48 replies to this topic

[JimmyBond]

Dont get me wrong, I enjoy Goldfinger, hell, I enjoy all the Bond fiilms. Though it bothers me that this film gets called the Best Bond film ever.

While being a good film, its certantly not my favorite(Thunderball would be my fav. Connery film) and I feel its just slow in parts. I dont know, its all really my opinion I suppose, does anyone else agree that its the best Bond film?

[Double-Oh-Zero]

Well, even though it's my personal favourite Bond film, I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's THE best out of 19 films. People's opinions differ, some hate it, some love it, but it's really a matter of your own tastes. In the end, it's you who's watching it, and it's your opinion.

[Mister Asterix]

Goldfinger is the best James Bond film, particularly when taken in context. Goldfinger was a very original film that all of the following Bonds had to live up to. I'm actually watching Goldfinger right now.

It had:
The first over the top gadget: The Aston Martin DB5 (also wins for most original gadget)
The most beautiful Bond girl: Jill Masterson
The most well known Bond girl: Pussy Galore
The most original villain: Goldfinger
The best known and simply best hench, the granddaddy of all henchpeople: Oddjob
The best line: 'No, Mr. Bond I expect you to diiiieee!'
The best and most original villain plot despite the weak plot of the novel.
The most memorable image: The golden girl
The best and most well known song
A great score
The titles that all the others were copies of.
et cetera, et cetera.

You may disagree with some of these being the best but everyone has to admit that all of these things rank pretty high on their respective lists.

Goldfinger really only was a few of weaknesses: A bad Felix, the question of why they didn't take the gold out of the car before they crushed it, and whatever the hell the wardrobe department was thinking when they put Connery in that baby blue terry cloth thing he wore in Miami.

[Roebuck]

While conceding it my appear a little slow to modern cinema goers Goldfinger has to be seen in context with other films of that era. To audiences in 1964 it was like watching Die Hard, but only smoother.

LALD was the first Bond I saw on release. It blew me away and left me with an obsession thats lasted 30 years. I still feel nostalgic about the film but try comparing that boat chase with the one from TWINE.
The 1973 version is going to look very pedestrian!

The action movie always evolves and moves on. But Goldfinger is always going to be the classic Bond IMHO

[Roebuck]

While conceding it my appear a little slow to modern cinema goers Goldfinger has to be seen in context with other films of that era. To audiences in 1964 it was like watching Die Hard, but only smoother.

LALD was the first Bond I saw on release. It blew me away and left me with an obsession thats lasted 30 years. I still feel nostalgic about the film but try comparing that boat chase with the one from TWINE.
The 1973 version is going to look very pedestrian!

The action movie always evolves and moves on. But Goldfinger is always going to be the classic Bond IMHO

[Roebuck]

Sorry - posted twice. Not sure if it was worth posting once. Nevermind.

[James Page]

It's the most formulaic, if you like, it accomodates all of the lowest-common-demoninators (by lowest I don't mean worst!). When the series was ressurected in 1995, this is what GoldenEye attempted - to appeal to the mass audiences and give them what they wanted.

GF's reputation as "the best Bond" has been mainly generated by the media - and not true Bond fans. I'd be interested to know how many of the top 25 posters on CBN rate GF as their favourite, I doubt it would be more than 5 or 6 people.

And there in lies the the problem with GF's reputation I believe. It has been tagged as "the best Bond" for so long by TV that the general public when asked just say "Goldfinger" as a knee-jerk answer.

From my experience, true fans tend to have very different answers to the same question.

[Kronsteen]

Goldfinger is absolutely not the best Bond film, even though it

[Mister Asterix]

James Page (10 Feb, 2002 01:42 p.m.):(edited)
It's the most formulaic, if you like.

Goldfinger is the formula.

James Page (10 Feb, 2002 01:42 p.m.):(edited)
I'd be interested to know how many of the top 25 posters on CBN rate GF as their favourite, I doubt it would be more than 5 or 6 people.

That would be around 20% probably higher than any other Bond film.

James Page (10 Feb, 2002 01:42 p.m.):(edited)
From my experience, true fans tend to have very different answers to the same question.

I would bet that if all of the 'true' Bond fans listed their favourites that Goldfinger would average highest.

Okay, the whole thing is always going to be subjective and everyone's going to have a different opinion, so to the individual it really doesn't matter. I just feel that although it may not be the best, Goldfinger has a strong arguement for being the best.

[Roebuck]

Excuse me James - but the reason Goldfinger is the most formulaic is because thats the source they copy the formula from.

[James Page]

Roebuck (10 Feb, 2002 04:13 p.m.):
Excuse me James - but the reason Goldfinger is the most formulaic is because thats the source they copy the formula from.

I was taking the stand point of assessing the entire series as it stands, where chronolgy plays no part.

But yes, you're right, GF established "the formula"

[Jim]

This may just be a semantic point, but if there's a definition of a "James Bond Film", then Goldfinger probably is the archetype.

A question of condensing the elements. The elements were largely there, floating about, in the first two films, but refined by the third.

[Jacko]

there is just one thing i dont understand. everybody says that guy hamilton was the worst bond director of all and that his films were the worst in bond history. yet GF was directed by.. guy hamilton. i dont see the logic in that.

[JimmyBond]

I guess its just that I get tired of having every media advert, and professional critic, tell me(not directly, but you know what I mean) that Goldfinger is the best Bond film.

I mean, I like it, but its not more thrilling then Thunderball, the storyline isnt better then Spectre hijacking two warheads, I do admit though, that line of Goldfingers(I expect you to die) is really the best line of the series.

[Alex]

You're trying too hard. We all know what 007 really meant by that.

[Mister Asterix]

He is right about the three ticks thing. The UK version stopped at 003. And it doesn't bother with the stopping at 007 for a couple of reasons: 1: The word tick is British slang for a short period of time, it doesn't have to be a second.
2: If you listen to the movie the timer actually only makes a tick sound every two-seconds, so stopping at 007 would actually be... okay I made up #2, but I had you going there for a tick didn't I? ;D

[Alex]

White Knight (19 Feb, 2002 03:48 a.m.):
first of allit originally stopped at 3, and America thought it stopping at 007 would be better, so they did it, and i don'tm care. I can't even think of a Bond movie that hasn't had a little spoof. Goldeneye had plenty, and people loved it. I mean lighten up a bit Alex.

For some reason you want me to "lighten up" because I'm pointing out things that were wrong with this movie. Why? Because I'm not falling in with almost everyone else and saying that Goldfinger is my favorite Bond movie? Should I just keep my mouth shut regarding my opinions of the films? I thought that this topic was about Goldfinger...

I already said I'm not trashing it, however it is far from my favorite Bond movie, and the various plot holes and bloopers that were never corrected (although they could have been corrected very easily) contribute to my opinion of it.

I think that when most people look at Goldfinger, they pick out the memorable and good scenes and conveniently forget the flaws, because it's supposedly the most popular Bond film. I'm just trying to bring this movie down to earth and let people know that it has a pretty large share of flaws and problems that everyone seems to overlook.

[JAWS]

White Knight (19 Feb, 2002 03:48 a.m.):
first of allit originally stopped at 3, and America thought it stopping at 007 would be better, so they did it, and i don'tm care.

I read it was Broccoli who made the decision to insert a shot of the timer, reading 007 seconds.

[General Koskov]

Okay, personally I really couldn't understand what was so great about Goldfinger when I saw it. I mean I'd read the book and then find out that the whole DuPont vs Goldfinger thing was out thus leaving out one of Fleming's interesting intros to the villain. Then there's the awful special effects (rear-screen projection) where none were necessary (it's a FRIGGIN' MIAMI HOTEL not a FRIGGIN SKYDIVING SEQUENCE! ). And the numerous continuity problems that plague the earlier films...

[White Knight]

oops don't mind this one,lol

[White Knight]

every bond movies has had its spoofs. I can't think of one bond movie that hasn't had a spoof in it. so lighten up Alex.

[White Knight]

-The bomb says 007 when it's disarmed, but he says "Three more ticks and Mr. Goldfinger would've hit the jackpot." Everyone knows about this one, how can you miss it? There was no excuse for such a stupid mistake.

first of allit originally stopped at 3, and America thought it stopping at 007 would be better, so they did it, and i don'tm care. I can't even think of a Bond movie that hasn't had a little spoof. Goldeneye had plenty, and people loved it. I mean lighten up a bit Alex.

[Alex]

I can understand why everyone likes Goldfinger - it's filled with memorable scenes and images. However, it's riddled with stupid plot holes and mistakes that were never corrected. Here's a few:

-The bomb says 007 when it's disarmed, but he says "Three more ticks and Mr. Goldfinger would've hit the jackpot." Everyone knows about this one, how can you miss it? There was no excuse for such a stupid mistake.

-On the radar, when they are tracking 007's plane, it falls WAY too fast. It goes from 8,000 feet to 2,000 feet in about 2 seconds. That's absurdly fast.

-Goldfinger somehow manages to fit his enormous frame through the window and he gets sucked out to his doom.

-Inexplicably, the plane explodes before it hits the water.

-Bond and Galore end up landing on a desert island with palm trees. I can understand why they were in the middle of the ocean, since they were going to Washington, but there aren't any palm trees or desert islands in that area!

In addition, Cec Linder is way too old to be playing Felix Leiter, Goldfinger is so fabulously rich that I can't fathom why he would want to become so much richer through illegal means, Goldfinger has many chances to just kill Bond, but instead he lets him run around on his property without any restrictions, and it's sort of stupid the way the American soldiers pretend to be gassed and then sit there for a while and let Goldfinger place his bomb and break into Fort Knox. Why not just come up behind his men when they were trying to get past the gate? That way, there'd be no chance of Goldfinger escaping.

This is by no means my favorite Bond movie. I'm not trashing it or anything, but I see a lot of problems with this movie which put it way behind From Russia With Love (my favorite Bond movie).

[RossMan]

Goldfinger is my fav. Connery movie but I wouldn't say its the best of the whole series.

[White Persian]

One of the reasons that Goldfinger had such an impact when it was first released is that it was a *sixties* Bond film ...hip irreverent, modern...in a way that its predecessors hadn't been. Though made in the sixties, DN and FRWL still owed much of their style and flavour to the fifties, while Goldfinger redefined the genre in as startling a way as Tarantino did with Reservoir Dogs.
From that viewpoint, Goldfinger has a pivotal role in movie history, which I suspect is why it is given critical respect that other, possibly better, Bond films are not.

[Connery 007]

Goldfinger is the stuff of legend. No one thing makes it good, but a combination of many factors. The humour is excellent and not too out-of-place, the combination of action and tension is ideal, and the cast is superb.
The special effects are top quality. The music is brilliant throughout the film, and the soundtrack in fact went gold. The effects are one of the things that combine to make Goldfinger unique. It is a film from the sixties that still looks modern today, and that is the most astounding thing about the film. The cars which were then state-of-the-art are now classics. The fashion has change little. And the locations, such as Goldfinger

[PaulZ108]

Goldfinger is excellent and I enjoy it as I do all Bond films, but I wouldn't say it's my favorite. That status would have to go to FRWL, TLD, or TSWLM.

[Mr Trump]

I think Goldfinger is connery's best Bond movie but my personal favourite is TWINE.

[Evil Doctor Cheese]

Goldfinger is wonderful... I think I left it off the top of my list for a long time because of this kind of "backlash"... the idea that everyone says it's excellent so it can't be so I'll pick a different favourite. The film is perfect... it is flawless. However much I love the Brosnan films the current ones have not had a patch on Goldfinger. Having recently revisited it I loved it so much I watched it twice without stopping! The Bond girls are the best in the series (Jill is far sexier than I gave her credit for) the caper is nice and understated, the comedy is perfect. It feels like Bond how it should be... proper spying, a bit of an odd element (Blofeld's Cat's idea of Bond having an element of the obscure). It's just wonderful. It's definitely the best but I would also argue that there are other films up there with it (GE, FYEO, FRWL... and DAD hopefully!). It is the undisputed king of Bond films.

[Carver]

Well, i was going to say no to the original question, but then i saw Mr*'s post, so i changed my mind. I second all the things he said but i will just say this: Goldfinger does bore me in some places. I'm not putting GF down, but how the hell would Bond be able to pick up a gold bar and THROW it at Oddjob, and then the bar just BOUNCES off him! How would this work?