- The Gathering Storm (2002 film)
Infobox Film
name = The Gathering Storm
director =Richard Loncraine
producer =Frank Doelger David M. Thompson
writer =Larry Ramin (story)Hugh Whitemore (story & teleplay)
starring =Albert Finney Vanessa Redgrave Jim Broadbent
music =Howard Goodall
cinematography =Peter Hannan
editing =Jim Clark
distributor =British Broadcasting Corporation (UK)Home Box Office (USA)
released = USAApril 27 ,2002
UKJuly 12 ,2002
runtime = 96 min
country =UK /USA
language = English
imdb_id = 0314097"The Gathering Storm" is a BAFTA and
Emmy award winningBBC -HBO co-producedtelevision biographical movie aboutWinston Churchill 's life in the years just prior toWorld War II .The title of the film is the same as the title of the first volume of Churchill's largely autobiographical six-volume
history of the war. This volume covered the period1919 to10 May 1940 , the day he becameprime minister .The film starred
Albert Finney as Churchill andVanessa Redgrave as his wifeClementine Churchill ("Clemmie"); Finney gained many accolades for what has come to be regarded as a definitive portrayal of Churchill. The film also features a stellar supporting cast of popular British actors such asDerek Jacobi ,Ronnie Barker ,Jim Broadbent ,Tom Wilkinson ,Celia Imrie ,Linus Roache andHugh Bonneville . Other familiar faces include Simon Williams andEdward Hardwicke , who both make brief appearances amongst the supporting cast.The film was directed by
Richard Loncraine and written byHugh Whitemore .Among the film's executive producers were
Ridley Scott andTony Scott .A sequel named "
Into the Storm " is set for release in 2008.Brendan Gleeson portrays Churchill in this particular movie, which focuses on the Prime Minister's life during theSecond World War .Plot
The film opens in 1934 with Winston Churchill deep in his wilderness years, and struggling to complete his biography of his ancestor the
Duke of Marlborough , which he hopes will revive his fortunes. Winston is chided by his wife Clemmie for their lack of money and is aware that as a 'man of destiny' his moment may have passed. At the same time he struggles in the House of Commons as a back bencher to get a hearing for his concerns about German re-armament under Hitler and the policy of appeasement.Churchill is also disappointed by the behaviour of his son
Randolph Churchill , which leads to further arguments with Clemmie, who announces she is leaving to go on an extended overseas trip. Churchill is devastated and throws himself into his pet activities: painting, and building walls around the family house. Clemmie eventually returns, and the couple are reconciled.During the same period, a young official in the government,
Ralph Wigram (played by Linus Roache) has become concerned about the growth of the German air force, and is convinced by his wife to leak information about it to Churchill. (Although Wigram really did provide information to Churchill, he was one of many who did so; Churchill's biographer, Martin Gilbert, estimated that there were more than twenty, although he credited Wigram as one of the three main players. The film's director, Richard Loncraine, said that "in reality there were four `Wigrams' - two Army officers and two civil servants. It would be cinematographically inept to have four people doing the same thing. What we did was leave out the other three characters." [The Second World War, Volume 1, The Gathering Storm, Winston Churchill, Cassell 1948, (2005 Penguin edition ISBN 0-14-144172-0) ] )Shortly afterwards, Churchill uses Wigram's information to launch an attack on
Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin (played by Jacobi).With Churchill's fortunes restored, the narrative jumps forward to September 1939, with the declaration of war against
Germany at the start ofWorld War II , and the announcement that Churchill will be taking over command of theRoyal Navy again asFirst Lord of the Admiralty . An impatient Churchill bids farewell to the staff at the country house, and travels to London. Arriving in the middle of the night at the Admiralty, Churchill is met by a Royal Marine Corporal who informs him the fleet have already been signalled that "Winston is Back". To which Churchill replied "He bloody well is! "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 ee also
* The Gathering Storm (1974)
* Into the Storm (2008) - SequelReferences
External links
* [http://www.winstonchurchill.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=443 Review] at [http://www.winstonchurchill.org The Churchill Centre]
*
* [http://film.guardian.co.uk/print/0%2C3858%2C4446765-100948%2C00.html The Observer - The man who told Churchill to take on Hitler]
* [http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/s2.cfm?id=749482002 The Scotsman - Filming on hallowed ground]
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