Goldfinger (1964)

In his third outing as James Bond, Sean Connery encounters Gert Fröbe’s titular character, a bullion dealer whose obsession with gold eventually leads him to the U.S. Bullion Depository at Fort Knox. I’ve never watched a James Bond film before but decided recently to try to catch at least the ones which have received Oscar nominations. Seeing that Prime was going to remove them at the beginning of September sped my watching up to a mini-marathon. I was really surprised at how entertaining this outing was. The villain is great, the theme song and intro are incredible, and the locations are scenic. Even with names like Honor Blackman’s infamous Pussy Galore, the women are extremely capable outside the bedroom though they are disposable, as are a number of the male characters. I have seen all of the Austin Powers films, but I was not ready for how little those films felt like parody in comparison with direct interpretations, such as Harold Sakata’s Oddjob. I fear that this may be a highlight of the series but I’ll continue on with much more anticipation now.  

Oscar Win: Best Effects, Sound Effects