INTO THE STORM

INTO THE STORM - 2009 (TV)

RATED - TV-PG There is some fairly minor language including a couple 'F' words by Churchill. Some archival war footage with war violence but not overly graphic. Churchill is shown taking a bath and talking to FDR. His chest and feet are showing and when he gets out, his aid wraps a towel in the appropriate place which promptly falls off, leaving FDR pretty much speechless. We don't see anything other than the rear upper torso of Churchill. This is pretty family friendly and should be of interest to teens and older.

RATINGS - 4 Amazon (3/5), 1,937 Netflix (3.5/5), 461 IMDB (7.1/10).

STARRING - Brendan Gleeson (Churchill), Janet McTeer (Clementine Churchill).

STORY - An excellent HBO production on the life of Churchill during the war years following up on their terrific film, THE GATHERING STORM, leading up to the war years. I didn't think Gleeson was quite as outstanding as Albert Finney in GATHERING STORM or McTeer as Redgrave but they both gave excellent performances. There is no question that Churchill, warts and all, is one of the most fascinating men in modern history. In the GATHERING STORM we learn of Churchill's sense of destiny for his life. In this film we see why he may have indeed been destined for 'such a time as this'. The circumstances are overwhelming for Britain. The future of the country and the empire are literally on the line. The film begins with the very early stages of the war in 1940 and quickly flashes forward to 1945 with Churchill and family vacationing in France by the ocean, waiting for the results of the election for prime minister. These flashbacks and flash forwards are both the strength and weakness of the film. They show us the 'before' and 'after' Churchill but often make it a little confusing at first until you understand what's going on. It also helps to have some knowledge about Churchill and WWII as the scenes are usually fairly short and don't give a lot of context. What you do you get is some very interesting insights into the mind of Churchill in the various war situations. For example, when deciding whether to bomb Dresden, his military advisers are concerned about civilian casualties but Churchill shows no concern for civilians and we learn shortly after the decision that 58,000 civilians are killed and 200,000 lose their occupations due to the destruction of war factories. We learn that he has loved military strategy from a young child and people question whether this might just another 'game' for him. His relationship with 'Clemmy' is also a fascinating one. She is a strong person in her own right and without her, it is doubtful Churchill would have fulfilled his 'destiny' in the way he did. A highly entertaining and informative HBO film. Enjoy. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 12/05/09.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB.

THE GATHERING STORM

THE GATHERING STORM - 2002

RATED - NR (Adult language, adult content, brief non-sexual nudity).

RATINGS - 55 Amazon (4.5/5), 62,399 Netflix (3.8/5), 1,852 IMDB (7.5/10)

STARRING - Albert Finney, Vanessa Redgrave.

AWARDS - 2002 EMMY for BEST MADE FOR TELEVISION MOVIE plus 12 other wins and 21 nominations.

STORY - The HBO film opens with the camera under the bed of Churchill as he gets up stark naked from the rear and goes into the bathroom to relieve himself. With this very undignified beginning, we enter into the world of Winston Churchill in the days leading up to WWII. This is more than just about the political climate in England, it is the personal side of Churchill as well. It is about his life-long love relationship with his wife, Clementine as well as his life on his estate where he is struggling financially when the film opens and Clementine must step in to take over the finances to stay solvent. Much of the filming takes place on the actual estate which is amazing in itself. Of course, the focus of the film is the political world and Churchill's attempt to warn Great Britain and the world about the looming threat from Hitler and the Nazis. His is a lonely voice, at first. He had a true sense of destiny for his life and role in saving England. He had help, too, from inside the foreign affairs office, that would provide him confidential information about Hitler and his activities. It would be hard to imagine anyone playing Churchill better and more convincing than Finney. Redgrave is outstanding as well and is no minor character in his life or in the film. This is a film that deserves a much broader distribution than it has had. Really, a very brilliant picture of Churchill and the events leading up to WWII. You have to ask yourself, what would the world look like today without a Churchill? Warts (there are many) and all, this was an amazing human being. Lu G. for Lu's Reviews. 06/20/2009.

LINKS - AMAZON, IMDB