You Only Live Twice

"...and "twice" is the only way to live!"

1967 1h 57m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

🍅

73%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.8

IMDB

★6.6TMDB · 2,585🍅73%Rotten Tomatoes●61Metacritic★6.8IMDB · 124,311

ActionThrillerAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A mysterious spacecraft captures Russian and American space capsules and brings the two superpowers to the brink of war. James Bond investigates the case in Japan and comes face to face with his archenemy Blofeld.

“...and "twice" is the only way to live!”

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Cast

Sean Connery
James Bond
Akiko Wakabayashi
Aki
Mie Hama
Kissy Suzuki
Tetsuro Tamba
Tiger Tanaka
Teru Shimada
Mr. Osato
Karin Dor
Helga Brandt
Donald Pleasence
Ernst Stavro Blofeld
Bernard Lee
M

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Lewis Gilbert
Writers: Roald Dahl, Harold Jack Bloom
Languages: English, Japanese, Russian
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $112M — a 11.7× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

59 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Japanese, Russian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "James Bond Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Lewis Gilbert, shot by Freddie Young. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by John Barry. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter R. Hunt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Sean Connery and Akiko Wakabayashi and Mie Hama carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lewis Gilbert directs. Freddie Young behind the camera. John Barry scores. Peter R. Hunt cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English, Japanese, Russian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $112M — a 11.7× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
259 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Japanese, Russian.
4Part of the "James Bond Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Lewis Gilbert, shot by Freddie Young. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by John Barry. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Peter R. Hunt shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Sean Connery and Akiko Wakabayashi and Mie Hama carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "...and "twice" is the only way to live!".
10IMDB entry: tt0062512 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 30 themes, including "island", "japan", "assassin", "london, england".
12Released under 26 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Freddie Young
Original score: John Barry
Editing: Peter R. Hunt
Production design: Ken Adam
Makeup / hair: Basil Newall
Runtime: 117 min · 1h 57m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $9,500,000
Box office: $111,600,000
Return: 1175% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: You Only Live Twice (1967)
Rotten Tomatoes: 73% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 61/100
IMDB rating: 6.8/10 · 124,311 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award2 wins & 3 nominations total

Part of

James Bond Collection

The James Bond Collection is a legendary spy film series based on Ian Fleming’s novels, following MI6 agent 007, James Bond, as he takes on global threats with style, gadgets, and charm. Produced by EON Productions, the franchise spans 25 official films (1962–2021) and has featured six actors, from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig. Known for its thrilling action, iconic villains, Bond girls, and unforgettable theme songs, the series remains a cornerstone of the spy genre. With espionage, luxury cars, and shaken-not-stirred martinis, Bond continues to captivate audiences worldwide.

Also by

Lewis Gilbert

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2021-05-26
★ 8/10
James goes to Japan "You Only Live Twice" (1967) takes agent 007 to Japan where he seeks the secret SPECTRE installation responsible for literally stealing space capsules and threatening war between the USA and USSR. This 5th installment in the franchise upped the ante with the action & spy-stuff and is more dynamic than the previous ones. Speaking of the spy aspects, they're often over-the-top here to the point of being cartoonish. Another reviewer criticized the film in this regard -- pointing out that it was this film more than any other that gave the Austin Powers movies the most material to spoof -- and he was right. One scene, for instance, brought to memory that Gilligan's Island episode where Gilligan had a dream of being Agent 014 (remember the soup spoon?). No wonder the franchise got goofier in the 70s -- it was the next logical step. Disregarding the "Yeah, right" spy shenanigans, "You Only Live Twice" has everything you'd want in a Bond picture -- the action, intrigue, gadgets, beautiful women, spectacular locations and larger-than-life villains. The story is interesting enough that it keeps you absorbed and even builds suspense as the film goes from one action scene to another, culminating in the explosive climax. It was understandably a huge hit in 1967. The film runs 1 hour, 57 minutes, and was shot mostly in Japan, but also England, Spain and Gibraltar. GRADE: A-
GenerationofSwine2023-01-11
★ 3/10
Yeah... forgotten isn't it? Maybe it's forgotten because they try and turn Sean Connery into a Japanese man to hide him and he just ends up looking like a harry chested Leonard Nimoy. Or maybe it's forgotten because little choppers are more Roger Moore than Sean Connery. Whatever the case, it starts off pretty strong and then falls apart at the end. The first half of the movie is Connery Bond, and in places it's almost surreal in it's imagery.... but it ends up with 007 Leonard Nimoy, and that is just a shame. I can't really hate on the movie, because parts of it are seriously good. I just can't get disguised as a Japanese man 007 Leonard Nimoy with a harry chest out of my head, and that is really the memory that stays with you decades after watching this film. But, if you can get beyond that, it's still a pretty darn decent 007 film.
drystyx2023-04-04
★ 9/10
This is in the hay day of 007 films. Made when 007 was exciting and entertaining. That gets a lot of hate from people with Generation Xenophobe ideology. But it's totally exciting. Here, we get almost all the venues. We even get outer space. We get super beautiful scenery that pretty much make this one of the great Bond films, secure at number 5 in my opinion. Most of this is set in Japan, and much of it is filmed there. While Thunderball inspired the most in Austin Powers, this is probably second place in inspiration for Austin, and that's a good thing. Let us face the fact that the modern day 21st century Bond movies couldn't inspire Nolan Ryan to throw a baseball. This was made in the era when piranha were considered dangerous, and that plays a big part in the film. "Blowhard" (my name for Number 1) likes to feed his piranha. And you can guess what he feeds them. Lots of action, lots of scenery, lots of beautiful women, lots of wit, lots of gadgets. It has everything, which is probably why so many critics are so jealous of it.