Goldfinger

Rating:
Summary: Sort of like a Hitchcock bond
Review: The story has Bond contending with Auric Goldfinger, a wealthy European industrialist who looks to be cornering the world supply of gold. Only the US reserve at Fort Knox seems out of his reach, but Goldfinger has plans for that problem. Bond first meets Goldfinger when he catches the super-villain cheating at cards in Miami. Then he challenges Goldfinger to a friendly game of golf (friendly because Bond allows the cheating to go on), which leads to a break-in at Goldfinger's refinery in the alps. Captured by Goldfinger, Bonds manages to convince the bad-guy to keep him alive, if only to determine how much Bond has learned of Goldfinger's mysterious "Operation Grand Slam". (Goldfinger's ill-fated decision to spare Bond caps a scene in which 007 and Foe share the most memorable dialog of any bond flick "You expect me to talk?"; "Why no Mr. Bond, I expect you to DIE!").

So much of "Goldfinger" was recycled for latter Bond films (especially the horrible "View to a Kill" which essentially recycled the plot - only substituting Christopher Walken for Gert Frobe, Silicon Valley for Fort Knox and a blimp for Goldfinger's private jet) that it's easy to take its thrills for granted. The biggest thrill of all is how the film is like an attempt to film Bond as if it were directed by Hitchkock - the most obvious signs are the score (an edgy orchestral triumph that more than hints Hitchkock's Bernard Herrman), the surprise twist of Goldfinger's (which requires Bond to think fast and w/o the benefit of his gadgets) and a raft of sexually-charged jokes which seem unusually suggestive for the rest of the series - e.g. the laser slowly creeping up 007's crotch; Bond's response when first learning Pussy Galore's name ("I must be dreaming!"); and the famous masculinity-challenging karate-match between Galore and Bond (nowhere else in the series does Bond learn that the way to a woman's heart is found after a total thrashing). The villain's rotund shape, suggestive of Hitchkock's famous profile, is probably the strongest sign. The flick jazzes things up with some fun gadgets (including the famous Aston Martin) but knows to keep Bond in trouble (the car doesn't save him from capture) and a wicked-bad henchmen named Odd-Job who lets a razor-edge Derby do his talking for him. Whether you buy by Hitch-theory or not, this is still one Bond-flick that can't be missed.

Rating:
Summary: Essential Bond....
Review: Goldfinger is the quintessential Bond flick. Goldfinger has all of the elements that make a Bond movie great. If you only own one Bond film, this would be the one. Lots of action, good looking women and a great villian and sidekick.

Rating:
Summary: Bond at his very best...
Review: Sean Connery's third outing as James Bond is one of the best in the series. This time, Bond goes after German baddie Auric Goldfinger, played by Gert Forbe. There are tons of Bond landmarks including Oddjob, the Aston Martin DB5, a cool theme song, and one heckuva car chase! Plus, Connery is the personification of cool as James Bond. Only Pierce Brosnan can measure up to Connery, but even then he's just as good, not better. Connery is the man and this movie (as well as "From Russia With Love") proves it. The film has tons of memorable moments that lead up to a fantastic final battle with Bond squaring off against Oddjob in Fort Knox. This scene is one of the best in the series and possibly one of the best fight scenes ever filmed. This is truly a great movie.

Rating:
Summary: This third 007 movie gets three AAA's!
Review: "Goldfinger", made in 1965, was a very action-packed movie, with a funny cast as well as suitable settings. In the beginning of the movie, James Bond is assigned his mission and learns about Auric Goldfinger by playing a "social" game of golf, but then Bond finds out that Goldfinger has an orginization named Auric Enterprises, Inc., and James Bond goes through dangerous hoops trying to find out about this company.

Later, Goldfinger's name is explained as his interest for gold is revealed, and Bond later learns that Goldfinger is targeting the world's economy and planning to rob the world's biggest bank, along with an "Operation: Grandslam". So, with this wonderful plot revealed, the movie has taken form and gets into the good part, where it proves it's a movie worth seeing.

Rating:
Summary: Gold Star for a Good Bond Film
Review: "Goldfinger" was the third movie in the Bond series. This movie set the standard for the Bond genre, and is generally regarded as one of the best Bond films, if not the best.

Gadgetry goes high-tech in this movie, and will stay with Bond in every film from this point forward. In this movie we have a cutting laser. Very impressive technology for 1964 when the laser was still a very new device. A lot of poetic license was used for this special effect since even visible light lasers can barely be seen under most circumstances, and high power cutting lasers can't be seen at all.

Sean Connery appears very confident in this film. His style of Bond is well developed by this point and remains the standard by which all other actors playing Bond are measured. Most men at some point in their lives (and perhaps some women too!) want to be the James Bond portrayed by Sean Connery in this movie.

There are some of the coolest gadgets in this movie. The Aston-Martin DB-5 has to be the best. Everyone needs a car with machine guns, a smoke screen and an ejection seat (which only covers a few of the neat features). Apparently, you do not want an Aston-Martin near a Ford Mustang, as Tilly Masterson found out. Oddjob's hat, while low tech, presaged the martial arts movies of the 70s. The cargo plane with the Boeing 747 style front end was very interesting. Goldfinger's model of Fort Knox was very good. Goldfinger also provided the best way to get rid of a body in the 60s. One detail I had missed on previous viewings of this movie was the license plate on Goldfinger's car. How could I have missed that?

The first portion of the movie provides two pieces of information. First, Goldfinger loves gold. Second, Goldfinger has something going, but what? The second portion of the movie begins when it's revealed that Goldfinger plans to attack Fort Knox. Goldfinger would be very brave, or very stupid, to attack Fort Knox. But even that's not the end of the plot. Goldfinger plans on setting off a nuclear bomb in Fort Knox to contaminate the U.S. gold reserves, making Goldfinger's gold even more valuable. I guess you can never be too rich. Fortunately James Bond is in all the right places at all the right times, though he risks death more than once in the process.

The locales become more exotic with each Bond movie. This time we get to go to Switzerland, England, and exotic Kentucky (well, Fort Knox is pretty exotic). Being on location adds a lot of realism to these films.

Added to the film are a variety of extras that you get with the DVD. As with any of these extras, some you'll find interesting, most not, but they come at no extra charge (other than having to pay more for the DVD than a VHS tape).

This movie is a lot of fun. Grab yourself a bowl of popcorn, sit back and spend a couple of hours in a world and a time that may feel like long ago, but really isn't.

Rating:
Summary: "That's as bad as listening to the Beatles without earmuffs"
Review: Oh, to have lived in the 1960s, when a great Bond film came out Every. Single. Year. "Goldfinger" represents the artistic nirvana of the James Bond series, before Connery lost interest in the role, when his powers as 007 were at their greatest.

"Goldfinger" has an interesting two-part plot structure in which Auric Goldfinger is not actually revealed to be a mega-villain until the second half. The first 55 minutes involve luscious locales, a couple of shocking death sequences (most notably Tilly Masterson's death by hat mere minutes after her entry into the film), and the funniest golf game in history (until the advent of Tony Soprano). Once the scene shifts to Kentucky, and Goldfinger's plan is revealed, Bond has little to do except lounge around in polo shirts or say things like "He blew a fuse". Thanks to the new DVD box set, even 40 years later it's instantly understandable why half the world's men want to be Sean Connery.

The special edition DVD is one of the best in the series. Unlike "Dr. No" and "From Russia...", there are two audio commentary tracks. The first, produced years ago for the laserdisc, features edited sound bites from director Guy Hamilton and other cast members. The second, made for the DVD, has clips only from crewmembers (beware the misleading print on the back cover), and thus there's plenty of time for Bond expert John Cork to make some interesting scholarly points about how dated the Ian Fleming novels are, and what elements of Bonds character did not survive the 1970s. Indeed from this track you learn a lot more about the original "Goldfinger" novel, and you'll hear opinions as to why the story works better as a movie. These are worthy points and they set the commentary track above the cut-and-paste variety.

The two "documentaries" are also above-average. The making-of feature, narrated by Patrick Macnee, features the fall-off-the-couch laughing screen test of Theodore Bikel as Goldfinger... evidently playing the role as a college professor! The second feature is all about the marketing of "Goldfinger". There are some awesome finds in here, such as the picture of a fat Prince Charles riding in a toy Aston Martin DB-5, or the Vicks commercial featuring Harold Sakata demolishing an American suburb with his persistent cough. There's also a truly dreadful 1964 US promotional film, with grainy black-and-white footage from the movie and the snarkiest voice-over ever. "Looks like he passed the audition."

And the real great moment here is Connery's well-timed 1964 jab at the Beatles. Final proof that the Bond movies are, in fact, still as relevant as ever.

Rating:
Summary: GOLDFINGER THE BEST OF THE BEST
Review: This is my favorite James bond movie. Starring the best of the Bonds Sean Connery. I love this movie the great villian, an awesome henchman, the Aston Martin DB5 with the ejecter seat and the oil slick. My Dad went and saw this movie movie as a kid. He bought it for me. It was the first Bond I ever saw. It got me started into the whole Bond series. For other great Bond films see From Russia with Love, Goldeneye, and Dr. No.

Rating:
Summary: IMHO, 60's Bond was the best...
Review: I was born in the 70's and grew up in the 80's and 90's so one would think I would prefer Roger Moore or maybe Dalton or Brosnan. But when I think Bond/007, I only think of Sean Connery and the films from the 60's. I guess it's because the decade was perfect for the character(sexism/persona/fashion), the look and feel(tux/bowler hat/suave sophistication/martini in hand/cig. in mouth/exotic locales), and the music(twangy guitar theme/big brassy numbers). And GOLDFINGER was arguably the definitive representation of all this:

*Shirley Bassey's great rendition of the title song.
*the classic Aston-Martin DB5 with all the gadgets.
*the strong female lead with that name: Pussy Galore!
*one of the coolest and most beloved henchman/sidekicks in the series: Odd Job(love the grin and hat).
*one of the most ambitious, greedy, resourceful villains ever(well played by Gert Frobe-hard to believe he was dubbed in the movie as the audio commentary pointed out).
*classic scenes like Shirley Eaton covered in gold, the "laser beam" scene, the rumpus room, and the end fight.
*good plotline, and good plot to break in to Fort Knox...with a slight twist(love the scene where 007 is figuring out the plot and Goldfinger seems genuinely pleased that someone recognizes his 'genius')
*ok, so Kentucky ain't too exotic(unless you're from Switzerland I guess), but the Swiss Alps and inside a 'pretend' Fort Knox? You don't see that everyday.

All great stuff. The other guys had some good movies in their reign as Bond, but I think Connery was on a roll with From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, and Thunderball. There was so much style and a special aura that defined what Bond/spy/adventure films should be during that 3-film stint. And after all the praise I have for Goldfinger(just recently got the dvd), for the record, it's not even my all-time favorite. That belongs to THUNDERBALL: #1, Largo with the eye patch, the Spectre organization, Claudine Auger in shades on the beach, the jet pack, the underwater fight, etc....oh man. Sorry, back to Goldfinger. Buy the dvd, lots of great extras(2 commentaries, 2 documentaries, etc). If you're a fan, you're not reading this cause you own it. But to non-fans, the film alone is worth the absurdly low price and the loads of extras are what every dvd collector would want. Highly recommended for anyone.

Rating:
Summary: Goldfinger DVD-Special Edition is awesome!
Review: Just received the Goldfinger (Special Edition DVD) today! I had been waiting for the release(s) of the early Sean Connery Bond films and I am truly impressed! The sound & picture on my home system is simply awesome! The (2) commentaries; (1) with director Guy Hamilton, and (1) with cast & crew are nice extras, as are the (2) "behind the scenes" documentaries, TV trailers, radio spots and stills gallery. At $$$$ each, MGM/UA have given Bond fans their money's worth.

Rating:
Summary: Goldfinger DVD-Special Edition is awesome!
Review: Just received the Goldfinger (Special Edition DVD) today! I had been waiting for the Special Edition releases of the early Sean Connery Bond movies. MGM/UA has done a super job!!! Lots of extras. (2) Audio commentaries;(1) with director Hamilton (1) with special effects/stunt people, cast & crew. (2) Additional behind the scenes shorts; TV trailers. Sound & picture quality on my home system was better than I could have hoped for. Waiting for the arrival of the Special Edition DVD of "Dr. No" which I expect to receive shortly.