You Only Live Twice

During a routine US space mission a manned American rocket mysteriously disappears while in orbit. The Americans naturally suspect the Soviets and threaten retaliation. However, the British are more cautious after one of their tracking stations indicates that the space-craft may have come down near the Sea of Japan. James Bond (Connery) is sent to investigate, but when the Soviets lose one of their space-craft in similar circumstances, 007 has only a few days to prove the existence of a third party and prevent the outbreak of World War Three. It turns out that SPECTRE is up to its old tricks and Bond tracks their interceptor craft to a Japanese volcano where he finally comes face-to-face with arch-nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Pleasence).

With an outrageous script from Roald Dahl, You Only Live Twice marks the first film to completely disregard Fleming's original story (most other films had contained at least some element of the novel) and the first of the epic movies. With a previously unheard-of budget of £3 million, the fifth film in the series is notable for its high production values in the form of the towering volcano headquarters set and forms the location for the final fight in which Bond leads an army of ninjas against Blofeld's guards before the base is inevitably destroyed in a spectacular explosion.

Simon C. Williams

The fifth film in the Bond series, You Only Live Twice, is unique for two reasons. Firstly, James Bond gets married and secondly we are introduced to Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the flesh, played menacingly by Donald Pleasance in a screenplay by Roald Dahl. Also memorable for its incredible £400,000 set of Blofeld's operational base, complete with the rocket launcher, helicopter landing pad, monorail and massive shutter to give it the camouflage of crater lake and of course for Q's invention "Little Nellie" - a one man miniature helicopter used in some of the most exciting combat scenes during 007's reconnaissance flights over the Japanese islands.

An American space mission is interrupted when one of their capsules is literally swallowed up by what they suspect is a Russian spaceship. The Americans threaten to retaliate, but the British think otherwise. Everything depends on Bond as he goes undercover in Japan and discovers that Blofeld is the creator of these interceptor rockets. With the help of his Ninja colleagues, world peace is again restored and SPECTRE's plans are thwarted.

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