...the next two installments improved the formula--but certainly Dr. No must be ranked among the best.
Naturally, there would have to be continuing characters, and here the choices were again fortuitously correct. Bernard Lee was cast as "M," head of the British Secret Service. He would continue in the role for decades, exuding just the right air of maturity, authority, intelligence, and understanding. Lois Maxwell got the part of Miss Moneypenny, again a role that she would renew in numerous subsequent Bond epics. Nevertheless, the one most frequent Bond actor, Desmond Llewelyn, was not to appear as "Q," gizmo expert nonpareil, until the second film. Instead, in "Dr. No" the part of Major Boothroyd, later dubbed "Q," went to Peter Burton, who probably would have continued in the part had he not been unavailable for the next project, "From Russia With Love." Jack Lord, later of "Hawaii Five-O" fame, was the first of a batch of varied actors to play the part of CIA agent Felix Leiter. Marvelous cast!
Script, director, performers, style, atmosphere, and locale wonderfully merged to produce exactly the right milieu for the picture, but the producers knew they needed the proper music to tie it all together. John Barry took over the musical reins in the second film, but it was Monty Norman who introduced the world to the "James Bond" theme in "Dr. No." True, director Young overuses it throughout the film, but the tune is good enough that it remains indelibly with the series to this day. In fact, Connery's own production of "Never Say Never Again" wasn't able to use it, and that film didn't feel the same without it. Still and all, hearing the same theme every time Bond does even the most mundane things, like stepping off an airplane or going into a phone booth, seems excessive. A couple of other good songs make their appearance in "Dr. No" and help set the mood; Calypso was hot in '62, so "Jamaica Jump Up" and "Underneath the Mango Tree" worked in well, the former becoming a number-one hit in the West Indies.
Video:
The picture quality of this older Bond feature is not much to speak of. The aspect ratio is presented at 1.74.1, close to its original 1.85:1. The image is brightly lit but a little grainy, especially in large patches of light or dark, like bright sky or inky night. This rough, gritty condition is slightly mitigated by easing down on the sharpness control, which ought to be set pretty low, anyway.
Audio:
The mono sound exhibits a reasonably wide frequency and dynamic range, but it's a bit hard and clangy, too. Thankfully, the audio is free of background noise.
Extras:
"Dr. No" is a good film, but even if you don't care much for it, this Special Edition DVD re-release is worthy if for no other reason than for the documentary that comes with it, "Inside 'Dr. No,'" made in 1999. It's forty-two minutes long and tells you just about everything you'd ever want to know about the genesis of the Bond series; plus, it includes numerous recent interviews with cast and crew members, including Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Monty Norman, and others. There is also an audio commentary with the voices of the director, cast, and crew. Since Terence Young died some time ago, his and other comments come from previous interviews, spliced into the film at appropriate spots. In addition, there is a twenty-two-minute documentary called "Terence Young: Bond Vivant" that sheds light on the director's life and manner of filmmaking. A brief, well-worn, black-and-white production featurette made at the time of the film's creation provides some historical insight. The more-expected items include English, French, and Spanish spoken languages and subtitles, a still gallery, MGM's usual informational booklet, a generous thirty-two scene selections, several theatrical trailers for the film, plus TV and radio spots. It's another useful collection of extras from the company that practically started the DVD revolution.
Parting Thought:
By the way, in Fleming's novel, Dr. No is killed when he falls into a huge vat of guano. I sort of missed that in the screenplay.
"Dr. No" may be purchased separately or in a box set with "Goldfinger," "The Man With the Golden Gun," "The Spy Who Loved Me," "Licence to Kill," "GoldenEye," and "Tomorrow Never Dies."
Script, director, performers, style, atmosphere, and locale wonderfully merged to produce exactly the right milieu for the picture, but the producers knew they needed the proper music to tie it all together. John Barry took over the musical reins in the second film, but it was Monty Norman who introduced the world to the "James Bond" theme in "Dr. No." True, director Young overuses it throughout the film, but the tune is good enough that it remains indelibly with the series to this day. In fact, Connery's own production of "Never Say Never Again" wasn't able to use it, and that film didn't feel the same without it. Still and all, hearing the same theme every time Bond does even the most mundane things, like stepping off an airplane or going into a phone booth, seems excessive. A couple of other good songs make their appearance in "Dr. No" and help set the mood; Calypso was hot in '62, so "Jamaica Jump Up" and "Underneath the Mango Tree" worked in well, the former becoming a number-one hit in the West Indies.
Video:
The picture quality of this older Bond feature is not much to speak of. The aspect ratio is presented at 1.74.1, close to its original 1.85:1. The image is brightly lit but a little grainy, especially in large patches of light or dark, like bright sky or inky night. This rough, gritty condition is slightly mitigated by easing down on the sharpness control, which ought to be set pretty low, anyway.
Audio:
The mono sound exhibits a reasonably wide frequency and dynamic range, but it's a bit hard and clangy, too. Thankfully, the audio is free of background noise.
Extras:
"Dr. No" is a good film, but even if you don't care much for it, this Special Edition DVD re-release is worthy if for no other reason than for the documentary that comes with it, "Inside 'Dr. No,'" made in 1999. It's forty-two minutes long and tells you just about everything you'd ever want to know about the genesis of the Bond series; plus, it includes numerous recent interviews with cast and crew members, including Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Monty Norman, and others. There is also an audio commentary with the voices of the director, cast, and crew. Since Terence Young died some time ago, his and other comments come from previous interviews, spliced into the film at appropriate spots. In addition, there is a twenty-two-minute documentary called "Terence Young: Bond Vivant" that sheds light on the director's life and manner of filmmaking. A brief, well-worn, black-and-white production featurette made at the time of the film's creation provides some historical insight. The more-expected items include English, French, and Spanish spoken languages and subtitles, a still gallery, MGM's usual informational booklet, a generous thirty-two scene selections, several theatrical trailers for the film, plus TV and radio spots. It's another useful collection of extras from the company that practically started the DVD revolution.
Parting Thought:
By the way, in Fleming's novel, Dr. No is killed when he falls into a huge vat of guano. I sort of missed that in the screenplay.
"Dr. No" may be purchased separately or in a box set with "Goldfinger," "The Man With the Golden Gun," "The Spy Who Loved Me," "Licence to Kill," "GoldenEye," and "Tomorrow Never Dies."
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]4345[/release]