On this episode of The James Bond A-Z Podcast hosts Tom Butler, Brendan Duffy, and Tom Wheatley are joined by author, journalist and film critic Xan Brooks to talk about 'Diamonds Are Forever'.

In 2012, Xan wrote a story for the Guardian in which he named Sean Connery's 1971 007 swan song as his favourite ever James Bond film, so we invited him on to tell us why.

Xan talks about his love for James Bond films, and explains why he described 'Diamonds Are Forever' as: "the Bond series' unlucky number seven: punch-drunk and paunchy, wanton and woozy."

He discusses the cinematic context in which the film was made, how Connery's age affected the film, and why he views it so lovingly.

We also explore the themes of the film, the music, its colourful characters, setting, and set pieces.

We also talk to Xan about the challenges film critics face when reviewing a cultural behemoth like Bond, and his recent time covering Venice Film Festival.

Follow Xan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/XanBrooks

Read Xan's Guardian article here: https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2012/sep/27/favourite-bond-diamonds-are-forever

James Bond will return... in next week's James Bond's A-Z Podcast.

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