Dr No: Special Edition.
MGM / 1962 / 105 Mins / Rated PG

MOVIE
The release of Dr. No along with From Russia With love and The World Is Not Enough marks the launch of this 19 movie series, all lovingly brought to us on our favorite movie format which is a good thing especially for huge Bond fans like myself.

After the death of an MI6 agent located in Jamaica we are introduced to Bond, James Bond 007, MI6 agent with a license to kill.

Bond is sent to Jamaica to investigate the murder the MI6 agent. Here he finds that an evil doctor named Doctor No is planning on thwarting a NASA space launch so now it's up to Bond to sort it out.

While in it's day it would have looked really cool, today the movie does look a little dated but it is very true to the original Bond that Ian Fleming original.

Looking at the presentation of this disc is easy to see that MGM has put a lot of work into the series and lovingly restored the movies back to there original glory and added a lot of rare extras that are more than welcome.

Look for the rest of the James Bond discs over the next year as they will be released periodically in order.

VIDEO
38 Years old and this is a super transfer. While not reference quality it is certainly better than some of the more recent titles about.

Shadow detail is average but the transfer is super sharp. There were no MPEG artifacts noticed but there were quite a few film artifacts present but this was expected as the movie is close to 40 years old.

Dr No. is framed at 1:85:1 and is 16:9 enhanced.

This is a single-sided, dual layer disc. The layer change occurs at 83:20.
AUDIO

Dr No. is encoded with a Dolby Digital 2.0 mono soundtrack which is not surprising considering the age of the movie. 

There was absolutely no surround or .1 channel use as the audio was limited towards the front center of the soundstage.

The dialog did get muffled at times when there was a lot of action occurring on screen, e.g. explosions, etc.

EXTRAS

Yet again another great special edition with great extras. 

Audio Commentary - Various: This is an audio commentary that contains recorded interviews by various crew members all put together into a running commentary. It is very informative but it seems to have a stop start feel.

Documentary - Inside Dr. No: This commentary is much more enjoyable though not as technical, but is more enjoyable than the first. It features common Bond commentary stalwarts Vic Armstrong & Vic Armstrong and to a lesser extent David Arnold. 

Theatrical Trailers: 4 trailers in varying aspect ratios between 1:33:1 and 1:85:1 aspect ratio. 2 for Dr. No,  1 Dr. No/From Russia with love double bill and 1 for the Goldfinger/Dr. No double bill.

Radio Spots: 6 really cheesy radio spots that aired back in 1962. Interesting.

Photo Gallery: Over 100 images from the movie put into groups. Really cool.

Featurette - Dr. No: A really bad 60's version of today's electronic press kit.

Featurette - Terrence Young : A 20 or so minutes documentary on the director of the movie. Quite interesting. 

Subtitles: Closed Captioned.

FINAL THOUGHTS
A great disc brimming with extras. A great start to the series.
16:9 ENHANCEMENT DISC RATING

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EXTRAS:

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REVIEW EQUIPMENT
Display: 48" Sony RPTV.
DVD Player: Panasonic A350 Player using S-Video Cables.
Receiver: Pioneer VSX-D508 Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround.
Speakers: Accusound speaker system.

Copyright © 2000 by [Roger Ward].
Revised: 04 Sep 2000 00:11:30 +1100 .

DVD INFORMATION
Region Coding: Region 4
No of Discs: 1
OFLC Rating PG
Running Time: 105 Mins
Case Type: Clear Amaray
Release Date: 12/7/2000
Catalog Number:
List Price: $34.95
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
DISC SPECIFICATIONS
Disc Format: PAL
Disc Type: Picture Disc
Disc Format: SS-RSDL
Chapters: 32
Macrovision: Yes
Manufacturer: WAMO
VIDEO SPECIFICATIONS
Aspect Ratio: 1:85:1
Anamorphic: Yes
Film Format: 35mm
SOUND SPECIFICATIONS
Dolby Digital:

2.0 Surround
DTS: None
PCM Stereo: None
Other: None
Languages: English
Subtitles: Yes
SPECIAL FEATURES
Audio Commentary: Yes 
Theatrical Trailer: Yes
Teaser Trailer: Yes
TV Spots: Yes
Dolby Trailer: None
Documentary: Yes
Cast & Crew Bios: None
Deleted Scenes: None
Music Videos: None
DVD Rom Content: None
Collectable Booklet: Yes
Scene Access: Yes
Animated Menus: Yes
Production Notes: Yes
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