The Gathering Storm (2002) (TV)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Richard Loncraine

Writers (WGA):

Larry Ramin (story) and
Hugh Whitemore (story) ...

Release Date:

27 April 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History

Tagline:

Germany was arming itself for war. But they didn't count on one man.

Plot:

A love story offering an intimate look inside the marriage of Winston and Clementine Churchill during a particularly troubled, though little-known, moment in their lives.

Plot Keywords:

Politics | Winston Churchill | Pre WWII | English Politics | United Kingdom

Awards:

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 12 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

Albert Finney	...	Winston Churchill
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Clemmie Churchill
Jim Broadbent	...	Desmond Morton
Linus Roache	...	Ralph Wigram
Lena Headey	...	Ava Wigram
Derek Jacobi	...	Stanley Baldwin
Ronnie Barker	...	David Inches
Tom Wilkinson	...	Sir Robert Vansittart
Celia Imrie	...	Violet Pearman
Hugh Bonneville	...	Ivo Pettifer
Gottfried John	...	Friedrich von Schroder
Anthony Brophy	...	Brendan Bracken
Edward Hardwicke	...	Mr. Wood
Tom Hiddleston	...	Randolph Churchill
Tim Bentinck	...	Marlborough (as Timothy Bentinck)

Also Known As:

The Lonely War (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

96 min | Germany:120 min (Filmfest Hamburg)

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:L | Germany:12 | UK:12 (DVD/VHS release) | Singapore:PG | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Chartwell House, Westerham, Kent, England, UK

Company:

HBO Films

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The infamous speech Churchill wants to revise (and later delivers in the House of Commons) in the beginning of the film ("To see Mr Gandhi, a seductive Mid-Temple Lawyer ... posing as a half-naked fakir in a manner quite well known in the East, striding up the steps of the Vice-Regal palace to parley on equal terms with the representative of the King Emperor") was actually delivered in 1930, whereas the film starts some years later.

Quotes:

Winston Churchill: You're very rude to me, Inches.
David Inches: *You're* very rude to *me*, sir.
Winston Churchill: Yes but I am a great man!
[Churchill leaves]
David Inches: No, you're not. You're a stupid ole bugger.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 54th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2002) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Happy Days Are Here Again

Redgrave Does It Again!

Finney's Golden Globe winning performance is (justly) going to get a lot of attention. I can only regret that Vanessa Redgrave did not get the same recognition for her equally fine performance as Sir Winston's equally complex and bloody-minded wife, Clementine.

Their daughter Mary Soames recently published a revised edition of her well-regarded biography of her mother. It's a cliche that behind every great man is a great woman; I salute Redgrave for showing that cliches only become so because they contain a truth.