"Behind the Scenes with 'Goldfinger'" or "The Making of Goldfinger" is a 26-minute documentary and it is of course pointless to say what this is about as the title says it all already. Interestingly enough, this documentary is from several decades after the film and some of the key players in making the film and starring in it were already dead at this point. But they got the living ones together to give is their takes on "Goldfinger". I personally am a great fan of the film and it is among my favorite Bond movies, so I may be a bit biased here. Still, I quite liked this documentary. It was fun to see some of the scenes and hear from all the people and it also tells us a whole lot of new aspects that are interesting to keep in mind for when I will watch Goldfinger again the next time. My overall verdict here is extremely positive and I definitely recommend the watch, especially to Bond fans all over the globe.
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Horst_In_Translation27 May 2016
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tadpole-596-91825628 October 2014. . . is a SEPARATE item on the 2005 GOLDFINGER "Ultimate Edition" Disc 2, and is erroneously lumped into this BEHIND THE SCENES WITH GOLDFINGER page, which refers to a 2000 VHS tape "extras" package. Both the people employed by the James Bond Eon Production Company which funnels often inaccurate information about their offerings to IMDb, and the IMDb fact checkers, whoever they are, do not seem to be paid enough money to do a good job. Obviously, they're not operating on the Wikipedia model, where experts present stuff to the world gratis, as a labor of love. At any rate, Bikel's full screen test (lasting 5 minutes, 38.87 seconds) shows that while he's a likelier prospect than another reject (actor Tito Vandis), he's nowhere near as appropriate as the final GOLDFINGER, Gert Frobe. Bikel's screen test concludes on a truly creepy note, when a redhead wig with longer hair replaces his semi-Crewcut, and horn-rimmed glasses are substituted for the wire rim variety. But he muffs the line, "No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die!"
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. . . is how the crew of GOLDFINGER enticed a "squad" of U.S. Army sergeants to "play dead" just before the kick-off of the real-life Vietnam War. BEHIND THE SCENES WITH GOLDFINGER allows the viewer to make their own inferences in hindsight, cautiously with-holding editorial judgment as to the extent to which these two events were interconnected. Since many conspiracy theorists are bound to see some degree of cause and effect here, it is somewhat ironic that this "Making of" documentary is so reserved in drawing conclusions, as ALL the two dozen James Bond flicks themselves are tortuously constructed around preposterous conspiracy theories which do not always pass the test of time. Otherwise, BEHIND THE SCENES WITH GOLDFINGER is a frenetic exercise (just look as the "complete cast" listing on this site for a short running only 26 minutes!) in cramming as many facts and faces into a brief retrospective as possible. Perhaps if director John Cork had focused on one main topic (such as the extent to which the ludicrously inept showing of America's military in the feature film contributed to or "jinxed" said institution into suffering its first outright defeat), BEHIND THE SCENES WITH GOLDFINGER would have wider circulation.
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ccthemovieman-122 July 2007I totally agree with the first statement made in by narrator Patrick Macnee in this behind-the- scenes feature" that is part of the special-edition "Goldfinger" DVD. Macnee stated, "For many Bond fans and film historians, Goldfinger is the 007 movie that had it all - a high- octane cocktail of action, lust, greed and one of the world's greatest villains."
We get some history about how writer Ian Fleming got the idea for his seventh Bond book in 1959. Goldfinger was the third James Bond movie and had a budget of $3 million, which wouldn't get you even started today, of course.
Other memorable comments, of many, in this feature:
It was noted this was the first of the Bond films in which the pre-opening credits action sequence had nothing to do with the story. That turned out to be something they continued to do, just making outrageous opening scenes that were not connected in any way with the actual story..... but sure were attention-grabbers!
Regarding that opening scene, they had hired a guy who was a cat burglar to play someone who was going to try to kill Bond. However, the guy got arrested the day before the shoot and they had to quickly hire someone else! The man they got, stuntman Alf Joint, got second-degree leg burns on the shot where Bond electrocutes him after the villain gets thrown in the bathtub.
One of the best moves they filmmakers made was choosing the Aston-Martin as Bond's famous car, which became almost a legend thanks to this movie. All of the gadgets on the car seen in the movie were not implemented. The car wouldn't have been able to hold them all, plus special-effects back in the early '60s wasn't advanced enough to show what they could do today. Thus, many of the action scenes with the Aston-Martin were big challenges to pull off and make look realistic. A good five minutes in this "documentary" is devoted to this car and it's all interesting.
They show a screen test by Theodore Bickel for the role of Auric Goldfinger. As fine and actor as he was, Bickel doesn't come across anywhere near as effective as German Gert Frobe did and, of course, the latter got the part. One problem, though: Frobe couldn't speak English! He still got the part. They just dubbed in his voice. A man named Michael Collins voiced Frobe's words for the movie. Amazing.
Honor Blackman, who played the famous "Pussy Galore," got the job because she was "hot property at the time and I knew judo, which the part required." She mentions that Connery "was the sexiest, most virile man I've ever met."
Everyone remembers Goldfinger's bodyguard, "Oddjob," too. Well, Harold Sakata, who played him, was a pro wrestler from Hawaii and a silver medalist in the Olympics. Connery said a karate chop Sakata gave him still hurts him once in awhile today! Sakata, too, was injured in this film, burned on his final scene with he was electrocuted on metal jail-like bars in Fort Knox.
Another memorable person, although only in the film for less than five minutes, was Shirley Eaton as "Jill Masterson" who wound up being painted gold all over her body. To avoid suffocation, a doctor was on the set and they shot the scene as quickly as possible.
There are all kinds of interesting comments about this film, such as the difficulties they had with the "laser shot" in Goldfinger''s "Rumpus Room" where Bond was about to be laser-ed in half; Desmond Llewelyn who played "Q," talks about some of the gadgets, etc.
Connery and Eaton's comments, by the way, came from archival footage. They weren't done recently as the others were, but they fit in seamlessly here.
This was the film that made James Bond movies famous. Sadly, Fleming died a month before this movie was released and never saw how famous his character became.
This is one of the more interesting behind-the-scenes features I've watched so far. -
jasonbond10 March 2000TWINE Entertainment has done an absolute wonderful job in putting together this documentary! It is one of the best documentaries both educational and entertaining. It took me on a journey behind the scenes of my favorite 007 film, and I say good job Lee Pfeiffer and John Cork!
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Widely hailed as the best-ever James Bond movie, "Goldfinger" was made on a then extravagant $3 million dollar budget, was filmed in three countries, and raised the bar even higher for all 007 outings which followed in its influential wake. This remarkably thorough and fascinating documentary covers a lot of ground in a tight and speedy 26 minute running time. Stuntman Alf Joint was cast as a would-be assassin in the pre-credits sequence and got burned for real when his character was electrocuted in the bathtub. Theodore Bikel originally auditioned for the role of Goldfinger. Gert Forbe was ultimately cast instead, but since he hardly spoke English his voice was dubbed by actor Michael Collins in post-production. Champion wrestler and weightlifter Harold Sakata was cast as Goldfinger's hulking henchman Oddjob; Sakata in reality was a very gentle man who burned his hands during the shooting of his death scene. Sean Connery and Honor Blackman had an instant natural chemistry. Connery spent an uncomfortable three days strapped to a table for his now legendary near castration by laser beam scene. Shirley Eaton spent two hours being painted gold for her famous scene where she's discovered dead on a bed as a gold statue; a doctor was on the set to make sure Eaton was safe during the shooting of this risky moment. James Bond creator Ian Fleming visited the set during the shooting of the picture and died a month prior to the movie's release. Some of the best stuff noted in the documentary pertains to Bond's amazing Auston Martin automobile (for example, director Guy Hamilton came up with the idea of the rotating license plates after receiving a parking ticket!). Composer John Barry scored scenes directly from the cutting room floor. Of course, "Goldfinger" proved to be a massive international success. Patrick Macnee handles narrator duties with his customary smooth grace and aplomb. Essential viewing for fans of the film.
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cricket3030 October 2014. . . the late Greek actor Tito Vandis, a failed Auditioner (but presumably a finalist) for the title role, which eventually went to Gert Frobe. Since BEHIND THE SCENES WITH GOLDFINGER highlights the admittedly better screen test turned in by Theodore Bikel, it seems unfair that Mr. Vandis was not awarded equal acknowledgment, given that the latter's reading exists in its 253-second entirety up to this day. Like Mr. Bikel, Mr. Vandis tries out as a redhead, an unfortunate hair coloring made even worse during the silent 51-second close of his try-out when he dons a buffoonish comb-over wig which comes off as being even more ludicrous than the fright 'do sported by fellow Bond villain "Silva" (Javier Bardem) 48 years later in SKYFALL. But with such a stellar resume (Bickel was "Mr. Nicholas" in the TV show BARRETTA, and also graced the MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW, as well as playing "Col. Andropolis" on M*A*S*H and the younger priest's uncle in THE EXORCIST on the big screen), it's a crying shame that Tito is so much overlooked here.