When Marnie was There (2014)

I assumed that Studio Ghibli had gotten all their spooky antics out of their system with the amazing Spirited Away. But it turns out that one of the last films the studio made was a supernatural puzzler… but you know, for families. I was just as surprised as you were. Could a studio long known for their family fare actually pull off a movie that has more in common with Vertigo than Kiki’s Delivery Service?

Summary:

Anna Sasaki (Hailee Steinfeld) is at a rough age. She feels awkward and misunderstood at school. Her home life became difficult after she made an unwelcome discovery. It caused her pull away from her foster mother. After suffering a stress induced asthma attack, Anna is sent to the coast to live with her aunt and uncle. At first things don’t go much better, as Anna’s discomfort around strangers causes her to snap at the people around her.

But things change when she spots a strange mansion on the coast that is accessible only at low tide, but requires a boat to visit otherwise. Anna finds herself returning to the place again and again to sketch it and peer into the abandoned interiors. But one night she sees a young blonde girl inside the house. She eventually meets the girl, Marnie (Kiernan Shipka) who is the same age and also going through some tough issues at home. Anna is drawn to her new friend; despite the fact that no one else acknowledges Marnie or the parties her parents throw. And why is everyone in the old mansion dressed in 1920s fashions? Is Anna suffering a mental breakdown, or is she looking into the past, at a time When Marnie was There?

Good Points:

• Some wonderful animation immerses viewers in the setting and atmosphere
• Effective performances by the English voice cast
• Keeps the viewer’s wondering just what is happening to Anna, and the mystery of Marnie

Bad Points:

• Moves at a very measured pace
• Looking for an outright thriller? Not in this film.
• Why is this animated?

Overall:

I was impressed by how well this film works. Anna is a very relatable character, even if she can be difficult. The more we find out about her, the more we understand her reactions to others and especially to Marnie. The film does a good job of never giving away too much about Marnie until the right moment. An easy recommendation if you are looking for a coming of age film meshed with a psychological mystery.

Scores(out of 5)

Visuals: 5

Sound: 4

Acting: 4

Script: 4

Music: 3

Direction: 4

Entertainment: 4

Total:  4

In Depth Review

For Anna it is easier to focus on her sketches and ignore people.

It is difficult to write too much about When Marnie Was There without giving away the mystery of the film. That mystery is one of the key elements that engages the viewer. But the core of the movie is the excellent characterization of Anna. When these two elements merge When Marnie Was There becomes a very effective and moving film, one that children around Anna’s age, and adults can relate to.

Anna arrives at her new home in the coastal town.

Visually Studio Ghibli did some wonderful work here. Don’t come in expecting those wonderful action flourishes or flying moments that thrill in the films of Miyazaki. Instead director Hiromasa Yonebayashi focuses on creating a sense of place and atmosphere in the movie. The coastal town where most of When Marnie Was There takes place feels like a real location. We see plenty of details in the buildings, the countryside and of course the mysterious mansion to have them crystallize in our minds. As Anna explores these locations we take them in with her. Details like a flapping curtain in an “abandoned” building or the way the tide creeps in closer and closer as time passes establish the feel of the town. Like Anna, we find it a bit strange at first, but soon come to enjoy its oddities.

Anna's first glimpse of the mysterious house where Marnie awaits.

For atmosphere Yonebayashi doesn’t go for anything as overt and mind bending as Satoshi Kon did with Perfect Blue. Obviously this isn’t a horror/thriller. But he does use some of the more subtle techniques that Kon would utilize, such as holding some shots just a little too long; building the mystery using pacing. He also uses light and shadow to great advantage, especially as Marnie and Anna meet more and more frequently. Darkness seems to be overtaking Anna and it adds a disconcerting feeling to the whole friendship. The strange hazy light during the parties creates a dreamlike feeling to those scenes. Even simple moments with Anna and Marnie on the boat and talking feel slightly off center. It all builds into in a wonderfully subtle feeling of unease..

Meeting Marnie by moonlight.

The sound and the score do a good job supporting When Marnie Was There. The sound work is mostly real world sound effects, keeping the film grounded, even while are doubting our eyes. The score by Takatsugu Muramatsu works fine. It is low key, supporting emotions and atmosphere without drawing attention to itself. Some of the key emotional scenes at the end do rise to the occasion and work very well in the moment. But the score didn’t really draw me in with themes. That is fine, not every score has to. But I usually expect something a bit more colorful from Studio Ghibli films. The song during the final moments of the film Fine on the Outside by Priscilla Ahn is a soothing piece that works well in the film.

Looks like someone is ready to party!

The English voice cast did a very good job in the roles. Steinfeld and Anna and Shipka as Marnie have the most challenging parts, and both ladies do an excellent job. Steinfeld keeps Anna relatable, even when we think she is being unreasonable. Anna’s struggles come through in the voice acting as well as the animation and Steinfeld’s performance is key. Shipka is also very good at making Marnie feel like a genuine girl, but also keeping a bit of the mystery to the character. It is a tough balancing act, and the animation surely helps. But some of Marnie’s lines need to be said in just the right way, and Shipka is up to the task. Aside from that the voice cast included several well-known names (Vanessa Williams, Catherine O’Hara, Geena Davis and John C. Reilly to name a few) keep things appropriate low key and believable.

"Come play with me Anna..."

Where When Marnie Was There really shines is in the execution of the story and the character of Anna. The film has three parts. The first establishes Anna and her life in the city. The second brings her to the coastal town and into contact with Marnie. The third comprises Anna’s attempt to figure out who Marnie is and the impact it has on Anna’s life. Each portion of the story must be told completely and well for the ending to have the necessary emotional impact.

Visiting the house later, Anna sees that it is a real fixer-upper opportunity.

Pacing is important, and I know the slow pace is not going to work for all viewers, I feel it is necessary. The story does a good job of establishing Anna in the first portion of the film as an introverted pre-teen that is having trouble coping with growing up. Her asthma attack seems to be a symptom of her anxiety. As the film continues we start to get more and more clues about Anna’s life. We find out that she is a foster child. We find out that her parents died when she was very young. Her natural insecurities are increased when she finds out a secret about her foster mother. Each piece of Anna’s puzzle gives her more depth as a character, but more importantly it allows us to understand her relationship with Marnie.

Marnie marvels at the meticulous sketch.

The build up to the first encounter with Marnie is handled so well. It is mysterious and dreamlike all at once. Because we know that Anna has some emotional issues already, we begin to wonder if any of this is really happening. That balancing act is maintained throughout When Marnie Was There. It makes it a very engaging watch the first time through, but I dare say that the characters of Anna and Marnie will draw me back for repeat viewings.

A stormy night in a dangerous tower, what could go wrong?

Finally I would be remiss if I didn’t point out a few correlations between When Marnie Was There eand the films of Alfred Hitchcock. Many of these may be unintentional, but I get the feeling they were not. The obvious one is that Hitchcock directed a film called Marnie. Next is that the mysterious woman in this film is the classic Hitchcock cool blonde with blue eyes. A key sequence takes place in a silo that could be dead ringer for the tower in Vertigo, and we even get a moment where the Vertigo zoom is used when Anna experiences a revelation. Anna spends quite a bit of time peering into window and watching the mansion from a distance, very much like Jimmy Stewart in Rear Window. You could say that the coastal town in When Marnie was There is a sister city to Bodega Bay featured in The Birds. I haven’t seen all of Hitchock’s films, but I’m guessing there are a few more nods to his work in the film.

A lot could go wrong.

But cast those aside and you still have a really engaging film. When Marnie Was There may not go down as one of the best films from Studio Ghibli. But it is well worth seeking out and watching. It shows that even at the end the famous studio could still craft a movie that draws viewers in and allows you to feel along with these animated characters.

Anna and her new pal are ready for some sleuthing.

Marnie takes us on a little voyage to her home.

Is Anna sketching her new friend... or something else entirely?

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Cast a Deadly Spell (1991)

Most of the fiction of H.P. Lovecraft takes place in the 1920s and 1930s. Most film adaptations decide to put the stories in the era they were filmed, but a few take the leap for period production elements. Then you have this film, which moves the action to the 40’s, has a character named Lovecraft, contains the Necronomicon and a huge monster rising up to destroy the earth. It is as if the pulp magazines of the war years exploded all over the screen.

Summary:

It is 1948 in Los Angeles, and everyone uses magic. Well, everyone except for private detective H.P. Lovecraft (Fred Ward). It makes his job a bit tougher, since the police are using spells to catch the rampaging criminal gangs summoning demons to whack targets. Let’s not mention the werewolves, vampires and unicorns wandering around. Things take a turn for the weird when Amos Hacksaw (David Warner) hires Lovecraft to retrieve a stolen tome: a little book called the Necronomicon. Before you can say Cthulhu, all kinds of craziness starts to happen.

Turns out that the local crime lord (and former pal to Lovecraft) Harry Bordon (Clancy Brown), may have sent his hulking zombie after it. Lovecraft’s old flame Connie Stone (Julianne Moore) has a few clues of her own to share, but is the price worth it? Let’s not forget the car full of gremlins, a creature bursting from a pot of oatmeal and the sacrifice of a lovely virgin. Lovecraft has his work cut out for him, especially since he won’t stoop to actually Cast a Deadly Spell.

Good Points:

• Fred Ward is a hoot as the hard boiled, square jawed detective
• The concept and production are handled really well
• Never takes itself too seriously, which helps with all the crazy creature effects

Bad Points:

• Some of the humor falls pretty flat
• None of the monsters are all that scary
• The tone of the film never quite gels

Overall:

Oh man, how badly do I want to love this movie? I really do. But in the end it just never quite comes together. The concept is fun, the actors are game and the visual effects are pretty darn impressive. But the humor doesn’t always land, and contrasts with some of the over the top gore that ends up splashing around. Instead of going for slapstick humor, the film should have embraced a drier and darker variety of comedy, that would have fused well with the horror and noire overtones. It is a fun film.  If you’re looking for something a little bit different, this sure fits the bill.

Scores(out of 5)

Visuals: 4

Sound: 3

Acting:  4

Script:  3

Music: 4

Direction: 3

Entertainment: 4

Total:  4

Curious about a full review, sent me an email and I’ll make additional thoughts to this review.

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Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Introduction:

I’ve always wanted to see a sequel to Blade Runner or at least an expansion of the world we see in the 1982 film. But I figured that was just a daydream, even if I did hear rumors about it from time to time. In 2017 we got a follow up that looked promising from all the trailers. Director Denis Villeneuve was at the helm of this endeavour, and I’ve found his work to be pretty interesting. Maybe we had a second excellent sci-fi film in store for us during 2017 after the magnificent War for the Planet of the Apes.

Summary:

K (Ryan Gosling) is a Blade Runner, an officer working for the LAPD that hunts down rogue Replicants. Usually these artificial humanoids are older models with a tendency to rebel against human masters. During his latest assignment K comes across some clues that hint at the impossible: a Replicant giving birth to a child. K’s superior, Lieutenant Joshi (Robin Wright), fears that if news of Replicants being able to procreate got out, then there would be mass panic in the already unstable world. K is tasked with finding and retiring this “miracle” child.

K starts his investigation, finding and putting together clues. His girlfriend Joi (Ana de Armas) offers her take on the case, as well as some moral support. He meets with the creator of stable Replicants, Niander Wallace (Jered Leto) who keeps things close to his chest. The case gets very dangerous, as it becomes apparent that others are looking for this child, and will murder to get it. Eventually his search leads him to seek out the old Blade Runner, Deckard (Harrison Ford) to find out his role in these mysterious events. What revelation will be unearthed when K finally discovers the answers, and will they change the world as he knows it?

Good Points:

• In nearly every way, expands and evolves the world of the previous film
• Delves into the future noire concept with both feet, and also twists it in interesting ways
• Excellent performances by the entire cast

Bad Points:

• If you don’t like the original film, than you won’t like this one
• Moves at a deliberate pace, focusing on clues and characters over action
• Some of the music is so overpowering and loud that it distracts

Overall:

This sequel takes everything from the previous film and expands and builds on it. From a production point of view it is startling, pulling us back into that world with ease. It has a measured pace, that fits the tone and style of the movie. The themes it explores are familiar. Even more impressive are all the layers to explore in this movie. Some of the music overplays its hand, but other times it feels like a perfect continuation. All told, this fan of the original film loved the sequel. I can’t wait to revisit and explore it again.

Scores (out of 5)

Visuals: 5

Sound: 5

Acting: 5

Script: 4

Music: 4

Direction: 5

Entertainment: 4

Total:  5

In Depth Review

More human, than human? You decide.

I’m going to do my best to keep this review spoiler free, and will either revisit or write some in depth posts in another blog after the movie comes out for home viewing.

Blade Runner 2049 pulls off one of the trickiest issues for a sequel. It keeps things familiar and yet expands and develops on what came before. The film is closely tied to the previous film from a narrative and thematic sense. But it also acts as a mirror or bookend of it. Some scenes, shots, dialogue and confrontations are taken from the previous film and replicated (pun sorta kinda intended) in a way that changes the meaning for the new film. In that way, to get the most out of Blade Runner 2049 requires intimate knowledge of the 1982 film.

But even if you’ve only seen the original film a couple of times, Villeneuve makes sure that you can follow this film from its main detective plot, as well as the side plots dealing with Joi and Wallace’s role in the whole film. And just like the previous film, this movie focuses more on K’s hunt, his character and the way the case changes him.

Rough day at the office for K.

That search is what drives Blade Runner 2049 in many of its production decisions. This is not an action film. This is a detective drama set in the future. It moves at a measured pace, with a few action scenes to punctuate moments. But this is not a thrill ride. It was never intended to be one. But the film is pretty long, and I can understand why some folk may feel it drags in places.

Villeneuve is a fan of Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner and it really shows. He is dedicated to bringing the world presented in that film back to life in nearly all aspects. He advances some technology and design for the 2049 setting, but all those changes are based off of what was presented in the 1982 original. So you still have some very analogue technology in the film, but pushed forward a bit in places. There are now holograms of various sizes through out the city, something that actually was more inspired the cityscapes of Akira.

And you thought Vegas couldn't get gaudier.

The film does move outside of Los Angeles into some of the battered landscapes near San Diego and into Las Vegas. Seeing these new locations adds a bit of spice to the familiar locations of the previous film, and reduces some of the claustrophobia you feel. But visually it is a twist on the original film. Deckard was a man lost in the mire and filth of the crowds of Los Angeles. K is a man lost in the desolation and loneliness of the vast world. There are many shots of K standing in stark relief to these deserted locations, offering an interesting visual contrast.

The visual effects are truly impressive. You get a great mix of miniatures, computer images and fully fleshed out sets that are full of detail. It is a tribute to the original film’s dense production design, and it gives Blade Runner 2049 the same realistic feeling. This world feels lived in, it feels beaten up, it feels like it may be on the very edge of collapsing. I was never pulled out of the film because of some incongruous visuals.

I'm not touching you. Does this bother you?

Instead Villeneuve is uses unreality of visual effects to his advantage. Holograms play a key role in the story and themes of this film. At times they can appear realistic, at other times they look incomplete and unresolved. That imperfection against the reality of the sets and human characters makes them stand out on purpose. Sometimes that flickering gives them a forlorn feeling. Other times they feel uncanny, and not to be trusted.

The sound effects in Blade Runner 2049 build on what we heard in the original film. Most of this is real world sound effects with only some unique sci-fi sounds added in for the vehicles or some of the technology used.

Both Blade Runner films build thier unique sonic world with the scores. The original was composed by Vangelis, and is a score that is immediately feels like part of city. Nothing else really sounds like Vangelis’ score, not even other Vangelis albums from the period. There is a darkness to the score that really comes through.

It is still raining in L.A. even in 2049.

For the sequel Villeneuve ended up dropping his regular composer Johann Johannsson and went with the duo of Benjamin Wallfisch and Hans Zimmer. These two composers do a fine job of using Vangelis’ style and tone and expanding it in a more modern way. They use many of the same vintage keyboards and synth sounds that Vangelis utilized, and they even carry over his Tears in Rain theme from the previous film. But what fans of the older score will notice is that the tone and atmosphere feels almost perfect.

I think he is attempting to use his Scanner powers!

There are two changes here. The first is that the score for 2049 lacks some of the blues/jazz influences that Vangelis utilized in key scenes. It doesn’t hurt the film, but it does make the listening experience of the album feel a bit too samey at times. I know, film score fan first world problems. What I’m not a fan of is the HORN OF DOOM effect that is used in the score. You get those long sustained portentous whole note blasts of sound in this score. We first heard this in Inception and it was ridiculous there (at least in my opinion), but by the time we hit 2017 this effect is so tired and stale. Nearly three quarters of all trailers use that ridiculous HORN OF DOOM effect. To hear it invade the Blade Runner world is a disappointment. The problem also becomes troubling in the sound mix of the film, because these blasts are so invasive they draw attention to themselves and pull the viewer out of the film.

Now to be clear this kind of thing appeared in the original score and mix to the earlier film. But, it seems like the new composers picked up on the single track that this did occur in and proceeded to sprinkle it a bit more in this film. I found it distracting, and there were a few moments where it seemed dreadfully out of place. Why the music was blasting away at a few characters walking toward K, I’ll never know. Just an odd bit of scoring. In some ways it may work better as a listening experience as part of a Blade Runner concept album.

I hear no body walks in L.A.

It is a bit tricky to talk too much about the acting without spoiling some of the plot revelations, so I’m going to keep this a bit more surface than I normally would. The entire cast does a really great job in their roles. Each character is a shade of grey in this film, and that keeps everything slightly off balance. It can be a tough role for an actor, but everyone steps up to the challenge. Gosling in particular has some very tricky balancing to pull off. His performance feels restrained, but always with something simmering underneath. When things get brought to a boil, the emotion feels earned because we’ve seen him holding it in for a good chunk of the film. It is one of those performances that may seem a bit dry when the movie starts, but it really seemed to evolve for me over the course of the film.

It is great to see Ford playing Deckard again, and he does a very good job. That bitterness that we saw in the previous film seems to be amplified by his life after the first film ended. Ford plays a key role, but don’t expect him to have a lot of screen time, just enough for it count. And he gets a great scene with Jered Leto (who balances mysterious and disturbing perfectly) that puts Deckard through the ringer.

She looks nice and helpful now... but just wait.

But my favorite performance in Blade Runner 2049 has to go to Sylvia Hoeks as Luv. She’s the femme fatale of this future noire, and man does she play it to the hilt. This is one replicant you don’t want to get on the wrong side of, and of course K finds himself on the wrong side of Luv. Without giving too much away, I will say that she does a good job of keeping you feeling off center. When she’s on the screen early in the film, you are uneasy. But when she starts showing up in the final half, you get tense – because you know she is willing and able to do just about anything. She makes for a great antagonist.

Now the challenging part, the writing and direction. It is really hard to cover these without any spoilers, but I really think that if you are interested in the film you should check it out first. I’ll cover what I like about these elements, but avoid diving into the themes and plot points too much.

Deckard has seen some Dangerous Days indeed.

Blade Runner 2049 was made by fans for fans. You can tell that everyone involved in the film wanted to make a sequel worthy of the previous film, one they hold in high esteem. It starts with the plot. You could have gone so many different ways with a follow up, and they could have taken a quick and easy action packed movie set in the world fashioned in the previous film. But instead, they decided to carry over the detective noire concept as well. In fact I would say the case at the heart of this film is more engaging than the one in the previous film (which was really an extended bounty hunt). In 2049 we get more investigation and personal links that act as clues. K must engage and understand each person he encounters if he is to solve this mystery. These plot points are intriguing and carry the viewer along with him. As K closes in on the truth it starts to impact his view on the world and how he sees himself. But like everything in this universe, the writers keep it all in shades of grey. Truth is a tricky thing, and just like the previous film, when the case closes some questions are still left unanswered, not just for K, but also for the viewer.

What is great about the script is that it really does work as a standalone film, with K acting as an excellent protagonist. But the writers know Blade Runner very well, and use the new story and characters to impact how we view the original film. It really does take themes from that film and shape and twist them in new ways. Not an easy task to pull off, but the script manages it. This film feels like it needs to exist, not like it was thrown together just to get another movie based on 80s nostalgia.

Replicant prostitutes... of the FUTURE!

Villeneuve handles the entire production with amazing skill. He gets great performances out of the cast. He keeps the production feeling true to the original film. But he also takes a very good script and makes it even more impressive in the way he lays out scenes and constructs the movie. I sound like a broken record here, but I’m really impressed with the way the new film, in all of its aspects, enhances the previous film and pushes things forward. It takes someone with an eye for details (and in the older film Ridley Scott’s obsessive fascination with production design make it even more challenging) to craft a film like this. It can be watched by casual fans and enjoyed. But if you are one of those more obsessive fans (which I admit, I’m one) you’ll find so many layers and levels in this film. It is a remarkable achievement.

"All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain."

Is it a milestone in science fiction, or one of the greatest movies of the century? I wouldn’t go that far. In fact, I think this movie has a very specific audience. You have to have enjoyed the original film, and there are plenty of people out there who don’t like it at all. You have to be willing to watch a film that is slow paced and just as concerned about visual storytelling and letting the atmosphere soak in, as it is about moving the plot along. I’ve seen some people call it a super expensive art film, and yeah I think that is a good description. It is not a summer blockbuster. I’m frankly surprised the film got made the way it was. But I’m very happy that it was. I can heartily recommend seeing it (and on a big screen to soak in that atmosphere), but only if you meet those caveats. Blade Runner 2049 is a journey well worth taking and revisiting.

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I warned you. Don't get on the wrong side of Luv.

You Only Live Twice (1967)

Introduction:

Sean Connery was back as James for the fifth time in 1967. Spy-mania had gripped the world and you could even argue that the popularity of the genre had already reached saturation point. But things were only going to get more intense, because not only did producers have to worry about making a good movie, they had direction competition, from another film featuring James Bond! It was the first time Bond vs. Bond happened in the theaters, and it wasn’t the last.

Summary:

Super British secret agent James Bond (Sean Connery) is given his most impossible mission yet. After a space capsule form the United States disappears in orbit, the Americans start shouting at the Russians convinced it is foul play. But British intelligence believes that the source of the trouble is in Japan. So Bond is dispatched to do some digging and find out what is going on.

Turns out the diabolical leader of SPECTRE, Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Donald Pleasence) has created a monstrous space capsule of his own that can capture smaller capsules and bring them to earth. His goal is to start World War III and then take over the planet in the aftermath. Bond finds himself in constant peril as Blofeld’s minions attack in cars, helicopters and even as mobs of dock workers. Luckily Bond has the entire Japanese secret service on their side. That means ninjas… lots and lots of ninjas. Will Bond save the day, or will he find out what the proverb You Only Live Twice really means?

Good Points:

• Some gorgeous location shooting in Japan
• One of the most amazing sets ever used in a Bond film
• A beautiful song and score composed by John Barry

Bad Points:

• Is all spectacle and not much substance
• Sean Connery is a bit flat in his portrayal of Bond
• For being an iconic villain Blofeld doesn’t do too much

Overall:

Every time I watch this film, I always hope I’ll like it more than I do. But in the end, I’m entertained, but also a little bored by it. As visually impressive as the film can be, it just lacks urgency. It reaches for some impressive set pieces, but all the connective tissue just never really clicks. When is all is said and done this is probably the weakest of the Connery Bonds of the 60s, but it is still a good time.

Scores (out of 5)

Visuals: 5

Sound: 3

Acting: 3

Script: 2

Music: 4

Direction: 3

Entertainment: 3

Total:  3

In Depth Review

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into orbit.

When you take a look at the James Bond films featuring Sean Conner in the 1960s you see a trend. Dr. No starts out as a fairly low-key affair. It is certainly a thriller, and a well made one too. But the blockbuster status that transformed the series with Goldfinger isn’t really apparent. By the time you reach 1967 and You Only Live Twice everything has changed. James Bond isn’t the only game in town, every studio in the world has gone spy crazy. The market was so saturated with spy films that there were actually two James Bond movies due for release in 1967. That’s right, the crazy Casino Royale featuring Peter Sellers, Woody Allen and Orson Welles was in direct completion with the Sean Connery and company with their take 007.I think it is important to understand the world You Only Live Twice debuted in, because it really explains why the movie is the way it is.

Banzai! It is raining ninjas!

So this film is the fifth of the official franchise. It had an established base to start with, including the cast, much of the crew and all the expectations that go along with a James Bond film. In an effort to stand out from the crowd of imitators and the direct completion from Casino Royale, the creators of You Only Live Twice decided that visual spectacle was going to be the main attribute that distinguished them from the pack. Thunderball was a massive success, and it had featured some really impressive visuals, especially that underwater battle scene between two armies. The creative team decided to up the stakes even higher. The final battle here would be massive, and it would explode against one of the most impressive film sets ever crafted for James Bond film.

Secret lair on a rare ninja-free day.

Production designer Ken Adam returned to work on this movie, after giving the series his distinctive stamp way back in Dr. No. This time he outdid himself. He created a massive secret lair inside a volcano, complete with working doors, helipad, rocket gantry, monorail and plenty of room for extras to run around and get thrown over railings. The set became iconic, not just to the 007 series, but also to film in general. Anytime you had a mad super-genius in a lair of any kind, chances are it would look uncannily like the volcano lair form You Only Live Twice.

7... thousand samurai at Himeji castle.

In addition to the amazing sets constructed for the film, you also get some really impressive location shooting. The film takes place almost entirely in Japan. It is the first time in the series that James Bond has journeyed to the Far East, and the producers wanted to make sure that the audience understood that this production wasn’t faking any of it. In some ways, this turns the movie into a travel log for Japan. You get to see the brilliant neon of Tokyo, the grungy docks of Kobe, a flyby Tokyo tower, the grand castle of Himeji and of course the lovely volcanic islands and beaches.

"Can you explain why there is no color in this room?"

There is a strange thing that occurs in You Only Live Twice that makes it a little less visually dynamic than other films in the franchise. With all the metal, concrete and volcanic rock in the film, the actual color pallet of the movie tends to be rather drab. Even the costumes trend towards grey, white or black. Blofeld’s henchmen stand out so well because of their primary colored outfits, but they are the exception to the rule. It is strange because Japan is bursting with color and yet the film doesn’t really capture that too much. I do wonder if the crew knew that Casino Royale was going for a more colorful psychedelic feel, and decided to go against the grain in that case.

Yeah I don't think Connery feels like he is flying.

The visual effects in the film are pretty impressive for the time. This movie probably has the most special effects of all the 1960s Bond films. You’ve got plenty of action in space, with lots of rockets hurtling through the atmosphere. They do a pretty good job capturing those moments. Some of the rear projection is a bit dodgy, but that has always been a problem with these older films.

The sound effects work is solid for its time. You get the typical gunshots and squealing tires during car chases. But this film features a full-blown helicopter battle, a full-blown ninja attack and rockets taking off. The sound supports the action pretty well and certainly keeps up with the more spectacular moments.

Wedding March for Bond? John Barry is there.

Once again John Barrpy composes the film’s score. He wrote the song You Only Live Twice and Nancy Sinatra provides a lovely rendition of the song for the opening and ending titles. Barry uses the theme throughout the film. It works as a great romantic piece for the three ladies that Bond encounters. But Barry also uses the tune to support some of the travelogue moments, capturing the setting sun over the islands, or boldly erupting as the neon flashes in Tokyo. He even gives us a brassy rendition during the Kobe dock fight. You get a rendition of the classic 007 theme that is primarily used in these 60’s Connery films, and was introduced in From Russia with Love. This time it is given a full workout during the Little Nellie sequence, much more spry and fun than the slow version used during the underwater battles in Thunderball. The famous James Bond theme gets very little air time in this film. It shows up a few times, but is understated. Its biggest performances are for the gunbarrel and finale sequences. Last but not least is a nice tense theme for the space sequences. It is a slow piece that builds in tension as it moves along. It adds weight to the visual effects of those scenes. Barry’s score this time around is less brassy and bold. It has many lovely restatements of the main theme, and really focuses on that as its main identity. It works great in the film, but it lacks the diversity that would come in the next score for On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

Relaxed, or just kind of bored?

By the time You Only Live Twice rolled into production Sean Connery was pretty tired of the character and the celebrity it had brought him. Filming Thunderball had been tough, with fans crashing the production and creating issues where he was staying in the Bahamas. Filming You Only Live Twice was even more trying. It got so bad that Connery would be mobbed if he so much as showed his face outside his hotel. I have to say, you can tell in his performance in this film. He seems less engaged in the part. He does fine in some key scenes like when Aki is murdered. But other times he feels a little flat, especially in the big final battle scene at the end of the film, where Bond becomes more of a spectator (like us) to all the mayhem around him. His performance in Diamonds are Forever is much worse (he really didn’t want to do that film at all). But you can tell Connery just isn’t having fun in the part any more.

"No seriously" [snicker] "It looks really good on you
Bond-san." [snicker]

Luckily the supporting cast is solid. Tetsuro Tanba is excellent as the Japanese spymaster, Tiger Tanaka, who helps Bond on his mission. He has an authoritative but warm demeanor. I bet you could have made a whole series of Japanese spy films featuring Tiger and they would have been great. I also really like Akiko Wakabayashi as Aki. She is a spy working for Tanaka and helps Bond out a few times with her skilled driving and great sense of timing. It’s a shame she is killed off halfway through the film. Kissy Suzuki is very cute (or kawai if you prefer), but her character doesn’t have too much to do in the film. Supposedly Kissy couldn’t speak much English and her accent was very thick, so she is dubbed for the entirety of the film. I should also note that Charles Grey shows up as Bond’s English contact in Tokyo. It’s a fun performance with Grey playing the proper British gent who is about to go native. Grey would appear in the Bond series again in Diamonds are Forever in a much different role - but oddly, almost the same performance.

And now a big hand for our supporting villains!

Opposing Bond is a set of baddies that features one of the most memorable villains of the entire franchise. But first let’s talk about the supporting evildoers. Teru Shimada plays Osato who runs the company front for Blofeld. It’s a lightly written part, but Shimada handles it well. Karin Dor is his sexy assistant, with a voluptuous figure and red hair. She seduces and then tries to kill Bond. She’s good too, but I always get the feeling that producers were trying to give us another Fiona Volpe from Thunderball. But Volpe’s character had way more impact to the plot and Luciana Paluzzi had more to work with. But really when you are talking about You Only Live Twice you can only be talking about one villain, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, portrayed by Donald Pleasence.

"Oh I assure you, I'm evil."

Now we’ve seen Blofeld’s hand and cat all the way back in From Russia with Love, but this is our first glimpse of the man. Pleasence gives us a calm, cold and creepy mastermind. His scarred face and gentle voice are a great contrast, and it is easy to see how he became iconic as he sits there stroking his evil cat and plotting World War III. But that said, his outfit and attitude are really very close Dr. No, and that does make him a little less distinctive in the villain department. I actually really like Telly Savalas take on the character in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, more urbane, less creepy and just as calculating.

The rest of the London crew are back. M (Bernard Lee) has a couple short scenes to set up the plot. Moneypenny (Louis Maxwell) flirts a bit with Bond. But it is Q (Desmond Llewelyn) that gets a bit more to do here. His whole scene with Little Nellie is very amusing. He’s just as exasperated with Bond as usual, and once again he is forced to into the field to do his job. I say!

Yeah, this scene isn't in the book.

So there are some minor issues here and there, but why don’t I like this movie more? I mean it is James Bond and Japan – two great tastes that should go great together, right? Well the main issue with the film is the story and the over the top spectacle unleashed on the viewers. You Only Live Twice is based on the novel by Ian Fleming, but only in the loosest sense of the word. The novel takes place in Japan, Tiger Tanaka is in it, and Blofeld is behind the evil plot. But there are no rockets, no volcano lairs, no ninjas, no helicopter battles, and no Sumo wrestlers. It is actually a very dark book, focusing on death and how that locks Bond and Blofeld together. The book actually occurs shortly after the events of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, so James Bond is an angry man, and that anger drives him. It’s not the kind of story to adapt at this point in the 1960s, and I can understand why the producers went in a totally different direction with the plot.

Turning Japanese? I really don't think so.

They brought in Roald Dahl (yes that Roald Dahl of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and James and the Giant Peach fame) to come up with something a bit different. And yeah, I think he went there and more. Spectacle is the name of the game here and Dahl embraces the idea. He has rockets gobbling up other rockets. He has James Bond die, come back to life, turn Japanese and get married. He throws in buckets of ninjas attacking a volcano lair full of guys with machine guns. Yeah Cold War paranoia is the source of the tension in the plot, but that is about the most realistic thing in the film.

"They are not grey pajamas, Bond-san. Ninjas. We
are ninjas! Don't ruin this for me!"

Here’s the thing, Thunderball went about as over the top as I think the 1960s series should have gone. The pool full or sharks and the ship that transformed into a speedboat were fun and kind of silly, but the whole film was build on legitimate tension and thrills. You Only Live Twice actually takes the comic book mold from Goldfinger and ramps it all up to 11. Bond is once again invincible, always right and pretty much a one man wrecking crew… until he needs to get saved by a squad of ninjas or Aki. The movie is going for silly fun, and while it seems like it worked overall, the movie gets really close to parody mode. The thing is, I don’t think Connery is suited for that kind of approach to the character. Connery can do humor, and his dry wit works really well. But with his underplayed performance You Only Live Twice kinda falls flat. Give Roger Moore a similar script in The Spy Who Loved Me and suddenly you have one of the best James Bond films of the franchise.

Look at the girl, not the sumo butts.

Director Lewis Gilbert does a solid job with the film. The actions scenes are well filmed. As crazy as the ninja attack on the compound gets, we never lose track of where all the key characters are. But I actually like the one on one battle with Bond and the massive thug in Osato’s office. It feels brutal and Bond is outmatched physically, so he has to use some makeshift weapons to get out of it. Yeah it is an obvious nod to Oddjob’s final duel in Goldfinger, but it works almost as well.

This was a massive production with a lot riding on it. Gilbert keeps the whole thing together and coherent. Gilbert would do such a good job he would be invited back to helm The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker. So they obviously liked what he brought to the table.

Even a mediocre film won't kill Bond, James Bond.

Unfortunately I always find You Only Live Twice to be one the Bond film from the 60s that I most often forget about. This is strange since so many iconic things happen in this film. Blofeld and the volcano lair are pretty much in every James Bond spoof after 1967. But I also run into casual fans of Bond who think all that happens in Goldfinger. In any case, the movie has its moments, and it shows us how HUGE James Bond had become by this point. But it also shows us how tired the concept was getting. In the end You Only Live Twice won the battle against Casino Royale. But all the other ripoffs like Danger Death Ray, In Like Flint, and even Operation Double 007 came out the same year. It was time for something different. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service was just that.

"James, you're not doing the Moonwalk right."

"I can't teach you how to Moonwalk, but have you tried to
do the Timewarp... again?"

"007, your dancing is abysmal. We are going to work on
your Lambada skills."

Little Nellie is ready to dance with some big helicopters.

I always wondered. Is the cat evil too?

"Yes you've come to the right man. I can teach you some
excellent disco movies. I am Pleasance and I am funky."

White bikini is standard volcano climbing gear. Get
with it Bond!

Disco inferno? It was bound to happen I suppose.

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