Churchill (2017)

C. – 105m
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 – Widescreen
A.K.A.: Churchill: The Untold Story Of D–Day

Starring: Brian Cox, Miranda Richardson, John Slattery, Richard Durden, Martin Landau, Ella Purnell. 96 hours before the World War II invasion of Normandy, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill struggles with his existing status, which appears to be rapidly marginalized. Cox and the rest of the cast are in fantastic form here. One cannot look away for fear of missing any number of nuances that enrich every screen performance. Wonderful cinematography, direction and script help make this a winner for the ages. A MUST WATCH! This reviewer would like to see the film get some award nominations!

Trivia on the film: This is one of Martin Landau’s final films, though he is not credited in it and his credit on IMBD.com was quickly removed upon his death in July 2017 at age 89. Also, this was the first of two Winston Churchill films from 2017. The other was Darkest Hour (2017), with Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill. A similar occurrence happened in 2005 when two films were made about Truman Capote: Capote (2005) and Infamous (2006), though the latter film was released the next year to avoid confusion with it’s unrelated predecessor. It occurred again in 2012 when two films were made about Alfred Hitchcock: Hitchcock (2012) and The Girl (2012). Two similarly themed story films were made in 2015: Danny Collins (2015) with Al Pacino and Ricki And The Flash (2015) With Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline; written by Diablo Cody and directed by Jonathan Demme. This film, Churchill (2017) and Darkest Hour (2017) are the fourth such occurrence.

Rated: [PG] – Thematic Elements, Brief War Images, Historical Smoking Throughout, & Some Language. Note: Although the film is rated PG, viewers may not that Brian Cox as Winston Churchill yells the, “F Word,” while knocking his breakfast off the table in one scene. The start of the word is audible but the voice track is quickly cut while the sound effects are boosted for good measure. This may prove objectionable to some. Judge for yourself.

Available on Blu–ray, DVD & Digital Copy.

Darkest Hour (2017)

C. – 125m
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 – Widescreen
Starring: Lily James, Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas.

Sir Winston Churchill arrives in office to find himself in a rough place, have to see about a peace treaty with the Nazis or rally his country to send the troops to battle them. Strong acting is the film’s major asset. However the makeup job given to Gary Oldman is similar to the one given to Sir Anthony Hopkins in Hitchcock (2012). In short, you can tell it is the actor under the makeup. Most people this reviewer has talked to about the film, or have read reviews by about the film say that, “Gary Oldman is unrecognizable under the makeup.” This reviewer never escaped the knowledge that it was Gary Oldman under the makeup. Oldman is a more than capable actor and is never less than stellar with his performance here. However, this film suffers from being the second Winston Churchill film of 2017. While it is the better known of the two, mostly due to Oldman’s presence, it is also the lesser of the two in the writing for a lack of stirring speeches. Still, there is enough to like here for general viewers and this reviewer will reiterate the point: Gary Oldman is never less than stellar in his performance.

Trivia: Sir John Hurt was supposed to play Neville Chamberlain in this film. Chamberlain was the Prime Minister who was on his way out due to dying from cancer. When Hurt was cast he too was dying of cancer. At the time of his death he never was able to make a script reading or shoot a scene. The film is still dedicated to him though since it was his final cinematic project.

Gary Oldman won a Golden Globe for Best Actor – Motion Picture – Drama for his performance as Sir Winston Churchill.

Rated: [PG–13] – Some Thematic Material

Available on Blu–ray, DVD & Digital Copy