Review of Dr. No: Ultimate Edition (James Bond)

Introduction

His name is Bond, James Bond. And Dr. No was the first time that we met him on film, adapted from the novels of Ian Fleming. This all happened in 1962, when some of us weren`t even born. But we`ve all grown up with Bond on the TV at Christmas, Easter and any Bank Holiday that you care to mention.

I don`t really need to go into the plot, it`s a Bond film so you`ll pretty much know what to expect. Which puts you at a disadvantage when compared to the audiences of 1962, most of whom will not have been familiar with Bond.

This is the first of the new "Ultimate Editions" from Sony - I`ll try and highlight what`s different between the ultimate editions and the original DVD releases.

Video

We start right here. A brand spanking new 1.66:1 anamorphic transfer, which is just that bit nicer than the previous edition. It`s still not quite perfect, but it`s an improvement. Not to say that the previous version was bad, but there were some blemishes and artefacts which are largely gone.

Most of the special effects have aged rather badly, but modern film-makers might spend the same amount on one effects shot as was spent on the whole of this film...

Audio

More new stuff here, courtesy of DD5.1 and dts remixes. Purists may lament the passing of the mono track from the previous release, but these remixes are not too bad. Quite subtle in places, but worth doing on the whole.

Features

Most of the original Bond DVDs had plenty of extras in the first place.

For these new DVDs, they`ve been split up, with commentaries on disc 1 and everything else on a new shiny second disc. However, there`s not much new content here, just a restoration feature, a guns feature and an Interactive Guide.

The rest of the extras are ported over from the original release:-

You get a commentary track, which is made up of short excerpts from various contributors including director Terence Young (who is no longer with us) and other members of cast and crew like Ursula Andress (but not much from Sean Connery).

There are several excellent documentaries which give good background to the film itself and to the Bond series on the whole, including that famous theme and that famous opening sequence where Bond turns to the audience and shoots. There`s also another documentary about Terence Young, which is also very interesting, and full of glowing tributes.

Finally, you`ll find the trailer, plus TV and radio spots which are interesting to see and hear so many years on. And to round off there`s an excellent stills gallery.

Conclusion

This DVD is the perfect showcase for the film that started it all, the beginning of the Bond franchise that is still going today, and is still as popular as ever. An excellently restored picture, good sound and a great set of extras make this a very good way to start your Bond collection on DVD. A classic.

As to whether you should upgrade - probably not enough new shiny stuff to warrant it, but you won`t be let down if you do.