American and Russian space capsules are being hijacked in outer space. The Americans blame the Russians and the Russians blame the Americans. With the two world powers on the brink of world war three, James Bond is sent to Japan to investigate and finally comes face to face with the head of SPECTRE.

This film is one of the most flamboyant of the series. The set pieces, designed by Ken Adam, dominate the characters and this is one of the reasons Sean Connery wanted to call it quits. He seems to be bored and his performance shows it. On the other hand, Donald Pleasence creates my favorite version of SPECTRE villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Karin Dor and Teru Shimada offer some assisted villainy. But the actress Aki Wakabayashi should have had the main Bond girl lead. When her part is eliminated in the fourth reel, the movie loses its love interest. In the last third of the film the producers introduce Mie Hama as Kissy Suzuki. Although attractive, she lacks the sexual tease that Aki first brought to the film. You Only Live Twice is an entertaining film, but it relies heavily on the established characters to carry it out. Highlights include Bond’s autogyro “Little Nellie” and Ken Adam’s massive volcano set.

Most Memorable Dialogue:

During the final battle scene, Bond has to fight Blofeld's bodyguard, Han, for the key to destroy the SPECTRE spacecraft. Bond flips Han into a pool of piranha fish where he is devoured whole.

Bond: "Bon appetit."

Dr. Shatterhand's Scale from 1 to 10

"8"

CAST

Sean Connery . . . . . . . . . . James Bond OO7

Akiko Wakabayashi . . . . . . . . . . Aki

Mie Hama . . . . . . . . . . Kissy Suzuki

Tetsuro Tamba . . . . . . . . . . Tiger Tanaka

Teru Shimada . . . . . . . . . . Mr. Osato

Karin Dor . . . . . . . . . . Helga Brandt

Donald Pleasence . . . . . . . . . . Ernst Stavro Blofeld

Charles Gray . . . . . . . . . . Henderson

Tsai Chin . . . . . . . . . . Link

Ronald Rich . . . . . . . . . . Hans

Bernard Lee . . . . . . . . . . M

Lois Maxwell . . . . . . . . . . Miss Moneypenny

Desmond Llewelyn . . . . . . . . . . Q

Burt Kwouk . . . . . . . . . . Spectre 3

Michael Chow . . . . . . . . . . Spectre 4

Peter Fanene Maivia . . . . . . . . . . Car Driver

Jeanne Roland . . . . . . . . . . Bond's Masseuse

David Toguri . . . . . . . . . . Assassin

John Stone . . . . . . . . . . Submarine Captain

Alexander Knox . . . . . . . . . . U.S. President

Shane Rimmer . . . . . . . . . . Hawaii Radar Operator