Tonight – our first Bond film debuting a Shirley Bassey theme song (and the second Welsh artist to do a Bond theme out of seven so far)!
Now, my Bond is rusty on this film. If I remember, it is pretty misogynistic and extra homophobic, even for Bond – notably with the handling, so to speak, of Bond girl Plenty O’Toole as well as the two gay assassins Mr. Wint and Mr. Kidd. I will say, apparently the early 70s was all about good cleavage – both Toole and Tiffany Case (played by Jill St. John) provide us with acres of that soothing, mammalian goodness.
This is also the second-to-last Bond film to star Connery, so if you like his tiny inseams and louche panache you need to join us! You can follow our commentary at #BondBFFs on awesometi.me; better yet, get your copy of Diamonds Are Forever*, pause the film immediately after the MGM lion fades, and press play again at exactly 6 PM PST according to this site’s clock.
* (My advice? Buy a legal version, and download/torrent it to put the file on the computer through VLC or some such, so streaming internet doesn’t make viewing stutter.)
Don’t forget about Jimmy Dean’s cameo appearance as Willard Whyte and the infamous Bambi and Thumper, who somehow fight Bond in a wrestling/martial arts style while wearing what appear to be Barbarella-esque outfits. And then there’s the part where Bond wakes up in the coffin, about to be cremated.
BTW -if you don’t own a copy of “The Man with the Golden Gun”, I have an extra one that you can have (assuming you’d like it). I bought it and didn’t realize that it was one of the ones we already had; I don’t have the receipt so I can’t return it.
I’ve been watching the documentary on the Bond franchise, Everything or Nothing…, on the Netflix instant device. It’s pretty interesting, if you haven’t seen it yet.
@Jen
I’d take a copy of “The Man with the Golden Gun”. You know, I’ve never seen it! Bambi & Thumper, along with Mr. Wint & Mr. Kidd, the only duo-henchmen in the Bond franchise so far.
@Dan
My mom just watched that documentary. I am trying to decide if I should watch it now, or after we finish the Bond canon. Thank you for the recommendation!