You Only Live Twice (1967)

Agent 007 and the Japanese secret service ninja force must find and stop the true culprit of a series of spacejackings before nuclear war is provoked.
Cast and Information
Directed By: Lewis Gilbert
Written By: Ian Fleming, Roald Dahl
Starring: Donald Pleasence, Tetsurô Tanba, Sean Connery, Bernard Lee, Charles Gray, Lois Maxwell, Burt Kwouk, Karin Dor, Desmond Llewelyn, Mie Hama, Teru Shimada, Akiko Wakabayashi
Genres: Sci-fi, Suspense/Thriller, Action, Adventure
Franchise: James Bond
Country: UK
Where to Stream
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You Only Live Twice belongs to 23 collections
1. Psychotronic Film and Video Guides (collaborative: moderated by Gregzilla - 40 stars)
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7. Top 3000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 5 stars)
8. Referenced by The Simpsons (collaborative: moderated by ReCreation07 - 2 stars)
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10. Top 2000 movies with the most votes on IMDb (public: fanfic - 2 stars)
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Stars | User | Rating | |
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Luna6ix | 82 80th |
Bond is definitely at top form here, it's got everything you want in a Bond movie, and is definitely well done. From the start, it does its job to engage and entertain the viewer, and aside from a little slacking in the middle, sustains that engagement for the entire duration. It finishes off strong with a great finale and doesn't dawdle after the action has stopped.
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Ytadel | 9 98th |
One of my favorite Bond films. The wonderful shot-on-location travelogue showcase of Japan, cinematography by Freddie Young of Lawrence of Arabia fame, the epic final volcano lair, one of the best Bond allies in Tiger Tanaka, and a truly outstanding John Barry score, among my favorite film scores ever. Only major weakness is that they kill off Aki, an awesome Bond girl, and make the "official" Bond girl the bland, forgettable Kissy. Love it anyway though. (Ytadel's series ranking: #7 of 24)
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chemtrails | 40 24th |
Japanese marriage subplot, WHAT THE FUCK
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INDYATMN | 82 64th |
Early Bond films made it a point to show viewers exotic locales & this delivers more of that than ever in Japan. The producers are clearly fascinated & it translates, even to the point where the middle of the film almost starts to feel more like an interesting travelogue. As a Bond film this goes as big as it can w/out bursting w/ a volcano lair, piranhas, & lethal mini-copter. The direction is particularly well done w/ a long-shot roof fight, ominous copter shadows in the sky & raining ninjas.
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mwgerb | 54 51st |
The final scene in the archetypal villain lair is an incredibly entertaining action set piece; I want ninjas, henchmen, and rocket launches in all of my movies. That being said, while the music and the Bond girls are on top of their game, the rest is hit or miss. Good, but forgettable.
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Pickpocket | 6 55th |
A really big, loud Bond with a satisfying conclusion where seemingly hundreds of people get killed. The villain is pretty weak and after being teased with him after 4 movies, it's pretty disappointing. It's easy to see why Mike Myers parodied him in Austin Powers, just a ridiculous looking dude. Bond girls were the worst of the bunch so far but Connery is on form yet again. Not as many one liners which sucked cause they are great.
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nilkynarfy | 50 34th |
The ninja swarm at the end was cool and so was the helicopter chase. The rest was this sea of plot holes, contrivances, persian cat abuse, and dope modernist interior design.
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BillyShears | 75 65th |
You only live twice but you're not going to fool me even once Sean Connery in yellow face, oh my.
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misterlizard | 85 92nd |
Cat-stroking super villains, deus ex gadgets showing up out of nowhere, a ninja army invading a hollowed-out volcano lair, and Connery as the most unconvincing Japanese person in history. Completely ridiculous and over-the-top, without becoming a parody of itself like later films in the series almost did. And because it's still played straight it becomes enormously entertaining. The theme song is vastly underrated too.
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2 | xacviant | 70 27th |
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Another step down for the series: despite a top-notch production, with Ken Adam's astounding volcano lair set, a strong finale, and generally good direction, Y.O.L.T. is hampered by a mediocre script (written by Roald Dahl, but lacking in personality), an underused villain, and Connery's lackluster performance. Tetsuro Tamba as Tiger, and Donald Pleasance as Blofeld, come off best. And, to the film's credit, it does have one of the best theme songs in the series--one of the most haunting.
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amazedemon | 65 61st |
From the author that brought you Matilda & The Butler Did It comes...a Bond flick!? Little of Dahl's style remains as he loosely adapts Fleming's work leaving a decent film that hits all the now established franchise tropes. The plot is grander with a cool final set-piece, but set exclusively in Japan which has the odd effect of slowing the pacing. The soundtrack & action are lacklustre but there's a great aerial shot of Bond escaping off a roof. Possibly the most justifiable use of yellowface.
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1 | Loki | 50 22nd |
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Not a very good bond film, the japanese elements in it make it very silly.
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TheDiceman | 55 49th |
Good film.
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teknicolor | 70 61st |
Watch this movie if for no other reason than to see Sean Connery try to look Japanese. Hilarious.
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1 | Slaapaav | 85 92nd |
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This is the best Bond movie.
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PeaceAnarchy | 74 40th |
The campiness is still somewhat reigned in, but you can see it itching to burst out all over the place, and it's the first real misstep in the Bond films, in part because of the tone, in part because of the messy plot but also because the supporting cast besides Pleasence is weak. It's still fun moment to moment, despite some bloat, but doesn't come together nearly as well as the first four Bond films.
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joseywales | 74 69th |
A lot of fun! Definitely one of my favourite Bonds despite Connery's tired appearance. Blofeld's identity was a pleasant surprise, too. Also, NINJAS!
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twincinema | 60 36th |
James Bond goes to Japan and becomes Japanese, and the results are exactly as you'd expect (he makes love Japanese style while wearing yellowface).
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warlock | 72 55th |
A decent Bond outing.
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MonsterGear | 92 93rd |
Seriously one of my favorite James Bond films. It has everything - mystery, intrigue, double-crosses, space attacks, a piranha moat, and a big damn epic ninja battle in a secret volcano base.
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frederic_g54 | 7 57th |
Easily the most fun of the Connery era, with the production design, locations and action sequences giving even contemporary movies a run for their money. This movie also introduced me a new word with SEXYFUL and them Bond girls, I mean dayumn.
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1 | Matthias99 | 98 98th |
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Probably my favorite Bond movie. Connery at his best.
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1 | patabongo | 86 78th |
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Not Connery's best Bond, but Roald Dahl wrote the script for this, which always makes me scratch my head.
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sensei | 80 69th |
Worth watching for Sean Connery's hilarious transformation from British 00 Agent to... Japanese peasant? Not one of Bond's most convincing disguises, but it seems to work in this universe. Silly, bizarre, and funny, this is a mixture of vintage James Bond movies with Roger Moore's Bond films. It stands out to me in the James Bond pantheon (perhaps for the ninjas alone).
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KasperL | 70 65th |
Preposterous and sort of awesome.
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Ofterdingen | 65 65th |
In the middle of a weak story (and the most sexist James Bond up til now) there are truly great action scenes. Sean Connery is beginning to look tired.
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Gilly | 70 50th |
Lame Story, no Aston Martin...
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eric-jan | 70 54th |
James Bond dealing with the Japanese, space, the Russians vs the Americans, a vulcano and his own death. I really don't understand why Bond had to become Japanese himself to infiltrate..? Doesn't James Bond always go wherever he likes in his best suit? :) Great intro to BLOFELD!!!
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SirStuckey | 60 36th |
Not a very strong effort, but a decent watch if you take it as more of a parody. The gadgets and actions pieces reach their most ridiculous levels to this point in the series. It's like everything you've seen in the other Bond movie but slightly worse.
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mrandersen10 | 75 59th |
Entertaining as hell.
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burkayadalig | 72 45th |
a bit of a disappointment but still very enjoyable; volcano launch site is just amazing
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svnhf | 60 37th |
Decent if not the rather ridiculous second half where the plot sort of loses its bearings. Suddenly there are ninjas, Japanese weddings, Connery gets an Asian makeover; it is an attempt at making this big and epic Bond adventure that doesn't go down well. Points for Pleasance as Blofeld, though. Really, the film suffers from the same thing Dr. No suffered from; it takes forever to get anywhere and then the whole thing is ended within twenty minutes with huge explosions. Decent but not much else.
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Clark Nova | 84 51st |
Kill Bond.....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................NOW!!!
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tofof | 7 49th |
The Japanese transformation is terrible, but everything else is decent, including the 'culture tourism'. Silly at times - ninjas, the autogyro, the underground volcano lair complete with stainless steel monorail and yellow-jumpsuited lackeys - but serves as the prototypical example rather than falling on the 'camp' side.
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1 | brandons | 70 53rd |
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Set in Japan, You Only Live Twice dips with splendor and features Donald Pleasance's much-parodied Blofeld and the most extraordinary Bond set of them all: his volcano.
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1 | guitarmeeuw | 56 24th |
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I didn't like this one. It just wasn't that entertaining for me. Probably because of all the gray colors throughout the movie.
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TimeCapsule | 76 77th |
James Bond does the usual 007 stick, but in Japan. Investigating a grand space rocket kidnapping plot, Bond must use his secret agent skills to prevent nuclear war. Sean Connery practically in yellow face disguises himself as a Japanese fisherman to infiltrate a giant volcano lair with ninjas and rocket launchers. All the Bond tropes are featured in this 5th installment in the series, but with a blatant attempt to appeal to the growing Japanese interest in 007.
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mega RUB | 93 91st |
Auto gyro
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Barnowl | 100 95th |
While scouting locations in Japan, the chief production team narrowly escaped death. On March 5, 1966, they were booked to leave Japan on BOAC flight 911 departing Tokyo for Hong Kong and London. Two hours before their Boeing 707 flight departed, the team was invited to an unexpected ninja demonstration, and so missed their plane. Their flight took off as scheduled, and twenty-five minutes after take-off, the plane disintegrated over Mt. Fuji, killing all aboard.
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Jessjess125 | 98 97th |
Favorite Bond film for sure! Fake volcano, Nancy Sinatra singing, and some mild yellow face to ruin the first things?
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Average Percentile 47.68% from 2554 Ratings | ![]() |