Dr. No

An extraordinary manifesto for not just the longest-running film series to date, but for an entire genre. People often forget just how important in the grand scheme of things a first film is, and how it was so requisite that Sean Connery had to be just right, the Bond girls, the action, music cues, opening scene, credits sequence, etc. Even though recently, Daniel Craig has at least captivated audiences to almost the same extent, he only reminded me of Connery's endearing qualities, and through completely lacking humour and charisma, simply showed by omission why Connery (who had already made five films as Bond before Craig was even born) was so essential in the first place.

Watching my blu from the complete Bond boxed set, it wasn't dat...

The Americans are fools. I offered my services, they refused. So did the East. Now they can both pay for their mistake.

Dr. No is directed by Terence Young and co-adapted to screenplay by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood & Berkely Mather from the novel of the same name written by Ian Fleming. It stars Sean Connery, Joseph Wiseman, Ursula Andress, Jack Lord & John Kitzmiller. Music is by Monty Norman and cinematography by Ted Moore.

And so it all began here, what was until Harry Potter arrived on the scene, the most successful film franchise in history. James Bond, a name that would become synonymous with suave spies, deranged villains, beautiful women, exotic locations, gadgets, cars and sex. Ian Fleming's James Bond novels were big...

Say YES to Dr. No

After an MI6 chief & his secretary are murdered in Jamaica, agent 007 (Sean Connery) is sent to investigate. He teams-up with a boatman (John Kitzmiller) with focus on a mysterious nearby island owned by a shady German-Chinese mogul (Joseph Wiseman). Jack Lord is on hand as a CIA agent and Ursula Andress as a shell diver

Based on Ian Flemings 1958 novel, Dr. No (1962) was the beginning of the never-ending James Bond franchise and features the common staples: The catchy James Bond theme, the opening gun barrel sequence, the suave protagonist, gorgeous women, ritzy casino gambling, exotic locales, spy devices, action thrills, shaken-not-stirred drinks and a megalomaniac villain.

While this ones not as ridicul...

It's the one that started it all isn't it? So of course there is that faction that says that Dr. No is the all time best 007 movie ever made... because credit I guess.

I still like the From Russia with Love v Goldfinger debate.

But what you have in Dr. No is the true, pompous, womanizing, alcoholic, chain smoking, gambling, brand conscious cold blooded assassin 007... you know, the Bond that we are SUPPOSED to have. The Bond that was intended to be written.

He's the ultimate Bond because he's the one that won't hesitate to kill anyone and shows no real remorse over it.

And he is lined up with all the tropes and the over-the-top completely unrealistic plots and villainy that makes 007 so watchable.

Dr. No finds Sean Connery as a heroic spy named Bond. James Bond 007 to his comrades. While this is in the stage of Bond movies being spy movies, there is a hint of the extravagant classic films that follow. We don't quite get too many exotic locales, but we get a hint of them, and a hint of the beautiful women and of Bond's morality in a world of hate. Bond kills to stop killers. There's actual morality in his violence. Ursula Andress is quite striking. She isn't the hottest of the babes who appeared in Bond movies, but she is the hottest blonde woman. It helps that they sprayed a deep tan over her body, because in those days, lighting was the enemy of the fair complexion people. Unlike most Bond villains, we rarely see Dr. No. He's...

This first cinema outing for James Bond is actually quite lucky it managed to spawn any sequels at all... Sean Connery is suave and debonair as the British Secret Agent dispatched to Jamaica to investigate a mysterious murder with potentially far more serious repercussions. Ursula Andress is great as the first "Bond girl" but the film itself is a bit short on substance. It's pretty light on action, the script a little too innuendo-ridden and Dr. No hardly features at all - when he does he hardly sets your teeth a-chattering with fear. It has no theme song, either.... It's passes the time OK, but not the best.