You Only Live Twice (1967)

Director:

Lewis Gilbert

Writers:

Harold Jack Bloom (additional story material)
Roald Dahl (screenplay)

Release Date:

13 June 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

Welcome to Japan, Mr. Bond

Plot:

Agent 007 and the Japanese secret service ninja force must find and stop the true culprit of a series of spacejackings before nuclear war is provoked.

Plot Keywords:

Space | Rocket | James Bond | Japan | Japanese

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Sean Connery	...	James Bond
Akiko Wakabayashi	...	Aki
Mie Hama	...	Kissy Suzuki
Tetsurô Tanba	...	Tiger Tanaka (as Tetsuro Tanba)
Teru Shimada	...	Mr. Osato
Karin Dor	...	Helga Brandt
Donald Pleasence	...	Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Bernard Lee	...	M
Lois Maxwell	...	Miss Moneypenny
Desmond Llewelyn	...	Q
Charles Gray	...	Dikko Henderson
Tsai Chin	...	Ling, Chinese Girl in Hong Kong
Peter Fanene Maivia	...	Car Driver
Burt Kwouk	...	Spectre 3
Michael Chow	...	Spectre 4

Also Known As:

Ian Fleming's You Only Live Twice (UK) (complete title) (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

117 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Japanese | Russian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Ireland:PG | Iceland:12 | West Germany:12 (re-rating) | West Germany:16 | South Korea:15 | Brazil:14 | UK:PG (tv rating) | Australia:M (TV rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1987) | USA:Approved (original rating) | USA:GP (re-rating) (1970) | USA:PG (re-rating) (1994)

Filming Locations:

Akime Village Environs, Akime, Kagoshima, Japan

Company:

Eon Productions

Trivia:

While in Japan, Sean Connery and his wife Diane Cilento were hounded by the international press. During news conferences the press insisted on referring to Connery as James Bond. Local newsmen attempted to photograph him in a rest room. Thirty extra private security guards were hired to combat the excess noise and hindrance but even the guards started to take photos. Connery was allegedly photographed on a toilet and the picture published in a Tokyo newspaper. Halfway through filming, Connery announced he would not be returning as James Bond. To ease the tension the producers removed his contractual obligation to do one more 007 movie, despite being offered $1 million. After the film wrapped, Connery was reportedly asked whether he found Japanese women attractive to which he allegedly replied, "No," causing many Japanese to call him bad names. This faux pas turned out to be based on a mistranslation on a day when Connery was exhausted after an intensive day's filming. Connery didn't go out of his way to be too personable with the interviewer who was aghast that the actor showed up in a casual T-shirt with baggy trousers and sandals. "Is this how James Bond dresses?" he asked, to which Connery replied tersely "I'm not James Bond, I'm Sean Connery, a man who likes to dress comfortably."

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Bond is struggling to pull the Meyers 200A plane out of the dive we see two shots of an air speed indicator. In the first instance this should be going up as the plane power dives (engine is running) and Bond hasn't quite got control yet.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Astronaut - 1st American Spacecraft: Calling CapCom. CapCom, this is Jupiter 16. Do you give a go for fourth orbit.
Houston CapCom: CapCom to Jupiter 16. Can you confirm O2 pressure is within limit.
Astronaut - 1st American Spacecraft: Roger. Everything looks good in the environmental control system.
Houston CapCom: Okay. Everything looks good from here. You have a go for fourth orbit.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Destroy All Humans! 2 (2006) (VG)

Soundtrack:

You Only Live Twice

Despite its flaws (There are quite a few), I still enjoyed it

My Rating: *** out of ****.

Out of all Connery's Bonds this is the one that is rather hidden. The first four films he did were most famous. Diamonds Are Forever is famous for being one of the worst Bonds and for Connery's huge salary. But You Only Live Twice is rarely mentioned. Thats too bad because it is a highly enjoyable Bond.

You only Live Twice contains exacly what Bond Fans expect: A Fast-Paced Plot, Great Action Sequences, Beautiful Girls, and some Nice Locations. All of these mix together well. This film is not without problems, but there is so much good here that make this an enjoyable Bond.

One of the weaknesses has to do with the plot. The space scenes are more than a little hokey. They always seem to stick out. Sometimes the score makes them better than they deserve to be. In Goldeneye, there was a space related weapon that seemed to work much better in that film.

Another weakness is the lack of a good villain. Donald Pleasance does an ok job as Blofeld but nothing that standsout at all. The make up makes him look more intimidating than he should be.

A minor problem has to do with the script. The script was written by Roald Dahl. For the most part, he does seem to understand Bond. But there was a one liner that was excruciatingly bad ("Just like a drop in the ocean"), what kind of a one-liner is that. Connery could not even deliver it straight which makes it stick out.

One thing that I liked in You Only Live Twice was the nice relationship that developed between Bond and Aki. It also ends on an ironic note. That was something I had not seen much in a Bond Film.

I was pleasantly surprised by You Only Live Twice. There was a bit of Japanese flavor in it that interested me. A very underrated Bond Film.