RIP Sean Connery

[AndyDursin]

Just don't have the words today.

[Eric W.]

Damn... RIP Mr. Bond.

[AndyDursin]

Tributes pouring in, obviously, from all kinds of quarters.

[Eric W.]

One of the all time best.

[Edmund Kattak]

My friend and co-worker Eddie went back home to Glasgow to see family (as he always does) and shared this one with me from 2002 (Eddie is sitting down on the right). Pretty much every observation that O'Reilly made was relayed to me from Eddie. What a man, what a life!!!

[BobaMike]

So many great roles- to me he will always be the best James Bond, and later, the only person who could have been Henry Jones, Sr. Not unexpected to hear him passing, but still sad news.

[Monterey Jack]

Goodbye, Mister Bond...

[andy b]

First worked with him on The Hill, found him a little difficult, but it was nice that he knew 100% what he wanted & expected out of the promotion of the film. Maybe I should not have asked him to sign my You Only Live Twice lp!

Again, on The Anderson Tapes & it was a completely different experience, very approachable & extremely nice.

Then A Bridge Too Far, was an absolute joy, he even bought me lunch!

Cuba & while he was super nice & I think had high hopes for the film, it was not too be.

Very briefly on Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade for the UK only release schedule.

He was an actor who never seem to want to be the center of attention, but knew he was, did not like being disturbed on the golf course (I did not, but heard from a colleague who did!!) & was a very gracious & giving person, especially to his fans & anyone who was working around him. Had complete respect for crews & from what I saw never played the “I am a star” card.

While I never met him on the The Man Who Would Be King, I had more to do with Michael Caine than Mr. Connery, I did get a very nice “thank you” card for the work we did for Europe, so he was a man who knew & appreciated what was going on even if he was not there.

He certainly gave us a wonderful catalogue of films, even if some seemed more miss than hit, perhaps the legacy of being Bond?

Thank you for the hours of entertainment good, bad or indifferent.

Rest well.
Andy b

[mkaroly]

I don't know what to say...he was a unique actor, was charming as heck on screen, and defined the role of James Bond. I have nothing but admiration and respect for him and his work. RIP.

[AndyDursin]

Andy, thanks for your memories in particular of working with Connery.

This one really hurts, not because it's a shock he passed at his age, but because there are really fewer stars that ever shone as bright as Connery. I mean, he's basically been a member of your family if you're a fan -- a constant companion of movie watching for me, and I'm guessing for many here, ever since I was old enough to watch James Bond movies or something like TIME BANDITS, which came out when I was in 1st grade.

The memories are too numerous to mention, but just a few: I remember watching ZARDOZ for the first time on local TV when I was young and not having the foggiest what it was about. I remember going to see THE UNTOUCHABLES on opening day when I was getting out of 7th grade and being blown away by his performance there. I saw DARBY O'GILL when I was little and just shared the movie with Theo for the first time. Even in that small role, his charisma and personality were so prominent, you couldn't hold him back even in a secondary part.

Over the years I've caught up with every performance of his -- importing the rarer stuff like THE OFFENCE before it was easy to find here, even Blu-Rays of the misguided vehicles like FAMILY BUSINESS that you can't get in HD still domestically. I know I've seen them all, and I own most of them on either disc or digital, because there are few "stars" I enjoy watching just because they're in a film than Connery. His persona, his wit, his intelligence, no matter the movie (okay, maybe not THE AVENGERS) salvages so many of the films he's in -- even the ones that didn't quite connect. And the ones that did -- be it Bond, THE UNTOUCHABLES, INDIANA JONES (I love the heart that film has, all the interplay between him and Harrison Ford which was due to Connery being there), MAN WHO WOULD BE KING or something like FINDING FORRESTER which has slipped through the cracks over the years -- are cinematic gold.

I think Peter Hyams said it well in his commentary on OUTLAND where he said people on-set would just be "drawn" to Connery. It didn't matter who you were, what sex you were, what age you were -- he was truly one-of-a-kind, a magnetic presence. There was no one else like him, and there never will be, either.

[Paul MacLean]

Andy, thanks for your memories in particular of working with Connery.

Yes! great anecdotes, thanks!

This one really hurts, not because it's a shock he passed at his age, but because there are really fewer stars that ever shone as bright as Connery. I mean, he's basically been a member of your family if you're a fan -- a constant companion of movie watching for me, and I'm guessing for many here, ever since I was old enough to watch James Bond movies or something like TIME BANDITS, which came out when I was in 1st grade.

Yeah. While there have been many deceased celebrities whose work I’ve enjoyed, I can’t say their passings affected me profoundly. I did not know them personally. Somehow Sean Connery is different.

I've been a die-hard James Bond fan since the age of eight, my parents permitting me to watch those violent (albeit edited for TV) adventures of my hero 007 (the risqué elements went over my head!). I remain a huge Bond fan to this day — and I still have my toy Aston Martin DB5...though the ejector seat is broken.

He was every bit as tough, and brave, as James Bond in real life. My favorite Sean Connery story concerns a gangster who once pulled a gun on Connery because he didn’t like that the actor was dating his ex-girlfriend. Connery responded by punching him out!

Thus the idea of Sean Connery dying seems so…out of character. In 1983, when he returned to play an “over-the-hill” 007 in Never Say Never Again, he looked better than Daniel Craig does now. And well into his 70s he was the very picture of vitality and resilience.

We'll never see his like again.

[AndyDursin]

Just a heads-up for Bond fans who don't want to wait for 4K UHD discs (if we even get them) -- the Connery Bond films are $29.99 for the 6-film bundle (Dr No, From Russia, Goldfinger, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice & Diamonds).

NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN isn't part of the bundle, but is $7.99 for the new 4K remaster separately.

These are available at both Vudu and Itunes. Note they're not "Movies Anywhere" so they aren't cross-platformed (i.e. you can play it at the vendor you buy it from -- it won't show up on the other digital services because MGM isn't a part of the Movies Anywhere group).

[Edmund Kattak]

This is perhaps one of the weirdest interviews that I've ever seen..

[Johnmgm]

The "interviewer" acts as if he is doing a background check for a government job. "Would you say Miss Moneypenny was an honest person?"

[AndyDursin]

Bizarrely and uncomfortably scripted to start, then settles in. Great find Ed! Is there another part of this somewhere?