Customer Reviews

Goldfinger [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

**************

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.

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.

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.

When the "Ultimate Edition" 2DVD sets of the Bond films were finally released in 2006, most fans couldn't believe their luck or their eyes. It didn't seem to matter which of the 20 films you bought - due to the Pristine Lowry Digital Restoration Process (frame-by-frame clean up that apparently took two years to achieve), they were all jaw dropping - simply spectacular to look at. And each was bolstered up with spiffy new 007 menus and period special features that were informative and actually worth seeing.

It should therefore come as no surprise that this 2009 BLU RAY reissue of 1964's "Goldfinger" (directed by Guy Hamilton) uses those same cleaned-up elements and extras - and is an awesome thing to behold.

To put this into an actual context - here's some examples of how revelatory the print actually is - in the pre opening-credits sequence when 007 plants his detonation devices, Connery then peels out of what is supposed to be a wetsuit, but you can clearly see it's black/blue silk outfit to offset his immaculate white tuxedo beneath (then he buttonhole's his red carnation in incredible clarity). When he comes out onto the hotel balcony in Miami and lies down beside Gill Masterson on the sun-lounge (Shirley Eaton instructing Gert Frobe via binoculars as to what the other card player is holding), on the close up of 007's face, you can clearly see applied make-up on his cheeks - it's Bond in blusher!

Or how about this... as Bond talks to Auric Goldfinger on the golf-course before they tee off, you can just about make out the dividing lines between the square tuffs of grass they laid out to make the tee-off area look more lush. Then there's the deep black enamel of the AU 1 number plate on the Phantom 337 as its loaded into a transport plane bound for Geneva... Pussy Galore as Bond wakes up on the Lockheed en route to the USA - her golden blonde hair slowly coming into focus in dazzling sexy clarity... and on it goes...scene after scene of unbelievable detail - leaves in Mint Julep drinks - the two moles on the left side of Honor Blackman's face...yikes!

All the elements came together on "Goldfinger" that would set up a template for decades to come - the eye-catching opening sequence, the sexy credits and the new Bond song, the gadgets, the fearsome unkillable bad guy, the leggy molls who may or may not have your best interests at heart, the cars and gadgets, Desmond Llewelyn as the exasperated Q and Bernard Lee as the permanently frowning M. Throw in the Aston Martin DB 5 with its fantastically handy ejector seat and Harold Sakata as the Korean assassin Oddjob and his chop-your-head-off bowler hat - and you're on a winner. And then of course the film's ultimate trump card - Sean Connery - sex on legs - a man with something permanently lodged down his trousers and we're not talking about starched Y-fronts. He'll kill you, smile afterwards and then flick the bits off of his immaculately groomed Saville Row suit...

You also forget about the great one-liners - "shocking...positively shocking" as he fries the bad guy in the bath; "The President has expressed satisfaction...that makes two of us..." Bond says as he rolls off a babe and turns off the radio; "...Unfortunately he has a pressing engagement..." Goldfinger says as he dispatches Mr. Solo (one of the hoods) off to the car-crusher. It's all so bloody good - and it still makes you tingle.

Luckily the extras have survived intact too - there's a commentary from members of the cast and crew, a revealing on-set interview with a suited-and-booted Connery, the "Declassified: M16 Vault" feature which is just so enjoyable. Although I love the outer card wrap, which gives it a classy feel and a uniform look when lined up against the other titles in the series (not all are available yet), it's a real shame that there's no commemorative booklet - it would be such a sweet touch.

To sum up - when Sean Connery pulls the parachute silk over him and Honor Blackman at the end of the movie as and announces "...this is no time to be saved!" - you can't help but feel that the dapper British agent has a point.

Bond 3 on BLU RAY is surely up there with the very best restorations ever done - a triumph - and that the movie is still such a blast after 35 years of endless re-watches is a testament to its durability.

"Goldfinger" is in fact like Sophia Loren - it never ages and will always ooze sex - it's ample chest and tiny waistline will be making grown men go weak at the knees in a hundred years from now. And even if that bad guy's laser beam is getting a little too close to all of our privates these days - you can buy this Martini of a film, put on the tux, pull in the girdle - and cheer yourself up no end.

Love it. Love it. Love it.

PS: for other superb restorations on BLU RAY, see also my reviews for "The Italian Job", "Saturday Night, Sunday Morning", "The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner", "Zulu", "North By Northwest" and "Cool Hand Luke"

I own all 007 DVD's and have been switching to Blu-ray, so far I am inpressed with the results. The Blu-ray of Goldfinger is better then DVD.

It's fitting that the best Bond film would receive the best blu-ray transfer, but this one's bound to exceed even your wildest expectations! Outside of some FX shots, which are unavoidably soft because of the source material, this film is sharp and looks like it was filmed yesterday. The level of detail is astounding. When you see the stunning Jill Masterson covered in gold, you'll swear you never saw the shot before. It has honestly improved that much.

How's the audio? For a movie that's half a century old, the soundtrack is truly something to behold. While there isn't a lot of action in your surround speakers, what is there feels like it was meant to be there from the start and doesn't feel forced. Vocals remain clear and hiss free in your center channel. The only audio remasters I've heard sound better are some of the classic Disney films. But even when put next to their gold standard, Goldfinger stands tall!

As for the extras and commentary? You pretty much get what you've gotten on the DVDs over the years. I would have liked some blu-ray specific HD extras. But we still get a couple of great commentary tracks and a plethora of SD content created for previous releases.

Goldfinger is the classic Bond to own. Only the two most recent Bond films, starring Daniel Craig, look better. If you want to show what blu-ray can do for a catalog film, Goldfinger could easily become your reference film. With a new surround track and a picture that must look as new as the day it was filmed, your DVD-only friends will have to scoop their jaws off the floor, so they can run to their nearest store and pick up a blu-ray player.

I first viewed this movie at the cinema, over 40 years ago. It was my first James Bond movie, and I was thoroughly entertained! I recently ordered the blu-ray edition through Amazon, and enjoyed watching it equally as much.
The movie is centered around a sinister character named "Gold Finger" who collects gold, and devises a scheme to destroy the U.S. gold supply at Ft. Knox.
Of course, "007" (James Bond)is assigned to destroy the plot.
A must for James Bond fans, and if you've not seen a James Bond movie, I think you will totally enjoy this movie.
JTB

Great Blu-Ray transfer with no problems of banding, edge enhancement, noise and the over application of digital noise reduction are all conspicuously absent. Color fidelity is exceptional throughout the film and remains stable from start to finish. Black levels can be shallow at times, but remain consistent with the film techniques of the era.

Special effects shots are less sharp but it's a limitation of compositing techniques of the day and shouldn't reflect negatively on the transfer.

This is the blueprint for the Bond movies, every element is there, and a major influence on all action movies. It stands up very well for an action movie, which generally become less exciting as they age. While some of GOLDFINGER is dated it contains genre defining plot, characters, effects, and stunts, that are still enjoyable over 40 years later. Even though we're accustomed to some of these elements this is still a creative take on the genre, especially considering that the hero is captive for most of the movie, and the villain goes from being powerless to formidable in one famous scene.

The VIDEO quality is excellent, a very nice 4K transfer, colorful, crisp, and vibrant. The AUDIO is fine but doesn't really stand out. The EXTRAS are contained in a unique menu system. The best are one on the making of the film and one on the pop culture impact of the film. The commentaries are decent. Some of it, like a collection of highlight scenes, seems unnecessary to me. The disc, menu, and movie, all take a while to load (this could be my player but I doubt it).

This is the first BD case I've seen where sections of plastic are cut out. The case still works fine so if this actually reduces the environmental impact I'm all for it. Though I wonder if the paperboard slipcase is to bolster the plastic case? It would have been nice if Fox/MGM had included a booklet to accompany this singular film.

I like this VHS copy with its retro cover. Sean Connery is the ONE and ONLY James Bond - Agent 007. That's it. This is his best outing. GOLDFINGER has a great script, villain, girls, location, gadgets, music and action. Who could ask for more when you really examine it?