Compare the pre-titles sequences of two James Bond films- Goldfinger and Goldeneye

There has been a large change in society in terms of excitement for the audience. The old film Goldfinger, and the more recent Goldeneye, are films to suit two different types of audience. Over the past thirty years, there have been higher expectations within the action film industry such as action, humour and stunts.

The two James Bond films have many similarities because they are the same theme. The classic opening with the barrel of the gun and blood down the screen are in every James Bond film. It is almost a trademark. Another trademark is the theme tune in both films. People know what the film is just from the theme tune because of its large popularity. The action scene at the beginning is to attract the audience interest and attention. It shows the kind of action to expect. For example, in Goldeneye the start has many stunts such as the bungee or plane. Therefore, it will have lots of stunts later through the film. James Bond’s personality is the same. His charm and witty puns is what attracts people to him. The style of his clothes - such as his smart white tuxedo - makes the audience still familiar with the same type of James Bond. Because he is a lady’s man he is admired by both woman, for being attractive, and men, for his exceptional charm with any woman. His similarities with woman are also in the title sequence. The actions of the women give a sort of prologue for the film.

As well as many similarities there are also many differences. The technology in the films is very different. They supply an expectation from the audience because they usually get the high-tech gadgets. The action is also different especially the stunts. More modern films such as Goldenye have more thrilling and ambitious stunts. This is done by new technology and graphics. Society’s cloths have changed in the past thirty years. In Goldfinger, James Bond wears a wet suit which covers his tuxedo. In Goldeneye he wears a stealthy black outfit for infiltration.

The plots of the films have also ...

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The plots of the films have also changed. The bad person in Goldenye is a classic villain who paints his dead victims gold (to go with his name). In Goldenye it has a good agent who seems to be killed. However, the film later reveals that he is actually the main villain. This twist in the film gives a greater excitement to the audience.

The directing of James Bond is different. In Goldfinger his moves with a hop, skip and a jump. He has a hand to hand fight with a bad person. These basic actions are what would be expected from a film thirty years ago. However, today it would be seen as boring to the audience. In Goldenye, James Bond sneaks around the facility with a silence pistol. When his cover is blown they end up shooting lots of guards. The large amounts of violence from the deaths of the guards help to fill up the audience’s excitement. When his fellow agent is killed – which makes it even more interesting – James Bond is left pinned with many guns aiming at him. As well as excitement it also builds tension as the audience wonder what he is going to do. To finish the pre-title opening, he rides over a cliff into a plane. Before the title sequence there is a large explosion. All these different actions and violence give a greater thrill.

The light and camera angles are also used to entertain the audience. In Goldfinger the scene is done under the cover of darkness. Although in Goldenye it is done during the day. This is to make the scene look more dangerous as he will be more easily seen. This builds up tension for the audience. He meets the other agent in a dark storage room to show the stealth of the mission. The stealth makes it look even more exciting.

Camera angles in Goldfinger are mainly focused on him. James Bond’s facial expressions are used to emphasise action and danger. The camera angles on Goldeneye are focused on him and the surrounding area. The close up shots is used to create the feelings of tension with facial expressions. The far out shots indicate danger and large action scenes. For example, the far out shot of the dam in Goldenye shows the danger James Bond has to do. When the camera looks over the dam to show the great height it makes the audience nervous from looking at the great height. There are far more camera angles in the modern film with quicker shots. This is used to build up the tension and excitement in the audience. For example, when James Bond is running along the dam there are many angles. These are focused from a side to show his action, at his feet to show the pace of his running and his body from a far out shot to show the distance of his running. These fast camera shots are used to build up the excitement. There are no camera angles on his face to help create mystery. Because it does not show his face the audience cannot be completely sure it is James Bond. The only sound in the film is the running of his feet which also create tension. In Goldfinger, there are only a few camera angles which change over a longer time. This does not create as much excitement and tension in the audience. They are mainly further out shots so the shot captures more of James Bond from one angle. The camera angles was not as important in that time as society had a lower expectation for action and thrill.

The title sequences of the two films are different because of the change in society. There are naked woman in Goldeneye because it entertains the audience more. It is now seen as acceptable in society to show woman naked because of the more lax nature. There are dressed woman in Goldfinger but are wearing revealing cloths. The film has tried to make the woman as naked as possible without overstepping the boundaries of society.

People have higher expectations in Goldeneye than in Goldfinger. They want more killing, violence and stunts. This is to give the audience an all round thrill. The action in the film is represented with music to give an audio perspective. The music is usually the James Bond theme so people can always associate it with action and excitement.

As well as expectations of the film, people also have expectations of James Bond. They want him to have action, humour as well as some sexual content. This is because it is what the audience have previously seen from James Bond and enjoys his personality. His classic speech of “Bond, James Bond” is well known and used by every actor to identify him as James Bond.

The technology in both films has gadgets, cars and woman. This is the usual from James Bond and is admired by men as they are “boy’s toys”.

The technology has to keep up with society. In Goldfinger, James Bond’s explosive was on a timer like a clock. In the more recent Goldfinger, the explosive were on a more modern digital timer. Technology is very important in James Bond especially in later films. Goldenye is based on advanced technology such as the helicopter and satellite.

As the technology has improved in the film it has also improved out of the film. More advance graphics means that the action and stunts can be even wilder. Blue screening makes the film and action better as they can add scenes where they have never been. This was done in Star Wars to add different scenes and other worlds. If the two films were made at the same time, the plot would be different but the technology similar.

Both Goldfinger and Goldeneye were able to satisfy society in their time. However as technology and stunts improve people want to see more action and excitement. Both the films have action in the pre-title sequences although the action is much better in the more recent Goldeneye than Goldfinger.

Ashley Sykes