Double Yellow has just delivered three ninety minute documentaries to Channel 5, each on the subject of a much-loved British entertainment icon. Commissioned under the channel’s well established In Their Own Words strand, all three films tell the story of the lives and work of their subjects entirely using their own first person testimony from interviews given during their long and illustrious careers.
Sean Connery:The Man and the Movies documents how a boy who grew up in an Edinburgh tenement grew up to be one of the most celebrated screen actors of his generation, a bona fide movie superstar. Connery was, of course, the definitive James Bond – and the film examines Connery’s complex relationship with the 007 franchise, as well as his acclaimed work beyond Bond in movies like The Untouchables, Marnie and Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade.
Michael Caine: The Man and the Movies charts the life and career of Britain’s greatest movie star, an actor with Oscar nominations in five consecutive decades. From his humble beginnings in London’s East End to the Hollywood ‘A’ list, Caine’s journey took him from acting in regional rep to sharing top billing on screen with legends like Laurence Olivier, Jack Nicholson and Shirley Maclaine. The film is a reminder of what an exceptional talent Michael Caine is, recalling his stellar performances in movies like The Ipcress File, Alfie, Get Carter, Educating Rita, The Cider House Rules and Harry Brown.
Billy Connolly: In His Own Words follows the Big Yin from his troubled childhood in Glasgow to his celebrated status as the world’s best loved stand up comedian. Connolly’s meteoric success in Britain came after he told an outrageous joke on the Parkinson talk show, and so began a five decade career of ambitious stand up world tours, appearing in movies, presenting television documentaries and making music and visual art. Billy’s breakthrough predated – and perhaps precipitated - the rise of ‘alternative comedy’ in the Eighties, and he’s widely regarded as the ‘Godfather of British Comedy’. The film offers fans an opportunity to enjoy again some of Billy’s most memorable comedic work, and hear him tell his story in his own inimitable way.
Transmission dates on Channel 5 are yet to be announced.