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Winston Churchill The Wilderness Years [2005]
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RRP: £19.99
Our Price: £7.40 (subject to change)
Editorial
Synopsis
Television drama covering Winston Churchill's political career in the period from 1929 to 1939.
Fascinating but Flawed
Review date: 2008-01-29 Rating: 8 out of 10
This series held my interest from beginning to end. How could it miss with such a monumental protagonist and such absorbing subject matter. I especially liked Nigel Havers as Randolph, and the actors who played Stanley Baldwin, Ramsay McDonald, and Clement Atlee. I am afraid that I am less enthusiastic about Sian Phillips, who always plays Sian Phillips, and who, in my estimation, managed to make Clemmie rather unpleasant (almost as unpleasant as Phillips, appropriately, made Livia Augusta in "I Claudius."). As for Robert Hardy, he does an on-target impression of Sir Winston Churchill, but I think that he was misdirected.
Did Sir Winston really orate twenty-four-seven? Surely he spoke in a more modulated voice with the family around the dining room table [when he wasn't shouting at Randolph] or in the privacy of his bedroom! In this production, he addresses his "dear Clemmie" in his "fight-them-on-the-beaches" persona, to such an extent that Hardy's portrayal sometimes slips into parody. But again, I believe that the fault must be laid at the door of the director.
This quibble aside, the production is excellent. The recreation of the scenes in the House of Commons is fascinating. When Churchill is at the dispatch boxes letting the coalition government have it, Hardy is magnificent. This series is highly recommended for anyone interested in British political history.
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Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Robert Hardy
Sian Phillips
Nigel Havers
Creators:
Robert Hardy (Primary Contributor)
Sian Phillips (Primary Contributor)
Recording label: delta home entertainment
Manufacturer: delta home entertainment
EAN: 4006408861157
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 4
Format: Box set, PAL,
Release date: 2005-02-21
Audience rating: Parental Guidance
Running time: 408 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1981
Language: English (Unknown)
Language: English (Original Language)