We now come to the one and only film in my personal Top 10 list that is not a perfect motion picture; indeed, "You Only Live Twice"--the 5th outing in the currently still ongoing James Bond franchise, the longest-running franchise in the history of cinema--is very much a flawed film, with several moments of head-scratching stupefaction that might make the viewer wonder if he/she is witnessing a fever dream that 007 is having while lying in some tropical hellhole (and the lyrics of the film's beautiful theme song DO give us the words "this dream is for you...."). It is not the most violent and groundbreaking Bond film; that would be the first, "Dr. No." It is not the film that hews closest to its Ian Fleming source novel; that would be the second, "From Russia With Love." It is not the most perfect 007 film; that would be the third, "Goldfinger." It does not have the remarkable trio of gorgeous "Bond girls"--Lucianna Paluzzi, Claudine Auger and Martine Beswick--to be found in the fourth outing, "Thunderball," and it does not feature the most tear-jerking and heartbreaking moments in Bondom, as does the sixth,"On Her Majesty's Secret Service." But what "You Only Live Twice" DOES feature is action, and spectacle, and color; it is the biggest, most lavish film of the franchise, and despite its flaws, it has been the favorite of mine and many others (for example, Mike Myers, who blatantly used it as his template for the Austin Powers films) ever since it opened in June 1967. I have often told people that the first six Bond films are the only ones that really matter, and that all the others (18 others, at this point) are just for fun. And "You Only Live Twice," it seems to me, despite its many flaws and detractors, might be the most thrilling of that initial sextet. All five of the initial Bond films appear on my personal Top 100 Movies list, by the way, but this is the one that holds a special place for yours truly.Near the beginning of this 5th Bond outing, M tells 007 that "this is the big one," and boy, do those words ever ring true. This is the first film in the 007 franchise that completely threw out the Ian Fleming source novel that it was based upon, only keeping the Japanese backdrop, and while Bond purists might object that this movie has nothing to do with Fleming's 1964 vision (which dealt with Bond investigating the Japanese suicide gardens of one Dr. Shatterhand, rather than S.P.E.C.T.R.E.'s hijacking of Russian and American space capsules in an effort to precipitate WW3), and that the film is more sci-fi/adventure than the sexy spy thrillers that Ian Fleming had made popular, the fact remains that this Bond masterpiece is both the most visually spectacular entry in the 56-year history of the franchise, as well as the culmination of the four Sean Connery episodes that precede it. Sure, there are some things to carp about in this story, and many inconsistencies. Bond takes a martini that is "stirred, not shaken" (!), he conveniently has a safecracking device in his pocket just when he needs it, he magically has a ninja outfit under his fisherman's shirt and so on. But the movie is presented with such panache, and there is so much local Japanese color and scenery, and the sets are so very spectacular (there's that word again!), that these little slips just pale into insignificance. The battle at the end of this film, with ninjas pouring into the S.P.E.C.T.R.E. volcano lair, is one of the most exciting sequences in the history of Bondom; perhaps in the history of the action film. The Bond girls this time are both beautiful AND interesting, and Karin Dor makes for a sexy Bond enemy/lover. (In Bond movies, female enemies make for very strange bedfellows!) We finally get to see Ernst Stavro Blofeld in this outing, and Donald Pleasence does not disappoint (although, granted, he is NOT the Blofeld that Fleming had described). I have seen this movie at least 50 times since it first opened in June '67 (I saw it three times in its opening week alone!), and still thrill to its superb drive, color and action. The movie also features perhaps the loveliest of the Bond theme songs, sung by Nancy Sinatra, and all in all is a smashing entertainment package.Some personal background history: Back in June '67, my father dropped me and my buddy Dave off at the (sadly long extinct) Prospect Theater in Flushing, Queens on a Saturday afternoon; the first weekend after "YOLT"'s opening. Dave and I had been friends for a short time, having, uh, Bonded back in day camp after discovering our mutual love of the Ian Fleming novels. We sat through the film two times in a row that afternoon, and as I said above, I saw the film again before the week was out. Back when I was a kid, I could think of no better way to spend a Saturday afternoon than watching the first four Bond films on the big screen, at the (now sadly defunct) Queens Theater, which would often show them as double features. Though I was a preteen, for some reason, my parents felt it a safe proposition to just drop me off there for four hours while they did their thing (shopping). I must have seen those first four Bond movies in every possible double feature combination before "YOLT" premiered, and was thus well primed for this big event. The film blew Dave and I away that first weekend, and today, over four dozen viewings later, I still watch it with undiminished enthusiasm. What can I say? This movie brings out the kid in me, and makes me feel like I'm 12 again. And there is SO much to love in this film, despite the flaws mentioned above. The opening scene, in which Bond is "killed" while in bed with the gorgeous Tsai Chin (one of the few Bond actresses who would reappear, many years later, in another role; this time in "Casino Royale"); Bond's burial at sea, with its beautiful underwater photography (reminiscent of the recent "Thunderball") accompanied by a truly gorgeous piece of never-used-again background music; the vastly underrated fight that 007 has with a Japanese guard (played by Samoan wrestler Peter Maivia, who, five years later, would become the maternal grandfather of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson!) in the Osata Chemical Company building; that wonderful car chase, culminating with a helicopter-assisted "drop in the ocean"; the fight at Kobe dock, accompanied by the rousing "YOLT" theme song; the battle that Bond has over the S.P.E.C.T.R.E. volcano hideout in his "Little Nellie" gyrocopter (an action sequence that resulted in the real-life partial loss of a leg for the actual gyrocopter cameraman); the death of Helga Brandt (played by German actress Karin Dor, with whom I have been enamored to this day, and whose recent passing saddened me greatly) in Blofeld's piranha pool; the death of Aki, Bond's beautiful Japanese ally, by poison; and finally, that monumental final battle between the S.P.E.C.T.R.E. forces on one side and 007 and the ninja forces of the Japanese Secret Service on the other. This final segment, as I mentioned, very well might be the most visually spectacular (I keep coming back to that word!) sequence in the history of the action film, to this very day, and continues to amaze this viewer over half a century later. And while I'm on the subject, that colossal volcano set, designed by Ken Adam, is just absolutely remarkable, with its functioning monorails, spaceship landing pad, built-in observation windows, sliding crater-lake top and so on; a set that cost $1 million on its own to construct (ridiculous money to spend on a film set 50 years ago), and put together the old-fashioned way...with no green-screen special FX or computer enhancements.I have perhaps been remiss in neglecting to mention the contributions of Akiko Wakabayashi (Aki) and Mie Hama (Kissy, although her name is never mentioned in the film itself), both of whom are lovely and appealing; along with Ms. Dor, still another Bondian trio of female pulchritude. And the film's script, by children's author Roald Dahl, of all people, is a clever one, with any number of witty lines, despite its inherent flaws. Although many have complained of Sean Connery's apparent lack of enthusiasm in the film, and his visible boredom with the James Bond role at this point, I must confess that I have never been able to discern it on screen. Nor can I understand the "Maltin Movie Guide"'s assertion that the film lacks "clever and convincing crisis situations"; are they kidding?!?! The film is filled with nothing but! Anyway, I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. This film might be the only one on my Top 10 list that could be called a "guilty pleasure," but my love and enthusiasm for it remain undiminished after half a century. The last time I watched this film was on its 50th anniversary, in June of last year, and I do believe that I'm about ready for another look. Arigato!

Movie Review: "007: You Only Live Twice" (1967)This is "007" movie in states of decline, the fifth James Bond production delivers giant set designs again by production designer Ken Adam (1921-2016) as the vulcano lair of finally revealed head of underworld organization "Spectre" Ernst Stavro Blofeld, performed by insuspenseful delayed-actor appearance of Donald Pleasence (1919-1995), who takes on actor Sean Connery as somehow tireseome character of James Bond, missing the ease, splendors and elegance of former performances.Producers Albert R. Broccoli (1909-1996) and Harry Saltzman (1915-1994) grant the highest budget for a "007" movie of the 1960s to new-onboard director Lewis Gilbert, who makes use of a gadget- and special effects-focused script-adaptation by Roald Dahl (1916-1990), loosely based on author Ian Fleming's novel from 1964, where the most sophisticated character conflicts as the killing of Blofeld's wife Irma Bunt, a secretly hidden high advanced samurai amour against poisonous plants for showdown purposes and the character of James Bond in transition from mourning after a lost love into an action hero once again.It is no surprise that this fifth installment tends to disappoint, especially the lovers of "From Russia With Love" (1963) or "Goldfinger" (1964); too juvenile has become "007" action including minutes of assembling a compact helicopter before mid-air flight training delivered by the character of "Q" performed by actor Desmond Llewelyn (1914-1999) to an outside Tokyo, Japan location with slow received also newly recruited Academy-Award-Winning - for the participation in David Lean directed "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962) - cinematographer Freddie Young (1902-1998). The worldwide box office of this first-time in a summer month released James Bond movie mirrored the state of decline in years of character values developed by 12% less attendency over "Thunderball".© 2017 Felix Alexander Dausend (Cinemajesty Entertainment LLC)

The superpowers gear themselves for war following the hijacking of U.S and Soviet spacecraft in earth's orbit. Agent 007 rises from the dead and travels to Japan to investigate, finding himself once again up against the diabolical SPECTRE organisation. However he gets more than he bargained for when he finally comes face to face with SPECTRE chief Ernst Stavro Blofeld, who is in the process of instigating a nuclear apocalypse which will allow SPECTRE to emerge as the dominant world order...Sean Connery's fifth and supposedly final Bond outing is, in my less than humble opinion, one of the series' best instalments. With it's breathtaking volcano set, terrific John Barry score and top notch action sequences, YOLT is an absolute blast!(no pun intended). The Japanese locations are beautifully photographed and with a script by acclaimed children's writer Roald Dahl, this is one of the more surreal Bond adventures(of which there would be many). Donald Pleasence makes for a superb Blofeld and Connery seems to be enjoying himself. The climatic battle in Blofeld's elaborate volcano lair is just insane and truly spectacular in it's own right, so much chaos!. The stunts and special effects in this sequence alone never cease to amaze me and the bodycount is staggeringly high. An exhilarating foot chase around Kobe docks and the airborne melee featuring the Little Nellie Gyrocopter are also worthy of high praise, even if the effects in the latter are a little clunky. Oh and there's also a brilliant car chase in which are car full of nasty gunmen is amusingly disposed of. After all, it's just a drop in the ocean really.As a child I always wanted a model of Blofeld's volcano lair, in fact to this day I still long for one. YOLT is one of the reasons why I love the Bond franchise so much. True and unapologetic escapism! 10/10

You Only Live Twice is a great movie with a well developed plot and a good cast. It is a very fun film in the 007 franchise as we see James Bond team up with Japanese agents to take down an organisation that have been destroying spacecraft. It has a sense of humour and never takes itself too seriously, which makes it an easy, relaxing viewing. It is, on the other hand, very typical, it does not really offer anything new or exciting to the franchise, which is why I chose to give it an eight over a nine. There is an overly large focus on gadgets, to a degree that it comes across as lazy writing. Bond rarely uses his own skills to get out of certain danger, as he has a gadget specifically made for the peril he is in almost every time. Sean Connery still shines in the lead role, even in his fifth portrayal of the character, his wit, charisma and screen presence is still highly evident, as well as stellar chemistry with love interest Mie Hanna, he holds the whole film together and makes it worthwhile. It is certainly flawed, but the imperfections of You Only Live Twice can be easily overlooked as it is an enjoyable, action packed installment of the James Bond franchise. James Bond is sent to Japan to investigate the disappearance of an American spacecraft. Best Performance: Sean Connery