Customer Reviews

Goldfinger (Special Edition)

5 star:		(194)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Imagine leading a guided tour of 21st century adolescents through the museum of early Bond films---"Well,kids,they weren't like today---yes,back then,they did sit around and talk a lot more---but hey,that was to make the story and the characters more believable---O.K?".Not O.K.,because I don't think those explanations fly with modern ticket-buyers---otherwise we wouldn't have "The World Is Not Enough",which is itself a kind of rebuke to everything that used to be Bond.Those of us who made the rite of passage into (perceived)adulthood on the heels of seeing "Goldfinger" must finally admit that this is the kind of action movie they're just not going to make anymore.First of all,there's really not that much action---after the bang-up teaser opening,it's mostly exposition---something quite unthinkable in today's marketplace.Consider this---after 007 finds Shirley Eaton covered in gold,there are THREE individual segments in which Bond's mission is discussed and instructions given---this is in the first act,mind you.Today,they'd be past the third boat chase and into the second free-fall from a plane in flight."Goldfinger's" next "action" highlight is a golf game---Get Out! ---but what humor and suspense it generates---will Goldfinger discover the ball switch?It still puts me on the edge of my seat,and I've seen it two dozen times.The greatness of this movie lies in the powerful visual images it so casually presents---the Golden Girl on the bed---I won't even try to describe the electricity that went through the audience when that scene flashed on in '64(and well into '65)---if you're too young,ask your father to tell you about it.Oh,and the laser--you know,where it's pointed and all that---need I mention the effect on twelve-year old boys hitherto nursed on the likes of "Son Of Flubber"?---and when Pussy Galore introduced herself---someone might just as well have set off a cherry bomb in the theatre.What I'm saying is,you had to be there.The middle-aged among us who like an occasional express ride back to childhood will want this DVD,with all it's fabulous extras.For those of you who missed the sixties,here is an opportunity to understand your elders a little better---order "Goldfinger" today---find out what some of the excitement of our youth was all about---chances are it will lead to a happy Bond-ing experience with someone you love.

Though "Dr. No" and "From Russia With Love" got the ball rolling, it was "Goldfinger" (1964) that started the 007 phenomenon - establishing a cinematic formula that has endured from Sean Connery to Pierce Brosnan. In a recent interview, Connery said his portrayal of James Bond may have set too high a standard for the other actors to match. The same can be said for the early 007 films. With the exception of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969), it's hard to top the excitement and inventiveness of "Goldfinger." The villains, gadgets and locales are top notch, with Connery in splendid form. Admittedly, the Fort Knox climax is a bit hokey in spots and it's obvious that American gangsters are played by British actors. Despite these dated elements, "Goldfinger" is a definite highpoint in the 007 series.

It's a shame that the Special Edition Bonds' were not released in chronological order, but that's about the only complaint you'll read here.

GOLDFINGER showcases Connery in his third outing, and perhaps, in his most complete. There are just no weaknesses: from the hot women (Pussy Galore, the Masterson sisters), the gadgets (Bond's incredible Aston-Martin DB 5), the villains (Auric Goldfinger, and the ominous Oddjob) to the killer locations and action sequences, first-time Bond-director Guy Hamilton delivers. He not only seamlessly integrates action, comedy, and super-cool guy-machismo in one 110-minute package, but he strengthens, while innovating, the spy-action hybrid genre.

This DVD contains 2 very good commentary tracks, 2 documentaries, photos, radio interviews, trailers, etc. The start-up motion-menu is high-tech and gets you in the Bond mood. The mono soundtrack is adequate, buy hey MGM! Remix in 5.1. PLEASE! Picture quality is the same as the previously released DVD-version and looks very good, but the trained eye can catch some minor inadequacies in the print (grit, dust, etc).

All in all, GOLDFINGER ranks among the top-5 Bond films, while enduring as a ground-breaking action film that deserves to be called a classic in every sense of the word.

I have seen Goldfinger quite a lot of times on Video and TV - but watching it on DVD seems like watching a completely new Goldfinger: perfect picture and best sound ever! It seems like it was shot only yesterday. The Bonus material is simply a must for every Bond-Fan: Just sit down, relax, have a Martini and let Guy Hamilton or Honor Blackman or... tell you about the making the movie using the commentary in the Bonus-Section. A lot of unknown behind the scenes pictures and the two very good documentaries make this quite a complete 007-DVD. Not that I want to complain but it would even be better if more different languages would be optional and the music score would be on it.

James Bond comes of age in this minor epic. Auric Goldfinger is the definitive villain. The golf game and the attack on Fort Knox are highlights. Connery is outstanding and thoroughly believable as the British agent with a job to do but with a vengeful nod.

The initial filmic foray into James Bonds world, the 1962 DR. NO introduced a number of key elements in what would become known as the "James Bond formula." We have the suave and sophisticated British agent defeating a larger than life villain among an exotic land populated by beautiful, exotic women, some good and some bad, and signature sets designed by the legendary designer Ken Adam. Then a year later came FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, the second entry which further added the elements of a shocking pre-credits sequence, a gadget laden briefcase and a seemingly indestructible henchman in the shape of Robert Shaw's Red Grant. Yet, it is 1964s GOLDFINGER which is almost universally acknowledged as setting the blueprint for all future movies not only because it combined all the previous element, but that it put them all together in one bigger and more fantastic tapestry of overblown action and spectacle. It's not surprising that many Bond fans list this extravaganza as one of the most consistently entertaining of the series.
Based on the 1959 book by Ian Fleming, the main attraction in this movie is the villain, who utters some of the most memorable lines in film history. Who can forget the image of Bond strapped down to a table about to be dissected by a laser. "Do you expect me to talk?," asks 007 nervously eyeing the danger. "No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die," replies Goldfinger before going on about his business.
We catch our first sight of Goldfinger on Miami Beach immediately after a stand-alone precredits sequence and a main title sequence that features Shirley Bassey belting out the famous title track.
In a quite ingenious manner Goldfinger is cheating at cards. It's not long before Bond has figured out the manner by which he is doing it, but also met a very beautiful blonde named Jill Masterson (played by the impossibly beautiful Shirley Eaton) and turned the tables on Goldfinger - all in a matter of a couple of minutes (this 007 guy doesn't stick around I tell you). However, later that night, as Bond recovers from being knocked out cold we are presented with one of the iconic images of 1960s pop culture with a dead Jill, nude on a bed and covered entirely in gold paint. This image proved so enticing that it became a trademark image associated with the film and the series for years to, come.
Another trademark image from the movie is a giant Korean (the actor was actually Hawaiian) who kills people with a steel-rimmed bowler hat. Oddjob, who would set the standard by which all future henchmen would be measured) makes his first on-screen appearance in a game of golf (although he is clearly the one who knocked Bond out earlier). In what is one of my favorite sequences in the 40-plus years of the Bond franchise Goldfinger is at it again - cheating. This time when a ball is lost Oddjob simply drops another ball in a more convenient location. However yet again Bond manages to turn the tables on him. It's the understated game of cat and mouse set on the lush green golf course that really set the magic for me in this scene.
The book is set into three sections and these are mirrored here in this movie. The first section of the book is titled "Happenstance" in that one meeting can be a matter of timing and focuses mainly on the meeting between 007 and Goldfinger in Miami. The second section is titles "Coincidence" to explain a second meeting and this focuses on the golf game between the two. The third section is titled "Enemy Action" in explaining Goldfingers take on 007s third encounter with 007 and details the confrontation between the two in Switzerland that form the middle-part of the movie.
Another seminal image of the movie is the gadget laden Aston Martin DB5 complete with ejector seat. Pushing the envelope and taking its cue from the briefcase in the previous movie here we have a car that includes among its special features an oil slick, homing system, guns behind the lights and revolving number plates.
Truly this is the seminal entry in the franchise and we are treated here to a nice collection of special features the most impressive of which is a scene specific commentary from director Guy Hamilton.
On a sidenote - work is currently underway by Lowry Digital to restore this movie, if audio and video is of primary importance to you then you might want to wait until that is released in 2006.

Sean Connery's third outing as James Bond in 1964's superb "Goldfinger" has the 007 franchise solidifying its primary thematic elements. Connerly is smoothly witty and deadly as the British Secret Service assassin. The exotic villain is one Auric Goldfinger, played by veteran German actor Gert Frobe, out to corner the world's gold supply. His evil henchman is Oddjob, a giant, mute Korean martial arts expert whose special touch is a bowler hat with a steel rim. The Bond girl of the moment is Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman), Goldfinger's pilot, who will fall for Bond, as they always do.

Bond's assignment is to infiltrate Goldfinger's organization, learn his plans, and stop them. Bond and Goldfinger will play an exciting game of cate and mouse, with Bond repeatedly surviving close calls to stay close to Goldfinger. The climax of the movie is Goldfinger's raid on Fort Knox, inside the vault of which Bond will have his final confrontation with the seemingly indestructable Oddjob.

Shirley Eaton figures in an iconic scene early in the movie as Jill Masterson, one of Goldfinger's assistants who is seduced by Bond. Goldfinger gets his revenge by having her body covered with gold paint, causing her death by suffocation. Bond's discovery of her body helps set him on a collision course with Goldfinger.

This movie is highly recommended as one of the best of the original Bond movies based on Ian Fleming's novels.

Dashing spies, beautiful women, criminal masterminds, gadget cars, and unforgettable one-liners. This is one of the first places to find all that. The James Bond films of the 60s and 70s were quite different from the more action oriented ones of the 90s and 2000s. Bond flicks of this age were less about action and special effects and more about solid plots, classic lines, memorable (if sometimes unbelievable) characters, and they had much more clever humor. The story can get pretty silly at times but it has the spark and charm of the characters and plot to make you completely forget the silliness.

A classic opening with Bond blowing up a criminal HQ with plastic explosives, exchanging clever lines with contact, making out with a beautiful girl, and killing a villian in a dramatic fashion is what your treated to in the first five minutes of the film. Then the opening credits playing the sexy and classy movie theme and then beautiful overhead shots of a Florida beach resort. We are then introduced to the villian who shares the title with the film. Au Goldfinger is a classic villian who set the standards for movie villians in the following decades. Even more so is his henchman Oddjob who kills his victims by throwing a steel brim hat at them. In any other movie that would seem to absurd to be credible but for some reason in a James Bond movie it works just fine

Classic scenes include the famous laser heading for the groin with its famous dialogue and tense atmosphere. Women are no longer treated as sex objects (with the possible exception of the poor soul who dies a rather interesting death right at the beginning of the film). The women aren't invicible and treated with kid gloves either. No less than two die near the beginning of the film but its balanced out considering that over a hundred men get killed. Spy gadgets and technology make one of the, if not their, first appearance in this movie. A car with an ejection seat have become standard in most spy parodies and when was the last time you've seen a cheesy action flick without a 'Q'

Some scenes have no action at all but are nonetheless very effective. Such as the golf scene where Bond uses Goldfinger's own cheating habits against him to make him lose the game. Goldfinger's reaction to the lost shows us how demented and wicked he is while Bond's actions show how clever and how he can take advantage of any moment. Sean Connery displays one of his best Bond performences ever as well as one of his best performences period. Nobody has been able to bring the character to life like he did and nobody has carried on and passed on a legacy as well as he has done.

During the evening, instead of watching some present day horror flick or overrated teen movie, put this film on and experience spy action like you never have before

GOLDFINGER has become recognized as a cultural phenomena and the Jams Bond craze started taking off after the release of this film. GOLDFINGER contains a well-balanced level of depth and action leaving one emotionally charged. This is perhaps Sean Connery's finest James Bond film. The golden girl, Oddjob's bowler hat, Goldfinger's lethal laser, the Astin Martin DB5 with modifications introduced by Q, and Shirley Bassey's legendary rendition of the theme song belted out over the titles immediately became an integral part of the James Bond lore and remained in the psyche of the public.

Director Guy Hamilton, screen writers Richard Maibaum and Paul Dehn and editor Peter Hunt were able to produce a solid, well balanced, entertaining film based on Ian Fleming's novel that does not rely totally on the spectacle and whimsy that would weaken the subsequent entries in the series. Production designer Ken Adam and art director Peter Murton gave the production a stunning and lavish distinction. The Fort Knox set and Goldfinger's playroom at his stud ranch was a testament to imagination and achievement. John Barry's score is unique in some respects as he continued to finally hone his distinctive style to perfection with this memorable score.

This edition contains a digitally remastered print restored frame by frame and the sound has been remastered in a 5.1 DTS mix. Most impressive is that there is true Front Left and Right stereo separation. I think the technicians had a lot to work with. If you examine the last Laserdisc release of GOLDFINGER it contained an isolated music and sound effects track, so some valuable audio separation existed to work with. The results are impressive on this front and the basic sound of the audio is much more defined and sounds clean and crisp to the ear.

This has to be quite a exciting and shocking suprise to all the DVD review sources who anticipated just another re-packaging/marketing release of the James Bond collection. The John Lowry Digital group has taken these James Bond films to another level with their restoration work. This has to be by far Lowry's finest achievement. In some cases Lowry' may have had a lot to work with considering each film with It's own set of unique characteristics. But the results are what counts and In this case Lowry' has made a remarkable step forward and has raised the bar for film restoration to a new standard. You have to see these films again to believe them. Too bad Lowry' doesn't do all the dvd's in the marketplace, I for one sure wish they did. This Is the high quality that dvd was ment for. The marketing Of The James Bond Ultimate Collection could have been handled a bit better. For those buyers Interested In purchasing the box sets at a attractive price, well that's fine, you can get all 20 of the James Bond's and your satisfied. However, If MGM released each Ultimate slim(2)disc dvd seperately for purchase, that would have also been a smart move, but they didn't. Even If released Individually at a higher price, they would still sell. The Ultimate releases are selling on Ebay for up to $28.00 each and that's not Including shipping. The Ebay sellers are making the money that should have gone to MGM. Again, the box sets are great, but what we're finding out Is that consumers are willing to pay more for what they want and that's the bottom line. Well let's just wait and see what happens next, sometimes you can never tell.