Something I'd love to know: did anyone associated with Dr. No back in 1962 think they'd still be making Bond films in the 21st century? Did any of those people even think there was much chance folks in this day and age would remember their film, much less revere it as the first in the longest-running movie series of all-time?

At this juncture in history, Dr. No would earn a place in film lore just due to the fact it became the first Bond – well, the first theatrical Bond, as a cheap TV adaptation of Casino Royale preceded it. In any case, the quality of the picture now seems somewhat irrelevant.

Happily, however, Dr. No remains a taut and exciting Bond adventure. While it lacks the extravagant spark of some of the later entries, it does enough right to continue to entertain viewers.

When a colleague goes missing, British secret agent James Bond (Sean Connery) heads to Jamaica to find out what happened. He learns that fellow spy Strangways (Robert Rietty) investigated the lair of the mysterious Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman) and this led to his demise.

Not easily deterred, Bond travels to No’s hideaway and pairs with sexy local scavenger Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) along the way. As Bond infiltrates No’s camp, he deals with danger and threats.

One startling aspect of Dr. No comes from how many of the "Bond staples" already appear here. Nuances like Connery's bemused facial gestures, his gently antagonistic relationship with boss "M" (Bernard Lee) and his flirtatious repartee with secretary Moneypenny all become part of the tale.

The naturalism of the interactions seems remarkable considering the newness of the series. I noticed the same thing when I watched early episodes of Star Trek, as the key members of that crew appeared to mesh and gel almost effortlessly.

I guess when the sparks fly, they make everything look easier. The chemistry among the group we see in Dr. No gives one the impression this exists as their fifth outing, not their first.

Even back then, Dr. No makes it clear Connery was the man as Bond. It's tough to watch the movie and filter out all that's come since that time, but I think his dominating and spry presence seems clear, and he pretty much had the part down cold right out of the box.

I've enjoyed the work of some later Bonds but it seems likely no one will ever compare to Connery. I grew up as a Roger Moore fan, since he was the first Bond I knew from my own theatrical experience - I never saw a Bond picture on the big screen until Moonraker in 1979 - but I long ago recognized the supremacy of Connery. He remains ideal for the role.

Dr. No isn't a perfect film, and its pace can seem a bit slow compared to later Bonds, but it still offers enough fun to be worth viewing for reasons other than nostalgia or curiosity. The story feels like prototypical Bond, with then-exotic locations and a brilliant and unusual madman who creates a bizarre plot to wreak havoc.

Dr. No himself makes for a great villain. He appears in little of the film - we don't even see him until late in the story - but this doesn’t turn into the handicap it could have been.

The plot offers enough suspense and mystery that we don't really feel the absence of a strong protagonist. It also helps that No becomes such a strong villain.

This means that when we finally meet No, he's worth the wait, and Wiseman plays him wonderfully. He makes No appropriately mysterious and threatening but refrains from the usual movie-villain histrionics.

Andress forever set the standard for the "Bond girl" with her appearance as Honey Ryder. She's not the first woman to experience Bond's lust in the movie – he actually bags two other women prior to her - but she's the only one that clearly matches our current ideas of the "Bond girl".

To be frank, I never thought much of Andress, as I found many subsequent Bond actresses much more beautiful, and most are better actresses as well. However, it's likely that none made such a strong impact. For better or for worse, Andress set the tone for all Bond actresses to follow.

Although Dr. No fits in well with the rest of the series, some components we'd get to know and love don't appear. There's no fascination with wild gadgets, and as such, there's no "Q".

Actually, "Q" does make a semi-appearance in the form of Major Boothroyd, the equipment officer who would mutate into "Q" by the third Bond, Goldfinger. However, Boothroyd has little to do here - he just gives Bond a new gun - and he's not played by long-time "Q" Desmond Llewelyn, so Peter Burton takes the role here.

Llewelyn would perform as Boothroyd in the sequel, From Russia With Love. He then would finally receive his single-initial moniker in Goldfinger.

Other than that, the cast and basic stage get set in Dr. No, and the formula found itself launched for a terrific series of action movies. Not all Bonds have been great, but I've yet to see one I'd call bad, as even the worst are still fun on some levels.

Dr. No doesn't remotely approach the bottom of the Bond barrel. Even after 63 years, it remains an exciting and well-made piece of work.

Dr. No appears in its original theatrical aspect ratio of approximately 1.66:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. The Dolby Vision transfer made the 63-year-old flick look very good.

My only minor concerns related to sharpness. While most of the movie seemed crisp and distinctive, a few wide shots displayed a smidgen of softness.

These instances stayed minor, though, and caused no real distractions. Jagged edges and shimmering were absent, and no edge haloes appeared. Grain seemed natural – albeit occasionally a little heavy – and the movie lacked print flaws.

Colors also excelled. With its vibrant Jamaican setting, the film boasted a broad palette, and the disc made those hues shine, with a nice boost from HDR.

Blacks were deep and taut, while most shadows showed good delineation. Some “day for not” shots came across as somewhat opaque but that problem seemed unavoidable.

HDR added kick to whites and contrast. Overall, the flick presented fine visuals.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the Dolby Atmos audio of Dr. No fared pretty well. The expanded soundfield offered the most impressive aspects of the track.

It didn’t suffer from excessive ambition, as it managed to open up matters but not stretch the source material to its breaking point. Effects usually went with general ambience, and that worked nicely, especially in crowd sequences.

These used the back speakers to form a good sense of the setting but they didn’t come across as too busy or showy. Occasional localized elements popped up in the front, and vehicles demonstrated nice movement.

Audio quality seemed more than fine given the age of the material Speech sounded a bit stiff and reedy, though the lines were always readily intelligible and lacked edginess.

Music packed a punch only when we heard the main theme. Otherwise the score was clear but a bit flat.

Effects worked a bit better, as they never suffered from notable distortion, and they occasionally displayed solid bass response. I liked the remix and felt it was a thoughtful expansion of the source elements.

As for the included original DTS-HD MA monaural track, it largely seemed comparable in quality to the Atmos version, albeit a little rougher around the edges. The mono lacked quite as much range and it suffered from a bit of minor distortion at times.

Still, the quality of the mono version held up just fine for the most part. This felt like a more than adequate mix from 1962.

How did the 4K UHD compare to the Blu-ray from 2008? The Atmos soundtrack opened up matters a little compared to the BD's 5.1, but given the constraints of the source, I didn’t experience notable differences.

The Dolby Vision image offered some of the usual improvements, with generally superior delineation and superior colors and blacks. I say “generally superior” because the UHD’s greater resolution revealed some soft spots less obvious on the BD.

Still, this felt like a more accurate representation of the film. It turned into an appealing upgrade.

Most of the BD’s extras repeat here. First up is an excellent audio commentary from a wide variety of participants.

Narrated by Bond historian John Cork, this edited piece presents director Terence Young, editor Peter Hunt, composer Monty Norman, actors Lois Maxwell, Ursula Andress, Eunice Gayson, Marguerite Lewars, Zena Marshall and Timothy Moxon, sound effects editor Norman Wanstall, special effects supervisor John Stears, art director Syd Cain, production buyer Ron Quelch, Eon Productions former VP marketing Jerry Juroe, production designer Ken Adam, former UA executive David Picker, associate producer Stanley Sopel, location manager Chris Blackwell, photographer Bunny Yeager, stuntmen Richard Graydon, Bert Luxford and George Leech, and producer's wife Dana Broccoli.

This track is a bit different from other Bonds in that it provides much more general information than usual. This means that while we certainly learn a lot about Dr. No in particular, we also get a lot of details about the beginnings and the origins of the series in general.

We learn about the editing style, shooting in Jamaica, sets and budgetary restrictions, music, reflections on various cast and crew, and many filming specifics. The commentary aptly mixes general information about the series’ launch with details exclusive to No. This adds up to a strong track that should be very compelling for Bond fans; it’s one of the better Bond commentaries.

Two elements appear under Declassified: MI6 Vault. We find The Guns of James Bond, a five-minute, seven-second featurette.

Created during the shoot for Goldfinger, Sean Connery introduces us to gun expert Jeffrey Boothroyd, the inspiration for the movie’s Major Boothroyd. The program looks at various aspects of 007’s firearms. It offers a fun archival piece that’s a blast to see.

Premiere Bond: Opening Nights goes for 13 minutes, eight seconds as it comes with narration from Bond series producer Michael G. Wilson. He leads us through photos and footage of various Bond premieres. It’s an interesting view of how each flick through Die Another Day debuted.

Exotic Locations runs two minutes, 36 seconds. Maud Adams chats over some scenes and tells us about where they were shot. Despite its brevity, it offers some useful material.

Heading to Mission Dossier, we begin with Inside Dr. No and it runs for 42 minutes, eight seconds. A bit of a companion to the audio commentary - which duplicates a few of the interview statements - this is a fine documentary that both conveys information on the creation of the Bond series and gives us details of the film's production.

We hear from a nice variety of participants, most of whom appear in 1990s interviews but some come from archival footage. This list includes Picker, Dana Broccoli, Wilson, Young, Sopel, Connery, Adam, Blackwell, Hunt, Maxwell, Gayson, Andress, Lewars, Moxon, Norman, Cain, Wanstall, co-producer Harry Saltzman’s son Steven, clothier Simon Hobbs, and composer John Barry. We also witness a lot of film clips and production shots.

As with the commentary, “Inside” takes a wide overview of the production. The show begins with a look at Bond’s path to the big screen before it digs into casting, locations, Young’s impact on the series, and other aspects of the shoot.

We find great notes about all these areas. It's a very entertaining and informative piece that works well.

Bond Vivant lasts for 17 minutes, 56 seconds and focuses on Terence Young, the director of Dr. No and two subsequent Bonds, From Russia With Love and Thunderball. We find remarks from Graydon, Wilson, Andress, Hunt, Adam, Leech, Cain, Picker, Maxwell, Stears, Young’s daughter Juliet Nissen, and actors Mollie Peters, Desmond Llewelyn, Luciana Paluzzi, and Martine Beswick.

The show examines Young's career and his effect on the Bond franchise, and we hear from a wide variety of folks with whom he worked. It's a nice little tribute to the man.

A final video piece appears as well. This is an eight-minute, 41-second featurette from 1963.

While clearly promotional in purpose, this program is quite entertaining just because it's now so quaint. It serves to inform us about the details of Bond, and it does so in a typically-geeky early-Sixties manner. The black and white quality's not so hot, but it's a fun program nonetheless.

Dr. No features quite a few other promotional materials as well. Under Ministry of Propaganda, we find four theatrical trailers.

Two of these appeared for the original release of Dr. No, while the other two come from double-feature re-releases of the film. The first preview is the most fun, mainly because of the voiceover from Connery.

Two TV ads appear. Both of these were used to promote the Dr. No/Goldfinger double-feature re-release. They're rather redundant and not all that compelling.

Finally, the ads finish with six radio spots. These are charming and fun, as is usually the case with this kind of promotion since radio ads can't rely on the visual flash.

Note that the 4K drops a collection of stills as well as some segments that just offer compilations of scenes from various Bond flicks. I don’t miss the latter but the absence of the galleries disappoints.

The first Bond isn't the best, but Dr. No remains a very good film. It nicely introduces a series that would become legendary and stands as a solid spy adventure. The 4K UHD itself provides very good visuals, solid audio and a fine roster of extras. This is a must have film and a strong release.

Note that as of June 2025, this release of Dr. No can be purchased solely as part of a “Sean Connery Six-Film Collection”. This provides all of Connery’s official Bond flicks in 4K versions, so in addition to Dr. No, we find From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice and Diamonds Are Forever.