Films
/
Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Diamonds Are Forever (1971) poster

Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

Action, Thriller • 2h

Director: Guy Hamilton

Best English-friendly & video release

Updated 5 months ago


Best audio release

MGM 1990/1993 LaserDisc

UHD tiers


About the film

Diamonds are stolen only to be sold again in the international market. James Bond infiltrates a smuggling mission to find out who's guilty. The mission takes him to Las Vegas where Bond meets his archenemy Blofeld.

Featured Lists
Alternative Titles
James Bond - Diamonds Are Forever, 07 Diamonds Are Forever

Part of James Bond 007

See more →

Director: Terence Young

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray, despite prevalent frozen grain

Best Audio:

1991 Criterion LaserDisc with end credits from 1992 MGM LaserDisc

Additional Info:

Criterion LaserDisc includes an exclusive commentary, which was later banned by EON and caused the release to be recalled.

Director: Lewis Gilbert

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Director: Guy Hamilton

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

1988 MGM VHS Hi-Fi, 1988 LaserDisc analog

Additional Info:

Criterion LaserDisc includes an exclusive commentary, which was later banned by EON and caused the release to be recalled.

Director: Terence Young

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray despite frozen grain

Best Audio:

UK mix: 1984 CBS Fox VHS Hifi but missing one scene
International mix: WB 4K Blu-ray though source origin is unknown

1995 MGM stereo remix: 1998 LaserDisc and 2000 DVD fix gunbarrel dropout

Director: Terence Young

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

WB 4K Blu-ray despite some frozen grain

Best Audio:

1992/1993 MGM LaserDisc

Additional Info:

Criterion LaserDisc includes an exclusive commentary, which was later banned by EON and caused the release to be recalled.

Director: Martin Campbell

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

MGM 4K Blu-ray

Director: Sam Mendes

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

MGM 4K Blu-ray

Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga

Best English-Friendly & Video:

US Universal 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

(for original forced subtitles font)

Additional Info:

IMAX sequences have not been released on home video to date

Directors: Val Guest & Ken Hughes & John Huston & Joseph McGrath & Robert Parrish

Best English-Friendly:

MGM Blu-ray 

Best Video:

MGM Blu-ray despite dated master

Best Audio:

Sony Columbia 1994 LaserDisc Mono

Director: Peter R. Hunt

Video format: 4K Streaming

Best English-Friendly & Video:

4K Streaming

Sources: 007homemedia.blogspot.com (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Warner Bros Blu-ray is the best Blu-ray even though it has color and major contrast issues
4K SDR master on streaming seems to be from the same scan and looks like it has less tinkering than the Blu-ray
Caps of 4K SDR master: 007 on Home Media: On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)

Best Audio:

MGM 1991 LaserDisc

More from Guy Hamilton

See more →

Director: Guy Hamilton

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best Video:

Kino Lorber US Blu-ray - Brit Noir: Collection I set

Best Audio:

Network UK PAL DVD

Audio Notes:

Both DVD and BD use the same transfer. Blu-ray is more cleaned up (hiss, clicks, pops) but loses detail in quiet moments due to noise gating and sounds less natural throughout.

Director: Guy Hamilton

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray

Director: Guy Hamilton

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray

Director: Guy Hamilton

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Australia Imprint 4K Blu-ray

Director: Guy Hamilton

4K · Excellent

More from Warner Bros

See more →

Director: Steve Gordon

Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB Blu-ray

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB 4K

Sources: YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

An undeniably significant improvement from the BD yet still severely flawed. See DFIC's review.

Best Audio:

1984 MGM Hi-Fi VHS

Director: Frank Darabont

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Video:

2021 WB 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:

2008 US Blu-ray 5.1

Audio Notes:

(the 2021 4K's 5.1 was flawed, with unnecessary bad tweaking)

Director: Sam Peckinpah

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly:

Criterion 4K Blu-ray or Germany Plaion Blu-ray or WB DVD depending on the cut.

Best Video:

First Preview (Turner): Germany Plaion Blu-ray

Second Preview (Final Preview): Germany Plaion Blu-ray

Theatrical: Criterion 4K Blu-ray

2005 Cut: WB DVD

2024 Cut: Criterion 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Directors: Ernest B. Schoedsack & Merian C. Cooper

Best English-Friendly & Video:

WB Blu-ray

Director: Orson Welles

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly:

WB 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab) · blah-ray.blogspot.com (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

WB Europe 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

WB Europe 4K Blu-ray slightly better encoding than Criterion (caveat: missing Criterion extras)

Director: Sylvester Stallone

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Bros 2024 Ultimate Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray/ Warner Bros 2023 Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray (replacement disc)

Additional Info:

All foreign language tracks were pitched too low, replacement disc and Ultimate Knockout Collection disc fixed the error. 

The Steelbook and UK standard edition are the same disc as the 2023 knockout collection. 

Director: Sylvester Stallone

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

2024 Ultimate Knockout Collection Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray Box Set 

Video Notes:

2024 Ultimate Knockout Collection Warner Bros 4K Blu-ray Box Set > 2023 Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray

2023 disc has a brief moment where the aspect ratio changes from 1.85:1 to 1.78:1, 2024 release fixed the error

Additional Info:

Both cuts of the movie are on the same disc and don’t appear to be seamlessly branched. 

The Steelbook and UK standard edition are the same disc as the 2023 knockout collection.

Director: John G. Avildsen

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Bros 2024 Ultimate Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray/ Warner Bros 2023 Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray (replacement disc)

Upcoming Release:

Capelight 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Original Mono: Ultimate Knockout Collection/Knockout Collection replacement disc

Audio Notes:

Original Mono: Ultimate Knockout Collection/Knockout Collection replacement disc > Knockout collection original.

The Mono mix on the initial release of the Knockout Collection is a stereo fold-down of the 5.1, it also has a missing piano cue. The replacement disc and the ultimate knockout version fixed the error. 

Additional Info:

The Steelbook and UK standard edition is the same disc as the 2023 knockout collection.

Director: Sylvester Stallone

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Bros 2024 Ultimate Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray/ Warner Bros 2023 Knockout Collection 4K Blu-ray (replacement disc)

Additional Info:

Original Knockout Collection release had its 5.1 mix pitched too low, replacement disc and Ultimate Knockout Collection fixed the error. 

The Steelbook and UK standard edition are the same disc as the 2023 knockout collection.

Edit history

3 edits

Researched and maintained by

M_AcaptainsoloAdamA

· last reviewed 5 months ago

Every recommendation follows the same method — how these calls are made.