Goldfinger

Rating:
Summary: I say, Sean Connery for King
Review: When compared to a "serious" spy film, e.g. the BBC's excellent adaptations of John le Carre's TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY and SMILEY'S PEOPLE (both starring the late Sir Alec Guiness), GOLDFINGER is positively silly. But it works, mostly because of the presence of Sean Connery.

Here, Comdr. Bond foils an attempt by Auric Goldfinger to destroy the value of the bullion held in Fort Knox. Gadgets and girls abound. The best of the former is a laser that causes even the redoubtable Commander to wince at the prospect of losing the family jewels. And then there's Ms. P. Galore (Honor Blackman). How is it that modern-day Bond Babes don't have such, um, promising monikers? And the rock-like Oddjob (Harold Sakata) with his lethal hat is one of the most engaging thugs ever to toss 007 into a heap.

Sean Connery will go down in movie history as the essence of Bond. Next to him, all others pale - even runner-up Pierce Brosnan. Imagine Connery, a Scot, in a tux jacket and kilt. Then picture PB in the same costume. See what I mean? Connery has the voice, physical stature, and rakish glint in his eyes to pull it off. Sean should be acclaimed King in Westminster Abbey.

I'm giving GOLDFINGER 5 stars not because it's a great film, but because it's perhaps the best of several with Connery as Bond, and the one that could well immortalize Sean to human history in that role.

Rating:
Summary: The granddaddy of 'em all
Review: The third film in the series and maybe the best. This is where the series really got locked into the groove- almost everything considered part of the James Bond "formula" started here. The meeting with Q; the souped-up car; the over-talkative villain; the title song at the beginning with scantily clad women; and the infamous double entendres (Pussy Galore, the "Bond girl").

This movie flows well, has one of those villains that has a real motivation and makes good use of Sean Connery as Bond. Those that say he was the best (and I am one of those) will give this movie as their chief example. One of the interesting things about the first few movies as opposed to, say, Diamonds are Forever or You Only Live Twice, is that Bond does some real investigation and uses his wits, rather than just being carried along by the plot. This Bond shows you why he's one of the top agents in Britain. He uses his mind - the golf scene alone is one of my favorites in the entire series, as Bond uses his wits to classic ends.

Rating:
Summary: Best Bond Ever Falls Short Of Expectations On DVD
Review: Connery will always be associated with James Bond and "Goldfinger" will always be considers his best film. Honor Blackman is the ultimate Bond girl, Gert Frobe, the ultimate Bond villian and Bond's Astin Martin, the ultimate vehicle. Too bad MGM's DVD isn't the ultimate edition.
The film's transfer is tired, well worn and loaded with digital imperfections. Color fidelity is inconsistant and faded. Flesh tones are too orangy. Often whole scenes contain images that appear out of focus, blurry or with a cloudy haze about the edges. Film grain, excessive digital noise and smeared colors also plague this transfer. The sound is a disappointing Mono, not even offering the movie's killer title track, sung by Shirley Bassey, in 5.1, as the laserdisc special edition did nearly four years before. Go figure. The name may be Bond but the transfer is junk, pure junk.
The plus side: MGM's menu page, its jam packed extra features and an intelligent audio commentary are all sparkling additions to compliment this classic spy thriller. Given all this investment one wonders why the actual print wasn't given more attention.

Rating:
Summary: Extra! Extra!
Review: I have amassed well over one hundred DVDs but this one has what even the newest don't. Extras that are what dvd's were made for.
Now, if you're a Bond fan, you know that this is one of the best in the series. And I actually bought it for the letter box format and better sound. But WOW! The documentary on "the Making Of" blew me away! Things I never knew about the movie and a lot of it.
These are the definitive extras. Well put together and very informative, with great interviews.
As for the movie? What else? The definitive Bond. James Bond.

Rating:
Summary: A bit overrated Bond but not by too much
Review: The main problem with this movie is not its only really good once around. A few of the Bonds are like that so that can be forgiven. Another thing is that the villains are a bit too odd. I would for the most part suggest renting this rather then buying.

Rating:
Summary: Goldfinger
Review: I would like to say that "Goldfinger" is the most overrated James Bond movie ever. It is boring, and it isn't about SPECTRE or about Cold War, as the best movies in the series are. Goldfinger is a common villain, without anything to make him memorable. I even think that his henchman, Oddjob, is better. Also, Pussy Galore is one of the worst Bond girls ever, and she doesn't even have that much screen time. The only bright spot about this movie is the Aston Martin, even though it started the hardware trend that have ruined the series.
Personally, I put this one rigth beside "Moonraker", "Diamonds are Forever" and the Pierce Brosnan films.

Rating:
Summary: The archetypal "Bond movie" is born
Review: While GOLDFINGER is the third James Bond movie produced, it is, in a way, the first "Bond movie". While DR. NO and FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE play out closer to Ian Fleming's vision, they are two plot-driven movies with a relatively realistic protagonist. GOLDFINGER, under Guy Hamilton's direction, begins the refusal to let faithfulness to the novel, or even plot and character, interfere with the action and special effects, although it never reaches the level of absurdity that some of the later films would. From Shirely Bassey's title track, through the pre-credits teaser, the introduction of the larger-than-life villain with an extravagantly ambitious scheme, and the beautifully gadget-filled Aston Martin DB5, modern viewers will recognize all of the key elements of a true Bond film. More importantly, it is James Bond who makes a Bond film, and it is the fact that we know James Bond will win against overwhelming odds because he is so unstoppably cool that makes James Bond who he is. The James Bond of GOLDFINGER is that slick; he charms his way to victory, too cool to lose. Sean Connery is at the top of his game in GOLDFINGER, completely owning the role.

GOLDFINGER is a fan favourite; many, in fact, claim it is the best of the film series. It has a couple of elements to recommend it to that honour. It does introduce two of Bond's most memorable characters. Honor Blackman plays Pussy Galore as an antagonistic Bond girl often to be imitated. Harold Sakata's Oddjob is still recognizable as one of the most silently intimidating and scene-stealing henchmen ever filmed. Michael Collins, dubbing over Gert Frobe's acting as the title villain, tosses off now-cliched dialogue with flawless timing, making a line everyone has heard a hundred times still seem fresh and menacing. The movie, however also has its flaws. The dubbing is as problematic as in the earlier two installments. There are a couple of plot details thinly-sketched enough to drive a gold Rolls Royce through. The post-production editing is lacking, with ragged cuts and, in at least one case, inserts footage contradicting the dialogue. Modern viewers may find a number of elements in the movie tired, even while recognizing that they were, in some cases, first used in this film.

The DVD's introductory menu is the most visually-appealing so far, but, unfortunately, the "Making of..." documentary has taken the admirable reserve of the earlier two documentaries into the realm of "simply dull". Along with a number of other goodies, it features a radio interview with Sean Connery.

This GOLDFINGER "Special Edition" package is sure to please Bond fans new and old.

Rating:
Summary: The Standard that all bonds ever made will be juged...
Review: The movie that all Bonds, Including Die Another Day and the bond to follow will forever be juged. Sean Connery did Bond perfecly to the point he made a lesbian aka Pussy Galore, go straight again. WOW. Only one man could do that. The birth of the classic bond car.. ASTON MARTIN.. Classic villins, and an awsome safisticated plot that might forever be compared to the bonds of the next movies. If u want to know anything about bond or want to have one movie of bond.. make it Goldfinger.

Rating:
Summary: It's the film, the film with the MIDAS touch....
Review: This is the movie that pretty much made Bond as a film institution. The car, the music, the cinematography, (for the day,) the casting...absolutley EVERYTHING was perfect for this third film installment of the Bond series, and it paid off. For a time, "Goldfinger" was THE highest grossing film in the world before "The Sound Of Music" came out. And at only $1.50 a head back in those days, $43,000,000 was no mean feat!

What made "Goldfinger so fascnating was that, as far-fetched as the idea was, the possible attempt by a foreign power to take over Fort Knox was STILL all-too-conceivable! Not much was changed from the book, but it WAS substantial: The inimitable Miss Galore only had 2% of the book, she had 66% of the movie. Tilly Masterson, who had 66% of the book, had only 1% of the movie. Felix Leiter was only in the last 2% of the book, but was all through the movie, and, unlike in the book, actually introduced Bond to Auric Goldfinger. In the book, the guy Goldfinger played gin with met Bond in the Caribbean as they were both leaving the island and got Bond interested in Herr Goldfinger's suspected card cheating initially. In the book, Pussy Galore was actually one of the people brought in by Goldfinger to help engineer Operation Grand Slam. In the movie, she worked for Goldfinger as a pilot and flight trainer...in the book, she headed a troupe of aerialists. However, with all these differences, (and there are more!) the "feel" of the book is pretty much kept intact.

BTW, did you know that Goldfinger was actually working for SMERSH? Well, now you know! All in all, a movie with few faults in a period when good mysteries were actually quite plentiful, ("Charade", "Arabesque", "Our Man Flint",) especially if they were international productions like this one.

Rating:
Summary: A Must Have For Any James Bond Fan
Review: It's the third in the series, but this is *the* definitive Bond movie. This was the first movie to establish many of the things we associate with Bond, like the car, the theme song, the crazed villain, and an out-of-this-world plot to eliminate the U.S. gold reserves in Fort Knox. As such, this movie sets the template for all the rest of the movies in the series. Shirley Bassey's theme for the movie is a classic and one of the best from all the movies. This DVD edition has some nice extras that take you behind the scenes as well. If you only have one Bond movie in your collection, this has to be it.