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

13

Comments

  • It's more entertaining than Goldfinger, give it that much, although from a previous not too distant viewing perspective, there really isn't much going on

    Connery looks disinterested (not on the level of Diamonds) and wishing he was somewhere else and of course he stepped down from the role as James Bond during film production. Best things are - Nancy Sinatra's theme intro, Donald Pleasance' Blofeld, one or two action bits and pieces - and that's about it
  • Posts: 4,762
    chrisisall wrote:
    00Beast wrote:
    I hope I don't also have to mention Connery's sleepy, unenthusiastic performance, which really dragged the already slow pacing down to an even slower tread.
    Better get your shields up, because I'm firing all phasers here. :))
    Please point to ONE instance of that. Like, one instance not influenced by YOUR READING A POST OR ARTICLE OF IT AS SUCH, AS OPPOSED TO YOUR ACTUAL VIEWING. B-)
    The common wisdom is not always wise, and often subject to herd mentality stampedes.
    Watch it. It's better than you remember (unless you HATE TSWLM, in which case, I'd direct you to a Craig or Dalton flick). ;)

    I have actually viewed it. What do you think I am? The casual viewer? I watch Bond movies on a weekly basis, I mean come on, I watched three in a row last night, it's not like I watched YOLT one time and decided I didn't like it. Sheesh! You want evidence? Better get your shields up! How about Connery when he says the "I love you" line? Couldn't have said it more flatly and unenthusiasticly. How about when he is on the Ning Po with Helga? Out of all the scenes Connery has with his women, this fell remarkably short of expectations. He doesn't look like he cares at all that there's an attractive (well somewhat) woman standing in front of him having him tied to a chair! Then there's his scenes with Aki and Kissy, I mean come on, no chemistry whatsoever. It's ridiculously forced, because of his lazy performance. And in all honesty, TSWLM isn't as great as people make it out to be, but it is still miles above YOLT, which is third to bottom in my ranking!
  • pachazopachazo Make Your Choice
    Posts: 7,314
    00Beast wrote:
    It's ridiculously forced, because of his lazy performance.
    Perhaps lazy is the best way to describe it. He somehow just seems detached from the whole thing. I don't think Connery did a "bad" job. It's just not as good as his earlier performances. He was so wonderful and set the bar so high that he became a hard act for anyone to follow. Even himself!
  • w2bondw2bond is indeed a very rare breed
    Posts: 2,252
    This movie is such a dreadful bore that I'd rather watch DAD and QOS. It does have it's moments but there are better moments to be found in other movies. It's the only Bond movie that I dislike

    Puts on flame proof hat
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited February 2013 Posts: 17,789
    00Beast wrote:
    You want evidence? Better get your shields up! How about Connery when he says the "I love you" line? Couldn't have said it more flatly and unenthusiasticly.
    It's a CONTACT line, not a come on. It being said like that was perfectly okay with me.
    00Beast wrote:
    How about when he is on the Ning Po with Helga? Out of all the scenes Connery has with his women, this fell remarkably short of expectations. He doesn't look like he cares at all that there's an attractive (well somewhat) woman standing in front of him having him tied to a chair!
    Again, I LIKE the way he played it, kind of resigned that whatever he said wasn't gonna work with this one, then surprise- it did (not really; she was playing him).
    00Beast wrote:
    Then there's his scenes with Aki and Kissy, I mean come on, no chemistry whatsoever.
    That's not what I saw (last night); he seemed genuinely interested in Aki, and playfully attracted to Kissy.
    The only part where he seemed 'disinterested' if you will, was when he had the Japanese identity, and even this could be attributed to his staying in character in order to keep a low profile.

    Man, we sound like we saw two totally different movies... :))
    w2bond wrote:
    This movie is such a dreadful bore that I'd rather watch DAD
    Shocking. Positively shocking.
  • Posts: 4,762
    @w2bond: I agree, I would much rather watch Die Another Day than You Only Live Twice! It's genuinely better!
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    *faints dead away*
  • Posts: 4,762
    chrisisall wrote:
    *faints dead away*

    Can't be too surprised, I mean, it has the better 007, better action, better pace, better soundtrack, and more varied locations. I'd certainly pick it before YOLT.
  • Posts: 15,106
    chrisisall wrote:

    YOLT is an underrated little gem.
    Hold the phone; I just now watched YOLT right now (first time in many years- new DVD), and I find ZERO validity to the idea that Connery did not deliver a professional, engaging performance. Maybe not up to TB standards, but in NO WAY the crap execution I see so many talking about now and again.

    This movie is so much better than I remembered- comic book yes, but still maintaining the classic Bond feel. His turn in DAF was a tad livelier, but too bad the movie itself is such a total comedown from this.
    YOLT is at least as good as TSWLM, if not better. No, in thinking again, it IS better.
    My only true problem with it remains the apparent lack of remorse over Aki's death. Maybe that's an agent thing; the job at hand and all that. :-?

    Yes, an underrated gem.

    Well, it's not difficult for YOLT to be better than TSWLM: YOLT is the original and TSWLM the copy. It's the same plot, only TSWLM goes further into sci-fi.
  • Posts: 15,106
    pachazo wrote:
    00Beast wrote:
    It's ridiculously forced, because of his lazy performance.
    Perhaps lazy is the best way to describe it. He somehow just seems detached from the whole thing. I don't think Connery did a "bad" job. It's just not as good as his earlier performances. He was so wonderful and set the bar so high that he became a hard act for anyone to follow. Even himself!

    Connery is not so much lazy in YOLT as bored. The script, however, is starting to get lazy.YOLT is not a bad movie, but it is a serious drop of quality compared to the first four. In a way, I dislike it more for the trend it created than for its own flaws: other Bond movies made the same mistakes, and made them worse.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited February 2013 Posts: 17,789
    Ludovico wrote:
    Connery is not so much lazy in YOLT as bored.
    Once again, I don't see it. Unless you consider a marginal lack of total enthusiasm as 'bored'. IMO, people read the behind the scenes stuff, and let it colour their perception of what's actually on film a bit.

    Side note: Did you ever notice that when Blofeld shoots Osato, his cat flips out & bolts? They tried to hid it in the editing, but the cat is near the wall on the ground. Never noticed it in the VHS or even the inferiour DVD before.
  • edited February 2013 Posts: 15,106
    chrisisall wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    Connery is not so much lazy in YOLT as bored.
    Once again, I don't see it. Unless you consider a marginal lack of total enthusiasm as 'bored'. IMO, people read the behind the scenes stuff, and let it colour their perception of what's actually on film a bit.

    Maybe I am projecting too much of what I read about the shooting. In any case, what I find lazy is the script. But not nearly as lazy as its clones.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    Ludovico wrote:
    In any case, what I find lazy is the script. But not nearly as lazy as its clones.
    I think the script was inventive, but lacking in reality of any kind. No doubt they felt the sheer spectacle would be a great misdirection.
  • Posts: 15,106
    chrisisall wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    In any case, what I find lazy is the script. But not nearly as lazy as its clones.
    I think the script was inventive, but lacking in reality of any kind. No doubt they felt the sheer spectacle would be a great misdirection.

    And this is where it was lazy. Instead of making something closer to Fleming's novel, they took the title and decided to go sci-fi, to go for spectacle, they threw away plausibility and any bit of realism through the window. Lazy, lazy, lazy. That said, it was not nearly as lazy as its clones.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited February 2013 Posts: 17,789
    Ludovico wrote:
    Instead of making something closer to Fleming's novel, they took the title and decided to go sci-fi, to go for spectacle, they threw away plausibility and any bit of realism through the window. Lazy, lazy, lazy. That said, it was not nearly as lazy as its clones.
    Yeah, but have you read Christopher Wood's novelization of his movie story? It's MILES ahead of the movie versions of either YOLT or TSWLM. Really worth reading!
  • Posts: 1,052
    Hmmm, always found it quite a boring film, just not one of my faves, don't think Connery was too bad in it, the second half is just a bit of drag, it's has a nice build up but then gets bogged down once Connery poses as Japanese.

    Also the fight where Bond is wearing the white shoes stolen from a goon seems to feature Bob Simmons exclusivley with Connery obviously busy that day.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    \it's has a nice build up but then gets bogged down once Connery poses as Japanese.
    Yeah, that part has the parking brake on, no doubt. But as in Thunderball, I can easily deal with the slow stuff because when the fast stuff comes, it's worth the wait.

  • Middle of the road Bond with a great theme song. My favorite part is the brawl in Osato's office. Connery is indeed a bit tired.
  • Posts: 2,341
    THE GOODThe music is great. One of Barry's great works.
    The women exotic and beautiful
    Locations supreb especially the volcano set
    Action very good

    THE BAD
    Formaliac plot that resembles some fo the worst imitators of the day
    Pleasance as Blofeld

    THE UGLY
    Connery in what he believed to be his swan song is awful, he is over weight, and looks bored. His acting is uninspired and lacks the fun he displayed in the two previous film.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    OHMSS69 wrote:
    His acting is uninspired and lacks the fun he displayed in the two previous film.

    Being a Double-0 is not 'fun'. It's a dirty, messy job being the world's geo-political janitor.
  • Posts: 15,106
    chrisisall wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    Instead of making something closer to Fleming's novel, they took the title and decided to go sci-fi, to go for spectacle, they threw away plausibility and any bit of realism through the window. Lazy, lazy, lazy. That said, it was not nearly as lazy as its clones.
    Yeah, but have you read Christopher Wood's novelization of his movie story? It's MILES ahead of the movie versions of either YOLT or TSWLM. Really worth reading!

    I rarely read novelizations, especially when there is a novel the book is (at least theoritically) based on. I remember enjoying the novelization of TSWLM. YOLT would have been much better had they been closer to the novel. It is not an easy novel to adapt, especially without the revenge angle, and it would have ended up lesser than the original I suspect, but still, the novel deserved a better treatment.
  • Posts: 2,341
    Ludovico wrote:
    chrisisall wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    Instead of making something closer to Fleming's novel, they took the title and decided to go sci-fi, to go for spectacle, they threw away plausibility and any bit of realism through the window. Lazy, lazy, lazy. That said, it was not nearly as lazy as its clones.
    Yeah, but have you read Christopher Wood's novelization of his movie story? It's MILES ahead of the movie versions of either YOLT or TSWLM. Really worth reading!

    I rarely read novelizations, especially when there is a novel the book is (at least theoritically) based on. I remember enjoying the novelization of TSWLM. YOLT would have been much better had they been closer to the novel. It is not an easy novel to adapt, especially without the revenge angle, and it would have ended up lesser than the original I suspect, but still, the novel deserved a better treatment.

    EON hands were tied and they had to discard the novel plotting because of them reversing the sequence of the books making YOLT befgore OHMSS. In the book YOLT is almost like a sequel to OHMSS. Bond is mourning the death of his wife and when he discovers Blofeld in Japan he sets out on a mission of vengeance.
    They had to toss all of this in favor of the formuliac hogwash full of gadgets, space age shytt that we got.
  • Posts: 15,106
    OHMSS69 wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    chrisisall wrote:
    Ludovico wrote:
    Instead of making something closer to Fleming's novel, they took the title and decided to go sci-fi, to go for spectacle, they threw away plausibility and any bit of realism through the window. Lazy, lazy, lazy. That said, it was not nearly as lazy as its clones.
    Yeah, but have you read Christopher Wood's novelization of his movie story? It's MILES ahead of the movie versions of either YOLT or TSWLM. Really worth reading!

    I rarely read novelizations, especially when there is a novel the book is (at least theoritically) based on. I remember enjoying the novelization of TSWLM. YOLT would have been much better had they been closer to the novel. It is not an easy novel to adapt, especially without the revenge angle, and it would have ended up lesser than the original I suspect, but still, the novel deserved a better treatment.

    EON hands were tied and they had to discard the novel plotting because of them reversing the sequence of the books making YOLT befgore OHMSS. In the book YOLT is almost like a sequel to OHMSS. Bond is mourning the death of his wife and when he discovers Blofeld in Japan he sets out on a mission of vengeance.
    They had to toss all of this in favor of the formuliac hogwash full of gadgets, space age shytt that we got.

    They did reverse order with FRWL following DN and it worked. I know the revenge element would have had to be ditched, and probably to the loss of the story, but they still could have made a story based on the Garden of Death, keep most of the action sequences and the interaction with Blofeld, who could have survived.
  • Posts: 546
    Sean Connery did a excellent job in YOLT. He was in great shape & the toughness was stil there. If I had to choose between TB or YOLT, I would give the notch to TB. But again, Sean Connery was great in YOLT.
  • Posts: 5,634
    Yes, Connery did such an excellent job in that you couldn't help but notice he seemed tired or disinterested through much of the film. The hunger and desire for the part had just gone by then and it showed. If that was a sad sight to see after the (mostly) excellent performances of his earlier appearances, worse was yet to come, four years later
  • edited March 2013 Posts: 12,837
    00Beast wrote:
    better 007 better action, better pace, better soundtrack, and more varied locations. I'd certainly pick it before YOLT.

    I rank Brosnan and Connery equally (tied in 3rd place), DAD had a faster pace but that doesn't necessarily mean better, it did have more varied locations but BETTER SOUNDTRACK?!

    I think DAD is Arnolds worst score whilst YOLT is one of Barry's best. And although I like Arnold and I hope he returns to score Bond 24, none of his score's well ever be as good as John Barry's.

    No Bond composer will ever top the great man.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    Yes, Connery did such an excellent job in that you couldn't help but notice he seemed tired or disinterested through much of the film.

    Connery's YOLT Bond was getting jaded & world weary IMO (a parallel to Connery himself in the role, heh)- by then he EXPECTED to lose friends & lovers to the insidious game. His scene with Helga was PERFECTLY played. Tired of it all, his heart not into it any more... the great precursor to the Bond of OHMSS.
    When viewed this way, YOLT is reasonably flawless, from a Connery performance POV. No?
  • edited March 2013 Posts: 12,837
    @chrisisall That is actually a great way of looking at it.

    Just another reason for me to rate YOLT highly :)
  • YOLT was the first Bond film I ever saw back in 1984 aged 4 on Betamax video ITV recording.

    It has been my personal fav film since that time. My Aunt Betty used to record all the Bonds back then not for me but for her boyfriend Sydney back then. it was just by accident that they were watching YOLT that I got to see it. Thanks to them Bond has been a big part of my life ever since.

    Actually YOLT is a family favourite.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,789
    @chrisisall That is actually a great way of looking at it.

    And just so you know, I didn't say all that to try and justify my longtime love of a Bond movie- I didn't even own it until a few weeks ago, so I've just seen it with fresh eyes.
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