Have you ever heard of a bad James Bond movie? I don’t think I have. Each of them has a state of grace of their own and is loved by different sets of audiences at different times. “You Only Live Twice” is one such movie; this movie came out in 1967 and is the fifth Bond movie starring Sean Connery as James Bond. It is considered one of the top three Bond movies by many and is adored for its out-of-ordinary and science-fiction take on the whole thing. It is famously known for also being the movie in which Bond’s arch-enemy makes an on-screen appearance.
This spy movie was directed by Lewis Gilbert and written by Ronald Dahl and came out on the 17th of June,1967. The movie stars Sean Connery as James Bond, Akiko Wakabayashi, Mie Hama, Teru Shimada and Donald Pleasence.
Out of all the people who played the role of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Pleasence is considered to be the most liked actor to have played the role. The way this character strokes the cat, the slash near his eye, and his crooked posture are seen to be carried on traits of villains that shine in other movies and pop culture.
To add information, James Bond is a fictional character, an MI6 agent, who is shown to be smart and charismatic, with the best combat skills and everything nice combined into one character. He is a character created by Ian Fleming, a British novelist. Most of the Bond movies are based on this character and the writings of Ian.
The movie starts with the death of James Bond, he is buried at sea, but that cannot happen to the world-renowned spy, now can it? He comes back in the movie with a bash to take the situation by its horns. In the movie, we see an alien entity, a villainous organization known as SPECTRE, who was ready to interfere in the Cold War going on between Russia and the United States and instigate a Third World War.
The plotline goes such that, while in between a cold war, some warcraft ships were found to be disappeared in both nations. Now, Russia thinks that it was the work of the United Stations who did this, and the United States think it was Russia who destroyed their ammunition.
This scenario is to turn out extremely badly and cause a riot like none other. But worry not; we have got Bond, James Bond, to the rescue! He and the Japanese Secret Service decided to figure out what the problem was and stop this from happening because a Third World War anyone could sustain right now.
They are successful in stopping the war, but things aren’t easy, not in the least. We are a Bond Girl in this movie too, a spaceship, villain’s lair, and the iconic villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld who we finally get a chance to see! The fun is only getting started, though, as there is a volcano eruption too.
You Only Live Twice Filming Location
You Only Love Twice was filmed majorly in Japan, but some parts of it were filmed in Gibraltar, the Bahamas, Scotland, and Spain. This was unlike the shootings for the majority of the James Bond movies, for which shootings would usually take place all around the world, but for this movie, so much was going on in Japan.
A lot of traditions and cultures of Japan were also highlighted in the movie. There are a lot of iconic locations presented in the movie. The shooting of the movie took place from July 1966 to March 1967. Some of the locations are listed down below:
1. Himeji Castle, Himeji, Japan
For this movie, the Ninja Training Scene was shot at this UNESCO-protected Himeji.
2. North Lot, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
The famous volcanic lair of SPECTRE was shot at this studio.
3. Gibraltar Harbour, Gibraltar
4. Akime Village Environs, Kagoshima, Japan
How did the people like the movie?
There are a lot of mixed reviews on this movie, it is critically acclaimed to be one of the epic movies, while some say that this did not do so great, and the audience does see a lot of questionable factors on this one too. They say that the way James tried to disguise himself as a Japanese, which he seemingly failed at, and in the process hurt the pride and feelings of a lot of people, Japanese especially.
The villain from this movie is said to be an inspiration and the most villainous of all, coming out to be an iconic one of the lot, while some say that would be a major understatement. This movie is a landmark movie, and no one can deny it, for this movie has inspired so many more science spy movies! There are a lot of movies that, if you think about it, are definitely based on or stand after the premiere of the You Only Live Twice movie.
Also, read: My Girlfriend Is A Nine-Tailed Fox Review
