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Dom Robinson reviews
- Cert:
- Cat.no: P9147DVD
- Running time: 81 minutes
- Year: 2004
- Pressing: 2005
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Chapters: 15 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: English for the hard of hearing
- Widescreen: 1.85:1
- 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £15.99
- Extras:Trailer
Director:
- Peter Richardson
(Churchill: The Hollywood Years, Eat The Rich, The Pope Must Die, Stella Street, The Supergrass, TV: The Comic Strip, Glam Metal Detectives, Stella Street)
Producers:
- Jonathan Cavendish and Ben Swaffer
Screenplay:
- Peter Richardson and Pete Richens
Music :
- Simon Boswell and Rod Melvin
Cast :
- Winston Churchill: Christian Slater
Princess Elizabeth Windsor: Neve Campbell
Adolf Hitler: Antony Sher
Eva Braun: Miranda Richardson
Denzil: Romany Malco
King George V: Harry Enfield
Lord W’ruff: Leslie Phillips
Baxter: Rik Mayall
Bendle: Vic Reeves
Potter: Bob Mortimer
Martin Boorman: Phil Cornwell
Princess Margaret: Jessica Oyelowo
Chester: Steve Pemberton
Herman Goering: Steven O’Donnell
Mr Teasy-Weasy: James Dreyfuss
Jimmy Charoo: Mackenzie Crook
Waitress: Sally Phillips
Tony Blair: Jon Culshaw
Taxi Driver: Simon Day
Bus conductor: Paul Putner
Radio Presenter: Brian Perkins
President: Henry Goodman
Goebbles: David Schneider
Football Commentators: Alistair McGowan
Roy Bubbles (archive footage): Winston Churchill
Many films report history accurately. You’ll findChurchill: The Hollywood Years doesn’t follow the real history whatsoever.
As the film begins, the words appear: “For 50 years, the world believed that Winston Churchillwas an elderley statesman who led the British people to victory. And that he was English… But theywere wrong.”
The man we all thought was Churchill was “Roy Bubbles, after-dinner speaker and character actor. Anywork considered.”
Christian Slater plays the real Winston Churchill, a US marine who comes to England to sort out theproblems of the Second World War. On his arrival, he presents the Enigma machine to Lord W’Ruff (LesliePhillips), the Chief of Staff at the War Office, before explaining in gung-ho terms how to defeat AdolfHitler (an excellent turn from the acclaimed Antony Sher). Along the way, he takes a shine to who he thinks is a young Wren named JaneCommoner, but turned out to be the future Queen of England (Neve Campbell, perfecting a posh Englishaccent).
However, we soon learn that W’ruff is aiding and abetting the Fuhrer, by inviting him to England tostay at the palace – via an amusing series of transport hitches that include The Fast Show‘s SimonDay as a taxi driver and This Morning With Richard Not Judy‘s Paul Putner as a bus conductor -while a party goes on, with guests including Slater, so there’s going to be a few words had between the heroof the hour and the villain.
Churchill: The Hollywood Years has some great one-liners that work better on their own than inthe movie as a whole, and it’s one that, at 81 minutes, is short but fast-moving. It has great moments ofhumour throughout, but doesn’t pull itself together to be any kind of action movie, so don’t go expectinganother Die Hard.
The cast reads like a “Who’s Who” of modern British comedy. Rik Mayall makes for a great camp General,Gimme Gimme Gimme‘s James Dreyfuss does similar as a hairdresser, Harry Enfield finallydoes something funny for the first time in years by playing King George V, Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimercamp (I can’t think of an alternative word) things up further as a couple of butlers.
There’s memorablemoments from Stella Street‘s Phil Cornwell as Hitler’s aide, Martin Boorman, The League ofGentlemen‘s Steve Pemberton as train engineer Chester, Bottom‘s Steven O’Donnell asHerman Goering, plus support from Sally Phillips, David Schneider, Mackenzie Crook, who co-starredas Billy Bibbitt with Slater (R.P. McMurphy) in the recent stage version of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,Jon Culshaw as Tony Blair (who else would play him?!) and a class turn from Radio 4 news presenter Brian Perkinsshowing his humourous side in public, instead of just on the unsurpassable The News Quiz, as he’s forcedto read out statements due to a gun being pointed at his head.
And for those who always run out before a film at the cinema has *really* ended, there are closing credit gaffesaplenty prior to the full cast list appearing.
Overall, this DVD is worth a rental but I wouldn’t buy it until you’ve seen it once and know whether you’llwant to take a look more than once.
Presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen, the print looks a little too soft at times. I’m not sure if thisis done with intention for certain scenes to make them look a bit distant, such as in Tony Blair’s office,but it doesn’t come across that way and could’ve been much sharper. The clips I’d seen of this beforehand,and the menu clips, are matted to 2.35:1, giving the impression that’s how it would’ve turned out.Obviously, it didn’t.
The sound is also well-used in DD5.1 when required, for the brief action scenes or as atmosphere. A brief andworthy mention goes to the menus, after which clicking on ‘scene selection’ gives you a thunder of planesheading towards you.
One reason I haven’t been to the cinema in a long time is that even if there’s one that was worthy ofwaiting 40 minutes for adverts to finish, or listening to people chat on their mobile phones, is thatfor a film as short as this one, the extras complement it up to what you’d expect from a feature-lengthouting.
Behind the Scenes (14:38) blends interview snippets with footage from the film, often includingmoments that didn’t make the final cut; and Churchill: The Amazing True Story (19:16) creates an engagingfeaturette about the apparent legend mixing footage from the film with extra in-character interviews recordedespecially for this and viewed back, in the present day, by Tony Blair (Jon Culshaw). The only downside is thatthis featurette is neither in DD5.1, nor does it contain subtitles.
The five deleted and extended scenes (running almost 5 minutes in total), are mostly brief except for onelong one, and are worth a look but I wouldn’t put them back in the movie. The alternative beginning and end(2 mins) do make for an alternative, including guest appearances from impressionist Ronni Ancona andHolby City, Big Brother and Rachel Stevens’ reject Jeremy Edwards, but I’m glad these weren’tused in the final cut too.
Finally, more outtakes (1 min), a trailer (2 mins), four TV spots (1 min) and an audio commentary fromChristian Slater and director Peter Richardson conclude the extras.
The menus are impressive, as alighted to befoer, there are subtitles in English for the hard of hearingbut the chapters are few with 15.
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.