Classic Pick: Goldfinger (1964)
Netflix finally got around to adding a number of James Bond films to their streaming service, giving us the perfect opportunity to relive some of the best (and worst) moments of 007. Although there’s a lot to be said about almost any film in the James Bond pantheon, here’s almost nothing better than Goldfinger, the film that is arguably the quintessential James Bond movie, and perhaps the best that Sean Connery ever made.
Plots are not exactly paramount to 007, but here we go. Bond goes after Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe), a gold bullion dealer suspected of smuggling. This naturally leads Jimmy into a dark and murky underworld chock full of incident: including nearly having his genitals severed by a laser (“Do you expect me to talk?” “No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!”), a golf game opposite Goldfinger and his manservant Oddjob, and the introduction of one of the best Bond girls in the form of Ms. Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman). In a deliciously nasty reveal, it becomes clear that Mr. Goldfinger plans to knock over Fort Knox and make the gold radioactive, so it’s up to Bond to stop him.
Although some of Goldfinger’s blatant misogyny might cause one to cringe, it’s still a swinging 60s film with some fabulous repartee delivered with a Connery smirk. His Bond is a dashing bastard of a hero, equal parts charm and brutality. Goldfinger, meanwhile, is the best of the Bond baddies, with a scheme that puts later villains to shame for its audacity and insanity. This is the Bond film that all other Bond films envy, balancing a slightly parodic undertone with some fine action sequences and tense moments. Bond films from this period are rarely meant to be taken seriously, but Goldfinger is nothing short of iconic.
