POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

General Bond discussion from Sean Connery to Pierce Brosnan

Was Dr No the perfect film to kick off the Bond series?

Yes
7
88%
No
0
No votes
I don't know
1
13%
 
Total votes: 8

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Count_Lippe
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POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

Post by Count_Lippe »

Count_Lippe wrote:
Dr No was more straightforward and a bit tougher overall. It also had some science fiction elements which I like in Bond films. Dr No was also extremely well made on a small budget, it looked more expensive than it was.

Most of the Bond ingredients are there from the start as well, although if it had been made later in the series it would obviously be a bit more spectacular.

As it is I think it was the perfect film to kick off the series though. I think it made more of an impact than FRWL would've made as the first Bond film.
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Re: POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

Post by Capt. Sir Dominic Flandry »

It was a success with iconic moments that launched Bond on the big screen.
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Re: POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

Post by Blowfeld »

I can not imagine it done later in the series with the bigger budget flourishes, it was simple low budget following the spirit of Ian's vision quite well. Bond's world felt like it should, 007 himself was well fleshed out by the time the cameras rolled, even if he was an unknowns Ian initially did not approve of.

While not my favourite I can not imagine it else where in the series. The later success of Bond and the producers fighting each other over every dollar, the invention of product placement, I'm not sure Dr no would have been done justice in the simple way it was in 1962. If it were redone today we would get a CGI monster for Bond to fight.

I voted Don't Know. While I can not imagine it anywhere aside from square one, I'm not sure they could not have launched with Thunderball or From Russia. A really good question is where would Bond be without the original Thunderball script, Sean said they were supposed to make Thunderball first I also believe many Bond element unique to the script and not in the books yet now commonly thought of as from EON series were lifted directly from Thunderball script.
One of the few claims McClory made I believe, he was an annoying glory hungry pest, however he may have with his script getting the attention of the right people along with the ideas in it may have given us the series we used to love. Nu-Bond is a Bas***d child of a Bas***d child. The old adage is true about success has many fathers, and surly many claim credit form the critical acclaim of Nu-Bond, the founding fathers of 007 would be appalled.
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Re: POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

Post by Kristatos »

I was a don't know as well. It is hard to judge it now, but they're still making Bond films (after a fashion) 50 years later, so it must have got something right.
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Re: POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

Post by Count_Lippe »

Maybe they could have launched the series with TB, but it wouldn't have been the epic and spectacular version we know today, which would be a pity. Terence Young himself said TB as a first film in the series would have looked cheap.

FRWL works well in the film version because we have already met 007 and Spectre operative Dr No once before, now Spectre is out for revenge and 007 is on a new mission. As a first film the set up would have been different and perhaps not as effective.

No I don't think TB or FRWL would have worked better than DN as the first Bond film, but maybe some of Fleming's earlier books could have been a better choice (than TB or FRWL) if they hadn't picked DN? Live and Let Die or Moonraker maybe?
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Re: POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

Post by Omega »

It was probably the exotic tropical location that caught the imagination of 1960s USA and uk . Maybe why they substituted dr for tb


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Re: POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

Post by commander0077again »

Interesting question. 1/ Great, enigmatic title. A filmgoer who didn't know Bond would say, hm, that's a catchy title 2/ credits sequence with dizzying balls (bezants?) coupled with tremendous music 3/ the great John Barry music of course a critical ingredient 4/ the opening shot of Bond and the MUSIC 5/ Jamaica -- perfect location to introduce the world of Bond 6/ to perhaps overuse a word, the iconic shot of Ursula from the sea (although perhaps a later film would feature Honey as in the books (naked with spending, jutting, etceteras) 7/ Villain. the good doctor must rank in the top ranks of all the Bond maniacs, and Joseph Wiseman is wonderful with his melodrama, no doubt at insistence from the director .... here, we have the 'voice of doom,' plus treating the 'guests' to a gourmet meal.
In the later films (or books, that I recall) we don't have the fantasy of suddenly coming across a beautiful naked girl in the surf; or Bond coldly shooting a man: this sequence, along with the opening shot in the casino, sets the character of Bond for the rest of history. Goldfinger of course comes close with 'Who are you?' from Jill Masterson (imo, would've made a nice Miss Galore, if she had the acting chops). Also, we have the 'voice of doom' repeated in the Strange Room. Finally, we have what would become a set piece in 'spy movies' -- the futuristic lair with a nuclear reactor, henchmen (and henchwomen in lab coats). Not to forget that Bond dons the gear of one of the henchmen, and is therefore able to throw a wrench/spanner into Dr No's works. We also see Bond engaging the main villain in a duel to the death. The small budget added to the appeal, because the filmmakers were able to show what they could do without the cushion of a big budget. For the above reasons and more that the filmmakers obviously took into account, Dr No was certainly a very good choice to introduce Bond. If it had been done a few years down the line with a huge budget it would of course be more gorgeous with Jamaica, but other than more expensive sets, etc. Dr No is the 'perfect' first Bond film. :cake:
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Re: POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

Post by Count_Lippe »

You Only Live Twice is sort of Dr No made later in the series with a similar space race plot.

Instead of "synchronizing radio beam for toppling" from Crab Key we have the volcano lair sending space rockets into orbit to intercept Russian and American space craft.
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Re: POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

Post by Veronica »

For the sheer most brilliant Bond introduction ever-YES.
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Re: POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

Post by Count_Lippe »

Veronica wrote:For the sheer most brilliant Bond introduction ever-YES.
The casino scene is brilliant, and notice how self confident Connery looks even in his first portrayal as 007.

Many people have said he became better in subsequent Bond films, but I think he was awesome in this first film.

I'm not talking about his Bond being super-cool compared to the literary Bond as we've talked about before, but rather that Connery was self assured in playing the Bond character.
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Re: POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

Post by Veronica »

Count_Lippe wrote:
Veronica wrote:For the sheer most brilliant Bond introduction ever-YES.
The casino scene is brilliant, and notice how self confident Connery looks even in his first portrayal as 007.

Many people have said he became better in subsequent Bond films, but I think he was awesome in this first film.

I'm not talking about his Bond being super-cool compared to the literary Bond as we've talked about before, but rather that Connery was self assured in playing the Bond character.
I personally think Connery was brilliant in all of his first four films. It's YOLT when I staryed to feel he didn't really care anymore.
But if the way you say "Bond...James Bond" makes a 50 something year old woman giggle(my mother :lol: ) then you must be doing something right.
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Re: POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

Post by Daltonite Toothpaste »

I think Dr No was. Certainly is was good enough to get the series up and running, but is eclipsed by the all round superior, FRWL

But to answer the question, yes.
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Re: POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

Post by Count_Lippe »

I also think the film version of Dr No definitely improved on Fleming's original story.

Dr No having a nuclear reactor instead of a guano mine, the mid section of the film involving Miss Taro and the shooting of professor Dent (which wasn't in the book at all), Bond's escape from the prison cell in a ventilation shaft as opposed to the obstacle course in the book, which wouldn't have worked on film. Especially Bond fighting a giant squid would have been really cheesy.

The space race plot was of course also more up to date at the time than just having Dr No sabotage American missile tests.
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Re: POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

Post by commander0077again »

Veronica wrote:
Count_Lippe wrote:
Veronica wrote:For the sheer most brilliant Bond introduction ever-YES.
The casino scene is brilliant, and notice how self confident Connery looks even in his first portrayal as 007.

Many people have said he became better in subsequent Bond films, but I think he was awesome in this first film.

I'm not talking about his Bond being super-cool compared to the literary Bond as we've talked about before, but rather that Connery was self assured in playing the Bond character.
I personally think Connery was brilliant in all of his first four films. It's YOLT when I staryed to feel he didn't really care anymore.
But if the way you say "Bond...James Bond" makes a 50 something year old woman giggle(my mother :lol: ) then you must be doing something right.
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Connery was feeling the pressure by YOLT; it was by accounts a difficult shoot for him. Too bad he gained a bit of weight. Still, his YOLT Bond does have much life in him. In retrospect, his facial expressions are wonderful. As I've hinted in another post on NSNA, if Connery had a time machine to the future, he could've seen that YOLT had a great many positive aspects. :cake:
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Re: POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

Post by Count_Lippe »

Connery is great in YOLT, it's only in the Little Nellie scene he looks a bit bored but in the rest of the film he is as good as ever. Somehow people are under the impression he looked bored in all of YOLT just because of the Little Nellie scene. :roll:

Maybe Connery had a bad day when they shot that stuff in front of a blue screen.
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Re: POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

Post by The Saint 007 »

Count_Lippe wrote:Connery is great in YOLT, it's only in the Little Nellie scene he looks a bit bored but in the rest of the film he is as good as ever. Somehow people are under the impression he looked bored in all of YOLT just because of the Little Nellie scene. :roll:

Maybe Connery had a bad day when they shot that stuff in front of a blue screen.
Connery and Moore were the most natural for Bond and played it so effortlessly, which is why they tend to get criticized for being bored or not trying hard enough in certain Bond films.
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Re: POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

Post by Veronica »

I never for one second thought Moore was bored in his films. He was so effortless in his potrayal that I don't see how could that be the case.
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Re: POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

Post by commander0077again »

The Saint 007 wrote:
Count_Lippe wrote:Connery is great in YOLT, it's only in the Little Nellie scene he looks a bit bored but in the rest of the film he is as good as ever. Somehow people are under the impression he looked bored in all of YOLT just because of the Little Nellie scene. :roll:

Maybe Connery had a bad day when they shot that stuff in front of a blue screen.
Connery and Moore were the most natural for Bond and played it so effortlessly, which is why they tend to get criticized for being bored or not trying hard enough in certain Bond films.
Rating some of Connery's most hilarious expressions in YOLT: During the wedding, slouching, his face to the ground. A bud commented, that was the day they said, "Sorry, Sean, no paycheck this week." A similar slouching scene on his arrival on Ama island, watching the funeral, trying to blend in. Does this mean Japanese slouch a lot? :oops: Btw, a beautiful Japanese girl (grew up in Kyoto) came by and we viewed YOLT; it was her first viewing (I would have said, it was her first time....ummm), and she was laughing how Tokyo had changed. She also laughed when Bond shot the guard at Osato's lobby. The guard was saying, "Hey, what are you doing?!!" She didn't make a comment when Tiger reminisced about his honourable mother and getting into cars with strange girls..... :cake:
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Re: POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

Post by Count_Lippe »

The Bond/Moneypenny scene in YOLT is fun with the "I love you" recognition code, and when Bond says he took a first in oriental languages at Cambridge. :lol:

That's something the literary Bond never did by the way, one more aspect of the cinematic Bond as a "know it all". :wink:
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Re: POLL: Dr No perfect first Bond film?

Post by commander0077again »

I was surprised that Bond (DAF) didn't know much about diamonds; possibly he was just being humble. :cake:
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