This is a piece from the 1960s that says a lot about it. This is where Bond looked really goofy, and did nothing at all. And this is so polished yet foolish after all!
Initially, (Dr. No - 1962) installed the Bond Windows; as a formula of action / spy / sci-fi variety show, with a host that's a mix of ruthless killer and frantic womanizer. Yes, (From Russia with Love - 1963) tried to install the somehow respectable spy version of Bond. However, suddenly and decisively, the first version overcame and ruled in (Goldfinger - 1964), and that Windows ran automatically ever since!
So what's good in here? Let me tell you: Gert Frobe as (Auric Goldfinger), he was so believable as a Bond villain. John Barry's Jazzy orchestra. Ted Moore's smooth cinematography. And Sean Connery' charisma, and full suits.
Then the clever details: Oddjob's killer hat, the car's flying seat, the killer laser beam, and "No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to DIE!".
On the other hand: The plot is laughable. The characters are uninteresting caricature. The conflict is idiot; Goldfinger got chances to kill Bond many times, though strangely he didn't! I hated the wrong info about the so-called skin suffocation; this is sci-fi at its worst. I saw the camera's shadow so visible when Connery woke up to find the golden corpse (How shameful!). The image turns into funny fast-motion while the fistfight of Bond and Oddjob. And the climax wasn't that hot, at least like its numerous likes later in the series.
Connery won the Golden Laurel for the best Action Performance in a 1964's movie?! Well, all what he did here was nothing but getting Goldfinger's girl on his side. This round, he's more of a Mickey Mouse; a character which's called hero for no convincing reasons!
Over and above, the wild sexual nature; in terms of the women outfits, or the lack of them thereof, the double entendre lines, or names! From a pretty lenient standpoint, this is the 1960's vulgarity which rebelled against the decency of the previous decades. But from my taste's standpoint, this is just rude, and such a historical insult towards women as sex objects only. So when Connery says: "I must be dreaming!" you have to understand that these mean values are the dream that was presented to the people back then as entertainment, or the entertainment!
In conclusion, it's not a movie about spying. Not an action I suppose. It's a memory from the 1960s about the 1960s. While the retreat of the traditional westerns, the musicals, and the invasion of the new wave, and the existential movies, (Goldfinger) was here to stay and own the commercial throne, being as absurd and ribald as it is. Simply this is the kind of imagination and fluff that were intensively manufactured during the cold war-era; to make the viewers forget their worries, and become more self-indulgent, more sex & vulgarity-crazed.
So after 1964 and during the whole 1960s, the Bond's offspring would lead all over the world (OSS 117, Flint, Agent 077, Matt Helm, Kommissar X, A Man Called Dagger, Agente Gordon, etcetera etcetera..) with the girlie versions, the TV shows, the parodies, and let's not forget the original Bond as well. Hence, the success of (Goldfinger) represents the sovereignty of its formulaic hero, structure and elements.
True that (Goldfinger) is gold plated for me, but it works as an example of the expensive, silly and successful cartoon that was made at the moment, and as a history lesson about the degradation of the cinematic respect for reason and moral code, plus the degradation of the audience taste as well; ok, here's where its real gold shines!
Initially, (Dr. No - 1962) installed the Bond Windows; as a formula of action / spy / sci-fi variety show, with a host that's a mix of ruthless killer and frantic womanizer. Yes, (From Russia with Love - 1963) tried to install the somehow respectable spy version of Bond. However, suddenly and decisively, the first version overcame and ruled in (Goldfinger - 1964), and that Windows ran automatically ever since!
So what's good in here? Let me tell you: Gert Frobe as (Auric Goldfinger), he was so believable as a Bond villain. John Barry's Jazzy orchestra. Ted Moore's smooth cinematography. And Sean Connery' charisma, and full suits.
Then the clever details: Oddjob's killer hat, the car's flying seat, the killer laser beam, and "No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to DIE!".
On the other hand: The plot is laughable. The characters are uninteresting caricature. The conflict is idiot; Goldfinger got chances to kill Bond many times, though strangely he didn't! I hated the wrong info about the so-called skin suffocation; this is sci-fi at its worst. I saw the camera's shadow so visible when Connery woke up to find the golden corpse (How shameful!). The image turns into funny fast-motion while the fistfight of Bond and Oddjob. And the climax wasn't that hot, at least like its numerous likes later in the series.
Connery won the Golden Laurel for the best Action Performance in a 1964's movie?! Well, all what he did here was nothing but getting Goldfinger's girl on his side. This round, he's more of a Mickey Mouse; a character which's called hero for no convincing reasons!
Over and above, the wild sexual nature; in terms of the women outfits, or the lack of them thereof, the double entendre lines, or names! From a pretty lenient standpoint, this is the 1960's vulgarity which rebelled against the decency of the previous decades. But from my taste's standpoint, this is just rude, and such a historical insult towards women as sex objects only. So when Connery says: "I must be dreaming!" you have to understand that these mean values are the dream that was presented to the people back then as entertainment, or the entertainment!
In conclusion, it's not a movie about spying. Not an action I suppose. It's a memory from the 1960s about the 1960s. While the retreat of the traditional westerns, the musicals, and the invasion of the new wave, and the existential movies, (Goldfinger) was here to stay and own the commercial throne, being as absurd and ribald as it is. Simply this is the kind of imagination and fluff that were intensively manufactured during the cold war-era; to make the viewers forget their worries, and become more self-indulgent, more sex & vulgarity-crazed.
So after 1964 and during the whole 1960s, the Bond's offspring would lead all over the world (OSS 117, Flint, Agent 077, Matt Helm, Kommissar X, A Man Called Dagger, Agente Gordon, etcetera etcetera..) with the girlie versions, the TV shows, the parodies, and let's not forget the original Bond as well. Hence, the success of (Goldfinger) represents the sovereignty of its formulaic hero, structure and elements.
True that (Goldfinger) is gold plated for me, but it works as an example of the expensive, silly and successful cartoon that was made at the moment, and as a history lesson about the degradation of the cinematic respect for reason and moral code, plus the degradation of the audience taste as well; ok, here's where its real gold shines!