and gives him a searing exit to proceedings, or so it seems. Getting back to the small matter of his day job...
Directed by Guy Hamilton
Screenplay by Richard Maibaum & Tom Mankiewicz
UK, 1971
Following up On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, widely considered by most fans to be the best Bond incarnation pre-reboot, here the series takes a step back to recast the iconic Sean Connery in the role of mischievous misogynist Jimmy B, and promptly trips over itself in a strangely crass and dull outing. Replacing the wooden George Lazenby with the series’ original super spy proves to be mere consolation rather than icing on the cake bomb.
Diamonds are Forever surprisingly starts with direct continuity, with Bond leading a ruthless and fisticuffs laden hunt across the world for wife killer Ernst Stavros Blofelt (played here by Charles Gray). He eventually tracks down the evil mastermind and gives him a searing exit to proceedings, or so it seems. Getting back to the small matter of his day job...
- 11/9/2012
- by Scott Patterson
- SoundOnSight
James Bond 007 Declassified File #7: "Diamonds Are Forever" This series will trace the cinema history of James Bond, while also examining Ian Fleming's original novels as source material and examining how faithful (or not) the films have been to his work. Directed by Guy Hamilton Screenplay by Richard Maibuam and Tom Makiewicz Produced by Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli Characters / Cast James Bond / Sean Connery Tiffany Case / Jill St. John Ernst Stavro Blofeld / Charles Gray Plenty O'Toole / Lana Wood Willard Whyte / Jimmy Dean Saxby / Bruce Cabot Mr. Kidd / Putter Smith Mr....
- 6/25/2012
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
To mark the 50th Anniversary of one of the most successful movie franchises of all time and as James Bond prepares for his 23rd official outing in Skyfall later this year, I have been tasked with taking a retrospective look at the films that turned author Ian Fleming’s creation into one of the most recognised and iconic characters in film history.
Following the departure of George Lazenby after just one film in the lead role, producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were left wondering if the success and popularity of the series so far had been down to just one man, Sean Connery. While Lazenby had made a good impression as Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service his performance was essentially a reinterpretation of Connery rather than a reinvention of the role itself. With the producers keen to cast a new lead they set to work auditioning actors for the part,...
Following the departure of George Lazenby after just one film in the lead role, producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman were left wondering if the success and popularity of the series so far had been down to just one man, Sean Connery. While Lazenby had made a good impression as Bond in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service his performance was essentially a reinterpretation of Connery rather than a reinvention of the role itself. With the producers keen to cast a new lead they set to work auditioning actors for the part,...
- 2/15/2012
- by Chris Wright
- Obsessed with Film
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