Dr. No [Blu-ray], starring Sean Connery, Ursula Andress: DVDNear.com

Dr. No [Blu-ray]

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DVD Cover Information

Actor: Sean Connery, Ursula Andress
Brand: Sony
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 110 minutes
Published: 2008-10-01
Blu-ray Release Date: 2008-10-21
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Fox/MGM
Product features:

Condition: New
Format: Blu-ray
AC-3; Color; Dolby; DTS Surround Sound; Dubbed; Subtitled; Widescreen; Closed-captioned

Movie Reviews of Dr. No [Blu-ray]

Movie Review: Say Yes to Dr. No (Blu-Ray Review)
Summary: 5 Stars

If you don't know where that line comes from, you've either been in a coma for several decades and just woke up, or you are the World's Greatest Hermit. To say that Ian Fleming's fictional creation is a pop culture icon doesn't do it justice; James Bond is more than that. There are arguably only two fictional creations better known worldwide than James Bond (and no I'm not going to try to troll religious people by including religious icons in that list).

It's with that legacy that MGM finally decided to begin releasing the Bond collection on Blu-Ray in the form of six randomly selected Bond adventures. While it wasn't the first of the set I watched (hey, I've seen them all before) I found it fitting to kick off my two days of Bond Blu-Ray reviews with the movie that spawned a franchise: Dr. No.

Anyone who has seen James Bond can testify that it isn't the plot which makes the movie-it's the actor, and the action on screen. No Bond better personified that than Mr. Connery. For those who have only seen the Brosnan and new Craig Bond takes, do yourself a favor and stop reading this right now, and go buy Dr. No on Blu-Ray (or DVD if you have no BRD player). Sean Connery took a character and turned him into a legend, and this film is a large part of that legacy.

Taking place amidst car chases, explosions, and wet bikini clad women, Connery's first foray into Bond brought the world a new kind of movie, and a new kind of world. With the Cold War fresh in the minds of many, the idea of villains able to hold the world hostage was a very real fictional threat, but hadn't truly been portrayed in Bondian fashion until Dr. No.

Of course, these days the movie itself might seem dated. White actors don makeup to play minorities, women have wonderfully suggestive names (and scant clothing for the period), and the writers and director (Terrence Young) hold no punches when it comes to offending groups of people. Viewed as a modern film, Dr. No slumps along struggling to find an identity; viewed as a piece of art from when it was originally made, Dr. No is a fun, action-filled espionage thriller which would forever change the history of cinema, and defined careers for numerous people involved (and women for the next several decades).

Movie aside (which is as fantastic as always) I'm sure what people want to know most about is the quality of the video and audio. First off, remember the age of this movie and the small budget it was working with at the time of release. Even with those obstacles, the video transfer here is by far the best Dr. No yet. You can make out details on paper, see all the lines on Connery's face during his trademark grin, and (for the guys out there) see partly through certain wet white bikinis at times.

Compared to modern releases the crispness of color and the black levels are nowhere near as strong, but in terms of taking an aging film and cleaning it up for modern audiences, Dr. No doesn't pull any punches. It's not fantastic looking, but compared to the source (and past DVD releases) the quality is miraculous.

The same can be said of the audio. On my original Dr. No DVD there are plenty of times when I can't quite make out what someone is saying over background noise, but in this release that's all gone. It's the first time audio of this quality has been put together with an older Bond movie, and the result is nothing short of awesome.

If there's one true downside with this release, it's that the extras are severely lacking. I know that it's impossible for MGM to find further scenes after all the re-releases we've already had of Dr. No over the years, but I would have loved some newer updated commentary from people, and maybe better retrospective looks at the film itself compared to the new Casino Royale film. (You know, compare the two Bond "starts" against one another and juxtapose them with the original Fleming character.)

Lack of Blu-Ray extras aside, Dr. No is a fantastic release and a great starting point for the BRD era of Bond. The video is the best Dr. No has ever seen, the audio blows previous releases out of the water, and combined they bring new life to an aging classic. If you're a Bond or action fan, you owe it to yourself to pick up Dr. No and re-live a legend.

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Summary of Dr. No [Blu-ray]

DR. NO (ULTIMATE EDITION) - Blu-Ray Movie

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Dr. No [Blu-ray]

Dr. No [Blu-ray]

DVD Cover Information

Movie Reviews of Dr. No [Blu-ray]

Movie Review: Say Yes to Dr. No (Blu-Ray Review)Summary: 5 Stars

Summary of Dr. No [Blu-ray]

Movie Review: Say Yes to Dr. No (Blu-Ray Review)
Summary: 5 Stars