8. Goldfinger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JDR5mqWvaY The James Bond series is extremely famous for its opening titles sequences, which were the brain-child of designer Maurice Binder, who constructed 13 of the series' titles in all, as well as the extremely iconic gun-barrel imagery that continues to persist in even the newly-rebooted Bond brand. It's somewhat ironic, then, that the best titles of all the Bond films weren't, in fact, designed by Binder; gone are the playfully sexual images of women prancing around, for the credits for Goldfinger, designed by Robert Brownjohn, present the women as still screens on which images can be projected. It's still got a sensual quality but doesn't seem quite as silly as some of Binder's work, iconic though that it is. It sets the mood extremely well for what is to come, emphasising the gold colour motif that defines the titular villain, and the gold-painted women of course foreshadow the film's most memorable scene. Shirley Bassey's fantastic theme song can't hurt, either.
Shaun Munro
Contributor
Frequently sleep-deprived film addict and video game obsessive who spends more time than is healthy in darkened London screening rooms. Follow his twitter on @ShaunMunroFilm or e-mail him at shaneo632 [at] gmail.com.
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