Bond Movie A vs. Bond Movie B (Dr. No vs. SkyFall)

Sharky

Dr No for me, i like OP and i think it is one of the best Roger Moore performances but DN started it all and it was done with such style. Connery's performance is great, as is all the cast actually. The pace is good, the action is all pretty small action but i think that is one of its strengths, the fight with Mr jones, the fight with Quarrel and Pussfeller leading into Felix's introduction, The car chase with the hearse, the action on the beach which leads to the bit in the swamp and then the bit with the dragon and the finale with Dr No's death are all entertaining IMO. And DN has so many iconic moments like Bond's introduction, the killing of Dent and Honey coming out of the sea. DN gets my vote.

doubleoego

Dr. No

DB5

I'm sorry, I just can't see James Bond dressed up in a clown suit. James Bond is no clown! Dr. No.

identigraph

Dr No is a classic and started the whole thing but c'mon OP is the too damn good!

JBFan626

I like OP; a top ten Bond film and one of Moore's best. But there is no comparison. Dr. No

*Connery as suave and cool James Bond
*Dr. Julius No as one of the best villains of the series
*A more comprehensible, but mysterious Hitchockian plot
*Terrence Young direction > John Glen
*Honey Ryder as the ultimate Goddess Bond Girl emerging from the Carribean Waters
*Quarrel
*The overall island/tropical feel
*It doesn't have John Barry, but this doesn't hurt the film, since all the music cues in Dr. No are perfect.

Whoever said the music to Dr. No is rubbish, is out of their mind. Sure, there aren't the memorable sweeping melodies of later John Barry scores to come. The music in DN is almost a nonentity, I don't really even hear that much soundtrack music in it other than the songs: 3 Blind Mice, JB Theme, Underneath Mango Tree, and the calypso performance by Byron Lee & the Dragonaires in the bar. These songs all fit the mood and atmopshere of the film perfectly. The sound effects also, like stomping the spider, are kitschy and fit the mood of a quirky 1950's detective story/kitchen drama.

...Just had to get that off my chest, because I've seen DN get unfairly bashed for it's music, which never made any sense to me, because it has so little importance to the movie (except for the 3 main songs). It's like criticizing Lawrence of Arabia for it's Special Effects.

thelivingroyale

DB5 said:
I'm sorry, I just can't see James Bond dressed up in a clown suit. James Bond is no clown! Dr. No.

The clown suit was Bond doing what he does best, improvising.

Samuel001

Dr. No is my prefered of the two.

BAIN123

Dr No is obviously a great movie but part of me thinks it's a bit too "prototype" for what's to come. Op I just enjoy a little bit more tbh.

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7

BAIN123 said:
Dr No is obviously a great movie but part of me thinks it's a bit too "prototype" for what's to come. Op I just enjoy a little bit more tbh.

It was the first film, duh. It's supposed to feel like that.

JBFan626

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 said:

BAIN123 said:
Dr No is obviously a great movie but part of me thinks it's a bit too "prototype" for what's to come. Op I just enjoy a little bit more tbh.

It was the first film, duh. It's supposed to feel like that.

Exactly, I don't see how one can hold that against the film. If anything this is a credit to the film for setting the standard.

Grinderman

DarthDimi said:
DN

..... And one more thing I absolutely love about the film is that there's comedy, but in a controlled fashion. No slapstick, which I often find borderline insulting......

Thank you! Simply can't say it better than that.

Dr. No it is.

Besides, I'd hate to break my streak of voting for the eventual loser. ;-)

Baltimore_007

To beat Doctor No as a Bond movie, you've got to go some... and Octopussy simply can't compare. Maybe I was a little hard on it before, but it simply can't live up to Connery's debut and first release, one of the best ever of the series. Dr No wins

QsAssistant

Dr No

Although I think it's time for me to go back and watch OP.

BAIN123

JBFan626 said:

0BradyM0Bondfanatic7 said:

BAIN123 said:
Dr No is obviously a great movie but part of me thinks it's a bit too "prototype" for what's to come. Op I just enjoy a little bit more tbh.

It was the first film, duh. It's supposed to feel like that.

Exactly, I don't see how one can hold that against the film. If anything this is a credit to the film for setting the standard.

Yeah but I just enjoy OP more :p

wildboonjive

Octopussy is more fun, I'll give you that. But Dr. No is easily the superior entry. Not just is it more iconic, it's simply a better movie, both as a Bond entry and as a standalone. It's much better made.

BAIN123

wildboonjive said:
Octopussy is more fun, I'll give you that. But Dr. No is easily the superior entry. Not just is it more iconic, it's simply a better movie, both as a Bond entry and as a standalone. It's much better made.

Dammit in many ways you're right but I'm going to stick to my guns :p

wildboonjive

BAIN123 said:

wildboonjive said:
Octopussy is more fun, I'll give you that. But Dr. No is easily the superior entry. Not just is it more iconic, it's simply a better movie, both as a Bond entry and as a standalone. It's much better made.

Dammit in many ways you're right but I'm going to stick to my guns :p

The personal passion is what makes this fun :)

The007Swede

A couple of weeks ago I would have said OP. But I revisited Dr No last week and it grew on me. Just Connery's presence on the screen is astounding and him alone gives OP a tough fight. Add a very good villain, Ursula Andress and a rather tight and easy plot and the conclusion is that Dr No is the superior movie. For me that is.

Benny

The007Swede said:
A couple of weeks ago I would have said OP. But I revisited Dr No last week and it grew on me. Just Connery's presence on the screen is astounding and him alone gives OP a tough fight. Add a very good villain, Ursula Andress and a rather tight and easy plot and the conclusion is that Dr No is the superior movie. For me that is.

And this from the country who gave us Maud and Kristina. OO7Swede, you may well hang your head in semi-shame.

;)

The007Swede

Benny said:

And this from the country who gave us Maud and Kristina. OO7Swede, you may well hang your head in semi-shame.

;)

It feels as a betrayal against Maud and Kristina.. But against Andress they don't stand a chance even though they are fellow swedes!
:D

DoubleOhhSeven

Im really happy to see Octopussy getting so much love. I thought it was gonna get maybe 3 or 4 votes, one of them being mine. I always felt it was an underrated Bond film and easily one of Roger Moore's better outings.

Agent005

Dr. No

JBFan626

DoubleOhhSeven said:
Im really happy to see Octopussy getting so much love. I thought it was gonna get maybe 3 or 4 votes, one of them being mine. I always felt it was an underrated Bond film and easily one of Roger Moore's better outings.

Octopussy is a GREAT Bond film, make no mistake. I would wager one of Moore's best two. But compared to Dr. No, which has a very fluid story, Sean Connery, Joseph Wiseman, Ursula Andress, Jack Lord, Jamaica, Ken Adams set, Terrence Young direction, a full Ian Fleming Story--I just can't say OP is better. But it is great--definitely top 10 for me.

Getafix

A great battle here between to quality entries.

I entirely respect those who have gone for OP. It is an excellent entry. And as someone noted above it is amazing what Roger was able to get away with. Indeed, he doesn't just pull off the bad jokes and comedy, he makes it integral to the overall enjoyment of the film. It's a testament to his utter class as Bond.

Grinderman

Getafix said:
...Indeed, he doesn't just pull off the bad jokes and comedy, he makes it integral to the overall enjoyment of the film. It's a testament to his utter class as Bond.

See, here's where The Great Divide begins between the major factions of JB fans. What you call "bad jokes" and "comedy", others (myself included) call glibness, flippancy and just plain bad writting.

A matter of taste, I suppose. But one thing's for sure: the cliche 'over-the-topness' and coyness of Moore's films sure made Mike Myers a ton of money.

PrinceKamalKhan

OP

Baltimore_007

Heh, just an image of Connery swinging through the trees doing Tarzan yells, putting on 'gator suits and clown 'fits and telling tigers to 'sit' in Doctor No...

The first release was dead serious as was the second, and that's how I like my Bond, Roger Moore was a decent Bond, but he took the humor a little too far on occasion in 1983

Getafix

Grinderman said:

Getafix said:
...Indeed, he doesn't just pull off the bad jokes and comedy, he makes it integral to the overall enjoyment of the film. It's a testament to his utter class as Bond.

See, here's where The Great Divide begins between the major factions of JB fans. What you call "bad jokes" and "comedy", others (myself included) call glibness, flippancy and just plain bad writting.

A matter of taste, I suppose. But one thing's for sure: the cliche 'over-the-topness' and coyness of Moore's films sure made Mike Myers a ton of money.

I think there are those who see it as a Great Divide and others who see it as all part of the glorious mash-up that is Bond tradition. The seeds of the Moore brand of comedy were laid during Connery's tenure. OP has a lot more going for it than a few dodgy sight gags. If you want bad writing then check out the Brosnan outings.

JrW_008

As much as I enjoyed certain parts of Dr No, I disliked others. Octopussy, on the other hand, currently is and has potentially been my favourite Bond film for a good year or two, having watched it around 9 times in that period, each time without fail I enjoyed it from A to B.

So for me, my vote goes to Octopussy

CraigMooreOHMSS

DarthDimi said:
DN

Many people have lost perspective nowadays and fail to understand exactly how impressive it is that they were able to reach this film's high quality given its small budget, relatively inexperienced team (inexperienced at least in terms of energetic spy thrillers) and the fact that there was no blueprint for the modern Bonds yet. Considering how bold they were, how much they pushed the barrier in those days, it was nothing if not a successful gamble with many strokes of genius. Unfortunately, like I said, many people have forgotten how much more of an impact DN had on films in those days versus OP in the early 80s. And today, this is what makes me decide. I think OP is an overall great film but DN ranks much higher on my list. I not only find it an entertaining film (and I'm a fan of 'older' films), I respect this film, I appreciate what it did for the franchise, but I'm afraid only a handful of fans who really want to pay deference to it are left. Some even dare to call it dull and tedious. Wow, unbelievable, blasphemous even! This is the film that introduces Connery as Bond lighting up a cigarette (they don't even dare to do that nowadays!), this is the film that shows us the Bond girl in a bikini coming out of the water (downright revolutionary in those days), this is the film where Connery's Bond shoots Dent in one of the most iconic scenes ever in the Bonds. There was no checklist like in the later films, there was groundbreaking material in all regards, from the opening titles, with gunbarrel, the Bond Theme music, the acting, the manners of the characters... A thousand times wow - WOW - WOOOW!! And one more thing I absolutely love about the film is that there's comedy, but in a controlled fashion. No slapstick, which I often find borderline insulting, like the entire Monsoon palace escape sequence in OP. It's a big no-no for me. No matter how much I love OP, it's a good meal like I've had several meals before. DN is like reliving that very first time I tasted the most excellent stuff I'd never tasted before.

Basically everything he said. Dr.No gets my vote too.

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