CAST: Sean Connery (James Bond), Donald Pleasence (Ernst Stavro Blofeld), Bernard Lee (M), Desmond Llewelyn (Q), Charles Gray (Henderson), Lois Maxwell (Miss Moneypenny), Tetsuro Tanba (Tiger Tanaka), Akiko Waka bayashi (Aki), Mie Hama (Kissy), Teru Shimada (Mr. Osato), Karin Dor (Helga Brandt). Directed by Lewis Gilbert.
SYNOPSIS: An unidentified spacecraft has stolen US and Russian satellites, resulting in the two superpowers blaming each other and ready to start a nuclear war. Britain believes that the spacecraft belongs to another party and traces it to the Sea of Japan, and wishing desperately to avert World War III, Britain has James Bond (007), their best secret agent, fake his own death in order to throw possible spies off of his trail. Traveling to Tokyo, Bond meets up with Tiger Tanaka. , the head of the Japanese secret service, and his beautiful assistant Aki. Following a lead to a chemical warehouse, Bond and Tiger conclude that the stolen satellites may have been taken to a secluded volcanic island and that the evil organization S.P.E.C.T.R.E. may be involved. But in order to gain access to the island, Bond’s face is changed to look like a Japanese, trains in the art of the ninja, and then takes a wife as cover. Once on the island, Bond sneaks inside the volcano that actually conceals a secret liar where the spacecraft are being kept. Trying to pass himself off as an astronaut, Bond is caught and comes face to face with the leader of S.P.E.C.T.R.E. — Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Donald Pleasence) who tells Bond that he has stolen the satellites to prompt America and Russia to go to war, thus eliminating his competition for world domination. Using a high-tech gadget from Q, Bond is able to escape from being killed and lets in Tiger’s army of ninjas who proceed to destroy the secret lair. Realizing that he is defeated, Blofeld sets off a series of huge explosion inside the volcano that allows him to escape while Bond, Tiger, and the ninjas swim to safety with their mission completed.
COMMENTARY: You Only Live Twice was the last of the James Bond novels to be published during Ian Fleming’s lifetime, and with a screenplay by Roald Dahl, strays somewhat from the source material. You Only Live Twice is typical of the exciting James Bond films of the Connery era, filled with exotic locales, beautiful women, high-tech inventions, double-crossing agents, an evil villain, and in this case an elaborate volcanic hideaway for Blofeld and his henchmen. Plot-wise, You Only Live Twice utilizes the theme of America and Russia ready to go to war via the Cold War which was at its peak in the late 1960s with the US heavily involved in Vietnam to prevent the spread of communism. In addition, the “Space Race” was also in full swing some three years before the United States put a man on the moon. This was to have been Sean Connery’s last turn as 007; however, after George Lazenby’s single film in the series, Connery was brought back for Diamonds are Forever in 1971 and again in the non-Eon Films production of Never Say Never Again in 1983. As usual, Connery is in fine form for You Only Live Twice, arguably the best actor to have portrayed James Bond in the cinema.
It is easy to sum up Pleasence’s Blofeld as an iconic figure, so much so that when comedian/actor Mike Myers decided to spoof the spy genre in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), he chose Pleasence’s Blofeld as the model for the villainous Dr. Evil in both looks and mannerisms. It is unfortunate that Pleasence did not live long enough to witness Myers’ Blofeld spoof which demonstrates how ingrained in the public consciousness Pleasence’s portrayal of Blofeld has become. In essence, it is Pleasence’s interpretation of the villainous S.P.E.C.T.R.E. leader that immediately comes to mind, an evil, disfigured genius that wishes to rule the world. Newspaper reviews pointed Pleasence out for his contribution to the film, one example being, “Donald Pleasence is grandly grotesque as the evil genius who would rule the world.” [96]
An interesting similarity between the fictional Blofeld and Pleasence is that they shared a great love of art. For example, when Bond does battle with the henchman Hans, a number of paintings can be seen adorning the walls of Blofeld’s retreat. Another interesting note is Blofeld’s white Persian cat that he often is seen stroking while issuing orders. Apparently, the cat was spooked by the explosions on the set and at one point clawed Pleasence; it did manage to escape but was tracked down later on. An example of this can clearly be seen when Blofeld’s bunker is blown open during the ninja invasion — the Persian goes wide-eyed with Pleasence trying to hold it tightly against him as it starts clawing to escape.