James Bond 007 - Diamond Fever
James Bond 007 - Diamonds Are Forever (Original title: Diamonds Are Forever ) is the seventh film from Eon Productions Ltd. produced the James Bond series. The plot is based on the 1956 novel of the same name by Ian Fleming . Directed by Guy Hamilton . The film had its German premiere on December 14, 1971 in the Mathäser Palast .
action
At the beginning of the plot, Bond is once again looking for Ernst Stavro Blofeld , the boss of the criminal organization SPECTER , on whom he also wants to get revenge for the death of his wife Tracy (see James Bond 007 - On Her Majesty's Secret Service ). Bond tracks down a laboratory of Blofeld in which this on surgical way Doppelgänger creates of himself. Bond succeeds in killing a future doppelganger and another he mistakenly believes to be the real Blofeld .
After MI6 finally closed the Bedlam case (code name for the elimination of Blofeld) because of his alleged death, Bond is tasked with a new case: Large quantities of South African diamonds are stolen, but do not appear anywhere on the international diamond market. The UK government suspects that they are being hoarded and possibly - suddenly thrown on the market - could cause prices to fall. In the meantime, the two homosexual contract killers Mr. Wint & Mr. Kidd want to systematically murder all people who had contact with the diamonds smuggled from South Africa and who therefore come into question as confidants.
Disguised with the identity of the diamond smuggler Peter Franks arrested in Great Britain, Bond first travels to Amsterdam to infiltrate the smuggler's ring and find out who is hoarding the diamonds. There he meets the smuggler Tiffany Case, who is initially part of the ring. Since Case holds Bond for Peter Franks, she hands him the diamonds for onward transport to the USA. Suddenly, however, the real Frank appears, who managed to escape from the British authorities. In the elevator, Bond kills Franks and gives him the identity of "Bond" through his own wallet, which gives him the opportunity to impersonate "Franks" to gang members. Bond, alias Franks, himself now transports the diamonds that he hid in Franks' corpse via Los Angeles to their destination Las Vegas , with his old friend, CIA agent Felix Leiter, helping him with the importation into the USA .
On the way to Las Vegas, Bond now falls into the clutches of the duo Mr. Wint & Mr. Kidd . Bond (still as "Peter Franks") is supposed to pass the diamonds on to the next link in the chain in a crematorium in the Mojave Desert and receive his smugglers' wages in return. After the handover, however, Bond is knocked unconscious, put in a coffin and driven into the oven. When he wakes up, he realizes how hot it is around him. Fortunately for Bond, MI6 had exchanged the smuggled diamonds for fake diamonds. Since this is noticeable, "Peter Franks" is pushed out of the oven again. When asked where the real diamonds are, Bond counters the question where the real money is and continues undauntedly to Las Vegas. There, Bond reveals that diamond smuggling is only part of a much larger plot of the still-living Blofeld . He needs the diamonds to be processed with the help of the laser expert Dr. Metz a laser - Satellite to build. To do this, he makes use of the identity and the company of the reclusive billionaire Willard Whyte (an allusion to Howard Hughes ), whom he holds captive and imitates with a voice modulator. Bond invades Willard Whyte's research laboratory in the Las Vegas desert where Dr. Metz is busy completing the satellite. Bond is discovered there, but is able to escape the facility using a moon buggy .
To startle the world powers, Blofeld uses the now completed satellite to destroy a nuclear missile in the USA , a nuclear submarine from the Soviet Union and missiles from the People's Republic of China under the pretext of global disarmament. Using the laser weapon, he blackmailed the nuclear powers . Nuclear supremacy is to be sold to the highest bidder in an international auction . In the end, Bond succeeds in destroying the base on a disused oil platform from which Blofeld controls the satellite, and in saving the world. After killing another double in Las Vegas, he kills the supposedly real Blofeld by hurling his mini-submarine against the platform. The plot ends with Wint and Kidd trying to get revenge on Bond and Tiffany, the only victims who escaped their assassinations. However, Bond and Tiffany succeed in rendering them harmless.
production
script
During the production of On Her Majesty's Secret Service , the producers decided that the next James Bond film would be based on Fleming's book Diamond Fever . Richard Maibaum developed a script that bore little resemblance to the novel. The first draft was about Auric Goldfinger's twin brother, who wants to achieve world domination with the help of a laser cannon mounted on a supertanker . However, Gert Fröbe was not interested in taking on the film role intended for him.
Maibaum wrote a second draft, this time containing Blofeld as Bond's adversary, and the supertanker was replaced by a satellite, which is also equipped with a laser cannon. The idea of the supertanker was later used in the movie The Spy Who Loved Me . During the creation process, Albert R. Broccoli had a dream in which he visits his former employer Howard Hughes and finds that a scammer has taken his place. He told Maibaum about it and he took the idea into the script in the form that Blofeld in Las Vegas poses as the billionaire Willard Whyte.
Those in charge were not completely satisfied with the script and the Vice President of United Artists, Danny Reisner, suggested that a second writer rework it. Since Diamond Fever was supposed to be set in Las Vegas, Broccoli wanted a young American to write. UA's David Picker suggested Tom Mankiewicz, who actually started work in the fall of 1970. He is responsible for the scenes in which Blofeld tries to confuse Bond with his doppelgangers and the introductory scene in which Bond is looking for Blofeld to take revenge for his wife's death. Mankiewicz completed the final script in January 1971. In the film, Mankiewicz and Richard Maibaum are named together as scriptwriters.
occupation
Title role
In Her Majesty's Secret Service , George Lazenby played James Bond. But, depending on the sources, he was either not ready to return to the role or was excluded from the start by Broccoli and Saltzman.
The producers began looking for a new lead actor and were considering Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton , among others . They found what they were looking for in the American actor John Gavin , who signed a contract to this effect on January 29, 1971. At United Artists, however, they wanted Sean Connery again as Bond and tried to get him to return. But Connery stood firm, and United Artists President David Picker eventually went to London in person to make a record-breaking offer. Connery was offered $ 1.25 million along with a 12.5% stake in box office earnings, and he would be funded two films of his choice to act or direct. Ultimately, he agreed on the condition that he would receive an additional $ 10,000 for each week beyond the scheduled shooting time. Connery thus became the highest paid actor up to that point, but donated at least the fixed amount to a fund he co-founded to support Scottish artists. The sum spent on Connery's return was completely taken over by United Artists, so Broccoli and Saltzman basically got the star for free. Gavin's contract was canceled, but Broccoli insisted that he be paid his full salary.
Other roles
The figure of the super-rich entrepreneur Willard Whyte is modeled on the industrialist Howard Hughes . It was played by country musician Jimmy Dean. Jill St. John auditioned for the role of Plenty O'Toole. She appeared so convincing that she was cast for the much more extensive role of Tiffany Case. Raquel Welch , Jane Fonda and Faye Dunaway also came into consideration for the role of Plenty O'Toole, and she was ultimately played by Lana Wood, the younger sister of Natalie Wood . Bruce Glover and the jazz musician Putter Smith were cast in the roles of the homosexual killers Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd. Blofeld was played by Charles Gray, who appeared twice as Henderson, Bond's contact in Japan, in You Only Live. As usual, Desmond Llewelyn as Q, Lois Maxwell as Moneypenny and Bernard Lee as M were seen again.
Filming
Filming took place from April 5, 1971 to September 7, 1971.
Coincidentally, there was also a collaboration with Howard Hughes, who despite his seclusion was benevolent towards the producers. Broccoli describes in his memoir that Hughes made it possible through personal intervention that the team was allowed to shoot in the elevator of one of his hotels after the hotel manager had previously prohibited it.
Locations
The film was shot in the following countries:
- Great Britain
- Germany
-
Netherlands
- Rembrandtplein , Amsterdam
- Reguliersgracht, Amsterdam
- Amstelkanaal , Amsterdam
-
France
- Hotel Cap d'Antibes Eden Roc
-
United States
- Hotel Tropicana , Las Vegas
- Riviera Hotel and Casino , Las Vegas
- Circus Circus , Las Vegas
- Las Vegas Hilton , Las Vegas
- John's Manville Gypsum Plant, Las Vegas
- Henderson: Dep. of Cultural Arts and Tourism, Las Vegas
- Nevada desert
- Los Angeles International Airport , Los Angeles
- Paramount Studios Hollywood , Los Angeles
- Palm Springs
- The Elrod House , 2175 Southridge Dr, Palm Springs
- Oil rig off the coast
- Vandenberg Airforce Base
Gadgets
- Metallic finger trap disguised as a wallet. Snaps at the beginning of the film when Blofeld's guards search Bond
- Mustang Mach 1 - The Car by Bond -Girl Tiffany Case
- Wrong Fingerprint - Bond uses a fake fingerprint on his thumb and convinces Tiffany Case that he is Peter Franks .
- Moon vehicle - Bond escapes from a Willard Whyte facility
- A bed that consists only of aquariums .
- Voice modulator - for imitating foreign voices. Used by Blofeld used to Willard Whyte to accept identity because it showed little publicly. Q makes a similar device for Bond to deceive Blofeld. Q apparently built this for his kids for Christmas!
- Slot machine ring ("electromagnetic RPM control") - Q uses a magnetic finger ring that triggers the jackpot on one-armed bandits at any time by stopping the rotation of the cylinders at the required moment.
- Wall hook pistol with climbing rope - Bond uses it to climb the penthouse on the Whyte House .
- Rescue ball - Bond lands in the rescue ball hanging on a parachute on the sea in front of the oil rig and “wanders” in the ball on the sea to the oil rig
- Mini submarine - Blofeld tries to escape with it.
- an ice bomb in the literal sense of the word - "bomb surprise"
Film music
The score was composed by John Barry. The theme song Diamonds Are Forever , composed by Barry and texted by Don Black , was interpreted by Shirley Bassey , who had already sung the theme song for Goldfinger . The single peaked at number 38 on the UK charts.
Tanja Berg sang a German version of the theme song in 1972 under the title Diamonds are forever .
The soundtrack was first released on LP by United Artists Records in 1971 and reached number 74 in 1972, its highest ranking in the US album charts . In 1988 EMI released the first CD pressing. After the 40th James Bond anniversary, a new revised version was released by Capitol Records in 2003. The Extended Version contains extended pieces of music from the original soundtrack, which were cut due to the limited capacity of the LP.
|
synchronization
role | actor | Voice actor |
---|---|---|
James Bond | Sean Connery | Gert Günther Hoffmann |
Tiffany Case | Jill St. John | Renate Küster |
Ernst Stavro Blofeld | Charles Gray | Martin Hirthe |
Plenty O'Toole | Lana Wood | Almut Eggert |
Willard Whyte | Jimmy Dean | Norbert Langer |
Albert R. "Bert" Saxby | Bruce Cabot | Edgar Ott |
Mr. Kidd | Putter Smith | Horst Gentzen |
Mr. Wint | Bruce Glover | Jürgen Thormann |
Felix Head | Norman Burton | Joachim Nottke |
Dr. Metz | Joseph Prince | Klaus Miedel |
M. | Bernard Lee | Konrad Wagner |
Q | Desmond Llewelyn | Ernst Wilhelm Borchert |
Shady Tree | Leonard Barr | Hugo Schrader |
Miss Moneypenny | Lois Maxwell | Inge Estate |
Peter Franks | Joe Robinson | Klaus Sunshine |
doctor | David de Keyser | Heinz Theo branding |
Sir Donald Munger | Laurence Naismith | Friedrich Schoenfelder |
Morton Slumber | David Bauer | Peter Schiff |
Klaus Hergesheimer | Ed Bishop | Christian Rode |
knocker | Trina Parks | Beate Hasenau |
Dubbing company: Ultra Film Synchron , Berlin
The name of the character shown by Lana Wood Plenty O'Toole is Penny O'Toole in the German version.
premiere
The first performance of Diamond Fever took place on December 14, 1971 in the Federal Republic of Germany. The film opened in theaters on December 17, 1971 in the United States and on December 30, 1971 in the United Kingdom.
The film ran for the first time on German television on May 3, 1987 at 20:20 on ARD.
Aftermath
Financial success
The budget was an estimated $ 7.2 million. The film was a huge commercial hit, grossing about $ 43.8 million in the United States alone. The worldwide box office is estimated at 116 million US dollars.
Contemporary criticism
Roger Ebert wrote that diamond fever is “great at the things you watch a James Bond film for.” Although the plot is “as complicated as possible,” according to Ebert, the maxim applies to a Bond film, “ the less time is wasted on action, the better. "
Later evaluation
In retrospect, the film is regarded as an at best average contribution to the James Bond series. This is also reflected in the comments and rankings in the years after its publication.
Raymond Benson wrote in his 1984 standard work, The James Bond Bedside Companion, that diamond fever was "undoubtedly entertaining," but "[t] he greatest strength of the film [...] is Sean Connery's return as James Bond."
Entertainment Weekly magazine ranked James Bond films in 2006, 35 years after the film was released, ranking Diamond Fever 12th out of 21 films.
Five years later, visitors to the James Bond fan site MI6-HQ.com voted for the best Bond films, with Diamond Fever coming in 19th and fourth from bottom.
In 2012, the Bond films were rated by the readers of 007 Magazine . Diamond Fever took 18th out of 24 places. In a likewise 2012 published list of Rolling Stone takes Diamantenfieber Place 18 of 24 James Bond films one. In the 2012 Stern special issue 50 Years of James Bond , the film was rated 3 out of 5 stars (“solid”). In the same year, Diamond Fever was named by Time Out magazine as the eighth best Bond film.
Awards
Gordon K. McCallum, John W. Mitchell and Al Overton were nominated for an Oscar in 1972 for Best Sound .
In 1973 the film was awarded the Golden Screen by the Hauptverband Deutscher Filmtheater eV (HDF) and the specialist magazine Filmecho / Filmwoche .
Adaptations
radio play
The label Europa released the revised soundtrack of the film as a radio play on music cassette. The narrator that does not exist in the film is spoken by Norbert Langer .
Audio film
The German-language audio film version for television broadcasts was produced in 2004 by Bayerischer Rundfunk . The speaker is Christian Baumann .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Production Notes at mi6-hq.com (English), accessed on November 4, 2012
- ^ A b c Steve Rubin, Siegfried Tesche: The background story to 25 years of Bond Kino Verlag, Hamburg 1987, ISBN 3-89324-026-8 , pp. 98–99.
- ↑ a b James Bond cast on einestages.spiegel.de , accessed on November 5, 2012
- ↑ a b c d Documentation Inside Diamonds Are Forever on the purchase DVD James Bond 007 - Diamantenfieber (Ultimate Edition), MGM, 2006
- ↑ a b Box office / business for James Bond 007 - Diamond Fever. Retrieved May 6, 2013 .
- ^ Siegfried Tescher: The great James Bond atlas. Wissen Media Verlag, Gütersloh / Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-577-07305-9
- ^ Matthew Newton: Diamonds Are Forever. In: http://www.mjnewton.demon.co.uk/ . Retrieved May 6, 2013 .
- ↑ hitparade.ch
- ↑ 'Skyfall' Soundtrack: Highest-Charting Bond Album in 27 Years . In: billboard.com , accessed March 22, 2013. (English)
- ↑ German synchronous files
- ↑ Release dates for James Bond 007 - Diamond Fever. Retrieved May 6, 2013 .
- ↑ YEAR 1980–2000. Retrieved February 18, 2018 .
- ^ Roger Ebert : Diamonds Are Forever. In: rogerebert.com. December 1, 1971, accessed May 31, 2013 .
- ^ Raymond Benson: The James Bond Bedside Companion (Kindle Edition), Crossroad Press, 2012.
- ↑ Countdown: Ranking the Bond Films on ew.com (English), accessed on December 26, 2012.
- ↑ Best Bond Film Results. from: mi6-hq.com , accessed December 26, 2012.
- ↑ 007 MAGAZINE readers vote On Her Majesty's Secret Service as greatest ever Bond film! at: 007magazine.co.uk , accessed December 26, 2012.
- ↑ James Bond's Best and Worst: Peter Travers Ranks All 24 Movies at rollingstone.com (English), accessed December 22, 2012
- ↑ A direct hit and a blowout: all Bond missions in maneuver criticism In: Stern-Edition 2/2012 50 years of James Bond , pp. 64–71.
- ↑ The best and worst James Bond movies: a ranked list on timeout.com , accessed March 8, 2013.
- ↑ Diamond fever. James Bond radio plays. In: jamesbondfilme.de. Retrieved May 25, 2013 .
- ↑ James Bond 007 - Diamond Fever in the Hörfilm database of Hörfilm e. V.
Web links
- James Bond 007 - Diamonds Are Forever in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- James Bond 007 - Diamonds Are Forever at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- James Bond 007 - Diamond Fever at Metacritic (English)
- James Bond 007 - Diamond Fever in the online movie database
- James Bond 007 - Diamond fever in the German dubbing file
- MGM's official Diamonds are forever website