Rough Diamond
by Paul Harrison
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: David Jason, Des McAleer, Gary Whelan, Paul Bown, Stephen WightDirector: Paul Harrison
Brand: Acorn
Producer: David Jason
Cinematographer: Peter Jackson
Editor: David Aspinall
Producer: David Reynolds
Producer: Peter Richardson
Writer: Caleb Ranson
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 297 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-02-26
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Acorn Media
Movie Reviews of Rough Diamond
Movie Review: A rough diamond, some old gold, and a dash of skullduggery, all garnished with incredible planning, timing and execution.
Summary: 5 Stars
Rough Diamond is an English television series that revolves around the adventures and misadventures of an aging but still brilliant mastermind thief. The series opens as a new crop of guests is being delivered on their first day of an all-expenses paid sojourn as a guest of Her Majesty's Government, to HM Prison, Barton.
Phil (Stephen Wight), one of the prisoners, is young and naïve, an habitual penny-ante thief, who's trying to ingratiate himself among the prison population, inmates and guards alike. What the inmates and staff see is Phil's lack of street sense. Des (David Jason) appears to be somewhat handicapped, a "tea boy" who is making his rounds with the tea he's preparing for the staff of the prison. Tea Boy is seen by all as too slow to do much more than that; one guard calls him the "Stephen Hawking of brewing up."
Des wears an ever-present, cowardly, vacant smile, with equally vacant eyes behind thick glasses. He limps, stammers and stutters. He, too, seems to nurture getting along with staff and prisoners alike, except his appears to be a basic survival skill. Another apparent survival skill he seems to have learned is currying favor with the guards, an example of which we see when he suggests to one of the guards that he should search the cell of the new kid, Phil. Turns out what they find is a key that Des has planted for them.
The search of Phil's cell takes place as the rest of the prison population is gathered to watch a boxing match set up by Benny (Gary Whelan), one of the prisoners and the de facto prison boss. Benny has duped Phil into being there with the promise of a job for him; in actuality Phil is to be Benny's punching bag. As he prepares for the fight, the trainer whispers to Phil that he doesn't have to do this. Phil asks what his options are. The trainer, another inmate, tells Phil he can either be a punching bag for Benny, or he'll be "a punch bag for the entire prison, then given over to the 'sausage jockeys,'" already leering in anticipation. Dim or not, Phil immediately grasps the wisdom of being Benny's punching bag.
Afterwards, for the incident with the key, the warden sends Phil to solitary, a situation which Des engineers to get shortened. He also suggests, without actually suggesting it, that perhaps Phil being bunked with a more compliant, less troublesome prisoner might change his attitude. Des is visibly horrified when the warden says that it's a good idea, and assigns Phil as Des's bunkmate.
After a short time, Phil begins to suspect that there's more to Des than what appears. We learn that Phil being assigned to Des's cell is what Des had been hoping to effect all along. We also watch Phil show off his math skills when he learns that Des is planning a heist. In exchange for Phil's silence, Des offers Phil 20% of the million pounds he expects to net from the heist. Phil exclaims, "That's over thirty grand! Twenty percent of a million quid is over thirty grand!" Des's response? "This isn't going to work." Once the nature of the heist comes out, we begin to see where Des's fly on the wall character is a well-plotted, well-executed act; nobody notices him, and everybody spills their secrets around him, believing him incapable of doing anything with their secrets, or possibly even understanding them.
David Jason goes on throughout the series to portray a number of other characters, each as different as night from the day of his Des character, each seemingly better than the last. His mannerisms, speech, attitude, even the way he walks are completely in character for what the character he's portraying at the moment would do. Each of the roles he seamlessly and naturally slips into, as if it were something he's done all his life.
Stephen Wight expands and changes Phil's character as well, and instead of the shallow, stupid, bumbling idiot we see at the beginning, he begins to show depth and abilities we hadn't guessed at previously.
The execution of the heist demonstrates the brilliance of Des's plan. It's only after they're nearly caught inside the house that Phil discovers the house belongs to none other than Benny, the prison boss, and it's Benny's diamonds from the heist he's now serving time for that they're stealing. Just when Phil thinks they can't possibly be in straits any more dire, he learns that the pair are now going to break back into the prison! The perfect cover, Des casually explains.
The pair missed their planned method back into prison and have to improvise. Des says Plan B will be to get a ride in the trunk of the warden's car. Phil balks, they argue, with Des trying to coax Phil into the trunk. Phil says, "Give me one good reason!" Des, visibly agitated, says, "Because I'm your father!" which stuns Phil.
The resolution to all of this concludes the first part, which is the pilot for the series. There are three more complete stories in the set, all three every bit as good and intricately, brilliantly written and acted as the first.
The next story is a continuation of the first and is called "A Royal Affair." It begins in the south of France, along the Riviera, with Des and Phil living the high life. It doesn't take long for things to begin falling apart. British law enforcement are putting the squeeze on them, freezing their bank accounts. Then Phil gets charged with murder and is offered a deal: Pull a job for the British government and all their problems will vanish.
I won't tell you any more about these next three stories, leaving it up to you to search out this very worthwhile series. There are some fine, outstanding guest stars in these later stories including Jenny Agutter, a longtime British actress in TV and movies, probably most known by American audiences for her role in the cult classic, An American Werewolf in London. Although part comedy and part horror, it won the 1981 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film.
This series is noted for is its seemingly simple, yet intricate, complicated, and convoluted plots that fool viewers right up to the end. Most viewers miss the clues given and end up completely off the mark of what's happened until the final few scenes. The plots are worthy of better known directors and writers, and the acting is worthy of Emmys on this side of the Atlantic.
The remaining plots bring in stolen gold bullion, a diamond heist from Buckingham Palace, and "a shadowy world of sleeper cells, agency (KGB & CIA) rivalries, and personal vendettas." The final episode is one of corporate greed overcome by criminal benevolence, which in turn is overcome by criminal duplicity. All of this is accomplished with equal measures of guile, plots, counterplots, and subterfuge, all mixed with dollops of humor and healthy servings of downright hilarity.
There was a good symbiosis, perhaps even a synergy at work in the first two episodes that seemed to be missing in the second disc. Had I seen the second disc first, I'm sure I would not have even noticed, but after seeing David Jason and Steven Wight together in the beginning episodes, I found myself wishing for Wight's return. This was offset to a great degree, however, by guest stars Don Warrington and Simon Williams in the final episode. Some viewers may recall Warrington from Rising Damp, which I've reviewed previously.
Extras include interviews with David Jason, Jenny Agutter, Don Warrington, and Simon Williams. Other extras are a scene and chapter index, and complete cast filmographies.
Summary of Rough Diamond
LONDON'S MOST LOVABLE MASTER THIEF MAKES LIGHT WORK OF HIGH CRIMES"A PROPER GEM" ?Daily Express (U.K.)
Aging criminal mastermind Des simply won?t go gentle into that good night. Donning all manner of disguises, he can fool the authorities?and his marks?into thinking he?s just another harmless old geezer. Behind his spectacles, though, Des always has his eye out for the next big score in diamonds, gold, or piles of cold cash. His intricately planned heists prove so daring and so outrageous that he always gets his target. And as for Des?s victims?well, they get what they deserve.
Rough Diamond showcases the talents of renowned British actor Sir David Jason (A Touch of Frost, Only Fools and Horses, Porterhouse Blue). Whether masquerading as a gimpy prison inmate, a button-down umbrella magnate, or a bookish security consultant, Jason imbues Des with irresistible charm and deliciously sly wit. These quirky capers will keep you guessing and chuckling right up to end, when Des always has the last laugh.
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE text interviews with cast members and cast filmographies.
Broadcast in the UK as Diamond Geezer
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