It’s cool we get a sneak peek into Commander James Bond of the Royal Navy’s funeral in You Only Live Twice (1967). As a secret agent, however, it’s surprising to see his funeral well attended and “known” judging by the crowds and mystery man using binoculars to verify Bond’s body is “buried” at sea. But it makes sense after the start of the movie reveals that “our man in Hong Kong” was “killed” while on assignment investigating the stolen US spacecraft. Surely his actions and efforts prevented further escalations in the international incident, and maybe even the next world war.
Bond’s memorial is short-lived though. As the movie’s title suggests, he’s saved from his grave at sea and boards a British Navy vessel to get back on the job, now with better cover.
As Bond is surveilling the Ning Po freight liner, his cover is eventually blown and he attempts to escape a throng of henchmen. Although the music is a bit happy sounding for a chase scene, the sweeping camera angle of the rooftop chase gives great context to what Bond is up against and how unlikely an escape is, which turns out to be true. Kudos for the camera angle though. In the age of heavy editing and camera shakes, a steady shot like this during an otherwise tense scene is refreshing, even for a non-Bond movie.
The above scene from You Only Live Twice (1967) is one of those moments where Blofeld makes clear that he lives up to the parts of the S.P.E.C.T.R.E. (Special Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion) acronym. In this case, extortion.
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