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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Welcome to Japan, Mr Bond..., August 22, 2007
Ah, it is a tough call, trying to rate a movie as fun as this. Holding such an iconic status as it does, how do you keep your bias in check and look at the movie without those nostalgic rose coloured specs?
As witness for the defence, I would like to call Ken Adams - creator of the 1 million dollar volcano set, this action sequence at the end of the movie set a standard for Bond movies for a very long time... so much so that it is recreated in different guises in `The Spy who loved me', and `Moonraker'. It is certainly the most spectacular set and largest scale action sequence in a Bond movie yet.
Next witness - Sean Connery - yes, he seems a little more weary in the role than he did in Thunderball, but while not at his peak, he is still fit and charming enough to be the definitive James Bond (at least when not wearing insanely unconvincing Japanese prosthetics).
John Barry - who produces another great and imaginative score here, one of the last to sound truly original.
And then I call Little Nellie - the signature gadget for the film, a weapon loaded gyrocopter, is a great success, not just for the aerial action sequence, but also for getting `Q' out of the office and into the field for a change!
But then comes the witnesses for the prosecution... If I call Blofeld to the stand, then you will find what at first appears to be brilliant casting, turns out to be too little too late in the movie. Donald Pleasance as just the right creepiness for the role, but never truly brings the character to life, and demasking Blofeld only seems to tarnish some of the mythos that had been built up around him.
The same holds true if I call Bond's ladies to the stand. Helga Brandt may have a healthy chest, but is a pale pale imitation of the evil Fiona Volpe from Thunderball. And the Japanese ladies have a novelty value, but never appear to truly have an impact on Bond.
Then there is the screenplay. Roald Dahl is a genius, but somewhere between the story, the screenplay of the story and the screen, some magic has been left out. When I watched this with an audience, a third of them were sleeping through the middle sagging part of the movie.
Part of the joy, and also part of the problem is that some of the international flair has been left out of this movie to concentrate on one location - Japan. The location is therefore well explored in both culture and geography, but a certain variety and roving nature to Bond's exploits is missing.
I call the effects to the stand... Bond always worked best when the stories were timeless. By using a space age plot, the plot device, effects, and concept are all immediately dated. Bear in mind this movie was conceived long before man walked on the moon.
And then I'd like to call Little Nellie. Yes, the same Little Nellie called by the defence. Is it used craftily integrated into the plot? No, we see a scene where he is attacked predictably by helicopters, and goes through the gadgets one by one until they are all used and he goes home. It's just not as clever as say, the tear gas in the case from `From Russia with Love'.
Critically, there is the myth of Bond himself. Where in previous Bond movies he was a spy who through tradecraft and hard work (and occasionally seducing beautiful women) would find his way to the evil masterminds lair, here it is as if the character stumbles from one situation to the next, rather than driving events. This was to hold true for Bond for many years to come, with the exception of `On Her Majesty's Secret Service'.
The verdict? A hung jury... It is a movie that perhaps tries too hard to go bigger and better in many respects. And so we have a movie with two hats - It introduces some fun ideas, such as M and Moneypenny having a mobile office in a submarine - the first of many mobile offices for M, and seeing Bond in naval uniform for the first time. But it also fails to achieve the characterisation that had gone before and relies on the goodwill from previous movies a little too hard. Thus, we all love You Only Live Twice, but have to be honest, it is harmless fun, but not a classic. Majority verdict in favour of the defence.
What does the Ultimate Edition have to offer to persuade you to part with your cash? Truth be told, this is where it gets interesting. The picture is flawless, yes, but it is the sound that really becomes 3 dimensional in the dts mix, giving the rockets shooting into space much more realism and depth than the on screen effects do. Even background noises are clearer and dialogue sparkling, thanks to some nifty digital remastering.
All the extras from the Special Edition are present and correct, and everyone should watch the superb (as usual) half hour documentary `Inside You Only Live Twice'. Also included for the first time though are three items. Firstly, some of Ken Adams home video footage of location scouting and then shooting of the movie, which is great fun to watch to see both the construction of the set and Sean Connery clowning around at every opportunity. Then there is a short segment from Whickers World, which is an entertaining period fluff piece promoting the movie - while still acknowledging its campness and humour make it an antidote for the times. Finally an oddity, a one hour special `Welcome to Japan, Mr Bond' which uses MoneyPenny and Q in specially shot scenes to frame a selection of clips from the movies to this point. Interesting for fans of Q especially, this purports to be Moneypenny musing over who it can be that James Bond will marry.
All in all, I can only recommend this DVD as a worthwhile watch, while acknowledging it is just not as finely crafted as its predecessors. This Ultimate Edition series once again proves to be the best and most comprehensive way to see the movie.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
JAMES BONDs Dichotomy of Styles East meets West, January 5, 2007
YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE contained elements of espionage, action, thrills, adventure and science fiction. Looking back it somehow worked loosely when put together yet till this day I can not determine what the cohesive element was. Looking at it closely the film is a real dichotomy of styles. The first hour is excellently filmed and works very well. We get to see James Bond the spy, working with recognition codes, breaking into safes, going under cover and the like. There is an excellently choreographed fight scene between Bond and a sumo wrestler. This is also the first time he developed a good working relationship with a fellow intelligence head, Tiger Tanaka, similar to that of Kerim Bey in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. We also see that "M" has absolute confidence in his man. "This is the big one," he tells Bond knowing that 007 is the only one capable of pulling off this assignment. There is also quite a bit of very witty dialog in the first hour of this film. In the first hour the pace is deliberate, but never boring or unentertaining. It ends with Bond flying "Little Nellie," delivered by "Q," into an aerial dogfight with four helicopters. As it moves into the second hour more of the science fiction and fantasy elements start to take center stage. The film starts to look untidy and meanders along till it gets to the excellently filmed battle between Tanaka's ninjas and Blofeld's private army in his Volcano lair. It's not a bad Bond film, but it should have been a lot better. I think the culprit was the editing. Russian and American manned space capsules were being snatched out of orbit by an "intruder missile." Bond had to find the location and the identity of those responsible before World War III breaks out. The filmmakers decided not to surprise us at the end of the film, but instead show us, not Bond, that this "intruder missile" is in fact owned by SPECTRE and is being launched from Blofeld's Volcano lair in Japan. That comes a little past the hour mark. That being the case there was a good opportunity to develop suspense, as Bond has to locate the launch site. When Bond finally does find the volcano he has very little reaction to his discovery. He in fact seems to have come prepared with suction cup kneepads, which he uses to climb upside down and into the volcano. Tanaka shows up with his men, the battle ensues and Bond saves the day. It just could have been done much better considering how well the first half of the film was handled. The massive sets designed by Ken Adam were highly innovative and stylized and are probably the best of the entire series. M's office aboard the submarine, M-1, was also pretty innovative incorporating furniture and decorations from his office from the Ministry of Defense back in London. John Barry wrote a brilliant score. His music for the "Capsule in Space" was eerily ominous. He also incorporated sections of the "James Bond Theme" very effectively subsequent to Henderson's death and the fight in Osato's office. Barry's "Mountains and Sunset" went beautifully with Freddie Young's Cinematography. This and his score for ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE were the last to contain his best action pieces for the series. These were little snippets here and there written to give the action a little more punch. I thought Sean Connery gave some his best performances as James Bond in this film. Bond's scene with Henderson was very good. His repartee with Moneypenney was one of his best. Sean Connery did return as James Bond in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER but one era had already ended with ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE and a new one would begin with his return.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Connery's First Weak Bond Entry, September 26, 2008
This is the first of the many bond movies that would take a huge 360 turn in style. Whereas the 4 preceding bond movies had an inclinator towards more plausible plots, this one and future bond movies relied more on extravagant plots. "You Only Live Twice" is not a bad 007 movie, but it is in fact much weaker than the previous ones.
The main issue with you only live twice is the plot. S.P.E.C.T.R.E was introduced first as a menacing threat to the world, and the organization seemed believable and plausible. But as we get into the following movies it begins to show a more fantasy level of the organization. In From Russia With Love, Blofeld had the presence of a threat, and he seemed like a villain with class, and measured every precaution..And he had hair. in thunderball too he was still presented in the exact same manner...with hair; then out of nowhere here in this one he is short, stocky, annoying, makes stupid mistakes, his voice is different..And he is completely bald...wtf??!!
Also Sean Connery plays the part with very little enthusiasm, he looks very aged for a 37 year old; also he gained some weight in this one, and his charisma is somewhat gone. It all seems as if Connery said "I'm tired with bond lets get over with it and give me my check" and the effects are much weaker too, compared to Thunderball and the others it looks as if they placed little effort.
The plot here is very fantasy like, Bond fakes his death to fool S.P.E.C.T.R.E and to keep enemies away from him. He is sent by M to investigate why an American spacecraft was hijacked from orbit by a rogue craft. Bond has to investigate quickly before countries start blaming each other and things escalate to world war III. Bonds investigation leads him to Japan were he meets Japanese secret service leader "Tiger" Tanaka. both learn that a company under the name of OSATO industries is delivering liquid oxygen, an oxidizer for rocket fuel; now they have to find who is this client, of course is no other than our beloved Blofeld, who unfortunately is presented in a disappointing manner, much like that of Dr. Evil. Anyhow, bond discovers later on that there is a secret hiding place for S.P.E.C.T.R.E, where Bond and his fellow Japanese intelligence have to find a way to get in and attack before Blofeld steals more rockets for ransom.
The movie does have some good qualities, such as bond training to become a ninja, seeing that the Japanese have gadgets as good as the MI:6, the last fight in the volcano is done nicely. The gadgets overall are decently brought out. The location and cinematography is amazing. But aside all this the plot is very tedious and overall disappointing. So is this the worse bond movie ever?...of course not, trust me A View To A Kill and Die Another Day are much much worse. This is not a HORRIBLE bond movie, just a weaker one compared to the first 4. Still definitely worth owning
SPECIAL FEATURES
DISC 1:
> feature film re-mastered in high definition, using the original negative to bring the image to its best possible quality, eliminating any dirt or flickering.
> Audio Commentary featuring Lewis Gilbert and members of the cast
> Original Mono Track
> 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound
> 5.1 DTS Theater sound
DISC 2:
>Welcome to Japan, Mr. Bond
> Whicker's World- Highlights From 1967 BBC Documentary
> On Location with Ken Adam
> Interactive Guide to the World of You Only Live Twice
> Inside you only live twice
> Silhouettes: the James Bond Titles
> Plane Crash: Animated Storyboard Sequence
> Original Trailers & T.V. Spots
James Bond Will Return in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service
MY PERSONAL RATING: 3 OUT OF 5
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