It's no secret that "Goldfinger" is my favorite Bond film. It is the perfect blend of Fleming's novel and the film series as it is being established. In some cases, it improves upon the novel (instead of actually robbing Fort Knox, Goldfinger's plan is to irradiate the gold in the vaults to increase the value of his own -- who knows which is more realistic, but it sounds more sinister). In other cases, it does some silly stuff if you think too hard about it (if Goldfinger is going to kill all the mobsters anyway, why does he let Solo leave only to kill him off property -- wouldn't it have been easier to just kill all of them together).
Connery is at his best as Bond in this film. The dry wit doesn't overtake anything (that would come later). His supporting cast has only one week link (Cec Linder as Felix Leiter is a sign of things to come as the character becomes a revolving door of actors who leave no impact on an underwritten and badly used character who Fleming had given much dimensionality to in the novels). Goldfinger and Oddjob are a formidable pair of villain and henchman that would not be matched in the series again. Gert Froebe and Harold Sakata play their roles amazingly well (in spite of Froebe's vocals being dubbed by another actor). Honor Blackman's Pussy Galore is another great piece in the mix who is very different from the previous Bond girls.
The gadgets the series would become known for really get their start here (in spite of the trick briefcase and garotte watch in the previous film). The tricked out Aston Martin DB5 is an amazing piece of work that doesn't go completely off the deep end (those would come later).
The third time is the charm as "Goldfinger" remains one of the best (if not the best) films in the series. It moves, entertains, remains suspenseful and leaves you wanting more...
"Thunderball" is a good Bond film. It was the biggest Bond film yet...and it was born in fire...because essentially it is a movie based on a novel that is based on a screenplay for a movie that was never made and then got made...twice...
For more on that story, I highly recommend Robert Sellers' book "The Battle for Bond" as it explores all the aspects of the court case that eventually killed Ian Fleming and beyond to MGM's legal battles up to the reboot of the series with "Casino Royale". Seek out the first edition if you can as the second edition had to remove a few things.
Anyway...the film itself is fun, but a bit slow paced, long and bloated. Luckily, Connery is still at the top of his game (this would change with the next film) and he's got nice support from the various pigeon-holed formula pieces. Aldofo Celi as the one-eyed villain Largo, Claudine Auger as Bond girl Domino, Lucianna Paluzzi as female assassin Fiona Volpe who seduces Bond then tries to kill him before he turns the tables all serve their characters well and round them out nicely...even Martine Beswick as sacrificial lamb Paula does a nice job. We get the third Felix Leiter in four films with Rik Van Nutter who may look more like Jack Lord than Cec Linder did (Linder made Felix look like Bond's uncle instead of a peer -- even though the actor was younger than Connery), but Van Nutter is kind of bland and not given much to do (he would have repeated the role as he was apparently signed for three films, but they couldn't figure out how to shoe horn the character into the next two films).
The gadgets come out in full force for this under water adventure. From the jet pack of the opening scene, to a reappearance of the Aston Martin DB5 (now with water jets that shoot out the back) to the small breathing device, geiger counter watch and underwater gear (sleds and spears) used in the slow moving final battle.
Well adapted from Fleming's novel (which makes sense since the novel was a screenplay first), the film is still fun and works...but it's slower pace is noticeable (especially if watched right after "Goldfinger" -- the shortest Bond film to that point...and this was the longest Bond film to that point).
But Bond-mania was at its height...so you knew he'd return...more next week...
Be seeing you.
No comments:
Post a Comment