Director: Stevan Riley
Contributors: Albert R. Broccoli, Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson, Harry Saltzman, Ian Fleming, Roger Moore, Daniel Craig, Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Pierce Brosnan, Sean Connery
Running Time: TBC
Certificate: TBC
Synopsis: A detailed look at the birth of James Bond from typewriter to his 23rd big screen outing and everything in between.
It is 50 years since Ian Fleming’s James Bond first appeared in cinemas and uttered the immortal words, ‘the names Bond… James Bond’. EVERYTHING OR NOTHING: THE UNTOLD STORY OF 007 aims to take us inside the mind of Ian Fleming, to the production of DR. NO (1962) and everything afterwards in telling the story of the longest running franchise in film history.
Beginning with an opening monologue from current Bond Daniel Craig, EVERYTHING OR NOTHING takes us straight to the origin of the character, Ian Fleming. War-veteran, womaniser, chain-smoker and an alcoholic, Fleming was James Bond without the glamour. Writing from his study at Goldeneye in Jamaica, his friends say Bond saved his life. Like Bond, Fleming always needed a mission. We’re then taken into the film world of Bond, the struggles Albert Broccoli and Harry Saltzman had getting it onscreen, the subsequent successes and failures of the franchise and, of course, the spat between Broccoli and Sean Connery that has resulted in Connery’s non-direct involvement here – he, like the deceased is shown in archival footage. The portrayal of the Connery vs Broccoli feud is, on the face of it unbiased, however the lack of argument for Connery and his reasonings mean the filmmakers don’t get to the bottom of the story. Instead Barbara Broccoli talks of it almost dismissively, whilst other contributors clearly bite their tongues.
EVERYTHING OR NOTHING is as polished as you’d expect: the film is woven together with talking heads and Bond movie scenes ‘acting out’ what is being said. There is lots of archival footage of Fleming – cigarette in hand – and all the main players, other than Connery, are present including George Lazenby, star of the most underrated Bond in the series ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE (1969). He tells his story of wanting to, and then becoming Bond with a lot of enthusiasm, and maybe a hint of regret. Lazenby speaks of why he wanted the part; women and booze. His determination to get the role: buying a suit, getting his hair cut like Connery, sneaking into the Eon Productions offices and confronting Albert Broccoli. But the biggest story is why he failed. Incorrectly put down as the movie’s fault, he was merely a victim of his own success, he wanted the women and the adulation but times had changed. It was 1969, James Bond wasn’t cool, long hair was in and after filming ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE Lazenby grew his hair, along with a massive beard, and was almost stopped from attending the premiere of the movie. As Lazenby says “I was doomed from then on”. The Roger Moore films are disappointingly washed over, Moore contributes but no detail is given to his massively successful run. Timothy Dalton’s movies get a good going over with the recurring argument being they were just too violent and serious for their time. Unfairly for Dalton, Pierce Brosnan is given a lot of screen time during this and speaks of how he’d signed up to play Bond but a REMINGTON STEELE contract clause meant he had to renege at the last minute. This is an important part of Bond history, however it could have been mentioned during the Brosnan era part, which incidentally is treated as a bit of a joke given how unbelievably poor his last two films were. Brosnan himself falls into a fit of laughter when Kite Surfing a Tsunami, from DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002) is mentioned. We remember Pierce, and it was bloody awful. The film ends with mention of Daniel Craig and CASINO ROYALE (2006), however QUANTUM OF SOLACE (2008) is not touched upon – the filmmakers must know it’s a bit rubbish, like the rest of us.
EVERYTHING OR NOTHING: THE UNTOLD STORY OF 007 is intelligent, supremely put together, and above all enjoyable. But for all of this it is propaganda and as such does not have the balls to criticise heavily where it needs to and as a result is too soft and fluffy to be deemed the untold story. It will get the juices flowing before SKYFALL though, which is undoubtedly the studios aim.
EVERYTHING OR NOTHING: THE UNTOLD STORY OF 007 will have a limited theatrical release from 5th October.
