You Only Live Twice was directed by Lewis Gilbert.
You Only Live Twice -LRB- 1967 -RRB- is the fifth spy film in the James Bond series , and the fifth to star Sean Connery as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond .. Sean Connery. Sean Connery. You Only Live Twice. You Only Live Twice ( novel ). spy film. spy film. MI6. Secret Intelligence Service. James Bond. James Bond filmography. The film 's screenplay was written by Roald Dahl , and loosely based on Ian Fleming 's 1964 novel of the same name .. Ian Fleming. Ian Fleming. Roald Dahl. Roald Dahl. same name. You Only Live Twice ( novel ). It is the first James Bond film to discard most of Fleming 's plot , using only a few characters and locations from the book as the background for an entirely new story .. James Bond. James Bond filmography. In the film , Bond is dispatched to Japan after American and Soviet manned spacecraft disappear mysteriously in orbit .. With each nation blaming the other amidst the Cold War , Bond travels secretly to a remote Japanese island to find the perpetrators and comes face to face with Ernst Stavro Blofeld , the head of SPECTRE .. Cold War. Cold War. Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Ernst Stavro Blofeld. SPECTRE. SPECTRE. The film reveals the appearance of Blofeld , who was previously a partially unseen character .. unseen character. unseen character. SPECTRE is working for the government of an unnamed Asian power , implied to be the People 's Republic of China , to provoke war between the superpowers .. SPECTRE. SPECTRE. During the filming in Japan , it was announced that Sean Connery would retire from the role of Bond , but after a hiatus , he returned in 1971 's Diamonds Are Forever and later 1983 's non-Eon Bond film Never Say Never Again .. Sean Connery. Sean Connery. Diamonds Are Forever. Diamonds Are Forever ( film ). Never Say Never Again. Never Say Never Again. You Only Live Twice is the first Bond film to be directed by Lewis Gilbert , who later directed the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me and the 1979 film Moonraker , both starring Roger Moore .. You Only Live Twice. You Only Live Twice ( novel ). Lewis Gilbert. Lewis Gilbert. The Spy Who Loved Me. The Spy Who Loved Me ( film ). Moonraker. Moonraker ( film ). Roger Moore. Roger Moore. You Only Live Twice was a great success , receiving positive reviews and grossing over $ 111 million in worldwide box office .. You Only Live Twice. You Only Live Twice ( novel )