| Richard Attenboroughâs examination of the early life of Winston Churchillâup until his early days at Parliament, before his marriageââis a fascinating look at the formative years of one of the greatest politicians and most influential world leaders in recent history. Played by Simon Ward (All Creatures Great and Small and TVâs âThe Tudorsâ), young Churchill is ambitious and over-eager, with a tendency toward boastful over-exaggeration and opportunism, all of which served him well in overturning the low expectations of his father. The film flashes back through three main periods of Churchillâs life narrated by the older, knowing Churchill (well-voiced by Ward, based on Churchillâs own autobiography). In boyhood and adolescence, Churchillâs self-consumed parents, Lord Randolph (Robert Shaw, A Man for All Seasons) and American-born Lady Jennie (Anne Bancroft, The Graduate), are too busy with their own lives in Parliament and social engagements to see him off to boarding school, a task fulfilled by a beloved nanny. The adventure of Churchillâs years as a war correspondent and soldier is enthusiastically depicted. Anthony Hopkins, John Mills, Jack Hawkins, Patrick Magee and Ian Holm also appear in supporting roles. Newly remastered. |
