"I love you...?": Let's discuss... You Only Live Twice (1967)/ Poll

St_GeorgeSt_George Shuttling Drax's lovelies to the space doughnut - happy 40th, MR!
edited June 2011 in Bond Movies Posts: 1,699
<img src="http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh215/george-in-the-smoke/yolt_banner.jpg">;




So, time it is again, folks, for a thread dedicated to the discussion, dissection, (constructive) criticism and praise of one, specific Bond film. And this thread's the turn of, oh yes, You Only Live Twice - the mid-to-late '60s, Japan-set, spy epic that tipped 007 towards sci-fi and tipped Conners over the edge.

For my money, although Twice has its flaws (Conners looking a little, well, bored owing to him now tiring in the role and there's a commitment to spectacle over substance perhaps), it also has a hell of a lot going for it too. Most of all surely its spectacle. YOLT looks both gorgeous (David Lean's cinematographer-of-choice Freddie Young captures the Japanese islands exquisitely) and extraordinary (Ken Adam's volcano-base set built on the side of Pinewood Studios is almost mind-blowing the first time you see it). Plus, I love Donald Pleasance's Blowers - yes, he's rather cartoonish, but, hey, like it or not the cinematic Bond is, and always has been, grand fantasy. Plus, there's the lovely Bond Girl one-two that is Aki and Kissy; Tetsuro Tamba's Tiger Tanaka; the helicopter lifting up and dumping the villains' car with a giant magnet; the cliffhanger pre-title sequence; MI6 in a submarine; the oh-so cool, '60s Japanese style; John Barry's outstanding, Oriental-themed score and Nancy Sinatra's beautiful ballad; and, best of all, <i>that</i> Little Nellie/ helicoper battle (never before or since has the Bond Theme thrilled me more when played over on-screen action). So, yup, like it or not, it's very much two thumbs up for Twice from me.

But what about you lot? ;)

Oh, and remember to vote in the poll to the side, won't you...?
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Comments

  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,355
    For me, it looks great, sounds great but the rest of the film, mainly the plot and Connery are more than lacking in my opinion, moreso than anything we're been given up to that point - I mean Bond as a fisherman - please!
  • Posts: 11,189
    I think I'm in agreement with you St. George. YOLT may suffer from having more emphasis on the "cartoonish" but its nonetheless an enjoyable flick. Donald Pleseance is probably my favourite Bloefeld of the three official actors who played the role. He may not be particularly threatening physically but dammit his voice is scary.

    Like you said, the song and score are great and the sets are terrific. I thought Kissy and Aki were relitively forgettable though.
  • Posts: 7,653
    A very enjoyable 007 actioner with a screenplay written by Roald Dahl. The strange thing was that this movie was released before OHMSS being the epilogue of the Blofeld trilogy. That kinda took the sting out of the character of 007 who was supposed to be really hurting.
    That said it is fun, crazy and highly enjoyable with a Connery that makes it look cool in a way all later 007 performers have yet too match.
    A far better last movie than his next effort.
  • I had just commented on this film in the "favourite Connery film thread" but will add something here.

    Something I've figured out in the last few years is that when I was a kid the *idea* of something was more important to me than the *execution* of it. I think that part of it is that you're living vicariously through the films as you're watching them when you're, say, 11. At least I was - if the hero got dunked underwater I automatically held my breath. If there was a fight scene my little muscles would tense. If someone was sneaking up behind Bond I would start to tense up and at times had to shout at the TV in frustation to alert him to the danger, even though I had seen the film before and knew how the scene would turn out!

    So the fact that I was so emotionally involved in the film meant that my brain was doing a lot of the work for the filmmakers! But as I got older, the *way* that the scenes were shot, filmed, and edited is what determined as to whether or not I found them tense, funny, or interesting. So technique became more important to me.

    When I was 12 I loved YOLT. The volcano set, the fight at the Kobe docks, Little Nellie, the airplane trap - I loved it all. But it was the *idea* of these things, not the execution. Once I got older I found the pacing slow, some scenes not very well directed, and Connery obviously disinterested.

    Still, great ideas in the film. I just thought it didn't quite all come together in the end.
  • Posts: 1,497
    @thelordflasheart: Good Point there...

    On the contrary though, I treat nearly all of the Bond films this way to a degree. There is a suspension of disbelief; it's farcical at times; tongue in cheek; great escapist fun. I try not to take the execution too much to heart. Even the more serious faire like FYEO or FRWL can't be taken too seriously. YOLT for my money creates a grand Bond experience. That's what it's all about for me. So YOLT is a-okay in my book.
  • Posts: 4,762
    I recently re-watched YOLT after not having seen it since December, and I must say, I was greatly pleased this time around! There is so much this movie has to offer, namely the assassination of Dikko Henderson, the fight in Osato's office, "Mr. Fisher", the Kobe Docks battle, Little Nellie, all of Osato's attempts to kill Bond, and the grand finale in the volcano. I have always been a fan Donald Pleasance's Blofeld, even if he is a little cartoon-ish. I think he has more menace than Savalas and Gray, but lacks a bit in physical dominance. Savalas made up for that though, but still didn't retain Pleasance's creepy menace.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited June 2011 Posts: 15,718
    YOLT, an excellent film, my 3rd favorite Connery film, and sits #7 in my ranking !! An all round fantastic, epic adventure !! Lots of action (including the epic Kobe Dock - super hero Bond taking on 10 men at once, with epic Barry score, and the Volcano fight : flat out epic battles !!) Memorable villains, Barry soundtrack, locations, cinematography... Sexy girls, lots of humour... What more could you want ?? Great Connery as well !! :-bd
  • Posts: 4,762
    @DaltonCraig007: Very much agreed! It's a very underrated Bond movie as well, and I can't see why. I mean, what does it have that Goldfinger didn't? Better yet, it had more than GF!
  • NicNacNicNac Administrator, Moderator
    Posts: 7,582
    I never tire of defending YOLT and Connery in it.

    Connery was great in this film. His performance was every bit as good as previously, it was the style of the film that changed. YOLT was faster paced and had more action than before. Connery's involvement included several scenes where he simply walks down the street, or in and out of buildings (and trains). There was little room for acting during many of these scenes, but it didn't mean Connery was looking bored. In scenes where he is called on to act he delivers.

    He simply didn't consult the Timothy Dalton book of acting where you can't walk down a street without rolling your eyes left, right, up, down, then purse your lips, clench your fists, breath heavilly in (and then out) swivel eyes a little more. And repeat process twice more.

    Connery's leisurely style maybe doesn't suit YOLT as well as TB and FRWL did (The film occassionally passes him by). This could be the director's fault. Cary Grant was another actor whose acting style was casual and seductive with no hint of real urgency. He reminds me a little of Connery (not in looks but certainly in style). A great director like Hitchcock could cast Grant in a film like North By Northwest and he didn't look out of place. In YOLT Lewis Gilbert needed to merge the film and Connery to show the actor to greater effect, but he didn't manage it (the product was everything). And to Connery's credit he did as much as he could with the role, and more than anyone else could've done.

    And the film has all the elements of the true blueprint for Bond in the movies. It's all there, and as much as we are bored with the volcano, and ninjas and Little Nellie and all the running and jumping and shooting, YOLT will stand the test of time as the defining Bond film (not the best mark you, but the defining one most definitely)
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    Posts: 15,718
    NicNac has made the post of the day !! :-bd Yes, YOLT is a fantastic outing !!
  • Posts: 1,092
    I like the film overall; I mean, it's Connery as Bond, in the 60's so it can't be all that bad. Still the original Moneypenny, orginal Q and M, all good things. But they strayed from Fleming and this was the first drop off for the series after what is the greatest four film start in movie history for ANY series and b/c of that it pales in comparison to the DN-TB run.

    Whenever any film/tv show/whatever that is based on literary sources strays from the source material it drops in quality. That is true for anything.
  • Posts: 11,189
    I think the reason Connery is often described as "looking bored" in the film is probably because he was. Personally I don't think he looked THAT bored but nonetheless its no secret he had grown tired of the part by his fifth outing.
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited June 2011 Posts: 15,718
    Connery is more bored in GF than in YOLT... For half of GF he is taken prisonner !! He just walks around for 2 hours !!
  • NicNacNicNac Administrator, Moderator
    edited June 2011 Posts: 7,582
    Connery is more mored in GF than in YOLT...
    Personally I think Roger Moore is more mored. ;-)
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,355
    Connery is more mored in GF than in YOLT...
    Personally I think Roger Moore is more mored. ;-)
    But Connery is more Moore in Goldfinger! ;-)
  • DaltonCraig007DaltonCraig007 They say, "Evil prevails when good men fail to act." What they ought to say is, "Evil prevails."
    edited June 2011 Posts: 15,718
    :-? I meant BORED, not MORED... Connery was more bored in GF than in YOLT.
  • royale65royale65 Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
    Posts: 4,423
    A film that gets an unfair pasting, and one which I did grow a little tired of to be honest.

    Until my last viewing; a true event movie propelled along by Gilbert's stylish direction at a brisk pace. Dahl's script is the most underated in the series, even if the plot does veer too heavily into science fiction, and relies too much on the hardware.
    But there are so many pluses; the sets, the music, the locational work. (YOLT also boasts two of my fave fist fights; classics of the Connery era). All in all I found YOLT engaging and entertaining, even boasting some genuine FRWL-esque intrigue during the beginning.

    So all the Bond boxes are ticked:

    Sets: yup
    Locations: yup
    Music: hell yeah!
    Action: yup
    Intrigue: yup
    Suspense: yup
    Romance: yup
    Originality: yup

    A quick note on the Bond girls; I really like both, especially Aki. Very competent agents and, for me, very charismatic. The bad thing is their interchangeability. Kissy replaces Aki and hardly a beat is missed.

    Still Aki's death and the way in which Connery reacts is a lesson in the economy of drama. I do hope the Powers That Be remember it.
  • Posts: 4,762
    YOLT also has one of the most fantastic finales that honestly hasn't been matched except for TSWLM's Liparus battle/escape from Atlantis. YOLT's finale is big, explosive, lengthy, intense, and engaging! What more could you want?
  • Posts: 4,813
    Don't care too much for the movie itself, but it does have Connery's most 'Conneried' line delivery in a movie ever!

    'That's the control room- we've gottogetupTHEAARHH' Epic Scottish accent, lol
  • Posts: 4,762
    Master_Dahark said:
    'That's the control room- we've gottogetupTHEAARHH' Epic Scottish accent, lol

    Hahahaha! Yes, that really does bring out his Scottish accent!
  • St_GeorgeSt_George Shuttling Drax's lovelies to the space doughnut - happy 40th, MR!
    Posts: 1,699
    Well, blimey, seems there's far more love for Twice these days than there's been for some time.

    Good stuff, say I...! \:D/
  • Posts: 1,497
    A quick note on the Bond girls; I really like both, especially Aki. Very competent agents and, for me, very charismatic. The bad thing is their interchangeability. Kissy replaces Aki and hardly a beat is missed.
    Excellent synopsis royale65!

    And I'm glad you brought that up about Aki. I think she is overlooked. She is very competent, charming and a true side-kick to Bond rather than being the old damselle in distress we seen time after time.

    I have a slight inclination that perhaps a lot of fans just prefer Western girls, which is why she is not as beloved.

  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,355
    It doesn't help though they're by far the most forgettable girls in the series so far. Compared to Honey, Tania, Pussy, Domino and Fiona, Kissy and Aki are awful.
  • St_GeorgeSt_George Shuttling Drax's lovelies to the space doughnut - happy 40th, MR!
    Posts: 1,699
    They're both absolutely lovely and, as pointed out, very competent - as Conners himself says of Aki at one point.

    Their interchangeability is a fair point, though - indeed weren't Akiko Wakabayashi and Mie Hama down to play the each other's eventual role at first...?
  • Posts: 1,497
    The fault is in the writing, as royale65 points out, they are written in as interchageable. Roald Dahl complained about this too, saying that he was told he had to write in two Bond girls to fit the formula.

    I think if Aki had the lead for the entirety of the film and the "other Bond girl" role was given exclusively to Helga Brandt with more screen time, then Aki would certainly be one of the more memorable characters. Even as it stands though, I think she is perfectly charming and a fine young lady in the film.
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    edited June 2011 Posts: 13,355
    @St_George, I'm sure you have a list of which films have been covered so far and which haven't but in case anyone else wants to chip in or you just want to let people know what's already been done, here's a forum friendly list for you. You may want to put it at the top of every thread's first post? Just an idea.

    Dr. No - Ahoy, Mr Bond! Ahoy, Mr Bond!
    Thunderball - And the kitchen sink
    You Only Live Twice - I love you...?
    The Man With The Golden Gun - Speak now or forever hold your piece
    For Your Eyes Only - You have what the Greeks call thrasos
    The Living Daylights - We have nothing to declare?
    GoldenEye - No limits, no fears, no substitutes?
  • St_GeorgeSt_George Shuttling Drax's lovelies to the space doughnut - happy 40th, MR!
    Posts: 1,699
    Hmmm, good point, Samster; may just do that - and thanks for posting the links for everyone here... :)
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,355
    Hmmm, good point, Samster; may just do that - and thanks for posting the links for everyone here... :)
    That's OK. I'm glad I could help, if I did at all. ;-)
  • Posts: 5,745
    I still don't see the 'Connery looks bored' argument when I see the film. Don't notice anything.
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