Sinatra: All or Nothing at All

Amazingly beautiful, heartfelt, honest, and beyond Special. First I've Always LOVED Frank Sinatra, what a man, what a talent, a hard worker with a dream who loved his family, friends, audience. I'm beyond in love with this documentary. You will be too!

Part of the reason Frank Sinatra is an American icon, embedded in American pop culture, is because he was the pioneer for a lot of celebrity actions and activities we now see as commonplace or even conventional. For one, Sinatra was one of the first singers with an enormous fanbase, especially with young teen girls, who would croon over him like he'd croon over the microphone for one of his songs. In addition, Sinatra was a persistent social activist, a tabloid figure following his relationship with actress Ava Gardner, a singer turned movie star, a figure the public eye intensely watched and judged based on his private actions, and a mob-connected individual.

All of these attributes alone are chronicled in the first two hours of Alex Gibney's four hour documentary Sinatra: All or Nothing at All, which airs over the course of Easter weekend on HBO. Gibney has effectively painted a grandiose film that, in two hours, meticulously details Sinatra's childhood and rise to fame, while painting the portrait of a man who's fame and wealth plummeted in one of the first cases of worldwide stardom in the United States.

Sinatra was born and raised in Hoboken, New Jersey to a mother who acted as the neighborhood caregiver, taking in and helping raise children from all over the neighborhood. Sinatra began to enjoy the sound and culture of music, saving enough money to buy a microphone at a young age so he wouldn't have to project and embrace ridicule for using a megaphone, and went on to be a part of the "Hoboken Four," a group that would perform at variety shows before entertaining local nightclubs.

Eventually, however, Sinatra broke from the Hoboken Four and embraced a solo career as a crooner, singing glacially paced tunes that showed that songs could be sung in a slow manner and still be viewed as effective ballads. In just over a year, Sinatra had become a hit with teen girls, who started fan clubs expressing support for the singer. He then gravitated to being a huge success amongst those of all ages. One music critic states that while films birthed celebrities, Depression-era America couldn't afford movie tickets and resorted to radio for free entertainment, which is how most became acquainted with Sinatra's sound and style. While resting comfortably on top of the world, Sinatra eventually began to falter due to heavy drinking and his relationship with movie star Ava Gardner, which was heavily documented right before the public eye. This is the beginning of what looks to be an immense downfall if it wasn't for managerial interference and Sinatra's determination to get back on track.

Furthermore, following a sharp decline in popularity, Sinatra worked to reinvent his image for the public. The 1950's saw individual wealth grow astronomically, with teenagers finally being able to "afford their own subculture," as one social critic brilliantly puts it, and people gaining the expendable income to use for entertainment like movies and records. It was then that Sinatra saw a rebirth of interest and appeal that was never seen before; not only did Sinatra create the epitome of a global superstar, but he also showed one of the most incredible comebacks in showbiz history.

Inevitably, Sinatra faced his downfall in the late 1960's, with slumping album sales, even his renowned concept works, and, by that time, singers would either get older and fade out or make a fool of themselves. Sinatra clearly didn't have his heart in his work anymore, and following a retirement concert in 1971 where he played eleven defining songs of his life and career, stepped off the stage and proceeded to move on, closing one of music's most fascinating and profound chapters.

Sinatra: All or Nothing at All does a beautiful job at cleanly showing this history in a manner that's unambiguous and straight-forward. Gibney structures the film nicely, infusing Sinatra's personality into the film seamlessly and leaving the weight on him and numerous other primary accounts of his fame to tell his story. Even at four hours, cannot expand on every idea and notion Sinatra was about. Gibney never gets lost in the glamor, keeping things grounded in humanity and development and, in turn, undoubtedly creates one of the year's strongest documentaries.

NOTE: This review is heavily edited; go to the Critic Reviews section and find my name to read the more elaborate and detailed one.

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.

An American documentary; A thorough and fascinating insight into Frank Sinatra's career trajectory but also the affect he had on others. The boy from Hoboken, New Jersey was not only the most popular musical entertainer of the 20th Century but by his own resourcefulness, drive and determination he was a man of immense influence on the political world. The film gives a fair balance of a man who had flaws and does not shy away from detailing the missteps, failings, and personal flaws.

With Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005-also reviewed) being my 8th favourite film of all time, I was really interested in seeing this two-part title from director Alex Gibney when it first screened on the BBC ,but I sadly missed it. After viewing the superb doc Shadow of Truth (2016-also reviewed) I was thrilled when Netflix recommended this to me,which I watched in the wee small hours.

View on the film:

Not featuring a single talking head/new on-camera interview, director Alex Gibney fills the four hour-stadium runtime with superb archive footage,bringing Sinatra's classic tunes alive with never before seen footage and photos spanning Frank's growing up in poverty, his wide-eyed dreams to become a star,and a loved-up romance with Nancy Barbato.

Bringing new context to the footage, Gibney plays Sinatra's involvement in the Civil Rights movement and the peak of Frank and The Rat Pack's with insightful voice-over interviews with family members, former record producers and partners, who reveal the man behind the star-studded image.

Despite the large runtime, Gibney leaves the impression of some subjects only being partially delved into,such as Frank's ties to the mob, and highlighting the impact that the passing of his dad had on Sinatra, but no mention of the tragic passing of his mum Dolly, (she died in a plane crash in 1977) in what is otherwise a excellent doc which proves that Ol' Blue Eyes did it his way.