12 replies to this topic

[Double Naught spy]

1)  After the first round of Tanaka's ninja (they're the ones who use 'toilet paper' like ropes) descend into the volcano, SPECTRE agents mow them all down as the sliding door closes once again.  There is one lone ninja who, having hung back in the rafters, places an explosive charge on the bottom of the sliding door.  The explosion causes a hole in the ceiling door, which allows Tiger, Kissy, and the remaining ninjas the needed access into the volcano.   However, when the ninjas are shown descending (with more traditional-looking ropes), they all appear to be coming down throughout the entire space of the crater and not just the hole the explosion created.

 

2) The way the SPECTRE agent Kissy guns down in the main volcano area rigidly falls face forward like a wooden board makes me laugh every time.

 

3) After Blofeld escapes on his monorail car, Bond runs over to Tiger and Kissy and tells them about the self-destruct button in the command center that will explode the SPECTRE "CCCP" rocket.  Knowing that a frontal assault on the armored command center is futile, the three of them agree that they need to figure another way inside.   But instead of Bond just backtracking his steps (Blofeld had literally JUST escorted him from the command center to the main volcano area via the hidden door in his apartment!), he apparently forgets all about this and decides to launch a needlessly time-consuming assault on the heavily guarded staircase the fleeing command center workers are seen descending from.   

 

Sure, no matter which path he takes back into Blofeld's apartment he'll have to confront Hans, but if he would have gone back into the apartment via Blofeld's hidden door, he wouldn't have had to emptied the revolver he acquired from Blofeld or had to have used his throwing star in the process of fighting off SPECTRE goons on his way up the staircase.  I suspect that a loaded gun and/or a throwing star would have shaved off some seconds in his confrontation with Hans.  Tick-tock, tick-tock..  time's running out, 007!

 

4) Speaking of 007's throwing star - how is that the SPECTRE agents who escorted him up into the command center missed that?  More importantly, umm... where did Bond hide that sharp little weapon so that the SPECTRE agents never found it when they frisked him?   You could make the case that Tiger of Kissy gave him the throwing star 'off-camera' seconds before he runs off to fight his way up the staircase, but then that would beg the question of why he didn't ask one of their machine guns or even a sword?

 

5) Doesn't it seem a bit naïve of the USA to make their "line in the sand" to launch their retaliatory attack upon the USSR to be whether or not their space capsule is actually gobbled up by the approaching "CCCP" rocket?  (I'm assuming that NASA Mission Control and the assembled US military brass can somehow see the "CCCP" painted on the side of the rocket because why else would Blofeld order SPECTRE agent 109 to paint it on the rocket to begin with?)  Wouldn't the mere fact that the rocket is menacingly approaching space capsule be provocation enough?  The fact that the US military was willing to issue the stand-down orders simply because the rocket explodes five seconds before contact with the space capsule also seems highly implausible.    

 

For all their bluster, it really doesn't appear as if the USA really wanted to go to war.  If you're not going to retaliate because of a rocket menacing your helpless space capsule and if you decide to call off the attack based entirely upon the fact that the rocket explodes seconds before accomplishing its mission, then what would provoke you to attack?  Even if Blofeld's plan would have succeeded, I'm under the impression that the US military would've wimped out and made some lame excuse to abort the impending attack based on the fact that, although the "CCCP" rocket captured the space capsule, it apparently malfunctioned and exploded (which was Blofeld's plan in the first place - to explode the rocket as soon as it achieved its objective) in space.  I can imagine the US military brass coming up with the excuse that, "Well, although it did capture our capsule, since the rocket is destroyed, the threat is over."  

 

6) Finally, does the rooftop crater & sliding door seem as if it's not actually situated at the top of the volcano 'ceiling' but rather that it's cocked-off to the side?   Is it just the camera angle or did the set designers at Pinewood make it that way?

Edited by Double Naught spy, 03 November 2013 - 03:57 PM.

[AgenttiNollaNollaSeitsemän]

All extremely valid points, and the only excuse I can give is "hey, it's a Bond film!".

 

 

Still love YOLT a lot, when I first saw it in the ripe age of 10 it was the coolest thing ever put on celluloid.

[Guy Haines]

1)  After the first round of Tanaka's ninja (they're the ones who use 'toilet paper' like ropes) descend into the volcano, SPECTRE agents mow them all down as the sliding door closes once again.  There is one lone ninja who, having hung back in the rafters, places an explosive charge on the bottom of the sliding door.  The explosion causes a hole in the ceiling door, which allows Tiger, Kissy, and the remaining ninjas the needed access into the volcano.   However, when the ninjas are shown descending (with more traditional-looking ropes), they all appear to be coming down throughout the entire space of the crater and not just the hole the explosion created.

 

2) The way the SPECTRE agent Kissy guns down in the main volcano area rigidly falls face forward like a wooden board makes me laugh every time.

 

3) After Blofeld escapes on his monorail car, Bond runs over to Tiger and Kissy and tells them about the self-destruct button in the command center that will explode the SPECTRE "CCCP" rocket.  Knowing that a frontal assault on the armored command center is futile, the three of them agree that they need to figure another way inside.   But instead of Bond just backtracking his steps (Blofeld had literally JUST escorted him from the command center to the main volcano area via the hidden door in his apartment!), he apparently forgets all about this and decides to launch a needlessly time-consuming assault on the heavily guarded staircase the fleeing command center workers are seen descending from.   

 

Sure, no matter which path he takes back into Blofeld's apartment he'll have to confront Hans, but if he would have gone back into the apartment via Blofeld's hidden door, he wouldn't have had to emptied the revolver he acquired from Blofeld or had to have used his throwing star in the process of fighting off SPECTRE goons on his way up the staircase.  I suspect that a loaded gun and/or a throwing star would have shaved off some seconds in his confrontation with Hans.  Tick-tock, tick-tock..  time's running out, 007!

 

4) Speaking of 007's throwing star - how is that the SPECTRE agents who escorted him up into the command center missed that?  More importantly, umm... where did Bond hide that sharp little weapon so that the SPECTRE agents never found it when they frisked him?   You could make the case that Tiger of Kissy gave him the throwing star 'off-camera' seconds before he runs off to fight his way up the staircase, but then that would beg the question of why he didn't ask one of their machine guns or even a sword?

 

5) Doesn't it seem a bit naïve of the USA to make their "line in the sand" to launch their retaliatory attack upon the USSR to be whether or not their space capsule is actually gobbled up by the approaching "CCCP" rocket?  (I'm assuming that NASA Mission Control and the assembled US military brass can somehow see the "CCCP" painted on the side of the rocket because why else would Blofeld order SPECTRE agent 109 to paint it on the rocket to begin with?)  Wouldn't the mere fact that the rocket is menacingly approaching space capsule be provocation enough?  The fact that the US military was willing to issue the stand-down orders simply because the rocket explodes five seconds before contact with the space capsule also seems highly implausible.    

 

For all their bluster, it really doesn't appear as if the USA really wanted to go to war.  If you're not going to retaliate because of a rocket menacing your helpless space capsule and if you decide to call off the attack based entirely upon the fact that the rocket explodes seconds before accomplishing its mission, then what would provoke you to attack?  Even if Blofeld's plan would have succeeded, I'm under the impression that the US military would've wimped out and made some lame excuse to abort the impending attack based on the fact that, although the "CCCP" rocket captured the space capsule, it apparently malfunctioned and exploded (which was Blofeld's plan in the first place - to explode the rocket as soon as it achieved its objective) in space.  I can imagine the US military brass coming up with the excuse that, "Well, although it did capture our capsule, since the rocket is destroyed, the threat is over."  

 

6) Finally, does the rooftop crater & sliding door seem as if it's not actually situated at the top of the volcano 'ceiling' but rather that it's cocked-off to the side?   Is it just the camera angle or did the set designers at Pinewood make it that way?

As has been said, valid points, plus one more - how is it both the US mission control and SPECTRE mission control can see what's going on up there in outer space? Have they both got a satellite filming the whole thing? (I guess it would explain why SPECTRE went to the time and trouble of making sure the letters "CCCP" and the red star were visible!)

 

And something else - the lift off of the Russian space capsule earlier. Stock footage of a US Gemini/Titan II lift off from Cape Canaveral, right down to the Florida palm trees in the foreground. How did that get past the film's editor?

 

That said, it's still a Bond I can watch time and again!

[Double Naught spy]

Oh, I hope my observations weren't misconstrued as me not liking YOLT.  In fact, the origin behind this post was the fact that I turned on the TV this morning and YOLT was airing - which I took as a 'sign from above' for me to rip up my to-do list and begin watching it!  LOL!  

 

BTW, I like to pretend that the palm trees were a gift from Uncle Fidel.  As for the Titan II rocket's appearance on the Soviet launch pad... well, we're all aware of XXX's ability to purloin classified blueprints.   

[Messervy]

1) After the first round of Tanaka's ninja (they're the ones who use 'toilet paper' like ropes) descend into the volcano, SPECTRE agents mow them all down as the sliding door closes once again. There is one lone ninja who, having hung back in the rafters, places an explosive charge on the bottom of the sliding door. The explosion causes a hole in the ceiling door, which allows Tiger, Kissy, and the remaining ninjas the needed access into the volcano. However, when the ninjas are shown descending (with more traditional-looking ropes), they all appear to be coming down throughout the entire space of the crater and not just the hole the explosion created.

2) The way the SPECTRE agent Kissy guns down in the main volcano area rigidly falls face forward like a wooden board makes me laugh every time.

3) After Blofeld escapes on his monorail car, Bond runs over to Tiger and Kissy and tells them about the self-destruct button in the command center that will explode the SPECTRE "CCCP" rocket. Knowing that a frontal assault on the armored command center is futile, the three of them agree that they need to figure another way inside. But instead of Bond just backtracking his steps (Blofeld had literally JUST escorted him from the command center to the main volcano area via the hidden door in his apartment!), he apparently forgets all about this and decides to launch a needlessly time-consuming assault on the heavily guarded staircase the fleeing command center workers are seen descending from.

Sure, no matter which path he takes back into Blofeld's apartment he'll have to confront Hans, but if he would have gone back into the apartment via Blofeld's hidden door, he wouldn't have had to emptied the revolver he acquired from Blofeld or had to have used his throwing star in the process of fighting off SPECTRE goons on his way up the staircase. I suspect that a loaded gun and/or a throwing star would have shaved off some seconds in his confrontation with Hans. Tick-tock, tick-tock.. time's running out, 007!

4) Speaking of 007's throwing star - how is that the SPECTRE agents who escorted him up into the command center missed that? More importantly, umm... where did Bond hide that sharp little weapon so that the SPECTRE agents never found it when they frisked him? You could make the case that Tiger of Kissy gave him the throwing star 'off-camera' seconds before he runs off to fight his way up the staircase, but then that would beg the question of why he didn't ask one of their machine guns or even a sword?

5) Doesn't it seem a bit naïve of the USA to make their "line in the sand" to launch their retaliatory attack upon the USSR to be whether or not their space capsule is actually gobbled up by the approaching "CCCP" rocket? (I'm assuming that NASA Mission Control and the assembled US military brass can somehow see the "CCCP" painted on the side of the rocket because why else would Blofeld order SPECTRE agent 109 to paint it on the rocket to begin with?) Wouldn't the mere fact that the rocket is menacingly approaching space capsule be provocation enough? The fact that the US military was willing to issue the stand-down orders simply because the rocket explodes five seconds before contact with the space capsule also seems highly implausible.

For all their bluster, it really doesn't appear as if the USA really wanted to go to war. If you're not going to retaliate because of a rocket menacing your helpless space capsule and if you decide to call off the attack based entirely upon the fact that the rocket explodes seconds before accomplishing its mission, then what would provoke you to attack? Even if Blofeld's plan would have succeeded, I'm under the impression that the US military would've wimped out and made some lame excuse to abort the impending attack based on the fact that, although the "CCCP" rocket captured the space capsule, it apparently malfunctioned and exploded (which was Blofeld's plan in the first place - to explode the rocket as soon as it achieved its objective) in space. I can imagine the US military brass coming up with the excuse that, "Well, although it did capture our capsule, since the rocket is destroyed, the threat is over."

6) Finally, does the rooftop crater & sliding door seem as if it's not actually situated at the top of the volcano 'ceiling' but rather that it's cocked-off to the side? Is it just the camera angle or did the set designers at Pinewood make it that way?

My, my! Do you mean to say Bond films are not realistic?
What a breakthrough.

[Guy Haines]

Oh, I hope my observations weren't misconstrued as me not liking YOLT.  In fact, the origin behind this post was the fact that I turned on the TV this morning and YOLT was airing - which I took as a 'sign from above' for me to rip up my to-do list and begin watching it!  LOL!  

 

BTW, I like to pretend that the palm trees were a gift from Uncle Fidel.  As for the Titan II rocket's appearance on the Soviet launch pad... well, we're all aware of XXX's ability to purloin classified blueprints.    

Interesting idea, that! Lends a whole new meaning to "Cuban Missile Crisis"

[hoagy]

Sad to say, but, at the time, the producers were letting or authorizing sloppier and sloppier film-making...started with the scripts, and showed up in the produced films.  They wanted to get them out rather quickly, likely aware that the spy-film craze, and the Bond-craze, would not last forever.  They were right about that.  But what a difference it would have made to so MANY of the films if the concern for quality were paramount.  (No pun there about studios, just using the word.)

 

It's a shame, in particular, with YOLT.  The producers had to have known Connery was less interested, and was irrirated by long filming schedules and so on.  They could have had things ready to go on a tight schedule, kept it all interesting and exciting, and gotten better results from him.  In turn, they might have demanded that he, in turn, drop a few pounds before showing up !

 

Another reason it's a shame is that the book presented a rather exotic story with great locations and a terrific villain and ending.  Of course, TSWLM HAD to have a different story than the book -- per Fleming's prohibitions about that one book.  But YOLT was a great book, with a sick, twisted villain, some bizarre elements, and was, overall, more exotic than most of the other stories.

 

Lastly -- something that bothered me about YOLT all this time.  The appearance of Connery.  I know Bond was exerting himself, and people sweat.  But in this film, even before the fights started, there are moments in which his face looked oily.  QUITE the difference from his smooth, suave appearance -- especially at the outdinner dinner and dancing scene -- in the prior film. TB.  In fact, though more out of shape, Connery looked quite smooth and suave in DAF, his own next 007 after YOLT.  I've never read anything about this, and it puzzles me to this day....

[Double Naught spy]

Hoagy,

 

Great observations about the producers and the likely pressure they were under to "keep 'em rolling out."  As spectacular as YOLT is, some aspects of it don't fare well (as mentioned above) to a "critical eye."  But to be fair, whether it be "Russian" palm trees or 007's severe case of short-term memory loss - the powers-that-be sure did put out a wonderful escapist film that manages to distract the viewer from these kind of things.  Of course, back then, they didn't have to worry about OCD fans (like myself) scouring over every single frame. 

 

As for Connery's appearance - I've noticed that as well.  Who knows, maybe the 'greasy' look was "in" back in 1967?   It certainly got more pronounced as the Connery era progressed, which adds credence to the "in look" theory, doesn't it?  (Look no further than the evolution of Connery's hairstyle between DN to YOLT if you want evidence that this was done by design.)  Not being old enough to have lived through the 1960s, I've always assumed that the evolution of his  "look" was merely a product of the times. I guess it's no different than the 'tapered look" of Connery's hair neckline or his hairy chest, which is currently "out of fashion" in favor of the full-body clean-shaven "look."   

 

But, yeah, by 2013 standards, Connery looks oily and greasy while kicking-ass in Japan.

[hoagy]

Aahh, me boyo, not that I'm entirely thrilled with all aspects of being (mumble) years old (though, yes, it beats the alternative), but, on the plus side, growing up in the 1960s I caught the explosions in cinema and music as they happened.  Seeing the Bond movies as they came out was fantastic, of course.  I know a lot changed in the 1960s but I assure you that greasy skin was not a "look."  To expand on my prior comments, I like the cinematography in TB (and the three earlier films) more than in YOLT.  YOLT was big and spectacular and fun, but it did not look as good as the earlier films.  (Even at the time, by the way, it seemed odd that the camera viewpoint for dropping the baddies in their car into the bay was not from the point of view of the helicopter -- but that particular point-of-view discrepancy was terribly common in many movies of many different genres for a loooong time.)  Yes, Connery's haircut changed over the films, but not only for style -- his wigs had to cover more territory as time went on ! They went from the predominantly swept-back to the predominantly combed to the side.   (Oh, let's not mention the visible wig-flap in DAF during the oil platfiorm battle).

At any rate -- I still enjoy the films, awful blue-screen and all, and it just makes me appreciate all the more the current attitude toward quality in the scripts and in the production.

[dtuba]

My theory on the odd camera placement for the "Drop in the Ocean" as well as the space craft is this: It's not really a camera at all. When Bond and Aki watch the car being dropped, the very next shot is the exact same shot of the car as it was in the monitor, which leads me to believe that Bond, as well as the mission controllers, are watching the same film that we are! They are watching themselves in YOLT!

It's all very meta, you see.

[AMC Hornet]

"Spaceballs, Tiger! And Spaceballs again!"

[Double Naught spy]

Ouch!  Dtuba, that hurt my brain.

 

Speaking of video cameras, has anyone ever noticed the one on the wall aiming straight at (!) 007 as he finishes scaling down the volcano wall with his suction cups?  

[dtuba]

"Spaceballs, Tiger! And Spaceballs again!"

Exactly!