Frank Sinatra – All or Nothing at All
B OX S E T
The man whose golden voice provided the soundtrack to the lives of several generations is profiled in this beautifully compiled two-part documentary.
Covering a career that spanned more than six decades, it is skilfully told through extensive archive footage and photographs of Sinatra himself – including a revealing in-depth TV interview with veteran news anchor Walter Cronkite from the mid-1960s – and voiceover contributions from family, friends and colleagues. These include first wife Nancy, his three children Nancy Jr, Frank Jr and Tina, fellow crooner Tony Bennett, musical arranger Nelson Riddle, songwriter Sammy Cahn, third wife Mia Farrow among many others. Sinatra’s life straddled a large part of the 20th century – he was born to Italian immigrant parents in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1915 and died in 1998 – so his story is also the story of America during that period and he was involved in many of its major events. His political activism is featured – in particular his support for John F Kennedy in the presidential race of 1960 and his involvement in the civil rights movement. He was an early, passionate and outspoken campaigner against racism and won an Oscar for a short film he made on the subject in 1945. This is no hagiography, however – Sinatra’s links with the Mafia are touched upon as is his fiery temper and his inveterate womanising. He was flawed and human, he loved and suffered and he knew how to tell those stories through song. As the most supremely stylish, empathetic interpreter of the Great American Songbook he remains unsurpassed.