I've just rewatched this because it's on Netflix; I hadn't seen it for many years and I have to say it's really an enjoyable Bond flick.
It's got ninjas, car chases, a space ships that eats other spaceships, hot Japanese and Chinese girls, helicopter dogfights, Blofeld, flesh-eating piranhas, and Bond being shot out of a torpedo tube. What else could you ask for?
I like this film least of all. It seems even for the time of its release that it is blatantly racist and the stereotypes about Japan and Japanese people are just so crude. Well, it is also generally stupid, but that goes for most Bond films.
shareWhat stereotypes? Japan has a very distinct culture that was accurately depicted for the most part. This was filmed on location in Japan, and some scenes like the sumo wrestling match were filmed at real-life events in one take. The wrestling match, the referee's weird chanting noises, the audience's applause and everything is real. Other events like the wedding and funeral procession are authentic, as are the sword-fighting demonstrations.
shareYou have GOT to be kidding!!!
It was super progressive.
People who were alive during WWII or fought in it----HATED Japanese people and continued to hate them for a very long time. Japan was not a nice country and they didn't have the same war ethics as the west and were very brutal and cruel.
So, a film like this, with THAT generation watching it had to feel like the biggest SJW thing around.
well, i dislike the fact that for three quarters of the film there's one main Bond girl, then they kill her off and he's rushed into a relationship with another one. Not very satisfactory. Plus overall I don't find it very exciting.
shareYeah I don't get the dislike for it. To me, it might just be the 2nd best Connery Bond film (Goldfinger).
shareMy #10 all time Bond. It's pretty fun entertainment.
It's the silliest Bond without being campy. It works because the silliness factor is balanced across the board - from his opening death/torpedo launch back to work, the trap doors around Tokyo settings, & of course the volcano lair.
To answer the question though- they erred in having the helicopter chase the swimming girl to shoot her.
A helicopter. They could've hovered right over her.
...top 50 http://www.imdb.com/list/ls056413299/
I love this film and see no stereotypes at all. Very entertaining ending and Mie Hama in a bikini, WOW! Donald Pleasance is Blofeld to me. Dang, there is just no weakness in this film. The Little Nellie sequence is another highlight. The theme song is in my top 3.
shareI agree with you 100%, MW1- I was born in the early 1960's, have seen all the Bond films as they came out, consider myself an avid Bond fan, and consider YOLT to be one of my top three favorite Bond films.
Although sometimes not considered to be among the "best" of the Bond series for various reasons (the movie does have its flaws- Bond's cosmetic "transformation" to being unconvincingly "Japanese" being one)- to me it is one of the most "watchable" of the series. It is one of the few Bonds that I can put on in the office or shop in the background to keep me company while I work.
Donald Pleasance as Blofeld is often a target of the critics, but I think he was awesome in the role and I think that the "over-the-top" performance of Pleasance- and the "over-the-top" sets & gadgets as well- are what makes it so much fun.
As for mentioning what's likeable in the film, you did a great job of covering all the basics in your list, but may I add two more things:
1. An awesome, haunting, & extremely memorable title song
2. Perhaps the best background score/music that John Barry every composed/arranged for a Bond movie (and all his music is great). The mood & background music that is featured in YOLT adds so much to the individual scenes in this film! The "space music" in the pre-credits sequence, the countdown music when SPECTRE launches the rocket while the captured Bond watches helplessly, and the music that begins when Bond fights Hans and makes his way into the control room are particularly memorable.
these sumo guys don't look very heavy, what a rich unusual soundtrack and beautiful scenery, all had a great impact on me as kid, though the space bits freaked me out, you see children's bedrooms full of space decoration but i hear even some adults are freaked out by space, i forgot the sort of dated treatment of girls, i mean it's harmless but i know a lot of people like to make a fuss, the liver comment by bond was great and informative, the reply was terrible though, by the end you even got a nicotine comment worked in the dialogue, as if this bond movie was on some public health mission, critics give this fairly low rating, but i've always seen this as one of the richest adventures, i found the movie made before this the most boring in the franchise (of movies starring connery and moore). as if the today's so common plastic surgery isn't bad enough, the description of it in this sounds like a horror movie, i wish someone could convince women that straight fellas don't like it, it's remarkable how blofeld was always played by amazing actors like donald pleasance (version which became a spoof in austin powers), telly savalas (1969) and charles gray (1971), i can't remember why the role had to be dropped, but it's strongly hinted the role made a cameo in the opening to the 1981 movie, how could it not be him, it's even after bond visits theresa's grave, funny how since connery was so young when he was in the part the bond girls (galore, miss moneypenny) is older than bond, you know how people used to look older than today, someone i know thought connery was in his late 50's in his first bond movie.
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you zeroed in and blew a kiss,
send me to the moon as right at heart i got hit,
but your aim was to control my thoughts,
with invisibility wrapped lips around my heart,
sending strong waves to my brain,
kissin it till im helpless against your plans,
licked till i drown on the moon and fell out of space.
Its a good movie, but not as good as the first four that come before it. Connery looks bored and disinterested in this movie. There are some parts, but other parts feel just meh. During Bond Japanese was cringe worthy.
shareI agree that Connery phoned it in here. ThereΒ΄s a couple of scenes where Bond is under threat he would look intense and in danger, in previous movies but not in YOLT. For example, in the Little Nellie scene, Connery looks like heΒ΄s almost about to start laughing as heΒ΄s shooting down the bad guys. You never feel like heΒ΄s in any danger of being killed. Furthermore, Bond has a believable romance with Aki and yet when she is killed, there is barely a hint of sadness, in a scene that should have been a lot more poignant. They just seemed to brush off her death like it was no big deal.
Nevertheless, I still think this movie is still better than every Moore effort and probably would still have it above Thunderball.
I've tried watching this and tried to enjoy it repeatedly. Sean nearly fell asleep out of boredom several times in this film and so did I. I can't understand how a film with so many ridiculous moments could also be so slow paced and boring.
Perhaps this could be best enjoyed at parties. A bit of friends and booze to help get through it, while passively enjoying some of the music and visuals which can be pleasing at times.