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James Bond - Dr No (Ultimate Edition 2 Disc Set) [1962]


RRP: £16.99
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Dr. No gets boiling mad
Review date: 2008-09-07 Rating: 8 out of 10

This 1962 movie based on Ian Fleming's book contains the first or our favorite charters, including Sean Connery as James Bond, Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder, and Lois Maxwell as Miss Moneypenny. A surprise and shocker is seeing Jack Lord playing the U.S. CIA agent Felix Leiter.

The earlier Bond movies required more acting than fancy gadgets. However you will still recognize his puns.

Dr. No is suspected of being up to no good. A previous agent on the trail of this mysterious Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman) seems to have disappeared. And there are no more transmissions from the local outpost in Jamaica. So it is up to James Bond (Sean Connery) to find out what happened and finish the project. Naturally he finds trouble from the beginning; however this is nothing compared to what he will find on Crab Key.


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Reviews


"Bond... James Bond"
Review date: 2007-12-12 Rating: 8 out of 10

Hard to believe now, but on its first release the film that started it all was sold as much on the scenery as anything else. In the days before foreign package holidays really took off, the glamorous locations gave the low-budget film an exotic look that helps hide some of its limitations.

Terence Young, Cubby Broccoli and co-writer Richard Maibaum had all previously worked together on the Alan Ladd starrer The Red Beret - indeed, many of the Bond regulars had worked on Broccoli's fairly undistinguished British pictures - and at times the initial uncertainty of tone is noticeable, with the film occasionally threatening to turn into a predictable British `quota quickie' at times. Young's direction of some of the early scenes is, it must be said, rather ham-handed - indeed, turn down the colour and you could be watching an early episode of The Saint. You can even see the arc lights reflected on the paintwork of the getaway car at (something that would become one of the series less recognised trademarks in the Connery years!).

Its attitude to the black characters is also rather less than enlightened - not just Bond treating Quarrel like a houseboy ("Fetch me my slippers, Quarrel.") but also the way John Kitzmiller is required to turn into Stepinfetchit in the `dragon' scene. Considering British films' strong record on tackling racial issues in the 50s and 60s up to the sixties, this may possibly be attributable to the fact that the Bond films, while British, were always produced by an American and a Canadian: certainly Hollywood was somewhat lagging behind British cinema on the race relations front at the time. But if you can ignore that, there's much to enjoy: Connery introducing himself with the immortal "Bond, James Bond" for the first time and Joseph Wiseman's superb villain's equally memorable entrance ("One million dollars, Mr Bond."); Ursula Andress emerging from the sea; the spooky Sisters Rose and Lily; and some good action scenes.

The film also has a darker tone than any its successors until Casino Royale. Bond is quite cold blooded in a way he never was again during Broccoli Sr and Saltzman's watch, be it sleeping with a girl while he waits for the police to arrest her or waiting for Dent to empty his gun before killing him ("That's a Smith and Wesson and you've had your six."). Similarly, Honey is not above the use of a Black Widow spider on those who have wronged her ("It took him a whole week to die," she tells Bond matter-of-factly).

Sadly, while pitched as the `Ultimate Edition,' the transfer is still problematic. The picture quality is certainly improved, but rather than the original British 1.66:1 ratio, it's presented in the cropped 1.85:1. There aren't many new features - featurettes on restoring the films, the premiere and a 1964 archive featurette `The Guns of James Bond.' Most of the features from the original release have been carried over (with the exception of a double-bill trailer which can be found on the From Russia With Love Ultimate Edition), though accessing the film is more laborious than it needs to be as you work your way through logos, promos, dull but unskippable `set' menus that take you to another menu that take you to a sub-menu that take you to another logo and not one but two copyright warnings before you can get anywhere near the film or a special feature (a feature on all the Ultimate Editions, as are the poorly designed, slow and far too small stills galleries). By the time you've gone through all that, you'll feel like Jack Lemmon in The Apartment. So, not quite the ultimate presentation...



Quick Reviews!
Review date: 2007-12-08 Rating: 8 out of 10

The first in the most successful movie franchise of all time, and the perfect introduction to Bond- one of the most loved characters in movie history. Sean Connery is perfect in the role he made his own, able to be tough and cold in the face of the enemy, charming with women, and capable of delivering witty one liners without them sounding cheesy. Dr. No was a worldwide hit upon release, and now almost half a century later thanks to this Ultimate Edition the film looks and sounds as if it was filmed yesterday- and a whole new legion of fans can become entwined in the world of 007.

Bond travels to America to find the bad guy who the Americans could not, follows the clues which lead him to a Caribbean island, and encounters two important characters-Honey Ryder, his love interest, and Quarrel, a guide. As with every Bond film following, the secret agent comes in contact with one or two 'Bond Girls', and a friend who helps him complete his mission. The famous shot of Ursula Andress coming out of the sea may well have been outrageously sexy in the 60's, but has become extremely dated, or rather the audience has since become de-sensitised to images of a sexual nature. However, it remains the benchmark for the Bond Girl entrance, and Ryder is still one of the most famous women to grace Bond's world. She was certainly a strong female character for the era, but there is a definite sexist attitude towards her throughout the film, mainly because Bond's real sole purpose is to catch or kill the bad guy, complete the mission, and stay alive.

Quarrel is played brilliantly by John Kitzmiller, and although there are slight racist undertones, unfortunate but unsurprising for the time, he is a strong character and Bond is genuinely hurt when he is killed. We see that Bond is a haunted character, and that people who come into his life will inevitably die or not stay around. This is what makes him cold, why is must be mysogynistic, and why he cannot afford to get close to anyone. We are introduced to Moneypenny, whose relationship with Bond has always been intriguing over the years, and his superior M, who constantly annoy each other but have a great mutual respect. Dr. No himself is a slightly weak character, partly because of his lack of screen time, and partly because he is not as charismatic or memorable as later bad guys. However, he is ruthless and has the traits of most villains-pride, and an eye on world domination. His death scene is also weak, but perhaps this is because we are used to more elaborate scenes in later films.

Overall the film is high quality entertainment, the script is sharp and tense, the tone is darker than other movies of the time, the music is memorable, and the stunts are good, leading the way for its sequels. The features on the dvd are excellent, with deleted scenes, a good commentary, and interesting documentaries.

Dr No - A Review
Review date: 2007-11-19 Rating: 8 out of 10

As a huge Bond fan here is my review for the very first official Bond film, Dr No. It is better in it's bits such as Bond giving his legendary introduction and Honey Rider coming out of the sea. It's a simple plot with Dr No, part of terrorist organization SPECTRE, is toppling NASA space rockets. Bond is more like a detective in this film mainly using his wits rather than his gadgets. I'm not usually too fussed about sound and picture quality and rarely notice it but I really could tell the the difference with the Ultimate Edition. As for extras, I was fine with my Special Editions but if you are a real Bond fan you'd probably be very attracted to it. One of the best Bond films but does seem a little dated missing many of the Bond elements but other than that it's brilliant.

A dated classic brought back to life
Review date: 2007-07-17 Rating: 8 out of 10

It was the first one - a low budget spy thriller based on a popular novel of the time. It has a spectacularly charismatic performance from a young and arguably the most believable Bond - Sean Connery. It is this performance above all else that carries the movie, and that subsequently made it so popular. The acting and delivery of lines from other characters including Ursula Andress' character Honey Ryder in contrast, appears stilted to a modern audience, and the action is ok but not spectacular. Joseph Wiseman makes a fine and inscrutable villain, but actually has relatively little screen time - in fact, it's quite a surprise how easily and fast the final denouement actually happens when it comes. Apart from Sean, what about the other ingredients that defined the Bond movies, and made them greater than just the actor that played him? Many but not all of them are present - inscrutable megalomaniac, cultured conversation between Bond and bad guy, beautiful Bond girl, Ken Adams spectacular interior set designs, the Bond theme, even the Martini shaken not stirred.. but a few have not arrived yet - spectacular stunts are absent, as is Q and the gadgets, as well as the Aston Martin or indeed any interesting car. Its fair to say there are a couple of things that were lost along the way too - Bond actually does some spy tradecraft in this movie - something that subsequently disappears as Bond became just another action hero, but here is part of the story as he is sent to be a detective in effect to find a missing operative. The other is pacing - although it might appear slightly slow paced to younger generations, this movie actually has far superior pacing than more recent Bond movies where action scene segues into action scene and we lose the thrill and feeling of spectacle as a result.
For this version though, the main question is - how does a 45 year old movie look freshened up? Spectacularly good as it turns out - the colour and contrast make this edition of Dr No look as fresh as if it was a period movie made yesterday. It is bright, crisp and detailed, and without blemish that I could see. I am certainly pleased with purchasing the Ultimate Edition version of the movie. Sound is vastly improved, but not quite perfect - actions scenes are spruced up well for dts, but occasionally conversations can appear lacking in depth and blend into the background. However, it's hard to complain when you consider the age of the movie. The extras package has all that the previous Special Edition had, plus a few more - a review of all the Premieres and their locations, and a brief featurette on the guns of Bond, and the interactive menus have a nice new format which works well.
All in all, this is worth getting unless you are holding out for the inevitable Blu-Ray version - the movie was a prototype of what was to come and this version is the most complete package of genually watchable extras you could possibly imagine.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Ursula Andress
Zena Marshall
Sean Connery
Joseph Wiseman
Jack Lord

Creators:
Sean Connery (Primary Contributor)
Zena Marshall (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: MGM Entertainment
Manufacturer: MGM Entertainment
EAN: 5035822403895
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: Anamorphic, Box set, PAL,
Release date: 2006-07-17
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Region code: 2
Running time: 105 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1962
Language: Greek (Subtitled)
Language: Dutch (Subtitled)
Language: Norwegian (Subtitled)
Language: Finnish (Subtitled)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Danish (Subtitled)
Language: Swedish (Subtitled)
Language: Hindi (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)

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