Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Johnboy1221 The biggest problem with this one is the fact that John Derek couldn't resist the temptation to make it artsy, using every camera trick in the book to awe his viewers. All it ends up doing is making us want to turn away from it in disgust. The story is a mix so ambiguous that it ends up making no sense. It's interesting that he cast James Dean lookalike Rod Lauren in a major role and then filmed him in torrid love scenes with his then-wife Ursula Andress, especially odd since Derek and Andress both bedded James Dean........just before he died. Lauren's death scene in the film is downright laughable as he is somehow shot multiple times through a large tree trunk, with not so much as a single facial expression of shock, pain or agony. Weird scene. Andress is obviously there to be the "one before they all die", and the film is a total waste of some fine actors. A real mess.

Crap_Connoisseur Once Before I Die is far more entertaining than most recent WW2 films such as Steven Spielberg's anaemic "Saving Private Ryan". This film may be the cinematic equivalent of a car crash but I would prefer to see Ursula Andress strolling through battle fields with perfect hair and make-up than watch Matt Damon pollute the screen as a lost soldier. This may also be the first and last war film to contain a "Porkies" style subplot about a soldier trying to lose his virginity.John Derek is a hugely misunderstood director. Admittedly, he has made some of the most inept films in cinema history but at least he had the decency to fill his movies with large doses of gratuitous nudity and unintentionally hilarious scenarios. His films may be crap but they are rarely boring. Once Before I Die provides John with an opportunity to direct his lovely wife, Ursula Andress. The plot that John chose for his then wife is startling to say the least.Ursula plays Alex, a Swiss "refugee" stuck in the Philippines during WW2. When the Japanese attack, Alex's soldier boyfriend, Bailey (played by John himself), invites Alex to tag along with his battalion on their way to Manila. Unfortunately, Bailey accidentally drops a grenade while trying to steal Alex a teddy bear and leaves Alex to make a general nuisance of herself during enemy attacks. A major exception to this occurs when Alex makes herself uncharacteristically useful by deflowering a soldier while the rest of the battalion attack a Japanese tank with tree stumps.The film's storyline is undeniably ridiculous but it does compensate the viewer with surprisingly violent content for a movie made in 1965 and amusing visuals of Ursula prancing through the jungle like a slightly disheveled Bond girl. The combat scenes are reasonably well done but would have been more convincing if John Derek didn't superimpose faded images of Ursula over the action. The most bizarre example of this is the image of Ursula holding a glowing orb, which is superimposed over the opening air attack. The film also offers some beautiful photography and a visually impressive, if utterly confusing finale. The acting is hit and miss, with significantly more misses than hits, but Ursula is rather wonderful as Alex. It takes a special kind of genius to walk through a war zone in riding pants and high heeled boots without coming across as completely demented. Richard Jaeckel also scores points for his fantastically over the top portrayal of Custer, a deluded soldier.Once Before I Die is a treat for John Derek aficionados and fans of crappy film oddities. You definitely wont see another war movie like this ever again.

4-Eyes There was an interesting tension between Andress as the life force and the fate each of the men met after they became involved with her. Moths to the flame. I wish the film had made more of this theme (and been better in general).

Lee-65 This film, in spite of a few capable performers, like Ron Ely and Richard Jaeckel, for example, deserved to be left in the jungles of the Philippines from whence it came. Ursula Andress (once dubbed by the press as "Ursula Undress") is nice to look at, but in this film she hasn't much to do except show off her well-nourished superstructure through anachronistic wet clothing - The screenplay certainly doesn't show off her acting ability. John Derek treats her contributions to this picture like one of those front-page, soft-focus pictorials in "Playboy" that Andress (and, subsequent subject Linda Evans) did so often throughout the 1960s and 70s. For better material featuring Ursula Andress, see "Dr. No" (1962) and "Casino Royale" (1967). What a waste of time for anyone looking for serious drama about the post-Pearl Harbor Philippine invasion of 1941-42.