Why I love GOLDFINGER

BT3366

chrisisall wrote: »

BT3366 wrote: »

I tend to feel sluggish when Bond is prisoner on Goldfinger's stud farm. Except for Sean looking cool in that suit, I just don't get much out of his frequent escape attempts, hiding under models and listening to some of the worst gangster accents and acting out there, and scenes of the series' worst version of Leiter eating KFC and being too bushed to follow up on Bond and crunching a car for no other reason than to crush a car. It just drags till we get to Fort Knox.

So here I am playing the age card again:
In MY day, a film was not judged by its narrative momentum, but by its content.

I don't think you're that much older than me as I'm like one of the most junior-level members of the originals group. I don't mean to try to be controversial, but I've long had a complicated relationship with GF and some get ruffled by it when I bring up points like those. It may be the fact that it wasn't one of the early films I caught but like once on a rerelease and wasn't on TV that frequently while growing up. But hearing over and over again how it's the best and not having the benefit of seeing it on original release like some others, the things like I described above just tend to take away from the overall experience.

I still count Goldfinger as the very best villain and Oddjob just below Red Grant as best henchman and acknowledge some of those classic scenes such as the laser table. But the overall experience doesn't rank it near the top for me, although still up there above most entries.

Birdleson wrote: »

Being your age, or within a year or two, I think it was varied. Depending on the type of film, or the intent of the Director, or producers, you could go either way, or partially. Bond films were made to be seen in the theater. Period. They were supposed to be an immediate experience, attention was not paid to small details. The films didn’t even appear on television until after a decade past the release of the first one. There was no home video until FYEO was released. The idea that people were going to watch these repeatedly, or people would be able to stop the film and inspect the details, or spend time dissecting these plots that were made for an explosive two hours of entertainment, never cross their minds.

Yet those first ones still remain at or near the top of most rankings. And I think that’s a testament to their durability, in the end, their continued influence. Had the Brosnan or Craig films been the first films I don’t think we’d still be getting them 50 years hence.

Agree with this completely. But I wouldn't fault the many who came to the series because they saw GE on original release or any of the Craig films.

chrisisall

BT3366 wrote: »

I still count Goldfinger as the very best villain and Oddjob just below Red Grant as best henchman and acknowledge some of those classic scenes such as the laser table.

Then we have no problem here. *Virtual fist bump*

Birdleson

Oh, I don’t fault anybody for what got them into Bond. In fact I’ve often said that GE is the GF of that generation. But I don’t think either of those recent reboots, or whatever you call them, ever brought in the legions of young fans that stayed for life the way the Connerys and the Moores did. Maybe STAR WARS seemed cooler, or some other franchise. Bond was fairly unique when I was a kid.

Birdleson

In the ‘70s and ‘80s The BBC over there (Boxing Day and other holidays, to my understanding) and ABC over here (THE ABC SUNDAY NIGHT MOVIE) certainly kept the fanbase alive, appeased and growing.

BT3366

Birdleson wrote: »

Oh, I don’t fault anybody for what got them into Bond. In fact I’ve often said that GE is the GF of that generation. But I don’t think either of those recent reboots, or whatever you call them, ever brought in the legions of young fans that stayed for life the way the Connerys and the Moores did. Maybe STAR WARS seemed cooler, or some other franchise. Bond was fairly unique when I was a kid.

You're absolutely right.

Although I loved Star Wars and Indy, it was Bond I chose as my franchise of choice after seeing MR in the cinema 32 years ago. I was a more casual Bond fan before that, but I was all of 12 in '79. I never got to experience those peak years but my enthusiasm has never waned. Even when Rambo was all the rage in '85, I was amped more for seeing the 57-year-old Roger Moore hanging from mooring cables and going "ooooohhh."

I'm also the same guy who can't wait to see what Eon comes up with next.

chrisisall wrote: »

BT3366 wrote: »

I still count Goldfinger as the very best villain and Oddjob just below Red Grant as best henchman and acknowledge some of those classic scenes such as the laser table.

Then we have no problem here. *Virtual fist bump*

Back at ya.

R1s1ngs0n

I don’t have a problem with TB’s underwater scenes or the sped up fight aboard the Disco Volante, but that’s mostly thanks to Barry’s fantastic score.
Just another example of how important Barry’s music was to these films and how such scenes would have been either boring or borderline ridiculous without his contribution.