Goldfinger
1964 · Directed by Guy Hamilton
Original language: English
- adventure
- action
- thriller
The story
Special agent 007 comes face to face with one of the most notorious villains of all time, and now he must outwit and outgun the powerful tycoon to prevent him from cashing in on a devious scheme to raid Fort Knox -- and obliterate the world's economy.
What it’s like
Bright, saturated 1960s widescreen with gleaming Swiss Alpine snow, sunlit Miami hotels, and the cool sheen of Fort Knox vaults, all shot with crisp, confident composition and smooth tracking moves. Fluorescent-lit laboratories and dim, cigar-smoky card rooms give the spy world a clean, mid-century gloss. The score is brassy and swinging, its big horn stabs and a jazzy title theme keeping the mood buoyant even in tense stretches. Pacing is brisk and playful, with long setpieces such as a golf match, a car chase, and an airplane sequence alternating with quieter scenes of wry banter. The tone is cheeky and romantic rather than grim: a suave, self-assured hero, a sly sense of humour, and a tycoon villain whose menace is cool and theatrical. Violence is stylised and mostly bloodless, with a few brief fights, a gunfight, and one memorably grim sequence involving a gold-painted victim, so it lands as playful peril rather than dread. It suits a Friday night with friends, a comfort rewatch, or a light, escapist evening. It is for people who want glamorous, wisecracking adventure with a retro shine and no real heaviness.
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