Customer Reviews

You Only Live Twice - 2-Disc Ultimate Edition

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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

After watching the trio of Bond films directed by Lewis Gilbert (You Only Live Twice, The Spy Who Loved Me,Moonraker) I noticed some very similar themes and plotlines. So, to show you how similar these films are I will write a review of all of them at the same time.(Note: the words in the first boxes refer to YOLT,the words in the 2nd boxes refer to TSWLM, and the words in the 3rd boxes refer to Moonraker.)
James Bond (Sean Connery/Roger Moore/Moore again) is sent to investigaste two stolen space shuttles/nuclear submarines/space shuttles. He must team up with a beautiful Japanese/Russian/American agent to stop his villain du jour Blofeld/Carl Stromberg/Hugo Drax from starting WWIII/dstoying civilization/destoying civilization!Atogether this is a just above average/awesome/terrible film.

Faced with box-office rivalry from the spoof Casino Royale the same year, EON put aside their plans to follow Thunderball with OHMSS and pulled out all the stops to promise the biggest and best-paced Bond to date. While they failed to match the phenomenal success of Thunderball - still the biggest ticket seller in the series' history by a huge margin - this certainly is the best of the special effects show Bonds, and for many it's scarred, bald, Persian-cat stroking super-villain ensconced in his hollowed-out volcano lair plotting to start a world war is the quintessential Bond movie villain. Departing from Ian Fleming's novel in all but name and boasting a plot the producers were so taken with that they've used it at least twice since The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker, both also directed by Lewis Gilbert), but by 1967 the series was already beginning to feed off itself - the pre-title sequence where Bond is killed is more or less borrowed from From Russia With Love.

After years as an offscreen presence voiced by Eric Pohlman and Joseph Wiseman, S.P.E.C.T.R.E.'s Ernst Stavro Blofeld finally makes his first on-screen appearance in the form of Donald Pleasance (causing that awkward continuity problem in the subsequent OHMSS where he fails to recognise Bond), with Charles Gray preceding his turn in the role on the side of the angels as our man in Japan, getting his vodka from the doorman at the Russian embassy ("among OTHER things"). This time the villains work for a large Japanese industrial company to cash-in on the Connery films' popularity in the Japanese market while offering some colorful locations, but action, not scenery, is the order of the day here. The action scenes themselves are terrific and often imaginatively shot (as with the long overhead helicopter shot in the fight at Kobe Docks) and the production values are still the best of the entire series. Visually it is certainly the best looking of the series thanks to Freddie Young's incredible photography, while Ken Adams production design is superb and the lush score marked a real turning point for John Barry.

Roald Dahl's screenplay strangely discards Blofeld's garden of death (too downbeat said the producers) and omits Bond's Japanese counterpart Tanaka's background as an ex-Kamikaze pilot (too sensitive) but has just the right internal logic to justify its outrageous elements, as well as some neat humorous touches (such as Bond being constantly castigated for his smoking). Although many fans were critical of his approach - Dahl made little secret of his opinion that Bond was a 'resourceful but rather insensitive fellow' - he is more astute about the character than many writers in the series, bringing Bond's smug superiority to the fore in lines like "You forget I took a First in Oriental languages at Cambridge."

It's particularly disappointing that the 2-disc set only includes five minutes of the very entertaining and surprisingly comprehensive hour-long Whicker's World special on the making of the film, which revealed Connery's fondness for Custard Creams. We do get the glossier and less interesting 48-minute Welcome to Japan, Mr Bond (which makes an injoke of the fact that OHMSS had originally been scheduled to be made that year by having an unseen actress complain that she was supposed to be Mrs Bond) and Ken Adams' home movie footage, but there's not enough new to justify the `Ultimate Edition' tag here.

The fifth James Bond movie was quite an evolution from "Dr. No" and "From Russia with Love." Gadgets galore, ever more exotic locations, double entendres along with a large dose of other witty remarks establish the James Bond as we know him today. It is perhaps this evolution that makes many Bond fans consider "Goldfinger," with fewer witticisms and gadgets, yet a fully developed spy character, to be the best Bond movie. Regardless of whether you felt the Bond movies were going down hill after "Goldfinger" or not, I still like a lot about this Bond movie.

After the traditional opening scene, the movie opens with one of the best of the early credits openings. Nancy Sinatra, of "These Boots Are Made for Walking" fame, sings "You Only Live Twice" beautifully while umbrella framework shadows background scenery. In some ways I thought this opening was one of the more innovative openings until the opening for "Tomorrow Never Dies" with Cheryl Crow doing the song honors.

Moving past the opening, S.P.E.C.T.R.E. is attempting to start a world war by stealing US and Soviet space craft while they are in orbit, hoping that the two countries will get so mad at each other that they will attack and blow each other up. Even when the US and the Soviet Union were most angry at each other it is extremely unlikely that each would credit the other with the ability to steal their spaceships, and even if they did blame each other, nuclear war over spaceships is implausible at best. Unfortunately, the plot in this movie is as weak as it sounds, so forget about a really evil super villain who has a good conquer the world plan.

One interesting double take is Charles Gray as good guy Henderson. In "Diamonds are Forever" Gray gets to come back and be bad guy Ernst Blofeld, taking over for Donald Pleasance in this movie. Donald is just too nice to be Blofeld.

With one exception, the action and special effects are what make this movie. Cheesiest special effect goes to the helicopters shot down by "Little Nelly". Think helicopters hung by a string and then blown up. Not what you would call a great special effect. The rest of the special effects ran from good to very good. The underground S.P.E.C.T.R.E. base hidden in the base of a volcano used generally good miniatures, though the wheels didn't turn too well on the spaceship transport. "Little Nelly" was a pretty cool gyrocopter, though the scenes of Bond flying it had the usual unreal look of a projected back screen.

The rest of this film contains a host of little details. Secret entrances, trap doors, trap walkways, and of all things, Ninjas! Oh, and the Bond women in this movie tend to show the same polarity of other Bond films. While some of these women are beautiful and compliant, some are ruthless killers. Nothing like equal opportunity!

One side note. This movie was written by Roald Dahl, of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "James and the Giant Peach" fame. While some other reviewers have expressed dismay that a well-known author with Dahl's credentials came up with such a weak story, I consider that Dahl was a lot younger, and the interpretation of the screenplay can make or break a screenplay. While Dahl may have been able to make improvements, responsibility for the relatively weak plot can be shared by many of those involved.

As with the other Ultimate Editions, this movie features the cleanest picture available for "You Only Live Twice." If you are looking to upgrade from VHS, the first DVD release or you are a first time buyer, then this edition is the one to get.

The Ultimate Edition contains several featurettes supposedly never before released on DVD. Included are "Welcome to Japan, Mr. Bond," "Whicker's World," which was a television show episode that highlighted "You Only Live Twice," and "On Location with Ken Adam." I believe most of the other features on this DVD appeared on either the Special Edition or other releases of "You Only Live Twice."

While the plot for this movie is among the weakest of the Bond films, I still think the movie is saved by the nearly non-stop action and special effects. I admit that the one-liners used throughout the movie kept the movie from taking itself too seriously, which may also distract some fans, but there is still one line I enjoy. When Bond meets Aki, a beautiful female Japanese, she says to Bond that she looks forward to working under him. Even Bond looked a little surprised when she said that. James Bond doesn't always get the good one-liners!

Enjoy!

James Bond 5 arrives a year later than it's predecessors, and from then on Bond films would start coming out every two years. By 1967 Bondmania had peaked and Sean Connery had run out of steam in the part. Though even a more lacklustre performance in this entry is still a standout. It's a Bond film that gets lost amongst others, not a classic but not as bad as some later entries. Lewis Gilbert slips into the director's chair and whisks us off to Japan for all the main action. It's the first time near the whole story was confined to one location and the first time the screenplay bears little resemblance to the original Fleming novel, adapted by author Roald Dahl.

Megalomaniacal organization Spectre are this time trying their best to get world powers Russia and the States to have a nuclear war by stealing their each countries orbiting space shuttles with their own "big momma" space capsule and ensuring it looks like the opposing countries are doing it to each other. The opening pre-credits mini adventure is slow paced for once and ends abruptly with Bond's supposed execution. Connery decided to quit the role while filming, probably a wise move but imagine what he could have done in On Her Majesties Secret Service, which was originally the producers first choice to make until locations proved unavailable and You Only Live twice was pushed forward instead.

The formula is starting to look tired and more gadget laden down to his latest gyro copter "little Nellie' which sees gadget man Q dragged out into the field again. Bond's faked death allows him to go undercover and get ever closer to the bad guys, tracking them down to Tokyo via his contacts that include the striking Aki, played by Akiko Wakabayashi, Tetsuro Tampa as "Tiger" Tanaka - the head of the Japanese secret service and Mie Hama as Kissy Suzuki who while good, sort of rather pointlessly replaces the more interesting character of Aki for the last half hour of the story. They all carry out a rather convoluted and accidental investigation to expose the Spectre agents in a Japanese corporation and track them to the main Spectre lair for the inevitable meeting and showdown with the big Spectre boss Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Played with convincing malevolence, baldness and a massive facial scar by Donald Pleasance. He's the best version of Blofeld and the blueprint for Dr. Evil thirty years later. Pity his other henchmen and women are so colorless in this story.

The film has a great set up and action pieces in the early half but seems to wander a bit until we get the great scenes of Bond finally meeting Blofeld in his extinct volcano headquarters. It just takes a while to reach them and then the confrontations too short! Some other bits verge on the ridiculous, like the totally unconvincing Japanese fisherman disguise the secret service give Connery making him blend in with the locals less well than an elephant at a lizards only Cabaret Club. The action set pieces take on an epic scale under Lewis' direction setting a new standard for Bond films, especially the final battle in Spectre's HQ between Spectre forces and a ninja army. The Ken Adam designed sets are equally epic in scale. Still the feel of Japan is captured nicely throughout the picture and Nancy Sinatra provides a memorable voice to the John Barry Lyrics of the title song.

The restoration picture quality on the disc make the setting look far more distinctive and it was great to hear all the extra noise in the crowd and battle scenes thanks to the 5.1 Surround. The extras have been bulked from the original release, on top of the brilliant `making of" documentary we also get a Whickers World segment promoting the film around the time of release, Ken Adams location scouting footage showing a far more relaxed Connery having some fun and a well done special called `Welcome to Japan Mr. Bond' Where Moneypenny and Q present some clips of previous films in specially shot scenes. The film series had now headed firmly into spy fantasy becoming bigger and more outlandish to be seen amongst the many movie and T.V imitators. Connery's regular reign as the titular spy had come to an end, not soon enough for him but who could replace him?

The product description said like new, but it was completely new, which makes me happy. The DVD did come in a slim case, which means you can't put the booklet inside the case, but that's not a big problem. I only need two more Bond movies to complete the collection :-)

Of course, one of my favorite Bond films. Loved the extras and the packaging. I buy DVDs for what I can learn about the making of the film, just as much as I buy the film.

You Only Live Twice is the biggest action Bond to date! The non-stop chase and action scenes definitely foreshadow the Bond of our times! And the new re-masters capture it all! An ambitious effort, very involving, exotic locations on a grand scale; no holding back in this film, there are even space-craft sequences!