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The literal death and resurrection of James Bond, a bullet-riddled bed and a Secret Service submarine with a kaleidoscope of geisha in between. Chaos is the SPECTRE métier, the plan is to preside over the ashes of another world war, the trigger-happy superpowers just need a little nudge. (American and Soviet space capsules are gobbled up in a cosmic reminder that 2001: A Space Odyssey is right around the corner.) Bond (Sean Connery) in Japan, in the convertible with a fellow agent (Akiko Wakabayashi) and bound before a nefarious redhead (Karin Dior). "I've got you now." "Well, enjoy yourself." Tokyo is an ancient and modern city, the visitor knows the right temperature for serving saké and learns about swordsmanship, the hairiness of his vast chest beguiles the local womenfolk. Lewis Gilbert has Fuller's House of Bamboo as the formal linchpin, to it are added opulent gags like the sedan full of henchmen picked up by a helicopter's giant magnet and dumped into the ocean. Metallic trapdoors and paper screens, "you must excuse this rather odd mixture of styles." Infiltration involves marriage to the comely pearl-diver (Mie Hama), accessories include a gyrocopter equipped with missiles and a rocket pistol hidden inside a cigarette. "Ninjas?" "The art of concealment and surprise." Ian Fleming by way of Roald Dahl, plus Freddie Young cinematography and Nancy Sinatra tune. Blofeld is a malevolent hand with pinky ring and fluffy kitty, in due time unveiled as a scarred, staring Donald Pleasence, "extortion is my business." The base in the volcano crater is Ken Adams' ultimate Bond masterpiece, warriors zipping down ropes add striking vertical lines to the massive melee. (Peckinpah abstracts the sequence in The Killer Elite.) Allen's concurrency with What's Up, Tiger Lily? is sufficient analysis. With Tetsuro Tamba, Teru Shimada, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn, and Charles Gray.
--- Fernando F. Croce |