From "shocking" prologue to exhilarating mid-air climax, Goldfinger is a lightning-paced James Bond adventure that pits 007 against one of his most formidable opponents. Sean Connery is Agent 007 in this fourteen-karat thriller brimming with non-stop action, humor and almost unbearable excitement. The powerful tycoon Auric Goldfinger (Gert Frobe) has initiated "Operation Grand Slam", a cataclysmic scheme to raid Fort Knox and obliterate the world economy. James Bond, armed with his specially equipped Aston Martin (its accessory package includes built-in machine guns, a smoke screen and an ejector seat), must stop the plan by overcoming several outrageous adversaries. First there's Oddjob (Harold Sakata), the mute servant who kills at the toss of a lethal hat; next, the beautiful Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton), who gives new meaning to the phrase "golden girl"; and finally, sexy pilot Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman), whose romantic feelings for Bond complicate her involvement in Goldfinger's high-flying scheme. With style, wit and wildly imaginative stunt sequences, this adrenaline-charged adventure ranks as one of the all-time great action films. It's an electrifying thrill ride that will captivate viewers from beginning to end.

Amazon.com essential video: Dry as ice, dripping with deadpan witticisms, only Sean Connery's Bond would dare disparage the Beatles, that other 1964 phenomenon. No one but Connery can believably seduce women so effortlessly, kill with almost as much ease, and then pull another bottle of Dom Perignon '53 out of the fridge. Goldfinger contains many of the most memorable scenes in the Bond series: gorgeous Shirley Eaton (as Jill Masterson) coated in gold paint by evil Auric Goldfinger and deposited in Bond's bed; silent Oddjob, flipping a razor-sharp derby like a Frisbee to sever heads; our hero spread-eagle on a table while a laser beam moves threateningly toward his crotch. Honor Blackman's Pussy Galore is the prototype for the series' rash of man-hating supermodels. And Desmond Llewelyn reprises his role as Q, giving Bond what is still his most impressive car, a snazzy little number that fires off smoke screens, punctures the tires of vehicles on the chase, and boasts a handy ejector seat. Goldfinger's two climaxes, inside Fort Knox and aboard a private plane, have to be seen to be believed. --Raphael Shargel