Hope and Glory

Starring:Sebastian Rice-Edwards, Geraldine Muir, Sarah Miles, David Hayman, Sammi Davis, Derrick O'Connor, Susan Wooldridge, Jean-Marc Barr, Ian Bannen, Annie Leon, Jill Baker, Amelda Brown, Katrine Boorman, Colin Higgins (II), Shelagh Fraser, Gerald James, Barbara Pierson, Nicky Taylor, Jodie Andrews, Nicholas Askew
Director: John Boorman
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

This winning 1987 epic written and directed by John Boorman (Deliverance, The General) serves as a picaresque and semi-autobiographical remembrance of a boy's coming of age during the Second World War. Exhibiting a defiant and humorous take on life during the London blitz, the family of the young boy at the center of the story (Sebastian Rice-Edwards) is a close-knit and resilient bunch, undeterred in the face of the war and reveling in each other even as they hide from the incessant bombing. To be sure, there are some poignant moments in this childhood reminiscence, such as when the boy's older sister (Sammi Davis) falls in love with a Canadian, becomes pregnant, and marries him, only to see him taken away by the military police. And the boy's mother (Sarah Miles) serves as a strong influence in the boy's life as she leads her family through this tumultuous time. The majestic sweep of the film is contrasted with so many comic moments as the people in town go about the mundane details of their daily lives yet also engage in the most absurd rituals in dealing with the onslaught of German artillery, from taking the air raids for granted to wearing gas masks at school. Boorman doesn't dwell on the horrors of war; instead he celebrates the richness and resilience of the people he remembers so fondly. An adventurous and nostalgic slice of life, Hope and Glory is a superb and memorable film. --Robert Lane

Description

British writer/director John Boorman (The Emerald Forest) draws us into an astonishing and exhilarating portrait of his own childhood, set against the terrors of a London torn apart by the onset of WWII. Seven-year-old Billy Rohan (Sebastian Rice Edwards) finds his childhood to be atime of great dangerand even greater discovery. From thunderous bombings at his own doorstep andthe constant threat of Luftwaffe air raids to the landing of a German paratrooper in his neighborhood and the joyous obliteration of his much-hated school, Billy's young life is shapedand even enrichedby the one positive thing war has brought him: liberation from the ordinary. And though Billy is surrounded by decimation and the smoking remnants of ruined lives, his sense of enchanted wonderment and innocence in the face of man's most destructive folly affect him in a way that alters his life forever.

Customer Reviews:

Springer Grote Style.......2007-05-12

I've always loved this movie. I really don't know why, but it has to be that my papaw recorded off of HBO years ago and I watched it and it just reminds me of him so much. The movie is British so, its never played on TBS or USA or anthing like that here in the good ol USA. If you are into WWII era type movies its good for the collection. Just an entertaining movie to get a bowl of popcorn and relax w/ the Mrs.

All Time Favorite.......2007-03-29

First let me say that I am an Anglophile which may have something to do with my particular interest in this movie. Hope and Glory takes me back to a time that was at once Britain's most difficult and its best. It depicts the British spirit at its most gloriest. This movie has been watched and enjoyed many times.

An Anthem to Endurance.......2007-02-16

Director John Boorman's semi-autobiographical elegy to the Blitz is a poignant, comical, and occasionally hard-core look at the realities of war through the eyes of a young boy. Given the roles of his wife and son in the piece, it's also a rather lovingly crafted family project.
We first meet young Bill Rowan (a rosy-mouthed, freckle-faced imp named Sebastian Rice-Edwards), the son of a closely-knit middle class English family, as he plays in the backyard of his London home on the day war is declared between Germany and Great Britain.
His little sister, Sue (Geraldine Muir, who could definitely pass for the daughter of David Hayman, who plays Bill's father, Clive) pedals about the backyard singing a pop ditty of the day, and his older sister, Dawn (a vivacious and overly-flirtatious Sammi Davis)angrily storms about trying to find her mislaid stockings as the children's careworn parents (including an emotional Sarah Miles as Grace Rowan)listen to a radio report of how their world is about to change.
Oftentimes, with the accompaniment of their friends, Mac and Molly (Derrick O'Connor and Susan Woolridge), we follow the Rowans through the emotional dilemma of whether or not to send Bill and Sue overseas to escape the air raids in those uncertain times, Bill's difficulties with intimidating authority figures(Susan Brown, Gerald James) in school, the disruption of a school day by an air raid, and a German pilot (Charlie Boorman) landing in a victory garden.
Air raids soon hit close to home and, and while Mr. Rowan is away in the Army, his wife and children endure a night of terror as Luftwaffe bombs shatter their windows; the following day, they deal with shattered lives.
In the meantime they find ways to lift their spirits amid strains of Cole Porter, Frederic Chopin, and later, Mozart.
We observe the complexities of the relationships between the adults in Bill's life, the crude realities of gangs among the rubble, and an obscene game involving a neighbor(Sarah Langton), recently left motherless by an air raid.
Soon enough,the reality of how parents lose control of their children in wartime settles in as well, when Dawn begins dating Canadian Corporal Bruce Carrey (Jean-Marc Barr). Reportedly, upon viewing this film, Boorman's sister collapsed and took to her bed for a few days, having seen many antics she thought she'd gotten away with as a teenager portrayed onscreen.
Another major crisis causes the Rowans to seek refuge in the riverside home of Bill's maternal grandparents(the comically exasperated Ian Bannen, and stalwart Annie Leon). Bill's three aunts, Faith, Hope and Charity(Jill Baker, Amelda Brown, and Kathrine Boorman) provide support during this time.
But even as air strikes destroy lives and property, in an ironic twist, they provide the Rowans with an answer to the problem of food shortages, and Bill, in particular, with one of the most joyous moments of his life.
Watch for a scene where Bill observes a film being made in the middle of the road; it is a portrait of a young lad glimpsing his future career.
While certain scenes may make a viewer squeamish, overall, "Hope and Glory" is a poem to hope and family solidarity in the hardest of times.

The WWII from the eyes of a younf boy in London .......2007-01-04

A fantastic story that gives a great look into the war from a young boys point of view and the effects a father away from home has on his family. Funny and sad, it's a great movie.

Hopeful and glorious.......2006-11-24

I am showing this to a Year 9 History class in Australia. They are engrossed in it, laughing at the funny scenes and being genuinely touched by the dramatic scenes. What an amazing film! After 20 years it still feels fresh and fantastic. One of the most extraordinary films I've ever seen. If you don't own this movie, then do yourself a favour and buy it.

Average customer rating:

Great Movie..............
Fast forward review

Justine
Starring: Koo Stark , Martin Potter , Lydia Lisle , Katherine Kath , and Hope Jackman
Director: Chris Boger
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00063MCXY
Release Date: 2004-11-30

Description

English tabloid legend Koo Stark stars in this outlandish adaptation of the infamous Marquis de Sade's Justine, the Misfortunes of Virtue. Young Justine's chosen path of goodness is thwarted at every turn, thanks to an escalating series of dark encounters with sexual depravity and Sadean excess while her sister Juliette chooses a path of debauchery and finds only happiness. Filled with ghoulish rituals and S&M excess, this late-night cable favorite finally comes to DVD with a new digital master created directly from original archival materials.

Customer Reviews:

Great Movie.....................2007-01-11

Do not listen to the previous review this is not a jess franco film......This is an artistic obscure film from the seventies Based om marquis de sade You will not be dissapointed by this film.Redemption films by Image entertainment are very rare artistic horror movies.If you like mainstream Horror Stay Away This movie is not for you. Only For those who appreciate quality old fashioned Horror............

Fast forward review.......2006-06-10

No sleaze fan needs to know anything about the basic story, so there are really only three questions; does Koo Stark out perv Romina Power, is there anything to match the "M" scene and what's the level of abuse? The answers are no, no, and it's pitiful.

Say what you want about Jess Franco, because I'll say plenty, mainly that he couldn't film a proper whipping scene to save his life, and his version of "Justine" is just awful, some potentially good scenes ruined by the trademark Franco red and green light treatment. But, every now and then, like the proverbial blind pig finding an acorn, he lucked into something good, like the hankerchief-sniffing branding scene, which is essential. Well, just forget about that here, no instrument of torture comes anywhere near Ms. Stark. She's nude a bit, and loved up some, but no "M" mars her chest at the premature end of this short and useless version of the classic.

The other reason why Franco's version was sleaze-worthy in the lol direction (in bad taste of course, but what about sleaze isn't?) was the rather young age of Romina Power, rumored to be appropriate for her actual age in real life. Koo Stark tries to look young, but the only reason she kinda pulls it off is that's she's flat. There's a world of difference between her hard little raisins and Romina's virginal baby taps.

Overall there's some nudity, a little nun lez, but that's not enough to rate even a half star. But maybe the minimum one sleaze star for the FBF (famous bosom factor, or lack thereof in this case), though nowadays probably there aren't that many who even remember why Ms. Stark was famous at all. Hint: royalty.

Average customer rating:

Springer Grote Style
All Time Favorite
An Anthem to Endurance
The WWII from the eyes of a younf boy in London
Hopeful and glorious

Hope and Glory [Region 2]
Starring: Sebastian Rice-Edwards , Geraldine Muir , Sarah Miles , David Hayman , and Sammi Davis
Director: John Boorman
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

( H ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B00004RYK0

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

Springer Grote Style.......2007-05-12

All Time Favorite.......2007-03-29

An Anthem to Endurance.......2007-02-16

The WWII from the eyes of a younf boy in London .......2007-01-04

A fantastic story that gives a great look into the war from a young boys point of view and the effects a father away from home has on his family. Funny and sad, it's a great movie.

Hopeful and glorious.......2006-11-24

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