More than forty-five years after the first James Bond film hit movie theaters, it’s hard to remember when the character felt fresh and different, the plots bold and exciting. Though the first and second Bond films, Dr No (1962) and From Russia With Love (1963), were unquestionably successful, it was 1964’s Goldfinger that became the first official blockbuster of the series. Adjusted for inflation, the worldwide box office revenue was $124,900,000 in 1965 and if adjusted for inflation that’s a rather staggering $868,659,354. In the United States, demand for Goldfinger was so high; Grauman’s Chinese Theater reportedly ran it around the clock for a month. The film’s success also led to clothing, dress shoes, action figures, board games, jigsaw puzzles, lunch boxes, trading cards and slot cars. All this, at a time when merchandise associated with a movie wasn’t the common occurrence it is today.
First time Bond director Guy Hamilton (Battle of Britain, Force 10 from Navarone) plans everything, so that even the most ordinary of shots propels the story forward–people in corridors, cutaways to vehicles and buildings. While the film does follow Ian Fleming’s novel pretty closely, screenwriters Richard Maibaum and Paul Dehn exaggerate and streamline the movie into a hyper-efficient and exciting entertainment experience. The point is certainly debatable but I’ve long believed that Goldfinger is the best Bond film to date.
As the story begins, Bond is enjoying what will be a short-lived vacation. He barely has time to catch some sun before he’s asked to keep an eye on Auric Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe), a bullion dealer with, as his name suggests, a love for all things gold. It doesn’t take long for Bond to draw Goldfinger’s ire by engaging in a romantic dalliance with Goldfinger’s beautiful assistant Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton). Irate, Auric acts swiftly to get his revenge. He lets Bond know he will not be intimidated, by killing Jill, painting her whole body with toxic gold paint.
Now Bond is forced to shadow Auric across Europe. This job will be no easy task; not only because Goldfinger’s bodyguard is the ominous Odd Job (Harold Sakata), whose bowler hat is lethal when hurled like a Frisbee, but also because Goldfinger’s plan is wildly elaborate and convoluted, a fact he reveals once he has Bond strapped to a table. Preparing to die by laser beam to the groin, Bond asks famously, “Do you expect me to talk?” “No, Mr. Bond,” Goldfinger replies, “I expect you to die.”
Bond is able to get himself out of that predicament, only to be kidnapped by Goldfinger’s personal pilot, Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman). “My name is Pussy Galore,” she says to Bond. “I must be dreaming,” he smirks. Bond is flown to Goldfinger’s Kentucky stud farm near Fort Knox, Kentucky. He escapes and witnesses Goldfinger meeting with U.S. mafia, who have brought the materials he needs for Operation Grand Slam; at the end of the briefing, Goldfinger has them all killed in a conference room by poison gas. Bond is recaptured but learns that Goldfinger plans to destroy the U.S. gold supply stored at the United States Gold Depository at Fort Knox, rendering it useless for years and greatly increasing the value of his own supply. Bond has quite a job ahead of him–subdue Pussy, kill Odd Job, capture Goldfinger and save the world before the atomic device goes off. Since this is 007 where talking about, it’s all in a day’s work.
There are a lot of reasons Goldfinger is such a good film and I’ll try to touch on a few of them here. In his third turn as James Bond, Sean Connery is at his best here. He had found a comfort level with the character and was not yet weary that Bond was a role that could typecast him for the rest of his career. Editor Peter Hunt was inventing unique ways to cut scenes together, editing techniques that everyone uses today but which were new in 1964 and Ken Adam’s production design was incredible; who can forget Bond’s den, with it’s with its scale model of Ft. Knox and the surrounding terrain?
Gert Fröbe’s Goldfinger is one of the best, if not the best, Bond villains ever. Until I listened to one of the commentaries, I didn’t realize Fröbe didn’t speak a word of English and his dialogue was dubbed by British actor Michael Collins. Fröbe plays Goldfinger in a decidedly understated fashion but maintains a kind of giddy energy that lets viewers know, evil lurks within.
The film’s sexism is a reflection of the mid-sixties. In 2009, screenwriters couldn’t get away with a woman named Pussy Galore. Goodness, Connery with his Scottish accent calls her “Poo-see.” Perhaps more disturbing to some women, is the fact that Pussy, a thinly coated lesbian (she declares herself “immune” to Bond’s charms), is raped by Bond back into heterosexuality. (Incidentally, the filmmakers’ erred in billing “Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore” during the opening titles and spoils the gag when she introduces herself to Bond.)
Despite that troubling scene, Goldfinger remains one of the most action packed and inventive movies in the Bond series. The second-unit footage of Miami now is fascinating for its nostalgia value and the Blu-ray disc gives viewers the first opportunity to really study it: the Kentucky Fried Chicken and Joe’s Drive-In off of Opa Locka Blvd. (two eggs – 39 cents, gasoline – 28.9 cents a gallon) While last year’s Quantum of Solace was a marked improvement over the last few Bond films, one can only hope that Broccoli and company will one day bring the franchise back to the kind of thrill ride Goldfinger represents.
Lowry Digital was charged with performing a full digital restoration on Goldfinger; Lowry responded to the task by delivering a pristine new master of Goldfinger that looks completely stunning on Blu-ray. The film’s original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.67:1 has been preserved with this release, and has been delivered in 1080p utilizing the AVC Mpeg-4 compression scheme. It’s fair to say, at this point, that many James Bond fans have probably never seen Goldfinger look anywhere near this perfect. This is a stunning transfer.
There are no digital artifacts with this release; banding, edge enhancement, noise and the over application of digital noise reduction are all conspicuously absent. Goldfinger features a warm, vintage color palette that perfectly accents the film’s sixties setting. Color fidelity is exceptional throughout the film and remains stable from start to finish. Detail is also remarkably rendered; Bond’s intricate Saville Row attire reveals fine fabric details and all the telltale hallmarks of his carefully hand-tailored wardrobe.
Ultimately, Goldfinger represents the best of the vintage James Bond restorations and is a stellar example of what can be accomplished when older films are given the care and attention necessary to make the leap to high definition. Goldfinger is a must-have for any Bond fan
Goldfinger was originally presented theatrically with a monaural soundtrack that has been faithfully reproduced on Blu-ray courtesy of a lossy Dolby Digital option. While there are certainly those who will revel in the nostalgia of this original track, most will be more inclined to sample the extensively remixed 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track that has been included with this Blu-ray edition. The track serves as a wonderful surround update that manages to increase the relative fidelity of the audio elements, while giving the film a much-needed aural boost.
The film is now 45 years old and the recording technology of the day was relatively primitive in comparison to the advanced digital techniques used today. As such, one can easily detect hiss and compromised sections of the soundtrack that will probably never sound any better than they do here. What’s heard is a solid soundtrack that manages to maintain the feel of the original mono track, while adding much needed bass and surround elements to the presentation.
As with past Bond Blu-ray releases, Goldfinger comes with an impressive array of special features; Most of the materials have been released on previous DVD version but have clearly been upconverted.
• Audio Commentaries – There are two included: a solo track with director Guy Hamilton, and an assemblage of interview outtakes (culled from the featurettes) with most of the major cast and crew, including Sean Connery, Honor Blackman, Desmond Llewelyn, Lois Maxwell, screenwriter Richard Maibaum and a host of tech and stunt personnel.
• Featurette: “The Making of Goldfinger” (HD, 26 minutes) – The first of two featurettes originally produced for a 1995 laserdisc release. “The Making of Goldfinger” is pretty good if now somewhat dated, with solid interviews with Hamilton, Connery (shot in 1993), Blackman and Mailbum, amongst others. There tons of interesting information on the changes in casting, Ian Fleming’s thoughts on Connery, and more. Plus, the newsreel and sparse behind-the-scenes footage is great.
• Featurette: “The Goldfinger Phenomenon” (HD, 29 minutes) – The second of the two 1995 docs, looks at the Bondmania that captivated the moviegoers of the ’60s. The vintage footage is neat and clearly shows why Bond was so culturally resonant during the heyday of the character’s popularity. I also enjoyed the TV commercials and advertising. Both this and “Making of Goldfinger” are narrated by Patrick Macnee.
• Featurette: “On Tour with the Aston Martin” (HD, 12 minutes) – This appears new to these 2009 Bond Blu-ray and DVD re-issues. This gives us a look at ‘Goldfinger’s famed Aston Martin (still the most iconic Bond vehicle), which now routinely tours the collector’s circuit.
• Vintage Material (SD) – Included here is a short 5-minute vintage 1963 promotional featurette, as well as about six minutes of screen tests of actors Theodore Bikel and Tito Vandis. Finally, there is the “Honor Blackman Open-Ended Interview,” which was originally sent to TV networks allowing them to simulate a “live” interview with the actress. Video for all is relatively poor-quality SD.
• Image Database (HD) – There is a huge list of sections, including the filmmakers, the sets, the stunts and a compendium of promotional and poster art. I stopped counting at over 215 images… (Note that though the gallery is formatted for HD, quality varies, as does image shape and size.)
• Promotional Materials (HD/SD) – In addition to the film’s theatrical trailer (in full HD), we also get three TV spots, 22 minutes of radio promos, and an audio-only vintage interview with Connery.
