Goldfinger (1964)
Overall Ranking- 10th
In 1964, James Bond fans and the world were taken by storm. The cause was Goldfinger. Most will ask why I rank this as tenth on my list of favorite Bond films. Perhaps one reason is that I never really understood the complete fascination with this particular Bond film. It had many great scenes, villains, gadgets and girls; however, it just never appealed to me as much as From Russia With Love.
If you ask someone older than age 30 to name their favorite Bond film it will likely be Goldfinger. The combination of Sean Connery, a villain that kills with a hat and the attack on Fort Knox made this movie quite appealing. The scene with the laser is particularly memorable. Still, while it is in my top 10 favorites, it is there only so I am not lynched by countless Bond fans who love this movie.
And, maybe the fans are why I dislike it. I prefer to choose my films based on my feelings after viewing, not to go with what the public says is the all time best. In this case, many people have only seen Goldfinger and have never bothered to view my number three choice, “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.” While the latter was not a huge success, George Lazenby’s one turn at Bond proved successful in my eyes. To me he was tough (though not the best actor likely due to the fact that he was a model not an actor) and represented more of the Bond I knew from Ian Fleming’s novels. It would not be until Timothy Dalton, and more recently Daniel Craig, came along that we would see a Bond so close to Ian Fleming’s original vision.
Goldfinger has all the elements of a great Bond film and is truly a classic, but instead of following the massive crowds to this fan favorite, try On Her Majesty’s Secret Service or The Living Daylights. Sometimes the underrated Bond films can surprise you.