You Only Live Twice

1967
PG
1h 57m

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

120K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer3:19

Spy Action Adventure Thriller

James Bond and the Japanese Secret Service must find and stop the true culprit of a series of space hijackings, before war is provoked between Russia and the United States.James Bond and the Japanese Secret Service must find and stop the true culprit of a series of space hijackings, before war is provoked between Russia and the United States.James Bond and the Japanese Secret Service must find and stop the true culprit of a series of space hijackings, before war is provoked between Russia and the United States.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.8/10

120K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

1,524

1,226

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 2 wins & 3 nominations total

Trivia
While scouting locations in Japan, the chief production team narrowly escaped death. On March 5, 1966, producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, director Lewis Gilbert, cinematographer Freddie Young, and production designer Sir Ken 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 encountered severe turbulence and disintegrated over Mt. Fuji, killing all aboard.

Goofs
After a four-hour hike to the top of the crater with no backpack, Bond pulls out a full suction cup apparatus set-up. How did he ever know to bring this, not knowing there was anything inside the crater?

Quotes
Tiger Tanaka: It can save your life, this cigarette.
James Bond: You sound like a commercial.

Crazy credits
THE END of YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE but James Bond will be back ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE

Alternate versions
The Ultimate Edition reinserts some additional brief scenes that were omitted from early video versions and English broadcasts. Missing brief scenes were:
1) Tiger shows Bond the rocket guns.
2) A ninja cuts the arms off the 'hay man'.
3) A ninja throws shooting stars.
4) An assassin attempts to kill Bond by a spike out of the pole.
5) Tiger's throw of the stars at Blofeld's arm is longer.

Connections
Edited into The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

Soundtracks
You Only Live Twice
Music by John Barry
Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse
Performed by Nancy Sinatra

User reviews402

Review

Featured review

8/10

Old school Bond, but still one of the most fun Bond movies.

My Take: Another fun Bond entry. Great Bond, fun villains, neat gadgets, and enjoyable action.

"You Only Live Twice" is business as usual for Bond. Not much new, and Connery seemed bored playing his role (explaining his disappearance in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"). There is a lot to like in this film. Connery in "You Only Live Twice" is easily comparable to FROM Russia WITH LOVE and GOLDFINGER, but as Bond, he already has established that he is the best in the business and YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE does give him much to do.

This film does carry the original tradition of Bond. This time around, Bond is sent to Japan to investigate the disappearances of American space shuttles. While the United States suspect it's Russian interference and threaten to retaliate, the Brits faked 007's assassination, in order to clear the way for Bond to investigate what really is going on.

Some areas of YOLT are pretty campy (some of the patterns for the AUSTIN POWERS parodies are pretty evident), but the camp is part of the fun. It's a throwback to the good ol' not-to-be-taken-seriously adventure espionage fun. This is formula Bond, but loaded with great action, neat gadgetry ("Little Nellie" is one of the most beloved Q gadgets) and the glorious sets by the one-and-only Bond veteran Ken Adam make it another high-flying, if not exactly groundbreaking, Bond adventure and one of he series' more fun entries.

Rating: **** out of 5.