Goldfinger

Rating:
Summary: 4.2 out of 5
Review: With GOLDFINGER, the Bond series rose to new heights. In my personal opinion, GOLDFINGER is the best of the Bond films and certainly my favorite. In this witty entry, agent 007 (Sean Connery, for his third appearance) investigates a wealthy millionaire(Gert Frobe), only to unveil a plot to break in to the Fort Knox gold reserve. Rarely does a film so entertaining and funny as GOLDFINGER come around - of course, this is natural for the Bond movies, but GOLDFINGER surpasses any record previously or later set by the 007 adventures. It has everything, firmly establishing the Bond formula: explosive beginning ("Shocking"); an attractive female lead (Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore); a stunning main title sequence; plenty of humor thrown in with the action; and, of course, Q-Branch's first comedic performance. Connery is at his greatest as the British super spy; the film also features great performances from it's entire cast. The score, by John Barry, is one of the finest of the original few films. Of course, Guy Hamilton's directing is superb as well. GOLDFINGER has been firmly established as one of the most entertaining films of our time.

END TITLE: Don't miss out on this block of gold!

Rating:
Summary: The most memorable of the Bond films, but not a great DVD
Review: Everything that the James Bond movies represent is contained in Goldfinger, the first of the Bonds to really take off and become an international hit. Sean Connery is razor sharp in the lead, the supporting characters are varied and occasionally bizarre, and the plot - Goldfinger's attempt to break into Fort Knox - is of suitably armageddonic proportion. Several of the images in the film are classic - the woman killed by painting her gold, the laser creeping up the table to immasculate Bond, and Oddjob tossing his bowler to decapitate a statue.

However, the film is not perfect. By having Bond as prisoner in Goldfinger's compound for the entire second half, the momentum and excitement is somewhat dampened - Connery's wit and charm cannot be used by the filmmakers. Likewise, by today's standards, much of the plot is laughable. Having said that, the special effects hold up very well, and the giant Fort Knox set is still impressive.

Unfortunately, this DVD version seems somewhat lacking. The two commentaries, hosted by an expert on Ian Flemming, are dry and somewhat dull. Likewise, the picture and sound are clear, but not brightened up to the full standard of most other "special editions" of classic films. The other extras, such as theatrical trailers and radio interviews, are welcome, but most fans will wonder why there isn't more on this disc.

Rating:
Summary: Someone tell me.....
Review: Why DVDs have taken over the video market...! I mean, tapes have the usual bugaboos, yes, (wrinkles, the occasional dropouts, the VERY rare occurence of breakage,) but the picture is usually beautifully saturated, full and well defined. EVERY DVD I have, with the exception of one of "Charade", has this annoying washout to the colors with exaggerated highlights and paler fleshtones. I usually have to darken my TV's picture to an unnatural level to get anywhere NEAR the same fidelity of tone I get with a VHS tape.

That settled, I'd like to say that the extras that come with this DVD, (about the only thing the format seems to HAVE over VHS except for the wrinkle-free aspect, and even THEN not on all DVDs!) are nice, with extensive behind-the-scenes info on the production of the film and trivia about Gert Frobe's reading of the title role and that great car.

However, once the American public realizes what a crappy picture theyr'e getting with DVDs, I predict there will be rush back to tape that'll scare people! Heck, the format's going dirt cheap these days, anyway, with sound that I think is BETTER, (along with the picture,) than DVD!!

Rating:
Summary: The best Bond movie to date.
Review: Most sequels don't surpass their predacessors, but this one does. The first Bond movie was Dr.No, starting the popular franchise, but it was Goldfinger in 1964 that is still the finest of the films. Sean Connery, the finest James Bond, is determined to stop Auric Goldfinger a man who is determined to get what he wants. His plot is called "Operation Grand Slam" which is a plot to raid Fort Knox.
But of course, James has his gadgets, but most of them are within the best Bond car to date, his Aston Martin, with machine guns, an ejector seat, [there's a very nice car scene involving this one and one guy stupid enough to let Bond drive] and a smoke screen. I'm not going to ruin the movie for you, but I will tell you about the Bond girl in this film, Pussy Galore [Honor Blackman], who happens to be one of the finest.
With a henchman who has a hat to die for [literlly], and some catchphrases that you already know even without having seen it [thanks to it's impact on pop culture], this Bond film will have you on the edge of your seat the whole way through.

Rating:
Summary: The best Sean Connery EVER!
Review: Sean Connery was always THE James Bond, but he really shows it in the second Bond film, Goldfinger. The plot is fantastic, Oddjob makes the perfect assistant to a very clumsy villian. The beginning scene of the girl covered in gold paint was a brilliant idea on Ian Flemings part, and I really enjoyed the part when Sean was in the prison cell. My advice is see it if you haven't seen it, and buy it if you doen't own it.

Rating:
Summary: Right up there with From Russia With Love.
Review: Released after the classic From Russia With Love, Goldfinger is considered by many to be the best Bond film. It has the best scene in a Bond film (The laser scene, which keeps me on the edge of my seat no matter how many times I see it) and the Classic one-liner "Do you expect me to talk?" "No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die." Plus two great fight scenes (the Fort Knox raid and the fight between Bond and Oddjob). All in all, a great movie. It is not my favorite Bond film. That's From Russia With Love. Still, it is right up there with From Russia With Love. I highly recommend this movie to anyone.

Rating:
Summary: The Gold Standard
Review: The third James Bond feature film certainly was the charm. 1964's Goldfinger is my favorite film in the series--and after 20 films in the series, that's quite a feat for a 40ish year old movie. Even today, the story works, and doesn't seem dated at all.

Secret Agent James Bond (Sean Connery-The BEST Bond...Period)tangles with a tycoon who loves gold. Goldfinger-Bond's BEST villan (Gert Frobe) hatches a plot to rob Fort Knox. Not only does Bond come up against deadly assassins and diabolical traps in the film, he must also deal with Goldfinger's beautiful right hand woman, Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman-The BEST Bond "girl"...Period)as well.

Directed by Guy Hamilton, Goldfinger has everything a Bond fan could want. Girls, cool gadgets, 007's trademark Astin Martin, and great stunts. Thanks to Mr Connery's impecable performance as Bond, he makes even the most outlandish, seem believeable. Everything worked...from it's script to it's final frame.

The DVD offers a nice collection of bonus material. There are 2 good audio commentary tracks: The first one features an affable Guy Hamilton, the second has various cast and crew steping up to the "mike" for posterity. There's also two 30+ minute documentaries about the film, it's place in Bond history, and the impact it has had on popular culture. The disc also boasts a very extensive still gallery. A vintage publicity featurette, a radio interview with Connery, conducted at the time of the film's release in '64. Theatrical trailers, T.V.and radio spots round out the extras.

This Golden DVD is a highlight in the Bond series and comes highly recommended

Rating:
Summary: No Mr bond, I expect you to die!
Review: rank 6th of 23. Another monster movie. Hughly popular, a major phenomena in its debut it had numerous highly discussed scenes such as, the girl with the golden paint, the golf match, the fort knox plot and a lady named "Pussy Galore". It was probably this movie that assured that the next 17 Bond movies would be made at all.

Great screenplay, good action even today and of course, Sean Connery!

Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Bond adventure
Review: Goldfinger is the greatest of all the James Bond series and the third one starring Sean Connery. The story is about a supervillain attempting to steal all the gold from Fort Knox, or so we think. 007 must try and prevent the gold heist as he battles henchmen, lasers, and survives a good car chase. The setting of Bluegrass, Kentucky may not seem very glamorous, but somehow it succeeds in this story. This is pure Bond throughout with several gorgeous leading ladies and plenty of the usual wittisisms. As Goldfinger puts it," Choose your next wittisism carefully, Mr. Bond. It may be your last." Everything is here in this classic. Great villain, exciting action, awesome theme song, beautiful Bond girl, and the famous Aston Martin.

What else can I say about Sean Connery that hasn't been said already? He is and always will be the perfect James Bond. Gert Frobe stars as Auric Goldfinger, the supervillain bent on owning all the world's gold. Honor Blackman plays Pussy Galore, the Bond girl whose allegiance we aren't sure of. Harold Sakata steals the show as Oddjob with his devilish little smile and razor sharp derby hat. All the parts in this movie are played to perfection and could not be any better. The Special Edition DVD is well worth the price with several interesting documentaries, plenty of trailers and TV spots, widescreen presentation included and the film looks better than ever. Any Bond fan must have this in their collection. Go out and buy this fabulous James Bond classic!

Rating:
Summary: The quintessential James Bond film
Review: This is the quintessential James Bond film. If our civilization wanted to prepare a time capsule to save for the 31st century, this would be the James Bond film we would want to enclose. Although I personally think that FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE is a slightly better film, absolutely no James Bond pulls all the essential Bond elements together more perfectly. In fact, if there is a James Bond formula (and there is), it was completed to perfection in GOLDFINGER. Probably the best opening song of any Bond film, probably the best Bond villain and villain name, one of the best love interests and names, the definitive car (in the books Bond is attached to a Bentley, but in the films we primarily associate him with his Aston Martin), and best evil henchman (Odd Job). And possibly the best throwaway line in all the Bond films. As a laser cuts through the metal slab upon which Goldfinger has strapped Bond, he yells, "Do you expect for me to talk?" "No, Mr. Bond, I expect for you to die."

This movie has permeated popular culture to a degree matched by few films. Nearly all the elements we associate with suave, debonair spies come from this film, though some influences are more esoteric. Extreme Monty Python fans know that that merry band borrowed both their name and the typeface used in on their show from the side of Pussy Galore's airplanes, which read, "Pussy Galore's Flying Circus."

Of all the Bond films, this one has my favorite villain in Gert Frobe. Unbelievably, in filming it turned out that Frobe's English was too marginal for him to supply his own dialog, so in the studio they had another actor dub in all Goldfinger's lines. The dubbing is seamless, and it is nearly impossible to detect that Frobe's own voice wasn't utilized.

This was also the first Bond film to feature what is now the standard and essential international jet setting. DR. NO was filmed pretty much entirely in Jamaica, and although FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE had some exotic locales, most of it was shot in Istanbul or on the Orient Express. In GOLDFINGER, however, Bond earns major frequent flier miles. He starts off in Miami, and then goes back to a couple of sites in England. After a channel crossing to Switzerland, he is transported to the US and Louisville, Kentucky and from there to Fort Knox. This kind of diversity is now an absolute requirement of any Bond outing. One isn't at all surprised if a Bond film starts off in Mongolia, proceeds to the Balkan Islands, briefly to England, from there to Alaska, with the grand finale in an island in the Atlantic, meeting beautiful women and foiling dastardly villains at every step along the way.