Released in 1962, this first James Bond movie remains one of the best and serves as an entertaining reminder that the Bond series began (in keeping with Ian Fleming's novels) with a surprising lack of gadgetry and big-budget fireworks. Sean Connery was just 32 years old when he won the role of Agent 007. In his first adventure .. Read more
| Starring | Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Jack Lord, Joseph Wiseman |
|---|---|
| Director | Terence Young |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Thriller |
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Released in 1962, this first James Bond movie remains one of the best and serves as an entertaining reminder that the Bond series began (in keeping with Ian Fleming's novels) with a surprising lack of gadgetry and big-budget fireworks. Sean Connery was just 32 years old when he won the role of Agent 007. In his first adventure James Bond is called to Jamaica where a colleague and secretary have been mysteriously killed. With an American CIA agent (Jack Lord, pre-Hawaii Five-O), they discover that the nefarious Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman) is scheming to blackmail the US government with a device capable of deflecting and destroying US rockets launched from Cape Canaveral. Of course, Bond takes time off from his exploits to enjoy the company of a few gorgeous women, including the bikini-clad Ursula Andress. She gloriously kicks off the long-standing tradition of Bond women who know how to please their favourite secret agent. A sexist anachronism? Maybe, but this is Bond at his purest, kicking off a series of movies that shows no sign of slowing down. --Jeff Shannon
Edition details
| Starring | Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Jack Lord, Joseph Wiseman, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Eunice Gayson, Anthony Dawson, John Kitzmiller, Zena Marshall |
|---|---|
| Director | Terence Young |
| Studio | MGM ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 45 mins Blu-ray: 1 hr 49 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Collections | 100 must-see movies, McCain's Classic Movies |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Thriller |
| Language | DVD: English Blu-ray: English |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 03 Nov 2003 Blu-ray: 20 Oct 2008 Production year: 1962 |
| Format | DVD |
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First of the phenomenally successful James Bond movies, mixing sex, violence and campy humour against expensive sets and exotic locales. Toned down from the original novels, they expressed a number of sixties attitudes, and proved unstoppable box-office a
The first Bond film, made comparatively cheaply but effectively establishing a formula for the series - basically a... read more on Time Out
The first turned out to be the best. Although undoubtedly suave and sophisticated, there was an edge to 007 in this film that kept faith with Fleming's character as written in the novels, an edge which was progressively lost as the series of films developed, to such an extent that in later years Bond was almost camp! Sean Connery excelled in the role and the Director's introduction of Bond to the screen audience remains amongst the most memorable screen moments. Picture the card table in the casino and the use of the camera to pan around to reveal Connery's face for the first time as he delivers the immortal words 'Bond ... James Bond' in the feline manner that only he could ooze. Pure magic ! Roger Moore et al could not have captured that moment. And all that before you consider Ursula Andress' arrival on the beach !
The first Bond film is a classic thriller which set up all the revolutionary parameters that have long since become clichéd; the sexy girl, the suave secret agent, the megalomaniacal, physically-deformed villain, the high-tech secret base, all that stuff.
What makes this among the best of the series, though, is its low-key atmosphere; without the bigger budgets of the following installments, it creates an intimate, more immediate sense of danger, and eschews big, bombastic set-pieces for a gripping adventure laced with intrigue.