I've always heard of good ole Sean, but it wasn't until November of 1992 that I started to take serious notice of his career. Late in that month, Highlander: The Series had it's debut. I was enthralled with the uniqueness of the series, and soon there after, I rented Highlander 2: The Quickening. As I'm sure many of you know, this is a terribly incoherrent film, which I'd later realize destroyed much of the original's charm. Still, Connery seemed to be having a good time and he (along with star, Christopher Lambert) made the most of the inept script.

Later, I finally found a copy of Highlander for rental. This took a while as it was out of print at the time, and in my area, difficult to locate. Connery is endearingly whimsical in the role of Juan Rameriez, the 2,000+ year-old mentor of Christopher Lambert's Connor. It's an absolutely facinating film, with and entrancing air of mysticism and magic. A modern classic, beautifully filmed, acted and scored.

Inspired by this, I began looking for films starring Lambert, but especially Connery. Now, with Lambert, well... that's a different story (future website?), but where better to begin with exploring Sean's films than his most famous role, James Bond? Now, I'm a bit groggy on exact dates, but by this time, it was around mid 1993, and I'd just started my senior year of high school. I was obsessed, and surprised by how many shared my feelings. In my art class, one of my assignments was to choose a person's face to scetch, and who better than Sean? I was determined to do his noble visage justice, and apparently I succeded, as my drawing was admired by many, even put on display at one point.

Never Say Never Again was the first "James Bond" film I saw, and I've often chided myself for this since, being among the weakest of all Bond films, I wasn't terribly impressed. Yes, I know it's not an official Eon Produced Bond epic, but at the time I was unaware of this. But, since it was on TV, and I was starving for Connery, I rabidly sought after everything I could find.

Shortly after, I bought Dr. No, which I'd learned to be the first of the Bond series. This proved to surpass my wildest expectations. This was an extremly exciting time, with a seemingly endless supply of Bonds to experience (back when I never thought I'd be able to see, much less own, them all). Also, I stumbled across Lee Pfeiffer and Philip Lisa's intelligent and comprehensive The Films of Sean Connery. This book helped to expand my knowledge regarding Sean, and also to deepen my understanding of the man and the legend.

I began reading the TV Guide religiously, looking for anything with Sean. During this time (I can't remember the exact order) I saw, Five Days One Summer, Robin and Marian, The Wind and the Lion, Wrong is Right, Cuba, The Name of the Rose, The Great Train Robbery, Meteor, The Russia House, Sword of the Valiant, and a slew of Bonds. Many of these were mediocre at best, but all boasted Mr. Connery, and in many cases, his performance was the only redeeming factor. However, I was particularly enthralled by Robin and Marian and The Great Train Robbery, and these persist as two of my all time favorite Connery films.

I purchased several of these later, including some others like, The Man Who Would Be King, The Anderson Tapes, Last Crusade, Highlander, Zardoz and all the Bonds (except for You Only Live Twice, which I don't much care for).

I've seen most of Sean's more high-profile films, and I'm always looking forward to seeing some of his lesser known works.