Goldfinger THX Edition
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Primary Contributor: Sean ConneryDVD: Region Code 1
Movie Reviews of Goldfinger THX Edition
Movie Review: The James Bond film that set the standard for all films to come
Summary: 5 Stars
Goldfinger is directed by Guy Hamilton. The film stars Sean Connery and co-stars Honor Blackman, Gert Frobe, Michael Collins (Voice), Shirley Eaton, Tania Mallet, Harold Sakata, Bernard Lee, Cec Linder, Lois Maxwell, and Densmond Llewelyn. John Barry composed the musical score and Shirley Bassey performs the title song.
The third Bond film picks up with the British secret agent returning from an assignment in Mexico. While staying at a Florida hotel, he crosses paths with a cheating gambler - Auric Goldfinger. As the film progresses, Bond discovers there is more to this man than meets the eye. He is an industrial giant, with an evil scheme in mind - penetrating the heavily-guarded gold depositories at Fort Knox. Bond goes undercover in an attempt to stop this grand scheme - but along the way he'll have to deal with several obstacles, including Goldfinger's massively-built Oriental bodyguard, and a beautiful henchwoman who claims to be immune to Bond's womanizing abilities.
In the James Bond series, the third try really is the charm. If you ask a die-hard fan of the series what their favorite film in the entire series is, naturally they are going to pick either From Russia with Love or this film. A success on every front, Goldfinger is the movie that all subsequent Bonds have, to some degree or another, tried to be.
The cast and characters brought together for this film are incredible. I shouldn't have to tell you that Sean Connery is the undeniable, ultimate James Bond. No one since has filled the role as well as this guy, and never will. Bernard Lee returns as Bond's boss M, and Desmond Llewelyn as Q - who gets his obligatory (but all too brief) scene of outfitting Bond with his latest gadgets. And there's the obligatory scene with Moneypenny, once again played by the always-entertaining Lois Maxwell. The villains are equally impressive. Standing tall and with a menacing facial expression, Gert Frobe defines the classic Bond villain. It should be noted that due to his German origin, he could not speak English well, so his lines were all dubbed by Michael Collins (although an early theatrical trailer DID feature Frobe's real voice!) His bodyguard Oddjob, silent but no less threatening than the man who has employed him, is easily one of the finest henchmen a Bond villain has ever had in his arsenal. Last but not least, no discussion of Goldfinger is complete without mention of Pussy Galore, played by Honor Blackman. She's a far cry from the Bond women of the past two films, standoffish and supposedly immune to Bond's advances. This was the first Bond film (and the only one of the Connery era) in which the plot did not involve the SPECTRE terror agency, but these villains are equally entertaining and menacing. To put it simply, a great cast.
As far as gadgetry goes, this was the first film that really outfitted Bond with a good deal of the nifty Q-branch stuff he became so well-known for in the later films. This, for instance, was the first Bond film in which Q assigns him a car, armed with weaponry and gadgets - and of course the now-iconic passenger ejection seat. There is also the tracking device, which appeared to a lesser degree in the original novel.
This film made some major changes from the novel it originated from, mostly due to continuity, due to the fact that the novels take place in a totally different order. For instance, in the novel we never actually see Bond's Mexican drug lord assault - the book began with him in Florida. And in the book it's an old associate of Bond's from the first novel, Casino Royale, who initially points him in the direction of the swindler Goldfinger. Obviously this wouldn't make sense in the film since CR hadn't been filmed at the time. Goldfinger's scheme at Fort Knox and the way it goes down is different in the novel as well - in the novel, he simply wants to steal the gold. The last major changes I'll mention have to do with Pussy Galore. In the novel she was a lesbian. This was most likely changed as it would have been far too controversial for a film of this sort. Likewise, in the movie she works for Goldfinger, while in the novel she did not, and was an outside collaborator on the Fort Knox caper. However, this is a rare example of a Bond film in which all the changes made from the source novel were for the better. Because of this, it's one of very few Bond films that surpasses its novel counterpart in quality.
The musical score for the film was composed by John Barry, and once again it's a terrific score that captures the mood of the film perfectly. Shirley Bassey shells out an excellent title song - Goldfinger was the first Bond film which made usage of a pop singer. And since Bassey did this job so well, she would later return to record the themes for Diamonds are Forever and Moonraker. If you liked the music from the film go pick up the soundtrack - it was reissued a few years back, with several tracks that were missing from the American LP release.
No Bond film is perfect, and even Goldfinger is no exception. In the middle section of the film, there is far too much down time. Bond spends too much time as a prisoner forced to work alongside Goldfinger. And this section of the film drags on too long. Still, this is a Bond film that does far more things right than wrong.
Overall Goldfinger is a masterpiece in the world of James Bond. This is the film that set the standard for all of the films in the series to live up to - and very few actually have. If you only see a single James Bond film, this is the one to see. Truly a classic for the ages, with its great cast, intriguing plot and characters, and one of the finest John Barry scores in the series.
Thumbs up
As with all James Bond moves, I have to recommend that you get the 2006 remastered version. The frame-by-frame picture restoration is incredible. It's easily the best-looking version on the market.
Summary of Goldfinger THX Edition
Format: DVD Jan 1997 Rated PG Recording Mode: (unknown) Sound: THX, HiFi 111 min. Color Movie Description In James Bond's third cinematic adventure, the dangerously suave spy (Sean Connery) must stop the criminal capitalist Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe) from contaminating Fort Knox's gold with atomic radiation. Aiding the villain is the alluring Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman) and the imposing Oddjob (Harold Sakata). Bond, on the other hand, is armed with his trademark charm and, of course, a slew of gadgets, courtesy of Q (Desmond Llewelyn). Encountering the usual bevy of beautiful women and perilous traps, 007 sets out for America to foil Goldfinger's financial fiasco. Based on Ian Fleming's 1959 novel, GOLDFINGER marks the appearance of a more carefree, wisecracking Bond and is widely considered to be one of the best films in the series. In fact, with stylized elements such as the gold-painted girl, the wince-inducing laser beam, Oddjob's razor-sharp bowler hat, and Bond's modified Aston Martin car, the film is quite possibly the most memorable Bond outing, and would be famously parodied decades later in the AUSTIN POWERS series, particularly GOLDMEMBER. Credits Cast: Sean Connery Director: Guy Hamilton Film Notes DVD Features: Region 1 Encoding Keep Case Theatrical release: December 25, 1964. Shot in Technicolor.Action & Adventure DVD Video
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