I was excited about yesterday. Wednesday night to be exact. You see, as apart of United Artists 90th Anniversary a local theater was showing Dr. No (the first James Bond film). The UA thing has been going on for a few weeks. Movies like The Apartment, The Magnificent Seven, and Some Like It Hot have been on the schedule. Unfortunately all of these classics have been relagated to one day only affairs, and the one day is taking place on either a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. So while I would have loved to taken my daughter to see Some Like It Hot, this middle of the week business kind of ruined that.
So while at my miserable job yesterday I say to my boss/co-worker Mark, “There’s a screening of Dr. No tonight.” Probably sounded excited and dorky about the whole thing. Mark then asks the question I always get when I mention I’m seeing some old movie in a theater. “Why?” Why go see something that you’ve seen a 100 times already and is readily available on DVD? Why indeed.
It’s a valid question I suppose. However for me seeing a movie in a theater is an experience you just can’t beat. I don’t care how good your home theater system is, I will pick going to real theater any day of the week. The big screen, the slightly uncomfortable seating, the loud speakers, the whole deal. Not to mention the aspect of a group reaction to what is going on. My pal Antubert would say it’s the shared experience. And he’s right. Movies were meant for big screens, they were filmed specifically for it in mind. No one makes a movie with the idea of how great it will look on your plasma screen television. No one thinks, “I can’t to see this movie I’ve been working on for months to premiere on DVD!”
Of course being a cowardly theater booker doesn’t help. Playing something like Dr. No on a Wednesday is an automatic kiss of death. There were three other people in the audience with me and Jessica.
As for the movie itself? I’ve seen Dr. No at least twice before last night and to be honest there was plenty I did not remember about it. As a James Bond film what really stands out are the things that aren’t there. No gadgets. No catchy theme (other than Bond’s theme by John Barry). It has to be the quietest Bond film made. In it James Bond (Sean Connery) is dispached to Jamaica to investigate why a fellow agent and his secretary have seemingly disappeared. Once there he discovers a plot that has something to do with the evil mechanically handed Dr. No attempting to destroy US space rockets. It’s a pretty straightforward plot and Bond actually does some detective work in it. He goes here and there asking questions and being pretty straightlaced. He sleeps with at least three women in Dr. No and a few others are seen checking him out. I must admit, his sexual prowess is pretty damn amusing to say the least.
Dr. No is a bit slow but overall a lot of fun none the less. Personally I would have chosen Goldfinger as the Bond movie to show since that is the quintessential Bond film. Girls, gadgets, exploisions, all that good stuff. But with Dr. No you are seeing Bond at his true beginning. And that in itself was worth the trip to the theater.
