Dr. No is the first movie of the James Bond movie series. The movie is made in the early sixties, and it’s based on the same named book written by Ian Fleming in 1958. The film was a huge success at its time and it gathers viewers around the television even today. Though the film is over 50 years old it still makes quite a impact to the viewers. The action scenes and special effects don’t make as colossal impressions as they did in the sixties, but the nostalgic feeling you get while watching the movie really hits the spot!
As I said previously, the special effects of the movie aren’t so spectacular as they are nowadays. And some outdoor scenes are clearly shot in front of the green screen. The sound effects of the explosions and punches are actually pretty poor. You can easily hear that those effects are added into film afterward, and they don’t even sound realistic. But because the Dr. No was basically the first film that had those kind of effects it is fun to think how quickly the film shooting and special effect technology has evolved in such a short time.
The fact is that when you mention James Bond the first thing you think is the Bond theme song. You are hearing it right now, don’t you? That soundtrack was firstly introduced in the movie Dr. No and after all the years the sound track is still one of those few elements that is part of the James Bond movies today. And it is quite a mystery why that song has come such a success. The ”James Bond Theme” for movie Dr. No is composed by the Monty Norman.
Sean Connery’s performance as James Bond is truly magnificent. And because of that some people still think that Sean is the one and only Bond. Connery creates the perfects balance between Bonds brutality and vulnerability. By making he look like a immortal and powerful hero, but still a human. Ursula Andress as ”Bond-girl” Honey Ryder has also brought the character alive in a good way. She is’t the modern day heroine, who saves the Bonds life, but she still seems to be Bonds sidekick in a mental level. Not all the acting performances are great at the film. Actually I’m kind of disappointed to the Dr. No him self. Joseph Wiseman (Dr. Julius No) don’t bring that kind of thread and danger on to the character that he should.
Dr. No basically started the movie genre of the secret agents. And as a first movie of that genre it defined by far all the movies of that kind. Almost every secret agent movie has followed the pattern that Bond-movies and especially Dr. No has set. In these kind of movies the agent is firstly a victorious hero, who succeeds in all his missions, but then happens something, witch buts the agent down and he has to gather him self again to beat the ”evil”.