Wideo Wednesday: Movie Night Review

Yesterday was another fun Movie Night. Movie Night has evolved into one evening every two weeks when my nephew Kameron and I go to visit my brother John and his kid Joey. We select movies and TV shows that we want to share and that we think others will enjoy, and we have a good meal. We can usually get through two movies every night, with an episode or two of classic TV series to round it off. Last night was no exception; not only did it provide a history lesson for us all, it also indulged one of our favorite pastimes, Spot the Actor, where we identified familiar favorites and recounted where we knew them from. Being BBC productions, it was a fertile field.

First up was The Gathering Storm (2002). “The Gathering Storm is a BBC–HBO co-produced television biographical film about Winston Churchill in the years just prior to World War II. The title of the film is that of the first volume of Churchill's largely autobiographical six-volume history of the war, which covered the period from 1919 to 3 September 1939, the day he became First Lord of the Admiralty.

“The film stars Albert Finney as Churchill and Vanessa Redgrave as his wife Clementine Churchill ("Clemmie"). The film also features a supporting cast of British actors such as Derek Jacobi, Ronnie Barker , Jim Broadbent, Tom Wilkinson, Celia Imrie, Linus Roache and Hugh Bonneville, and is notable for an early appearance by a young Tom Hiddleston.” – Wikipedia.

We of course followed it with the sequel, Into the Storm (2009). “Into the Storm is a 2009 biographical film about Winston Churchill and his days in office during the Second World War. The movie stars Brendan Gleeson as the British Prime Minister. The Second World War has recently ended in Europe, and the people of the United Kingdom are awaiting the results of the 1945 general election. During this time, Winston Churchill goes to France for a holiday with his wife Clemmie. Through a series of flashbacks, Churchill recalls some of his most glorious moments during the war, and the effect it had on their marriage.” – Wikipedia.

For the first few moments of the second film I felt a little bit of a jar as our Churchill was switched from Albert Finney (who I will always associate with The Dresser and Big Fish) to Brendan Gleeson (Mad-Eye Moody in Harry Potter), but I was soon caught up in the tale and it ceased to make any difference; they were both Churchill.

Our last viewing as we wound down was Episode Two of the 1972 series The Shadow of the Tower. “Episode 2: Power in the Land. Henry consolidates his power when Elizabeth gives birth to Prince Arthur, legitimizing Henry's claim of descent from the legendary monarch.” – IMDB. The conspiracies of a couple of brothers and the clash of the powers of Church and State are also part of the plot. As an amazing instance of Spot the Celebrity John was able to identify the Earl of Lincoln as the father in Pink Floyd’s The Wall (movie, 1982).

We need to start keeping a list of viewings that get suggested every night we watch something else. Kameron thought of The Wind Rises because of the WW2 aviation scenes, and John mentioned that he had never seen Big Fish, which I think he really must. A post like this might help me remember things next time when possibilities are mooted once more.