The James Bond Bedside Companion (63 page)

You Only Live Twice
combines all of the elements associated with the Bond film series: outer space; underwater scenes; a few good fight scenes; lavish surroundings and set-pieces; beautiful women; gadgets; and a climactic demolition of the villain's headquarters at the film's end. The screenplay has its moments of flash, but ultimately it serves as a mere vehicle for the overpowering set-pieces.

DIRECTION

L
ewis Gilbert joins the Bond team to direct
You Only Live Twice
. One suspects that Gilbert didn't have too much say in the actual production planning of the film. The producers knew in what direction they wanted their series to go, and Gilbert was hired only to maintain control of the massive undertaking the film became. All things considered, Gilbert does an impressive job. There are extremely large crowds to contend with, as well as huge sets on which to plot action. Gilbert proved adept at handling a big picture, and he would be hired again later in the series to direct two more Bond films.

Gilbert's style incorporates the fastest tempo yet in a Bond film. This is an improvement over
Thunderball
—the new picture really moves. Gilbert also has a good eye for composition, helped immensely by the work of cinematographer Freddie Young.

Gilbert is less successful bringing out adequate per
formances from the cast Connery, especially, seems unmotivated and uninspired. And Gilbert could not overcome the serious miscasting of Donald Pleasence as Blofeld. The Japanese actors all do competent jobs, but there are no scenes requiring any serious dramatic interplay.

One particular scene is successful in generating a sombre mood, and that is the death of Aki. Bond and Aki are asleep in bed. A
SPECTRE
assassin sneaks into the rafters above them and hangs a thread above Bond's mouth. The assassin carefully pours a couple of drops of poison onto the thread; they slowly inch their way down. But Bond shifts his body in his sleep, and Aki moves with him. The poison drops fall into her mouth instead. This scene is suspenseful and eerie.

Another marvelous sequence is the Kobe dock fight. Bond and Aki have been spying on the shipping vessel
Ning-Po
, and are caught by
SPECTRE
dock workers. (It seems that everybody in Japan either works for
SPECTRE
or the Japanese Secret Service!) Bond is chased across a rooftop, and there's a magnificent aerial shot of him knocking off his attackers one by one. This shot, combined with John Barry's vigorous music, produces an exhilarating effect.

Gilbert is also successful in creating a bit of Fleming "travelogue" for the film. There is one sequence in which Bond is "married" to Kissy Suzuki for the purposes of cover. A traditional Japanese wedding is set up, and the audience is treated to a display of Oriental costume and ritual. Sequences such as this make
You
Only Live Twice
an interesting film.

ACTORS AND CHARACTERS

A
nother example of how radically the film series has changed James Bond from the Ian Fleming original is summed up in one line. Miss Moneypenny throws Bond a Japanese phrase book as he is exiting for his mission. Bond tosses it back, saying that she has forgotten he "took a first in Oriental languages at Cambridge." Well, James Bond never attended Cambridge. Or Oxford for that matter.

Sean Connery, in his fifth appearance as James Bond, looks weary and bored with the entire goings-on. He is overweight, slow-moving, and doesn't seem to be trying to create a credible character. What is amazing is that despite this, Connery here still radiates more screen presence than Roger Moore or George Lazenby. Halfway through the film, Bond is transformed into a Japanese man. Bikini-clad Japanese women perform an elaborate operation, depilating him, slanting his eyes, and changing his hair style. As Brosnan notes, the result is unconvincing, and Connery looks a little ridiculous slouching around with his head down in stereotypical Japanese humility.

Jan Werich was originally cast as
Blofeld, but the actor became very ill before his scenes were shot. Acting hastily, the producers cast Donald Pleasence as Bond's archenemy. Pleasence is a terrific actor, and is especially
good at character roles; but in this case, he is seriously miscast. This film marks the first appearance of Blofeld's face on screen (yes, he's still petting that damned white cat), and Pleasence is a disappointment. He is a small man with a voice that in no way resembles the Blofeld voices used in
From Russia With Love
or
Thunderball
. Although Blofeld's features alter from novel to novel, he always remains physically large and mentally methodical. Pleasence's Blofeld resembles a rash, hyperactive Dr. Frankenstein. Pleasence's makeup includes an ugly scar down the right side of his face, and his characterization suggests an ugly, spoiled child who throws a tantrum when he doesn't get his way. As a result, Blofeld is unintentionally comical. My favorite line in the film comes from Blofeld when he orders Mr. Osata to "Kill Bond—NOW!" The delivery is maniacally funny.

Blofeld comes equipped with a superstrong bodyguard named Hans. Hans doesn't say anything through the entire film, and is basically a variation of Oddjob. Bond quickly disposes of him during one of the film's weaker fight scenes.

Akiko Wakabayashi portrays Aki, the beautiful Japanese girl who befriends Bond in the first half of the picture. Miss Wakabayashi is very good in the role, and gives the most accomplished performance in the film. Aki is very independent, intelligent, and resourceful. She also happens to show up in the nick of time repeatedly to save Bond from danger. Aki is unfortunately the film's Obligatory Sacrificial Lamb, and meets her death in the previously mentioned bedroom scene.

Tetsuro Tamba portrays the wise Tiger Tanaka,
head of the Japanese Secret Service
. Fleming's Tanaka is one of his most developed and entertaining characters, but Tanaka in the film has been written down. Also, Tamba is not particularly engaging in the role. Though he speaks with the wisdom and authority required of the character, he appears too young and a little mechanical.

Lovely Mie Hama is Kissy Suzuki, whom Bond "marries" on Kuro Island. Miss Hama, like Akiko Wakabayashi, is well cast and does a very competent job in portraying the Ama diving girl with an American education. Although her role has been changed considerably from the original story (in the film, she's a trained agent skilled in the martial arts, working for the Japanese Secret Service), Miss Hama displays an innocent charm that is appealing.

German actress Karin Dor is cast as Helga Brandt, the SPECTRE agent who first uses Bond sexually for her own purposes, then attempts to kill him. The character is basically Fiona Volpe revisited, and is not nearly as successful. Dor displays adequate sexual appeal for the role, but is not nearly as villainous as Luciana Paluzzi. Helga Brandt meets her death in another of the now-famous SPECTRE executions for failure. This time, Blofeld terminates her employment by feeding her to his pet piranhas.

A Japanese actor with a face familiar to American audiences, Teru Shimada, portrays Mr. Osata, the man who owns the chemical and engineering front for SPECTRE. Shimada isn't given much to do, but performs his tasks with conviction, nonetheless. He, too, is killed by Blofeld for failing to eliminate Bond. (Blofeld here chooses a simpler method: he pulls out a pistol and shoots Osata at point-blank range.)

Another interesting character from the novel is shortchanged in the film. This is Dikko Henderson, the British agent working at the Tokyo Station. Charles Gray (who later returns to the series to contribute his own version of Blofeld) portrays Henderson, but he isn't given much screen time. He's interrupted in the middle of perhaps his third speech by a knife in the back (this didn't happen in the books. Henderson also has a wooden leg in the film – a handicap not suffered by the original character.

It's obvious the filmmakers are running out of ideas for original M/Miss Moneypenny scenes. In You Only Live Twice, Bond reports to headquarters aboard M's private submarine (!) which happens to be stationed near Japan. It's the first time we see the Service personnel (including Bond and M) in full Naval attire, but the notion is ridiculous. Q makes his usual appearance on location in Japan to instruct Bond in operating "Little Nellie," the latest in Q Branch technology.

Sean Connery and Mie Hama (Kissy Suzuki) on a Japanese mountain in
You Only Live Twice.
A SPECTRE helicopter will soon interrupt the picnic. (UPI Photo.)

OTHER ASPECTS

A
s mentioned earlier,
You Only Live Twice
is the most visually attractive movie of the entire series. Freddie Young's cinematography is gorgeous, especially in the panoramic views of the Japanese countryside. Young has done a splendid job capturing the beauty and color of the East.

But the film's look belongs to Ken Adam.
You Only Live Twice
contains his most impressive work. It's no wonder, for Adam was allotted at least half of the film's total budget to create the many interiors for the film. Among these are Osata's office, where Bond fights a heavy Sumo wrestler; Tanaka's Secret Service headquarters, filled with TV screens and sleek, metal walls; M's submarine office; Blofeld's suite, complete with piranha pool and bridge; and several Japanese houses. But the most outstanding set is the SPECTRE volcano. At a cost of one million dollars, the huge set was built on the back-lot of Pinewood Studios, and could be seen at least three miles away. It was the largest and most expensive set ever built for a motion picture. Everything inside worked—monorails, elevators, and motor vehicles. A helicopter could actually descend through the opening in the ceiling and land on the launching pad. This set epitomizes the bigness of the Bond films, and it's worth the price of admission just to see it.

The film contains as many gadgets (if not more) than
Thunderball
. Among these are the thousands of television screens and radio transmitters that everyone in the film seems to carry; a handy little safecracker Bond happens to have on his person which, after a few seconds of waiting, reveals a safe's combination to its user; and various items used by the ninjas, such as cigarettes containing explosive projectiles. But the star gadget is the "Little Nellie," a gyro-helicopter for one passenger, which actually works, and was flown in the film by Nellie's designer and owner, Ken Wallis. It is in effect a flying Aston Martin, for it comes equipped with machine guns, a smokescreen sprayer, rockets, a mine field launcher, and two heat-seeking missiles which practically steal the film during Bond's aerial battle with four SPECTRE helicopters.

Bob Simmons is in charge of the stunts again, with assistance from George Leech. Their work is especially impressive during the climactic battle in the volcano between the SPECTRE forces and Tanaka's
ninjas
. Over 120 stuntmen were employed for the scene, and it's a magnificent display of panoramic acrobatics. There is one particular
ninja
who, during the training camp sequence, is given his own moment of glory when he displays his swordsmanship in a whirlwind tour de force. The sequence is repeated against enemy SPECTRE agents during the climactic battle, and it almost always receives a round of applause from the audiences with which I've seen the film. The actor performing this role was also one of Kurosawa's original
Seven Samurai
.

John Stears is once again in charge of special effects, and does his usual explosive job with pyrotechnics. His work on the outer space sequences is less successful, but one must remember that this was before the advent of Kubnck's
2001
, which changed the norm of special effects work in space films.

Eileen Sullivan, as wardrobe mistress, deserves a mention for the Japanese costumes and
ninja
outfits. The design aspects of the film all blend well to create the most visually consistent of all the Bond films.

John Barry deserves special mention for his beautiful score for the film, which is truly one of his best Nancy Sinatra's rendition of the title song (with lyrics by Leslie Bricusse) was a hit single, and is one of the best main themes. It has a haunting melody which is difficult to forget Barry also created a unique sound with strings for the outer space segments. Again, the overall mood is haunting and awe-inspiring. Barry is also given a chance to compose music with an Oriental flavor for the wedding scene and the bits in Tanaka's home. It's a truly lovely score, and is one of the film's greatest assets.