Erwin Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 Saw this as it opened last night. Brilliant film dealing with the weeks in May when Churchill took over the crisis. Similar in intensity to DOWNFALL (Hitler in the bunker). Very good performances and emotional as one could feel the growing panic as British leaders started to fear total collapse and loss of entire army at Dunkirk. Great speeches by Churchill of course as he attempts to rally the panicking leadership and deal with his own fears and doubts. Highly recommended. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MOS:96B2P Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 31 minutes ago, Erwin said: Highly recommended. Looking forward to seeing this. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted December 8, 2017 Share Posted December 8, 2017 I'll surely get around to it, but I need to see Dunkirk first. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted December 9, 2017 Author Share Posted December 9, 2017 I should have mentioned that "Dunkirk" is also a brilliant movie. Completely different in style to "Darkest Hour". But "Darkest Hour" and "Dunkirk" are wonderful companion films that combined together make an xnt historical narrative of those desperate days in May 1940 when Britain stood alone on the precipice of annihilation - both movies executed in a very dramatic and emotionally charged manner. Great filmmaking, informative and very entertaining. Must sees. If you can, see "Dunkirk" in IMAX. It's definitely worth it. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mord Posted December 9, 2017 Share Posted December 9, 2017 If you've never seen it, check out "The Gathering Storm". I thought Albert Finney did a great job as Churchill. I am glad you guys brought these up, they are both movies I want to see but forgot about. Gonna have to keep my eyes peeled. Mord. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted December 10, 2017 Author Share Posted December 10, 2017 (edited) Much better than the recent "Churchill" in which Brian Cox portrayed Churchill as a bit of a doddering old man out of touch. Mind you that was set around the time of D-Day, so not sure what Churchill was like by then. He did shockingly lose the election in July 1945 so clearly was not as well loved by other Brits by then. Will see if I can locate "Gathering Storm" - HBO I think. Edited December 10, 2017 by Erwin 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mord Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 Yep, HBO. It's on HBO Go. There's a sequel too, "Into The Storm" with Brendan Gleeson but I didn't like that one as much. It's not a bad movie, just felt like Finney set the bar and the sequel didn't quite live up to it. Mord. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted December 10, 2017 Share Posted December 10, 2017 18 hours ago, Erwin said: He did shockingly lose the election in July 1945 so clearly was not as well loved by other Brits by then. I don't think it was so much a matter of the British voters falling out of love with Churchill personally, after all, they returned him to Parliament in that election. They just felt that Labour would give them a better break. In other words, they had long since lost confidence in the Conservative party. Michael 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted December 10, 2017 Author Share Posted December 10, 2017 Found "The Gathering Storm" on UTube of all places (in 2 parts). Even tho' I have HBO and Amazon Prime (which gives one many HBO shows), couldn't locate it there. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mord Posted December 11, 2017 Share Posted December 11, 2017 (edited) https://www.amazon.com/Gathering-Storm-Albert-Finney/dp/B00ZHD0R4Y/ref=sr_1_1?s=instant-video&ie=UTF8&qid=1512965618&sr=1-1&keywords=the+gathering+storm Link is for US Amazon. It's free with Prime. You must be in the UK. Mord. Edited December 11, 2017 by Mord 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted December 11, 2017 Author Share Posted December 11, 2017 Am in US at present. Played the UTube version in two parts last night. Didn't realize it was quite such an old (2002) movie. But as you said good performances and interesting to see Churchill at the end of his depressing "wilderness years". Also to see the lovely young Lena Headey b4 "Game of Thrones" fame. Interesting re how much C was hated by elements in the establishment who were trying to do him in for his non-politically correct speeches re Germany while he was popular amongst many "commoners" - couldn't help see the contemporary parallels with Trump. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted December 13, 2017 Share Posted December 13, 2017 On December 11, 2017 at 7:55 AM, Erwin said: Interesting re how much C was hated by elements in the establishment who were trying to do him in for his non-politically correct speeches re Germany while he was popular amongst many "commoners" He sometimes gave them good reason to mistrust him. He was a genius who often behaved like an idiot, and the idea of him in charge of the country's fate gave many good men an ulcer. There are a host of biographies by good historians that bear that out. Particularly the ones by D'Este and Manchester. They aren't unsympathetic but they are honest and balanced enough to portray the man as a real witch's brew of a character. You might also want to check out what Alan Brooke had to say about him: in short, we couldn't have won the war without him, but he could have lost the war for us on a dozen occasions if we hadn't restrained him. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erwin Posted December 13, 2017 Author Share Posted December 13, 2017 Will check out the books. Thanks for the recs... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splinty Posted January 7, 2018 Share Posted January 7, 2018 John Lithgow's performance of him in The Crown is also worth the watch. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 Erwin, Thanks for the heads up. In fairness to the myriad times Germans were depicted by British actors who sounded British, too, I believe that British films about WW II should likewise be cast with Germans who sound German playing British roles. Fair's fair, right? Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Emrys Posted January 8, 2018 Share Posted January 8, 2018 I always thought that A Bridge Too Far did a good thing in casting German and Swiss actors portraying German characters. It did kind of slip up on casting Dutch characters though. Michael 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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