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"I love you...?": Let's discuss... You Only Live Twice (1967)/ Poll
St_George
Shuttling Drax's lovelies to the space doughnut - happy 40th, MR!
<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...?
![http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh215/george-in-the-smoke/yolt_banner.jpg">](http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh215/george-in-the-smoke/yolt_banner.jpg">){kind=link}
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
Like you said, the song and score are great and the sets are terrific. I thought Kissy and Aki were relitively forgettable though.
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.
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.
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.
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)
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.
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.
'That's the control room- we've gottogetupTHEAARHH' Epic Scottish accent, lol
'That's the control room- we've gottogetupTHEAARHH' Epic Scottish accent, lol
Hahahaha! Yes, that really does bring out his Scottish accent!
Good stuff, say I...! \:D/
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.
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...?
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.
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?
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?
Never Say Never Again - Yes, But My Martini's Still Dry