Darkest hour / "We shall never surrender"

The other day I went to see Darkest Hour. I have just read some of the reviews just now. I wouldn't rate it as highly as the majority do.

When you see a film (even one in Spanish), you could read some of the reviews. I recommend Rotten Tomatoes.

Movie Info

During the early days of World War II, with the fall of France imminent, Britain faces its darkest hour as the threat of invasion looms. As the seemingly unstoppable Nazi forces advance, and with the Allied army cornered on the beaches of Dunkirk, the fate of Western Europe hangs on the leadership of the newly-appointed British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Academy Award nominee Gary Oldman). While manoeuvring his political rivals, he must confront the ultimate choice: negotiate with Hitler and save the British people at a terrible cost or rally the nation and fight on against incredible odds. Directed by Joe Wright, DARKEST HOUR is the dramatic and inspiring story of four weeks in 1940 during which Churchill's courage to lead changed the course of world history.


Audience Reviews

*****  Inconvenient F    

Excellent. The historical moment is dramatically enacted and it makes for a gripping story. Gary Oldman brings Churchill to life, warts and doubts and all, in an acting tour de force. His finest hour. Supported by a cast of fine actors who make the scenario totally believable. The waspish comments of Halifax that rhetoric was a poor defence against Hitler's tanks helped the audience and the film itself avoid the trap of facile submission to Churchill's fine words.
The overwhelming feeling that the film conveys - as did Dunkirk earlier - is that it was a very close call. Germany had conquered most of Europe and it would have been easy to surrender and thus escape the carnage which did ensue. So easy. And Western civilisation would have been destroyed. How lucky we were!

**½ Terry N

Oldman walked so briskly in Darkest Hour, he couldn't possibly be portraying Churchill. The movie comes across as a typical well-produced but formulated film. With some help from prosthetic, Oldman is good but overhyped.


Read a positive and a negative review from a top critic.

Listen to this speech that followed the evacuation of troops at Dunkirk:


Source: You Tube (20th Century Time Machine) Key Words: Churchill surrender speech


After reading some reviews of a film you have seen, why not write one yourself?

Comments

José said…
Hi Graham,



Sir Winston Churchill was an important man in the war. In my opinion, he was recognized globally for his big personality. He was a great statesman. He was Nobel Literature Prize. I have listened his speech about the evacuation of troops at Dunkirk (Dunkerque??). I don’t understand it well, not only due to my English level, but because he doesn’t pronounce well to Spanish people (LOL). I think he was more than 65 years age then. He spoke about problems of the war and of the offensive of the Nazis.



He said that it was a military disaster in all British history, but British Army always had evidenced his courage and success. He expressed his gratitude to young English people. He wanted to build the big British Army. He said that when they went out from Dunkirk they suffered from a lot of bombings. He ordered to be careful. He said that the war doesn’t win with evacuations. He talked about the military disaster in France and Belgium. And he said that they were going together with France. He said that Hitler had a plan to invade the British Isles, but they shall never surrender, because they were going to fight over every place such as hills, beaches, streets and so on.



I don’t remember if I saw “Darkest hour” but I see that there are good and no good reviews. It´s ordinary.



See you.
Cristina said…
Hi Graham,

I´m going to make a comment about the film Life is Beautiful.

It is Italian comedy-drama film directed by Roberto Benigni. He is also the main actor. The film is about the Holocaust.

The man has had a happy life with his wife and his son when the nazis took him and his son and put them in a concentration camp. The man tryed to do all of things for his son thought that they were in a game and they had to compete with other people for to win.

The thihg that I like most about this film is how it shows the sensibility of the human. They can be a monsters or make beautiful the most horror thigs or situations.
Graham said…
Good evening José,

You can't have seen "Darkest Hour"; it's just come out. I wouldn't rave about it but Gary Oldman puts in a decent performance as Winston.



Sir Winston Churchill was an important man in the war. In my opinion, he was recognized globally for his strong personality. He was a great statesman. He won the Nobel Prize for literature. I have listened to his speech about the evacuation of troops at Dunkirk. I don’t understand it well, not only due to my English level, but because for Spanish people, he doesn’t pronounce well (LOL). I think he was more than 65 years of age then. He spoke about problems of the war and of the offensive of the Nazis.

He said that it was the biggest military disaster in British history, but the British Army, as always, had displayed courage and achieved success. He expressed his gratitude to young English people. He wanted to build a big British Army. He said that when they came out from Dunkirk, they suffered from a lot of bombings. He told people to be careful. He said that wars aren't won with evacuations. He talked about the military disaster in France and Belgium. And he said that they were forming an alliance with France. He said that Hitler had a plan to invade the British Isles, but they would never surrender, because they were going to fight over every place such as hills, beaches, streets and so on.

I don’t remember if I have seen “Darkest hour” but I see that there are mixed reviews. It´s nothing out of the ordinary.

Graham said…
Hi Cristina,

I saw La Vita è Bella when I was living in Italy.

It was the first Italian film in decades that was a success all over the world.

Roberto Benigni won an Oscar for best actor. I will never understand why. He was no different to how he normally comes across in front of a camera.

It is an Italian comedy-drama directed by Roberto Benigni.

... The man tried to do everything in a way so that his son thought they were in a game and they had to compete with other people to win.

The thing that I like most about this film is how it shows the sensibility of humans. They can be monsters or make the most horrific things or situations seem beautiful.