Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007 (2012)

Directed by: Stevan Riley | 90 minutes | documentary | Starring: Roger Moore, George Lazenby, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, Daniel Craig, Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson, Bill Clinton, Famke Janssen, Hilary Saltzman, Steven Saltzman

The James Bond film is the longest-running film franchise of all time. October 5, 2012 it will be exactly fifty years since the first James Bond film ‘Dr No’ premiered. And at the end of October 2012, the latest film ‘Skyfall’ will be released in cinemas. The ideal moment to make a beautiful documentary about fifty years of James Bond. Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007 focuses on the three most important men who brought James Bond to life and turned him into a movie hero. Writer and creator of James Bond, Ian Fleming, and producers Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli who made the films. The documentary jumps right in with a black and white scene with Daniel Craig as James Bond that was shot especially for this film. This is followed by the legendary ‘gun barrel’ scene (James Bond walks into the image, shoots and the image turns red) but with all James Bond performers shooting at the same time. The well-known music of John Barry starts and as a viewer you know that nothing can go wrong from that moment on.

The documentary is in chronological order with the first part revolves around Ian Fleming and how he brought James Bond to life in his books. Where did he get his inspiration from and what kind of man was Fleming himself? Then the documentary focuses on Saltzman and Broccoli, who saw something in Fleming’s work. The love triangle between these two men and first Bond Sean Connery has been discussed for a long time. It is clear that it was often anything but cake and egg between these three men and it provides a more complete picture of the background of the making of the films. And it explains why Connery returned after many years as James Bond in ‘Never Say Never Again’, while Roger Moore had been the new James Bond for years. The entire documentary is supported by footage from the films, archive footage and private photos and videos. A nice gimmick is that when a narrator is speaking, scenes from the James Bond films are shown that fit the story. To illustrate, when it is said that there was little time for something, a scene is shown where you see the clock ticking on a bomb. It creates a nice atmosphere and as a viewer you are constantly treated to nice scenes. As a result, you will want to see all the Bond films again as soon as possible afterwards.

In addition, we see a list of people who comment on Bond throughout the film. All interpreters of the icon give their honest opinion about their role. Big absentee is Sean Connery because he hasn’t appeared in public since 2011. It is a great loss, but the other Bond interpreters make up for it and provide fun stories and a lot of humor. George Lazenby tells how he got the part in a rather bizarre way. Pierce Brosnan laughs out loud at the incredulity in his last Bond ‘Die Another Day’ such as the invisible car. All the actors are in any case all proud that they have been allowed to play the part. The children and acquaintances of the producers also have their say, but Famke Janssen also has her say and even Mike Myers explains that Austin Powers arose out of love for James Bond. All in all, ‘Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007’ is a beautiful documentary with a lot of background information and humor. It shows the perseverance, creativity and love for James Bond of Ian Fleming, Harry Saltzman and Albert R.Broccoli. Everything or Nothing: The Untold Story of 007 is a documentary that is accessible to everyone and indispensable for all James Bond fans.