James Bond 007 – Man lebt nur zweimal (1967)

James Bond 007 – Man lebt nur zweimal: Directed by Lewis Gilbert. With Sean Connery, Akiko Wakabayashi, Mie Hama, Tetsurô Tanba. Secret Agent 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.

“This particular 007 entry (which was intended to be Sean Conneryu0026#39;s last before he would agreed to return one more time for his sixth shot as 006 in u0026#39;Diamonds are Forever (1971)u0026#39; and lets not the forget the unofficial u0026#39;Never Say Never Againu0026#39; in 1983) was the first Bond film I encountered and from that it has always remained a total favourite. u0026quot;You Live Only Twiceu0026quot; we see Bond travel to the land of the rising sun (Japan) in what is quite an expansive concept (dazzling set-designs with spectacular non-stop action) and very well-budgeted effort that lingers on a extremely comic-book-like tone (thanks largely to Roald Dahlu0026#39;s industriously well-guided screenplay that plays its cards close to the chest) with its characters, atmospherics and set-pieces that for me would make it one of the most creative and exciting inclusions to the series.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBond heads to Japan racing to uncover the true mastermind behind the space-jacking that could see another world war, as British sources believe that the mysterious rocket ship which has seized American and Russian space shuttles originates from there, but those countries believe otherwise than each other for the acts.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCouple of things which made it more the memorable would be that itu0026#39;s the first chance we get to see arch villain SPECTRE Agent #1 Ernst Blofeldu0026#39;s face, than just the hand stroking the cat… although the first hour we get enough of that. Itu0026#39;s a devilishly meaty Donald Pleasence who just seemed the part of Blofeld. Now who didnu0026#39;t love the hidden lair that was in an inactive volcano, and of course Blofeldu0026#39;s pool of pet piranhas. The inventive gadget novelty was really making a mark, just look the deadly mini-copter named u0026#39;Nellyu0026#39; and the dangerous effects of smoking around others. Strangely enough the (witty) script seemed to spit out a few self-knowing quips involving cigarettes, which became rather odd. Director Lewis Gilbert (who would go on to control the very similar in story-structure u0026quot;The Spy Who Loved Meu0026quot; and then following that the plain goofy u0026quot;Moonrakeru0026quot;) does a tersely capable job with a fast moving pace that shifted from one well organized set-piece to another (like the chase on-top of a rooftop in a fishing docks thatu0026#39;s masterfully captured by cinematographer Freddie Young) to finally finish on a barnstorming climax (with none other than ninjas) and then a familiarly fitting final frame. Sean Connery might look a little tired (a bit funny trying to make himself look like Japanese under make-up), but remains just as charismatic and fittingly lean when it came to getting down and dirty (Bond and his tussle with Blofeldu0026#39;s massive henchman Hans comes to mind). The bond girls shape up nicely in the form of Akiko Wakabayashi, Mie Hama and the stunning German redhead Karin Dor. Tetsurô Tanba was good as Bondu0026#39;s Japanese counterpart. Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell and Desmond Llewelyn treat us to their iconic roles. John Barryu0026#39;s classy music score has a smoothly oriental touch, which can get actively copious when called for and theme song u0026quot;You Only Live Twiceu0026quot; is enticingly sung by Nancy Sinatra.”