You Only Live Twice – 1967 – English

You Only Live Twice – 1967 – English – Action – Adventures – Suspense

You Only Live Twice – 1967 – English

Film directed in 1967 by Lewis Gilbert, and starring Sean Connery, Donald Pleasence, Akiko Wakabayashi, Tetsurô Tanba, Mie Hama, Karin Dor, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn, Charles Gray, Tsai Chin, Bernard Lee, Alexander Knox…

Synopsis: 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.

Review: You Only Live Twice is pure Comic Book entertainment. James Bond is very much the superhero character he was in Goldfinger, and every scene is like a panel in a Comic Book and filled with entertaining excitement. In truth, it is though the feel and style that was vibrant throughout Goldfinger [1964] leapfrogged the dull Thunderball [1965] and found it’s way to Japan. Twice is a beautiful looking and sounding addition to the Bond movies, and one is glad Sean Connery didn’t really resign from the role of Bond and did indeed Live Twice.

By jettisoning most of Ian Flemmings original story You Only Live Twice, in which an amnesiac Bond Hunts down Blofeld in Japanese castles, Broccoli and Saltzman have ridden themselves of the same problem evident in Thunderball : Slow Movement, Uninterested Audiences. Thunderball may have been a success, but this was probably due to the Bondmania which raged through the mid sixties like a giant inferno.

It has been said before, but the real star of the show is Ken Adams sets. His wonderful Volcano set which Blofeld uses is one of the most memorable in Cinema history. Add to this the Japanese sets, the Submarines [M’s Offices], Tanaka’s Lair, and the real sense of Japanese authenticity. Adam deserves an Oscar for this movie alone. For his total contributions to Bond and other movies, there is no Award yet created.

Donald Pleasence makes a very creepy Blofeld. He is perhaps the ultimate Blofeld. His scenes with the other cast members show the complete acting skills of a fine actor. Twice also contains one of Desmonde Lywellyn’s funniest performances as Q, and one of Q’s finest creations, the Little Nellie Helicopter. Little Nellie is every Bond fans dreams, personally i think it would be lovely to soar above rural England in Nellie, let alone Japan! Some guys have all the luck! Twice also has one of John Barry’s most beautiful themes, and songs sung by Nancie Sinatra.

The only real let down this time is Sean Connery. He makes any Bond film look good, but this time doesn’t look as though he is enjoying himself all that much. This is a petty because Twice itself is a very impressive and enjoyable Bond movie, with some of the best sets, Action sequences and Acting in the entire series.