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homersimpson_esq -> The Bond Thread - #01: Dr. No (1962) (1/11/2008 10:12:01 PM)
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[image]http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/6302/drnoum3.jpg[/image]
As far as the Bond legacy goes, Dr No is a fairly unique entry for a few reasons. Firstly, there is no pre-credits sequence. Secondly, the credits sequence itself features the now iconic Bond Theme, single-handedly getting Monty Norman through retirement, rather than a song destined for the charts. We also have several key introductions to Bond's character which are being mimicked to some degree by Craig's Bond films. However, I won't dwell on comparisons with future films, only with preceding ones, to preserve the chronology of the thread (as I did previously with the Scott thread). Most notable of all introductions is that of Bond himself. A hand here, the back of his head here, a spoken sentence, the source of which is unseen. Only when he asks of a fellow baccarat player her name and she tells him does he reply, imitating her delivery, 'Bond...Jamesh Bond'. As he says it, the slow double bass semitonal theme begins to play, and thus a screen legend is born. Effortlessly cool. If I didn't know how bad it was, that scene alone might be enough to get me to smoke, so cool does he look.
The character aside, we also have him introduced to the gun with which he is forever associated, the Walther PPK, and his signature drink is fully explained by the cabana boy (again, a future echo there), 'mixed the way you asked sir, not stirred'. We are introduced to M, Miss Moneypenny and his irascible behaviour with her, and soon enough Bond is jet-setting off to Jamaica, an appropriate enough start for his cinematic career given it was Fleming's choice of home. However, where subsequent Bonds would pride themselves on having the most exotic locales and contrasting environments, this first installment is almost exclusively shot on location in Jamaica.
Comment must be made here, and I'm sure it will be repeated, of Ken Adams' stunning production design. Adams can largely be credited for creating that Bond look which was so shamelessly sent up in Austin Powers. Credit due to him then for creating lasting iconic images (he also worked on Kubrick's Dr Strangelove, most memorably creating the War Room because the real one was too boring) which outlast Myers' increasingly outdated trilogy, creating a sense of the extravagant without reason, but for its glorification and sharp beauty.
The dated aspect of Connery's Bond rears its head here once when he barks at Quarrel to "fetch my shoes" with nary a kind tone to his words, nor a thank you afterwards. This could be argued as ajust symptomatic of Bond taking charge or, worse, a 'sign of the times', but for the supporting evidence in subsequent films. Still, it's certainly not enough to put you off, especially as there's the stunning Ursula Andress to enjoy. The quintessential Bond girl, Andress is everything she needs to be - sexy, sassy, vulnerable, and in various states of undress saved by well-cast shadows.
This first film is fairly gadget free, allowing us to see Bond improvising his own little traps - the hair across the door, the powder on the briefcase - to alert him to intruders. Indeed, Bond here is at his most callous until Dalton, and then again with Craig. Certainly there are quips, but they are few, and well-tempered. No, this is the Bond who sits and waits for someone to come to shoot him, amusing himself by playing solitaire. When he blatantly allows his would-be killer to reach for his gun, knowing fine well he has no bullets left, he coldly remarks, "that's a Smith and Wesson, and you've had your six" before putting two bullets in him.
Dr No is undoubtedly a product of its time, but has much to recommend it even in today's free-running, hi-tech, soul-gazing Bond. Big explosions, big sets, big... ahem. Bond at the true start, and showing signs of the megastar Connery is to become.
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