Pros and Cons: Dr. No

Higgins

Good for ol' Monty that he doesn't have to earn his living as a pianoplayer

Thunderpussy

I love a bit of " Pub Piano", all it needs is " Ave' a Banana " )

Matt S

stag wrote:

It's a great film.

Here's something I thought may be of interest:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcILuuZxIag

Maybe this is exactly how he imagined the James Bond Theme.

I'm assuming the parts of the tune he doesn't play were John Barry's contributions. Or Norman just wasn't able to play those parts.

Barbel

Matt S wrote:

Maybe this is exactly how he imagined the James Bond Theme.

I'm assuming the parts of the tune he doesn't play were John Barry's contributions. Or Norman just wasn't able to play those parts.

Sadly:

Higgins

Matt S wrote:

Maybe this is exactly how he imagined the James Bond Theme.

.

Really?
The way he plays it, it sounds a bit like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gwrm8UK1VIk

chrisisall

IMHO Dr. No is THE perfect Bond movie.
It's small, it's colourful, it's true to Fleming, and it has Barry's theme.
FRWL was a bit tame, GF a bit OTT, and from there it just kept growing....

Bondage007

The attention to detail in DN is amazing and bond is the centre of the movie that's why I've ranked it high this tine, but there's others I enjoy more for the action etc

chrisisall

Just watched the first half last night on BD (I started it late & didn't want to finish it sleepy), and the film just gets better with each viewing. The so-so incidental score no longer grates on me, and the plot is just perfect (A touch over the top, but just a touch- no 'save the world' nonsense in the first three). And Wiseman is easily my favourite villain.

chrisisall

Finished it last night. Just an A+ experience. -{

Thunderpussy

You got the A, just the T, to go.

chrisisall

Silly silly British man.

Agent Purple

Pros:

-Possibly the greatest use of the "Bond, James Bond" line. A fantastic kickoff for the series.
-The scene where Bond kills Dent is classic.
-Joseph Wiseman plays Dr. No well.
-We get to see Bond "roughing it", so to speak, like when he hides with Quarrel and Honey in the water (not sure if that was a river or pond).
-Great chemistry between Bond and Leiter.
-The dialogue is quite well-written.

Cons:

-Not too big on Honey Rider. Yeah, she was the first main Bond girl (Sylvia Trench was technically the first Bond girl in the series), but Ursula doesn't really do much with her character (imo). Let's be frank: she's been topped by at least several others.
-Feels more like something out of a detective novel than a spy movie.
-We see Dr. No late in the movie, which limits his impact.

I quite like Dr. No, and for now give it an 8/10, might give it a 9 with another viewing.

Barbel

Agent Purple wrote:

We see Dr. No late in the movie, which limits his impact.

I don't find that a Con, in fact I think it increases his impact since he's been built up and discussed before his entrance which causes anticipation. If the actor, writer and director don't pay off when the character finally appears then this technique falls flat- here, though, IMHO it works just fine.

Thunderpussy

It's very little!e Jaws, building up the villain in your imagination
until the big reveal.

blame_thatcher

Pros:
Most of it.

Cons:
Monty Norman's score, especially for ripping off the theme from News at Ten for the tarantula-beating.

Smiert-Spionam

chrisisall wrote:

Just watched the first half last night on BD (I started it late & didn't want to finish it sleepy), and the film just gets better with each viewing. The so-so incidental score no longer grates on me, and the plot is just perfect (A touch over the top, but just a touch- no 'save the world' nonsense in the first three). And Wiseman is easily my favourite villain.

Wiseman is your favourite villain? No mean feat in a series of films renowned for such a great list of bad guys. What makes him stand out for you?

Another big plus in the film for me is Anthony Dawson as Professor Dent. He's a strangely eerie character and his death at the hands of Bond is one of the best in the series.

chrisisall

Smiert-Spionam wrote:

Wiseman is your favourite villain? No mean feat in a series of films renowned for such a great list of bad guys. What makes him stand out for you?

Wiseman had no pattern to follow- he created the character cold.
His sophisticated demeanour somehow successfully blended with his thuggish behaviour modification methods. Now I love Goldfinger, Scaramanga, Sanchez & Carver, but Dr. No just so singular to me...

Agent Purple

Guys, is there a thread comparing the debut performances of each of the Bonds?

HatThrowingHenchman

I quite like Calvin Dyson's review of Dr.No:
he says DN is the film that got it all going and is good btw, but all the others that follows have everything DN has PLUS some more elements

Loeffelholz

chrisisall wrote:

Smiert-Spionam wrote:

Wiseman is your favourite villain? No mean feat in a series of films renowned for such a great list of bad guys. What makes him stand out for you?

Wiseman had no pattern to follow- he created the character cold.
His sophisticated demeanour somehow successfully blended with his thuggish behaviour modification methods. Now I love Goldfinger, Scaramanga, Sanchez & Carver, but Dr. No just so singular to me...

Agree here. Wiseman had an additional weight of disbelief to suspend, being an Anglo portraying a former Chinese Tong He remains the prototypical Bond supervillain to my mind. Your other choices there are also some of my favorites.

Agent Purple

HatThrowingHenchman wrote:

I quite like Calvin Dyson's review of Dr.No:
he says DN is the film that got it all going and is good btw, but all the others that follows have everything DN has PLUS some more elements

I think he put it at #20, just above DAD, on his 2012 ranking. I doubt he'll put it higher when he updates it.

hehadlotsofguts

I've always liked the way that No would walk with his hands behind his back. Not sure why though.

Smiert-Spionam

Agent Purple wrote:

HatThrowingHenchman wrote:

I quite like Calvin Dyson's review of Dr.No:
he says DN is the film that got it all going and is good btw, but all the others that follows have everything DN has PLUS some more elements

I think he put it at #20, just above DAD, on his 2012 ranking. I doubt he'll put it higher when he updates it.

Bit harsh. Definitely deserves a higher rating than that in my view.

Thunderpussy

I love how Dr No moves, everthing is so precise, even how
he dabs him mouth with his napkin. All very delicate but
almost machine like.

chrisisall

Thunderpussy wrote:

I love how Dr No moves, everthing is so precise, even how
he dabs him mouth with his napkin. All very delicate but
almost machine like.

Yep. Then the 'soften him up a bit' thing. So incongruous that it rocked.

Agent Purple

"I might as well tell you, since you won't live to use the information. I'm working for.." *tries to fire empty gun*

"That's a Smith & Wesson. And you had your six." *shoots Dent*

Thunderpussy

Yes a great scene and one added by the film makers as it's not in the Book. I
Guess they wanted one scene to show how cold Bond could be.

always shaken

hehadlotsofguts wrote:

I've always liked the way that No would walk with his hands behind his back. Not sure why though.

perhaps he had been watching the Matrix (Morpheus)??

Agent Purple

Can you guys imagine if someone other than Connery had played 007 in this movie?

What other candidates was EON considering for the role at the time before this film came out?

Matt S

Agent Purple wrote:

Can you guys imagine if someone other than Connery had played 007 in this movie?

What other candidates was EON considering for the role at the time before this film came out?

Roger Moore was a candidate (but probably only slightly more a candidate than Idris Elba is now), and I could picture him in most of it.