You Only Live Twice [DVD]

The film boasts the best of the Bond title songs (this one sung on a dreamy track by Nancy Sinatra), but the movie itself is one of the weaker ones of the Sean Connery phase of the 007 franchise. The story concerns an effort by the evil organisation SPECTRE to start a world war, but the not-so-super villain behind the plot is the awfully civilised Donald Pleasence. The thin script is by Roald Dahl (shouldn't we have expected a better Bond nemesis from the creator of mad genius Willy Wonka?), and direction is by British veteran Lewis Gilbert (Alfie). But the movie can't hold a candle to Dr. No, From Russia with Love, or Goldfinger. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

On the DVD: This was another troubled production according to the insightful "making of" documentary: director and producers luckily avoided boarding a plane out of Tokyo that crashed and killed everyone on board; the Japanese actresses couldn't speak English and one threatened suicide if she was dropped from the part; and the aerial cameraman filming the helicopter fight had his leg sliced off by a rotor blade. Maurice Binder's evocative main title designs are the subject of the second documentary, "Silhouettes", in which his colleagues voiceboth their admiration of his art and frustration at his chaotic working practices. The commentary is another edited selection of interviews with principal cast and crew. An animated storyboard sequence, trailers, radio spots and a handsome booklet add up to another winning entry in this series. --Mark Walker

DVD Special Features :

Audio Commentary featuring Director Lewis Gilbert and members of the Cast and Crew
"Inside You Only Live Twice" Documentary
"Silhouettes: The James Bond Titles" Documentary
Plane Crash: Animated Storyboard Sequence
Collectable "Making Of" Booklet
Radio Spots
Original Theatrical Trailers
English Subtitles
2.35:1 widescreen 16:9 version
Dolby Digital

When U.S and Soviet manned spaceships are hijacked in Earth's orbit, Agent 007 (Sean Connery) must race to prevent a nuclear war between the super-powers. His pulse-pounding missions take him to Japan, where he battles the evil SPECTRE organisation and its diabolical leader, Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Donald Pleasence)!