You Only Live Twice (1967)

Secret Agent James Bond and the Japanese Secret Service must find and stop the true culprit of a series of space hijackings, before war is provoked between Russia and the United States.

Director:

Lewis Gilbert

Writers:

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

Stars:

Sean Connery, Akiko Wakabayashi, Mie Hama

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

During the height of the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union lose one spacecraft each after they are both seemingly swallowed whole by a second unidentified spacecraft. The two superpowers are quick to blame one another for the disappearances, causing tensions to skyrocket. The United Kingdom has an alternate theory regarding the disappearances however, a theory involving Japan, and sends their number one spy, James Bond, to investigate there. With the help of the Japanese Secret Service, he uncovers a plot far more sinister than anyone could have ever imagined.

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Plot Keywords:

cleavage | faked death | chinawoman | premarital sex | bangs | 

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Taglines:

Welcome to Japan, Mr. Bond

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Official Sites:

MGM [United States]

Country:

UK

Language:

English Japanese Russian

Release Date:

13 June 1967 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ian Fleming's You Only Live Twice

Filming Locations:

Nakano Shimbashi station, Marunouchi Line, Nakano-ku, Tokyo, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$9,500,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$43,084,787

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$43,084,787

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The 2002 James Bond novel "The Man With The Red Tattoo" written by Raymond Benson is also set in Japan. Benson also wrote a direct sequel to the Ian Fleming "You Only Live Twice" novel titled "Blast From The Past". It's a short story which was first published in January 1997 in Playboy Magazine. This story was cut by about a third, and the uncut version was released for the first time in October 2008 in Pegasus Books' Benson omnibus "The Union Trilogy".

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Goofs

While rolling the SPECTRE rocket on to the platform only one of the visible wheels under the platform spins correctly. One of the four wheels doesn't spin at all. The left wheel spins in the wrong direction.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

THE END of YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE but James Bond will be back ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE

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Alternate Versions

The recent airing of "You Only Live Twice" during the Bond Picture Show on ABC, featured some differences. The opening song by Nancy Sinatra was altered to have the song sound like it is going a little faster. New opening credit graphic titles were created in the Lydian Font. (The original theatrical prints featured them in the Flare Gothic font.) The arrangement of the credits remained the same. Maurice Binder's original opening background designs were unaltered.

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Connections

Referenced in Errors in Geography: Geodesy - Irpen Inspires 2B Creative (2016)

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Soundtracks

You Only Live Twice
Music by John Barry
Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse
Performed by Nancy Sinatra

User Reviews

Old school Bond, but still one of the most fun Bond movies.

My Take: Another fun Bond entry. Great Bond, fun villains, neat gadgets, and enjoyable action.

"You Only Live Twice" is business as usual for Bond. Not much new, and Connery seemed bored playing his role (explaining his disappearance in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"). There is a lot to like in this film. Connery in "You Only Live Twice" is easily comparable to FROM Russia WITH LOVE and GOLDFINGER, but as Bond, he already has established that he is the best in the business and YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE does give him much to do.

This film does carry the original tradition of Bond. This time around, Bond is sent to Japan to investigate the disappearances of American space shuttles. While the United States suspect it's Russian interference and threaten to retaliate, the Brits faked 007's assassination, in order to clear the way for Bond to investigate what really is going on.

Some areas of YOLT are pretty campy (some of the patterns for the AUSTIN POWERS parodies are pretty evident), but the camp is part of the fun. It's a throwback to the good ol' not-to-be-taken-seriously adventure espionage fun. This is formula Bond, but loaded with great action, neat gadgetry ("Little Nellie" is one of the most beloved Q gadgets) and the glorious sets by the one-and-only Bond veteran Ken Adam make it another high-flying, if not exactly groundbreaking, Bond adventure and one of he series' more fun entries.

Rating: **** out of 5.