JAMES BOND
NEWS

Part 7: First Knight
In 1975 Sean Connery's friend Richard Harris (1930-2002) had played Richard The Lionheart in Robin and Marian, and in a curious twist of fate, Connery also played the role in an uncredited cameo appearance at the end of Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), with Kevin Costner in the title role. Although Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves got mostly negative reviews it was huge international hit. Sean Connery reprised his role of Juan Sánchez Villa-Lobos Ramírez in Highlander II: The Quickening (1991), which once more opened to terrible reviews, and failed to live up to the cult status of its predecessor. Undaunted, Connery reunited with director John McTiernan (The Hunt For Red October) to star in the 1991 drama The Medicine Man. Once more, the film was poorly received and just broke even at the box-office.

In 1992 Sean Connery starred as Capt. John Connor in the crime-drama Rising Sun directed by Philip Kaufman. The film, in which Connery also served as executive producer, co-starred Wesley Snipes and Harvey Keitel. Despite the controversy surrounding the negative depiction of Asian-Americans, Rising Sun (based on a novel by Michael Crichton) was a hit upon its release. The following year Sean Connery took on the supporting role of Dr. Alex Murray in Bruce Beresford's A Good Man In Africa (1994). With a screenplay by future James Bond continuation author William Boyd (SOLO), A Good Man In Africa was another box-office disaster. Connery's career had once again gone into decline and he was now only making one film each year. In 1995 Sean Connery turned down the role of King Edward in the film Braveheart directed by Mel Gibson, in order to star in Just Cause, for his friend American Art dealer turned film producer/director Arne Glimcher. The resulting film saw Connery acting once more as executive producer and starring opposite Laurence Fishburne. Just Cause was another film that was only a moderate hit at the box-office, released to mostly negative reviews in 1995.

Harking back to his trio of historical successes in the mid-1970s, Sean Connery next starred as King Arthur in First Knight which also featured Richard Gere as Lancelot. The film was at last a huge hit, although not particularly well-received by critics. First Knight was originally to have been directed by Terence Young who would have reunited with Connery 30 years after directing Thunderball, but Young sadly died during pre-production. Sean Connery attended a memorial service held for Terence Young on November 10, 1994 where he was visibly affected by the loss of his friend and mentor, the one man above all others responsible for the transformation of the young actor into the character of James Bond. First Knight reunited Sean Connery with Sir John Gielgud with whom he had appeared in Murder On The Orient Express (1974). Although top-billed in First Knight, Connery does not appear for the first 30-minutes, and his role could really be considered that of supporting actor, but it is a testament to his stature at this stage in his career, that he could still attract star-billing and be the marquee name for such a high-profile film.

In 1996 Sean Connery provided the distinctive voice of ‘Draco - The last Dragon’ in DragonHeart in the British/American fantasy action-adventure film directed by Rob Cohen. Connery then took on the starring role in The Rock (1996), as Captain John Patrick Mason in the action-thriller directed by Michael Bay. At the age of 66 Connery still proved he was a believable action-hero, and the film was a massive hit at the box-office despite some less than kind reviews. Co-starring Nicholas Cage and Ed Harris, The Rock was photographed by cinematographer John Schwartzman, son of the producer who had given Connery so many problems on Never Say Never Again (1983). Sean Connery then appeared as the villain Sir August de Wynter, in the big-screen adaptation of the popular British TV-series The Avengers. Co-starring future M Ralph Fiennes as John Steed and Uma Thurman as Emma Peel, The Avengers (1998) was a box-office disaster and following test screenings was reduced from 115-minutes, to a running time of just 89-minutes. With some of the worst reviews in cinema history, The Avengers ultimately only recouped $12-million less than its $60-million budget. Several UK critics noted that as an American production, the film fatally misunderstood the symbols of “Britishness” central to the success of The Avengers TV-series; regardless of the fact that with the exception of Uma Thurman, the cast of supporting players (including Patrick Macnee as the voice of ‘Invisible Jones’) were all British. Rumours abound of a so-called ‘Directors cut’ of The Avengers, restoring the lost footage, but this has yet to materialise - as it stands the film is best forgotten. Sean Connery was also part of the ensemble comedy-drama Playing By Heart (1998), in which he played the role of TV Producer Paul opposite Gena Rowlands as his wife. Despite Connery taking a very small salary in order to appear in the film, Playing By Heart still lost money at the box-office and is only distinguished by having a score by eleven-time James Bond composer John Barry, much of which went unused in the film, but thankfully appeared on the soundtrack CD.

Sean Connery was honoured with the BAFTA Fellowship at the 51st British Academy Film Awards in 1998. Awarded in recognition of “outstanding achievement in the art form of the moving image”, the award was presented by friend and fellow Scot Billy Connolly. Sean Connery was visibly moved when giving his acceptance speech. In his final film of the decade Sean Connery took on the starring role in Entrapment (1999), an American heist-thriller co-starring Catherine Zeta-Jones and directed by Jon Amiel. Entrapment proved to be a huge commercial success for the star, who also co-produced the film. Connery also produced Finding Forrester (2000) in which he played the role of an American writer who befriends a young black teenager (Rob Brown). Connery claims to have based the character of William Forrester on that of reclusive American author J.D. Salinger (1919-2010), most famous for writing The Catcher in the Rye (1951). Finding Forrester was a critical and commercial success and would turn out to be Sean Connery's penultimate on-screen performance.

Sean Connery was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II at an investiture ceremony at Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh on July 5, 2000. He had been nominated for a knighthood in 1997 and 1998, but these were reportedly vetoed due to Connery's political views and support of the Scottish National Party. Sean Connery then appeared in what would turn out to be his final on-screen performance in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003), as fictional hero Allan Quartermain. The film (which Connery also co-produced) was loosely based on the first volume of the comic book series of the same name by Alan Moore and Kevin O'Neill. Connery's fee was reputedly $17-million which left little money in the budget to attract other named stars for the ensemble cast. Although The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen was commercially successful it received almost unanimously bad reviews. Sean Connery had a very bad time during the making of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, having many disputes with director Stephen Norrington. It is ironic that his final on-screen performance was in a film dogged by production problems - a factor present throughout much of Connery's career.

At the age of 75 Sir Sean Connery was awarded the American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Award on June 8, 2006. The award is the highest that the AFI can bestow and Sir Sean was the 34th recipient. At a star-studded ceremony Connery was presented with the award by Harrison Ford who played his son in Indiana Jones And the Last Crusade (1989). In 2001 Sean Connery turned down the role of Gandalf in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy claiming not to understand the script. Had he accepted the offer, which included up to 15% of the box-office receipts, he would have made over $400-million. He announced his retirement from filmmaking in 2007 citing his disillusionment with the “idiots now making films in Hollywood”.

Since 1967 Sean Connery had been trying to shake off the mantle of James Bond 007, only to have it become the one thing that he could profitably return to in 1971, and 1983 when he said ‘Never Again’. It was therefore a huge coup for EA Games, when in 2005 they announced that Sean Connery had agreed to provide the voice and likeness for James Bond in the upcoming videogame based on From Russia With Love. Following in the footsteps of Pierce Brosnan, who had provided his voice and likeness for the 2003 videogame ‘Everything or Nothing’, Connery played James Bond one final time with a face based on his 1963 incarnation, but with the voice of a 75 year-old. It is ironic that Connery, who tried so long to escape his typecasting, was now back in the role that made him a superstar over 40 years ago. The game also featured the likenesses of Bernard Lee, Desmond Llewelyn, Robert Shaw, Lotte Lenya and Daniela Bianchi.  ‘From Russia With Love’ was loosely based on Ian Fleming's 1957 source novel and the 1963 film, although also incorporated the Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger (1964) and Jet-pack from Thunderball (1965). Sean Connery's final appearance as James Bond would have been a fitting coda to a long and varied career, but there was still one more project to which he attached his voice and likeness. Sir Billi (also known as Guardian of the Highlands) was a computer animated film which was in production for several years, starting life as a 30-minute short version completed in 2006, but later expanded to 80-minutes and released in 2012. Unfortunately the resulting film was poorly received and described by one critic as an “ignominious” end to Connery's career.

Sir Sean Connery's legacy is one of stubborn individuality, whether it be in his choice of film roles, political views, or his outspoken comments on the selfishness of the James Bond producers who made him a star. Although he ultimately made up with ‘Cubby’ Broccoli (1909-1996) when he learned the producer was dying, it was his portrayal of James Bond that is the one thing he will always be remembered for, despite spending much of his life trying to escape from any association with the character. At a time when the American studio system was coming to an end, Sean Connery remained one of the world's biggest (and most bankable) film stars for five decades, in a career that included collaborations with the industry's most acclaimed directors and talent, in front of and behind the camera. Rest in Peace Sir Sean, and thank you for the memories.

SIR THOMAS SEAN CONNERY (1930-2020)

FACT FILES