Customer Reviews

You Only Live Twice

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Sean Connery's You Only Live Twice, the first Ian Fleming adaptation that really used just the title and not much more -- completely different from the novel.

Basically, space capsules from the USA and USSR are being snatched by an evil guy played by Donald Pleasance (see the Austin Powers parody on this guy, Dr. Evil) as he pets his pet Persian and plots the demise of the USA and USSR. His clients want them to destroy each other then pick up the pieces.

But they did not have a plan for Bond. James Bond.

Bond goes through Asian women (which actresses, several look like Caucasian women with eye make-up), baby helicopters, Moneypenny's flirting and even fakes his own death.

Despite the Bond girls, the artful music, and the shooting and chase scenes (with helicopters no less), a bit above average Bond flick, but no means as well made as Dr. No or Goldfinger..

Recommended for a rental.

Other Bond Flicks:

James Bond Ultimate Collector's Set
James Bond Ultimate Edition - Vol. 3 (GoldenEye / Live and Let Die / For Your Eyes Only / From Russia With Love / On Her Majesty's Secret Service)

No doubt about it. This is the quintessiential Bond flick. Why? Because it delivers action packed excitement, torrid romance, a very exotic locale and perhaps the greatest Bond theme song ever. The movie pulls you in and you can't turn it off! For a 1960's film, the effects are really good and the Japanese actors (and actresses!) are believable and sexy. There's plenty of action, what with a great helicopter dogfight, high tech Bond weapons and Ninja warrors. My only criticism is that when the Soviet spacecraft is launched in space (later to be intercepted) they show a United States GEMINI rocket launch instead!!! BLOOOPER!!! But this faux pas not withstanding, it is the only Bond film I recall when James has his cocktail STIRRED NOT SHAKEN! REALLY! This is a blast. Excitement galore. YOU MUST SEE IT!

You only live twice is not one of the best Bonds, but it was a big budget spectacular. There are loads of gadgets, great fights, sexy women, and the orient. James Bond may only live twice, but you can watch him live over and over again with this fun action packed movie.
Who doesn't love modern ninjas fighting inside of a volcano?

Another 007 winner. Been watchig these since they first cameout in the 60's and I love them just as much now as I did the first time.

You Only Live Twice is a Bond film only Connery could have pulled off without the film falling into the lowest pits of camp. In a movie that includes spaceship eating spaceships, a miniature attack helicopter, a man-eating piranha tank, rocket-bullet firing guns, and pistol toting ninjas; this is a case where only Sean Connery's charm could save a film from being dominated by its cheese...Even when he's wearing poor make-up to make him "Japanese."

The film begins with James Bond's untimely death, but don't fall for that trap! That clever Agent 007 has faked his own death and funeral at sea so as to pull away from the evil SPECTRE organization, which is now operating out of Japan. What could they do in Japan? How about attack American and Soviet spacecrafts and send to Cold War in to an all out nuclear war between The United States and Soviet Union? That sounds evil enough for one movie!

Since they now believe Bond to be dead he is able to infiltrate their infrastructure and discover their plans for World War III. With the help of Tiger Tanaka (head of Japanese Special Forces), his army of modern ninjas, and the beautiful Aki, Bond is set to take down this sinister plot.

Of course this time SPECTRE isn't holding any punches, for their faceless leader, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, is in Japan personally overseeing this operation (a great performance by Donald Pleasance). The criminal mastermind is determined to eliminate his pesky foe once and for all. Whether it be by submerging the smooth talking agent in a manmade lake filled with flesh-eating piranhas, poison taken in through the mouth, or a simple shot to the head.

This entire film is built on a series of elaborate actions sequences, including two stand-out scenes in which Bond engages multiple SPECTRE helicopters with "Little Nellie" (the newest gift from Q) and a massive firefight between Tiger Tonaka's modern ninjas and the forces of SPECTRE in their hollowed out volcano lair.

If you haven't noticed by this brief summary You Only Live Twice could very well could have been the one to set the foundation for the camp-filled Bond films of the 1970s. The exotic locations and over the top ideas are things that would be exaggerated and expanded upon in Diamonds Are Forever (Connery's last film) and all throughout the Roger Moore era of the character.

So for these reasons You Only Live Twice is probably Sean Connery's most enjoyably fun entry in his run as the character.

What makes this film so amazing is the location and the special effects of the film. What you see is basically what you get. The last fight scene in the Volcano is worth seeing alone, but this movie just offers so much else. Besides seeing Japan, you also get an in-sight into Japanese culture, particularly the Japanese wedding. That's not to say that locations and special effects are the only reasons to watch this movie, but they are impressive.

The story is very interesting and is somewhat copied in future Bond films, such as The Spy Who Loved Me and Tomorrow Never Dies. All three films are about trying to get two countries to go to war against each other by blaming one another, the thing is, this was the first film to do it. Donald P. makes for an interesting Blofeld, but I wouldn't say particularly a menacing one. I mean look at him, he looks at least a foot shorter than Bond in the film. But the film gets points for being the first time we actually see Blofeld's face, and the make up used on Donald's face looks great.

Overall, this is just another classic Bond film that gets over-shadowed by Goldfinger but is still a very enjoyable film.

"You Only Live Twice" seems to often go overlooked by many fans. To me it still ranks somewhat with the best of the early Connery reign. The films many attributes include outstanding action, spectacular sets and Sean Connery. Yes, Sean Connery (albeit slightly disenchanted with the role) still keeps us immersed in his "serious" approach to Bond. Granted, his disappointment with the producers was a major issue in what may seem, at times, to be an uneven performance but there are other factors to consider as well. Script, direction and editing (in this case, add a couple of wardrobe mistakes) also play an important part in almost any performance. It just so happens that this project, especially toward the end, was rushed to meet a deadline and, let's face it, Connery himself was just not as fit, groomed, or inspired as he was in his previous outings as Bond.

The major flaw with YOLT is that it is too long. This was also the case with "Thunderball". After the success of the first three installments, especially "Goldfinger", the producers had so much more money to play with that they wanted it all on the screen. The pacing of these two films suffers as a result. Whereas Connery's terrific performance in "Thunderball" helped that film immensely, YOLT, out of necessity, must rely on its sets and action to boost its entertainment value. A telltale snippet of dialogue is when Bond, having just experienced an array of awesome Ninja warriors, wryly asks Tanaka, "What about ME ?"

Personally, I have long held the notion that the producers, were they so inclined, could probably offer us superior versions of both "You Only Live Twice" and "Thunderball" by intelligently re-editing and deleting about 5 to 10 minutes of each film. The "theft of the warheads" and "wedding" scenes come to mind immediately.

Nevertheless, YOLT is a superior entry in the series. In addition to the aforementioned facts, it contains great cinematography work and yet another excellent music score by John Barry. It is, in many ways, the Bond version of "Alice in Wonderland". As repeated viewings will prove, it is certainly far better than ANY of the Roger Moore films. By the way, this latest remastered version (the same as the Ultimate 2-disc package) is the one to get.

I Love this Bond film,I like how politically Incorrect the film is,I am sure someone Who might be Japanese or some touchy person would be offended at Bond "Becoming Japanese",try to do that nowadays without the PC police.I love the Locations and scenery,The Beautiful Women and just the Lines are Classic,"In Japan Men Come First,and Women Second"(To be later Parodied in Austin Powers),it is all just a big no no as far as culture wars and Heaven Forbid any Feminist but that's why I love it,The neat car(Toyota 2000GT),The Chases and Action,It is a Win-Win Proposition less of course you have no soul or sense of humor.

The story kind of sags and plods along at points. But it has some of the greatest classic elements of the franchise. The soundtrack is by far one of John Barry's best. It's classic Bond and fits the action like a glove. I'm surprised they didn't recycle the outer space theme in future Bond films as they with with the 007 theme (not to be confused with the signature James Bond theme). It's note perfect suspense.
One of the greatest Bond gadgets (some will argue THE greatest) appears in the form of "Little Nellie", the one man auto-gyro that arrives in large suitcases. Once assembled, Bond flies this over Blofeld's volcano lair, while taking down several well armed helicopters.
Finally, there's Ken Adam's spectacular volcano lair set. The set piece is so over the top that not only does it launch and land a spacecraft munching rocket, it has it own monorail to shuttle Blofeld's evil minions about.
So while this isn't the best Bond story, it has some of the best Bond stuff ever. It's worth the price of admission simply for it's spectacle.

Movie productions should have ceased when Connery gave up the role. If you watch these films in chronological order (as I did) you will see that this one is the beginning of the end - predictable, special effects and gimmicks reliant.