It's a fresh take on an older but classic movie. Calvin is doing an awesome job and is on point as I saw all these Connery/Lazenby movies on original release.
My dad, a Scotsman, also said the same thing. We'd hired it from the video shop (remember those) this would be around 1988/9 and he found it amusing that a tall, hairy working class lad from Scotland could be passed off for a poor, skinny Japanese fisherman.
The actress who portrays Ling was in Daniel Craig's "Casino Royale"...Sandra Oh's mother in "Grey's Anatomy"...and Ming-Na Wen's mother in "Agents of SHIELD."
What a fantastic review...the aerial-shot rooftop fight scene always has blown me away and the spectacle of the ending is breathtaking. Also, Nancy Sinatra's theme is still gorgeous to this day. I wish you had pointed out this was also screenwritten by Roald Dahl-that usually surprises the hell out of most people.
D'oh, guy. No mention of that glorious fight between Connery and stuntman Peter Maivia (aka grandfather of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson') in the Japanese office ? Never has bond beaten a man with a couch before or since. Almost made up for his lackluster performance throughout. Little Nellie could've use a nod as well. FYI: The persian cat actually did run off from Pleasance's difficult grip due to all the deafening explosions on set and wasn't found for days by it's trainer.
There was no reason having a cat on a set with explosions. Movies frequently film close-ups separately from overall action. It’s more economical and you can get more takes. Then you put it together through the ‘magic’ of editing. 🌈 🚴🏽♂️
Biggest problem with the helicopter picking up the car and disposing of it in the ocean. Bond and Aki watch this on a small screen in Aki's car. So, Tanaka had a SECOND helicopter in the area, just to observe the first and broadcast the action back to Aki, and presumably, himself.
My Swedish teacher in Japanese language have acted in a Japanese TV series with Mie Hama and he have acted with Tetsuro Tamba too. He told that Tamba was a very funny man with great sense of humor.
Ken Adam's sets are just wonderful! Even simple sets like the room where Prof. Dent speaks with Dr. No are most effective. You can argue that Bond movies are of different qualities for whatever reason, but at least they all qualify as being watchable movies with good cinematography, sets, choice of landscapes, blocking, editing and great soundtracks. I think the most faults in Bond movies originate in the writing and in the constant rehash of the Bond formula.
With the exception of Live and Let Die and Casino Royale, I just hate, hate, hate the latest Bond music. Yes. Even Adelle, whoever the heck she claims to be. The title themes have been boring as sin.
@@calql8er John Barry did the scores until The Living Daylights, so he did live and let die. i dont know if he would write the themes then have others perform it, or maybe some artists just wrote their own themes? But i will agree, Spectre and No time to die themes.... are nothing special. Not even good imho.
❤ Sean Connery James bonds, but Sean Connery was aging very fast it seemed, Roger Moore alittle older aged better, ❤ Roger Moore James bond too, it was more modern looking, it needed new blood, ❤ Sean Connery James bonds pretty woman red hair ladies etc etc
No mention of the fact that one of the Hong Kong policemen in the beginning (who discover Bond's "body") is Anthony Ainley, better known as the Master in Doctor Who? (Of the eighties, that is.) You can't see his face clearly, but I believe he has a line.
Next time you watch this movie again, pay close attention to the aerial fight between Bond in Little Nellie and the 4 helicopters. Whenever there is a close-up on one of the helicopter pilots, IT IS ALWAYS THE SAME GUY. Apparently the producers chose to save some money by hiring just one actor instead of four. (Similarly, in the wedding scene, the first two women that come up the steps are clearly the same actress.)
Another thing that bothers me. Blofeld (or at least, Osato) managed to send two assassins to the ninja training camp. So... if SPECTRE knew about that, why did they go ahead with the fake fisherman/marriage plan? Doesn't that mean they've already been compromised?
Most of the problems with You Only Live Twice had to do with the scope of the production, and the technical difficulties that went along with it. The press intrusion into Sean Connery's life started to become a serious issue. The constant media attention meant that thirty extra private security guards were hired to combat the excess noise and hindrance, but even the guards started to take photos. At one point, a fan began following Connery with a camera, and police had to deal with fan incursions several times during shooting. The final straw came when a journalist followed him into the toilet for an interview. This contributed to his growing dissatisfaction with the role. Not helping Connery's mood was his deteriorating relationship with Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman. It got to the point where he refused to act if either of them was on set. During one interview, Connery offended Japanese national pride at a press conference by stating that "Japanese women are just not sexy" due to their hiding their figures behind kimonos. This faux pas turned out to be based on a mistranslation, on a day when Connery was exhausted after an intensive day's filming. Connery was also worried about typecasting and was annoyed that people only saw him as James Bond. The fact that the posters boasted that "Sean Connery IS James Bond" didn't help. One interviewer was aghast that the actor showed up in a casual t-shirt with baggy trousers and sandals, and not wearing a toupée. "Is this how James Bond dresses?" he asked, to which Connery replied tersely "I'm not James Bond, I'm Sean Connery, a man who likes to dress comfortably." The volcano set cost almost as much as Dr. No's entire budget. It was so large, it could be seen from three miles away. The final battle required the services of every stuntman in Britain. According to Ken Adam, it required more steel than that used for the London Hilton Hotel. He later said that he must have been mad doing such a complex set. Saltzman hired Jan Werich to play the part of Blofeld without consulting Gilbert or Broccoli, and though Lewis Gilbert perservered with Werich, it soon became obvious that he was completely miscast, leading to the role being hastily recast with Donald Pleasence. Casting the main girls had its troubles. Mie Hama was originally given the role of Aki, but lost it because her English wasn't very good. She threatened to throw herself off the roof of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo out of shame, so she was given the role of Kissy instead, which required less English (she was dubbed, anyway). While scouting locations in Japan, Broccoli, Saltzman, Gilbert, cinematographer Freddie Young, and Adam were booked to leave Japan on BOAC flight 911 departing Tokyo for Hong Kong and London. Two hours before their Boeing 707 flight departed, the team was invited to an unexpected ninja demonstration, and so missed their plane. Their flight took off as scheduled, and twenty-five minutes after take-off, the plane disintegrated over Mt. Fuji, killing all aboard. The Little Nellie battle was initially shot in Miyazaki, first with takes of the gyrocopter, with more than eighty-five take-offs, five hours of flight, and pilot Ken Wallis nearly crashing into the camera several times. A scene filming the helicopters from above created a major downdraft, and aerial cameraman John Jordan's foot was severed by the craft's rotor, which required amputation. The concluding shots involved explosions, which the Japanese government did not allow in a national park, so the crew moved to Torremolinos, Spain, which was found to resemble the Japanese landscape. The Toyota 2000GT weren't convertables, but the 6'2 Connery couldn't fit into the tiny car, so the producers had to ask Toyota if they could send one without a roof. Two weeks later, they got a car sans roof. Akiko Wakabayashi couldn't drive, so six stuntmen created the illusion of her driving by attaching a cable, and pulling it from outside of the frame. Stuntmen also substituted for her in long camera shots by donning black wigs. Hama couldn't dive (allegedly due to stomach cramps), so Connery's wife Diane Cilento doubled for her wearing a black wig. Local Japanese girls cast as extras refused to wear bikinis in publicity photo shoots. On the intervention of Broccoli, consent was able to be achieved. In post-production, the cut that Gilbert and editor Thelma Connell came up with ran at an absurdly long three hours and got universally negative feedback from a test audience. The producers, realizing they had a potential Franchise Killer on their hands, begged former series editor Peter Hunt (who had moved away from editing into handling the second unit, as a stepping-stone to becoming a director in his own right) to re-edit it into something much more manageable, and Hunt agreed, so long as he was allowed to direct the next entry in the series. Even recording the title song had problems. Nancy Sinatra, fresh off her chart hit "These Boots are Made for Walkin'", was so nervous about doing it that it took twenty-five different takes (by her own admission, she sounded like Minnie Mouse). The final song used in the film was made up of the best parts from each recording. At one point, she asked the crew, "Are you sure you wouldn't rather have Shirley Bassey?" The end product once again proved a critical and commercial hit, but Connery decided enough was enough and temporarily retired from the role until he came back for Diamonds Are Forever.
Other problems are that Connery was dehydrated from the high temperature. Also the Gemini project (U.S.A. spacecraft stolen by Blofeld) was completed in November 1966, seven months before the film premiered. U.S.A. Space Program is suspended and questioned after the Apollo 1 tragedy in January 1967. Many spy films after the success of Bond and another Bond film (''Casino Royale'' April 1967). After ten years ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' (a remake of Y.O.L.T.) with more attention to details, was also great success. th-cam.com/video/fCisJExSWs4/w-d-xo.html
You Only Live Twice is my favourite Connery film! Mainly because of the fantasy! This movie is pure 60s fantasy! Not only that. Lookwise, this film is absolutely amazing! It’s full of beautiful cinematography! The areal shots of Japan, the shots of and from the volcano are among the most beautiful single camera shots ever made in the entire series! The filmsets are fantastic too! The japanese atmosphere is done extremely well! It just feels exotic and different. Bond‘s arch enemy reveals his face. I also really like the Bond girls in this movie! Sean Connery gave a bit of a weaker performane though. I also really like the title song and the soundtrack which is getting better and better with each movie! The overall feel and the atmosphere is great! It is the ultimate form of escapism! Overall, I think that this film is underrated. Because it manages to slip into my personal top 10 Bond movies!
+kasra khatir Especially the queue when Kissy's face is revealed and the (what I assume are) Violens join the composition, adding some dramatic bass to the previously traditional Japanese sounding piece.
After Thunderball OHMSS should have be made, followed by YOLT and then The Man with The Golden Gun as in the book series. Fleming did more than tell the same story over and over; these are related episodes. YOLT is supposed to be a tale of revenge for Traceys' murder. Flemings' fans were probably disappointed that the trilogy never made it to the films because it's a highlight of the literary legend. The films are entertaining but they could have been better if a power struggle between the partnership of Saltzman and Broccoli and the partnership of Whitingham and McClory over the franchise had not caused all the parties to be territorial instead of working together and being imaginative.
I think the movie YOLT was the first to do something that was picked up again with Diamonds are Forever and continued well into Roger Moore's era...take a title and a few character names from Fleming (maybe one or two story details as well) and build the rest of the story out of whole cloth. (And sometimes details from one Fleming story would pop up in movies that otherwise had nothing to do with the source material: the keel-hauling from the novel Live and Let Die shows up in the movie For Your Eyes Only, Felix Leiter's mauling from that same novel shows up in The Living Daylights, etc.)
Whilst Connery's performance does leave a lot to be desired, I also believe this is the best entry in the last 3 Connery films. The cinematography is great, I can only imagine what awe the audience must have been in when they got to visit Japan along with Bond for the whole movie. I wish more Bond films would capture locations like this, though globe-trotting adventures are fun in their own right too. Would also love to see more supporting Asian characters in the series in the future! Awesome review, very hilarious even though it's been past 4 years since you released the video!
This film was no where as good as the novel with the killing garden and Blofelds death . Connery really finished with the character as he gained weight and didn't have the charisma like in Thunderball to a stale performance in YOLT .
His emotionless "She's dead" reaction at Aki's death and his overly emotional and silly sounding "Aki!" when he sees her again earlier are the peak examples of his not giving a sh*t here.
I honestly think they shouldn't of killed off Aki, there was no point and I prefer her over Kissy, although Mie Hama is better looking, but Wakabayashi is still good looking.
I don't think about Aki, but I believe Henderson should be played by Pleasence. Ηis murder would not be true - like Bond in Hong Kong - and in the volcano he would say, that he is Blofeld's half brother.
"You Only Live Twice" was a pretty good. I like Japan locations, the mountains, and the cultural backgrounds were beautiful. The premise is just about Bond's mission is to find the missing rockets where was lead by SPECTRE's main lead, Ernst Stavro Blofled in Japan. At least Connery tried his best as Bond character before he left out the series until comes back in only one movie in 1971. Blofled was a pretty memorable villain since they parodied him from Dr. Claw from "Inspector Gadget" and Dr. Evil from "Austin Powers" series. The only letdown is how ridiculous that they made Bond as white wash Asian bachelor and rather see Aki in this movie because she's so beautiful and very interesting unti they killed her off instead they get Kissy Suzuki which she's pretty good Bond girl. I like how Bond treated respects for Japanese women instead of being a forceful abusive spy since latest films, but it turns out to be good. The action scenes were good and the ending climax was pretty awesome. Overall, a pretty good spy movie. Thanks Roald Dahl who wrote the screenplay, so he wouldn't wrote something about "Charle and the Chocolate Factory" references.
Great review! I saw this one on its opening night June 22, 1967. I remember the date because of the special girl who was with me that night 55 years ago. Terrific film. I guess it must be my age but no actor could ever be better than Connery in my book.
This is my favourite James Bond film of all time, my favourite Bond, Sean Connery, my favourite Bond villain, Donald Pleasance as Blofeld, my favourite villain lair, the volcano, and a great song to top it all off. Also it was my first bond film, I think the first bond film that we see will always be special to us
12:47 "Meanwhile a Russian spacecraft takes off clearly not in Russia thanks to the appearance of two palm trees" Never mind the palm trees, that's obviously a US Air Force Titan II rocket lifting a NASA Gemini spacecraft into orbit - you can even clearly see the Gemini perched atop the rocket. Ironically, later in the film when we see the American's launching their next rocket, the stock footage used is of a Soviet R7.
No, the later American launch was of an Atlas-Agena rocket... (I'm a space buff). Remember at the time the Soviets kept their space program a closely guarded secret... they reveled in their string of "firsts" (first satellite in orbit, first man in space, first woman in space, first spacecraft with 3 astronauts, first spacewalk) but their spacecraft, rockets, and even space program designers were all closely guarded state secrets... It wouldn't be until the late 60's (67 IIRC) at the Paris Air Show that they would reveal their R-7 "Soyuz" launcher (which of course had also launched their Vostok and Voskhod spacecraft series as well) to the world... There was NO "stock footage" of Soviet spacecraft being launched to use in the film, so obviously US space launch stock footage was used instead... Just seems like they COULD have found some footage for the Russian launch that didn't show Florida palm trees in the foreground LOL:) Heck it would have worked better to show the Atlas-Agena launch as the Russian launch (since even the Russian capsule design particulars were unknown at the time-- the captured Soviet spacecraft looks NOTHING like anything the Soviets actually ever flew, because at the time nobody outside of the intelligence community really had any idea what a Soviet spacecraft looked like (Vostok and Voskhod). SO, they made up a "generic" spacecraft that looked broadly like an American Mercury or Gemini spacecraft and stuck it in the SPECTRE spaceship... Anyway, the shape of the "Russian spacecraft" would have closely approximated the shape of the Atlas-Agena's nosecone, particularly if they would have painted the "Russian spacecraft" white instead of black or dark gray (which is actually more realistic anyway, because of thermal absorption and overheating issues in orbit from a black or dark spacecraft absorbing too much solar heat and radiated heat from Earth, even in darkness... which is why most spacecraft are silver reflective mylar or white-- and early spacecraft were often alternating black and white stripes to "moderate" how much energy they reflected and how much they absorbed, to keep a more or less "constant temperature" to prevent overheating or overcooling). The Gemini-Titan launch with the palm trees would have, of course, been the perfect "stock footage" for the launch of the American "Jupiter" spacecraft in the film... It just seems rather like someone got the order to "go down to the stock film vault and find a couple of appropriate space launches to insert into the movie" and this is the best they could come up with?? LOL:) Maybe someone got mixed up and switched the clips in editing... Later! OL J R :)
@@lukestrawwalker A problem in the film is that the Gemini project (U.S.A. spacecraft stolen from Blofeld) was completed in November 1966. When the film is released in June1967, the U.S.A. space program has been suspended, after the tragedy of Apollo 1 (project Apollo) in January 1967.
Great video, can't wait for OHMSS review, spectre review and more awesome top 10's and rankings! Keep up the great work Calvin! And please do videos on 7th 17th and 27th days of the month, I can't get enough of your videos!!!!
YOLT is extremely fun and easy to watch, but at the same time I wish the producers chose to film he Blofeld trilogy in order, and like the previous films, stick rather close to the books. I'd love to see Connery in OHMSS assuming his performance would've been on top form unlike here. What I really would've loved was Dalton actually agreeing to the role for OHMSS. Sure he was really young at the time, but IMO he's the best actor to play Bond in terms terms of believability. Wish Dalton had at least one more film.
He wish he would have at least returned for Diamonds Are Forever and had his revenge...and in a better way than Diamonds are Forever provided. I never minded the beginning of FYEO because despite its issues, it was still a significantly better ending to the Blofeld saga than that movie. I've read if he had returned, he really would have killed the real Blofeld at the beginning of the movie. I wish they had done that.
+Michael Kopischke Agreed. Even if Lazenby returned for DAF and it took a tone similar to LTK I'd be wicked happy. I do love Lazenby in the role, and his character arch was incomplete. He could've had that darker revenge film, and then he turns to the more world weary Bond that Roger played.
I can agree with you about Dalton. I wish he had started his Bond run from A view to a kill, instead of old Roger Moore. I lile Roger's style of playing Bond, but in 1984 he was out of shape and looks very old to keep it up. A view to a kill could have been one of the best movies in whole franchise, had Dalton appeared there.
They script of AVTAK could have been rewritten to Dalton's portrayal of Bond. And I think AVTAK have a much more serious story, than other Moore movies. This story with rewritten script could worked with Dalton. Walken's Zorin as a villain is more serious and suitable to Dalton's Bond, than Roger's.
I love these reviews. You only live twice is my favourite bond film, it’s the most beautiful of all of them, Japan in the 60’s and the Nancy Sinatra theme song and opening graphics. And bond actually loving a woman.
I don't know how true this is, but I read somewhere that Nancy Sinatra was so nervous in the recording studio that they took her out and got her drunk to steady her nerves.
In the book, Bond's disguise made only slightly more sense. He would be from a coal mining village, where they have tall men, and say that he was deaf and mute (so he wouldn't have to talk to anyone). I still wonder how they explained the blue eyes.
I'm so glad you right off the bat addressed how confusing the whole "Bond faking his own death" bit is right at the beginning of the film. That endlessly confused me watching it as a kid. It seems like there would be so many better ways to fake his own death than the elaborate staging he goes through here. And who exactly knows? Is the girl in on it? Is the firing squad in on it? Is the navy that gives him burial at sea in on it? It seems to me looking back that the writers just wanted a cliffhanger going into the opening credits and they were willing to defy logic to get that. But it just makes it all so much more confusing.
+darkknightdetec6 It looked to me that they faked the death specifically for the guy watching the burial through binoculars. Bond's "death" was kind of hokey to say the least. The only way it would have made sense was to have someone capture the shooting with a video cam and show it on the news. Of course video cams weren't around back then.
It’s also quite interesting that a lot of the early Bond films end with Bond on a boat (Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, The Man With The Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy)
The movie has a good script that has been used twice (''The Spy Who Loved Me''), but they doesn't pay attention to the details. For example in this scene Blofeld - instead of rubbish - had to say in Helga and Ozato, that you both saw what the Hong Kong signal said, you didn't see the newspapers.
great and funny review..thanks for that Calvin. This was the first Bond film i watched as a young kid - so it always had and will have a special place in my heart, i know its flawed but its so melancholic and full or memories for me, i just love it. and ....uhhh i love Aki with this trousers and that pullover at the kobe docks... well i love her without it as well
Calvin Dyson | James Bond Reviewer hehe when we were kids my buddy next to me - whom the vhs belonged to - said: "damn he is cold, he is not even closing his eyes while kissing" (he meant the scene when he and suki check out the volcano area and the disguise-kiss :)
I like You Only Live Twice. Not on my Top 5 favorite Bond movie, but I think it has it's moments. Definitely liked the jokes and accents you put into the review. Looking forward to the next Bond review.
You seem to have forgotten to put this Bond outing, and Diamonds Are Forever, on the review playlist. Beyond that minor oversight, I love watching & re-watching your Bond reviews 😃
John Barry's score in this is sooooo eerie! That opening Timpani Piano layer! The Rooftop Fan-fair! The creepy "Drop in the Ocean" Waltz & not forgetting that Military Space March which crescendos the film into 6th gear! It's all so easy to watch because of John! It's practically a 2 hour long music video! And I'd recommend anyone wanting to study music to listen to John's work because there is a very good reason why there is nothing like this around today. The man was a genius! If anyone wants a copy of the album of John Barry's best works spiced up a bit for modern day systems(!) drop me a line & we'll get it to you, what what!
+Calvin Dyson | James Bond Reviewer Hey, everyone has their classic intro. It's perfect. I say keep it, it keeps a unique identity to all your reviews.
That's definitely a must. The volcano lair and the interior of the Liparus tanker from The Spy Who Loved Me would probably most likely be the top 2 Ken Adam set designs. But I can't decide which I like better as they were both brilliantly designed and constructed.
The funny part is the scene with the palm trees is an actual Gemini launch which they use for "Jupiter 16". The odd part is if they switched the footage, and the spacesuits of Americans and Russians it would have been much better.
Your assessment of Blofeld's cat was hilarious! Absolutely brilliant! I must have seen YOLT well over 100 times and I never noticed the cat being in such distress! lol
Also, I think the volcano scenes were toward the end of the shoot since it took so long to get the set built. My feeling is that Connery's performance picked up thanks to the set. I would imagine everyone working in that set had to be inspired.
Great!!! Finally a review of YOLT :), and a very good and funny one i'm so glad you like it, because this movie is on my top 5 james bond movies!!! can't wait to hear what you have to say about OHMSS :)
Please add the rest of your old videos as they are so fun to watch
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The ending blofeld lair just screams late 60s the foil greys and silvers with the dome like arena is pure subtle psychedelic work. It was so iconic it made a impact for the austin powers movies.
_You Only Live Twice_ is my favorite Bond movie; it has an auto-gyro assembled out of a dozen suitcases, a hidden base in a hollow volcano, ninja warriors and Donald Pleasence as Blofeld.
I prefer Pleasence in the role of Henderson. Ηis murder would not be true - like Bond in Hong Kong - and in the volcano he would say that he is Blofeld's half brother.
Connery also did not get along with Harry Saltzman, at least that's how I understand it. And Donald Pleasence is one of my favorite actors. Plus this is my favorite Bond movie.
I prefer Pleasence to play Henderson. Ηis murder would not be true - like Bond in Hong Kong - and in the volcano he would say that he is Blofeld's half brother.
One thing I don't understand about the movie: they fake-kill Bond, have him openly buried at sea, and put his picture on the front page of the newspapers. Then, they have him walking around Tokyo, alive and undisguised. Didn't anybody notice the supposedly dead guy? And the only way SPECTRE recognizes the undisguised Bond is by the gun he carries? Huh? (Oh, and great review, by the way.)
Because I mostly watch YT on the Roku, I rarely get a chance to leave comments since the streaming app for it does not offer many of the online features. So as this is my first comment on your videos, let me say at the outset how much I enjoy them and that your style of communicating is very engaging and infectiously entertaining. I realized how much enjoyment I got from your work when I vehemently disagreed with your opinion and yet still had a great time watching. Unlike a lot of Bond nerds (of which I am a dues paying member) you regularly acknowledge that your views are all subjective and that people shouldn't get bent out of shape if they think differently. You also consistently say stuff you may not like does not mean that everyone who does like it is wrong or that it is inherently bad. That's a rare perspective with lots of Bond dudes online where it often tends to be "you either subscribe to my opinions or you're an idiot." I just turned 63 and saw my first Bond film GOLDFINGER first run in a theater when I was 6 years old in 1965. I am quite the veteran Bond and 60's Spy Craze kid and having worked as an author, historian and teacher for the last 45 years, I've lived through many Bond wars, lol. But just as I was beginning to think there was nothing new to say on the subject, you kicked the ass of my assumption to the street and fired up my imagination all over again. I'm very grateful as well as inspired and excited to hear some fresh Bond views which can still teach an old mule packing gold prospecting geezer like me. So many thanks and I look forward to more of your videos. But now that you've made it this far through all the blowing smoke and near obsequious molasses, how about the real reason I came here to comment, which was to ask why the hell you didn't mention anything about the fight in Osato's office, which though Oddjob lite, was still a highlight of the film for me. Either subscribe to my opinions or you're an idiot! LOL. Take care, Calvin, and keep the videos coming in.
This was such a lovely read and very very kind of you! I really appreciate it. Particularly as I do try to caveat my opinions as always being subjective. The Bond filmography is SUCH a broad church of styles and tones that I think the fandom is broadly quite good at accepting a diversity of opinion. Fortunately I’ve been lucky to not be involved in any Bond Wars yet (but the day is young!) Thanks again for this, really appreciate it! And haha it’s a bit of a story behind why I didn’t talk about the fight you mentioned… this video was essentially a ‘remake’ of a previous one which was made when TH-cam videos could only be 15 minutes in length. As a result, I often found myself having reduce the number of things I talked about. So when that previous video was removed for copyright purposes I essentially just redid it here without changing the script. When I come around to doing an updated review for this film I will definitely be talking about that fight!! 😁😁
@@calvindyson One other thing I forgot to mention and should add to my fawning, haha, and that's how much I greatly admire your ability to give things another chance. It took me many idiotic years to stop being such a slave to my opinions and learn how to rethink, reevaluate and reinvent my views. Well done that you already seemed to have mastered quite a bit of that. I also have a suggestion for future topics of videos (that is if you haven't already done these and I just haven't gotten to them yet). As a perpetual student of graphic design and period advertising, I would love to hear your rankings of cover art for various Bond novels and also all of the film's posters. Just an idea.
I'm not sure if anyone has pointed this out yet, but the henchman driving the car at 6:17 is played by professional wrestler Peter Maivia (the grandfather of Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson).
What do you think happened to the surviving American astronaut and the two Soviet cosmonauts after they disguised 007 as a Spectre astronaut? Did they get out safely or were they caught & killed off screen?
If you look at 11:34 in the video you will see here Parachute was not on, it was built into the seat back and the straps as the seatbelts (you see the empty seat shell here). It was supposed to be a "gadget" of some sort and missed by many. Likewise the hat and goggles pulled down to be a facemask.
I never understood why they bothered switching the two parts for the actresses. Even with the smaller role and less lines, Mie Hama was still dubbed as Kissy. If they were just going to dub her anyway then they should have just kept her as Aki and dub her there and let Akiko keep the role of Kissy.
I noticed Blofeld cat on one the many rewatch scenes freakin bloody hell in his 22:48 arms from all the explosions going off and Blofelds cat never fails to start me laughing 😂
No comment on how drastically this film deviated from the book? The first four films in the series stuck pretty close to the books they were based on. Even the 1954 Casino Royale was faithful despite some merging of characters and changes. You Only Live Twice has absolutely nothing to do with the book, other than the title and a few characters. In fact the book is called You Only Live Twice because after Bond kills Blofeld he suffers amnesia and is presumed dead. It segways into the next book, The Man With The Golden Gun, which starts with Bond brainwashed by the Soviets and sent on an assassination mission to kill M.
Jarrah White I've often wished it had been that way in the films. I hope they do something like that in 25, and the next guy comes in 26 to kill Mallory, and is apparently the same guy as Daniel Craig under heavy surgery.
I think the Bond producers felt the formula they had in each film was easier to film than sticking to the books which might’ve been tougher to adapt and sell to world audiences. Robert Ludlum’s books were famously tough to film until the Bourne series.
Agree 100% about Ken Adam.He was an incredible artist his work made the films visually impressive he gave them a fantastical larger than life feel which set them apart from others. As a viewer you are taken to a place that was out of this world and of this world at the same time. Connery was coasting through this film for sure but that made him cooler for me...Bond was more unshakable and unmoved by what was going on around him. Connery had clearly detached himself from the role. I suspect in future years they will question whether the "yellow face" is acceptable that takes me out of the film because the disguise is so bad -Bond stands out rather than blends in. It's a disguise in the mould of Inspector Cluesau in the Pink Panther films. Next time Bond gets Acme disguise kit.
Hey Calvin, did you know that the Chinese girl that Bond was set up with had a role in Casino Royale '06? Can't remember which character she was exactly, but I think she was one of the players of the poker tourny.
6:09 one of the biggest mistakes. Bond dresses in murderer's clothes... and shoes. What? Japanese men are short, they wear smaller size of clothes... and especially shoes! And Connery is really tall and he was athletic build!
This young man is so good at reviewing Bond films and so funny. He's a really likable person on TH-cam.
He is a rather good actor himself.
It's a fresh take on an older but classic movie. Calvin is doing an awesome job and is on point as I saw all these Connery/Lazenby movies on original release.
The Essential Bond TH-cam channel.
Agreed!!!
@@Eric_B_59 wasnt lazenby only in ohmss
Bond looks like a Vulcan when he gets his Japanese makeover.
Ben Davis Which Vulcan?
Funny, I thought Romulan... :) Later! OL J R :)
I thought he was spock
pineapple lords Or possibly Sarek.
He just needed pointy ears and then we could have called him Mr. Spock.
"You're about two feet taller and groaning in a Scottish accent, but ok get in".
I was laughing so hard, I fell out of my chair.
i laughed so hard i laughed
Yeah, I got a good hearty laugh out of that one too. Calvin's great with the sarcasm and voices.
My dad, a Scotsman, also said the same thing. We'd hired it from the video shop (remember those) this would be around 1988/9 and he found it amusing that a tall, hairy working class lad from Scotland could be passed off for a poor, skinny Japanese fisherman.
I like that the gun barrel theme is arranged to sound japanese. And the cinematography is just beautiful and majestic.
The actress who portrays Ling was in Daniel Craig's "Casino Royale"...Sandra Oh's mother in "Grey's Anatomy"...and Ming-Na Wen's mother in "Agents of SHIELD."
Sorry that I'm five years late, but who is she in Casino Royale?
@@TheSmart-CasualGamer she's a background character during the poker game.
I want more of Mr. Charles Jump to the left Gray!
I hate RHPS :p
I like Funny Girl or Fame , but musicals not my thing
Put your hands on your hips
Then watch diamonds are forever
What a fantastic review...the aerial-shot rooftop fight scene always has blown me away and the spectacle of the ending is breathtaking. Also, Nancy Sinatra's theme is still gorgeous to this day. I wish you had pointed out this was also screenwritten by Roald Dahl-that usually surprises the hell out of most people.
As someone who grew up reading Roald Dahl books, I was delighted when I first saw this movie and found out that he wrote it
Him and Fleming were good mates!
Ok that tongue edit was terrifying. That will haunt my nightmares for a while.
BigBadBen Racing I paused the video as soon as I saw it, came down to see comments on it. Yes, terrifying
What is that?
Oh i just saw it nevermind
oh no
oh God oh fuck
at least it's not as bad as the one where Bond sexes up Christmas with a smug guy's face put over hers
RIP Ken Adams, a man who truly set the tone of classic Bond sets.
+ActionMasterProductions Yep he will be missed.
*Adam
D'oh, guy. No mention of that glorious fight between Connery and stuntman Peter Maivia (aka grandfather of Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson') in the Japanese office ? Never has bond beaten a man with a couch before or since. Almost made up for his lackluster performance throughout. Little Nellie could've use a nod as well. FYI: The persian cat actually did run off from Pleasance's difficult grip due to all the deafening explosions on set and wasn't found for days by it's trainer.
Saint SAmmy He does mention Little Nellie... right at 12:07.
There was no reason having a cat on a set with explosions.
Movies frequently film close-ups separately from overall action. It’s more economical and you can get more takes.
Then you put it together through the ‘magic’ of editing. 🌈 🚴🏽♂️
I believed the owner sued because the cat couldn’t go on a film set again to do commercials!
Taxi driver: real professional wrestling like odd job
Amazing factoid thank you!
tiger tanaka is one of the best allies bond has had
Biggest problem with the helicopter picking up the car and disposing of it in the ocean. Bond and Aki watch this on a small screen in Aki's car. So, Tanaka had a SECOND helicopter in the area, just to observe the first and broadcast the action back to Aki, and presumably, himself.
Exactly😂
That was confusing.
His resemblance to a Japanese fisherman is uncanny LOL
Bond as a japanese character looks as a klingon when they first appeared on Star Trek back in the mid-60s....Great reviews
Luciano Granie I’d say he looks more like a Vulcan or a Romulan
YOLT has really grown on me. It's now my second favourite Connery Bond film.
+Tommy Carr Please don't say Thunderball is your first...
+DarthRushy Nah......Goldfinger. Hate Thunderball, it's dull and just hard to get through.
Tommy Carr Ditto. It's incredibly aimless. My favourite Connery film is From Russia With Love, though.
I think it might be my second-favorite as well, right behind Goldfinger. I think it's a grower and one that gets better with repeated viewings.
I watched YOLT again tonight. The film starts off pretty strong but it falls apart by the second act.
My Swedish teacher in Japanese language have acted in a Japanese TV series with Mie Hama and he have acted with Tetsuro Tamba too. He told that Tamba was a very funny man with great sense of humor.
Ken Adam's sets are just wonderful! Even simple sets like the room where Prof. Dent speaks with Dr. No are most effective. You can argue that Bond movies are of different qualities for whatever reason, but at least they all qualify as being watchable movies with good cinematography, sets, choice of landscapes, blocking, editing and great soundtracks. I think the most faults in Bond movies originate in the writing and in the constant rehash of the Bond formula.
Marvin Blofeld's volcano hideout is IMO is the best piece of art direction of the entire Bond franchise.
RIP John Barry - you are so missed.
Amen
B Hicks My thoughts exactly.
With the exception of Live and Let Die and Casino Royale, I just hate, hate, hate the latest Bond music. Yes. Even Adelle, whoever the heck she claims to be. The title themes have been boring as sin.
@@calql8er John Barry did the scores until The Living Daylights, so he did live and let die. i dont know if he would write the themes then have others perform it, or maybe some artists just wrote their own themes? But i will agree, Spectre and No time to die themes.... are nothing special. Not even good imho.
@@e3uphoric51 I thought Live and Let Die was all Paul McCartney. Well, you seem to know what you're talking about.
Bored or not, Connery is still cool as fuck in this film.
definitely not
I love your Sean Conery impression😂👍
+Epic Dave Of course, that's my impression of Sean Connery as a Japanese fisherman ;)
❤ Sean Connery James bonds, but Sean Connery was aging very fast it seemed, Roger Moore alittle older aged better, ❤ Roger Moore James bond too, it was more modern looking, it needed new blood, ❤ Sean Connery James bonds pretty woman red hair ladies etc etc
Good to see some of the jokes from the old review were carried over into this one. Very good review, Calvin, as always
+Cyburgin those smoke jokes!
No mention of the fact that one of the Hong Kong policemen in the beginning (who discover Bond's "body") is Anthony Ainley, better known as the Master in Doctor Who? (Of the eighties, that is.) You can't see his face clearly, but I believe he has a line.
Jennifer Schillig He does, the "Well at least he died on the job" or something like that.
Oh, I thought I was the first to comment that.
Next time you watch this movie again, pay close attention to the aerial fight between Bond in Little Nellie and the 4 helicopters. Whenever there is a close-up on one of the helicopter pilots, IT IS ALWAYS THE SAME GUY. Apparently the producers chose to save some money by hiring just one actor instead of four. (Similarly, in the wedding scene, the first two women that come up the steps are clearly the same actress.)
I knew they looked familiar
Holy crap, I never thought we'd see this review! Can't wait for the OHMSS video!
Did ever a man age so quickly as Connery from 62-67...? They banged twenty years on him!
Another thing that bothers me. Blofeld (or at least, Osato) managed to send two assassins to the ninja training camp. So... if SPECTRE knew about that, why did they go ahead with the fake fisherman/marriage plan? Doesn't that mean they've already been compromised?
+starschwar That never occurred to me before but yeah... Why would Spectre aim to kill Bond TWICE if they didn't know he was Bond?...
I was thinking that too, making the horrendous disguise all the more pointless.
Most of the problems with You Only Live Twice had to do with the scope of the production, and the technical difficulties that went along with it.
The press intrusion into Sean Connery's life started to become a serious issue. The constant media attention meant that thirty extra private security guards were hired to combat the excess noise and hindrance, but even the guards started to take photos. At one point, a fan began following Connery with a camera, and police had to deal with fan incursions several times during shooting. The final straw came when a journalist followed him into the toilet for an interview. This contributed to his growing dissatisfaction with the role.
Not helping Connery's mood was his deteriorating relationship with Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman. It got to the point where he refused to act if either of them was on set.
During one interview, Connery offended Japanese national pride at a press conference by stating that "Japanese women are just not sexy" due to their hiding their figures behind kimonos. This faux pas turned out to be based on a mistranslation, on a day when Connery was exhausted after an intensive day's filming.
Connery was also worried about typecasting and was annoyed that people only saw him as James Bond. The fact that the posters boasted that "Sean Connery IS James Bond" didn't help. One interviewer was aghast that the actor showed up in a casual t-shirt with baggy trousers and sandals, and not wearing a toupée. "Is this how James Bond dresses?" he asked, to which Connery replied tersely "I'm not James Bond, I'm Sean Connery, a man who likes to dress comfortably."
The volcano set cost almost as much as Dr. No's entire budget. It was so large, it could be seen from three miles away. The final battle required the services of every stuntman in Britain. According to Ken Adam, it required more steel than that used for the London Hilton Hotel. He later said that he must have been mad doing such a complex set.
Saltzman hired Jan Werich to play the part of Blofeld without consulting Gilbert or Broccoli, and though Lewis Gilbert perservered with Werich, it soon became obvious that he was completely miscast, leading to the role being hastily recast with Donald Pleasence.
Casting the main girls had its troubles. Mie Hama was originally given the role of Aki, but lost it because her English wasn't very good. She threatened to throw herself off the roof of the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo out of shame, so she was given the role of Kissy instead, which required less English (she was dubbed, anyway).
While scouting locations in Japan, Broccoli, Saltzman, Gilbert, cinematographer Freddie Young, and Adam were booked to leave Japan on BOAC flight 911 departing Tokyo for Hong Kong and London. Two hours before their Boeing 707 flight departed, the team was invited to an unexpected ninja demonstration, and so missed their plane. Their flight took off as scheduled, and twenty-five minutes after take-off, the plane disintegrated over Mt. Fuji, killing all aboard.
The Little Nellie battle was initially shot in Miyazaki, first with takes of the gyrocopter, with more than eighty-five take-offs, five hours of flight, and pilot Ken Wallis nearly crashing into the camera several times. A scene filming the helicopters from above created a major downdraft, and aerial cameraman John Jordan's foot was severed by the craft's rotor, which required amputation. The concluding shots involved explosions, which the Japanese government did not allow in a national park, so the crew moved to Torremolinos, Spain, which was found to resemble the Japanese landscape.
The Toyota 2000GT weren't convertables, but the 6'2 Connery couldn't fit into the tiny car, so the producers had to ask Toyota if they could send one without a roof. Two weeks later, they got a car sans roof.
Akiko Wakabayashi couldn't drive, so six stuntmen created the illusion of her driving by attaching a cable, and pulling it from outside of the frame. Stuntmen also substituted for her in long camera shots by donning black wigs.
Hama couldn't dive (allegedly due to stomach cramps), so Connery's wife Diane Cilento doubled for her wearing a black wig.
Local Japanese girls cast as extras refused to wear bikinis in publicity photo shoots. On the intervention of Broccoli, consent was able to be achieved.
In post-production, the cut that Gilbert and editor Thelma Connell came up with ran at an absurdly long three hours and got universally negative feedback from a test audience. The producers, realizing they had a potential Franchise Killer on their hands, begged former series editor Peter Hunt (who had moved away from editing into handling the second unit, as a stepping-stone to becoming a director in his own right) to re-edit it into something much more manageable, and Hunt agreed, so long as he was allowed to direct the next entry in the series.
Even recording the title song had problems. Nancy Sinatra, fresh off her chart hit "These Boots are Made for Walkin'", was so nervous about doing it that it took twenty-five different takes (by her own admission, she sounded like Minnie Mouse). The final song used in the film was made up of the best parts from each recording. At one point, she asked the crew, "Are you sure you wouldn't rather have Shirley Bassey?"
The end product once again proved a critical and commercial hit, but Connery decided enough was enough and temporarily retired from the role until he came back for Diamonds Are Forever.
Other problems are that Connery was dehydrated from the high temperature. Also the Gemini project (U.S.A. spacecraft stolen by Blofeld) was completed in November 1966, seven months before the film premiered. U.S.A. Space Program is suspended and questioned after the Apollo 1 tragedy in January 1967. Many spy films after the success of Bond and another Bond film (''Casino Royale'' April 1967). After ten years ''The Spy Who Loved Me'' (a remake of Y.O.L.T.) with more attention to details, was also great success. th-cam.com/video/fCisJExSWs4/w-d-xo.html
You Only Live Twice is my favourite Connery film! Mainly because of the fantasy! This movie is pure 60s fantasy! Not only that. Lookwise, this film is absolutely amazing! It’s full of beautiful cinematography! The areal shots of Japan, the shots of and from the volcano are among the most beautiful single camera shots ever made in the entire series! The filmsets are fantastic too! The japanese atmosphere is done extremely well! It just feels exotic and different. Bond‘s arch enemy reveals his face. I also really like the Bond girls in this movie! Sean Connery gave a bit of a weaker performane though. I also really like the title song and the soundtrack which is getting better and better with each movie! The overall feel and the atmosphere is great! It is the ultimate form of escapism! Overall, I think that this film is underrated. Because it manages to slip into my personal top 10 Bond movies!
I agree with you. I'm glad to see someone else who agrees with me. I was surprised to see this film was not very much liked overall.
I’m years late, but I agree with both of you. It’s not my favorite Connery performance (obviously) but it’s my favorite Connery film.
OST of this movie : Orgasmic
+kasra khatir Agreed!!
+Calvin Dyson | James Bond Reviewer yeah you made it again
+kasra khatir Especially the queue when Kissy's face is revealed and the (what I assume are) Violens join the composition, adding some dramatic bass to the previously traditional Japanese sounding piece.
+kasra khatir i agree too..its definitely one of barrys best
I prefer TLD OST
After Thunderball OHMSS should have be made, followed by YOLT and then The Man with The Golden Gun as in the book series. Fleming did more than tell the same story over and over; these are related episodes. YOLT is supposed to be a tale of revenge for Traceys' murder. Flemings' fans were probably disappointed that the trilogy never made it to the films because it's a highlight of the literary legend. The films are entertaining but they could have been better if a power struggle between the partnership of Saltzman and Broccoli and the partnership of Whitingham and McClory over the franchise had not caused all the parties to be territorial instead of working together and being imaginative.
I think the movie YOLT was the first to do something that was picked up again with Diamonds are Forever and continued well into Roger Moore's era...take a title and a few character names from Fleming (maybe one or two story details as well) and build the rest of the story out of whole cloth. (And sometimes details from one Fleming story would pop up in movies that otherwise had nothing to do with the source material: the keel-hauling from the novel Live and Let Die shows up in the movie For Your Eyes Only, Felix Leiter's mauling from that same novel shows up in The Living Daylights, etc.)
Whilst Connery's performance does leave a lot to be desired, I also believe this is the best entry in the last 3 Connery films. The cinematography is great, I can only imagine what awe the audience must have been in when they got to visit Japan along with Bond for the whole movie. I wish more Bond films would capture locations like this, though globe-trotting adventures are fun in their own right too. Would also love to see more supporting Asian characters in the series in the future! Awesome review, very hilarious even though it's been past 4 years since you released the video!
Last 3 includes NSNA, so, by that rationale, Thunderball takes it. You can’t take it back now
@@maxfieldnuckels9075 Thunderball isn't in the last 3. It's YOLT, DAF and NSNA
This film was no where as good as the novel with the killing garden and Blofelds death . Connery really finished with the character as he gained weight and didn't have the charisma like in Thunderball to a stale performance in YOLT .
I love how monoface connery is throughout YOLT. He seriously doesn't give a shit and knows he's getting paid a stupid amount xD
His emotionless "She's dead" reaction at Aki's death and his overly emotional and silly sounding "Aki!" when he sees her again earlier are the peak examples of his not giving a sh*t here.
only 1 million?
@@strikerbowls791 in 1967 money
Been waiting for this review for seemingly forever! So glad you could finally get to do it!
I honestly think they shouldn't of killed off Aki, there was no point and I prefer her over Kissy, although Mie Hama is better looking, but Wakabayashi is still good looking.
I don't think about Aki, but I believe Henderson should be played by Pleasence. Ηis murder would not be true - like Bond in Hong Kong - and in the volcano he would say, that he is Blofeld's half brother.
I really liked Aki a very lot better than Kissy.
Same. I actually feel Aki is 'the' Bond girl in You Only Live Twice
@@aypun4239 That smile she gives at 15:53.
I think they were equally beautiful.
"You Only Live Twice" was a pretty good. I like Japan locations, the mountains, and the cultural backgrounds were beautiful. The premise is just about Bond's mission is to find the missing rockets where was lead by SPECTRE's main lead, Ernst Stavro Blofled in Japan. At least Connery tried his best as Bond character before he left out the series until comes back in only one movie in 1971. Blofled was a pretty memorable villain since they parodied him from Dr. Claw from "Inspector Gadget" and Dr. Evil from "Austin Powers" series. The only letdown is how ridiculous that they made Bond as white wash Asian bachelor and rather see Aki in this movie because she's so beautiful and very interesting unti they killed her off instead they get Kissy Suzuki which she's pretty good Bond girl. I like how Bond treated respects for Japanese women instead of being a forceful abusive spy since latest films, but it turns out to be good. The action scenes were good and the ending climax was pretty awesome. Overall, a pretty good spy movie.
Thanks Roald Dahl who wrote the screenplay, so he wouldn't wrote something about "Charle and the Chocolate Factory" references.
Great review! I saw this one on its opening night June 22, 1967. I remember the date because of the special girl who was with me that night 55 years ago. Terrific film. I guess it must be my age but no actor could ever be better than Connery in my book.
I could not stop laughing at 19:23 - oh Calvin this was a great review
I laughed there too.
Had to come back to this comment to give it a like after seeing that 😂
This is my favourite James Bond film of all time, my favourite Bond, Sean Connery, my favourite Bond villain, Donald Pleasance as Blofeld, my favourite villain lair, the volcano, and a great song to top it all off. Also it was my first bond film, I think the first bond film that we see will always be special to us
True, as Moonraker's mine...
12:47 "Meanwhile a Russian spacecraft takes off clearly not in Russia thanks to the appearance of two palm trees"
Never mind the palm trees, that's obviously a US Air Force Titan II rocket lifting a NASA Gemini spacecraft into orbit - you can even clearly see the Gemini perched atop the rocket. Ironically, later in the film when we see the American's launching their next rocket, the stock footage used is of a Soviet R7.
No, the later American launch was of an Atlas-Agena rocket... (I'm a space buff).
Remember at the time the Soviets kept their space program a closely guarded secret... they reveled in their string of "firsts" (first satellite in orbit, first man in space, first woman in space, first spacecraft with 3 astronauts, first spacewalk) but their spacecraft, rockets, and even space program designers were all closely guarded state secrets... It wouldn't be until the late 60's (67 IIRC) at the Paris Air Show that they would reveal their R-7 "Soyuz" launcher (which of course had also launched their Vostok and Voskhod spacecraft series as well) to the world... There was NO "stock footage" of Soviet spacecraft being launched to use in the film, so obviously US space launch stock footage was used instead...
Just seems like they COULD have found some footage for the Russian launch that didn't show Florida palm trees in the foreground LOL:) Heck it would have worked better to show the Atlas-Agena launch as the Russian launch (since even the Russian capsule design particulars were unknown at the time-- the captured Soviet spacecraft looks NOTHING like anything the Soviets actually ever flew, because at the time nobody outside of the intelligence community really had any idea what a Soviet spacecraft looked like (Vostok and Voskhod). SO, they made up a "generic" spacecraft that looked broadly like an American Mercury or Gemini spacecraft and stuck it in the SPECTRE spaceship... Anyway, the shape of the "Russian spacecraft" would have closely approximated the shape of the Atlas-Agena's nosecone, particularly if they would have painted the "Russian spacecraft" white instead of black or dark gray (which is actually more realistic anyway, because of thermal absorption and overheating issues in orbit from a black or dark spacecraft absorbing too much solar heat and radiated heat from Earth, even in darkness... which is why most spacecraft are silver reflective mylar or white-- and early spacecraft were often alternating black and white stripes to "moderate" how much energy they reflected and how much they absorbed, to keep a more or less "constant temperature" to prevent overheating or overcooling). The Gemini-Titan launch with the palm trees would have, of course, been the perfect "stock footage" for the launch of the American "Jupiter" spacecraft in the film...
It just seems rather like someone got the order to "go down to the stock film vault and find a couple of appropriate space launches to insert into the movie" and this is the best they could come up with?? LOL:) Maybe someone got mixed up and switched the clips in editing...
Later! OL J R :)
@@lukestrawwalker A problem in the film is that the Gemini project (U.S.A. spacecraft stolen from Blofeld) was completed in November 1966. When the film is released in June1967, the U.S.A. space program has been suspended, after the tragedy of Apollo 1 (project Apollo) in January 1967.
Great video, can't wait for OHMSS review, spectre review and more awesome top 10's and rankings! Keep up the great work Calvin! And please do videos on 7th 17th and 27th days of the month, I can't get enough of your videos!!!!
I love these reviews, I would love to see one a month and another video as well.
Absolute fan of the series and now an absolute fan of Calvin. Excellent work double O!
YOLT is extremely fun and easy to watch, but at the same time I wish the producers chose to film he Blofeld trilogy in order, and like the previous films, stick rather close to the books. I'd love to see Connery in OHMSS assuming his performance would've been on top form unlike here.
What I really would've loved was Dalton actually agreeing to the role for OHMSS. Sure he was really young at the time, but IMO he's the best actor to play Bond in terms terms of believability. Wish Dalton had at least one more film.
He wish he would have at least returned for Diamonds Are Forever and had his revenge...and in a better way than Diamonds are Forever provided. I never minded the beginning of FYEO because despite its issues, it was still a significantly better ending to the Blofeld saga than that movie.
I've read if he had returned, he really would have killed the real Blofeld at the beginning of the movie. I wish they had done that.
+Michael Kopischke Agreed. Even if Lazenby returned for DAF and it took a tone similar to LTK I'd be wicked happy. I do love Lazenby in the role, and his character arch was incomplete. He could've had that darker revenge film, and then he turns to the more world weary Bond that Roger played.
I can agree with you about Dalton. I wish he had started his Bond run from A view to a kill, instead of old Roger Moore. I lile Roger's style of playing Bond, but in 1984 he was out of shape and looks very old to keep it up. A view to a kill could have been one of the best movies in whole franchise, had Dalton appeared there.
I'm the skunk at the garden party. OHMMSS would have had to be written completely differently for Connery.
They script of AVTAK could have been rewritten to Dalton's portrayal of Bond. And I think AVTAK have a much more serious story, than other Moore movies. This story with rewritten script could worked with Dalton. Walken's Zorin as a villain is more serious and suitable to Dalton's Bond, than Roger's.
“Just a jump to the left” lol best scene
I love these reviews. You only live twice is my favourite bond film, it’s the most beautiful of all of them, Japan in the 60’s and the Nancy Sinatra theme song and opening graphics. And bond actually loving a woman.
I don't know how true this is, but I read somewhere that Nancy Sinatra was so nervous in the recording studio that they took her out and got her drunk to steady her nerves.
@@garrick3727 Thats awesome they probably just wanted to party with her :)
In the book, Bond's disguise made only slightly more sense. He would be from a coal mining village, where they have tall men, and say that he was deaf and mute (so he wouldn't have to talk to anyone). I still wonder how they explained the blue eyes.
Born with it.
I'm so glad you right off the bat addressed how confusing the whole "Bond faking his own death" bit is right at the beginning of the film. That endlessly confused me watching it as a kid. It seems like there would be so many better ways to fake his own death than the elaborate staging he goes through here. And who exactly knows? Is the girl in on it? Is the firing squad in on it? Is the navy that gives him burial at sea in on it? It seems to me looking back that the writers just wanted a cliffhanger going into the opening credits and they were willing to defy logic to get that. But it just makes it all so much more confusing.
i always thought that because bond may be a wanted man by bad guys they faked his death to take heat off so he can continue with work
+darkknightdetec6 It looked to me that they faked the death specifically for the guy watching the burial through binoculars. Bond's "death" was kind of hokey to say the least. The only way it would have made sense was to have someone capture the shooting with a video cam and show it on the news. Of course video cams weren't around back then.
M has a BOAT OFFICE!? I want a boat office!
He also has a boat office in a ship wreck thst is tilted, plus an office in an Egyptian temple, and up a mountain in the Andres.
Submarine office to be correct ;)
Fun fact, over half the structures in egypt are actually M's office.
Who doesn't want a boat office?
Don’t forget the C-130 office
Fun fact: The driver that Sean Connery fights at Osato’s office is played by Peter Maivia, the maternal grandfather of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
Fantastic review Calvin, neatly ties in with YOLT being on TV last week!
It’s also quite interesting that a lot of the early Bond films end with Bond on a boat (Dr. No, From Russia With Love, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, Diamonds Are Forever, The Man With The Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy)
Number 11 said that it was in the newspapers that Bond is dead. Then didn't she recognize him? His picture was in the paper!
The movie has a good script that has been used twice (''The Spy Who Loved Me''), but they doesn't pay attention to the details. For example in this scene Blofeld - instead of rubbish - had to say in Helga and Ozato, that you both saw what the Hong Kong signal said, you didn't see the newspapers.
It may have said that Bond died in a Hong Kong newspaper but doesnt mean its front page news in Japan
postersandstuff Then Blofeld has to say...you only saw the Hong Kong signal and Japanese newspapers hasn't his foto.
A.D.K Spectre agents need to get better vision benefits included with their health insurance.
Really enjoy your reviews and insight. Thank you!
Love your channel, your the Connery of Bond Reviews!
For the most part, the comedic moments of Calvin's reviews really work - loving his videos as a long-time Bond film.....
i really like these reviews. keep up the good job.
+Anartiksnowman Thanks, mate! I shall try my best :)
great and funny review..thanks for that Calvin. This was the first Bond film i watched as a young kid - so it always had and will have a special place in my heart, i know its flawed but its so melancholic and full or memories for me, i just love it. and ....uhhh i love Aki with this trousers and that pullover at the kobe docks... well i love her without it as well
+John - 007 Files Moonraker was the first one I saw so I totally get what you mean about flaws, but still having a special place in the heart :D
Calvin Dyson | James Bond Reviewer hehe when we were kids my buddy next to me - whom the vhs belonged to - said: "damn he is cold, he is not even closing his eyes while kissing" (he meant the scene when he and suki check out the volcano area and the disguise-kiss :)
me 2
John - 007 Files I agree.
I like You Only Live Twice. Not on my Top 5 favorite Bond movie, but I think it has it's moments. Definitely liked the jokes and accents you put into the review. Looking forward to the next Bond review.
Thanks for making this review! I cant wait for OHMSS
RIP Karin Dor
19:21 Love the new special effects in your review =) I lost it at this part.
Another great review Calvin. You had me in stitches with your Connery impressions.
Can't wait for the OHMSS review.
The cinematographer on this film was one Freddie Young (BSC), who also shot Lawrence of Arabia, and it shows because this film is really nicely shot.
You seem to have forgotten to put this Bond outing, and Diamonds Are Forever, on the review playlist.
Beyond that minor oversight, I love watching & re-watching your Bond reviews 😃
John Barry's score in this is sooooo eerie! That opening Timpani Piano layer! The Rooftop Fan-fair! The creepy "Drop in the Ocean" Waltz & not forgetting that Military Space March which crescendos the film into 6th gear! It's all so easy to watch because of John! It's practically a 2 hour long music video! And I'd recommend anyone wanting to study music to listen to John's work because there is a very good reason why there is nothing like this around today. The man was a genius!
If anyone wants a copy of the album of John Barry's best works spiced up a bit for modern day systems(!) drop me a line & we'll get it to you, what what!
"Heloooo bond fans welcome once again! Soooo !!!"
How every single one of your videos starts
+HaveANiceDay Pretty much yes. I'm bad at starting conversations.
It's funny though don't stop doing it :)
+Calvin Dyson | James Bond Reviewer Hey, everyone has their classic intro. It's perfect. I say keep it, it keeps a unique identity to all your reviews.
+Calvin Dyson | James Bond Reviewer I see you dropped the "Calvin, Calvin Dyson" outro, though. Haha.
@@calvindyson yeah bond gun barrels are not the best sometimes but they are an iconic moment in every film except in nsna of course
I like the pre-credit cameos by Gerry Anderson veterans Ed Bishop and Shane Rimmer.
Genuinely very funny and entertaining. Thanks! Your work is appreciated 😅
Hey Calvin did you know that Ken Adam died? Are you going to make something like 'Top 10 best set designs' or something like that?
How low budget the LALD & TMWTGGs sets were.......holy budget cut Batman :P
Yes! You should definitely do a Ken Adam Top Ten list.
That's definitely a must. The volcano lair and the interior of the Liparus tanker from The Spy Who Loved Me would probably most likely be the top 2 Ken Adam set designs. But I can't decide which I like better as they were both brilliantly designed and constructed.
Great review! Really dense and very interesting.
23:52 can we just take a minute to look at that lava editing job. Dear god, I know it was the 60's but c'mon.
Agree. The matte work in this movie left a lot to be desired. But then again, the same as with most Hitchcock movies.
i never realized that terrible continuity error of the palm trees in the scene of the "russian" rocket launching. that is poor.
The funny part is the scene with the palm trees is an actual Gemini launch which they use for "Jupiter 16". The odd part is if they switched the footage, and the spacesuits of Americans and Russians it would have been much better.
Your assessment of Blofeld's cat was hilarious! Absolutely brilliant! I must have seen YOLT well over 100 times and I never noticed the cat being in such distress! lol
Also, I think the volcano scenes were toward the end of the shoot since it took so long to get the set built. My feeling is that Connery's performance picked up thanks to the set. I would imagine everyone working in that set had to be inspired.
Donald Pleasence had major difficulty performing around the cat (it pissed down his arm in fright at least at one point!).
Great!!! Finally a review of YOLT :), and a very good and funny one
i'm so glad you like it, because this movie is on my top 5 james bond movies!!!
can't wait to hear what you have to say about OHMSS :)
This Bond film,had two of the most beautiful Bond women in the series!
Helga and Ling?
@@PungiFungi Kissy an Aki
Please add the rest of your old videos as they are so fun to watch
The ending blofeld lair just screams late 60s the foil greys and silvers with the dome like arena is pure subtle psychedelic work. It was so iconic it made a impact for the austin powers movies.
I can imagine how down I'd feel if I was supposed to be dead, so I can see Sean's performance as exceptionally good.
33.39 - 38.26 th-cam.com/video/-3Mw5xW2tkQ/w-d-xo.html
_You Only Live Twice_ is my favorite Bond movie; it has an auto-gyro assembled out of a dozen suitcases, a hidden base in a hollow volcano, ninja warriors and Donald Pleasence as Blofeld.
I prefer Pleasence in the role of Henderson. Ηis murder would not be true - like Bond in Hong Kong - and in the volcano he would say that he is Blofeld's half brother.
The lady who is massaging Bond before Aki comes in is Sean Connery's first wife Diane Cilento.
Connery also did not get along with Harry Saltzman, at least that's how I understand it. And Donald Pleasence is one of my favorite actors. Plus this is my favorite Bond movie.
I prefer Pleasence to play Henderson. Ηis murder would not be true - like Bond in Hong Kong - and in the volcano he would say that he is Blofeld's half brother.
I tell you, That Charles Grey/Rocky horror picture show joke, Never gets old!
I think it's quite funny that both bond girl actresses in this are in King Kong vs Godzilla.
One thing I don't understand about the movie: they fake-kill Bond, have him openly buried at sea, and put his picture on the front page of the newspapers. Then, they have him walking around Tokyo, alive and undisguised. Didn't anybody notice the supposedly dead guy? And the only way SPECTRE recognizes the undisguised Bond is by the gun he carries? Huh? (Oh, and great review, by the way.)
He's the OOONNNLLLYYY one who carries a Walther, the very gun the CIA swears by..........................I should buy one.
Fun fact, the actor who played one of the police officers that pronounce Bond dead is Anthony Ainley, who would later play The Master in Doctor Who
Because I mostly watch YT on the Roku, I rarely get a chance to leave comments since the streaming app for it does not offer many of the online features. So as this is my first comment on your videos, let me say at the outset how much I enjoy them and that your style of communicating is very engaging and infectiously entertaining. I realized how much enjoyment I got from your work when I vehemently disagreed with your opinion and yet still had a great time watching. Unlike a lot of Bond nerds (of which I am a dues paying member) you regularly acknowledge that your views are all subjective and that people shouldn't get bent out of shape if they think differently. You also consistently say stuff you may not like does not mean that everyone who does like it is wrong or that it is inherently bad. That's a rare perspective with lots of Bond dudes online where it often tends to be "you either subscribe to my opinions or you're an idiot." I just turned 63 and saw my first Bond film GOLDFINGER first run in a theater when I was 6 years old in 1965. I am quite the veteran Bond and 60's Spy Craze kid and having worked as an author, historian and teacher for the last 45 years, I've lived through many Bond wars, lol. But just as I was beginning to think there was nothing new to say on the subject, you kicked the ass of my assumption to the street and fired up my imagination all over again. I'm very grateful as well as inspired and excited to hear some fresh Bond views which can still teach an old mule packing gold prospecting geezer like me. So many thanks and I look forward to more of your videos. But now that you've made it this far through all the blowing smoke and near obsequious molasses, how about the real reason I came here to comment, which was to ask why the hell you didn't mention anything about the fight in Osato's office, which though Oddjob lite, was still a highlight of the film for me. Either subscribe to my opinions or you're an idiot! LOL. Take care, Calvin, and keep the videos coming in.
This was such a lovely read and very very kind of you! I really appreciate it. Particularly as I do try to caveat my opinions as always being subjective. The Bond filmography is SUCH a broad church of styles and tones that I think the fandom is broadly quite good at accepting a diversity of opinion. Fortunately I’ve been lucky to not be involved in any Bond Wars yet (but the day is young!) Thanks again for this, really appreciate it!
And haha it’s a bit of a story behind why I didn’t talk about the fight you mentioned… this video was essentially a ‘remake’ of a previous one which was made when TH-cam videos could only be 15 minutes in length. As a result, I often found myself having reduce the number of things I talked about. So when that previous video was removed for copyright purposes I essentially just redid it here without changing the script. When I come around to doing an updated review for this film I will definitely be talking about that fight!! 😁😁
@@calvindyson One other thing I forgot to mention and should add to my fawning, haha, and that's how much I greatly admire your ability to give things another chance. It took me many idiotic years to stop being such a slave to my opinions and learn how to rethink, reevaluate and reinvent my views. Well done that you already seemed to have mastered quite a bit of that.
I also have a suggestion for future topics of videos (that is if you haven't already done these and I just haven't gotten to them yet). As a perpetual student of graphic design and period advertising, I would love to hear your rankings of cover art for various Bond novels and also all of the film's posters. Just an idea.
I'm not sure if anyone has pointed this out yet, but the henchman driving the car at 6:17 is played by professional wrestler Peter Maivia (the grandfather of Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson).
What do you think happened to
the surviving American astronaut and
the two Soviet cosmonauts after they disguised 007 as a Spectre astronaut?
Did they get out safely or were
they caught & killed off screen?
If you look at 11:34 in the video you will see here Parachute was not on, it was built into the seat back and the straps as the seatbelts (you see the empty seat shell here). It was supposed to be a "gadget" of some sort and missed by many. Likewise the hat and goggles pulled down to be a facemask.
hello bond fans and welcome once again, so...
Every time I hear that I die of excitement.
I never understood why they bothered switching the two parts for the actresses. Even with the smaller role and less lines, Mie Hama was still dubbed as Kissy. If they were just going to dub her anyway then they should have just kept her as Aki and dub her there and let Akiko keep the role of Kissy.
Actors like to think they are really helped by playing off each other.
Here's a question, what happened to the astronauts? Did they escape with the ninjas?
The most likely.
I noticed Blofeld cat on one the many rewatch scenes freakin bloody hell in his 22:48 arms from all the explosions going off and Blofelds cat never fails to start me laughing 😂
You only live twice is one of my favourite Connery era 007 films. Loved the helicopter shot action sequence and the setting of Japan.
No comment on how drastically this film deviated from the book? The first four films in the series stuck pretty close to the books they were based on. Even the 1954 Casino Royale was faithful despite some merging of characters and changes. You Only Live Twice has absolutely nothing to do with the book, other than the title and a few characters. In fact the book is called You Only Live Twice because after Bond kills Blofeld he suffers amnesia and is presumed dead. It segways into the next book, The Man With The Golden Gun, which starts with Bond brainwashed by the Soviets and sent on an assassination mission to kill M.
Jarrah White I've often wished it had been that way in the films. I hope they do something like that in 25, and the next guy comes in 26 to kill Mallory, and is apparently the same guy as Daniel Craig under heavy surgery.
I think the Bond producers felt the formula they had in each film was easier to film than sticking to the books which might’ve been tougher to adapt and sell to world audiences. Robert Ludlum’s books were famously tough to film until the Bourne series.
@@ninjabluefyre3815 "no time to die" one reviewer wrote that it is actually like an adaptation of Fleming's YOLT
Agree 100% about Ken Adam.He was an incredible artist his work made the films visually impressive he gave them a fantastical larger than life feel which set them apart from others. As a viewer you are taken to a place that was out of this world and of this world at the same time. Connery was coasting through this film for sure but that made him cooler for me...Bond was more unshakable and unmoved by what was going on around him. Connery had clearly detached himself from the role. I suspect in future years they will question whether the "yellow face" is acceptable that takes me out of the film because the disguise is so bad -Bond stands out rather than blends in. It's a disguise in the mould of Inspector Cluesau in the Pink Panther films. Next time Bond gets Acme disguise kit.
Hey Calvin, did you know that the Chinese girl that Bond was set up with had a role in Casino Royale '06? Can't remember which character she was exactly, but I think she was one of the players of the poker tourny.
+BalkanSwine That is correct. Her name is Tsai Chin, her character was referred to as "Madame Wu" and she sat between Bond and Leiter.
Well done Calvin,can't wait for On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
+Sebastian Fitzpatrick tell me about it, i cant wait for it too.. its my alltime favorite :)
Same here.
When is he reviewing it??
Kieran Dean i dont know when exactly but it will be his next review as he said on the end on this one.. you like ohmss?
+Sebastian Fitzpatrick cant wait for spectre
I don`t see Onatopp as a femme fatale, she`s just crazy
6:09 one of the biggest mistakes. Bond dresses in murderer's clothes... and shoes. What? Japanese men are short, they wear smaller size of clothes... and especially shoes! And Connery is really tall and he was athletic build!
This Japanese man is like the other in the car, who fight with Bond in Osato's office.