Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years 1929 - 1939

Starring:Robert Hardy, SiÃ¢n Phillips, Nigel Havers, Chloe Salaman, Tamsin Murray-Leach, Katharine Levy, Tim Pigott-Smith, David Swift, Sherrie Hewson, Moray Watson, Paul Freeman, Frank Middlemass, David Quilter, Sam Wanamaker, Peter Barkworth, Eric Porter, Edward Woodward, Peter Vaughan, Robert James, Tony Mathews
Director: Ferdinand Fairfax
Studio: KOCH VISION
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

Totally engrossing
An absorbing and factual historical drama.
An Extraordinary Recreation Of Churchill And A Dangerous Time Before WWII

Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years 1929 - 1939
Starring: Robert Hardy , Siân Phillips , Nigel Havers , Chloe Salaman , and Tamsin Murray-Leach
Director: Ferdinand Fairfax
Manufacturer: KOCH VISION
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0007TV64S
Release Date: 2005-05-10

Customer Reviews:

Totally engrossing.......2006-12-10

Previous reviewers have remarked upon the shortcomings of the DVD transfer. It's true that you'll have to crank up the volume. The color's not great.

But what a story! Remember, this isn't the war years; this is the decade of the 30s when Churchill was out of power -- still in Parliament, but not on the cabinet.

This series is a crash course in the British system of government and a incredibly entertaining history lesson. I can't praise it enough. Robert Hardy seems to get more confident in his portrayal the further into the series. By the end, you're looking at him, but actually seeing Churchill.

I don't give many 5 star ratings. This one deserves it.

An absorbing and factual historical drama........2006-04-14

Churchill's political story in the 1930s is rendered very well in this work. Robert Hardy as Churchill delivers an excellent performance. The dialogue, acting, and general ambience of this series are excellent. The sound quality on this DVD is questionable, specially Episode 1. Much of the dialogue seems muffled. Understanding Baldwin's mumble is quite a chore. However, after one adjusts to these shortcomings you are sure to get hooked.

One caveat. You will have to turn up the volume to compensate for the accents.

One can say with regards to Churchill that the "man and the hour had met". Churchill certainly was a major figure in saving Western civilization. Going through this series I could not but help noticing how privileged a life he led. The family estate, Checkers, was beautiful with servants galore.

An Extraordinary Recreation Of Churchill And A Dangerous Time Before WWII.......2006-03-26

This British miniseries is probably one of the best reconstructions of a dramatic period in history ever put together. It's the story of Winston Churchill, from 1929, out of office with everyone, including himself but not his wife, believing his political career is finished, to 1939 when, in the face of Hitler's invasion of Poland, Neville Chamberlain reluctantly calls on Churchill to become First Lord of the Admiralty. During these ten years Churchill is ignored, feared, plotted against and often disdained by his political foes. He also, as Germany rearms, is seen by some as the only force for realism and action that Britain has. And Churchill? He is a dominating force, by turns petulant, noble, sulking, roaring, overpowering with words, a dangerous opponent in a debate, sometimes outmaneuvered, sometimes quixotic. But more than any of the others, he was right about the things that mattered.

Robert Hardy plays Churchill in a performance that is extraordinary, far better than I've seen other actors' attempts at Churchill. Like so many British productions, the acting depth gives power and nuance to the program. Sian Phillips is Clementine, who loves her husband, believes in him and who knows he at times can be a child. As two prime ministers, Peter Barkworth (Stanley Baldwin) and Eric Porter (Neville Chamberlain) give fascinating portraits of men in power and how they behave. Baldwin, Churchill said once, was the most formidable politician he'd ever met. Baldwin is avuncular, sly, gets what he wants even if it means a bit of betrayal without ruffling a feather. Chamberlain is sincere, prissy, often ineffectual and an ultimately sad failure. There's Edward Woodward as Sir Samuel Hoare, ever ready to compromise except with Churchill; Tim Pigott-Smith as Brendan Bracken, firmly a Churchill man and an advocate for action; Clive Smith as Sir Horace Wilson, a senior civil servant who has far too much influence with Chamberlain; Peter Vaughn as Sir Thomas Inskip, who knows how to make the law work in favor of his party in power; Nigel Havers as Randolph Churchill, overshadowed and frustrated by his father; and so many others.

For those who are interested in the mistakes, the maneuvering, the decisions, the personalities and the plotting that led up to Britain finally intervening on behalf of Poland in 1939 with the declaration of war against Germany, this is a fine place to start. And for those who enjoy the complex and erratic nature of Churchill, this will also be a treat.

The production is first class, from the bespoke-looking suits of the politicians to the incredibly substantial-looking and detailed recreation of the House of Commons, where much of Churchill's genius is shown. Location shooting took place at Chartwell, Blenheim Palace, Clivenden and the U.S. Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years - 1929-1939 runs to eight 60-minute episodes over two discs. The video transfer is a bit soft but otherwise is just fine. There are a few extras.

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