What do you think of Everything or Nothing ?

Paul 1300

Having just watched Everything or nothing for the 2nd time, I feel that I come away from it without really learning anything new, apart from what a complete git Kevin McClory was. I still don't understand why Sean Connery was so ungrateful and bitter and twisted.
I thought the contributions from Moore, Dalton, Lazenby and Brosnan were very good and thorough, there was not enough from Ken Adam.

What did you make of it.

Napoleon Plural

There are only 2 or 3 reviews on imdb, and mine is one of them! Have a gander.

I liked it, it's wonderfully edited and the music fits well, with little scenes from the films lifted to illustrate events.

Connery is painted as the bad guy, but I read one report saying that per average movie he has made the least of all the Bond actors bar Lazenby, even adjusted for inflation. And this was when the films were paydirt.

Dutchfinger

The best part was Brosnan laughing his hairs off at the Tsunami surfing scene )

Paul 1300

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2366308/reviews?ref_=tt_urv

Thanks Napoleon

On Connery, I read somewhere that he made £143 million out of playing Bond, which isn't too shabby, without Bond he may possibly have ended up working the doors of some seedy Glasgow nightclub

ChromeJob

I'm dodgy on the details, but I seem to recall that Connery's salary was capped, so he was doing these bigger and bigger productions for comparatively little money, while EON laughed to the bank. They also used him to the Nth degree for promotion, claiming finally "Sean Connery IS James Bond." (sigh 8-) ). For a private man (shy?), being in the limelight for these films almost certainly became more than just a burdensome chore.

He also sustained what IIRC was a lifelong back injury filming GOLDFINGER. (Thought it was the Oddjob final fight, but read recently it was the fall when Oddjob knocks him out for insulting The Beatles.)

I believe they gave him a huge payday for DAF. And in the LALD making-of, Mankiewisz claimed he pleaded with Connery to do one more, and Connery said, "There are two things I want in life. My own golf course, and my own bank. I've got the first, and on my way to the second. I don't need to play Bond anymore." Or words to that effect.

I thought the film was nice enough to talk to outsiders who could give voice to Connery's enmity and frustration with the whole enterprise. It wasn't just a rah-rah adulatory piece Broccoli Saltzman & Co. like some of the other John Cork shorts for the DVDs have been.

Dutchfinger

I wish they included the documentary on the bonus disc of the Bond 50 box set....

davidelliott101

I think it is a good all around documentary for the CASUAL fan... Well, for the not so casual, either. It isn't chinzy or hokey, either. I think it gives a good well rounded history of Bond from Fleming to today. Have you watched any of the TV documentaries included as bonuses on the DVDs and Blu Rays? This new one is superior, IMHO

Paul 1300

No Not yet I am waiting to buy a Blu Ray player that I can hook up to my Surround sound, before I buy the Blu Ray Box set, with all the special features.

There was a good one made in the late Eighties, I vaguely remember with very good interviews with Moore and Connery, quite a lot about the Music, cars and Bond Girls, Dalton was Bond at the time and Was interviewed with Mariam D'arbo, But Connery looked quite old and the same as he did in Highlander, has anyone seen this and is it on the box set ?

davidelliott101

I have been buying the individual Blu Ray discs... I got the Living Daylights disc and there is a Bond 25th Anniversary special included... The Blu Ray discs have quite a bit in the way of special features and if I were you I would buy the box set as if you see it... I think it is just a limited edition thing. Buy the player later...

Kent007

I really liked it. I thought it told us a lot in a reasonably short space of time. I would've liked to see Connery involved but as he was get portrayed as the panto villain I doubt he would do it haha

Dutchfinger wrote:

The best part was Brosnan laughing his hairs off at the Tsunami surfing scene )

Totally agree, couldn't help but join in laughing. Also interesting to see he realises how OTT it was and that he's not afraid to laugh at himself.

Dutchfinger

I also thought it was quite intresting to note how we, as well knowledged Bond fans, know so much about the franchise and yet Brosnan, an actor who was privileged to play the role admitted he couldn't even tell Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough apart anymore.. :P

thirdyboy

Paul 1300 wrote:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2366308/reviews?ref_=tt_urv

Thanks Napoleon

On Connery, I read somewhere that he made £143 million out of playing Bond, which isn't too shabby, without Bond he may possibly have ended up working the doors of some seedy Glasgow nightclub

More likely Edinburgh

LastRatStanding

I thought it was really good! Thoroughly enjoyed it and have watched it with a few friends who have started watching more Bond since!

Also, Thirdyboy, Edinburgh Bond Fans Unite -{

Paul 1300

I was going to say Edinburgh, but to my shame I was not too sure on how to spell it, so Glasgow was an easy option, anyway I am sure Edinburgh does not have any seedy clubs

thirdyboy wrote:

Paul 1300 wrote:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2366308/reviews?ref_=tt_urv

Thanks Napoleon

On Connery, I read somewhere that he made £143 million out of playing Bond, which isn't too shabby, without Bond he may possibly have ended up working the doors of some seedy Glasgow nightclub

More likely Edinburgh

thirdyboy

Ah my friend, Edinburgh has plenty of them, most of them I have frequented at one time or another & where Kina Lillet is something you bleach the floor with. -{

Paul 1300 wrote:

I was going to say Edinburgh, but to my shame I was not too sure on how to spell it, so Glasgow was an easy option, anyway I am sure Edinburgh does not have any seedy clubs

thirdyboy wrote:

Paul 1300 wrote:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2366308/reviews?ref_=tt_urv

Thanks Napoleon

On Connery, I read somewhere that he made £143 million out of playing Bond, which isn't too shabby, without Bond he may possibly have ended up working the doors of some seedy Glasgow nightclub

More likely Edinburgh

DEFIANT 74205

ChromeJob wrote:

I'm dodgy on the details, but I seem to recall that Connery's salary was capped, so he was doing these bigger and bigger productions for comparatively little money, while EON laughed to the bank. They also used him to the Nth degree for promotion, claiming finally "Sean Connery IS James Bond." (sigh 8-) ). For a private man (shy?), being in the limelight for these films almost certainly became more than just a burdensome chore.

He also sustained what IIRC was a lifelong back injury filming GOLDFINGER. (Thought it was the Oddjob final fight, but read recently it was the fall when Oddjob knocks him out for insulting The Beatles.)

I believe they gave him a huge payday for DAF. And in the LALD making-of, Mankiewisz claimed he pleaded with Connery to do one more, and Connery said, "There are two things I want in life. My own golf course, and my own bank. I've got the first, and on my way to the second. I don't need to play Bond anymore." Or words to that effect.

I thought the film was nice enough to talk to outsiders who could give voice to Connery's enmity and frustration with the whole enterprise. It wasn't just a rah-rah adulatory piece Broccoli Saltzman & Co. like some of the other John Cork shorts for the DVDs have been.

Great post. There are some Bond fans that seem to think Connery was 'greedy' or 'not grateful' because of his falling out with EON. There are two sides to every story. To paraphrase another actor, Connery was just a 'professional (actor) doing his job'.

Dutchfinger wrote:

I also thought it was quite intresting to note how we, as well knowledged Bond fans, know so much about the franchise and yet Brosnan, an actor who was privileged to play the role admitted he couldn't even tell Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough apart anymore.. :P

Because playing Bond was his job, not his obsession

Given the number of roles and the number of films that Brosnan has starred in, I suppose it's not that unusual. I was at a Star Trek convention last year, and the guest of honour - Star Trek: Voyager star Jeri Ryan didn't remember most of the episodes she starred in. Not that anyone should expect her to, though!

Saltzman

I think it is important to remember the Passion Pictures Everything or Nothing's producers - had to deliver 50 years of the history of Bond in 90 minutes. A tall order by any measure. The story had to be edited, details omitted and choices made. I thought it was fair, honest and pulled punches. This was no Hollywood snow job. I personally was assured prior to participating that this would be "warts and all" documentary and I applaud the Broccoli family who were of similar mind. The documentary would have been useless as a puff piece. This alongside the exquisite Taschen James Bond Archive enshrines the history of our families, the saga and the efforts that made the series last so long.

Steven Saltzman (Harry's Son)
Monaco

Napoleon Plural

Oh hi, Steven, welcome aboard!

I thought at first some fan had picked the name 'Saltzman', like some of them call themselves Leiter or Moneypenny...

You came across well in the film, some good stuff there.

I'm trying to whittle down a written feature on Abba at the moment, so I know how hard it is to edit...

Blackleiter

I totally agree. I thought Everything or Nothing was a fascinating look at the Bond series - its successes, failures, evolution, dormancy, resurrection, etc. After viewing it I felt I really had a peek behind the curtain to see what makes this cinema phenomenon the gem it has been for 50 years and counting. Kudos to all involved, including yourself. -{

P.S. I own the Taschen book, and it does indeed serve as a wonderful companion piece to Everything or Nothing.

Saltzman wrote:

I think it is important to remember the Passion Pictures Everything or Nothing's producers - had to deliver 50 years of the history of Bond in 90 minutes. A tall order by any measure. The story had to be edited, details omitted and choices made. I personally thought it was fair, honest and pulled punches. This was no Hollywood snow job. I personally was assured prior to participating that this would be "warts and all" documentary and I applaud the Broccoli family who were of similar mind. The documentary would have been useless as a puff piece. This alongside the exquisite Taschen James Bond Archive enshrines the history of our families, the saga and the efforts that made the series last so long.

Steven Saltzman (Harry's Son)
Monaco

davidelliott101

I appreciate the candidness of the Saltzman family in not only this documentary, but also the documentaries on the DVDs and now Blu Rays (same documentaries narrated by Patrick MacNee)...

I think the most touching thing I saw was the "reconciliation" of Harry and Cubby at that one event... it has been a month or so since I watched Everything or Nothing, so I want to say it was around the time of Octopussy but can't be sure... I think, next to the Bond film legacy, it was the most outstanding testimonial in my mind of these two men!

Jimmy Bond

Honestly, I think it was rather one-handed. Meaning, the Brocolli's are again painted as the heroes and/or misunderstood individuals, Harry's the greedy bastard and Connery's... the greedier bastard. Oh, and Kevin McClory is the Blofeld of the real world.

I think its fair to say that things have been more complicated than that, so... Yeah, pretty biased. But, it also could've been a lot worse.

davidelliott101

Jimmy Bond wrote:

Honestly, I think it was rather one-handed. Meaning, the Brocolli's are again painted as the heroes and/or misunderstood individuals, Harry's the greedy bastard and Connery's... the greedier bastard. Oh, and Kevin McClory is the Blofeld of the real world.

I think its fair to say that things have been more complicated than that, so... Yeah, pretty biased. But, it also could've been a lot worse.

Maybe we watched two different programs?

I saw Broccoli being flawed but very caring of his cast and crew... I saw Harry Saltzman as a human being who overextended himself (I can't say I wouldn't be the same way if I was co-producer of the most successful film series around) and Connery got burned out playing the same character for 5 years straight and not being recognized as an actor, rather than a character. I can see how he would have felt soured and even resentful of Saltzman and Broccoli.

As far as Kevin McClory, it cemented in my mind what I have read about him for the last 30 years... a man who was obsessed with James Bond... to the point that it looked like he felt he owned and created the character.

Blackleiter

I definitely saw the same show you saw, my friend! -{

davidelliott101 wrote:

Jimmy Bond wrote:

Honestly, I think it was rather one-handed. Meaning, the Brocolli's are again painted as the heroes and/or misunderstood individuals, Harry's the greedy bastard and Connery's... the greedier bastard. Oh, and Kevin McClory is the Blofeld of the real world.

I think its fair to say that things have been more complicated than that, so... Yeah, pretty biased. But, it also could've been a lot worse.

Maybe we watched two different programs?

I saw Broccoli being flawed but very caring of his cast and crew... I saw Harry Saltzman as a human being who overextended himself (I can't say I wouldn't be the same way if I was co-producer of the most successful film series around) and Connery got burned out playing the same character for 5 years straight and not being recognized as an actor, rather than a character. I can see how he would have felt soured and even resentful of Saltzman and Broccoli.

As far as Kevin McClory, it cemented in my mind what I have read about him for the last 30 years... a man who was obsessed with James Bond... to the point that it looked like he felt he owned and created the character.

Jimmy Bond

I'm not disproving what you saw. However, I do contest that the documentary had a far more favorable light on Brocolli, even when it said bad things about him.

Look, I don't mean to demonize the man. He brought Bond to the screen and kept him alive for the rest of his life, and as fans we'll always love him for it. But thing is, he was also ruthless, as all successful producers really are.

And while McClory has been an obsessed, even slimy a person (read The Battle For Bond book to get what I mean), he was still plagirized by Fleming himself when the latter wrote Thunberball, and he did earn his legal right to do NSNA, and before that his ability to do Warhead wasn't given by the Gods - Broccoli AND Saltzman had given him permission to remake that story ten years after 1965. So yeah, he was obsessed, and yeah, he probably thought of himself having done for Bond more than he actually did, but you know, lets not demonize him, either.

BIG TAM

I liked it. It could have been a good half-hour longer, not just because I felt the latter years were skirted over a bit too speedily but because I was enjoying it! I liked its construction & it was nice to hear candid interviews rather than the self-promoting fluff you usually get in those dreaded DVD featurettes.

Saltzman

Well they could for instance if time allowed have spoken about the other gorilla in the room... The Len Deighton trilogy. The Broccoli's did not "get" Harry's pre-occupation with the anti Bond either - Michael Caine in the Ipcress File for instance gummed the works ....I can talk more about that if people want me to expand.

Napoleon Plural

Well this is a forum that debates the best gunbarrel scene so it's not like we're going to say, hey, that's way too arcane!

The Ipcress File is fantastic, up there with Goldfinger as a British classic and in its own way it holds up better than the Bonds today, largely because what is grubby and down at heel remains so as time marches on, whereas the glamour of Bond's Miami hotel room looks a bit chintzy now.

But I'm not so sure about the follow-ups really, though Bond critic John Brosnan dubbed Funeral in Berlin the best of the bunch. I guess Harry S wanted to do his own thing a bit - but how did it gum up the works? Did he take they eye of the ball regarding Bond? I guess it allowed McClory to exert more influence on Thunderball.

jorgem1

Well, are you talking about the Bond video game which was released back in 2004?

It is supposed to be Brosnan's last Bond movie before Craig filled in for the role.

zaphod

Saltzman wrote:

Well they could for instance if time allowed have spoken about the other gorilla in the room... The Len Deighton trilogy. The Broccoli's did not "get" Harry's pre-occupation with the anti Bond either - Michael Caine in the Ipcress File for instance gummed the works ....I can talk more about that if people want me to expand.

I for one would be fascinated to know more.

LoGabrielle

I really enjoyed it. Pierce especially came across really well as did the other Bonds but he seemed really good fun. I teared up at the part where Sean called Cubby and they said they loved eachother

Bodie

I enjoyed it. More balanced than I expected it to be. Gave me a new perspective on Connery. I had always thought that Connery was a bit of an ungrateful git falling out with Broccolli and Saltzman over the money but when I listened to the head of United Artists saying that the producers had re-negotiated their deal on a number of occassions but not Connery's I realised he was probably not being that unreasonable.