'Goldfinger' screening in LA during TCM Classic Film Festival

28-Apr-2011 • Event

Screening: "Goldfinger" (1964) - TCM Classic Film Festival
Location: Grauman's Chinese Theatre (Digital Cinema), Los Angeles, CA, USA
Date: Sunday 1st May 2011
Time: 12:30

With the third James Bond film, composer John Barry, who passed away earlier this year, established the series' musical legacy. As previously, he used Monty Norman's James Bond theme (which he had first arranged for 1962's Dr. No), to set up Sean Connery's stylish, dangerous leading character. But when he added jazzy brass to reflect the title villain's plot to rob Fort Knox, he gave Bond his first of many hit soundtrack albums. He also gave the series its first chart-topping title song, with pop diva Shirley Bassey wailing her way through musical lines as seductive as the lure of wealth and power. Starting with GOLDFINGER, the Bond films would become noted for title tracks by top performers like Paul McCartney, Madonna and A-Ha. Barry's score isn't the only reason this is consistently hailed as the best of the Bonds. In the first of his four Bond films, Guy Hamilton, who attends this screening, brought a glossy, fast-moving style that reeked of sophistication. GOLDFINGER also features two of the series' best villains, Gert FrÃ¶be in the title role and Harold Sakata as hired muscle Odd Job, as well as two of the most alluring Bond girls. Shirley Eaton creates an indelible gold-plated image, while Honor Blackman's Pussy Galore is one of the few leading ladies who can match Connery blow for blow and clinch for clinch.

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