BLU-RAY REVIEW

Dr. No

Featured In Issue 137, December 2008

Picture4.5
Sound4.0
WSR Score4
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
MGM Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
M111669
(MPAA Rating):
PG
(Rating Reason):
NA
(Retail Price):
$34.98
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
110
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A
(Theatrical Year):
1962
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
10/21/08
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Terence Young
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
DTS HD Lossless 5.1
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(French Language):
(Spanish Language):
(Chinese Language):
(Subtitles):
(Cantonese Language):
(Mandarin Language):
(Japanese Language):
(Italian Language):
(German Language):
(Portuguese Language):

Sean Connery made his explosive film debut as James Bond—Agent 007 in Dr. No, the first of Ian Fleming's novels adapted to the screen. In the Caribbean, mysterious energy waves are interfering with U.S. missile launches, and it is Bond's mission to solve the crisis. With the help of CIA Agent Felix Leiter (Lord) and the beautiful Honey Ryder (Andress), Bond begins to unravel the truth. He must square off in Jamaica against the ruthless Dr. No (Joesph Wiseman), a rogue's gallery of vengeful SPECTRE agents, assassins, and femmes fatales, and their evil plans for world domination. Based on the book by Ian Fleming. (Stacey Pendry)

Special features include a commentary track by the cast and crew; the following featurettes: A License To Restore (12 minutes), The Guns Of James Bond (five minutes), Premiere Bond: Opening Nights (13 mintues), Inside Dr. No (42 minutes), Terence Young: Bond Vivant (18 minutes), Dr. No 1963 Featurette (nine minutes); 007 Mission Control, which is an interactive guide to your favorite scenes in the movie displayed by character or theme; four theatrical trailers; two TV spots; seven minutes of radio spots; and a photo gallery.

The H.264 1.78:1 AVC-encoded Blu-ray Disc™ shows deep, consistent black levels with impressive shadow delineation. Resolution is quite good, with fine details delivered well to the screen. Colors are nicely balanced with good saturation that betrays the age of the original film. Fleshtones appear natural, and contrast is balanced well. While edge enhancement is not noticeable, there are occasional source element artifacts noticeable, and there are times when the image appears digitally harsh. (Danny Richelieu)

The lossless DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel re-purposed soundtrack delivers impressive fidelity for its age, although there are effects that sound obviously dated. The surround channels are used infrequently, as is the LFE channel. Deep bass is not a big part of the sound design in general, but the soundtrack rarely sounds thin. The front stage is relatively narrow, with little expansion beyond the center channel. Phantom imaging is rarely incorporated anywhere, but there are moments when it is mixed into the front stage. Dialogue generally sounds natural, but clipping distortions can be heard at times. The original mono soundtrack is included on the disc. (Danny Richelieu)