You Only Live Twice

The evil plans of his subordinates have been so routinely foiled by 007 (Dr No, FRWL and Thunderball), that Ernst Stavro Blofeld (SPECTRE’s #1) has obviously decided that if you want a master-plan done properly, then do it yourself...! SPECTRE have been capturing space capsules launched by both USA and Russia; of course each nation blames the other for the missing probes and it looks like a full-scale war is imminent. Her Majesty’s government (ever the voice of reason!!!), don’t think either nation is to blame as their Intel indicates that the mysterious Pacman-style-shuttle-gobbling-rocket is being launched from somewhere in Japan. So, following an elaborate plan to convince the world’s baddies that he’s dead(..!), James Bond is sent to Japan to track down the source of the rocket.

The pre-credit action starts with the capture of an American space capsule by SPECTRE, before going to Hong Kong where we see 007 killed “on the job”! I like this, as both scenes tie in with the movie as a whole; instead of some fake-widow-beating and escape by tin-foil-jet-pack. The title tune, sung by Nancy Sinatra, is perhaps as well known as Goldfinger, and is also quite unusual (I think) in terms of Bond tunes, as the theme is recurrent throughout the entire film. In fact the whole film has a terrific score by John Barry.

This has always struck me as quite an iconic Bond film; probably a combination of great title tune, Donald Pleasence being the archetypal Blofeld (helped by Austin Powers no doubt), and a secret volcano base (the only kind of secret base worth having)! The fact that it is all set in the Far East gives the film a more exotic feel; though this brings with it some of the film’s more bizarre elements. Despite Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi) being a leading Japanese actress, her English accent sounded like Mrs Peignoir’s French accent from Fawlty Towers; the assassin/driver who Bond fights in Osato’s office looks more Polynesian than Japanese. At this point I was very happy to see 007’s penchant for fighting with furniture was taken to a whole new level as he fights not just using a chair, but an entire sofa (see also FRWL and Thunderball for other furniture fights!)!!

                                                        You're holding the wrong end!

Another random moment is making Bond Japanese!? I can see the point of him training to become a Jedi Ninja (in a camp as crazy as the SPECTRE training camp in FRWL; instead of flame-throwers there is ice-block-head-breaking!), but is it really necessary to have fake eyebrows/lids and a crap wig? Especially as he ditches them as soon as he puts on his Phantom disguise!

                        

Otherwise, Sean is as good as ever, though he does seem to get a bit more sweaty than in the other films. Any thoughts that perhaps he is getting bored with the franchise seem to be dispelled during the fight with Hans (Blofeld’s bodyguard) towards the end of the film. This is quite a full-on fight that is far more dynamic than some of the more slapstick offerings that we’ve seen in the previous two films. Donald Pleasence manages to create a truly iconic villain, even though he doesn’t have much time on screen. Of course as a genius, he even has an “Erupt Volcano” lever installed in his base! I think Charles Gray is great as Dikko Henderson (yup, “Dikko”!?!), it is a shame that he is only alive for about 5 minutes... Obviously his talent didn’t go unnoticed which is why (according to my James Bond encyclopaedia) “It is rumoured that a few years after Henderson’s death, Blofeld used him as a model for his surgically-created looks”! What a wonderfully unlikely way to get Charles Gray back into the franchise! Mie Hama is pretty enough as Kissy Suzuki, but she doesn’t do much other than run up and down the volcano a few times in a bikini.

                                                                Perfect hiking gear

Overall, I think You Only Live Twice is tremendous fun (though clearly not as thrilling as doing the voice-over for the trailer). Helped along by Roald Dahl’s screenplay, direction by Lewis Gilbert which really gives the film a freshness, and a brilliant production design by Ken Adam. There are almost as many memorable moments from this as there are from Goldfinger, but I think the plot is more intriguing and the extra dimension of Bond being involved in the space-race ups the ante in terms of the Bond franchise. As a final thought; we should take a moment to remember the Russian astronauts who put on the white henchmen overalls (at Bond’s behest) who were most likely shot in the climactic battle!

Order of preference so far:

You Only Live Twice, Goldfinger, From Russia with Love, Dr No, Thunderball

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Goldfinger

Goldfinger (Mwa Wa Waaaa!) is the film that shows that Bond has really arrived, as a character and as a franchise. As a franchise, we now have Shirley Bassey belting out the title song (written by John Barry this time), a flash car with accessories, and an evil henchman with some sort of random (odd?) skill; thus really setting the template for so many subsequent Bond movies.

As a character, 007 is a bit more ballsey now (he has the guts to wear a blue towel onesy!), and we start to get the impression that his reputation is starting to go before him; as Felix says: "He'll either be after a dame or a drink" (something like that). I got the impression that now he has shrugged of the spectre of SPECTRE, he's rather enjoying himself a bit more, despite being drugged and imprisoned rather a lot.

Of course by the third film James needs little introduction now, but his entrance in this film is almost as classic as the first "Bond, James Bond" in Dr. No. Stepping out of his frogman getup (and seagull) to reveal a white tux is as iconic a scene as Goldfinger's Laser "No Mr Bond, I expect you to die!". Unfortunately, following this great entrance, we are then treated to some nonsense as Bond sees a perfect reflection of an assailant in the eyes of his latest conquest (only to then use her as a shield! Chivalry not dead in 1964!), followed by a fight that can only be described as a slapstick parody of his struggle with Red Grant on the Orient Express in FRWL; Shocking!

Auric Goldfinger himself (Gert Fröbe) is a bit of a strange one. He is obviously a force to be reckoned with, (as demonstrated by his dynamic pencil-breaking upon losing a hand of poker); he can harness the power of gold to make a laser; and he has a classic villainous meeting room complete with rotating pool table/computer console, a scale model of his master plan, and secure shielding over the windows! However, he does also seem to employ the world's worst guards. James escapes from his cell having winked at his jailer and then slowly dropping out of view! He might as well have dressed as a washerwoman and hidden in a large wicker basket! Auric does also have the ability to look like he has had a bit too much air pumped into him, while impersonating a startled rabbit!

So far this all sounds rather negative. I really don't want to come across like that because Goldfinger is great. Great plot, great masterplan, great action (particularly the car chase sequences), several iconic scenes, not so great if your character is a Masterson! Also one of the best Bond Girl names there is: Pussy Galore. Honor Blackman is good as head of a flying school, but her character doesn't really give her much to play with, though she is able to make the audience a little uncomfortable as Bond forces himself onto her!

I think a lot of what makes Goldfinger so enjoyable are the foibles and idiosyncrasies; for example, Oddjob's theme seems to be someone banging on a triangle: Ting! Ting! Ting! Also, it could be that we have a definite villain with a definite plan. Dr No was clearly the main baddie, but we were never really sure what he was up to: something to do with knocking shuttles off course. In FRWL there is the menace of SPECTRE, but nothing very tangible as a threat to Bond (except bad fish/wine combinations). The fact that we have Goldfinger with an evil masterplan (irradiation of Fort Knox gold bullion to inflate the value of his own gold) makes the plot more obvious perhaps, but in a way that gives the feeling of a more complete package.

So, there we have Goldfinger in a nutshell; the quintessential 007 movie format, oft repeated in the franchise, but perhaps never done as well or with as much style.

Order of preference so far:
Goldfinger, From Russia With Love, Dr No.