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Then and Now; This Week - Spectre
royale65
Caustic misanthrope reporting for duty.
Then and Now
Community Reflections -
Dr No
Then -
Now - 6
In this thread, gentle readers, we are going to share our first experience of seeing a Bond movie, be it in the cinema, VHS or DVD, our reactions to it, and our thoughts now.
I look back on the first time I saw each particular Bond film, and my reaction, now.
Dr No
Then –
Like the majority of the classic Bond movies, pre-GoldenEye, I think I watched this one on ITV's “007 Heaven” marathon, which they used to have every year, until the digital revolution started. It was roughly 1997. I was convinced that I didn't like the newer Bond, despite not having seen either GoldenEye or Tomorrow Never Dies!
From the first time I watched Dr No, I loved it. The film had an air of seduction about it, and Sean Connery's performance was simply masterful and magnetic. I didn't have any problems with Dr No's supposed lack of pace. Nor did I find it boring – two common complaints it has faced.
When I started collecting Bond movies on VHS, Dr No and From Russia With Love were the third and fourth ones added to my burgeoning collection. The first two were The World Is Not Enough and A View To A Kill. Strange bedfellows one might say. The World Is Not Enough had just been released on VHS, and in the days of “Buy Bond, Get Bond Free” offers in the supermarket, my mum decided to get both The World Is Not Enough and A View To A Kill. I think the only reason she chose this film – its not the most iconic or memorable – is because she loves Duran Duran. Seeing Dr No again confirmed how much I enjoy this film.
Now –
Dr No is so full of iconic scenes. I still get a thrill over “this is Connery's introduction”, or “this is M's first briefing”. Although it’s the first film, the character interactions of Bond, M, and Moneypenny are perfectly judged and realised. One could be watching the third or fourth entry into the series, not the first. Seeing how bloated the series could become, Dr No is remarkably bare and streamlined, and it has been a mainstay in my top ten Bond films ever since.
Give a vote, do you enjoy Dr No "Then" or "Now"!!!
Then - 0
Now - 1
Community Reflections -
Dr No
Then -
Now - 6
In this thread, gentle readers, we are going to share our first experience of seeing a Bond movie, be it in the cinema, VHS or DVD, our reactions to it, and our thoughts now.
I look back on the first time I saw each particular Bond film, and my reaction, now.
Dr No
Then –
Like the majority of the classic Bond movies, pre-GoldenEye, I think I watched this one on ITV's “007 Heaven” marathon, which they used to have every year, until the digital revolution started. It was roughly 1997. I was convinced that I didn't like the newer Bond, despite not having seen either GoldenEye or Tomorrow Never Dies!
From the first time I watched Dr No, I loved it. The film had an air of seduction about it, and Sean Connery's performance was simply masterful and magnetic. I didn't have any problems with Dr No's supposed lack of pace. Nor did I find it boring – two common complaints it has faced.
When I started collecting Bond movies on VHS, Dr No and From Russia With Love were the third and fourth ones added to my burgeoning collection. The first two were The World Is Not Enough and A View To A Kill. Strange bedfellows one might say. The World Is Not Enough had just been released on VHS, and in the days of “Buy Bond, Get Bond Free” offers in the supermarket, my mum decided to get both The World Is Not Enough and A View To A Kill. I think the only reason she chose this film – its not the most iconic or memorable – is because she loves Duran Duran. Seeing Dr No again confirmed how much I enjoy this film.
Now –
Dr No is so full of iconic scenes. I still get a thrill over “this is Connery's introduction”, or “this is M's first briefing”. Although it’s the first film, the character interactions of Bond, M, and Moneypenny are perfectly judged and realised. One could be watching the third or fourth entry into the series, not the first. Seeing how bloated the series could become, Dr No is remarkably bare and streamlined, and it has been a mainstay in my top ten Bond films ever since.
Give a vote, do you enjoy Dr No "Then" or "Now"!!!
Then - 0
Now - 1
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Comments
I love the idea for this thread! But mightn't it be more interesting for you to host this at a rate of one movie every few days? You can then refresh the discussion with a new movie every now and then and it's easier for us to read a post about one film rather than a post about all films? :) Also, you could keep track of which movies are generally liked better 'now' versus 'then'. :)
Just a thought. ;-)
Any ideas about how do to "Then reflections" and "now reflections"?
I will provide my own thoughts tonight. :-)
Thanks in advance, friend! :-) I'm curious about the results, especially DAD and QOS...
Right you are... ;-)
The only thing i can tell you is that i start in 1992 with LTK on Video 2000, GE was my first Bond in 1995 in the cinema and bought in 1996 with buying the VHS/Video'sIt take whyle before i discover the order, it is possible i have seen FYEO after Spy. I always take LTK and 90's as basic. Possible i started with Roger Moore movies. . I remember i get nightmares then from Incredible Hulk episodes somewhere at the end of the 80's when i was 8-9 years old. In 2013 i bought complete series and iam almoost finished with season 3. Last episode i have seen on this moment be Janus episode playing in my birth year 1980 (Goldeneye is from 1995.) with very Daniel Craig releated chacter development. I think it is great show and what i like moost is ''grow'' with strange enough later tv series like The A-team Knight Rider and Airwolf. With some of episodes of first and second season of The Incredible Hulk i must think about Yolt or The Man With The Golden Gun, MacGyver i must think about Bond too.
When i saw QOS in cinema i thaught it was realy refreshing and must think about Dr No.
I think going thru the films in order they came out (therefore, yes - start with Dr. No) makes sense. And give us a few days to think about it and comment.
So focusing on Dr. No, for me ...
Then -
I cannot remember which year I first saw it, but it would have been in the 70's I think. Not in a theater, but on TV. I had already read the novel years prior, and I'd by then been hooked on Sean and adapted happily to Roger. first impressions: I do remember loving Sean and Ursula together, the stunning location, and felt it was a great introduction to Bond. I felt the casino intro "Bond. James Bond" was utterly perfect. I enjoyed it a lot, it really held my interest. Later, I had it on VHS, and I enjoyed watching it over and over again. The main thing I took away from it was that Sean was rock solid, the completely perfect choice for Bond. And that Ursula still looked amazing, every time we saw her, in a bikini or dressed in anything ... in a way that my friends and I could never quite achieve (ha!). Both Sean and Ursula had a real magnetism that was there on screen. So although by then (70's and 80's) I was used to big budget, super gadgets, madmen who wanted to own or destroy the world, fantastical villains, and (alas) at times over the top humor - I never sold Dr. No short. Although it had a mad major villain in the infamous Dr. No (menacingly underplayed), it shared none of those other "huge" qualities of the films that followed it. Dr. No was a fine beginning and has always been one of my favorites.
Now -
I actually appreciate it more over time because of the origins, the iconic parts, the overall atmosphere. It feels really refreshing for me to go back and view Dr. No (and From Russia with Love, also) to get back to the roots of this film series, to be re-grounded in the whole feeling of the beginning of something truly great and unique. :) Liked it always, but "now" gets an even stronger vote from me.
Then - 0
Now - 1
It was the 80's and I was just a young little pachaz. I had just started to get into the series and was on a quest to see all of the films. So I came across Dr. No at the video rental place (remember those) and begged my parents to rent it for me as it was one of the last ones I had yet to see. At the time, I had no idea that it was the first film. So imagine my disappointment with the lack of spectacle, action, humor (my idea of it then) and over the top characters. Even the music which had always seemed to draw me in seemed off.
So, long story short, I didn't like it and never saw it again until I was a teenager. That's when I first fell in love with it. Now, it just keeps getting better and better with each and every viewing. It obviously helps to have an adult's perspective and a deeper understanding of the character. Out of all the blu-rays, Dr. No was my favorite to watch on the initial viewing. My how times have changed! The restoration job they did was fantastic.
Then - 0
Now - 1
Before Then
DR was the first Bond movie I ever saw. I was about 6 and had some fun playing in the living room while my mother zapped through the TV channels and stumbled upon DN. She went, "oh, it's James Bond!" and I was instantly hooked! Something about the whole package of Connery, playing the cards, lighting a cigarette, wearing a tux, carrying a holstered gun, made so much sense to me, it's almost like Bond fandom was in my DNA. And then the Bond Theme... That moment right there marked my future as a Bond and film fanatic. But I was too young then to remember more about that day now.
Then
Since I was born 20 years after the release of DN, I had to turn to VHS. Several years after my first encounter with DN, as described above, I taped the film and then sat down to watch it. By then I had seen half the Bonds multiple times, but had carried with me only the vague memory of watching DN as barely more than a toddler. I suppose my memory had become somewhat idealized, so when I saw DN on VHS for the first time in years, I didn't know what to think. No PTS, anything but a John Barry score, ... I felt seriously let-down.
Between Then and Now
Despite my mild disappointment, I kept watching DN and soon discovered that I actually quite liked the film. Learning to appreciate a film in far more departments than merely the superficial ones even a child pays attention to, I began to see the power of DN.
Now
DN is one of my favourite Bond films. I enjoy it even more because of the things I considered weak "Then". Its honest simplicity and unfulfilled potential combined with Connery's rough performance and the incomplete formula are now the primary reasons for my love for DN. Add to that the great power of Joseph Wiseman's performance and the magnetic beauty of Ursula Andress, the exotic flavours and the risqué elements - it were the early 60s! - and you have an amazing cocktail of quality things not quite 'there' yet but certainly already firmly on its way. ;-)
Then: 0
Now: 1
I know there is a bit of overlap with SirHenry's Original Thread, mind, so thank you to all the participants of that great thread, popping in here.
Simply marvelous to all! I really hope this thread will take off in time.
Dr.No
Then
I didn't see Dr.No until the mid to late 80's. At the time I was more of a Roger Moore fan. It was about the time that I'd seen all the Moore Bonds up to date, and was discovering the film of Connery. In no particular order. I recall feeling the film was enjoyable. But no action to speak of, no PTS...No formula that I had really got to know from the later film. But it was still good. More grown up, simpler yet dangerous. A mediocre entry at first.
Now
Dr.No now is like a wine that gets better with age. Every time I watch it I find myself enjoying it more. It's an absolutely brilliant film. Connery was just terrific, the locations were beautiful (and still are), the women were stunning. Ursula Andress emerging from the ocean. Wow! The villains were some of the best of the series. Dent and Dr.No together as a villainous team. Great stuff.
Terence Young made such a great film, it's part of the reason we're awaiting Bond 24 now!
FRWL used to be a hard film to beat out of the Connery films. But in my current ranking, I think Dr.No would give it a good run for it's money.
Then - 0
Now - 1
I first saw this on the big screen in 1987. I was in the navy, and based outside Bergen. A cinema there ran a "Bondathon" to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the series. I had seen most of the films by then except a few of the very early ones.
I actually thought it was a bit boring compared to some other entries, despite some lovely scenes with the Doctor himself and Dent.
In 2007 I started collecting the films on dvd, except the abysmal Brosnan films, as I only owned an old VHS copy of my favourite OHMSS at the time. I was blown away by everything. How could I have been so wrong in the past? One of my absolute favourites now.
Brilliant, @Thunderfinger! :))
Today, Dr. No almost seems like a fairy tale, and like many fairy tales from the past, it has a strong streak of violence that turned me on. Not to violence, per se, but you'd have to be living under a rock not to realize that graphic violence in films went up a notch when Bond, so coolly, shot Dr. Dent. The bar had been raised by the Brits in their cinematic quest for realism. It wasn't bloody but you did see Dent move from the impact of the bullet. It was a moment in Cinema History I'll always cherish because I was there, and awed by it.
While I'd become aware of the Bond phenomenon a few years earlier, with the theme to Goldfinger blasting out of every transistor radio in the country and articles on the making of Thunderball on the cover of every magazine from Life to Scientific American...it wasn't until late in TB's initial release that that the 12 year old me actually got into a theatre to see a real James Bond movie. At that time, it took a marathon showing of THREE Bond films to entice me into persuading my parents to give me the money and transport me to & from the theatre. Those three movies, in the order in which they were shown on that fateful day: Thunderball, Dr. No, and Goldfinger. At the time, it seemed obvious to me that GF and TB were made with substantially more generous budgets than was available for DN. Nonetheless, I'd have been at a loss to critique the series any further than that...and perhaps to note that GF and TB had radio friendly theme songs to promote their respective films, while DN's "Three Blind Mice" didn't quite hit the mark in that regard. Oh, and I also noticed that the film seemed unnaturally sped up during some of the action in TB. If pressed, I'd have evalutated GF as my favorite of the three, with DN in second and TB as third. But hey, they were ALL great! They were Bond...what more need be said?
Perhaps it's just my need to be a little different, but I have to give a (very slight) edge to the DN of the past. After all, it's hard to match the energy of THREE Bond films in your first true exposure to the series! As much as I enjoy being able to slip on a DVD and rewatch any given Bond film at a moment's notice...an ability I never would have expected to possess during my lifetime if quizzed on the possibilities of the future fifty years ago...I'm afraid I'll never be able to recapture the excitement I felt on that long ago Saturday afternoon!
Any time you wish to continue this wonderful thread @royale65 I'm sure I'm not the only one waiting for FRWL to move things along.
Anyone else want to chip with their memories of Dr No?
Right, on to our next film -
From Russia With Love
Then –
I managed to miss From Russia With Love each time it was shown on the “007 Heaven series”. So seeing From Russia With Love was at the forefront of my mind when I bought it, along with Dr No. It was vying, even at this early stage of my fandom, with The World Is Not Enough, which I had just seen in the cinema, unleashing my passion for Bond, for the top spot.
Now -
To me, From Russia With Love is the finest Bond film. I thought that when I first watched it and that still holds true today, some fifteen years after.
Now - 1
I heard a lot of great things about this film from my parents. Both of them were huge fans of this and insisted I was wrong as a kid to love the then current incumbent (Moore) as much as I did. Connery was the true Bond, they insisted & FRWL was the holy grail of Bond films. Moore was merely a Saint.
Then -
Truly a disappointment. I couldn't even watch the whole thing. Boring.....I thought. Where was the cool stunt in the pretitles. Where were the fancy cars, the amazing gadgets etc. etc. Moreover, this Connery guy seemed like a brute. A thug. Not what I was expecting at all. How could my parents be so wrong?
Now -
As you can imagine, I love it now. My favourite Bond film. Romantic, lush, beautiful score, lovely location work and never quite equaled, although often imitated, it is the gold standard as far as I'm concerned. Almost a perfect thriller (save for the boat chase/helicopter part at the end which I've never really got into)
Then - 0 (if there was minus, I'd give it that)
Now - 1 (if there was a way to score it higher, i'd do it)
Cheers @Birdleson. My mistake.
Bought it on dvd in 2008 and was ashamed of my younger self. A truly perfect Bond film.
Then-0
Now-4
Then - 0
Now - 5
Years later, growing up, I began to discover the true beauty and cleverness of Bond films I had previously somewhat neglected, like FRWL and FYEO. Recognising the Hitchcockian power of FRWL and the amazing art that underlines this movie, I declared, as if struck by an epiphany, my unconditional love for it.
Then - 0
Now - 6
I got to see this in the theater a couple times in the 80s as a rerun or as part of a Bond film festival. The interesting anecdote which sticks out in my mind is that it was the only Bond my prudish mother somewhat approved of and enjoyed herself. "Its more of a spy/intrigue movie" she'd say, comparing mainly to the then contemporary Moore titles. I certainly enjoyed it, but on the whole probably didn't "get it" the way I have much later on. It now is among a handful which, frankly, I can (and do) watch over and over again, enjoying every aspect, but especially the pageantry and romance of the whole Orient Express motif.
Then - 0
Now - 7