The tongue-in-cheek video for "Millennium", directed by Vaughan Arnell, features Williams parodying James Bond, complete with dinner jacket and references to Bond films like Thunderball and From Russia with Love. The video was filmed at Pinewood Studios, home to most Bond productions. During the video, Williams travels in an aeroplane and comically fails to fly a futuristic jet pack. He is also seen flirting with girls in an over-the-top manner and caricaturing the facial expressions of Sean Connery. He is seen in a boat, clearly a studio model, against an obviously projected background, characteristic of 1960s Bond films. During the end of the video, Williams drives away in an economy car, a fittingly chosen Bond Bug, instead of 007's Aston Martin DB5, which later drives past him while he is having trouble with the car. Former model Lorraine Pascale appears in the video as a 'Bond Girl'.

Music Video Trivia

The jet-pack sequence references Thunderball. Williams attempts to use the gadget with considerably less success than Bond, turning one of the series’ most spectacular devices into a slapstick prop.

“Millennium” incorporates elements of John Barry’s theme for You Only Live Twice, originally performed by Nancy Sinatra, which explains why the video’s spy-film concept feels so tightly integrated rather than tacked on.

Williams was keen to clarify that he was spoofing Bond, not campaigning to become him. As he later put it, he had “never asked or wanted to play James Bond”; the video was intended as a pastiche, and he considered the joke complete within the clip.

The promo was shot on 1960s film stock (Kodak Reversal, obtained from Stanley Kubrick in New York), helping reinforce its retro-spy atmosphere. Director Vaughan Arnell later recalled that obtaining the period-appropriate stock was one of the memorable aspects of the shoot.

Awards

The music video was recognized at the 1999 BRIT Awards, where “Millennium” won British Video of the Year. It also won the 1999 CAD Award for Best Pop Video.