Bond, James Bond

It is Monday .. I am stuck in meetings most of the day, but anyone can feel free to kick off Dr. No discussion
 
I planned to watch tonight, but no way I'll be able to download it with this dire internet connection. I might have to wait and catch up on the convo later.
 
I watched it last week. This was one of the few Bond films I had seen before, but I hardly remembered it apart from some bits in the end. Really fun film, if not a bit basic? My only other experiences with Bond that I remember well are Casino Royale (the new one, although I have seen the original too, which is enjoyable) and the gadget filled Roger Moore films. Either way, while there weren't many action scenes, the few that I did see were awesome. Loved the thing with the cab driver. Hopefully future movies have a bit more substance in the plot as that was the only thing I found lacking.

Sean Connery was really good in this as well, it's obvious already why he's the best Bond. And the supporting cast was really great too! Awesome Bond girl, delightfully evil villain, and Quarrel was great too.

But I could've done without the spider scene. :ahhh:
 
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This is a fun flick that introduces many of the recurring bond-isms and motifs now synonymous with the movies. It's fun to watch this movie while remembering that this was Sean Connery's first major role and that he was largely unknown at the time (he was in his early 30s I believe) - no one on the screen knew what kind of franchise they were building, which is quite fascinating.

As Mosh mentions the plot is a bit basic and the pacing is very slow at times, at least looked upon with "modern" eyes and what we're used to from action movies today but of course this was how they made movies back then. There's a lot of scenes just of Bond walking around or walking from one end of the room to the other etc...Stuff that would have been cut today. But the pace picks up again once Bond makes it to Crab Key island (where Bond almost goes Commando in the jungle for a while) and the underground lair.

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Really loved the characters, especially the casting of Joseph Wiseman as Dr.No, who does an excellent job! Perfect first villain with that stone face and the black bionic hands. I also love the fact that he sets up this entire mission purely for the sake of getting revenge on both the American and the Soviets because neither of them wanted to work with him :D

Yes, the movie is dated at times, like Dr.No's nuclear complex and those hazard suits...looks, ahem, very early 60s and cheap...and of course the car chase scenes. And then there's some funny moments too..
.I mean the death of Quarrel is hilarious...But probably not meant to be :D
 
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Also this just has to be one of the best character introduction scenes ever. Love how they shot this. The way the camera moves in and down the stairs only to pause and look around as if you are one of the guests and you're overlooking the place. Really clever way to set the scene and the atmosphere...


I also find it interesting that Sylvia Trench is the first to say...."Trench, Sylvia Trench"...and Bond just repeats that way of introducing his name and uses it since then :)
 
I always enjoyed Dr. No, having never read the books, it certainly established much that would make the franchise so great.

Starting with the gun barrel sequence, the music, the title set, Bond, James Bond, martini preferences, Bond girls, etc.

The film was really done on the cheap with a bunch of unknowns and set the direction for the franchise as well as the spy genre in general that pretty much survive to now. (Not to mention Austin Powers)

The plot is a bit slower compared to the later movies, but I think pretty well paced for the day.
 
Since I'll be offline at home I might as well join the discussion based on previous viewings.

I've got to confess right now I really like the Bond books and would have been happy to see films follow them as closely as possible. Not that I don't like the full-on Roger Moore era - I treat the different film Bonds as different characters. Anyway, I think Dr. No is about as close to the book as Bond films could ever get. (The first book was actually Casino Royale).

Very little actually differs from the book, except I remember the big exploding complex and evil plot behind it being significantly different. The film itself could scarcely be more different to the 70s-80s action extravaganzas that make up the Roger Moore Bond era. This is in the style of the classic Cold War spy thriller, with much intrigue and scene setting. I suppose this does look slow when compared with more recent films, and the action isn't as OTT, but that fits the style of the era, as well as the books, which were far-fetched in their own way. It also establishes a good many of the features that recur in the subsequent Bond films.

I love Sean Connery as Bond. He plays the role very straight, with sufficient presence and dignity to carry off the image of a society gentleman of the era, which is what Bond is meant to be. The accent is actually a nice nod to Fleming's Bond too, who had a Scottish parent.

The film (and Fleming's story) contrasts sophisticated society and its luxury trimmings, with the wild beauty of exotic locations like the Caribbean. Incidentally, this has parallels with Bond's taste in women, too, and Honey Rider (Ursula Andress) has the honour of establishing the concept of the movie Bond Girl. Honey walking out of the sea has to be one of the best known Bond film moments, if not reasonably iconic in cinema history in general. So much so that they tried to do a role-reversal with Daniel Craig's Bond being the one in skimpy swimwear in the 2006 Casino Royale. (Incidentally, the Honey Rider of the book was topless and had a broken nose. When she realises Bond is watching her, she covers up her nose to preserve her dignity :lol:).
 
It is funny listening to Ursula Andress talk about how friendly everyone was on the set ... no kidding :)

Think everyone knows this, but they over dubbed her with another actress.
 
Every chess player knows this movie...

In October 1963 (April 1964 for USA), the second film (after Dr. No) of Ian Fleming's James Bond moves came out, From Russia with Love, starring Sean Connery. The opening scene takes place at a chess tournament played at a hotel in Venice, Italy. The game is supposed to be the deciding game in the Venice International Grandmaster Chess Championship (although it is a match, not a tournament). The match is between Colonel Kronsteen (played by Vladek Sheybal) of Czechoslovakia and MacAdams (played by Peter Madden) of Canada.

The score stands at 11.5 points each. Kronsteen (rhymes with Bronstein) has White (in the real game, Bronstein had Black and lost). The position from the game is supposed to be based upon the 22nd move of the brilliant game Boris Spassky vs. David Bronstein, in the 27th USSR Championship held in Leningrad in January/February 1960 (won by Viktor Korchnoi). However, in the movie, the two center White pawns on c5 and d4 are missing (which makes a difference in the brilliancy).
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Source: http://www.chess.com/blog/billwall/off-the-wall-chess---from-russia-with-love
Mostly about chess but there are a few more nuggets about the movie, and how the scene differs from a real chess tournament. There's also a large section about the chess scene as it went down in Fleming's novel.
 
Forostar said:
Besides, a while back I started with (re-)watching all Bond films in chronological order, with long breaks in between them as of late.
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The last I've seen:

Licence to Kill (1989)

I've seen it in the theatre when it came out but forgot most of it. This was a nice rediscovery. What I liked was the hard edge Dalton gave to his character. More close to the figure from Ian Flemming's books. Overall, it was quite a hard film as well, with a cruel opponent.

From wiki
The film would retain a realistic style, as well as showing the "darker edge" of the Bond character.
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Dalton's darker portrayal of Bond led to the violence being increased and more graphic.
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I am not necessarily that much into violence, but this film was very welcome after the previous (The Living Daylights), which had its moments but was spoiled by the irritating General Georgi Koskov (played by fellow-Dutchman Jeroen Krabbé). An annoying figure (or: annoying acting!), making the film less cool.
 
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I am a huge bond fan. My father got me into the films when he took me to see Goldeneye back when it was in theaters. I loved the tank scene especially and have been hooked ever since. The really good Nintendo 64 game of the same name helped make it fun as well.

I own the 50th anniversary complete blu ray set. I also own Never Say Never Again on dvd. I've probably seen every film at least twice. I've been having my wife watch them chronologically with me, but we stopped after Diamonds are Forever and haven't watched it in probably a year. It's hard to find time with everything else we watch.
 
Forostar said:
The last I've seen:

Licence to Kill (1989)

I've seen it in the theatre when it came out but forgot most of it. This was a nice rediscovery. What I liked was the hard edge Dalton gave to his character. More close to the figure from Ian Flemming's books. Overall, it was quite a hard film as well, with a cruel opponent.
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Yes, I quite liked Dalton for exactly this reason. It was risking getting too silly if they'd tried to find another Roger Moore. The bungled assassination scene from The Living Daylights was reasonably close to the short story of the same name - a definite attempt to bring a bit more of Fleming's Bond back into the films after the OTT Moore era. Moonraker, Octopussy and View To a Kill could hardly have been further from original storylines!
 
I got this for my birthday:
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All Bond movies on Blu-Ray. Gonna start doing these very soon.

Anyone wanna try the weekly Bond idea again? Since it never got far, let's start from the beginning. Dr. No this week.

Edit: better idea, since part of the issue before was everyone trying to fit a Bond movie into their plans suddenly ... let's do a new movie every month, in terms of discussion. It'll take a couple years to run through the whole series, but it'll allow more people a chance to watch the movie and take part. I'm gonna edit the thread a bit and make this happen. :cool:
 
I like this idea. I don't have every Bond film but I'll try to join in for the ones I have.
 
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