Diamonds Are Forever

(Guy Hamilton, UK/US, 120 min., 35mm)

Having temporarily retired from the role after You Only Live Twice, Sean Connery returns for the sixth and final time as James Bond 007. The intervening film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, took a different, more dramatic approach to Bond. With Connery’s return, producers returned the series to the trajectory set by You Only Live Twice, and Diamonds Are Forever represents Bond at its height of self-parody and camp. Following a trail of stolen diamonds, 007 is brought face-to-face with an old rival for a final showdown with the fate of the world on the line. When Connery would finally hang up the Walther PPK for good after this film, the action movie genre would never be the same.