Steffen Appel and Peter Waelty: The Goldfinger Files: The Making of the Iconic Alpine Sequence in the James Bond Movie Goldfinger

(Hardback)

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As one of popular culture's most charming and enduring characters, James Bond needs no introduction. Neither does Goldfinger (1964), perhaps the classic Bond film and undoubtedly the beginning of 1960s Bondmania. Incorporating much unpublished material including photographs and the original typed screenplay, The Goldfinger Files is an illustrated history of the film's iconic scenes shot in Switzerland's Urseren Valley, crowned by the car chase with Bond's gadget-laden Aston Martin. To maximize publicity for the film, its makers took the unorthodox step of inviting journalists and photographers onto the set, resulting in a wealth of photos including those by Hans Gerber, Josef Ritler and Erich Kocian. These give us an insider's view of the famous sequence- Goldfinger's Rolls-Royce on the dusty mountain road, Tilly Masterson's failed assassination attempt on him, the chase between her Mustang and Bond's Aston Martin, and finally Goldfinger's smelting factory. Dozens of private pictures revealing candid, behind-the-scenes moments complete this documentary flipbook of golden-age James Bond culture.

Reviews

The alpine sequence cannot be viewed in isolation--it is embedded in a phenomenon of commercial pop culture of historical dimensions. In the autumn of 1964 'Goldfinger' triggered the so-called Bondmania--the worldwide epidemic enthusiasm for the libertine James Bond and his fascinatingly dangerous as well as erotic adventures.-- "Speed Readers"
Dozens of private pictures revealing candid, behind-the-scenes moments complete this documentary flipbook of golden-age James Bond culture.-- "L'Oeil de la Photographie"
Featuring never-before-seen photographs by Hans Gerber, Josef Ritler, and Erich Kocian--in a rare move, photographers had been invited onto the set, resulting in a wealth of images--and the original typed screenplay, the book provides an illustrated history of the [epic car] chase.--Julia Vitale "Air Mail"
To maximize publicity for the film, its makers took the unorthodox step of inviting journalists and photographers onto the set, resulting in a wealth of photos [...] You can expect dozens of private pictures revealing candid, behind-the-scenes moments complete this documentary flipbook of golden-age James Bond culture.--Darren Paltrowitz "Jewish Journal"
Incorporating much unpublished material including photographs and the original typed screenplay, The Goldfinger Files is an illustrated history of the film's iconic scenes ....Dozens of private pictures revealing candid, behind-the-scenes moments complete this documentary flipbook of golden-age James Bond culture.--Editors "ArtDaily"

Author Bio

Born in Frankfurt in 1969, Steffen Appel has collaborated with numerous directors and producers of the James Bond films of the last 57 years, among other filmmakers. He is the owner of an important archive of film-related photography, props and other materials, including an Aston Martin DB5 in silver birch (not unlike James Bond's own). Appel has contributed to various books and in 2015 was part of the production crew for the twenty-fourth James Bond film Spectre. Born in Aarau in 1965, Peter Waelty studied history and English at the University of Zurich. From 2000 he was editor-in-chief and digital director for various Swiss online news sites. He is the author of James Bond und die Schweiz (2008), and the editor of Blick war dabei - Boulevardfotografie von 1959 bis 2019, published by Steidl in 2019.