AJB live commentary on YOLT

HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
edited May 2020 in Off Topic Chat
Time for another group-viewing, this time, it‘s

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE





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London Summertime: 20:00
Paris Summertime: 21:00
New York local time 15:00
LA local time 12:00



PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT WE ARE ALL STARTING 10 MINUTES LATER !

The 19:00 deadline is set so that everybody has enough time to find their DVDs/Blu Rays, boot their players and get done with the menus and pause right before the gunbarrel sequence.

WE ARE STARTING PRECISELY AT 19:10



- Please make sure that everybody has their BluRay/DVD/VCR ready and start the player latest 19:00 GMT to get done with all the dodgy menus.
- PAUSE YOUR PLAYER RIGHT BEFORE THE GUNBARREL
- HIT PLAY PRECISELY AT 19:10.
I‘ll post some timecodes during the thread just in case that somebody has messed it up
President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
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Comments

  • superadosuperado Regent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,651MI6 Agent
    Wow, two favorite entries in a row! I tought this song is fitting for our group experience:

    https://youtu.be/Smc5FHbZtG4
    "...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    As we will not have the time when watching the movie, let me say, that I absolutely love YOLT!

    Whenever I am in the mood for a beautiful 007 movie, YOLT comes to mind.
    In the 1980s, I have started traveling East Asia, including Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.
    I‘ve not been in Japan for almost 20 years now, but back then while being overly modern and futuristic, I always had a very exotic vibe from the country.

    The super-modern metropoles with the amazing food, the bullet-trains and the good manners of the people have always made my stays there enjoyable.

    And this vibe must have been much stronger at the time of YOLT, when Japan was almost an insolated society and not many westerners have experienced it.

    Sure, companies like Sony, Matsushita, Seiko, Toyota and Nissan where spikes and only have started their worldwide success, but the rest of the country was a mystery for the West.

    That is the context when YOLT was shot on location in Japan and this is what always fascinates me!

    And the Volcano Set is still mindblowing btw!
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff
    Some might criticise YOLT for its plot holes or even the complete unlikeliness of its plot. I would say that this is missing the point. It's like criticising Citizen Kane because it doesn't have a car chase, or The Exorcist for its lack of a love story.

    That's not what it's there for.

    This is a film designed to be seen in the cinema. Apart from the volcano set, such scenes as the rooftop fight and the "drop in the ocean" sequence were meant to be watched on the big screen. The whole point here was spectacle and the movie definitely suffers when watched at home.

    The team most responsible for that idea of Bond as spectacle- Cubby Broccoli, Lewis Gilbert and Ken Adam- were of course to repeat this 10 years later and very successfully too.

    So, I hope those too young (unlike me :( ) to have had the pleasure of seeing YOLT in the cinema can keep that in mind. Moments such as the reveal of the volcano set drew audible gasps from the audience, which won't happen any more.
  • Asp9mmAsp9mm Over the Hills and Far Away.Posts: 7,483MI6 Agent
    I criticise it for Connery’s performance. And the fact it’s boring. The first Bond film to parody itself.
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  • Asp9mmAsp9mm Over the Hills and Far Away.Posts: 7,483MI6 Agent
    Soundtrack is great though.
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  • Asp9mmAsp9mm Over the Hills and Far Away.Posts: 7,483MI6 Agent
    Gymkata wrote:
    Asp9mm wrote:
    I criticise it for Connery’s performance. And the fact it’s boring. The first Bond film to parody itself.

    I can 'get' criticizing Connery's performance. He's obviously phoning it in in several scenes. I respectfully disagree on the boring element. TB gets boring, especially in the underwater sequences. YOLT, for me, does a great job of keeping things moving and making the pauses for character stuff work.

    To each their own, though.

    It’s boring to me in that it embraces cinematic extravagance over real world (and that is why real world action is in itself boring to most, because it’s not stepped up to daft cinematic levels). I come from loving the literary Bond first and foremost. And YOLT is the first time that it takes the almost OTT Goldfinger formula and injects it with Red Bull and Speed and gives the World something else other than Flemings Bond. The threat is gone as we know Bond will prevail over any ridiculous threat and will now hardly have to lift a finger or get a misplaced hair when fighting to win. This is when Bond becomes Superman and any action is boring to me as it isn’t threatening or in any way real.

    Amazingly in the next film, all that is lost and it goes back to some reality, only then to lose it utterly in DAF and then for a few decades onwards. YOLT and Connery kill Flemings Bond from this film on for a very long time.
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  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    edited May 2020
    Boo-hoo :D

    Just get over it!
    Just get over it that cinematic Bond at some point had to move forward and to step out of Flemings after WW2 world, the sadism and the narrow-mind-set.

    The world had changed decades after the books came out and so had Bond in the cinema!
    As far as I know, Cubby's and Harry‘s vision was to bring the hero into the cinemas and not the books verbatim.
    Just because some traditionalists shed Dalton tears over the fact that cinematic Bond outpaced the novels, it doesn‘t mean that the rest of us should not be moving forward.

    Just continue living your hermit life and let us enjoy electricity and running water {:)
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • BarbelBarbel ScotlandPosts: 36,053Chief of Staff
    Asp9mm, while I too come from loving the literary Bond first and foremost and completely understand the point you are making especially about Bond becoming Superman, I don't (usually) watch movies and definitely not James Bond movies for the real world.

    And Gymkata, I don't find TB boring including the underwater parts! I did hit a sort of plateau around my 50th or 60th viewing of it, but that soon went away. ;)
  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    Asp9mm wrote:

    It’s boring to me in that it embraces cinematic extravagance over real world (and that is why real world action is in itself boring to most, because it’s not stepped up to daft cinematic levels).

    Speaking about Real World Action that is not stepped up to daft cartoonish cinematic levels:

    How does Kingsman hold up in that aspect? :v
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    edited August 2020
    My trip to Akime:

    It must have been in 1997 or 1996, I have been to Japan twice already and I came across with Erich Kocian's wonderful "Die James Bond Filme".

    51%2BXfTUYWCL._SX317_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg

    Kocian was a seasoned journalist who somehow got invitations to visit the early James Bond sets and report in german-speaking media about that.
    Highlight of his excellent book was his chapters about shooting YOLT in Japan which included the time down in Akime.
    Akime is where Kissy's house is, the harbor where he lands and sees the funeral ceremony and to me, trying to go to Akime was the ultimate goal to get YOLT vibes to the highest degree.

    The internet was young, however, visiting the memorial stone turned out to be the highest goal to me back then.

    You_Only_Live_Twice_Flim_Shooting_at_Akime.JPG

    So while being in Japan again (and having purchased the excellent JR pass for unlimited trips on the JR trains), I decided to try and visit Akime

    1st attempt:

    I could not find the precise location for Akime on the internet, but I came across with a traditional paper map, where Akime (written in japanese only) was marked and that basically was my only planning device.

    Going to Akime, I knew, that I had to take a bullet train Shinkanesen from Tokyo down to Hakata

    3935107217_9d1c35e187_b.jpg

    and then change to a local train traveling thru the southern island Kyushu.
    Nowadays, they have a Shinkansen on that route which goes significantly faster across Kyushu.
    600px-Kyushu_Shinkansen_800_series_Shin-Minamata_20041123.jpg


    I Knew, that a town called Magurazaki was the closest train station to Akime and I've been (wrongly) told that busses go from there to Akime.

    Here is what the trip looks like:

    89478ccfc2.png

    So, very early in the morning, I went down to a very enjoyable trip.
    Osaka arrived relatively quick - This was the first time, that I've seen the Series 500 Shinkansen train and I stood there with open mouth it seemed that I've seen an Alien!
    What a beauty, it has been designed by a German btw.

    Shinkansen500_Slider_03.jpg
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    Further I went from Osaka to Hakata, where I managed easily to find the Kushu train to Kagoshima but the train was slow, so that took a while.
    Then in Kagoshima, the local train to Ibuzuki was even much slower but the excitement was building up!

    Having arrived in Ibusuki (which is a little tourist spot with some grey sand beaches and some volcanic ponds), it was easy to find the track for the train to Magurazaki (there are only 4 tracks if I remember correctly), the real trouble started:

    There is only one train to Magurazaki in the morning at 7:00 and one at 16:00 in the afternoon.
    I could have caught the 16:00 train but I was told, that later, there was no train going back to Ibusuki and there are no hotels in Akime to stay over night.

    I had to be back to Tokyo the next evening, so it turned out to be a Mission Impossible and with a heavy heart, I returned back to Tokyo that same night without having seen Akime.
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,702MI6 Agent
    Thanks for the post, Higgins :007)
  • Asp9mmAsp9mm Over the Hills and Far Away.Posts: 7,483MI6 Agent
    Higgins wrote:
    Asp9mm wrote:

    It’s boring to me in that it embraces cinematic extravagance over real world (and that is why real world action is in itself boring to most, because it’s not stepped up to daft cinematic levels).

    Speaking about Real World Action that is not stepped up to daft cartoonish cinematic levels:

    How does Kingsman hold up in that aspect? :v

    Kingsman isn’t James Bond is it. Just like Star Wars isn’t. So how can you compare the two. Idiot.
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  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    And who says that a James Bond movie is only about Real World Action?

    Cinematic Bond‘s breakthru was in Goldfinger and Thunderball, where he drove an Aston Martin with watertanks as big as a swimmingpool, almost defused a nuclear bomb, used underwater breathers that did not really work, a tracerpill that did not really work and won an epic underwaterbattle just with pickup harpoon guns against an armada of Spectre frogmen after Specte managed to do a Sullenberger with a fighter.

    So by that definition, Bond killed Fleming much earlier, maybe Fleming killed Fleming because he brought Bond to the movies.

    Idiot yourself :p
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,702MI6 Agent
    But there is a lot of style Fleming in Bonds like DN, FRWL, OHMSS, LTK and CR. There is no inevitabilty of killing the Fleming style simply by filming Bond .
  • Asp9mmAsp9mm Over the Hills and Far Away.Posts: 7,483MI6 Agent
    Higgins wrote:
    And who says that a James Bond movie is only about Real World Action?

    No one did.
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  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    Number24 wrote:
    But there is a lot of style Fleming in Bonds like DN, FRWL, OHMSS, LTK and CR. There is no inevitabilty of killing the Fleming style simply by filming Bond .

    There is also a lot of Fleming in YOLT and TMWTGG ;)
    So Asp9mm‘s point is void - as always :D
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • Asp9mmAsp9mm Over the Hills and Far Away.Posts: 7,483MI6 Agent
    My point is I don’t like YOLT and the cheesy parody of itself that the series gets and carries on with for years. People are allowed to have different opinions to you without you twisting the conversation into your own opinion stamping finality that no one else is allowed to disagree with.
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  • Asp9mmAsp9mm Over the Hills and Far Away.Posts: 7,483MI6 Agent
    And that’s why my film set is missing some as they’re consigned to the DVD box under the spare bed where they gather dust.
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  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,702MI6 Agent
    Higgins wrote:
    Number24 wrote:
    But there is a lot of style Fleming in Bonds like DN, FRWL, OHMSS, LTK and CR. There is no inevitabilty of killing the Fleming style simply by filming Bond .

    There is also a lot of Fleming in YOLT and TMWTGG ;)
    So Asp9mm‘s point is void - as always :D

    I think the style of Fleming is much more evident in the films I mentioned.
  • Asp9mmAsp9mm Over the Hills and Far Away.Posts: 7,483MI6 Agent
    Number24 wrote:
    Higgins wrote:
    Number24 wrote:
    But there is a lot of style Fleming in Bonds like DN, FRWL, OHMSS, LTK and CR. There is no inevitabilty of killing the Fleming style simply by filming Bond .

    There is also a lot of Fleming in YOLT and TMWTGG ;)
    So Asp9mm‘s point is void - as always :D

    I think the style of Fleming is much more evident in the films I mentioned.

    If your post doesn’t fit his narrative, he’ll change its meaning so it does :)) Surely you’ve realised this by now :s
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  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    Number24 wrote:
    Higgins wrote:
    Number24 wrote:
    But there is a lot of style Fleming in Bonds like DN, FRWL, OHMSS, LTK and CR. There is no inevitabilty of killing the Fleming style simply by filming Bond .

    There is also a lot of Fleming in YOLT and TMWTGG ;)
    So Asp9mm‘s point is void - as always :D

    I think the style of Fleming is much more evident in the films I mentioned.

    Agreed, but his point was that in YOLT, Connery has killed Fleming, to which I gave the reply, that there are many Fleming elements in YOLT and TMWTGG, so his statement was only crap as usual.
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • Number24Number24 NorwayPosts: 21,702MI6 Agent
    The communication between ASP9mm and you Higgins is a model for peaceful and respectful co-existence between people and nations :)
  • caractacus pottscaractacus potts Orbital communicator, level 10Posts: 3,907MI6 Agent
    Higgins wrote:
    Just get over it that cinematic Bond at some point had to move forward and to step out of Flemings after WW2 world, the sadism and the narrow-mind-set.

    The world had changed decades after the books came out and so had Bond in the cinema!
    but this film came out only three years after the book came out!
    I think its the quickest book-to-film turnaround of all the Fleming books, so especially odd the film used so little of the books plot.
    People who read the book when first published (which was after the first two films had been released) must have been quite surprised so much important plot was missing and replaced.





    Great photos of the trains by the way, I am jealous of Japanese inter-urban transit.
    Our trains are still diesel and have to pull over to give the freight trains right-of-way.
  • Asp9mmAsp9mm Over the Hills and Far Away.Posts: 7,483MI6 Agent
    Higgins wrote:

    Agreed, but his point was that in YOLT, Connery has killed Fleming, to which I gave the reply......

    I never said that. That’s you completely making stuff up again so you can try and argue about something that isn’t even an argument.
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  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    Written down in white on black :p
    Asp9mm wrote:
    YOLT and Connery kill Flemings Bond from this film on for a very long time.
    Asp9mm wrote:
    Higgins wrote:

    Agreed, but his point was that in YOLT, Connery has killed Fleming, to which I gave the reply......

    I never said that. That’s you completely making stuff up again so you can try and argue about something that isn’t even an argument.
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • Asp9mmAsp9mm Over the Hills and Far Away.Posts: 7,483MI6 Agent
    Hacking my account won’t work.
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  • Asp9mmAsp9mm Over the Hills and Far Away.Posts: 7,483MI6 Agent
    The films always cut Flemings best bits.


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  • HigginsHiggins GermanyPosts: 16,618MI6 Agent
    Asp9mm wrote:
    Hacking my account won’t work.

    Have you now gone totally nuts? :s
    President of the 'Misty Eyes Club'.

    Dalton - the weak and weepy Bond!
  • Asp9mmAsp9mm Over the Hills and Far Away.Posts: 7,483MI6 Agent
    Higgins wrote:
    Asp9mm wrote:
    Hacking my account won’t work.

    Have you now gone totally nuts? :s

    Just showing you what it’s like trying to have a conversation with a Higgins.
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  • caractacus pottscaractacus potts Orbital communicator, level 10Posts: 3,907MI6 Agent
    Asp9mm wrote:
    25-CE2-AEE-E12-B-4-A56-8-B65-8-B4985-A3-C2-A6.jpg
    thanks Asp!
    I was just looking for hi-rez jpegs of those Fay Dalton illustrations, and that's better than any of the versions I was able to find!
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