Really Surprised!

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Hands down, Goldfinger is the most iconic bond movie of all time. It is the standard by which later Bond films will be judged and it set the bar massively high for the bonds to come. Every, EVERY, E-V-E-R-Y Scene is memorable, unique and legendary in it's own right. The dozen one liners and facials are excellent, all the characters are excellent and all performances are amazing. The story and the plot isn't as deep as we get in movies like Skyfall (2012) or From Russia With Love (1963) but I doubt that this is a flaw. Oddjobb is iconic, Goldfinger is iconic, Pussy Galore is iconic and Sean Connery is at his best! Tied with 2006's Casino Royale as the best Bond Movie of all time.

Every individual James Bond film has some good assets and at least two or three special qualities that make it fantastically entertaining. "Goldfinger", however, exclusively has great assets and special qualities! I think this third entry in the series is almost unanimously – and righteously – labeled as THE best Bond movie of all. It's definitely also the most quintessential title to watch in order to get fully acquainted with the lead character's personality and working methods, as well as with the type of assignments he receives from his employer, his opponents and the hi- tech attributes he gets to help him. You'd expect all this to become clear already in the first film, "Dr. No", but the character created by Ian Fleming was still fairly unknown back then and hence the production values were a lot lower. Barely two years and only one sequel later, James Bond had already become a phenomenon and "Goldfinger" delivered the incredibly high expectations of the fans. It truly also is a terrific film, with an utmost solid script, a top three legendary villain and various highly memorable action & suspense sequences. Personally, I have the bizarre habit of ranking my favorite Bond movies based on the evil- factor and charisma of the villains, and thus "Goldfinger" is quite high up there thanks to the sublime roles of Gert Fröbe as the titular character and Harold Sakata as Oddjob, his silent but deadly henchman who pulverizes golf balls with his bare hands and throws around his killer-hat of steel. The gold-obsessed magnate has thought up an ingenious plan to rob the entire American gold supply from Fort Knox and naturally it's 007's job to prevent this from happening. Therefore Bond infiltrates into Goldfinger's private affairs twice; messing up his game cheating routines and seducing his female accomplices. Auric Goldfinger is undoubtedly one of the most vicious Bond-villains, but arguably also one of the dumbest! Never before or after did 007's opponents receive so many open and easy chances to eliminate him, but Goldfinger decides not to take the risk and kill his disloyal female assistants instead! Many, many sequences in this third Bond film are pure vintage, including the white tuxedo underneath the diving suit, Shirley Eaton's golden corpse, an uncomfortable laser beam moment and – of course – every scene with that awesome Aston Martin!

Here's a little test: think of "Dr. No", which images immediately come to your mind? I suspect it's a tie between bikini-clad Ursula Andress making her iconic entrance in the beach and the first shot of James Bond, lighting his cigarette with that cool and deadpan expression while introducing for the first time the classic "Bond. James Bond." And now, just think of a third image. You might have many shots and lines flooding over your memory but to call them iconic would be a stretch. Now, do exactly the same test with "Goldfinger". What images come to tout mind? Is it Bond in white tuxedo looking at the exotic dancer while lighting a cigarette (and something else in the process) or is it Bond wearing that blue polo in Miami Beach and introducing himself to Jill Masterson (a shot featured in Spielberg's film "Catch Me If You Can")? Is it the first shot at the Aston Martin, Pussy Galore or Auric Goldfinger playing cards or briefing about his plan? Speaking of Goldfinger, maybe it is the opening song, the staple to all James Bond opening credits? Or that shocking sight of a dead woman painted in gold? Or how about a special drink ordered by 007 in a plane? I can go on and on, from the deadly hat trick of Oddjob, the mute Korean right- hand man, the car chase or the classic laser pointing at perhaps Bond's most vulnerable spot."Goldfinger" is just full of unforgettable images, one after another, that all contributed to build the legend of 007, if "Dr. No" was the starter, this one is the sure thing, the one you can show to someone who never saw any James Bond. It just creates the perfect 'bond' with old or new fans, now what is the secret? I think the secret is in the title; the film is as much about Bond as it is about the villain, wonderfully played by Gert Fröbe. One of the most common tropes about Bond is that the villain's identity is revealed a bit later but "Goldfinger" follows the principle that a story is as good as its villain. Auric Goldfinger, the man with the deadly Midas touch, is a rather mundane and not intimidating gold investor, but beware of his hubris, this is a businessman who means business. The first scene shows him cheating at cards and it says a lot about him, he wants to get rich the easy way, and it's not about the quantity but the value, too. So, we clearly see from the first shocking death what this man is capable of to whoever steps in his territory, and it's surprising how many times Bond is actually disarmed by Goldfinger or his henchmen. But you know the pattern of Bond movies, Bond never dies and the villain never kills him whenever he has the opportunity, the trick is to make it believable, and for some reason, if Goldfinger isn't immune to the villain's monologue accusation, the fact that he was painted as a three-dimensional character makes it believable that he'd rather keep James Bond prisoner and show off about his clever high-scale plans, than killing him and leave his secret plan unknown. And you can tell how delighted Bond is to tickle Goldfinger's ego and let him reveal more of his scheme. In fact, you can also tell, that Connery has fun playing Bond, after two performances, he mastered it enough and knows exactly when to play it cool and when to play it tough.This is not the kind of film where performances are to be praised, but I've been so admiring of Connery's 'presence' in "Dr. No" that I think he deserves a few mentions here. Connery has a capability to find the right tone for the right moment, in a scene when he tries to break out of jail, look at the way he teases the guard, smiles at him and plays hide-and-seek, this is not out of character, this is a secret agent who also knows how to play a role. But look at his frightened expression when he see the gold-painted Jill or when he stares at that ominous laser, these are genuine moments where he can't really pull the tough guy facade. There are two Bonds playing, the secret agent and the man, and the trick is to always keep a fine line between both and when it comes to women, it's a whole different story.Bond is a man who seduces as much as is being seduced, and on that level, he's rather self-conscious, but he loves to play the game nonetheless and deliver his lines as if he really had to show more than his pretty face and athletic looks, there's got to be that little icing on the cake, the woman has to play 'hard to get', it's part of the game, and never has a preliminary been as sensual as the karate contest in the barn. The music is playful like a little interlude except that it plays on strength, on fighting skills as if Bond had to maintain his manly reputation on that level, as if Pussy Galore needed more than the little charming rhapsody. And why not, she's perhaps the most bad-ass Bond Girl, she flies a plane, leads a commando and she doesn't need to be naked to assert her sexiness, she's quite a match for Bond and she's one of the reasons the film works.In fact, I don't think of any Bond movies that succeed on every level: Bond, the villains, the girls, the song, the lines, the spectacular action, the high-scale super villain's scheme, everything. This is why "Goldfinger" is the film that really established Connery as the ultimate Bond. If only for "Goldfinger", Connery could never be matched. Action and seduction-wise, this is a Bond that would leave anyone shaken… not stirred.

James Bond must deal with evil Goldfinger and Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman).I would say the lavish John Barry score is 40% of the film's entertainment value, but just about everything is wonderful is this classic spy adventure. Filled with so many memorable bits: Bond and Pussy playing in the hay, the out of control plane at the end, the guy with the killer hat, Bond and Goldfinger playing golf, etc.This and Live And Let Die (1973) are my very favourite James Bond movies, one viewing of each film is not enough, I would go for 20 viewings!