To shed the image of the most famous secret agent in the world was not such an easy task ; the actor had to undergo psychiatry (and other methods) to come to term with his true identity.
Sean Connery was a fascinating actor and this doc does him justice: he did not stand to be called James Bond,except if it were a child .He was conscious that it was an unheard of phenomenon -which still carries on today - ,and was furious when he realized he had signed a contract which was not so lucrative as people generally thought (Roger Moore made much more money than him afterwards ,and on a "you only live twice" poster ,his name was not even mentioned !)
But this clever man saw the danger :to be stuck up in a role ;many actors and actresses were not able to get over it ;he did, and he has all the credit. At the beginning ,what's bred in the bone comes out in the flesh : in 'the woman of straw " ,he wears the same suit as in "Goldfinger" .
His sheet anchor was director Sidney Lumet who gave him a role which would be his very favorite : "the hill" ,a settlement of scores with his time in the British Navy and his Bond-rock of Sysiphus ; later he would completely destroy his sexy macho image in the absorbing "the offense " ; Two hustonesque works -even though the latter was directed by Huston followed :"the lion and the wind" ,and mainly my personal favorite "the man who would be king " in which he and Caine blew your mind .If the late seventies were less successful , the eighties and nineties showed that he was not a spent force .
Like Robert Anderson , who urged him to become an actor,he became a mentor for the young actor of "finding Forrester" ;full circle indeed. The star had not forgotten his destitute childhood .
Includes interventions of Andy Garcia ("the untouchables") and John Boorman ("Zardoz" ,with a funny anecdote ).