Why Dr. No is the most perfect Bond movie possible, EVER.

chrisisall

001. They had no history other than Fleming to follow or build upon.
002. It was SO close to the era in which it was written.
003. The wild 60's had not yet happened.
004. Everyone in the production, cast & crew was hungry.
005. The music was crude, like the character. Barry's Bond theme was the saving grace.
006. Wiseman's No, supported by Maibaum's wording, was a high bar set that has rarely been exceeded.
007. Short and sweet. Before the bloated blockbusters. It NEVER overstayed its welcome.

Dutchfinger

chrisisall wrote:

005. The music was crude, like the character. Barry's Bond theme was the saving grace.

It was Monty Norman's theme actually, I think he was offered a 250 dollar fee and a trip to Jamaica for him and his wife to score the movie.

I really agree with you though! It's a great kick-off point of the series! I would have to add Sean Connery to the list to! He really contributed enormously to the succes! When Miss Trench or Miss Taro fall for his charms, I buy it. When he kills Prof. Dent in cold blood, I buy it. When he's in the bacaratt scene being suave and classy, I believe he's a sophisticated man that's been around!

Barbel

Dutchfinger wrote:

chrisisall wrote:

Barry's Bond theme was the saving grace.

It was Monty Norman's theme actually

But of course it was.....

Gassy Man

It's definitely a better movie than modern fans give it credit for. It feels much more like a 1950s film in tone and pacing -- and that's a good thing. It takes time to build the Bond character, and it is smart enough to have a great villain who is formidable, intelligent, malevolent, and cultured. Some of the best dialogue in any Bond film occurs in it, Jack Lord is a fantastic Felix Leiter, and the production is stunning, especially given its budget. {[]

heartbroken_mr_drax

Everytime I watch it I am blown away by how well the tone for the rest of the series is set. It isn't perfect by no means, but whenever I watch it, I really love it.

I really like how the film doesn't have anything to precede it, no context of success, but it has all the hints of what's to come.

Bondage007

And Bond is at the centre of the movie, whereas most later entries he is there amongst the action, comparatively like an afterthought

Matt S

Dutchfinger wrote:

chrisisall wrote:

005. The music was crude, like the character. Barry's Bond theme was the saving grace.

It was Monty Norman's theme actually, I think he was offered a 250 dollar fee and a trip to Jamaica for him and his wife to score the movie.

If you go only by the credits 8-)

Peppermill

Barbel wrote:

Dutchfinger wrote:

chrisisall wrote:

Barry's Bond theme was the saving grace.

It was Monty Norman's theme actually

But of course it was.....

Hahahaha! Yes, let's not go there shall we. Only two people know the answer to this and they both say/said something different. But the rest of the score (by Monty Norman) lacks that je ne sais quoi that makes the Barry scores so good.

Dr No was the first Bond movie that I got on the official VHS (not taped from TV) and I must have watched it a 100 times in the first month alone. It is not my favorite Bond movie but it remains a great starting point for the series.

Sir Hillary Bray

Don't forget Honey's introduction, walking out of the ocean. One of the most iconic moments in film history, period.

superado

chrisisall wrote:

001. They had no history other than Fleming to follow or build upon.
002. It was SO close to the era in which it was written.

Excellent topic, Chrisisall! Combining the 2 points above, along with the adaptation process from print to screen, resulted in an improved cinematic version of the story, a perfect situation that couldn't have taken place with CR, or even OHMSS, which IMO was one of the most faithfully adapted Fleming stories.

As we know, literary Bond "as is" wouldn't have worked with cinema audiences and the treatment concocted by the producers (Young, Maibaum, et al.) made the world of Bond attractive to a much wider audience, e.g., the world. Also, the movie “fixed” some the novel’s elements that would have been considered fantastical and ludicrous for the screen, such as Dr. No’s obstacle course and guano operations.

lotus

Yes I think Dr no makes a fantastic starting point for the eon bond films with it being the first one they made

chrisisall

Just a note here: anyone on this forum whom has not seen Dr. No on Blu Ray must correct that immediately. When I saw my Blu Ray for the first time I was positively shocked at how beautiful it looked compared to my latest DVD.

heartbroken_mr_drax

chrisisall wrote:

Just a note here: anyone on this forum whom has not seen Dr. No on Blu Ray must correct that immediately. When I saw my Blu Ray for the first time I was positively shocked at how beautiful it looked compared to my latest DVD.

Agreed. You can see the crease on the shirt of the radio operator in London almost as if you were there!!

chrisisall

Even my favourite Bond, Timothy Dalton, was saddled with some silly Moore-era-inspired leftovers. And FRWL had a poor copy of North By Northwest's crop duster attack. CR had the BIG Venetian building collapse to accompany Vesper's demise.
No man, DN was pure. Bond. -{

Barbel

100% behind you, Chris, I totally adore DN for all your reasons and more.
When it was first shown on British TV in the 70s, I recorded the sound with my little cassette recorder (as did my good friend TP, we've discussed this before)- this was in the days before home video recording, and I listened to the tapes (2 x C60s) over and over while imagining the scenes and dreaming of the impossibly far-off day when I could have all the 007 films to watch at home over and over.
Sure, it's dated now (how not?) but it's a well made and well cast film with charm. In a very real sense, it is why I am here. It is why you are here. It is why here exists. And if anyone reading this doesn't know what I'm paraphrasing then http://www.ajb007.co.uk/topic/47396/if-you-havent-read-the-fleming-novels/ !!!

chrisisall

Even my Son who is 17 and never grew up with Bond said that out of all the Bonds I've exposed him to (or coerced him to watch), DN was the best.
Just to say, SPECTRE seems to be his second favourite... 8-)
Strange... the first & the most recent.... ?:)

Firemass

heartbroken_mr_drax wrote:

I really like how the film doesn't have anything to precede it, no context of success, but it has all the hints of what's to come.

But they carried on as if they had been doing it for years. -{

DN is not the perfect Bond film because it lacks the definitive Q and a decent car chase. The rear projection and incorrect sound effects rank the "funeral car chase" as possibly the worst in the series.

However, I would still consider it near perfect..especially for being the very first one. Prime example of a film actually being better than the novel. They used all the best bits, cut the worst bits, and added some good new elements of their own.

Firemass

chrisisall wrote:

Even my favourite Bond, Timothy Dalton, was saddled with some silly Moore-era-inspired leftovers.

Poor Roger. He gets blamed for films he wasn't even in. 8-)

chrisisall

Firemass wrote:

Poor Roger. He gets blamed for films he wasn't even in. 8-)

No offence... I'm a fan of his too, he just wasn't so 'Fleming' as some. -{

Dutchfinger

Matt S wrote:

Dutchfinger wrote:

chrisisall wrote:

005. The music was crude, like the character. Barry's Bond theme was the saving grace.

It was Monty Norman's theme actually, I think he was offered a 250 dollar fee and a trip to Jamaica for him and his wife to score the movie.

If you go only by the credits 8-)

Barbel informed me a little bit about all the controversy surounding this subject. I honestly wasn't aware of the entire convoluted background story! Sorry about that

To get onto the topic: I also feel Bond killing Prof. Dent in cold blood easily is one of the best moments in the entire series! Does anyone feel there ever has been a better kill in cold blood in the series?

Bond killing Dr. Kaufman, Elektra King, Red Grant and Sanchez come to mind quickly, but the Prof. Dent one certainly remains one of the best (if not the best) kills in cold blood!

heartbroken_mr_drax

Firemass wrote:

heartbroken_mr_drax wrote:

I really like how the film doesn't have anything to precede it, no context of success, but it has all the hints of what's to come.

But they carried on as if they had been doing it for years. -{

DN is not the perfect Bond film because it lacks the definitive Q and a decent car chase. The rear projection and incorrect sound effects rank the "funeral car chase" as possibly the worst in the series.

However, I would still consider it near perfect..especially for being the very first one. Prime example of a film actually being better than the novel. They used all the best bits, cut the worst bits, and added some good new elements of their own.

Yeah, there's an element of having to look at things in context with Dr. No, because it isn't totally 60s as say GF or TB. I'd probably rate the Little Nellie chase as the worst in the series....

chrisisall

The 60's began with Goldfinger. -{

Barbel

I respectfully disagree, Chris- the 60s began in October 1962.

The Beatles released "Love Me Do".
Eon released "Dr No".
The Berlin Wall entered its second phase.
The Cuba crisis peaked and ended.

chrisisall

I must add to #004 that Ken Adam created & perfected the Bond production 'look' on his first try. (RIP Sir- you are legend). -{

Matt S

chrisisall wrote:

The 60's began with Goldfinger. -{

One Dr. No's dragon appears, it's pure 60s from there on. Before that it mostly could have been the 50s.

chrisisall

Matt S wrote:

chrisisall wrote:

The 60's began with Goldfinger. -{

One Dr. No's dragon appears, it's pure 60s from there on. Before that it mostly could have been the 50s.

I can embrace that view. :007)

Barbel

Me too {[] .

chrisisall

Plus: Connery's Bond in DN did not slap a female (I hate that... the arm twisting in TMWTGG seems nice by comparison).

heartbroken_mr_drax

Slapping Ursuala Andress probably wouldn't work out that well....

Jag

Dr No is not perfect, and it’s not the best, but it certainly is a great movie that has aged well. Proof that you don’t have to spend a fortune to make a great film. Current producers would do well if they went back to basics instead of trying to get a bigger budget for every new movie.

chrisisall

Jag wrote:

Dr No is not perfect, and it’s not the best, but it certainly is a great movie that has aged well.

I am clearly employing a measure of hyperbole here... but really, DAYUM. For such a short production with such a limited budget this was certainly THE MOST profitable Bond movie AS WELL AS THE finest purely artistic achievement (pound for pound) of the entire series.