Jake’s Take: One Image from You Only Live Twice (Lewis Gilbert, 1967)
The image of SPECTRE’s volcano base inspires a brief consideration of Bond’s first meeting with Ernst Stavro Blofeld and the ever increasing stakes of the franchise.
“This is the big one, 007.”
Remember what I said in my Goldfinger post about future Bond films trying to outdo their predecessors? Well, if a rocket base inside of a volcano doesn’t do that, I’m not sure what does. This image represents much more to me than fodder for later Bond spoofs. If the early part of the franchise can be said to have a mythology, then this image represents the culmination of groundwork laid for that mythology’s ultimate reveal: the face of Bond’s arch-nemesis, Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Donald Pleasance). It is, in short, an image of both grandeur and seriality.
It is questionable as to how well the serial nature of the first several films pays off from a perspective of character. The meeting between Blofeld and Bond is charged with the anticipation from the preceding films, and the simple reveal of Blofeld’s scarred face is well executed, with the camera tilting upward from the famous cat as Blofeld leans into frame from behind his henchman Hans. Unfortunately, despite some well delivered dialogue by Pleasance in particular, the meeting itself pales in comparison to the interactions between the two characters in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, where we really do get more of a sense that they are each other’s ultimate adversary.
On the grandeur front, however, this film really does feel like the big one from a perspective of stakes. M is out in the field on a submarine, astronauts and cosmonauts are getting abducted or murdered in space, and Blofeld is attempting to “inaugurate a little war” between US and Russia. Our hero even fakes his own death to take on this mission. Everything about this movie screams, “it’s even bigger than Thunderball, the so-called biggest Bond of all!”
You Only Live Twice is an entertaining adventure, but despite its high stakes, it is also the first film in the series that feels like a bit of a step down. Don’t get me wrong; it’s got ninjas, piranhas, rocket guns, “Little Nellie,” and Ken Adam’s customarily amazing production design. (Apparently, Adam and director Lewis Gilbert never met a monorail they didn’t like.) Those elements all go a long way in this film’s favor.
That said, as I’ve mentioned previously, Connery’s exhaustion with the role becomes evident here, so that his performance plays as more competent than compelling. There are also some script issues. More thought seems to be given to how a scene plays on its own than to how it impacts what comes later. As a result, scenes can feel both fun and out of place, especially when they could be better shot (e.g. the fight on the docks). Some of Barry’s lighter score tracks abet this notion, though the “Space March” remains a brilliant piece. It may be quibbling on my part, but I also wish that the head of Japanese SIS, Tiger Tanaka (Tetsurô Tanba), would have served less as a sidekick and more as a mentor. Some of his questions are ones that I could never envision the head of an intelligence agency asking in earnest.
Still, this film still feels like a big one after all these years, but it would immediately be followed by a great one.
Rankings
5. From Russia with Love
7. Thunderball
9. Goldfinger
10. Dr. No
17. You Only Live Twice