You Only Live Twice (1967) FULL WATCH ALONG w/ Coby
Added 2024-09-02 13:00:03 +0000 UTC
Comments
Coby, of course you have to watch the next one, not sure you notice, at the end of the movie, it stated the title of the next Bond movie. "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969) which is George Lazenby only James Bond movie. I hope you continue with this one and then onto Sean Connery's last official outing as 007 'Diamonds are Forever" (1971)
John A
2024-11-12 06:47:26 +0000 UTCInside You Only Live Twice Part 1 https://youtu.be/7VKny_EjSzs?si=jW5sYCc0kxsnBZK4 Part 2 https://youtu.be/VR4JTxgBq2Y?si=8GZSHzydalch9wMp Part 3 https://youtu.be/9ShBGOL46E8?si=POsd-bcwPLMJLldM I love these documentaries. I look forward to watching these, almost as much as the films themselves… almost. ;-)
Larry Darrell
2024-09-04 07:15:06 +0000 UTCYou called James Bond a Butt-Head. If you’re going to playfully insult Mr. Bond, I prefer you to use the names given from the film… such as Dinghy. ;-) The Romances this time around, did seem a bit forced, rushed, excessive, un-natural, and… yes, “Next Level,” even for James Bond. There were a number of Off-Screen Elements that affected the 5th James Bond film, its Tone and Story. One of them was bringing on a new director, Lewis Gilbert, which was certainly the least of the films problems. Gilbert, who was just coming off of his smash hit film, Alfie (1966), which garnered 5 Oscar nominations, including one for Gilbert himself, was a fine director, but was no match for the “Hubris” of the films’ producers, Broccoli and Saltzman. IMO, the biggest mistake the producers made was not using Richard Maibaum to write the film’s screenplay. Out of the original 16 Bond films, You Only Live Twice, is only one of three that Maibaum didn’t have a hand in writing. The other two being Live and Let Die (1973) and Moonraker (1979). I feel like Maibaum understood the James Bond character maybe more than anyone else, besides Ian Fleming. For the film version of James Bond, Maibaum was the one who had been telling Bond’s Story for the past 4 films. James Bond had been growing as a character and as a person. Thunderball showed that James Bond had emotions and that they were starting to affect him and his performance on the job. Thunderball showed that Bond was not a superhero and that he was not a sex maniac. James Bond’s Arc was slightly skewed when the producers decided to hire Roald Dahl to write the screenplay. Roald Dahl, though a famous writer of novels, short stories, mainly for children and had done some plays and TV writing… had never written a screenplay for a major motion picture before, let alone write a story with as much sex that was “required” to be in a James Bond film. In an interview, Dahl recalls an early conversation with the producers about what is required to be in the script, saying, “I said, ‘He wants a woman, doesn’t he, to chase around and fall in love with.’ And uhh… they said, ‘Well, three would be better.” So having a writer, write his version of a character that someone else created, on a subject that the writer has never written on before, and in a medium that the writer has never written before, and give said writer the stipulation that the character must have 3 different conquests over the course of the film. Dahl also used very little of Ian Fleming’s story from the novel, which was another first for the films. Again IMO, Roald Dahl lacked the experience and finesse which Richard Maibaum had in order to write a more believable James Bond tale, that handled James Bond’s intimacies with the Bond Girls, with style. Roald Dahl was a terrific writer, no doubt… but he was not right for Bond. Another of these Off-Screen Elements, which actually made its way onto the screen, was Sean Connery’s weariness of playing James Bond. At the beginning of production, Connery’s contract to play Bond was near the end, and during the production, in Japan, the paparazzi hounded him worse than ever. Connery, who was always a very private person, announced during filming, that this would be his last film as James Bond. There is a way that you can watch, You Only Live Twice, that helps to explain why Connery’s James Bond acts the way he does in the film, that also helps to connect the Arc from Thunderball (1965) thru to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969). Sean Connery’s tiredness of playing James Bond can be translated into James Bond’s tiredness of the life he is living. In Thunderball, James Bond was affected by Domino, and feelings, that he normally keeps closed off and hidden, began to surface. In You Only Live Twice, James Bond almost seems disinterested at times. We first meet Bond in bed with a woman, mid-kiss, but is he really enjoying himself, or is he distracted? His first words after kissing this woman are not words that give the feeling that he is “in the moment.” “Why do Chinese girls taste different than all other girls?” Bond has been with so many girls at this point, that this is where his mind goes when he is lying naked in bed with a woman. He’s become analytical about all the women he’s had. This to me, shows that Bond is possibly pondering his life choices. Looking at the other 3 main Bond Girls, and Bond’s relations with them… due to Dahl’s writing, they all seem forced and rushed. But there are moments where you can see how Bond really feels about them. (Such as “how Loving of Bond” was when sleeping next to Aki. ;-) I’ll mention Helga first. This was the inevitable female villain seduction scene. There really was no explanation for her to want to sleep with him, other than… she wanted to. She planned to kill him later anyways. Bond had to play along as well. His cover was that he was trying to turn her, so he had to do it. “Oh the things I do for England.” Again, I feel like these scenes were handled much better with Richard Maibaum writing. The main Bond Girl was Aki. She came on strong when she forced herself onto Bond during his massage, and he let her. They barely knew each other, but she was supposed to be “The One” for him in this film. This was evident, when Tanaka told Bond that he was going undercover and would take a wife. Bond looked surprised, but then looked at Aki, and smiled as they held each other’s hand. Joy overcame him at the thought of marrying Aki… even though they had already had a “honeymoon.” When Tanaka says marrying Aki would be impossible, Bond is disappointed and shuts those feelings down immediately. When he asks if the girl that he is going to marry is pretty… that is not a serious question. That is what Bond says when he shuts his emotions off. He’s just saying what he thinks he would normally say. One may notice in these series of films… that James Bond, the character himself, is playing a Role/Part… that is different than who James Bond really is. He says and does things that keeps himself in check, so that his emotions don’t affect his Work or Life. Aki’s death was not handled well and basically glossed over, because there was a 3rd Bond Girl that James was to get familiar with. I won’t mention too much about Kissy… Except to mention… when Coby thought Bond was annoyed at the sleeping arrangements with Kissy, as we see Bond watching her sleep… Perhaps there was a different thought in his head. Perhaps a less “Predictable” one. More on that Later. :-) Ooohhh… I Cannot Wait for you to watch the next film… On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) This is One of the Best in the series, and my personal favorite. This will be the first actor change, with George Lazenby. Very important to remember… George Lazenby is playing the same James Bond as Sean Connery. They have the same history. What happened to Connery… happened to Lazenby. :-)
Larry Darrell
2024-09-04 07:04:08 +0000 UTCSean Connery left for one film after this one, then came back to do 1 more official film (and one unofficial film many years later...loooong story). I really love this one despite its many flaws. The next one has George Lazenby as 007 but is a very well done movie.
Chris Lane- Venturi 3D
2024-09-02 23:02:20 +0000 UTCSweet, I’ll be watching this tonight with you after work. Not a bad way to end Labor Day.
Robert Durant
2024-09-02 22:49:39 +0000 UTCThe man who Bond fought in the office and hid in the bar was played by Peter Maivia, who went on to be a popular wrestler in the WWF (now WWE). His grandson is Dwayne Johnson.
Jonathan Hintz
2024-09-02 18:22:40 +0000 UTC
