World War II: When Lions Roared (1994) (TV)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

Joseph Sargent

Writer (WGA):

David W. Rintels (written by)

Release Date:

19 April 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History | War

Plot:

This TV Movie is about the Tehran Conference between FDR, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin. It shows the interaction between the three leaders at the close of the Second World War. |

Plot Keywords:

Winston Churchill | Stalin | Tehran Conference | Prime Minister | Diplomacy

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 8 nominations

Cast

Michael Caine	...	Joseph V. Stalin
Bob Hoskins	...	Winston Churchill
John Lithgow	...	Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Ed Begley Jr.	...	Harry Hopkins
Jan Triska	...	Vyacheslav Molotav

Also Known As:

Then There Were Giants

Runtime:

UK:115 min (DVD version) | USA:194 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

Gideon Productions

Trivia:

This production was the first to be filmed expressly for broadcast in the high-definition television (HDTV) format.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): During the dinner at the Teheran Conference, Stalin tells Churchill that in Britain there are two parties, while in the Soviet Union there is only one. In fact, Churchill's Coalition government included three major parties, not two: Churchill's own Conservatives, Clement Atlee's Labour Party, and Sir Archibald Sinclair's Liberal Party. Both were in the Cabinet: Atlee was Lord Privy Seal and member of the War Cabinet; Sinclair was Secretary of State for Air.

Quotes:

Joseph V. Stalin: Experience has taught me to face up to reality, no matter how unpleasant it may be, and to tell the truth.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Man Who Shot Chinatown: The Life and Work of John A. Alonzo (2007)

Three hours with three men

Dubbed "Then There Were Giants" on cable, this made-for-tv two part film spends three hours presenting a theatrical digest of the communication which ostensibly took place between FDR, Churchill, and Stalin during WWII. Against a backdrop of file footage and the various sets required for conferences (Teheran, Yalta, etc.), the trio of heads-of-state build complex relationships of diplomacy as they map out plans for D-Day, the UN, and more. Lithgow, Hoskins, and Caine turn in excellent performances in this sterling characterization of the men who occasioned some of the 20th centuries most momentous events. Great stuff for WWII history buffs.