Film No.: 1
Released: 1962
Votes: 32
Bond: Sean Connery
Why: From Maurice Binder's main title sequence (and Monty Norman's theme) on, everything in Dr. No establishes the template for the franchise to follow. Watch Sean Connery's first appearance in the film, initially shot only from the side or behind at the card table, only to greet audiences, cigarette dangling from his lip as he introduces himself as "Bond, James Bond" as the music stings in the background. How many film characters have cemented themselves so instantly in the pop culture consciousness? You can't beat the classics and that goes double or triple for Ursula Andress' Honey Ryder, who made and broke the Bond Girl mold when she emerged from the ocean in cinema's most famous bikini.

- Daniel Fienberg