For some reason the Criterion Channel is featuring a collection of the first three James Bond films. These are the collections that worry me a bit. Mainly I just don't want the Criterion Channel to lose its edge in the pursuit of more casual movie fans, as compared to true film nuts (it is a slippery slope). Nevertheless, last night I watched the movie that started it all, 1963's Dr. No. I'm not one of those guys who goes out of his way to watch James Bond movies (I think of Lester in American Beauty), but it's not as if I don't like them. Dr. No opened to very mixed reviews, which is completely appropriate because it's actually pretty silly. They obviously hadn't figured out what they wanted to do with the character. Now it's considered a bit of a classic, which is a completely goofy and undeserved designation. Nevertheless, we all have to start somewhere, even James Bond. Cycling back to my occasional concern for CC program, it may simply be a case that they dumb it down a bit in the summer because it's too hot for us to tackle Bergman or Kieslowski.
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