Random picture thread for Friday

@JWP said:

Fresh out-of-the-oven and homemade.

A major motion picture that used Himeji Castle as a set was the 1967 James Bond film with Sean Connery, "You Only Live Twice." Himeji Castle was the setting for the Ninja school headed by “ Tiger Tanaka” in the film.

A local controversy ensued when a (later proved erroneous) reporting was disseminated in the Japanese press suggesting a wall at the castle was damaged during the filming when the Ninjas were seen throwing Ninja Throwing Stars (shuriken) at it. Apparently a false wall had been erected but the publicity damage was already done so the final scenes of the Ninja school sequence were filmed in the gardens of Tokyo's New Otani Hotel.

On a separate note, the film "You Only Live Twice" almost didn't even "Live Once." Prior to filming in March of 1966 the two major producers, the director, the Director of Photography, and the Production Designer were all scheduled to leave Japan on a British Airlines Boeing 707 (Flight # 911 on 3/5/1966) but extended their stay to watch a Ninja demonstration. That 3/15 flight crashed and all aboard were killed.

Here is the controversial scene from the movie as it was filmed, followed by my photo taken at the end of March of the location today:

And here is another location shot from the film followed by my photos of the same place where Sean Connery as James Bond walks and converses with characters Tanaka and a female lead Aki. The location, Ro-no-mon, was where Bond, Aki and Tanaka come strolling down some steps and Tanaka (who is also head of Japan's Secret Service) informs Bond that he is to be transformed into "a Japanese" and will have to take a Japanese wife as part of the cover.

My photos from April of 2023:

Same location - My photo from March 2024:

And here is the Himeji Castle courtyard where the Ninja's practiced their fighting skills followed by yours truly in the same courtyard:

Some selected added views Outside and Inside Himeji Castle:

Finally, views taken on the grounds of Himeji Castle and at the Himeji Train Station we await departure of the Shinkansen, Japan's Bullet Train:

An added piece of trivia. The German actress Karin Dor who plays the part of the henchwoman, Helga Brand (who ends up being eaten by piranhas after her romantic encounter with James Bond) does not appear in the German release of the film as another actress is dubbed in for her in the German version. I guess she didn't want to be typecast as a villain for her German audience.

Other locations in Japan seen in the film include a Shinto Shrine in Nachi where Bond's wedding takes place and a dormant volcano in Kyushu where Spectre has its spacecraft base. The Hotel New Otani is itself the site of a nefarious company and there is a scene filmed in a Kobe shipyard where Bond goes to track down a ship.

It was paint by the coin's image's. Cut and color only. NO IMAGES WERE ADDED.
SCORED.

@Tibor said:

@JWP said:

Photo shopped. Elvis is talking to someone in the 2nd picture. Can't see the
phone he is using. Phones weren't that small for another 25 years after his
death.

No. That pic is from the 1964 Elvis movie "Roustabout." In this scene, Elvis just wrecked his motorcycle and injured his head.

We’re still skiing in May. Twin Lakes with frozen rainfall and Mammoth Rock in the background, Mammoth Mountain, and Convict Lake.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convict_Lake

Trucks with opposing sides