Product Details

• Actors: Sean Connery, Gert Frobe, Honor Blackman, Shirley Eaton
• Directors: Guy Hamilton
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: French
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: MGM
• DVD Release Date: March 24, 2009
• Run Time: 110 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001PO6FJ0
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,746 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Dry as ice, dripping with deadpan witticisms, only Sean Connery's Bond would dare disparage the Beatles, that other 1964 phenomenon. No one but Connery can believably seduce women so effortlessly, kill with almost as much ease, and then pull another bottle of Dom Perignon '53 out of the fridge. Goldfinger contains many of the most memorable scenes in the Bond series: gorgeous Shirley Eaton (as Jill Masterson) coated in gold paint by evil Auric Goldfinger and deposited in Bond's bed; silent Oddjob, flipping a razor-sharp derby like a Frisbee to sever heads; our hero spread-eagle on a table while a laser beam moves threateningly toward his crotch. Honor Blackman's Pussy Galore is the prototype for the series' rash of man-hating supermodels. And Desmond Llewelyn reprises his role as Q, giving Bond what is still his most impressive car, a snazzy little number that fires off smoke screens, punctures the tires of vehicles on the chase, and boasts a handy ejector seat. Goldfinger's two climaxes, inside Fort Knox and aboard a private plane, have to be seen to be believed. --Raphael Shargel

Product Description

From the opening bomb blast outside a steamy nightclub to a last-minute escape from the president's personal jet, James Bond's third screen adventure is an exhilarating, pulse-pounding thrill-ride! Sean Connery takes command as Agent 007 and faces off with a maniacal villain bent on destroying all the gold in Fort Knox – and obliterating the world economy! Featuring such memorable characters as pilot Pussy Galore and hatchet man Oddjob, Goldfinger is "the best...of all the Bonds" (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful HD presentation of the prototypical Bond flick, March 30, 2009

By 

Matthew T. Weflen "Matthew Weflen" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Goldfinger [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

The film:

"Dr. No" and "From Russia With Love" are classics in their own rights, but "Goldfinger" really has it all. A good villain, Bond-babes galore, lush locales, and Sean Connery at his best. And it's all done at a brisk, entertaining pace which never feels bloated in the way "Thunderball" did.

The classic moments in this film are too numerous to mention. The babooshka-granny with the machine gun, death by gold paint, the tricked out Aston Martin, lasers to the groin, Odd Job and his odd haberdasheries... This film has been referenced and spoofed so many times by so many lesser movies and shows that you'll likely not be surprised even if it is your first time watching.

It's all pulled off with such panache and style, it doesn't feel cliched at all (plus, it pays to remember that it was all fresh and new when it premiered.) Goldfinger has the perfect mix of humor, violence, style, and cool. The mix went out of whack with most Bond films after it, and the franchise (arguably) probably hasn't returned to a good balance until "Casino Royale."

Anyway, it's pretty nearly a perfect Bond movie. Relentlessly entertaining, fun, exciting, and just darn good.

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The Blu-Ray:

This transfer really shines at times, with impressive detail on facial close-ups, mountain vistas, and clothing. There are some soft spots, but this is quite forgivable in a 45 year old film. Overall, the detail is very impressive, and tops that of the previous two films on Blu-Ray. I was surprised by how many little things I noticed when I just sat back and let it all soak in - wood grains, dandelions in a field, pebbles on the ground. Black levels are rock solid, color is very naturalistic and stable. Overall it's just a tremendous job by the MGM studio and Lowry Digital to not overdo it and let the natural film elements stand on their own merits. So many times studios feel the need to over-enhance their older films to have them "compete" with newer releases, which usually just ends up introducing new video noise, or ends up washing out actual detail in the image ("Dark City" and its waxen faces springs to mind.) "Goldfinger," by not going overboard, sets the bar very high for a catalog film restoration.

Special features also shine - several HD documentaries, a commentary with the cast and crew (including Connery), and some original period promotional pieces round out a really top-notch package of extras.

*********

For any Bond aficionado with a good HD setup, this is a no-brainer. This is pretty much the best Bond film of its era (although I am quite partial to "From Russia With Love," as well). The disc is a definite upgrade over a DVD. Action film fans and fans of 60's era thrillers will get a kick out of this, too.

I recommend buying "Dr. No," "From Russia," and "Goldfinger" on Blu-Ray. These three films will give you pure 60's Bond without any of the silliness of the later stuff. You can stop there, or maybe pick up the two latest flicks, too, as they are tremendous Blu-Ray presentations also.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Your Mission, April 28, 2011

By 

Magnifying Glass - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Goldfinger [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

Your name is Bond . . . . James Bond, and you are a secret agent for the British government. Your boss - who is simply called M - has just given you your new assignment. It is bloody simple - really - all you are required to do is keep an eye on a man named Auric Goldfinger and report back.

Your first encounter with Goldfinger is in Miami. He appears to be just an ordinary crook. You observe him cheating a man at cards and decide to have a little fun with him; you upset his game and plan a bedroom meal with his beautiful spotter; but a conk on the head and your discovery of the body the next morning has you reappraising Mr. Goldfinger.

When you return to the UK, your mission is expanded: discover how Goldfinger is smuggling his gold out of the country. With a bar of gold as a lure, you challenge Mr. Goldfinger in a game of golf. Soon Goldfinger is up to his old tricks; you catch him cheating. You use a trick of your own. When Goldfinger loses, his penetrating look says he is reassessing you . . . .

You discreetly follow Goldfinger to his factory in Switzerland. You discover his secret but are caught. When you wake, you find you are spreadeagled on a moving metal platform. A laser beam encroaches along the metal surface, sputtering and sizzling as it goes . . . . Goldfinger is through playing games . . . .

Blu-ray experience: Language audio: English, French, and Spanish; subtitles: Mandarin, Korean, Cantonese, Spanish, and English. Classy looking menus; however, some menus are not clear on which key to use to scroll for hidden options; for example, "languages" uses the "down arrow" and "subtitles" uses the "up arrow." Picture quality: 4.5 to 5.

"Goldfinger" is possibly the best of the Bond movies.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Most Famous Bond Film, December 30, 2009

By 

Gary P. Cohen (Staten Island, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Goldfinger [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

I can remember clearly when "Goldfinger" premiered in December 1964. I was 14 at the time and was utterly amazed that this film was playing on Broadway 24 hours a day to accomodate the crowds. (This would be repeated the following December with "Thunderball," which shockingly created even more excitement than "Goldfinger.) I'd been a Bond fan since seeing "Dr. No" at my neighborhood theater in June 1963. (Thats right, there were 3 James Bond films that premiered in the U.S. between May 1963 and Dec. 1964: "Dr. No in May '63, "From Russia With Love" in April '64 and "Goldfinger" in Dec. '64. Can you imagine: 2 Connery/Bond classics premiered in the same year. And "Thunderball" premiered almost exactly a year after "Goldfinger." Now we have to wait at least 2 years or more for each Bond film.
Anyway "Goldfinger" is probably the most popular and famous 007 film. It is great, but I don't think it has aged as well as some of the others. I still enjoy some of the other Connerys more: "You Only Live Twice," "From Russia With Love" and "Thunderball." But "Goldfinger," like the others mentioned, is still one of my 10 favorite Bonds.
I won't go into most of the positives since you've read them before. The major flaw that has always annoyed me is, (SPOILER ALERT if you still have not seen one of the most famous films ever made,) how within the few hours, that Pussy Galore has to alert the CIA to Goldfinger's plan, they are able to switch the poison gas and get the thousands of soldiers and residents of Fort Knox, Kentucky to play dead. They even have time to create fake car crashes. This has always seemed a bit implausible. I know that you are thinking that the Bonds have never been known for plausibility. Still don't forget that this was still only the 3rd Bond and they were still being played straight at this time, "Moonraker" was still 15 years away. The American soldiers also featured at the end of the film also just don't seem very American.
Anyway, I know I'm being picky. "Goldfinger" is still a great Bond film and Connery is still the best Bond (Sorry, Daniel.) He is absolutely at his best in "From Russia With Love," "Thunderball" and this film.
The picture on the blu-ray is terrific, beautifully clear. Most of the extras are from the deluxe dvds released in the late '90s. I love those "Making of" features, narrated by the great Patrick MacNee, featured on each Bond dvd and blu-ray.
In conclusion, if you are a Bond fan or a film fan in general and you have not seen this film, I'm quite surprised. If you don't own it yet, this blu-ray is certainly the way to go.