Guy Hamilton, the French-born director who helmed four James Bond films in the 1960s and 70s, has died at the age of 93, according to BBC News.
In 1964, Hamilton directed his first Bond film in Goldfinger, which starred Sean Connery as 007. The film was a critical darling, the first in the franchise to receive an Academy Award. It was also a box office smash, recouping its $3 million budget in two weeks, and going on to break box office records in several countries. At the time of its initial release, Goldfinger was the highest-grossing film of all time, and to date, it has earned $125 million worldwide.
In a 2015 feature ranking James Bond films, Consequence of Sound contributor Justin Gerber wrote this of Goldfinger:
“If we had to provide one movie to represent the Bond franchise, it would be Goldfinger. With its legendary villains, gadgets, ladies, score, song, and Bond, Goldfinger took the formula concocted in Dr. No and managed to enhance it somehow. The best representative does not mean the best movie in this case, but that’s beside the point. Guy Hamilton’s Bond debut as director is easily his best and was the best Bond film for nearly 50 years.”
The success of Goldfinger led Hamilton to be tagged for three more Bond films: 1971’s Diamonds Are Forever, starring Connery, and 1973’s Live and Let Die and 1974’s The Man with the Golden Gun, which saw Roger Moore portray the British super spy.
Aside from the Bond films, Hamilton helmed 1959’s The Devil’s Discipline, 1969’s Battle of Britain, 1981’s Evil Under the Sun. He was also approached to direct 1978’s Superman: the Movie and 1989’s Batman, but turned down both gigs.
