For people who are born towards the middle or end of a long standing franchise it may sometimes be an awakening to watch some of the old members of the set. James Bond has been a part of cinematic history since 1962. Well, technically the BBC had a Bond flick before that but this was the year the Bond craze truly begun. The first in a long line of movies about this dashing character was ‘Dr. No’. The character of James Bond was born in the creative mind of Ian Fleming who penned thirteen novels and a collection of short stories base on what would become the world’s most famous spy. He also wrote the children’s book ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ so I guess he had a softer side than the bond novels would have indicted. This was the sixth novel in the series and made an excellent choice for the opening volley of a franchise that is still going strong four decades later. For those out there only familiar with the current Bond flicks this one may come as a shock to the system. If you ask people to describe James Bond they will usually included in their list beautiful women, fast chases and incredible gadgets. Well, two out of three isn’t bad I guess. This film is not only the first of the Bond series it is the closest in look and feel to the original novels. For Fleming his view of Bond was a man who could think his way out of any given situation. He lived by the accuracy of his gun play and quick wits. The real James Bond didn’t need any fancy devices to get the job done. ‘Dr. No’ is James Bond; old school. There may have been twenty two Bond films that followed this one; not counting the one with Woody Allen that not true fan speaks of. There have been several DVD releases of mot of the Bond flicks over the years. It has now come time for Mr. Bond to enter the 21^st century with style thanks to Blu-ray special editions from MGM/UA. You can get ‘Dr. No’ either has part of the three-pack or by itself. In either case the film has never looked or sounded better than it does here.

This is where most of the intrigue and standards for the following Bond movies was set in place. There are probably not a lot of people around who have seen any movie that does not know the ‘James Bond Theme’ that has opened every subsequent Bond movie. The script for this was by Richard Maibaum, Johanna Harwood and Berkely Mather. Maibaum went on to write a dozen following Bond movies after this. He was already an established writer by the time he was asked to pen this script. This was a first screenplay for Harwood you would also work on the next Bond film but only had a few scripts in his career. Mather was best known for his television work and this was the only time he took on James Bond. This is considered one of the closest in theme and presentation to the original novel of any of the series. This story was just what it was intended to be; a classic style spy flick. It doesn’t have pretensions of being a great action movie. Bond is a dedicated and resourceful agent in the service of Her Majesty the Queen of England and to that end he will do everything to get the job done. Like so many movies of this series this would mean killing bad guys and bedding a beautiful woman. If you grew up like many of my generation did on the novels this film will have a special place for you. It was like watching your favorite literary hero come to life.

The man who would be the first to direct a Bond film was Terence Young. He would go on to several more in his career. Young was already a fairly well known director mostly in the fields of drama and adventure. This was a perfect resume for taking on Bond. This film is presented on a more psychological than visceral level. It is far more suspenseful than the later movies. Bond doesn’t have the luxury of some fancy watch that shoots poison darts or a jet pack he has to fight hand to hand with the people sent to kill him. Young presents Bond as a man whose job is to kill. He has the proverbial license to kill and when necessary uses it as casually as his driver’s license. There is no emotional angst for bond when he dispatches his target; it is just part of the job and he is exceptionally good at it. It seems that every generation gets its own actor to play James Bond. For mine it was Sean Connery. He will remain the definitive Bond no matter how well subsequent actors have done with the part. He was cool and collected under every situation. He set the gold standard than many have approached by none have achieved.

The film opens in the Jamaica branch office of the British secret service. The head of the local operation, John Strangeways (Tim Moxon) and his secretary are murdered by a trio of assassins. Bond is dispatched by the head of the service known only as ‘M’ (Bernard Lee). Once there Bond is met by his local driver, Mr. Jones (Reginald Carter) who turns out to be another spy. When cornered he commits suicide with a cyanide tipped cigarette, the closest thing to a gadget in this movie. Bond does find an ally in Jamaica, a CIA operative Felix Leiter, played by Jack Lord who would go on to fame in television’s ‘Hawaii 5-0’. Bond follows the clues and ducks attempts on his life. In one scene that will live deep in the memories of every man of my generation Bond watches as Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) steps out of the surf with a bikini and a knife. This is one of the iconic images of the sixties. Ultimately, Bond’s investigation leads him to the infamous Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman) who is secretly working with the international terrorist organization SPECTRE. His insidious plan is to disrupt the American’s Mercury space program. Bond gets captured and naturally escapes. There is a battle after which the day is saved and Bond floats off into the sunset with the delectable Honey.

MG/UA pulls out all the stops with this release. You might have a DVD copy of this film lying in your collection but this is well worth the upgrade if you have a Blu-ray. This version has the original 1.66:1 aspect ratio and a wide selection of audio formats to choose from. You can go for the re-mastered DTS HD audio or if you are a purist the original mono soundtrack. The extras set this release above the pack with plenty to keep you busy. The first Bond is back so get it.