Bond in Review: Goldfinger

I really like the James Bond franchise. This is part three of a bimonthly, 24-part series of me watching James Bond movies and providing a stream of consciousness style commentary for a given film. I will also rank the movies so stay tuned for that at the bottom of the piece. Our third film, the 1964 release of Goldfinger, is the archetype structure for all Bond movies going forward: gadgets, over the top villain plan, cars, and awful treatment of women. The original novel is the seventh from Ian Fleming published in 1959.

· Must. Not. Comment. On. Off. Centered. Gun. Shot.

· I always wonder about when and why film crews choose to speed up footage. The speed of Sean Connery removing the duck helmet is interesting

· The score of this movie is sexy

· I am a big fan of the movie open being totally unrelated to the actual story. Gives the audience the feel that this guy has been busy when we don’t see him

· The sound of the plastic explosive is a good time to note that this is the first James Bond movie to win an Academy Award. It was for “Best Sound Effect Editing.”

· Every time I see a suit being worn under another disguise, it’s a grand ol time.

· ROLEX

· Heroin flavored bananas for revolutions — naughty naughty

· Wears a gun because he has a slight inferiority complex. Makes me smile because it could be true

· Darn it Bond using women as a shield. Awful

· “Goldfinger” — Shirley Bassey.

· Some shots being projected work better than others. The Oddjob one is awful.

· It seems like a missed opportunity for Goldfinger to have the golden gun only to have Scaramanga use the same gun later.

· So I went to Miami for the first time last year and I was stunned by how similar the building look to 1963.

· This tracking shot of the helicopter over the hotel and then to the pool was perfectly timed but hard to execute due to difficulty hearing the cues

· “man talk” *slaps behind. AWFUL BOND

· Auric Goldfinger. Clever. Au…we get it.

o British but doesn’t sound like it. Goldfinger, like many actors in the movies, was dubbed by a different voice actor

· Bond is wearing an absurd blue onesie thing that, I guess, only he could make work. Not an enduring fashion statement

· Taking the keys and charming a maid to not tell is so bad. Apparently penis machismo can open any doors in the 60.

· “What’s your name?” — Who gives out their real name to a stranger who has stumbled upon an illegal operation?!

· Bond in the books was always more “working class” in his origin and upbringing. Sticking it to a filthy rich person is a solid way to bring that back

· Life lessons: Don’t drink Don Perignon 53 above 38 degrees (Fahrenheit) and listening to the Beatles without ear muffs.

o Old man Bond not into listening to the hot new music.

· Jill pained in total gold. It’s unfortunate to see the disposable nature of women in the movie. The painting of anyone and that being how you discover them is haunting

o Death via skin suffocation. I refer you to Mythbusters on if this is possible

· Felix with a great deal of concern about Dink being dead

· This is a bit of mean streak that Bond has with respect to authority — open to continuing the investigation but wanting to know what is going on. A bit more engaged than a blunt instrument.

· MOST BRITISH PERSON EVER. Exposition Smithers for dinner.

· Tonight on “Brandy Talk”: the finest tuned senses in the world give way too much information and his boss is NOT happy about it.

· M is distracted by the smell of the Brandy. Bond has won this round.

· I am struck by two things:

o Is MI6 really needed to figure out if gold is being smuggled illegally across the world? Sorta small potatoes given SPECTRE is running about causing chaos

o Bond thinks he and Goldfinger should meet socially. Oddjob has already seen Bond before and knows he can be an issue. Not exactly subtle

· How does that parking meter work? The bad guy is going to have to park exactly there and also the stun gas won’t impact others?

· Q is not in the best mood with Bond’s attitude.

· RIP Bentley. Green Bentley was a great car. Welcome the Aston Martin DB5!

· I’m happy to know that these Q meetings take around an hour to 90 minutes. That makes a ton of sense given the technical components.

· Hawker is the best caddie.

· Bond looks stunned by Oddjob but he shouldn’t have any idea of who he is given that Oddjob knocks him out from behind

· Was Bond holding that gold bar or was it somehow given to him that quickly? Why was Bond so close to that putt? Don’t be rude.

· Fun fact: I use Slazenger golf balls thanks to this movie. And they are cheap nowadays. But also because this movie.

· Goldfinger does make that clutch putt on 17. No way around that.

· Bond has improved his palming technique since Dr. No.

· Strict rules of golf suggest Goldfinger going out of turn could’ve been a problem. Eh.

· Fake confused Bond is an underrated Bond

· Phantom III — 1937

· Does Oddjob’s hat slice the head off or break it cleanly!?!?

· I love the little tick that Goldfinger has where he rubs his eye to show disinterest. Not sure how intentional it is but it adds something to the performance

· Not quite GPS tracking wasn’t exactly the bees knees.

· Seriously, Bond has tracking and governmental flight connections. How does Tilly find Goldfinger that quickly?

· This is shot excellently. The three tiers and having them all in one shot. Well done

· Really concerned about the tires but the entire body work is ruined too.

· Trusting people of the 1960s to have two strangers meet and demand a ride to a service station.

· Confused Bond is back and better than ever with the skating season.

· The music cue when Bond arrives at Auric Industries is used again, flawlessly, in “A View to A Kill.”

· Smuggling gold via the actual body of the car is genius.

· Sneaky Bond is the ideal Bond for me.

· Bond drove the freaking Aston Martin all the way in forest for it to easily be discovered…bad spy work.

· Car exploding for no reason whatsoever when falling over a cliff

· No one decided to shoot Bond when he slowly exited the car and walked around the side of the door? Ok.

· Oddjob is darn good with that hat over distance

· All this technology but no automatic gate?

· What’s the point of the person riding with Bond? He didn’t shoot him so what are we doing?

· Nice older lady is now a killer. That’s funny.

· Bond losing a game of chicken with himself and a mirror.

· Goldfinger knows Bond’s backstory and is so entertained by the situation.

· Here begins a common theme of villains not killing Bond but at the time, this was fresh and new. It stands up.

· “Choose your next witticism carefully, Mr. Bond, it may be your last.” > “No I expect you to die.”

· Laser burning through table created by blowtorch under the table.

· I like that Goldfinger is not brought to his feet immediately by the “Operation Grand Slam” comment. It’s the best set of acting we see from him.

o In the novel, Bond negotiates a way to work for Goldfinger as a helper in Grand Slam.

· WOAH! It’s Honor Blackman from The Avengers!

· Pussy Galore was a mob leader in the novel. Lesbian (“I’m immune” to his charm) like many women in the novels. Her being a pilot of a flying circus is a convenient reframing

· Pervert bathroom. Why would those features be there any other time?

· Bond trying too hard and it feels desperate. I suppose because it is.

· In case you didn’t know we were in the southern United States, here is a music cue.

· Felix and company at a Kentucky Fried Chicken. You know because they are in Kentucky.

· “They’re all here, Mr. Goldfinger.” “Huh?”

o Wasn’t there concern about his focus?

· We entered into a mobster movie with the most over the top gangsters in Hollywood

· LOOK AT THIS WACKY SET! Give me every bit of this.

o Too many buttons to just shut the shades and turning on a projector.

· The production design is so good for this scene

· Goldfinger’s presentation sounds like it would be an awesome evil person’s TED Talk

· There is no reason for that guard to enter the room but it is absolutely impressive that Bond got to the ceiling.

· Bond with some nice handwriting for his hurried notes

· “Few fast falls together” — FORESHADOWING SEXUAL ASSAULT

· The murdering of all the mobsters is pretty brutal but really solid given the entire misdirection that is coming

· “So did I.” — Goldfinger is never phased.

· Blast that Goldfinger theme during this car pursuit. Not really a chase.

· Hey Oddjob: Why not take the gold out the car first?

· That scene destroying the car takes far too long but I can see how showing it would excite audiences in 1964

· But actually, that is the appropriate level of security one should have with a double-0 agent

· A small PSA for safer driving…thanks to a statistics pissing contest

· Goldfinger is so proud of his plan and how we all thought he would take the gold. It is an excellent plan

o In real life, this plan won’t work

· Bond movies do a clever thing with attire with respect to signaling alliances to villains. Pussy Galore going to the purple from Gold or gold adjacent colors is intentional.

· Bond forcing himself on Pussy Galore is nothing short of awful on every level. It is wrong, gross, and destructive

· Clue that something is up: invisible gas is coming out as a visible gas.

· Operation Grand Slam is working really well.

· The movie really draws out the execution of the operation: showing everyone seemingly die, showing the long drive in, setting up the explosion, everything. It builds some real drama that, well, things haven’t been foiled.

· Older Bond movie put a lot of action at the very end of the movie. At this point, there is 11 minutes of movie left. The entire movie including credits. He is being lowered to the floor of the vault.

· “Goodbye Mr. Bond.” — Such a soft voice. Nothing grand of excessive. Love it.

· First villain to pull the “I have another outfit under my seemingly dull outfit” move.

· Hat work is best outdoors, not a good indoors player.

· A bar of gold is extremely heavy so using it as a thing to punch someone with is a real show of strength

· Maybe if Bond unbuttoned his suit jacket he would have a bit more mobility.

· Oddjob cockiness!

· One thing I love about this movie: the grand moments are underplayed. The “goodbye Mr. Bond,” Goldfinger being unbothered by Bond’s references, and here with the bomb being stopped by someone essentially hitting the off switch.

· Bomb is stopped with 5 minutes left in the entire film. Not 0:07 minutes left.

· “her maternal instincts” sounds better than “I forced myself on her and my magical penis does everything.”

· James Bond on a flight with liquor for three people. Alcoholic much.

· Yeah so Goldfinger wouldn’t be sucked out an air plane like that.

· CIA really have been behind the ball the entire movie. Very unreliable here unlike their work when destabilizing foreign governments

· So no sex in a boat but it was near a small pond.

That’s the iconic movie. Updated Bond movie rankings:

1) From Russia With Love

2) Goldfinger

3) Dr. No.