Aki’s death by poison string in You Only Live Twice remains as one of the most quietly disturbing moments in all of the Bond movies. Unlike a traditional assassination with a knife or gun that is loud and out in the open, this scene is unnervingly intimate. The SPECTRE assassin’s method of silent presence in the rafters, delivering poison drop by drop down a string is absolutely nightmarish. Aki is totally vulnerable, and only dies because of Bond’s regular sleep movements shifts his mouth from harm and inserts hers. What makes the sequence especially effective is how little it relies on music or dialogue. The silence amplifies the horror, and Aki’s brief but futile awakening adds a haunting sense of inevitability.

While the logistics of such an assassination strain plausibility (one could reasonably question the security of 1960s Japanese safe houses, or the insane precision required at such a height with string and liquid), the filmmakers’ unfortunately memorable assassination method is commendable for its creativity.