SirHenryLeeChaChing's For Original Fans - Favorite Moments In NTTD (spoilers)

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  • Posts: 1,925
    1) When did you first see Dr. No? In the theater, on TV, at a special retrospective ... and has your opinion of it changed over time?

    Not sure exactly when, but it would've been during one of the early 1970s theatrical rereleases here in the U.S.

    My opinion of DN has gone up. It didn't have the gadgets, big stunts or epic feel, so I didn't appreciate it when I was younger. It's gone up in the last 20 years or so just on the grit and I like to imagine how different it the film was upon release in a world of westerns and nothing nearly like it as far as action/adventure films went.

    2) Do you think it looks dated? If so, is that bothersome or part of its charm? (This certainly applies for most older films; they are a product of their time)

    The look itself isn't dated and the cinematography is excellent. Some of the acting, dialogue, attitudes and clothes would add to any dated feel and it's undeniable but doesn't take away from my enjoyment and appreciation. The most dated factor would have to be Monty Norman's score, Bond theme aside and Underneath the Mango Tree aside. Makes me appreciate John Barry that much more.

    3) What stands out in this film for you?

    The overall atmosphere. It's a mystery, action/adventure and spy film in one with sci-fi thrown in. I appreciate that Dr. No himself isn't revealed until near the end but you feel his influence and fear it has. It's also fun watching Bond piece things together like a detective.

    Connery.

    So many great scenes - casino introduction, meeting with M, killing of Dent, Honey's introduction, Dent's "meeting" with No and on and on.
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 8,292
    I still don't have time to watch the films again but what struck me in @SirHenryLeeChaChing 's review is he doesn't mention Bond going through the air vent in the sadism part. Now I don't remember exactly how it was portrayed in the film (my memory of the book is so strong it replaces the scenes in the film) but it's clear in the film it's a torture setup too, no? To my mind that's pretty sadistic. I don't think the part with the tarantula's was done in the film though.
  • mattjoesmattjoes THE MOONRAKER TAPES ARE LOST THE MOONRAKER TAPES ARE LOST
    Posts: 7,050
    Loved reading all that content on DN, @4EverBonded. Thanks for posting.

    (And let me say those Japanese posters for the early Bond films were fantastic.)
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited June 2019 Posts: 12,480
    Thanks to everybody participating here.
    I will add further wrap-up thoughts of my own in a little while. I especially want to mention the editing, as I think the book Some Kind of Hero brings up a good point, one easily not noticed.

    Just to note: I did check the earlier pages again in this Originals thread, and SirHenry did not start adding tons of additional trivia, background info (from several sources) until For Your Eyes Only. So once we hit that one in this Bondathon, you will be getting those from me. Of course I will include his original review for all the films.

    Also a big thank you to @BT3366 for answering the questions I put here for us to share our memories and thoughts on Dr. No.
    My opinion of Dr. No went up over the years, too, though I really enjoyed on first view. Lucky you for seeing it on the big screen - I never have. Also you make a good point about it being different from most films at that time. I really credit EON for working to bring Fleming, and that atmosphere, into this first Bond film. They certainly did not have to, but they gave it their all and it paid off. I agree that leaving Dr. No to be revealed later in the film was smart. Many memorable scenes from this first film, too. Dated? I agree, not really. For me, just the outfits at times (as is so many films from that time - men with hats, everybody smoking) ... but it was a serious film and I don't feel it is too dated, not in any way that takes away from the story.

    @CommanderRoss yes, that ventilation run was torturous. I think the film could easily have been more graphic on what Dr. No set up for Honey. In the novel it was swiftly dealt with as she knew about crabs from her lifelong experience and he didn't. She felt they wouldn't hurt her and that's the way it went. I felt the tarantula scene was done well in the film and the novel.

    In Some Kind of Hero it explains that: Sean Connery was terrified of spiders and a plate of glass was placed between him and the arachnid for the scene involving a tarantula crawling up Bond's body. However, reflections could be seen in the glass and Broccoli requested Simmons allow a real tarantula to walk across him.
    (Of course, that is Bob Simmons, stunt man for Bond in this film.)

    Regarding Honey's torture, this info-packed book says: Andress, too, was subject to exotic creatures. In the novel, part of Dr. No's experiment in torture is to tie up Honey and observe her being devoured by migrating crabs. A version of it was filmed in the studio, but Andress recalled, "It was cut from the film because the crabs were too frozen - they had been flown in and they had to be de-iced. Terence suggested hot steam - they ended up half cooked so everybody took a crab home for dinner." (The story of the crabs in the film was new info for me).

    Glad you all are enjoying the info. I'll be posting all kinds of posters as we go along, @mattjoes (colorful one from Spain above). Cheers, everybody!

    Please feel free to answer my questions re Dr. No and also think of anything in particular you'd like me to check in this fine book, Some Kind Of Hero. I only put a small portion of what they say about a film. It's quite a thick book. B-)

    And you may find this interesting - art of the title sequences, through all the Bond films (thru Skyfall). https://www.artofthetitle.com/feature/james-bond-50-years-of-main-title-design/

  • edited June 2019 Posts: 2,919
    Ian Fleming discussed Dr. No's crab debacle in a letter to The Spectator, reprinted below:

    BONDAGE (Oct. 26, 1962)

    Sir, — Since James Bond has had the honour of being mentioned in three separate departments of your issue of October 12, and since Bond is at present away in Magnetogorsk, I hope you will allow me to comment on his behalf.

    “Spectator's Notebook”: Queequeg asks what happened to the crabs in the film Dr. No. Alas, they went the way of the giant squid, despite urgent representations from me and from one of the producers. The black crabs had not started “running” in Jamaica last February when the Jamaican scenes were being shot, but on my return to London in March I received an excited invitation to visit Pinewood and inspect a consignment of spider crabs obtained from Guernsey. A large tank was unveiled. All the crabs were dead. I asked if they bad been preserved in sea water and was told that, since none was available, they had been put in fresh water with plenty of salt added! After that the crab faction gave up.

    Letters: Mr. Snell suggests that my serial biography of James Bond is “a barrier to international understanding.” He seems not to have noticed that since Thunderball the international organization “SPECTRE” has taken over as enemy Number One from SMERSH, the murder apparat of the then MWD, dissolved, as I wrote in Thunderball, by Khrushchev. As the recently concluded spy trial in Karlsruhe, involving the liquidation of two Ukrainians by a Soviet assassin with a cyanide gas pistol, shows, the machinery of cold-blooded murder by the, now, KGB is again in business and I cannot promise that Bond may not be called upon in the line of duty to involve himself with these new ambassadors for “international understanding” sent out into the world by Moscow.

    Cinema: Mr. Ian Cameron, with a fastidious stamp of his grey suede winkle-pickers, scrunches the Dr. No film, while describing James Bond as “every intellectual’s favourite fascist.” James Bond's politics are, in fact, slightly left of centre.

    IAN FLEMING

    c/o Jonathan Cape Ltd.
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 8,292
    I was aware of the Andress part of the crab story, except for the cooking part. I guess filming exotic films has its percs.

    @Revelator thanks for that! Lovely how Fleming reacted, making Bond more alive. Also, except for his simpathies for the Cuban revolt, I think this is the only other time Bond's politics are mentioned.
  • ChulaChula New York
    Posts: 19
    This I did not know ...
    Ernie Ranglin ~
    I'll say it:
    Eric Clapton was to be on the soundtrack to LICENCE TO KILL. Had he been on it, Clapton would have been the second best guitarist involved in a Bond film.

    If there were a Mt. Rushmore of guitarists, Ernest Ranglin would be all four faces. He's that important and great. Is he famous? No. But to anybody who has played guitar, the name Ernest Ranglin fills one with awe.

    I have always loved Jamaican reggae and ska. Ranglin's guitar playing is the father of that music. No Ranglin, the world does not have reggae and ska. He more or less created an entire genre of music. I have also loved Bond films. Many, many years back guitar players on the internet started to give clues that Ranglin was all over the DR. NO soundtrack. Turns out it was true. The guitar all over the DR. NO soundtrack is the legendary Ernest Ranglin. Astonishing work. But not just in the reggae genre. Just listen to the ragged and raw playing on the "Jamaica Rock" track and remember this is 1962...before The Beatles broke. This is wild abandon...something no guitarist was doing back then. It is Hendrix, before Hendrix. Guitar players weren't doing this. This is too wild even for Bo Diddley.



    Of all the things to find out about Bond films, the fact that Ranglin was the guitarist on the DR. NO soundtrack is simply mindblowing. What??? Ranglin played on a Bond film??? Like finding out your kid's basketball coach is Michael Jordan. Stunning that the Bond films utilized Ernest Ranglin. Probably the greatest artist involved in all the Bond films. And that includes John Barry, Judi Dench, Freddie Young, Sean Connery, Ken Adam, Paul McCartney....nope, Ranglin towers above them all.

    photo1.jpg
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited June 2019 Posts: 12,480

    Thanks, @Revelator - great to read Ian Fleming's words, and I especially enjoyed learning that Bond's politics were "slightly left of centre".

    Also, pleased to have posted about Ernie Ranglin. That was certainly new info for me, and I'm glad you found our thread, @Chula.

    Wrapping up Dr. No today. My final musings on the film are:
    • The perfect introduction on film, the best start to this series. I cannot imagine a better choice of cast, all the way through. And I do think not starting with Casino Royale proved to be a smart move.
    • The seriousness, stripped back action (compared to the films that followed), lack of complex or fancy gadgets, small doses of humor ... this is a finely balanced film that sets the right tone to make people want more.
    • I forever connect it to the novel, as I read it first and it is one of my very favorites. They served the story well.
    • Even though she had to be dubbed, Ursula was stunningly the right choice for this first film. Athletic, unusual kind of beauty - she was a striking, strong woman and therefore a good match for Sean also.
    • I like to revisit this film because it plants so many seeds that bloomed so spectacularly in the films that followed.
    • Finally ... thank God for Terence Young, who did much besides actually direct the film. It would not have been the same film without his influence and guidance (for Sean in particular). So here's to Terence, Cubby, and Harry. "Everything or Nothing" - turned out to be everything beautifully done in this debut Bond film. B-)
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 8,292
    Fascinating poster! They had to inply there was music to the film?
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    I have no idea why the music sheet is presented. :) Also, Honey's bikini is light pink here and I think Sean seems to have rather deep blue eyes. I do enjoy seeing the different countries' posters.
  • Perhaps the best way for me to answer @4Ever's questions regarding my first exposure to DR. NO is to quote my own entry on this board, from way back on Page 27. Yes, I first saw DN on the big screen, in a theatre, around 1965 or so. Yes, some of the footage looks a bit dated now (the auto chase particularly so) but I don't care -- that's just part of its charm.

    My first introduction to the character of James Bond came in a rather unusual form: a toy commercial on Saturday morning TV, interspersed with ads for breakfast cereal and dolls that could talk or wet themselves. At the advanced age of 9 I had already learned to generally ignore commercials for the most part. I was there to watch the cartoons -- Mighty Mouse perhaps, or maybe even Popeye. But here, in the middle of an advertisement for (of all the outlandish things!) a briefcase with a sniper rifle hidden inside it, a case that spouted gas into your face if you didn’t open it just so…here was a brief snippet from a current movie, featuring a hero that had Mighty Mouse beat all hollow! The lead character was named James Bond, the movie that I was glimpsing ever-so-tantalizingly was From Russia With Love, and to say that I was fascinated by the dramatically more sophisticated world I had just caught a glimpse of would be to significantly understate the case. Who was this Bond fellow and how was I to find out more about him?

    Before long, transistor radios throughout the neighborhood provided my next clue, as Shirley Bassey’s bombastic rendition of the title song to Goldfinger poured through the airwaves. James Bond was suddenly huge news, as seemingly EVERYBODY thronged to the theatres to catch his latest adventure. Everybody except my parents, that is. True homebodies they were, satisfied to watch whatever showed up on their black & white TV screen, as one network or another provided unchallenging filmic fare with Saturday Night at the Movies. Following their lead, I had to learn to be satisfied with whatever showed up on the Sunday night Disney TV show. It seemed as if I was going to have to wait a long, long time for James Bond to make the leap onto the small screen.

    Finally, late in the first-run release of Thunderball, an opportunity arose that was just too tempting to resist. Understand: I had been gorging myself on every magazine article, newspaper review, and bubble-gum card I could find that revealed information on the Bond phenomenon. I was already hooked without having seen a single Bond movie. And then, a local theatre ran a newspaper advertisement offering a one-day-only special triple-bill: Thunderball, Goldfinger, and Dr. No. Back-to-back, for the price of a single admission, an entire afternoon’s worth of immersion into the spectacular world of James Bond. I begged, I pleaded, I cajoled; and finally my parents capitulated. “What the heck,” I suppose they figured, “it’s a cheap way to get him out of our hair on the weekend.”

    So I went, I saw, and I emerged a full-fledged James Bond fan. Even at the tender age of 12 I was beginning to form some critical sensibilities. I decided that Goldfinger was the best of the bunch; that some of the editing on Thunderball had been a bit jumpy, especially in the bit with the jet-pack before the theme song, and that the ending of Dr. No seemed terribly rushed, as if the film-makers had decided once Bond escaped from his cell, “Hey, we’re almost out of money and we’ve still got this island to blow up -- let’s hurry up & get this sucker in the can!”



  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    Thanks, @BeatlesSansEarmuffs ! Yes, that's quite on point. And I do recommend members here go back and read the older pages for good, thoughtful reviews and comments on the films. Greg started Dr. No on page 3 here. B-)
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited June 2019 Posts: 12,480
    From Russia With Love is next! Another strong favorite of mine.
    I'll get to posting on this film, the 2nd in the film series, later this week.


  • Posts: 1,925
    For those of us trying to stay spoiler-free, did anybody else get surprised by the main news on the Mi6 landing page when coming here? I did, not that it would've been a super well-kept secret anyway, but still.
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 8,292
    BT3366 wrote: »
    For those of us trying to stay spoiler-free, did anybody else get surprised by the main news on the Mi6 landing page when coming here? I did, not that it would've been a super well-kept secret anyway, but still.
    I didn't see it, I always go straight to the forums, so thankfully have no idea what you're talking about
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    The news is on all media, very very hard to avoid.

    Sorry for delay with From Russia With Love. It will be next week. B-)
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 8,292
    The news is on all media, very very hard to avoid.

    Sorry for delay with From Russia With Love. It will be next week. B-)
    My ability to avoid it probably would make me a terrible spy ;-)
  • The news is on all media, very very hard to avoid.

    Sorry for delay with From Russia With Love. It will be next week. B-)
    My ability to avoid it probably would make me a terrible spy ;-)

    "Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now?" Yes, the news is everywhere. Some spoilers are harder to avoid than others...
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 8,292
    The news is on all media, very very hard to avoid.

    Sorry for delay with From Russia With Love. It will be next week. B-)
    My ability to avoid it probably would make me a terrible spy ;-)

    "Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now?" Yes, the news is everywhere. Some spoilers are harder to avoid than others...

    Yes, indeed. Now that my phone is even attacking me unasked with this 'news' which I choose not to believe, there sure isn't a way around it. On the plus side: was there ever so much attention to a new Bond film? The days of Bindmania are long gone and with mothern communications technology such eras will never return, but perhaps this is the modern day incarnation of it.
  • Posts: 1,925
    I marked the 30th anniversary of my first screening of LTK on Monday. Still a good, solid film. I found both Pam and Lupe a little more tolerable than I had previously. I was surprised how much of the film the Florida Keys segment took up the running time; I thought they arrived in Isthmus sooner, but almost the first hour is in Florida.

    One of the big complaints about LTK is it looking cheap and all that, but there seemed to be a good deal of nice sets such as the casino, Sanchez' estate and the Isthmus bank. I was reminded of QoS sometimes as well.

    LTK is a special film for me as it's on of the early dates my future wife and I went on. We've seen each successive film together and she's great about tolerating my Bond obsession all these years.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited July 2019 Posts: 12,480
    LTK is special to some Bond fans, for sure. I don't like it much due to two things: the treatment of Lupe made me feel ill, and as I have heavy into Miami Vice during its entire run I felt that LTK took a very much over-used idea (drug cartel) and ran with it. I also felt the production value was not so great. But I appreciate that others do like the film very much. And I'm still a Dalton fan. And I like Carey in it. I simply like TLD a lot more than LTK.

    Thanks for sharing your personal story, @BT3366. I hope others share stories here, too. We won't all agree on films, but it's good to chat here. Sharing personal stories from our time as fans is basically the heart of this thread.

    From Russia With Love will be Sunday; I think I'm on track for that. B-)
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited July 2019 Posts: 12,480
    @CommanderRoss yes, I am sure it is nearly impossible to avoid the current Bond news! Truly. Phones, computer, all zip right to it when we log on. I feel for those of you trying to avoid much news. As for me (and we WON'T mention that actual news here), I'm not bothered one bit. Very psyched about Bond 25 in all regards. If you'd like to chat about the news further, just PM me.
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 8,292
    @CommanderRoss yes, I am sure it is nearly impossible to avoid the current Bond news! Truly. Phones, computer, all zip right to it when we log on. I feel for those of you trying to avoid much news. As for me (and we WON'T mention that actual news here), I'm not bothered one bit. Very psyched about Bond 25 in all regards. If you'd like to chat about the news further, just PM me.
    Thanks @4EverBonded, but I'm still stubbornly putting my head in the sand. I'd love to see the first trailer though. That's how I like to be introduced to a film. I. E. I knew they were making a new top gun film, and I guess for any aviation aficionado it's the same must-see classic, but I knew absolutely nothing about it until I saw the trailer today. And it was worth it, the film looks fantastic and I'm all psyched up to go and see it.... In the summer of 2020.....

  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    edited July 2019 Posts: 12,480
    Ahhhh Top Gun. I'll see it for Val; that's all. Love him.

    As for Bond 25, at least you'll see the trailer. That's a good introduction, sure, and hopefully won't give too much away.
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 8,292
    Ahhhh Top Gun. I'll see it for Val; that's all. Love him.

    As for Bond 25, at least you'll see the trailer. That's a good introduction, sure, and hopefully won't give too much away.
    I doubt he'll be in the new one. Unlike maverick I take it iceman did have a full career. Would be cool to see him as a general though.
    I used to fly gliders and we did have a 'maverick' in the club. Extremely talented but also irratic and prone to skip the (safety) rules. I've always had more respect to the iceman's of this world. Perhaps a tad less talented, but very consistent and professional. Anyway, as said in aviation TG is an absolute classic, so 2 is a must - go to film.
    And don't forget, without top gun, no hot shots!
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    I read some time ago he was in the new one. I don't care much about the film itself, actually. Very interesting you used to fly gliders. Oh and I've never seen Hot Shots. I missed out on plenty (mostly without regret) in the (80s).
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 8,292
    I read some time ago he was in the new one. I don't care much about the film itself, actually. Very interesting you used to fly gliders. Oh and I've never seen Hot Shots. I missed out on plenty (mostly without regret) in the (80s).

    Ah, but there you have missed out something. I think Hot Shots is probably the only parody film that's genuinly funny even though it's so much over the top. At least the first one is. I've seldom seen a film with so many jokes, especially also in the background, that still kept the right tone and atmosphere. Who knew baking eggs could actually be sexy?
    If he's in the film, I'd be more than happy. Didn't see him in the trailer and as seaid, missed out on all the 'news' around it. We'll see.
  • 4EverBonded4EverBonded the Ballrooms of Mars
    Posts: 12,480
    Val was confirmed being in it, by Variety and by himself.
    So I sincerely hope he is in it more than a cameo.

    Hot Shots I would like to see. I enjoyed Airplane. But I don't think many films in the '80s that I missed are something I need to catch up on. ;)
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 8,292
    Val was confirmed being in it, by Variety and by himself.
    So I sincerely hope he is in it more than a cameo.

    Hot Shots I would like to see. I enjoyed Airplane. But I don't think many films in the '80s that I missed are something I need to catch up on. ;)

    Ah good, love it!

    Yes, it's worth it:



    There's indeed not much else to look back to...
  • CommanderRossCommanderRoss The bottom of a pitch lake in Eastern Trinidad, place called La Brea
    Posts: 8,292
    Well, we said we'd discuss the new title once we had one, and now we do, and as I understand it, opinions are devided...
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