Goldfinger (1964) Bond: "Who are you?" Pussy: "I'm Pussy Galore" Bond: "I must be dreaming."
In our entire life as an ardent movie-goer, we'll never forget the roar of laughter that went up throughout the packed-to-the-rafters crowd at one of the first showings of 'Goldfinger'.
We all got it......collectively, we loved it when the movie winked at us....as if we'd all been invited in to an exclusively cool party.
This was the movie that left the entire globe head over heels in love with Bond and the Bondian Universe as we knew it.......a fantasy world filled with fast cars, drop-dead gorgeous women, maniacal supervillains bent on world destruction and fabulous, exotic locations around the world.
And right in the middle of this dreamscape lived Sean Connery, the perfect embodiment of James Bond.....suave, cruel, violent when called upon, and never at a loss for a sardonic quip after dispatching one of his many enemies.
The whole planet began to engage in an obsessive love affair with Bond and his world.....(which ultimately unnerved and stressed out Connery so much, he had to escape the crushing burdens of the world-wide fame he accrued.)
After the more intimate espionage of "From Russia With Love", now came the Bond movie that would forever lay out the fundamental blueprint for all the subsequent films in the series........including the charismatic mastermind endangering the world, the sacrificial lamb girl, the primary girl, the formidable henchmen, the darkly funny quips and the rousing fights and chases staged at regular intervals.
The only equivalent we could think of that would equal the audience response to "Goldfinger" wouldn't come until 13 years later in 1977......with our first viewing of "Star Wars".
The world's adoration of Bond glowed red hot in 1964.....and finally reached a white hot peak one year later, with the release of "Thunderball"
And that's why, as a pivotal film in both the Bond filmography and cinema history, "Goldfinger" still stands at 5 stars (*****)
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