10 Greatest James Bond Movie Opening Title Sequences
2. Goldfinger (1964)
Sean Connery's third film is widely considered to be the best of his run, as well as one of, if not the best Bond film of all. And it wouldn't be the same without the iconic opening title sequence.
John Barry's orchestra leads with the brass, exploding in tandem with Shirley Bassey's booming, contralto vocals, barely contained within a sequence constructed around the central marketing image of the film: Margaret Nolan's gold-painted Bond girl.
The simplicity of the titles are what make them so powerful: a leisurely drifting camera captures scenes from the film projected over Nolan's golden body parts, against plenty of deep black background with understated white credits. Though this was Robert Brownjohn's second title sequence (of what would ultimately be a total of three), the studio would revert back to Dr. No's Maurice Binder for a long time thereafter.
With Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley's lyrics, Bassey set the template for what a James Bond theme song ought to be, which has been often imitated in the decades since. And, while neither of Bassey's subsequent themes (for Diamonds Are Forever and Moonraker) stand up to the same exceptionally high standard, she nonetheless became the definitive musical voice of the series.