Goldfinger vs. You Only Live Twice

chrisisall

The two 60's Connery non-Young films.
Which do you enjoy more & why?

The Domino Effect

I think Goldfinger was the last great performance by Sean Connery's hair. There was a spontaneity and originality to it that was largely missing in Thunderball where it seemed more strained and contrived Alas, due to contractual problems, by the time YOLT was made, an impasse between Connery's hair and the producers resulted in most of the scenes making use of a hair stand-in. For me, Goldfinger wins hands (or hairs?) down.

chrisisall

The Domino Effect wrote:

I think Goldfinger was the last great performance by Sean Connery's hair.

HAHAHAHAHAHAH, that's pretty funny Dom, personally, I think Connery's best hair performance was in DN... but that's not within the parameters of this thread.
I actually *LIKE* his hair (real and augmented) better in YOLT, but that may be just me.
To answer my own original question, I much prefer YOLT because
1) The title song is nicer
2) The fights are SO much better choreographed
3) The photography is peerless
4) The pacing is racing
5) Aki is more fetching than Jill (IMHO)
6) Ending with a (rather large) bang is better than watching a big guy get sucked out an airplane window
7) Japan is WAY cooler than Kentucky
B-)

Hardyboy

Goldfinger is my all-time favorite Bond film, so I think that answers the question. Oh--and DAF was also a non-Young Bond film, and Connery's second with Hamilton. Where's the love?

chrisisall

Hardyboy wrote:

Oh--and DAF was also a non-Young Bond film, and Connery's second with Hamilton. Where's the love?

Oh, much love from me on that one, best and funniest dialogue of the series IMO. Great ref to Howard Hughes & awesome mounteneering over the Whyte House accompenied by a flawless Barry score.
But I was focusing on the Sixties here...

Firemass

chrisisall wrote:

To answer my own original question, I much prefer YOLT because
1) The title song is nicer
2) The fights are SO much better choreographed
3) The photography is peerless
4) The pacing is racing
5) Aki is more fetching than Jill (IMHO)
6) Ending with a (rather large) bang is better than watching a big guy get sucked out an airplane window
7) Japan is WAY cooler than Kentucky
B-)

No arguments here. However, I still like Goldfinger better. WAY better.

Turning Bond Japanese and killing/replacing Aki right before the final battle are two blunders that ultimately prevent YOLT from being great.

chrisisall

Firemass wrote:

Turning Bond Japanese and killing/replacing Aki right before the final battle are two blunders that ultimately prevent YOLT from being great.

I can totally see that POV. -{

Firemass

chrisisall wrote:

Firemass wrote:

Turning Bond Japanese and killing/replacing Aki right before the final battle are two blunders that ultimately prevent YOLT from being great.

I can totally see that POV. -{

YOLT still rules though. Don't get me wrong.

AlphaOmegaSin

Will always be Goldfinger for me ) -{

Thunderpussy

.... and Me, love Goldfinger. -{

Peppermill

For me it's YOLT. I love the Japanese setting, beautiful theme song, Aki is one of my (if not the) favourite Bond girl. I understand why people prefer Goldfinger, it is an amazing Bond movie, but for me YOLT is so much more than just a sum of its parts.

chrisisall

Peppermill wrote:

For me it's YOLT.

A kindred spirit at last! -{

Silhouette Man

Goldfinger though YOLT is undeniably much fun in a daft kind of way!

Gassy Man

Goldfinger is the better film. But YOLT is a movie that speaks to a very different vision -- in many ways, the first three Bond films feel more like they could have been made in the 1950s. But TB shifted things in both tone and look, and YOLT is such a 1960s film -- from the music to the sweeping color to the big directorial vision to the breezy sensibilities to the globetrotting sci fi plot -- that it stands on its own, making a comparison between the two films more than a bit unfair.

Charmed & Dangerous

I love YOLT, but Goldfinger is peerless - it's the high-watermark of Connery's performance and the blueprint for the rest of the series. The laser beam scene is probably the tensest in the series, the pre-credit sequence the coolest in the series, the DB5 and Shirley Eaton painted in gold are so iconic.

chrisisall

Gassy Man wrote:

making a comparison between the two films more than a bit unfair.

You make a good point.

Barbel

chrisisall wrote:

Gassy Man wrote:

making a comparison between the two films more than a bit unfair.

You make a good point.

Indeed! Though clearly part of the same series, the two films are very different. GF, while undeniably a fantasy, keeps one foot in the possible while YOLT happily abandons all pretence at existing in the real world and avoids such boring technicalities as logic, characterisation and story structure... and is all the better for it!

AlphaOmegaSin

Both are as good as each other in my humble opinion -{

Jarvio

YOLT for me. I like GF and all, but I just find YOLT way more entertaining.

JayCobb1045

Goldfinger is still my favorite Bond film, so it wins in my book. I agree with the posts that single out Bond turning Japanese and the loss of Aki as major minuses. I was surprised to see the OP say that the "pacing is racing" because, while I enjoy that phrasing, I disagree. I actually think that the film drags on a bit. The whole turning Japanese/wedding sequence takes way too long and brings the momentum to a halt. Additionally (I know I'm going to catch some guff on this) I even find myself saying "just get on with it" during the massive final sequence. To be fair, the film is photographed beautifully and Tiger is probably top three sidekicks of the entire series.

CmdrAtticus

I got to watch the film with a teen back in the '89 who had never seen it. He was enthralled and entertained through the whole experience and thought it was one of the most entertaining films he had seen - and this was right after he had seen the new Batman/Michael Keaton film. He also thought it was the best Bond film.

Blackleiter

Count me among those who choose GF as the better film and my favorite, but who feels YOLT is the most entertaining. Does that make sense?

chrisisall

Blackleiter wrote:

Count me among those who choose GF as the better film and my favorite, but who feels YOLT is the most entertaining. Does that make sense?

Yes. I just watched TB and I feel that I assigned it too many accollaids. GF is pure class & YOLT is pure fun.

Blackleiter

chrisisall wrote:

GF is pure class & YOLT is pure fun.

Excellent distillation of the essence of these two classic Bond films! -{

The Domino Effect

I still think it's all about SC's hair.

chrisisall

The Domino Effect wrote:

I still think it's all about SC's hair.

Well then, his hair was best in DN....

Thunderpussy

at least we know it's not Dyed, as it was that colour when he Bought it )
( Not the 9o'clock news )

chrisisall

Silly silly British man...

Thunderpussy

..... and don't you forget it ! )

The Domino Effect

Me too! Met too!

Gassy Man

Barbel wrote:

chrisisall wrote:

Gassy Man wrote:

making a comparison between the two films more than a bit unfair.

You make a good point.

Indeed! Though clearly part of the same series, the two films are very different. GF, while undeniably a fantasy, keeps one foot in the possible while YOLT happily abandons all pretence at existing in the real world and avoids such boring technicalities as logic, characterisation and story structure... and is all the better for it!

Thanks, gents. {[]