Very well executed
If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.
View MoreOne of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
View MoreJust intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?
View MoreThis is a interesting Documentary that delves into Ian Fleming and how the creation of James Bond came into being. While also showing the struggles and stardom of the actors that played Bond. Which also includes the producers and the legal battle when it came to who owns the rights to "007". I think just about everyone can at least empathize with Ian Fleming who was known to have a charming and alarming characteristics. Like how it is mentioned in the documentary, Bond is basically the alter ego of Ian Fleming. How women and fancy drinks wasn't enough, how he disliked his job and wanted more out of life. So in another words Bond is someone he wanted to be but couldn't because of his circumstances. A character that is able to win over just about any women, stand tall and overcome just about any obstacles not matter how much the odds are against him. It's a fantasy that just about every men dream about. Sometimes movies can be a coping mechanism for dark times in peoples life. For Ian Fleming it was his passion for writing stories about his fantasies. It was interesting to to know more about the inner turmoil within the company and legal issues when it came to the rights of the "007" franchise. Especially about each star that played Bonds story and how it all came to be. Overall this is a documentary that all Bond just might enjoy and could lead to more appreciation of the "007" films.8.4/10
View MoreFor the dedicated 007 fan, I recommend adding this movie to your Bond collection. I always enjoy a good behind the scenes documentary, especially all the human drama and minutia involved in making Hollywood magic. I have to say as far as movie making documentaries, this one's the best so far. This is a brilliant and methodical collection of interviews and news clips covering the Bond saga from 1962 to 2012's Skyfall. Going far beyond the special features that accompany the DVD/Blu-Ray collections, there are many fresh revelations of the decisions, relationships, litigations, collaborations, betrayals, controversies, successes, and failures that went into the creative processes of Fleming, Broccoli, Saltzman, and many other talents who framed the Bond mythology. The movie begins with an intro from our newest Bond Commander, Daniel Craig. It seems a fitting choice to begin the 50-year anniversary tell all as he grew up with Bond. The interviews include super villains as well. Beginning with Christopher Lee, The Man with the Golden Gun 1973, it's revealed (to me at least) that he's a "distant cousin" of the late Ian Fleming. I'm glad he's still with us to share his knowledge of Ian's real-life WWII Naval Intelligence experiences which was the impetus for the Bond character development. Interviews are not just for the Hollywood elite either. The film makers include the surviving siblings, children, associates, and friends who, in my mind, contribute greatly to the Bond perspective. As the film progresses to interviews with the actors who played Bond, many new facts are revealed in a "he said, she said" style and old facts re-confirmed as well. For example, the reasoning behind choosing Welsh actor, Timothy Dalton, before Pierce Brosnan, is well known by many of us older fans, but maybe not by the newer generation of fans. However, most glaringly absent from the main characters' participation, is the first Bond, Sean Connery. In spite of this, Mr. Connery's pro/con experiences are told in absentia and in a seemingly fair manner carefully avoiding any pre-judgments leaving that privilege to the audience. Harry Saltzman and Albert R. (Cubby) Broccoli were the original Bond producers but died in 1994 and 96. Although not available, many home movies and other footage were carefully edited in to give us a fairly complete perspective of the working and personal relationship between these two men. This part of the story is greatly enhanced by the daughters. Barbara Broccoli and Hillary Saltzman. I'm captivated as they recall loving memories of their fathers, and can't help wondering why they were never "Bond girls." These two women are as beautiful as any of the ladies who've filled the ranks. Then, the story is the "passing of the baton" to the surviving Barbara Broccoli and her step brother Michael. They continue the Bond saga with a set of new challenges, such as, choosing the first "Blond Bond," Daniel Craig, which was very controversial at the time (another new fact to me). Sharing what 007 means to them, the last few minutes are a montage of closing comments and analogies from many of the feature's participants including former Pres. Bill Clinton.For me, I'm always slow in warming up to a change with my favorite characters and Bond is no exception. However, the actors who have holstered the Walther PPK, have done an excellent job in my estimation. I'm not one of those "so and so was the real Bond" type of fans . . . So far.As a companion movie, I recommend "Bond Girls Are Forever." It's a 2002 documentary, ten years before this one. It's done in a different style as Maryam d'Abo, herself a Bond girl, solely does the interviews in "Globe trotter" fashion.
View MoreProduced as part of the celebrations of the James Bond film series reaching its fiftieth anniversary and sanctioned by those behind them, the documentary Everything Or Nothing: The Untold Story Of 007 might appear on the surface to be just another piece of celebratory fluff. After all, there have been countless documentaries produced on the series both for television and, more recently, on the various DVD releases of the films. So what could possibly be left to say about the history of the franchise? The answer, as revealed over a bit more than ninety minutes, is quite a bit.What perhaps makes the documentary most notable are those being interviewed. Five of the six actors who've played the part are featured (the sole exception being Sean Connery whose love/hate relationship with 007 is illustrated throughout). Each of them is nothing short of interesting ranging from George Lazenby's candidness about letting the part go to his head to Timothy Dalton reflecting on how his take on Bond was received to Pierce Brosnan on the pain of losing out the chance to play Bond in 1986 and how he handled the phone call telling him he wasn't getting to do another film after Die Another Day. Representing those either unwilling to be interviewed (such as Connery) to those no longer with us (such as Bond creator Ian Fleming, producer Cubby Broccoli, producer Harry Saltzman and surprisingly even Kevin McClory) is a wealth of mainly audio archival clips. Last but not least are a wealth of others interviewed such as the usual suspects including various Bond girls to current producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson. Somewhat more intriguing are the less usual suspects including Fleming's friend/biographer John Pearson to McClory's friend Judy Geeson and former United Artists executive David Picker. The results help to make this far more than your usual making of documentary.Everything Or Nothing is also well produced and stylishly done. Yes, there are the expected clips from all of the films, but they are put to surprisingly effective use not just as samples from the respective films but also to illustrate, often metaphorically, events taking place behind the scenes. There's also a wealth of archival material as well that give it a larger scope than many of its predecessors as well. There's also a stylishly done opening black and white teaser sequence that sets the stage for it is to follow that is excellently done. If I would fault the documentary, it would be that it perhaps paced too rapidly and jumps around quite a bit, rarely stopping long enough to focus on any one film in particular.The result of all of these materials being brought together is that this is less a making of documentary and more of a look at the history of the series overall and how it has survived across five decades. It charts the course through the series by telling a story about strong individuals, egos, money and perseverance as much as anything else. Despite being officially sanctioned, the documentary does point out the flaws of various films and when the series went astray. Perhaps most surprisingly, it even goes into some depth about the controversy surrounding McClory, Thunderball and Never Say Never Again in a manner that is as even handedly as one can expect in light of what is still a controversial subject in Bond circles.From its interviews and archival materials to a stylish production, Everything Or Nothing: The Untold Story Of 007 is far more than just another documentary on the history of a long running franchise. It is a journey through its history, its ups and downs and even some of its points of contention. It is the story behind the spy (and the films) that have, and will hopefully, continue tom thrill us.
View MoreTo mark the 50th anniversary of James Bond 007 on the big screen, starting with Dr. No in 1962, this special feature length documentary film was released on the same that the first of the spy films came out (the Adele title song for Skyfall was released this day as well), and it would document everything you could think of from the creation of the character and stories up to the present day. It of course begins with the story of how writer Ian Fleming created the character in 1953 and wrote his first of fourteen novels with the famous hero, Casino Royale, and after terrible versions on television how eventually the books caught the attention of filmmakers Albert R. 'Cubby' Broccoli and Harry Saltzman with Eon (Everything or Nothing) Productions and Danjaq brought Dr. No to the big screen. There is discussion about the casting of Scottish actor Sir Sean Connery (sadly not interviewed) as British secret agent James Bond 007, the four films that followed with the star, the sad death of Fleming after From Russia with Love, the legal battle during Thunderball with Kevin McClory trying to get the rights he battled for, new Australian actor George Lazenby becoming the new star (who it would turn out would only film), and bringing Connery back for Diamonds Are Forever. We see how English actor Sir Roger Moore became Bond for twelve years and seven films, Saltzman leaving the series after falling out with Broccoli, the battle between the official Bond film Octopussy and the independent Thunderball remake Never Say Never Again starring Connery and how they fared, how close Irish actor Pierce Brosnan came to becoming the next Bond before his television show Remington Steel was revived and Welsh Shakespearian actor Timothy Dalton was brought in, and how Dalton returned the character to the routes of the novels but became a somewhat controversial and possibly too dark Bond for fans in two films (especially in Licence to Kill). It shows Brosnan getting his second chance six years after the last film and officially becoming the new Bond in GoldenEye and a following three films after, with the Cold War over Bond is given an up to date new image and the actor is replaced by a then controversial choice, blonde actor English actor Daniel Craig who turns out to be an inspired choice in Casino Royale (which shows the origins of the character becoming a double 0 agent, killing two people), and there is a little talk about the upcoming Skyfall. It is fascinating to hear stories from the actors who have played the part of James Bond 007; Lazenby tells how he stormed into an audition and found it easy to get laid, Moore talks about making great friends with cast and crew and trying to resist a Sir Sean Connery impression when saying "My name is Bond. James Bond", Dalton remarks that he wanted to stick with the original works of Fleming and create a more serious character and how enjoyed being the hero, Brosnan remembers how he came close to getting the part and then when he did he mentions the funny side of the job, and Craig talks about how he was happy to be accepted after some controversy and what the future holds for the franchise. Also with contributions from Ken Adam, Barbara Broccoli, Dana Broccoli, Bill Clinton, Robert Davi, Sir Christopher Lee (Ian Fleming's cousin), Mike Myers and Michael G. Wilson. It is clever that the film does not just use photographs and archive footage to tell the stories, it merges clips and behind the scenes footage from all twenty three films: Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Diamonds Are Forever, Live and Let Die, The Man with the Golden Gun, The Spy Who Loved Me, Moonraker, For Your Eyes Only, Octopussy, A View to a Kill, The Living Daylights, Licence to Kill, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, Die Another Day, Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall. The film also features many of the famous music scores from the films, and a few of the songs, including "Thunderball" by Sir Tom Jones, "We Have All the Time in the World" by Louis Armstrong and "Nobody Does It Better" by Carly Simon. It is a very interesting factual film about one of the most successful film franchises in the world, there are many fascinating and insightful stories about the making of the films, all the crew who made them happen, and the events during and after production and screenings, it is everything you could think of if you are a Bond fan, a very watchable documentary. Very good!
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