Amazon.com Essentials:
Dry as ice, dripping with deadpan witticisms, only
Sean Connery's Bond would dare disparage the Beatles, that other 1964
phenomenon. No one but Connery can believably seduce women so
effortlessly, kill with almost as much ease, and then pull another
bottle of Dom Perignon '53 out of the fridge. Goldfinger
contains many of the most memorable scenes in the Bond series:
gorgeous Shirley Eaton (as Jill Masterson) coated in gold paint by
evil Auric Goldfinger and deposited in Bond's bed; silent Oddjob,
flipping a razor-sharp derby like a Frisbee to sever heads; our hero
spread-eagle on a table while a laser beam moves threateningly toward
his crotch. Honor Blackman's Pussy Galore is the prototype for the
series' rash of man-hating supermodels. And Desmond Llewelyn reprises his
role as Q, giving Bond what is still his most impressive
car, a snazzy little number that fires off smoke screens, punctures
the tires of vehicles on the chase, and boasts a handy ejector
seat. Goldfinger's two climaxes, inside Fort Knox and aboard a
private plane, have to be seen to be believed. --Raphael
Shargel
Amazon.com video review:
Seven films. Four Bonds. One set. This sprawling collection surveys
over 30 years of James Bond skullduggery, from the cold war tensions of
the 1960s to the international free-for-all of the present. Sean Connery
remains the coolest of the Bonds, a ruthless agent with dry martini wit and
a way with the women, and in Goldfinger his steely presence helped
forge the Bond formula of tongue-in-cheek wit, wondrous secret agent toys
created by Q, and megalomaniac supervillains bent on world destruction.
Thunderball upped the Bond ante with the most ambitious
adventure--and
budget--to date. Roger Moore brought an altogether lighter tone to 007 with
Live and Let Die, softening Connery's rough edges with a more
romantic persona as the films became even more exotic. After a brief
digression into outer space, For Your Eyes Only returned Bond to
globetrotting high adventure and teamed him with his most endearing ally
(Topol as a gregarious smuggler). Timothy Dalton made his second and final
appearance as Bond in Licence to Kill, the toughest of the Bond
films
since Connery's early efforts. Though not a fan favorite, it's a sleek,
solid adventure with an edge missing from the Moore pictures. Pierce
Brosnan
is the latest to take on 007's licence to kill, combining the best of
Connery's cool and Moore's humor. GoldenEye is the best Bond film in
years, a grand globetrotting adventure with lovely Bond girls and a tough
new M (Judy Dench). Tomorrow Never Dies doesn't recapture that magic
mix of action, gadgetry, and romance, but does feature the first Bond girl
to match 007 blow for blow: Hong Kong action superstar Michelle Yeoh. Taken
together, this set is a veritable cross-section of the many faces of James
Bond. All that's missing is George Lazenby. Do I hear a nomination for
set 2? --Sean Axmaker
