007 (Sean Connery) goes Japan to take on arch-nemesis Blofeld (Donald Pleasence) who has been capturing Russian an American spacecrafts in order to cause the WWIII. To investigate, MI6 operative James Bond is sent by M (Bernard Lee), the head of MI6, to Tokyo, after faking his own death in Hong Kong and being buried at sea from HMS Tenby. Upon his arrival, Bond attends a sumo match where he is approached by Japanese secret service agent Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi), who takes him to meet local MI6 operative Dikko Henderson (Charles Gray). Welcome to Japan, Mr. Bond !. This Man IS James Bond, Sean Connery is James Bond. You Only Live Twice...and "Twice" is the only way to live!.
A very good entry in James Bond series with implausible plot but very amusing script. Here Bond is again the efficient, relentless agent trying to chase obstinately the criminals, traveling around the world as always, as this time is mostly set in Japan. Bond to achieve his aims, along the way uses violent means, pulling off brutal killings against enemies who wreak all sorts of havoc. This time Bond goes East, traveling to Japan to take on arch-nemesis Blofeld who attempts to start a new world war, and anticipating future Karate film trends: six years after with ¨Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon¨, martial arts thrillers would be all the rage. This solid , slick thriller with magic mix of action-packed, dazzling stunts, gadgetry, romance and flirts provided by sexy company as Akiko Wakabayashi, Mie Hama, Karin Dor, Tsai Chin and the indispensble secretary Miss Moneypenny, Lois Maxwell. As always Bond will use "state of the art" and fantastic gadgets provided by ¨Q¨: Desmond Llewelyn. They include a deadly rocket that uses a cigarette as its firing tube, and a speedy one-seat autogiro in which 007 does battle with a fleet of Spectre helicopters. The most fun item though, is a helicopter equipped with an electromagnet for removing unwanted cars from the motorway. Being shot in Japan, there're a lot of Oriental actors providing adequate acting, such as: Akiko Wakabayashi, Mie Hama, Tetsurô Tanba, Teru Shimada, Tsai Chin, Michael Chow and Burt Kwouk.
Great location cinematography by classic cameraman Freddie Young, breathtaking production design by Ken Adam, unforgettable musical score by John Barry, and catching theme sung by Nancy Sinatra enhance the attractivenes of the film. Lewis Gilbert directs the plentiful action in nice style, it is definitely the mechanical marvels that hold sway in this overwhelming thriller/adventure. The motion picture was competently directed by Lewis Gilbert who was awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1997 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to the film industry. Lewis has directed four actors to Oscar nominations: Michael Caine (Best Actor, Alfie,1966); Best Actor, Educating Rita (1983), Vivien Merchant (Best Supporting Actress, Alfie , 1966), Julie Walters (Best Actress, Educating Rita (1983), and Pauline Collins (Best Actress, Shirley Valentine (1989). He was a successful producer and directo , getting some hits , such as : ¨Alfie¨ , ¨Operation: Daybreak¨, ¨Shirley Valentine¨, ¨H. M. S. Defiant¨, ¨The 7th Dawn¨ , ¨Light up the sky !¨, ¨Sink the Bismarck !¨ , among others . And directing three notable James Bond films : ¨The Spy Who Loved Me¨, ¨Moonraker¨ , ¨You Only Live Twice¨. Rating : 7.5/10. Above average. Well worth seeing .
A very good entry in James Bond series with implausible plot but very amusing script. Here Bond is again the efficient, relentless agent trying to chase obstinately the criminals, traveling around the world as always, as this time is mostly set in Japan. Bond to achieve his aims, along the way uses violent means, pulling off brutal killings against enemies who wreak all sorts of havoc. This time Bond goes East, traveling to Japan to take on arch-nemesis Blofeld who attempts to start a new world war, and anticipating future Karate film trends: six years after with ¨Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon¨, martial arts thrillers would be all the rage. This solid , slick thriller with magic mix of action-packed, dazzling stunts, gadgetry, romance and flirts provided by sexy company as Akiko Wakabayashi, Mie Hama, Karin Dor, Tsai Chin and the indispensble secretary Miss Moneypenny, Lois Maxwell. As always Bond will use "state of the art" and fantastic gadgets provided by ¨Q¨: Desmond Llewelyn. They include a deadly rocket that uses a cigarette as its firing tube, and a speedy one-seat autogiro in which 007 does battle with a fleet of Spectre helicopters. The most fun item though, is a helicopter equipped with an electromagnet for removing unwanted cars from the motorway. Being shot in Japan, there're a lot of Oriental actors providing adequate acting, such as: Akiko Wakabayashi, Mie Hama, Tetsurô Tanba, Teru Shimada, Tsai Chin, Michael Chow and Burt Kwouk.
Great location cinematography by classic cameraman Freddie Young, breathtaking production design by Ken Adam, unforgettable musical score by John Barry, and catching theme sung by Nancy Sinatra enhance the attractivenes of the film. Lewis Gilbert directs the plentiful action in nice style, it is definitely the mechanical marvels that hold sway in this overwhelming thriller/adventure. The motion picture was competently directed by Lewis Gilbert who was awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1997 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to the film industry. Lewis has directed four actors to Oscar nominations: Michael Caine (Best Actor, Alfie,1966); Best Actor, Educating Rita (1983), Vivien Merchant (Best Supporting Actress, Alfie , 1966), Julie Walters (Best Actress, Educating Rita (1983), and Pauline Collins (Best Actress, Shirley Valentine (1989). He was a successful producer and directo , getting some hits , such as : ¨Alfie¨ , ¨Operation: Daybreak¨, ¨Shirley Valentine¨, ¨H. M. S. Defiant¨, ¨The 7th Dawn¨ , ¨Light up the sky !¨, ¨Sink the Bismarck !¨ , among others . And directing three notable James Bond films : ¨The Spy Who Loved Me¨, ¨Moonraker¨ , ¨You Only Live Twice¨. Rating : 7.5/10. Above average. Well worth seeing .