4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Guy Hamilton Edition


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

104 years ago today, the British director Guy Hamilton was born.  Though Hamilton rarely seems to get as much credit as Terence Young, he was one of the most important of the early James Bond directors.  With Goldfinger, he set the template the many subsequent Bond films would follow: an over-the-top villain, nonstop action, and one liners.  (“No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.”  Not to mention, “I must be dreaming.”)  Hamilton went on to direct Sean Connery’s final Bond outing and he also directed the first two films to star Roger Moore as 007, all three of which are rather underrated in my opinion.  Guy Hamilton’s Bond films reminded us that James Bond’s cinematic adventures work best when they’re fun to watch, which is something that I think the modern Bond films would be well-served to consider.

In honor of Guy Hamilton’s contributions to my favorite film franchise, here are….

4 Shots From 4 Films

Goldfinger (1964, dir by Guy Hamilton)

Diamonds are Forever (1971, dir by Guy Hamilton)

Live and Let Die (1973, dir by Guy Hamilton)

The Man With The Golden Gun (1974, dir by Guy Hamilton)

Scenes That I Love: James Bond Meets Pussy Galore In Goldfinger


Today’s scene that I love features Sean Connery, born on this day 95 years ago.  In this scene from 1964’s Goldfinger, Connery needs only one simple line — “I must be dreaming,” — to create an iconic moment.

Daniel Craig could never have pulled this off.  Indeed, Craig probably would have found the whole thing beneath him.  Only Sean Connery could have made this scene unforgettable and that’s why Sean Connery will continue to be the Bond to which all others should be compared.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Sean Connery Edition


4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today would have been Sean Connery’s 96th birthday.  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Sean Connery Films

From Russia With Love (1963, dir by Terence Young, DP: Ted Moore)

Goldfinger (1964, dir by Guy Hamilton, DP: Ted Moore)

The Man Who Would Be King (1975, dir by John Huston, DP: Oswald Morris)

Highlander (1986, dir by Russell Mulcahy, DP: Gerry Fisher)

 

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special 1964 Edition


4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today, we pay tribute to the year 1964 with….

4 Shots From 4 1964 Films

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964, dir. Stanley Kubrick, DP: Gilbert Taylor)

A Hard Day’s Night (1964, dir by Richard Lester, DP: Gilbert Taylor)

Goldfinger (1964, dir by Guy Hamilton, DP: Ted Moore)

Strait-Jacket (1964, dir by William Castle, DP: Arthur E. Arling)

Scenes That I Love: James Bond Meets Pussy Galore In Goldfinger


Today’s scene that I love features Sean Connery, born on this day 95 years ago.  In this scene from 1964’s Goldfinger, Connery needs only one simple line — “I must be dreaming,” — to create an iconic moment.

Daniel Craig, as good as an actor as he is, could not have pulled this off.  Only Sean Connery could have made this scene unforgettable and that’s why Sean Connery will continue to be the Bond to which all others should be compared.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Sean Connery Edition


4 Or More Shots From 4 Or More Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

Today would have been Sean Connery’s 95th birthday.  It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Sean Connery Films

From Russia With Love (1963, dir by Terence Young, DP: Ted Moore)

Goldfinger (1964, dir by Guy Hamilton, DP: Ted Moore)

The Man Who Would Be King (1975, dir by John Huston, DP: Oswald Morris)

Highlander (1986, dir by Russell Mulcahy, DP: Gerry Fisher)

 

Scenes That I Love: “No, Mr. Bond….” from Goldfinger


Seeing as how today would have been Gert Frobe’s birthday, it seems only appropriate that today’s scene of the day should be one of the best moments from the original Bond franchise.  In 1964’s Goldfinger, Frobe sets the standard by which all other Bond villains would be judged.

Song of the Day: Goldfinger (performed by Shirley Bassey)


Goldfinger (1964, dir by Guy Hamilton)

It’s Shirley Eaton’s birthday!

Shirley Eaton has since retired but she had a busy acting and singing career in the 1960s.  Her best-know role was playing the ill-fated Jill Masterson in the 1964 Bond film, Goldfinger.  She was the one who ended up getting suffocated in gold paint after helping Bond expose Goldfinger as a card cheat.

It seems appropriate, therefore, that today’s song of the day should be that film’s title tune.  Enjoy Goldfinger, performed by the great Shirley Bassey.

Goldfinger, he’s the man
The man with the midas touch
A spider’s touch
Such a cold finger
Beckons you to enter his web of sin
But don’t go in

Golden words he will pour in your ear
But his lies can’t disguise what you fear
For a golden girl knows when he’s kissed her
It’s the kiss of death from Mister Goldfinger
Pretty girl, beware of his heart of gold
This heart is cold

Golden words he will pour in your ear
But his lies can’t disguise what you fear
For a golden girl knows when he’s kissed her
It’s the kiss of death from Mister Goldfinger
Pretty girl, beware of his heart of gold
This heart is cold

He loves only gold
Only gold
He loves gold
He loves only gold
Only gold
He loves gold

Songwriters: Tim Wheeler

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Guy Hamilton Edition


4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!

98 years ago today, the British director Guy Hamilton was born.  Though Hamilton rarely seems to get as much credit as Terence Young, he was one of the most important of the early James Bond directors.  With Goldfinger, he set the template the many subsequent Bond films would follow: an over-the-top villain, nonstop action, and one liners.  (“No, Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.”  Not to mention, “I must be dreaming.”)  Hamilton went on to direct Sean Connery’s final Bond outing and he also directed the first two films to star Roger Moore as 007, all three of which are rather underrated in my opinion.  Guy Hamilton’s Bond films reminded us that James Bond’s cinematic adventures work best when they’re fun to watch, which is something that I think the modern Bond films would be well-served to consider.

In honor of Guy Hamilton’s contributions to my favorite film franchise, here are….

4 Shots From 4 Films

Goldfinger (1964, dir by Guy Hamilton)

Diamonds are Forever (1971, dir by Guy Hamilton)

Live and Let Die (1973, dir by Guy Hamilton)

The Man With The Golden Gun (1974, dir by Guy Hamilton)

Familiar Faces #10: Harold Sakata, Man of Many Hats!


gary loggins's avatarcracked rear viewer

Most of you know burly Harold Sakata for his role as the steel-hat-flinging Oddjob in GOLDFINGER , the third movie in the James Bond franchise. But Mr. Sakata did much more than that one iconic part. In fact, you could say that Harold Sakata wore many hats during his colorful career, and not just on the Silver Screen!

He wasn’t always known as Harold “Oddjob” Sakata, his given name being Toshiyuki Sakata. Born in Holualoa, Hawaii in 1920, Harold was raised in a large family – six brothers and four sisters! Believe it of not, as a teen he was a scrawny 113 pounds, until he took up weightlifting at age 18. Harold bulked right up, and after a stint in the Army during WWII, he became a top powerlifter, so good he made the U.S Weightlifting team at the 1948 Summer Olympic Games in London, where he won the…

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