Quote:
Originally Posted by CreasyBear
The film mostly taking place in America is a big flaw. For some reason, whenever Bond comes to America, it just becomes a bit stale. Perhaps it was because of Guy Hamilton, who directed Goldfinger, Live and Let Die, and Diamonds are Forever, all of which largely take place in America. Bond should be exotic and though I'm an American, I can admit, America is not exactly exotic.
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The producers largely wasted American locations like Las Vegas and San Francisco in future films but I think
Goldfinger uses them quite well. The cold opening in
Goldfinger feels straight out of
FRWL (revealing the white tux after removing the wetsuit and then nonchalantly taking a drag during the explosion are just PERFECT btw) but it's immediately after the credits, which incidentally are incredible and set the standard for the rest of the series, that the franchise really comes into its own. The music and camera work just radiate the sixties at their most hopeful and you can't help but want to go back to that time and place and be there too:
The later scenes in Kentucky are indeed quite dreary looking from today's perspective but you have to bear in mind that highways and sprawl represented the future when
Goldfinger was released. Once again the film perfectly captured the zeitgeist. The interlude in Switzerland is beautifully shot as well and you really feel like you're on the mountain with Bond as he's being (accidentally) shot at. Most importantly the globetrotting feels organic just as it did in
Dr. No and
FRWL.