Pros and Cons: You Only Live Twice

Barbel

Blackleiter wrote:

Agent Purple wrote:

Does anybody besides me think Connery's performance here wasn't all that bad?

Me.

And me. Not his best, but even here he radiates charisma and... Bondness???

Blackleiter

Barbel wrote:

even here he radiates charisma and... Bondness

In spades! {[]

Barbel

{[] He is THE MAN.

Loeffelholz

Most certainly -{ And we all know he was FED UP with it, and didn't really enjoy the shoot at all. Still very high on my own personal list.

Thunderpussy

I've told this story before but, As teen I worked as a Barman in
A local football club, and remember the first time YOLT was to
be shown on TV. It was like watching a big football match, as all
The men sat watching it. ) many people like Bond.

DigificWriter

Pros:
+ Aki
+ The usage of SPECTRE
+ Giving the audience their first 'proper' introduction to Blofeld at the same time that Bond meets the character
+ Tiger Tanaka's ninja commandos
+ The aerial dogfight above Japan between Bond and Little Nellie and SPECTRE's helicopter pilots

Cons:
- Kissy Suzuki and her role in the story
- Bond disguised as a Japanese man
- Bond's sham marriage to Kissy Suzuki
- Some of the goofier elements of the storyline (the design of "Bird One", the way in which it physically 'gobbled up' spaceships, the way in which people were shown dying by piranha in Blofeld's apartment)
- The goofier aspects of the way Aki's death was presented

Agent Purple

I actually prefer YOLT to TB.

chrisisall

Agent Purple wrote:

I actually prefer YOLT to TB.

-{

DigificWriter

If Roald Dahl's screenplay hadn't treated some stuff as goofily as it did, YOLT might beat out Thunderball as my favorite of the pre-Craig films I've seen so far, but, for now, TB takes that title because, while I liked the way that SPECTRE was used in YOLT more than the way they were used in TB, TB's tone is ultimately more 'even', which gives it the edge over DN, YOLT, and FRwL for me.

heartbroken_mr_drax

A few cons I just have to add:

- The special effects in this film are dodgy. Especially the helicopter models being blown up.
- The fight scene at the docks drags and the choreography feels like something from a local am-dram society

broadshoulder

DigificWriter wrote:

- The goofier aspects of the way Aki's death was presented

Sorry, but in what way was Akis death seem goofy? (not that I'd ever use that word)

I thought it was quite harrowing

Agent Purple

I agree with broadshoulder, I don't find Aki's death goofy.

Matt S

Agent Purple wrote:

I agree with broadshoulder, I don't find Aki's death goofy.

Same here. I think it's the saddest death of any Bond girl after Tracy and Vesper (M doesn't count). It was a very well done scene.

Barbel

Same goes for me, too.

DutchJamesBondFan

Agent Purple wrote:

I actually prefer YOLT to TB.

So do I, I've watched it yesterday evening since a long, long time. Way more fun than I thought.

DigificWriter

broadshoulder wrote:

DigificWriter wrote:

- The goofier aspects of the way Aki's death was presented

Sorry, but in what way was Akis death seem goofy? (not that I'd ever use that word)

I thought it was quite harrowing

I felt like the poison worked too fast, and the gasp she gave felt too exaggerated to me.

If they'd slowed down the frames a bit and toned down her gasp, I think it would've worked better.

broadshoulder

DigificWriter wrote:

broadshoulder wrote:

DigificWriter wrote:

- The goofier aspects of the way Aki's death was presented

Sorry, but in what way was Akis death seem goofy? (not that I'd ever use that word)

I thought it was quite harrowing

I felt like the poison worked too fast, and the gasp she gave felt too exaggerated to me.

If they'd slowed down the frames a bit and toned down her gasp, I think it would've worked better.

Sorry but her gasping for breath is horrible. You actually see her die..

That man dripping poison down a wire. Horrible way to go...

hehadlotsofguts

Aki's assassin's death is too quick. 2 shots and that's it.

DigificWriter

broadshoulder wrote:

DigificWriter wrote:

broadshoulder wrote:

Sorry, but in what way was Akis death seem goofy? (not that I'd ever use that word)

I thought it was quite harrowing

I felt like the poison worked too fast, and the gasp she gave felt too exaggerated to me.

If they'd slowed down the frames a bit and toned down her gasp, I think it would've worked better.

Sorry but her gasping for breath is horrible. You actually see her die..

That man dripping poison down a wire. Horrible way to go...

The way they filmed the entire thing gave it an element of goofiness/lightness (IMO) that really ought not to have been there.

Matt S

DigificWriter wrote:

broadshoulder wrote:

DigificWriter wrote:

I felt like the poison worked too fast, and the gasp she gave felt too exaggerated to me.

If they'd slowed down the frames a bit and toned down her gasp, I think it would've worked better.

Sorry but her gasping for breath is horrible. You actually see her die..

That man dripping poison down a wire. Horrible way to go...

The way they filmed the entire thing gave it an element of goofiness/lightness (IMO) that really ought not to have been there.

I don't know where you get this from. It's a really dark scene.

DigificWriter

^ It didn't feel that way to me.

I can't really explain WHY it didn't feel that way to me other than to use the terms I've used, but it is what it is.

broadshoulder

DigificWriter wrote:

broadshoulder wrote:

DigificWriter wrote:

I felt like the poison worked too fast, and the gasp she gave felt too exaggerated to me.

If they'd slowed down the frames a bit and toned down her gasp, I think it would've worked better.

Sorry but her gasping for breath is horrible. You actually see her die..

That man dripping poison down a wire. Horrible way to go...

goofiness?? ) ) ) )

The way they filmed the entire thing gave it an element of goofiness/lightness (IMO) that really ought not to have been there.

goofiness?? ) ) ) )

DigificWriter

When I watched Aki's death in YOLT, I didn't feel the same sense of seriousness that I did when I watched Tracy's and Vesper's deaths in OHMSS and CR, respectively. In comparison to those two deaths, it felt more lighthearted and goofy to me.

Matt S

DigificWriter wrote:

When I watched Aki's death in YOLT, I didn't feel the same sense of seriousness that I did when I watched Tracy's and Vesper's deaths in OHMSS and CR, respectively. In comparison to those two deaths, it felt more lighthearted and goofy to me.

You must have been laughing when Tilly Masterson was killed. )

DigificWriter

Tilly's death ought to have been accompanied by some blood on her neck from where Oddjob's hat hit her, but it otherwise worked.

Aki's death just didn't have the 'gravitas' it needed to, at least for me.

The Wicker Man

Aki's death is definitely not goofy.

Barbel

DigificWriter wrote:

Tilly's death ought to have been accompanied by some blood on her neck from where Oddjob's hat hit her

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_British_film_certificates

Not if they wanted the film to have the right certificate. If there had been blood there, then the makers would've had to sacrifice some other element they preferred to keep in.

chrisisall

Aki's death is so serious that I avoided the film for many years because of it...

Agent Purple

I think Aki's likeability is one of the things that makes her death so undesirable. She has such a cute smile, and Bond's "wife" doesn't even come close to her in terms of likeability, in my opinion.

Diabolik

DigificWriter wrote:

Aki's death just didn't have the 'gravitas' it needed to, at least for me.

One of my few issues with YOLT is how Aki is killed, then forgotten 5 minutes later and Bond is given his "consolation prize." Aki is one my favorite Bond girls and her quick exit and replacement feels insulting.