The fifth Bond film was to be Connery's last. The man was tired of playing the part and being hounded by the press and felt unappreciated by the producers. All of this kind of shows as Connery goes through the motions. Sure, he's witty and brutal but there's something missing now.
This was also the first film to take the "formula" as established in the previous films and send it in another direction. Roald Dahl (yes...THAT Roald Dahl of Chocolate Factory fame) was hired to write the screenplay. Fleming (who was dead by this point) was good friends with Dahl. Dahl felt the novel was one of Fleming's weakest and decided to take some character names and locations and come up with an entire new plot (this would become the normal way of adapting Fleming's books once the 1970s rolled around).
The film takes place in Japan and involves Bond trying to stop Blofeld from starting World War III. Blofeld and his SPECTRE agents have gone from sending American rockets off course (in "Dr. No") to just plain capturing them once they reach outer space (and doing the same with the Russians). Up until this point in the film series, we have been given hints about Blofeld and mostly seen him as a shadowy deep voiced figure petting a white cat (nothing like the descriptions by Fleming in the novels). Now we get to see him and he looks and sounds like nothing we've come to expect from those hints. Donald Pleasence is completely anti-climactic for a first time Bond meets Blofeld appearance (he's bald and has a weird scar...but he's still got that damn cat).
The film ends with a climactic battle inside Blofeld's hollowed out volcano (which houses his launching pad for his space ships -- thankfully Bond didn't actually get into outer space in this film...but he will eventually). An army of Ninjas (who aren't very stealthy) battle the SPECTRE agents to the bitter end. Blofeld escapes, Bond gets the girl and the world is right. James Bond will return...so will Blofeld...but Connery does not (and neither does Pleasence).
With Connery out of the picture, Broccoli and Saltzman brought in Australian model George Lazenby (so far we've had a Scot and an Aussie play a British Spy). They also gave the directorial reins to editor Peter Hunt (who had been the editor on every entry in the series to this point and had directed the second unit on "You Only Live Twice") who insisted that the film hew as close to Fleming's original source material as possible since it is one of Fleming's strongest. The result is one of the best, most dramatic and tightest Bond films yet (even as it's the longest in running time and I'd argue that it may be John Barry's best score in the series as well).
Fleming's "Blofeld Trilogy" consisted of "Thunderball", "One Her Majesty's Secret Service" and "You Only Live Twice" in that order. Obviously, filming "You Only Live Twice" before "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" screws up that continuity...assuming there had been any to begin with since screenwriter Roald Dahl changed the entire plot anyway. The only oddity is Blofeld claiming he's never met Bond before (even though Bond is still on his mission searching for Blofeld). And you quickly forget it was mentioned and move on as the story moves at a brisk pace (thanks to editor John Glen...who would follow director Hunt's path and eventually wind up directing a few Bond films).
Say what you will about Lazenby, he had a tough act to follow. And he's not bad here for his first time out. He's supported by some in jokes and references as well as an amazing supporting cast in Diana Rigg as Tracy and Telly Savalas as Blofeld. Rigg and Lazenby have great chemistry and it's very easy to see how Bond falls madly in love with Tracy. Would a super spy really go and marry someone like that realizing it could end his career? Who knows, but these two make it believable. And that's what makes all of this all the more tragic (storywise) as the crew has kept this as one of the most faithful adaptations of a Fleming novel...right down to it's tragic ending.
Savalas is infinitely more charming, brutal and menacing as Blofeld (yet he's still got that damn white cat). His plot for world domination is still a bit out there, but much less so than kidnapping space ships with a larger space ship launched from a hollowed out volcano. It's too bad Savalas didn't return as Blofeld for a return match...but neither did Lazenby...
James Bond will return in "Diamonds Are Forever"...and so will Sean Connery...
Be seeing you.
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