This is going to be good for all James Bond fans around the world, provided that this will reach them all. As we all wait for more news and, ultimately, the release of Bond 25, I am going to review all previous Bond films made by EON Productions.
Whatever that is going to be written here, they are all from my thoughts and does not represent any outside organization nor do they mean any harm to the beloved franchise. Needless to say, I love Bond but this is going to be as honest and factual as much as possible.
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| 1962 Movie Poster |
Let's start with Bond 1, Dr. No, starring Sean Connery as James Bond - 007, Ursula Andress, and Joseph Wiseman as the titular Dr. No.
The film starts with a series of white dots appearing across the screen, only to reveal a mysterious man walking away and firing his handgun as he reached the middle. This is the gun barrel sequence that started it all. It started the movie, yes, but on its own, it started a tradition for the James Bond franchise. After that raw gun barrel sequence, we now go into the title sequence which features a sea of colorful dots and somewhat psychedelic couples dancing to the tune of the James Bond theme song composed by Monty Norman, and arranged by John Barry.
John Barry would then go on to compose songs for James Bond movies up until 1987’s The Living Daylights. He skipped some films though over the course of that period.
The film opens with an introduction to the Three Blind Mice, a group of assassins pretending to be, uhm, blind. They assassinate Commander Strangways and his secretary.
The film then shows the man with a license to kill, dressed in the finest clothes a man could, enjoying himself in a casino with the first Bond girl of the series, Sylvia Trench. During this moment, James Bond utters his most iconic line that is "Bond. James Bond."
However, Bond's affairs in the casino are soon ended as he is needed to report at Universal Export's headquarters, MI6's cover. There, he meets the armorer Major Boothroyd, M's secretary Miss Moneypenny, and M himself. M briefs Bond about the disappearance of Strangways and his secretary. His mission - to find out why, but fast!
In the film's first few minutes, we are already showered with various Bond elements and/or moments which we will still go on to see for the next 23 Bond films (25, if you want to include 1967's Casino Royale and 1983's Never Say Never Again).
Let's turn for a bit and see this list of Bond elements present in this first film.
1. Gun Barrel Scene. A fun fact for old and new Bond fans, it was not Sean Connery on this and the next two film's gun barrel scene. It was stuntman Bob Simmons who walked and fired the gun.
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| The first gun barrel sequence |
2. Title Sequence. At that time, they could've made it a simple presentation of the films cast and crew. Thanks to Maurice Binder, that was not what happened and what we got was a unique take on presenting the title sequence.
3. Bond's Introduction. I personally think that Bond's "Bond. James Bond." is just a response to Trench's "Trench. Sylvia Trench."
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| "Bond. James Bond." |
4. Casino. Bond is regarded by M as a great card player in the novels by Ian Fleming. It is just right to see him play every once in a while and outsmart his opponents.
5. Bond Girl. Most of the time in the Bond series, the BG's are silly both in their characters as well as their names.
| Bond and Honey Rider |
6. The MI6 Trio (M, Q, Moneypenny) and the Mission Briefing. The great thing with this Bond element is that almost all action-thriller-adventure films have adapted this sequence. A problem surfaces, the main protagonist is then called up and is told of the mission. Just add bits of helpful pieces of equipment and a flirting secretary to spice things up.
Before I continue onto the movie, I just learned on the news that the very first cinematic Bond Girl Sylvia Trench actress Eunice Gayson has now passed away. Both Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli have already released statements honoring the woman who played Miss Trench, Sylvia Trench.
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| Sylvia Trench |
As my way of honoring her, let's pause for a bit, remember and pray for her. This will be continued on my next blog post which will be part 2 of this Dr. No movie review.
*Photos are grabbed from the Internet and all thanks are for those who own it. For sharing purposes only. Thank you.
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