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Why is Goldfinger the general favourite?
I recently have been watching a lot of the Bonds over and over (I recieved all 3 Blu-Ray box sets for Christmas) and Goldfinger doesn't quite do it for me as it does for many others. I watched it a few nights ago and then watched From Russia With Love (probably my all time favourite) and I can't seem to understand why Goldfinger often steals the spotlight from potential other favourites. I rank movies such as FRWL, CR, FYEO, TSWLM, and TB above Goldfinger.
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Personally, I'm not a huge fan of Goldfinger, like other people are (in fact, it's one of my least favorite films), but I do understand it's "importance" to the rest of the franchise.
I liked Goldfinger but the problem I have with it is that it looks terribly dated.
Other films like OHMSS, TSWLM, FRWL have aged gracefully while Goldfinger has a lot of problems that shows its age:
Male chavanism
The racism
You do not have to feel guilty if you and others rank Goldfinger low on your favorite Bond list. At the time it was the ultimate in cinematic adventure so take into account the times.
Agreed. I never have figured out why Goldfinger is such a favorite to the fans. I personally hate Goldfinger and rank it down near the bottom of my list. It's extremely slow-paced and dull, especially in the second half. Auric himself is sometimes really annoying and camp-ish, and Miss Galore is a complete dud for a Bond girl. She speaks her lines with no enthusiasm and bores me to death! If it wasn't for the Fort Knox climax, I may turn the whole thing off after the laser scene. GF started Bond on the road to cheesy camp, given the hard-edged thrillers of DN and FRWL that came before it, which are far better than GF in my opinion. This is a great question Arsenal02071! I never will figure out the answer.
Connery.
And the quintessential theme song belted by la Bassey. :)
I disagree with the topic though. I don't necessarily think it's the general favourite. GF is not our Empire Strikes Back, our Wrath Of Khan or our Godfather 2. Over the years, over the decades in fact, several generations of fans have been exposed to multiple Bond films, each more or less different than the rest. In that sense, fan favourites vary from FRWL to OHMSS, to TLD and so on. Even general audiences, not as deep into this as we are, would not unanimously agree to GF as the favourite Bond film. I've heard as many 'outsiders' mention OP, as I have those who prefer CR or YOLT. Of course when the media deliver us Bond documentaries and tributes, we mostly hear GF, the song, and we mostly see Connery because he really looked great as Bond in GF. But let's not forget that they made a FRWL game before they made a GF game (in fact, they haven't so far) and the Austin Powers films mostly ripped off TB and YOLT, to give an example of an entirely different nature. Overall, I think GF ranks very high on many lists and it no doubt dominates some lists here and there in books and on the Internet. But I doubt that we can still think of it as the ultimate fan favourite Bond film.
It set the Bond formula but it did so in such a memorable way it entered pop culture. The iconography of Goldfinger is only competiton is YOLT. I mean look what it gave us - the quintessential song by Bassey, Connery, the girl killed with gold paint, the Aston Martin D5, Pussy Galore, Fort Knox, ejector seat, the laser table scene, Oddjob, the bowler hat and "Do you expect me to talk? Noo..Mr Bond I expect you to DIE!!" All of which have entered film law.
I agree there are probably more Empire Strikes Back films such as FRWL. OHMSS, TLD and CR and this one is definitely Star Wars.
But there is a reason Star Wars is so well loved and popular - its blooming good.
And that is why GF is still well regarded.
The writing is very sharp and witty. The cast are terrific. Connery is on top form. It's got a cracking "ultimate heist" plot. Swinging score by Barry, at the top of his game. A title song which is unforgettable - and a genuine "classic" now. Iconic images (Pussy) galore. Great Robert Brownjohn "golden girl" title sequence. Gold visual motif throughout. Girl painted gold on the bed. The DB5, revealed in a marvelously written and acted scene between Bond and Q. The laser, "I expect you to die" scene is priceless. Pussy Galore is a very strong female lead and she and Connery have genuine chemistry. The Fort Knox climax, with Adams' incredible set, is truly exciting and brilliantly staged.
It just goes on and on, and all that is crammed into a 110 minute movie.
It's no wonder the general public nearly always vote GF as their top Bond film, even after 47 years.
Haha. GF is in my top five but I've always thought along similar lines as you. The man hardly looks like the most dangerous chap. Oddjob was better.
Funny how each of those films is a 2, while GF is a 3. Empire is the second Star Wars (release wise), Wrath of Khan is the second Star Trek, and (obviously) Godfather 2 is the second Godfather. All the while GF was the third Bond (and the first non-SPECTRE releated)
* Godfather III
* Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines
* Some slashers: Child's Play 3, F13 Part 3, Halloween 3, Leatherface - TCM 3, Hellraiser 3: Hell On Earth, Final Destination 3,...
* Rambo 3
* The Karate Kid 3
* The Search For Spock (not a *bad* film but very disappointing still IMO)
* Transformers: Dark Of The Moon
* Batman Forever
* Hannibal
* Jaws 3D
* The Lost Boys 3
* Poltergeist 3
* Scream 3
* X-Men 3
But I also like some 3's:
* Dream Warriors
* Rocky 3 (I like that one!)
* Return of The Jedi (I like that one too!)
* Alien³ (another controversial choice I suppose)
* Exorcist III (go on, say it: I have no taste :P)
* Back to The Future, Part III
* Blade Trinity (mostly because of Ryan Reynolds :D)
* Saw III
With the Bond villains its not about physical imposition. Its about brains. Thats what makes them so dangerous. They use their brains to get to the top of the tree and then go further.They have henchman to do the physical stuff. The spiders at the centres of the web is Dr No, Blofeld, Goldfinger, Drax etc.
The evil was there. He had no conscience in wiping out thousands of innocence so he could increase his wealth. He also used a henchman to kill people and painted a girl with gold paint so she died of skin suffoacation.
And not liking a villain because he reminded you of your grandfather - well, thats the idea. Personally I thought his bulk made him very imposing and slightly sinisterly comical.
I was okay with Godfather III. T3 had great action, stupid plot and none of the Terminator cliches we've come to know and love (T4 did much better). No slasher series has a good third installment. I liked Rambo 3, but only because Trautman was more involved (and I get a big MGS3 vibe whenever I watch it). Yes, Star Trek 3 was disappointing. I preferred Dark of the Moon to Revenge of the Fallen, but Leonard Nimoy might have been the reason. Batman Forever was far superior to Batman & Robin (more of a gay vibe with Clooney than Kilmer). I haven't seen Hannibal, Jaws 3D or Scream 3 in years, so I've forgotten them. I hated Lost Boys 1, so I'll never watch 2 or 3. Never saw Poltergeist 3. X3 was a let down.
Don't remember Dream Warriors (I asume Nightmare on Elm Street, right?) much, so I can't comment. Rocky 3 was the best of the bunch (but I also liked 4 about the same, and hated 5). You have no reason to hide your like of Return of the Jedi, I just wish the DVDs didn't have colortime errors. Alien 3 was worse than 1 and 2, but it beats 4 any day (Prometheus had better be damn good). Never saw Exorcist III. BttF 3 was the best of the trilogy. Blade Trinity was also the best of the three. I didn't much care for Saw II, so I never saw any of the remaining five.
Here's some more good 3s:
Lethal Weapon 3 (best of the bunch, apart from the cell phone talk in Lethal 4)
Die Hard With a Vengeance
Revenge of the Sith (no one can deny that this is the best of the Prequel Trilogy)
Return of the King (a great film theatrically, made all the more superb by the extended edition)
Clear and Present Danger (I liked it better than Patriot Games, but not The Hunt for Red October)
The Spy Who Loved Me (Moore's third film, and he's had the best third film in the franchise, but we'll have to wait and see how Skyfall does)
And here's a bad 3:
The Bourne Ultimatum (I preferred The Bourne Identity, and somehow the sequels never managed to get back there)
Haha. GF is in my top five but I've always thought along similar lines as you. The man hardly looks like the most dangerous chap. Oddjob was better. [/quote]
With the Bond villains its not about physical imposition. Its about brains. Thats what makes them so dangerous. They use their brains to get to the top of the tree and then go further.They have henchman to do the physical stuff. The spiders at the centres of the web is Dr No, Blofeld, Goldfinger, Drax etc.
The evil was there. He had no conscience in wiping out thousands of innocence so he could increase his wealth. He also used a henchman to kill people and painted a girl with gold paint so she died of skin suffoacation.
And not liking a villain because he reminded you of your grandfather???? Personally I thought his bulk made him very imposing and slightly sinisterly comical.
With the Bond villains its not about physical imposition. Its about brains. Thats what makes them so dangerous. They use their brains to get to the top of the tree and then go further.They have henchman to do the physical stuff. The spiders at the centres of the web is Dr No, Blofeld, Goldfinger, Drax etc.
The evil was there. He had no conscience in wiping out thousands of innocence so he could increase his wealth. He also used a henchman to kill people and painted a girl with gold paint so she died of skin suffoacation.
And not liking a villain because he reminded you of your grandfather???? Personally I thought his bulk made him very imposing and slightly sinisterly comical.
[/quote]
Dr No, Drax and Blofeld (namely Donald Pleasance) had something a bit more...threatening about them though. Their voices for instance sounded far more sinister and evil.
So the fact that he doesnt sound like Vincent Price or Christopher Lee is to his detriment? He doesn't need it. His actions speak for themselves.
The man is a maniac. His mania is gold which slips into meglomania and perversity. Watch his face when he describes his love of gold as Bond is about to be spliced in two. His perverseness slips into his way of killing people. Jill is killed with gold paint.
I know what you mean though. Your blessed Alec Trevelyan. I speaks like a character from Coronation Street one minute and has marbles in his mouth the next. Never convinced me.
I love this post.
Whoa! Trevelyn bashing. Tone it down a bit, actonsteve.
His actions. Yes, Goldfinger has many actions. "Look here, I'll point at Fort Knox on my very realistically built model" or "Oh, I know! I'll dress up like a US Army commander, because clearly the soldiers that are stationed here every day have no reason to question the appearance of some new commanding officer they've never seen" or the great "I'll put the wench who just betrayed me at the controls of the plane, because with my infinite moneys I can easily afford a new pilot, but I'd rather use her".
The man caused his own downfall much more than any other Bond villain, and we're supposed to love him?
Whyle iam not a big fan of the movie, there also good things and i give the movie 6/10. Example are the gunbarrel scene, title song/maintitle, Q, Astin Martin DB 5.
Now that surprises me. What's disappointing about it? It's got Jason and in his iconic look. I look at pt 3 as the first proper F13 film.
I usually consider part 2 as the first real Friday the 13th. Mainly because I hated part 1.
No villain is off limits to criticism. If Goldfinger is fair game so is Alec "charisma bypass" Trevelyan
Love him??? A villain is meant to be a credible threat. And, yes, most villains are surgeons of their of their own demise. That is the point of fictional villainy. Schenfreude for the reader/viewer.
I agree on pt 1. But i've also never been keen on part 2, though it is an improvement. My unconventional ranking of the f13 films may be due to the fact that JGTH was the first one I watched.
Last year I extrapolated the data from over 120 Band-fans complete movie rankings, on this board ( the old board) and FRWL was miles ahead. That was the consensus from roughly 120 serious Bond-fans, that were capable of ranking all 22 films. That's a pretty good sample. I doubt anything has changed.
In fact there were 7 films that stood head and shoulders above the rest. The others being TLD, TB, GF and DN.