Guy Hamilton
Agente 007 - Una cascata di diamanti

While browsing online (specifically on YouTube) during these summer evenings, I happened to come across one of the old James Bond films starring Sean Connery. Watched again after many years since the last time, "007, Diamonds Are Forever" not only gave me the impression of a tired episode of the Bond saga, but it also brought back to my memory an article from half a century ago (the film was released at the end of 1971). In the interview then reported (I no longer remember which newspaper it was), the journalist, astonished, interviewed Sean Connery after he indulged in a copious feast at the table, starting with various appetizers and ending with what is known as the "ammazza caffè," not sparing himself the other courses in between, and closing in style by smoking a nice Havana cigar.

No objections to the joys of the table (at the time, good Sean was alive, fairly young, and in good health), certifying that the actor was now an integral part of the entertainment world and had become deservedly famous since the first Bond film. It was understandable to indulge in the luxuries and comforts of celebrity, good food, fine drinks, and a backdrop of beautiful women. But Connery himself was perfectly aware that a good actor shouldn't get stuck in an eternal and repetitive role that was only a source of great earnings. It was indeed appropriate to accept new roles in other films. From this, other acting choices followed for the Scot, even if it might occasionally happen to find him again in the role of secret agent 007.

For this reason, in my opinion, believing, like many, that the best Bond was the one played by Connery only partially convinces me. It's true up to and including "Thunderball," but from "You Only Live Twice," the actor himself does not appear entirely convincing in the role, as if he were there for mere commercial purposes (perhaps he too had to pay off overdue electricity and gas bills...) with his mind on other potential cinematic ventures.

In "007, Diamonds Are Forever," the initial premises would be promising since the director is Guy Hamilton, the same who directed "Goldfinger" in 1964. Except that the latter was an engaging film with a fast pace, and the same cannot really be said about the former. This time, the villain is a certain Blofeld, who also has the quirk of using perfect doubles to confuse opponents (and us spectators as well). His delusions of grandeur focus on hoarding diamonds (I won't go into the lengthy deadly routes of the precious stones from South Africa to Holland to end up in the USA...) with the aim of inflating their market price and then targeting international destabilization. For this, he sends satellites loaded with diamonds into orbit and starts hitting the missile bases of superpowers (the usual megalomaniac...). Of course, with James Bond, the world can sleep peacefully, and you can imagine what the outcome of the explosive finale will be...

Put this way, it has the air of the usual reheated Bond films (drawn from exciting action novels by Ian Fleming). There are some interesting nuances in secondary aspects, as in the case of Blofeld's pair of hitmen depicted as sadistic killers with a distinctly homosexual bent, even looking with disgusted eyes at the female beauties following Bond. Among these, in my opinion, stands out not only Jill St. John but especially Lana Wood, who flaunts clothes so tight that they highlight a pair of gigantic breasts, leading Bond to make crude and predictable double entendre jokes (only to be unexpectedly invited by her to have a drink and to proceed to physical actions...).

It is also worth noting that the secret agent is not always busy in bed with the beauties of the moment. Needing to save the world's fate, in this film, he rarely resorts to the latest technological breakthroughs and is instead engaged in wild car chases (a must in American films...) and huge brawls from which he emerges victorious.

However, in these arduous physical challenges, a glaringly visible limitation stands out: no need to have a tailor's sharp eye to notice how Sean Connery is no longer the dashing and slender actor of ten years prior, but rather overweight. Pants and jacket are too tailored, and thank goodness that cinematic fiction can make us believe in his triumphant agility over the villains in turn. And should the world really feel safe with its fate watched over by a secret agent fattened by abundant feasting and out of physical shape? Come on, let's be honest...

To be honest (maybe I'm being mischievous), when the producers of "007, Diamonds Are Forever" cast Sean Connery in the agent's role, they couldn't help but offer him a stellar fee to have him on the set. He must have been clear: yes, on the condition of being paid a king's ransom. And so, before and during the film's shooting, he must have well nourished himself, almost as if he had to face a "grand bouffe" of food and wine.

Luckily, subsequently, the new Bond became actor Roger Moore (elegant even if of television stature), and Sean Connery chose different roles in more ambitious and interesting films. But that's a whole different story...