Dr. No: Ultimate Edition (1962)

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General		Extras
Category	Action	Main Menu Audio & Animation Audio Commentary-Director Terrence Young & members Of Cast And Crew Credits Film Factoids-007 License To Restore Film Factoids-The Guns Of James Bond Featurette-007,Women, Allies, Villians, Mission Combat Manual Featurette-Q Branch And Exotic Locations Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Inside Dr. No Biographies-Cast-Terence Young: Bond Vivant Featurette-Dr. No - 1963 Theatrical Trailer-Archive TV Spots-Broadcasts Radio Spots-Communications Gallery-Photo-Experience The World Of Dr. No in 1962
Rating	?
Year Of Production	1962
Running Time	105:13
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (53:10) Dual Disc Set	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Terence Young
Studio Distributor	Sony Pictures Home Entertain	Starring	Sean Connery Ursula Andress Joseph Wiseman Jack Lord Bernard Lee Anthony Dawson Zena Marshall John Kitzmiller Eunice Gayson Lois Maxwell Peter Burton Yvonne Shima Michel Mok
Case	?
RPI	$19.95	Music	Monty Norman John Barry

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English dts 5.1 (768Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.66:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English English for the Hearing Impaired Dutch Swedish Finnish Danish Greek Hindi English Audio Commentary Dutch Audio Commentary	Smoking	Yes, just about every character smokes in every scene
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Dr. No was to introduce cinema audiences worldwide to the character of British super-spy James Bond. As such, Dr. No is fondly remembered as being the very first movie in what was to become one of cinema's most successful and longest running franchises. With the trailers for the new Bond film soon to start running in cinemas, in August 2006 Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release all 20 official Bond films in two limited edition DVD collector's sets. Each film will feature Lowry-restored video and audio, and if that's not enough to whet your appetite, each film will also boast a whole new array of extras.

    "The name's Bond, James Bond".

    The character of super-spy James Bond was created by author Ian Fleming (1909-1964) who, like his fictional character, led a colourful life which included being a British Spy, and like Mr. Bond, a Commander in British Naval Intelligence. While Fleming's novels and the later movies often have a very tenuous relationship, one cannot easily discount the rich material that Fleming provided for the Bond universe. While the Bond film scripts were to differ greatly from Fleming's stories, the central characters, style, and swagger of the Bond films is all still Fleming.

    However, from the start, Producers Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli wanted their Bond movie series to appeal to a wider audience than just Fleming's readers. As a result, Bond became less of a cold-blooded killer (with a licence to kill provided by the UK Government), and a far more charming, suave, and witty gentleman. Indeed, Director Terence Young took matters even further and infused the character with a thoroughly debonair and dashing charm, also arming him with a fierce intelligence and an impeccable taste in clothes, wine, food and exotic women.

    There are now 21 official Bond films, and three unofficial ones - most notably the appalling Never Say Never Again (1983). If one counts newcomer Daniel Craig, then six actors have played Bond in the official films, including the former Aussie soldier from Goulburn, George Lazenby, and the unflappably dapper Roger Moore. Personally, I have always liked the rugged Sean Connery and the debonair Pierce Brosnan the most, and thoroughly disliked the sulky and uncharismatic Timothy Dalton for his contribution to what I find to be the most boring of the Bond canon.

    It's widely known that the then unknown Scottish actor Sean Connery was nowhere near to being the first choice to be Bond, but it was to be a piece of casting genius. When one thinks of Bond, even all these years later, it is Connery who still comes to mind first for most people. Then in his thirties, Connery was tall, cool, elegant, and ruggedly handsome. He walked with the swagger and self-assurance required to carry the role; And, unlike some of the other pretty-boy Bonds, he actually looked like he could handle himself in a fight.

    In Dr. No, the character of Bond is far from the indestructible superman armed with the fancy tongue-in-cheek gadgets that we see in the later films. As Bond, Connery frequently displays fear, panic, and disgust. We even see him dishevelled, bleeding, bruised, and sweating! He gets captured, beaten, and humiliated. It makes his triumphs and the film's climax all the more satisfying.

    As the first of the series, the relatively low-budget Dr No is a far more down-to-earth and realistic affair than the later Bond films. This Bond has to rely on his wits rather than gadgets and explosions to get the job done. For example, when Bond is being hunted down by dogs, it's his ingenuity, not gadgets or weaponry that save him.

    On the other hand, as a film, Dr. No is definitely a little rough around the edges. For example, consider the car-chase scene which relies on obvious rear-projection scenery, or the clumsy and simplistic fight choreography.

    In later Bond films there is a recognisable and well-loved formula: We have a pre-title action sequence that is distinct from the rest of the film. This is followed by the Bond-style title sequence (with theme song), and then Bond chatting to Moneypenny, M, and then Q. Finally, Bond heads off on his new mission armed with fancy gadgets, cool one-liners, and plenty of innuendo.

    In Dr. No, many of the recognisable elements of the Bond universe are present, albeit in their infancy. For example, the opening titles are provided by Maurice Binder (but sans the nude dancing silhouettes), and the very recognisable James Bond Theme is provided by Monty Norman and John Barry. We also get to see the famous gun-barrel opening (which features Connery's stunt double, Bob Simmons); and apart from Bond himself, we are also introduced to the recurring characters of M, Moneypenny, and Felix Leiter (Q was to make his debut in the next film).

    However, with Dr. No we don't yet get to experience the full Englishness of the Bond universe, which has been lost in recent years. From the next film onwards, Bond films were to become show-pieces for British culture - British music, art, manufacturing, and style, but in this movie Bond finds himself behind the wheel of a tiny four-cylinder Sunbeam Alpine. In later films he'd get to enjoy his English Bentleys, Aston Martins, and Lotuses (that is before the power of product placement marketing dollars put Bond into German BMWs).

    As for the plot. The story of Dr. No concerns . . . let's all say it together . . . a megalomaniac seeking world domination who can only be stopped by Secret Agent 007, James Bond . . .

    Dr. No opens in Jamaica where two British Secret Service agents have been brutally murdered. Their boss, M (Bernard Lee), sends special agent 007, James Bond (Sean Connery) to investigate. Bond survives numerous attempts on his life, and his investigation leads him to the mysterious and sinister Doctor No (Joseph Wiseman). After joining forces with CIA Agent Felix Leiter (Jack Lord), Bond enlists the help of local boat owner Quarrel (John Kitzmiller), and decides to pay a visit to the reclusive Doctor No on his secretive Crab Key island. It is here, in what was to become one of the most memorable Bond scenes, that we see the first bikini-clad Bond girl, Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress), emerging from the sea like Venus.

    For more about the Bond universe, check out the official sites at www.jamesbond.com and www.007.com.

Video

    Considering Dr. No has been released twice before on DVD, including as a Special Edition, why bother with an Ultimate Edition? The exciting aspect of these Bond Ultimate Editions is that the original camera negatives have been imaged and digitally restored in Lowry's labs, using the John Lowry process. This process took over three years to complete, and the results with Dr. No are truly remarkable.

    The film was originally screened theatrically in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, but the DVD's transfer is presented in a European widescreen aspect ratio of 1.66:1, 16x9 enhanced.

    While there are some noticeably softer scenes, overall the sharpness of the image is very good. The black level is excellent, with true, deep blacks. The shadow detail, however, is a bit of a mixed bag. At times it was excellent, such as the interior of Bond's gaol cell at 90:15, but at other times it was lacking, such as during the scene in the swamp at 72:42.

    With the Lowry process, the entire film has been colour corrected. As a result, the movie has a very consistent approach to colour, and the transfer exhibits a very well saturated palette. At times, however, some of the colours looked a little rich. For example, reds seem to jump out off the screen. The skin tones are mostly accurate, but can appear a little too orange at times. Of course, this could also be related to the excessive makeup that seems to have been caked on all the actors. Very rarely, some backgrounds looked a little murky, such as the sky at 27:12.

    While some scenes can appear a little grainy at times, I assume this relates to the original film stock used. There are no problems with MPEG, Film-To-Video or Film Artefacts. Considering the age of the source material, this is an amazing achievement in DVD authoring.

    English, English for the Hearing Impaired, Dutch, Swedish, Finnish, Danish, Greek, Hindi, English Text Commentary, and Dutch Text Commentary subtitles are present, and the English ones are accurate.

    The feature is presented on a Dual Layer disc, with the layer change placed at 53:10. I did notice a slight pause, but the change is well placed. The feature is divided into 32 chapters.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    Originally released theatrically with mono audio, I wasn't expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised.

    The DVD offers three audio options: English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s), English dts 5.1 (768Kb/s), and English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s). I watched the feature with both the Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts 5.1 audio. While many films benefit from a dts soundtrack, this is not one of them. To be honest, I heard very little difference between the two options. I imagine it will be the later films, with more modern sound designs and recordings that will reap the benefits of dts audio.

    The dialogue quality and audio sync suffer on both the Dolby Digital 5.1 and dts 5.1 audio tracks. This is not a fault with the DVD authoring, but due to the source material. There is extensive use of ADR throughout this film, and some actors, such as Ursula Andress, had all their dialogue looped by voice artists (in her case by Nikki Van der Zyl). Also, some dialogue was changed or added in post-production, and this has been rather clumsily dubbed in. Most of these moments seem rather obvious, and it is distracting.

    Another problem with the dialogue is the inconsistent volume. A number of times I had to increase or decrease the volume during the film. For example, once Bond and Honey enter Dr. No's lair, the dialogue seems to become buried in the sound mix and it is hard to hear.

    The musical score is credited to Monty Norman and Oscar winning composer John Barry. Director Terence Young overuses the now famous Bond theme throughout the film, and it appears even when Bond does the most mundane things like light a cigarette, step off an airplane, or make a phone call. The film also has an overly melodramatic score, which dates it terribly.

    However, in keeping with its exotic location, Dr. No also calls upon seductive calypso beats and the characters, including Bond, often burst into song, singing catchy Caribbean tunes such as Jamaica Jump Up and Underneath the Mango Tree.

    For a mono film, the sound design was excellent for its time, but now appears very limited. Although there is a nice sense of space across the front three speakers, with this film the rear speakers are rarely called upon. Recorded in 1962, don't expect any fancy directional effects or panning between speakers. Interestingly, sometimes when the rears are used for effect it is actually distracting, rather than enveloping.

    This DVD's LFE track is very limited, and the subwoofer is only really noticed with the large explosion at the end of the film.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    Apart from the restored picture and sound, a whole new array of extras have been added to the Bond Ultimate Editions, in addition to the extras included on the Special Editions. Unless stated otherwise, all are presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced, with Dolby Digital stereo audio.

 Menus

    A series of animated menus with audio.

Disc One

Trailer

    A forced trailer for the Bond Ultimate Editions, presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1.

Audio Commentary - Director Terrence Young & members Of Cast And Crew

    Hosted by John Clark of the Ian Fleming Foundation, this commentary is very interesting, and packed with detailed information. Interviews with a number of the cast and crew have been edited to make it fairly screen specific, and each speaker is introduced by Clark. We hear from a range of people, such as Actors Ursula Andress, Lois Maxwell, Eunice Gayson, and Timothy Moxon; Editor Peter Hunt, Composer Monty Norman, Set Designer Ken Adams, former UA President David Picker, Art Director Syd Cain, and Sound Designer Norman Wanstall. Each person has something interesting to say, ranging from technical, behind-the-scenes information to anecdotes or recollections from shooting.

Disc Two

Top Level Access

• 007 License To Restore (11:25) - Featuring John Lowry and technicians from MGM and Lowry Digital Images, this is a behind-the-scenes look at the restoration process.

De-Classified: MI6 Vault

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1:

• The Guns Of James Bond (4:53) - Hosted by Sean Connery on the set of Goldfinger, this is an original 1960s featurette
• Premiere Bond (12:36) - Narrated by Producer Michael Wilson, this is a collection of photographic stills and archival and news footage of the Bond film premieres starting with Dr. No, and running right through to Die Another Day. While there is footage from London, New York, and Paris, the featurette focuses on those held at the Oden Theatre, Leicester Square, London.

007 Mission Control

    An interactive feature that allows the viewer to jump directly to a key scene in the film, or to a specific character, gadget, or Bond girl.

Mission Dossiers

    The three featurettes from the Dr. No Special Edition:

• Inside Dr No (42:07) - Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and narrated by Patrick Macnee, this is a look at both Dr. No and the Bond franchise. Featuring plenty of archival stills and footage, there are also a number of interviews with key people involved in creating the Bond world.
• Terence Young: Bond Vivant (17:55) - Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, this is a look at the man who was to direct the first, second, and fourth Bond film, and in doing so set the style and the mould for all the later Bond films.
• 1963 Dr No (8:19) - Presented in black and white, this is an original marketing featurette.

Ministry Of Propaganda

    The trailers, TV and Radio Spots for each film.

Original Theatrical Trailers

• Trailer (3:12)
• Introducing Mr. Bond (3:07)

TV Broadcasts

• Miss Honey and Miss Galore have James Bond back for more (0:59)
• Miss Honey and Miss Galore (0:20)

Radio Communication

    Six radio spots

Interactive Image Database 

    Eight themed photographic stills galleries from 1962-3, presented as a slide show.

    As with the Bond Special Editions, I understand that the R1 and R4 Ultimate Editions should be identical, except for the NTSC/PAL difference.

    Dr. No is by no means the best Bond film, but it's certainly not the worst either. What it's best remembered for is for being the very first, and as such, creating the mould for all later Bond films.

    The video quality is very good, considering the age of the source material.

    The audio quality is reasonable, considering the limited mono source.

    The extras are thorough, genuine, and interesting.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall