The Darkest Hour

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loknload

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Picked up a copy of this movie. It’s about Winston Churchill and the beginning days of his rein as England’s Prime Minister.
It takes place at the beginning of WWII and ends with the evacuation at Dunkirk and his Never Never Give Up speech.
Even though it’s not 100% historically correct it is a worthwhile movie.
Gary Oldman does an outstanding job of portraying Churchill.
I did enjoy it! ;)
 
For most, it would probably have been better had "The Darkest Hour" been released prior to the "Dunkirk" release. Many viewers of the latter movie had no idea what the Dunkirk evacuation was all about and "Dunkirk" provided no meaningful information about why all those British troops were on the beach. "The Darkest Hour" would at least have filled in that blank space.

I personally did not care much about "Dunkirk." Watched it on a DVD from Redbox. My wife was one of those who had no idea what was going on. Her knowledge level about WWII history is fairly low, beyond her knowing that Germany and Japan lost.
 
I've met millenials who don't even know that we fought Germany , Italy, or Japan, let alone about the Pearl Harbor attack.

Had a waitress who wondered why I spent quite a bit on a sterling silver Parker pen. After all, I'd have to throw it away when the ink ran out, right? :rolleyes: And this hottie was a smart college student, too.

I bought her a Parker T-Ball Jotter and a spare ink cartridge.

BTW, my son made me a CD with some of Churchill's most famous speeches. Unlike many of his age, he has a keen interest in history. He published an Online account of the Battle of Hastings on an Arms and Armour site. He is also an Iraq war vet wounded three times who took a considerable toll of the enemy, and who makes Genius level scores on IQ tests. And is a fine cook with a pretty adequate knowledge of wines. And he certainly knows that many ball point pens use refills!

Just thought I'd mention that in passing. It's not like I'm a proud father, or something...
 
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The clips I saw of The Darkest Hour showed Oldman doing a dazzling portrayal of Churchill, the best I've ever seen; and like a number of us here, I remember the man very well.

In an interview, Oldman said the makeup was a major pain, as was wearing clothing to make him look about eighty pounds heavier.

I'll have to see the movie, and the Dunkirk film as well.
 
shouldazagged said:
The clips I saw of The Darkest Hour showed Oldman doing a dazzling portrayal of Churchill, the best I've ever seen; and like a number of us here, I remember the man very well.

In an interview, Oldman said the makeup was a major pain, as was wearing clothing to make him look about eighty pounds heavier.

I'll have to see the movie, and the Dunkirk film as well.
Click to expand...


Have you seen, Young Winston, about his early life? I think it dates from the 1970's, starred Simon Ward as Churchill. I think his parents were played by Robert Shaw and Anne Bancroft. It's an excellent movie.

It's based on Churchill's, My Early Life, published in 1930. Yes, it includes the cavalry charge at Omdurman, with him using the Mauser C-96 pistol.
 
Went back and found those threads, somehow I missed them? :cool:
 
Gary Oldman won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of Winston Churchill.

gary-oldman.jpg


5a54bb10377a6-900x540.jpg
 
DWalt said:
For most, it would probably have been better had "The Darkest Hour" been released prior to the "Dunkirk" release. Many viewers of the latter movie had no idea what the Dunkirk evacuation was all about and "Dunkirk" provided no meaningful information about why all those British troops were on the beach. "The Darkest Hour" would at least have filled in that blank space.

I personally did not care much about "Dunkirk." Watched it on a DVD from Redbox. My wife was one of those who had no idea what was going on. Her knowledge level about WWII history is fairly low, beyond her knowing that Germany and Japan lost.
Click to expand...

I happened to be traveling and watched Darkest Hour on cable. Excellent film. Tells a story in the traditional sense.

Dunkirk is very different. (I liked it but would not recommed it to everyone.) I liken it to the color photographs in the middle of a large tome. If you know the story it is a beautiful illustration. If you don't know the story it's like visiting a strangers house and wondering who those people in the pictures are.
 
TomkinsSP said:
....
Dunkirk is very different. (I liked it but would not recommed it to everyone.) I liken it to the color photographs in the middle of a large tome. If you know the story it is a beautiful illustration. If you don't know the story it's like visiting a strangers house and wondering who those people in the pictures are.
Click to expand...

It may be a bit a matter of the anticipated audience. Even though it was partly American-produced, “Dunkirk” was also a French-Dutch-British co-production largely aimed at European audiences, and that audience does not need a history lesson to put Dunkirk in context; it would be a bit like an American audience not getting the context of “Pearl Harbor”.

Some of you may be familiar with the (quite famous) German war movie “Das Boot” about the German submarines in the Battle of the Atlantic. Many years ago I decided to show that to an American high school German class. About half an hour in, during a break, a kid approached me and asked: “Was there, like, a war on or something?” (Verbatim; somehow, I can still hear her innocent voice today). The fact that the scrolling explanatory text at the beginning was almost unreadable on a TV screen probably didn’t help.

I continued using the film for many years, but always preceded by a lengthy history lesson with timeline and maps ;)
 
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For a boy who seemed to be opposed to all things fair and sound Churchill turned out quite well. Have read several book about him and he was certainly different. He was a great orator and had a remarkable understanding of the English language and how it could be used to empower what he wanted.
 
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