Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Diamonds Are Forever (1971), directed by Guy Hamilton.

James Bond pursues a diamond stockpiling ring from Amsterdam to Las Vegas and discovers archenemy Blofeld collecting them for a death ray satellite.

It's a shockingly weak plot: limp, dull, trivial and incoherent. Said to be a victim of too many last minute rewrites. It picks up a bit in the middle with Las Vegas car chases, but lapses back into tedium. The Odd Couple assassins (Mr Wint and Mr Kidd) are just awful.

I've always liked Jill St John. She has more brains and grit than many Bond Girls. In the first series self-reference I remember, when 007 switches ids with a thug he's just killed, she exclaims: "You've just killed James Bond!".

Bond #7 is Sean Connery's sixth: he skipped On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969). They pulled him back with vast piles of money and promises to support non-Bond films. He said he enjoyed doing Bond but disliked the time required and excessive hoopla. This was his last until Never Say Never Again (1983) twelve years later.

John Barry score.

Available on Blu-ray.