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Dr. No is the first film in the EON James Bond film
series. The film stars Sean Connery as James Bond, and co-stars
Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Ursula Andress, Jack Lord, and
Joseph Wiseman. The musical score is by Monty Norman. ***
In James Bond’s feature film debut, the secret agent
heads down to the Caribbean. He is sent to investigate the
mysterious death of two intelligence agents station there,
and quickly finds himself hot on the trail of a deadly foe
– Dr. No. An agent of the SPECTRE terrorist group, Dr. No
operates from a mysterious island fortress, and is hatching
a scheme to topple rockets launched by the American space
program. It’s up to James Bond, allying himself with CIA
agent Felix Leiter and the gorgeous Honey Rider, to infiltrate
and put an end to the mad doctor’s schemes. ***
Some film franchises get off to a rough start. Others
have a great first film and everything that follows is hit-and-miss.
So how does James Bond’s first adventure on the big screen
measure up? Pretty damn good, actually. ***
Sean Connery absolutely nailed the character of James
Bond from day one. He gives the character as much depth
as one possibly could. Connery’s Bond walks the line between
sophisticated and deadly brilliantly – moreso than anyone
since that has taken on the role. He’s right at home in
a high-class British gambling establishment, or in the islands,
battling a deadly wheeled contraption. Sean Connery is the
greatest man to ever portray James Bond, No other actor
even comes close (though I’m not saying his successors don
t do a good job.) ***
As for the positives, there is a lot to appreciate about
this film. The down-to-earth nature of the film stays considerably
truer to the Fleming novels than most subsequent films (most
viewers don’t know that the emphasis on gadgetry in later
films was largely a creation of the film’s crew/writers,
and NOT Fleming’s novels!) Every performance is top-notch.
Ursula Andress is terrific as the original Bond Girl, and
a pre-Hawaii-Five-O Jack Lord is probably the most memorable
Felix Leiter in the series. Also appearing are Bernard Lee
as M and Lois Maxwell as Moneypenny, roles they would play
for roughly two decades. But the stand-out here (besides
Connery) is Joseph Wiseman as the title villain. He absolutely
steals every scene he’s in, even though he doesn’t appear
(on camera) until the final half hour of the film. He’s
the original Bond villain and difficult to top. Combine
these great actors/characters with some memorable scenarios
and exotic locales, and the end result is one hell20of a
great movie. ***
As good a first film as this was for Agent 007, I won’t
deny that it isn’t perfect. First and foremost, it shows
its age more than some Bond films. There is no opening credits
song, instead just Monty Norman’s theme music is played.
Additionally, the credits don’t feature the now classic
silhouettes of nude women – and opt for a nauseating “blinking
lights” sequence that perhaps shows its age more than any
other aspect of the film. It also lacks a John Barry score
and Desmond Llewelyn as Q, but these problems would be remedied
in the next film. Likewise, as gorgeous as Honey Rider is
(and Ursula Andress plays her very well), she just isn’t
given enough to do here. The lack of gadgetry can be seen
as a flaw by some, though it doesn’t bother this viewer
much (I tend to prefer the films that stay true to the spirit
of the Fleming novels, after all.) Flaws aside, though,
this is still one of my favorite films in the series. ***
Dr. No is James Bond’s first big-screen outing, and
remains one of his finest nearly half a century later. It’s
not the best Bond movie, and it shows its age, but it’s
still in the upper tier of the Bond franchise. 4 stars out
of 5. ---
Image and Sound:
Several years ago, the James Bond movies (which had
seen a ton of home video releases already) underwent an
extensive, frame- by-frame restoration. A good deal of print
damage and dirt were removed in an effort that took several
years to complete. ***
The end result is, to put it simply, well worth it.
***
Lowry Digital Images knows how to restore movies. Their
restoration of the James Bond back catalogue is, hands down,
the greatest restoration job this reviewer has EVER seen.
This film is no exception. They have taken movies, that
are in some cases, nearly half a century old, and made them
look as good as they day when they premiered in theatres,
if not better. The image is clear throughout, without any
sort of issue. From what I can tell, no DNR was used in
these transfers, and there is a staggering amount of detain
not noticeable in any standard-def release of the movie.
Lowry did one hell of a job restoring this franchise. ***
As if the image restoration wasn’t enough, the films
now have lossless audio tracks. If you’ve got a speaker
set, you’ll be able to experience these films (both audio
and visual-wise) like you never have before.
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