Sinatra: All or Nothing at All

2015 "The Songs He Chose Tell The Story Of His Life"
8| 4h0m| en
Details

An up-close and personal examination of the life, music and career of the legendary entertainer. Told in his own words from hours of archived interviews, along with commentary from those closest to him, the documentary weaves the music and images from Sinatra’s life together with rarely seen footage of his famous 1971 “Retirement Concert” in Los Angeles. The film’s narrative is shaped by Sinatra’s song choices for that concert, which Gibney interprets as the singer’s personal guide through his own life.

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Reviews

Blucher One of the worst movies I've ever seen
CommentsXp Best movie ever!
Spoonatects Am i the only one who thinks........Average?
Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.
Michael_Elliott Sinatra: All or Nothing at All (2015) **** (out of 4)Highly ambitious documentary that takes a look at the rise of Frank Sinatra from his way out of New Jersey to the rise in the charts and eventually conqurering Hollywood, Las Vegas and anything else that he wanted to.Not too many people could have their life story take up four hours but that's exactly what we get here with SINATRA: ALL OR NOTHING AT ALL, which is certainly the perfect title for this. The documentary covers the life of Sinatra as we get to hear his story in his own words. Hours and hours worth of interview footage was used to come up with the story structure here, which is also done according to the eleven songs that the singer would do at his 1971 retirement concert.There's no question that this is a highly entertaining documentary that works on many levels. The greatest thing about it is that there are some terrific video footage of various concerts, radio specials, television specials and other items. There's no doubt that a lot of this footage hasn't been seen before and that's the greatest thing this documentary offers. Plus, you've also got the interview footage with Sinatra, which is great fun and especially since it is used to tell his own story.Several others are also interviewed and we get to hear their voices including Sinatra's children, his first wife and even Mia Farrow. The various high points of his life are discussed including him breaking onto the radio, taking Hollywood by storm and winning an Oscar, his continued rise on the music charts, his various women, The Rat Pack and his connection to JFK. His mob association is also discussed throughout the four hours.I will say that there were some problems with the film including the fact that the last twenty-five plus years of his life are discussed during an "encore" that only lasts around ten or so minutes. It's really too bad they just didn't extend the running time to take a look at his later years since it's doubtful another documentary is going to come along like this one. I'd also argue that the documentary took it rarther light on Sinatra and really didn't dig into any of the darker stuff around him.With all of that said, at four hours the film really does seem to be too short, which says a lot about the film as well as the man himself.
fearthebowlink This documentary was absolutely fabulous. Sinatra has always been my favorite, as his music is what I was raised on. I can openly admit though, that I only knew bits and pieces about his life before watching the documentary. I feel so informed after having watched hours about the man's life, and I greatly appreciate that the documentary included high points as well as low points. To know a person, you have to know all aspects of his/her personality, and I think that this documentary did a wonderful job of trying to cover so much material in only a few hours.I would definitely recommend watching this documentary if you want to learn a little bit more about Ol' Blue Eyes and the fantastic work that he accomplished in his lifetime!
vincentlynch-moonoi The big question about this tele-biography was whether it would be a balanced overview of Frank Sinatra and his career, or just a fawning snow job.Now in me, you have a person who has, I think, a somewhat balanced view of Sinatra. I neither love nor hate him. I have all of his Reprise studio recordings and many of his Capitol albums…the good, the bad, and the ugly. And make no mistake, for a while in the early Reprise years many of Sinatra's recordings are probably the best versions of those songs – both in terms of his vocals and the arrangements – ever recorded. His concept albums for Capitol were groundbreaking. On the other hand, during the Reprise years you have recordings such as "Everybody's Twistin'" and "Life's A Trippy Thing". And, since Frank was totally in control during the Reprise years, there was no one else to blame. I look at his performance in "The Joker's Wild" and can't think of many actors who have ever turned in a better performance. And then there were some of the later films when he just didn't seem to care much. He was a flop on early television, but his 1960s specials were "cherce". So, I can admire much of what Frank Sinatra accomplished. He made a difference in popular music. But when it comes to the kind of man he was, well...my 100th birthday gift is to not finish that sentence.Some of what is said in the program doesn't seem to match with accounts which have been presented in the past. For example, in talking about the Capitol years they indicate Sinatra was in total control. Really? Then why quit Capitol to form Reprise, which at the time he said gave him artistic freedom? Where is the story of "dropping" Peter Lawford for the Kennedy incident? Dropping Joey Bishop? Having a long-term falling out with Dean Martin? Oh, conveniently omitted. The whole mob issue is brought up, but sort of dismissed as the mob did it and the Kennedy's did it, but Sinatra and his friends did everything out of the goodness of their hearts. And, in my view, far too much credit is given to Sinatra and friends for the election of John Kennedy.I didn't have high hopes for this television broadcast when I learned that it was produced by Frank Sinatra Enterprises. Much of the story here is told by Frank himself (in old interviews) and Nancy Sinatra and Frank Jr. After all, Frank thought he was wonderful, Nancy always fawned over her father, and, while Frank Jr. is a bit more balanced, it's almost always pretty positive. Even when the criticism during the war years is brought up (for example), it's within the context of how unfair some people were being to Sinatra. So, make no mistake, this is no penetrating, balanced biography. It should have been entitled "A Love Letter To Frank Sinatra".That's not to say it doesn't have something worthwhile of your time. You'll see film here you will probably never see again. It's comprehensive, if not objective. It's almost as if Sinatra was the only singer, the only actor, the only nightclub performer. He was big, but he was not alone. There was Cole, Crosby, Como, and many more. Frankly, the program couldn't have been more positive toward Sinatra if Sinatra had written it himself.Well, happy birthday, Mr. Sinatra. Your bio reminded me of all the reasons I admired so much of your work...and some of the reasons I didn't really like you as a person. I guess that's a very special way of appreciating you -- it's not easy to dislike someone personally, but buy almost all of their albums, watch all of their television specials, and go see most of their movies. Yup, you were very a very talented man.
Scarecrow-88 Expansive, lengthy, epic documentary of Frank Sinatra is an obvious loving if at times honest (in a way that doesn't dismiss or demean him) portrait of an iconic music and cultural celebrity. His affair with Ava Gardner while married with children, his relationship with the mob, his Rat Pack era, coming up against ups and downs in the music industry, fight to get cast in To Here from Eternity and the subsequent success because of it (I wish "Some Came Calling" had gotten some love, though), his relationship with JFK, his being accused of supporting communism, his antagonistic relationship with the scathing press, his romance with the much younger Mia Farrow, dealing with the changing times of the mid-to-late 60s and early 70s, declining music sales towards the beginning and certainly the end of his music career, the retirement and return from retirement, and his vocal support of civil rights (although his and Dean Martin's treatment of Sammy Davis, Jr. as a buffoon and/or object of comedy with racist jokes is critically held accountable by Harry Belafonte) are all covered. Various figures in his life (and admirers) add narrative voice to the images of Sinatra's life and career. If you are a fan or just interested in the life of Sinatra, then this documentary, All or Nothing at All, could very well be exactly what the doctor ordered. Performances and use of his songs/music are a constant so if you are not one of those who enjoys his vocal arrangements and crooning, then this is definitely something you might want to avoid. But if you are curious about the life and career of Ole Blue Eyes, this documentary will teach you aplenty.

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