Josh Spiegel
When you think of a James Bond movie, there are a handful of elements you either expect a filmmaker to include or would be gobsmacked to see missing. Bond flirting cheerfully with the winsome Miss Moneypenny? Check. Bond facing off against a villain desperate to not only kill 007 but to achieve some kind of world domination? Of course. Bond spending some quality bedroom time with a beautiful woman whose name is chock full of sexual innuendo? There’s no other choice. But of all the details that comprise a Bond movie, the extended opening-credits sequence coupled with a big song is most iconic. Although Goldfinger is not the first Bond movie, the film (turning 60 this week) did boast the first title track in the franchise, setting an impossibly high (one might even say a gold) standard for music within the series and beyond.
The first two Bond films, Dr. No and From Russia with Love, have plenty of aspects that feel quintessential to the character, but there’s almost a primal thrill inspired by the three notes of John Barry’s musical composition that kick off this opening sequence. Although future Bond movies called upon some of the most massively famous singers in the world, from a post-Beatles Paul McCartney in Live and Let Die to Adele with her Oscar-winning song for Skyfall, the eponymous song from Goldfinger was a combination of Barry’s brassy compositions, lyrics from Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, and singer Shirley Bassey, whose work here is so peerless that she’s still the only performer to sing multiple Bond songs over the franchise’s six-plus decades.
“Goldfinger” the song (coupled with the slick opening credits) quickly establishes itself as a necessary aspect no matter the era or actor portraying 007. To acknowledge that the lyrics are bombastic and ridiculous – and to acknowledge the same about the opening credits – is not to criticize “Goldfinger,” because those two descriptors are exactly what the Bond films aspire to, even in their Nolan-inspired era with Daniel Craig in the lead. The lyrics are no less outlandish than the events of the film itself, including the striking image of Auric Goldfinger’s aide-de-camp Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton) covered in gold paint as a death blow meant to create fear in Bond’s heart. The song, just like that arresting moment, toes the line between being ridiculous enough and laughably silly.
While From Russia with Love is a high watermark of the series, Goldfinger feels like the first real Bond movie. It’s not just that it comes with a big, bold song;this is the film to introduce us to the world of outlandish gadgets James Bond would use in key moments, to create the pre-credits action setpiece, and to utilize a more laid-back, insouciant, and humorous style. These aspects are so synonymous with Bond that it’s almost too easy to parody them; if you do parody Bond, as Mike Myers did with the Austin Powers series, you have to hit all of these elements, whether in a comic villain like Goldmember or in an Asian henchman who lets dress shoes fly or in those extended opening-credits sequences.
“Goldfinger” the song almost transcends parody. It’s worth noting, for example, that while the Austin Powers movies have pre-credits scenes and lengthy opening credits, Myers never did attempt to spoof a title song. The Spy Who Shagged Me did have two solid hits, “Beautiful Dreamer” by Madonna and a cover of “American Woman” by Lenny Kravitz, but neither of those qualify as parody. Goldmember boasted the first solo single by co-star Beyonce, “Work It Out,” but that too isn’t a spoof. Even the first Bond parody, the 1967 film Casino Royale, featured a non-spoof song, “The Look of Love.” (Fun fact: “The Look of Love” is the first in a Bond-adjacent film to get an Oscar nod. “Skyfall” was the first to win for Best Original Song.) The closest you get would be the title song to the 90s-era spoof Spy Hard, performed by “Weird” Al Yankovic.
“Goldfinger” was, thus, as earth-shaking as the film itself. It’s not that the previous two James Bond films had not been successful – the very fact that Goldfinger is the third entry in as many years is proof positive that Sean Connery’s initial take on the quintessentially British spy was a hit. But the series that audiences know now when they think of 007 didn’t truly come into full view until this film opened in September of 1964, and specifically when John Barry’s brass-heavy score blasted into our collective consciousness, coupled with Shirley Bassey’s full-throated performance. “Goldfinger” the song is nothing short of the James Bond series in an aural microcosm, giving you a perfect glimpse into the world of a secret agent whose globe-trotting adventures are as vital to cinema as any other series.
“Goldfinger” is available for digital rental or purchase.
