You Only Live Twice (1967)

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.

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

When an American space capsule is swallowed up by what they believe to be a Russian spaceship, World War III nearly breaks out. The British Government, however, suspect that other powers are at work as the space craft went down near Japan. S.P.E.C.T.R.E. is the force behind the theft, as James Bond discovers, but its motives are far from clear, and he must first find out where the captured space capsule is held before America and Russia initiate another world war.

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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 CD soundtrack sleeve notes state that the "You Only Live Twice" song sung by Nancy Sinatra charted in the U.S. on June 24, 1967, and went to the number forty-four spot. In the U.K., it entered the charts on July 5, 1967, and peaked at number eleven. The soundtrack album debuted in the U.S. charts on July 15, 1967, where it peaked at the number twenty-seven spot.

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Goofs

Twice during the film one of the NASA technicians, reporting to Houston, calls it "HOO-ston". The correct pronunciation is "HEW-ston".

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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

Tetsuro Tanba, the Japanese actor playing Tiger Tanaka, is listed in the English language credits at "Tetsuro Tamba."

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Alternate Versions

The 1995 MGM/UA video release includes English subtitles for Japanese dialogue heard during the scene where Bond is turned into a Japanese fisherman. Some TV prints do not have these subtitles.

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Connections

Referenced in Zodiac (2007)

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Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Fun, Exotic And Stupid

While the action never ceases, which is great, and the locale is exotic, and Japan is always cool, many of the sequences seem there just to showcase Japan. How much of these films is sponsored by tourist bureaus I cannot know, but as a viewer one can enjoy the action and the intrigue by ignoring the unneeded sequences or rather treating them as amusement to watch. I always thought Roger Moore is the better Bond, but the Sean Connery ones are entertaining to watch too. You Only Live Twice is fun.