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Dom Robinson reviews


Special Edition

Distributed by

MGM

Dr. No is the first thing I cry out when my G.P. gets out the needle and it's also the title of the first-ever James Bond feature film again starring Sean Connery as the suave and sophisticated non-conformist hero who always gets the girl and defeats the bad guy. There can't be many people out there who haven't seen this before, but I'm one of them so bear with me.

A British diplomat named Strangways has gone missing in Jamaica along with his secretary and Bond is called upon to find him. When he arrives there he meets up with Felix Leiter (Jack Lord) - a CIA agent - and seeks out the dastardly Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman), a member of SPECTRE - SPecial Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, Extorion, who's hell-bent on taking over the world in his own way, this time by destroying the U.S. space programme. His location is rather given away because Strangways had a penchant for geology and it boils down to some rock samples which could only have come from one particular area and it's the one that, surprisingly, no-one is normally allowed to venture into.

While in the sun, he is confronted with the alluring Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress, in THAT outfit, although these days it's clear that time hasn't been kind to her), but then he's always had a soft spot for women, starting with an early scene when he's seen gushing all over Moneypenny in the government office.

As the film progresses, Bond gets into one situation after another as endless henchmen try to do away with him, although he always gets in there first, seeing them off with a one-liner.

film pic

"Mmm.. I love these candy cigarettes."

The film was shot an intended for cinematic presentation at 1.66:1 in Europe, while being matted to 1.85:1 for the USA. Here we have an anamorphic 16:9 version which just appears to crop a little of the top and bottom that would normally have been seen in European cinemas - but that's fine since I would have zoomed in the picture to fill my widescreen TV. The only part of the film which remains at 1.66:1 (as a windowboxed anamorphic piece) is the opening credits.

There's a number of flecks on the print used, but these are certainly less noticeable than you'd normally expect for a film that's almost 40 years old, so by that token it looks very good indeed. The average bitrate is a fine 5.92Mb/s, often peaking above 7Mb/s.

The sound is in the original mono as you'd expect. In the days of Dolby Digital 5.1 multi-channel surround sound, any action moments may sound a bit muted compared to that featured in more recent films while the score is lifted to shriek through the speakers, but again you know what to expect and the Bond main Bond theme always packs a punch.

Extras :

Chapters :

The usual 32 chapters for an MGM, which is an excellent amount. If only some other DVD companies could take a lesson from this one.

Languages & Subtitles :

English is the only language on the disc - in Dolby Digital Mono - and there are subtitles for English (and hard of hearing).

And there's more... :

MGM seem to be pulling out all the stops for their Bond collection and starting with the first Bond film made we have a great amount for you to sink your teeth into.

Menu :

A classy-looking animated and scored main menu is impressive and it leads to the sub-menus which are static and silent. The initial screen offers you the choice to start the film, select a scene, choose a language or watch the extras.

film pic

Do you want it? Do you want it, Sir?

For his first outing, this is a very entertaining, albeit it comparatively low-key Bond affair, but the overall presentation deserves a commendation for MGM. Not so for Ursula though when taking a shower in the radiation chamber. She's supposed to be in the buff, but can quite clearly be seen wearing a black one-piece swimsuit (!)

Also, when crossing through the river earlier on, she suggested Bond cover himself with water to escape mosquito bites, I half-expected him to suggest a wet T-shirt contest with her being declared the winner...

And if you thought it odd that Robert Carlyle doesn't turn up until 50 minutes into The World is Not Enough, spare a thought for Joseph Wiseman as Dr. No who doesn't put in a facial appearance until 84 minutes in, leaving him only a few minutes of screen time!

In relation to the extras, some of the content, particularly the TV spots, aren't exactly first-rate in terms of picture quality and sound, but all the interviews are clear and easy to hear.

Here's to the rest of the series being as good as this release.

FILM CONTENT
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS


OVERALL

The following is a list of all the Bond films now available in production order with their dates of release, followed by the unofficial movies:

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2000.

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