Goldfinger DVD
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 Rating: - One of the most memorable of all the Bonds!
Goldfinger opened to huge box office business in 1964,hyped like never before by United Artists.The most enduring image to come out of this film and to stay in peoples' imaginations is the image of a girl laying naked face down on a bed painted totally in gold.It is one of the most unique in movie history.
The movie starts with its' opening prologue right off.We see a rather weather worn sea gull floating up to a dock.A head raises out of the water with the gull on top.A disguised Bond quickly disposes of it.He climbs out of the water in his wet suit and proceeds over to the side of an oil refinery storage tank.He opens a panel and sneaks inside,wary of the various guards walking about.In a room full of equipment he plants a bomb and leaves.He removes his wetsuit to reveal a fine tuxedo beneath.He walks into a nearby bar and very soon after the refinery blows up in spectacular fashion.
The movies' theme music plays,sung wonderfully and most fittingly by Shirley Bassey.It is one of,if not THE, most famous Bond theme song in its' series.If these Connery Bond movies had nothing else they had fantastic and endearing theme songs accompanying them,with top singers of the day to do the honours.
The opening credits shows us more and more flesh than ever before and each beauty is painted in gold,in keeping with the theme.The movie begins in Miami,Florida at a top hotel there,poolside.Bond is catching up on some r&r,getting a massage from a local beauty when a CIA man(Austin Willis) pops by to pass on a tip from British Intelligence that an international "businessman" by the name of Murray Goldfinger(Gert Frode) is to be kept an eye on.Even though he is "clean" by CIA standards there is something going on that just isn't kosher.Soon thereafter we meet said Goldfinger who has been playing cards with the same gent and beating him for a few days now....by cheating.Bond spys the how of it all and goes to Goldfingers' room.There he spies beautiful Shirley Eaton,Goldfingers' assistant,lying face forward on a recliner looking through binocs at Goldfingers' opponents' hand and radioing it to him.Bond puts a quick stop to this and puts the squeeze on Shirley.Before you can say 007 he has bedded the fair maiden and they are enjoying the after glow.Bond gets unceremoniously knocked out and when he comes to there lies his lady face down on the bed,covered from head to toe in gold paint....very dead.
James returns to London to be debriefed and to have a meeting with some top European bankers.It seems Goldfinger,among other things,is a precious metals dealer and has some legal smelting operations.But the banks have learned he has more than a passing interest in gathering and melting down gold,the very foundation of the world's currency.If he obtains and hoards enough it could lead to financial chaos.Bond is sent off to keep close tabs on Goldfinger.
We are now introduced to "Q"(Desmond Llewllyn) as he would now come to be known(he debuted in "From Russia with Love",but was called Boothroyd).We are also introduced to another famous "toy",James' famous Aston Martin,fully equipped and then some.He heads off to the south of London(Goldfinger has a refinery in the area) and to a golf course to meet up "socially" with Goldfinger.Goldfinger tries to cheat Bond during play but he has the tables turned on him,much to his chagrin.At this time we also meet another new character by the name of Oddjob(Tosh Togo).He is Goldfingers' assistant and has a nasty habit of throwing his hat at people.Except this hat is steal tipped and can decapitate if done properly!
Bond and his adversary part ways but only as far Bond can see him.He follows him all the way to Switzerland where Goldfinger has another smelting facility.At a look out point along the way a pot shot is taken in Bonds' direction from above(from another lookout point) as he looks at Goldfinger at a lookout point below.A chase ensues and he catches up to the shooter one Tilly Sommes(Tanya Mallet) to whom he offers a lift to a nearby garage.Later that night they meet up in the woods outside Goldfingers' facility only to be chased down by his henchmen.Sommes is killed and Bond captured.He is strapped to a table where a laser beam slowly inches along between his legs threatening to eliminate his "crown jewels".Only by bluffing that he knows more than just the name of the plan that Goldfinger is planning to hatch does he extricate himself out of a sticky wicket.James attempts an escape but gets nowhere.He is sprited aboard a Goldfinger jet piloted by one Pussy Galore(Honour Blackman).They land in Kentucky on a horse farm near Fort Knox.James learns that Goldfinger plans to daringly steal the gold from the installation.This is where Pussy Galores' talents as a pilot come in,as she runs a flight school.She has other female pilots with who she will overfly the military troops guarding the Fort and spray a knock out gas.This will enable Goldfinger and friends to enter and steal the gold.In case something goes wrong he also plans to bring a nuclear device.It will detonate and make the gold unusable for many years to come.
James breaks free and tries to botch Goldfingers plans at the Fort.In the meantime the gas wears off and the troops now enter the fight to retake the facility.Goldfinger arms the bomb.Bond works his way down to the bowels of the facility,killing Oddjob along the way.But that nuclear device is ticking down and he is not sure how to disarm it.Will he succeed?Will James beat Goldfinger in the final showdown? Will she and James fly off happily into the sunset? The answer to the bomb...is no,he doesn't disarm it! But for the rest of the answers you'll have to watch for yourself!
So ended another thrill ride of a picture in the now three year series.There seemed to be no place but up for the movies.And Sean Connerys' star was most decidedly on the ascension.Behind the scenes though Connery was chaffing a little because of the vast revenues these movies were taking in and he was getting just a basic contract salary and no more.He would later challenge Broccoli and company on the disparity for better terms and more money as the series progressed.But as time went by this and other issues would become more and more of a problem between the two parties until eventually Connery left it all together....unfortunately for us all.
However as far as the public were concerned in 1964 this movie was the hit it deserved to be.They loved the film and especially the star who was making it all happen.The most important thing Broccoli and Saltzman(the producers) did NOT do was change his character.If they had then these movies would have never been as successful as they were.They were smart sticking to formula and Connery by now had the character down inside and out.
Goldfinger was a definite improvement over "From Russia with Love".It added a new toy to Bonds' stable,the Aston Martin spy car,the music was top notch and its' sung nuances by Bassey were a perfect fit to the film.Also that powerful iconic image created in a short but powerful scene early on in the film,the girl with the gold paint.
All in all a good movie and with the new remastering done by MGM it is a wonder to see and hear.Get your copy today.

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