cover art for Goldfinger

 

Goldfinger

1964

LP: United Artists UAS 5117
CD: EMI USA CDP-7-95345-2
CD: Capitol 80891 [remastered]
Lyric by Leslie Bricusse & Anthony Newley

  1. Goldfinger (Main Title - vocal) and Into Miami (2:47)
  2. Alpine Drive - Auric's Factory (2:51)
  3. Oddjob's Pressing Engagement (3:05)
  4. Bond Back in Action Again (5:36)
  5. Teasing the Korean (2:12)
  6. Gassing the Gangsters (1:03)
  7. Goldfinger (instrumental) (2:08)
  8. Dawn Raid on Fort Knox (5:43)
  9. The Arrival of the Bomb and Count Down (3:25)
  10. The Death of Goldfinger (End Title) (2:34)

The remastered edition has four additional ques. It also breaks the first que, "Main Title and Into Miami," into two separate tracks. So on the remastered edition "Into Miami" is Track 2 and everything else is numbered accordingly.

  1. Golden Girl [remastered edition]
  2. Death of Tilley [remastered edition]
  3. Laser beam [remastered edition]
  4. Pussy Galore's Flying Circus [remastered edition]

The Movie

For a long time I didn't care for this movie--I was used to the faster pace and the larger scope of the later Bonds. It wasn't until recently when I saw it again--and after having seen a lot of bad movies, that I realized why Goldfinger is so well regarded. It's got a coherent plot. It stands up to at least reasonable logic. It has the patience to develop the characters and the elevate the conflict between Bond and Goldfinger until we're ready for the epic at the end. Would any modern Bond movie have the confidence in itself to dedicate such a long sequence to a golf game? Uh--no. The car chase in Blofeld's factory lacks the usual frenetic action and flash that the moderns all have. And the part I like the best--Bond doesn't defuse the bomb at the end--an expert has to do it for him.

The one part where Goldfinger lacks against the modern movies is that Honor Blackman is woefully overdressed.

The Music

There's an important thing to remember about nearly all of Barry's movie scores: he takes the title theme and weaves it throughout the film. If you like the title theme then you're in for a feast. If you don't like it, then you're screwed.

I never cared for the song Goldfinger, so I never cared for the soundtrack. My favorite que is "The Laser Beam," which, like "Gumbold's Safe" in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, is a masterpiece of suspense and escalating tension. But that also has no "Goldfinger" in it.

Intellectually I can still appreciate it. This was Barry's reward for doing such a great job with From Russia with Love--the opportunity to score the film and write the signature title theme (with lyric by Bricusse & Newley). The result is a fully mature, beautifully realized score that marries extremely well with the film. And if you like the title theme (a lot of people did), you're in for a treat because you'll hear it a lot.

Release Notes

Goldfinger was a monster hit. The album and the single were huge in both the US and the UK, and the original soundtrack LP is easy to find. However--the UK edition had four additional tracks that the US edition lacked, due to music licensing agreements. When the CD came out in the 90s, all editions conformed to the original US version. The four missing ques came out on the Best of James Bond 30th Anniversary Edition set, and for a long time that was the only CD edition where they were available. The recent Capitol remastered series brought it all together again.

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