Churchill: The Hollywood Years (2004)

Director:

Peter Richardson

Writers:

Peter Richardson (written by) and
Pete Richens (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

3 December 2004 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy | War

Tagline:

He's got the tool and he'll finish the job.

Plot Keywords:

Queen Of England | Air Raid | WWII | Satire | Storm Trooper

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jon Culshaw	...	Prime Minister
Tom Clarke Hill	...	Lieutenant Baker (as Tom Clarke-Hill)
Hamish McColl	...	Captain Davies
Christian Slater	...	Winston Churchill
Romany Malco	...	Denzil Eisenhower
Simon Rake	...	Reporter 1
James Long	...	Reporter 2
James Putnam	...	Reporter 3 (as James Puttnam)
Bob Mortimer	...	Potter
Vic Reeves	...	Bendle
Neve Campbell	...	Princess Elizabeth
Harry Enfield	...	King George VI
Jessica Oyelowo	...	Princess Margaret
Leslie Phillips	...	Lord W'ruff
Nigel Harrison	...	Jack
Rebecca Jeffrey	...	Wren
Rik Mayall	...	Baxter
Mackenzie Crook	...	Jimmy Charoo
Mignonne Cox	...	Scarlett
Sinead Brooks	...	Coleen
Phil Cornwell	...	Martin Boorman
Antony Sher	...	Hitler
Miranda Richardson	...	Eva Braun
Dominic Geraghty	...	Hitler's Pilot
Tony Crocker	...	Messenger
Stephen Critchlow	...	Prince Mario
Jethro Alsop	...	Prince Ludwig
Simon Day	...	Taxi Driver
Alan Jones	...	Prince Hendrick
Simon Drew	...	Prince Obslov
Paul Putner	...	Bus Conductor
Steven O'Donnell	...	Goering (as Steve O'Donnell)
John Fabian	...	Victor Sylvester
Brian Perkins	...	Radio Presenter
Laura Goulding	...	Telephonist
Steve Pemberton	...	Chester
Sally Phillips	...	Waitress
Robert Carwithen	...	Shooting Soldier
Henry Goodman	...	President
Mark Caven	...	Chief Of Staff
James Dreyfus	...	Mr. Teasy-Weasy
David Schneider	...	Goebels
Alistair McGowan	...	Football Commentators (voice)
Ben Swaffer	...	Prim Minister's Aide
Helen Landau	...	Queen
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Doon Mackichan	...	Radio host (scenes deleted)
Winston Churchill	...	Roy Bubbles (archive footage) (uncredited)
Simon Day	...	Larry the taxi-driver (uncredited)
Kevin Eldon	...	Sax Player (uncredited)
Stefan Ashton Frank	...	Announcer (voice) (uncredited)
Chris Jarman	...	U.S. Marine (uncredited)

Directed by
Peter Richardson

Writing credits
Peter Richardson		(written by) and
Pete Richens		(written by)
Marcel Theroux		(additional dialogue)
Harry Enfield		(additional dialogue written by) and
Phil Cornwell		(additional dialogue written by) and
Rik Mayall		(additional dialogue written by) and
John Sessions		(additional dialogue written by)

Produced by
Jonathan Cavendish	....	producer
Steve Christian	....	executive producer
Brian Donovan	....	line producer
Nick Hirschkorn	....	producer: post-production
François Ivernel	....	executive producer
Dixie Linder	....	producer
Cameron McCracken	....	executive producer
James Mitchell	....	executive producer
Ben Swaffer	....	producer

Original Music by
Simon Boswell
Rod Melvin

Cinematography by
Cinders Forshaw

Film Editing by
Geoff Hogg		(co-editor)
Duncan Shepherd		(co-editor)
John Wilson		(co-editor)

Casting by
John Hubbard

Production Design by
Tom Burton

Art Direction by
Fleur Whitlock

Set Decoration by
Barbara Herman-Skelding

Costume Design by
James Keast

Makeup Department
Sarita Allison	....	makeup designer
Magdalene Gaffney	....	makeup department head
Jaqueline Russon	....	makeup designer
Jaqueline Russon	....	makeup supervisor
Joan Stribling	....	assistant hair stylist
Joan Stribling	....	assistant makeup artist

Production Management
Jeanette Haley	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Brian W. Cook	....	first assistant director (as Brian Cook)
Mark Inglis	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Clare Andrade	....	production buyer
Damian Butlin	....	props
Craig Cheeseman	....	props
Noel Cowell	....	property master
Lisa McDiarmid	....	stand-by art director
Adrian Platt	....	dressing props
Stuart Read	....	dressing props: dailies
Simon Riley	....	stand-by props
Sam Stokes	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Ben Barker	....	sound editor
Alexander Beddow	....	adr assistant
Sandy Buchanan	....	foley mixer
Colette Dahanne	....	adr mixer
Jean-Raphaël Dedieu	....	additional sound designer
Giancarlo Dellapina	....	sound mixer: re-shoots
Nick Foley	....	adr recordist
Jamie Gambell	....	boom operator
John Hayes	....	sound mixer
Lee Herrick	....	dialogue editor
Mark Heslop	....	sound editor
Max Hoskins	....	supervising sound editor
André Jacquemin	....	sound mixer
Keith Marriner	....	supervising sound editor
Peter Maxwell	....	sound re-recording mixer
Brendan Nicholson	....	sound re-recording mixer
Kath Pollard	....	sound re-recording mixer
Johnathan Rush	....	studio assistant
Matthias Schwab	....	foley mixer
Paul Schwartz	....	boom operator
Esther Smith	....	sound technician
Greg Steele	....	adr mixer
Richard Street	....	sound re-recording mixer
Ted Swanscott	....	adr mixer
Keith Tunney	....	sound editor

Special Effects by
Matthew Horton	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Sascha Dhillon	....	visual effects editor
Anthony Wonsoff	....	digital compositor

Stunts
Nick Hobbs	....	stunt coordinator

Camera and Electrical Department
John Evans	....	second assistant camera
Woody Gregson	....	camera trainee
Stuart Howell	....	camera operator
Nathan Mann	....	assistant camera
Nathan Mann	....	focus puller
John Robinson	....	camera grip
Nick Wall	....	still photographer

Casting Department
Matthew Cook	....	crowd casting
Sarah Hanna	....	casting assistant
Kelly Valentine Hendry	....	casting assistant
Brendan McNamara	....	casting assistant
Tamara Notcutt	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
David Allen	....	costume assistant
Jane Spicer	....	costume assistant
Elizabeth Wilson	....	costume designer: additional shoot
Jess Richards	....	wardrobe trainee (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Lorrin Braddick	....	assistant editor
Lucie Graves	....	post-production coordinator
Tomomi Kitamura	....	assistant editor
Jonathan Sloman	....	assistant editor
Jason Wheeler	....	negative cutter
Jim Wright	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Stuart Morton	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Enyo Mortty	....	driver: Christian Slater

Other crew
Daisy Allsop	....	assistant to producer: post-production
Bowfie Baird	....	location security
Catherine Charlton	....	dialogue coach
Orlagh Collins	....	head of physical production: Pathé
Saskia Coplans	....	set production assistant
Matt Curtis	....	title designer
Gerald 'Jez' Dixon	....	stand-in
Rebekah Ford	....	stand-in
Simon Fraser	....	production coordinator
Laura Goulding	....	script supervisor
Sacha Guttenstein	....	production executive: Little Bird
Scott Hamshere	....	armorer
Patrick Isherwood	....	production accountant
Rebecca Jeffrey	....	production assistant
Tom Leeburn	....	production assistant
Clive Miles	....	location manager
Isaac Sananes	....	assistant accountant
Sian Sutherland	....	assistant location manager

Thanks
Bud Beadle	....	special thanks
Bruce Everett	....	special thanks
Charlie Foreman	....	special thanks
Duncan Heath	....	special thanks
Mia Matson	....	special thanks
Steve O'Pray	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Little Bird Productions
• Inside Track Films
• Isle of Man Film Commission (in association with)
• Pathé Pictures International
• Sky Movies

Distributors

• Pathé (2004) (UK) (theatrical)
• Hollywood Classic Entertainment (2005) (Czech Republic) (theatrical)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD) (retail)
• Movie Bank (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD) (rental)

Special Effects

• Cine Image Film Opticals (digital main and end titles) (digital effects) (opticals)

Other Companies

• Fingles Hotel  special thanks
• Freeway CAM B.V.  world revenues collected and distributed by
• Keith Prowse Music (KPM)  additional music courtesy of
• Kodak  motion picture film supplied by
• Lee Lighting  lighting
• Music House  additional music courtesy of
• UK Film Council  made with the support of

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Indonesia:Dewasa | Iceland:12 | Australia:M | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:15 | Finland:K-11 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Brixham, Devon, England, UK

Company:

Little Bird Productions

Trivia:

The real life Winston Churchill was actually half-American. His mother Jennie Jerome (Lady Randolph Churchill) was born in Brooklyn in 1854. His grandfather, Leonard Jerome was a New York State Assemblyman.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: The second time US Churchill and Denzil Eisenhower are dockside; as Eisenhower drives the jeep towards camera, what he mouths to US Churchill, and what comes through on audio - doesn't match initially - although as they near the camera, mid-sentence, the audio works its way back in synch.

Quotes:

Mr. Teasy-Weasy: [to Hitler] We're going to make you 18 again, Mr Hilton.

Movie Connections:

Spoofs Titanic (1997)

Soundtrack:

Falling In Love Again (Can't Help It)

Funny, brilliant, bold & uneven spoof of British insecurities and Hollywood excesses

This is clearly a spoof, and therein lies its strengths and weaknesses. Overall, it's pretty funny. I recommend going to see it in a full theater, with a gang of friends out for a laugh, and with two glasses of wine or two pints inside all of you. Not more, just the two.

The jokes are plentiful, and many are sight gags, easily understood. For example, British traitor Lord W'Ruff picking up Hitler at the airport, and the entire sequence of a stalled cars, luggage, and... well, I'll skip the details so you can be surprised. But the whole 8 minutes with them is hilarious! I laughed out loud. The SS Storm Troopers in various degrees of Buckingham Palace livery is also funny, as are many other gags. A few of the gags fell flat--- such as Goehring, and Goebbels (excuse the spelling). The king was subtle and bitingly funny satire on the Monarchy. So... some gags worked, some didn't. Some required your attention, and a bit of thought, some didn't.

The weak point was the crap production values. I know it's a comedy, and part of the joy of satire and comedy is that you can do it with a low budget. Produce on a shoestring. But this movie needed a bit more than it had. They should have begged for another 5 or 10 million dollars, and brought in a bunch of CGI London blitz crowds, bombs, and something more to give it at least a veneer (even a fakey one) of the historical setting it purports to portray. Obviously, we couldn't expect "Gladiator" level cartoon graphics--- but seeing wartime London with only three actors, 4 extras, and one old lorry fell so flat that my fantasy-bone that lets me pretend and enjoy a movie was jarred and interrupted.

OK--- go see it, but be in a lightly drunk group, ready to laugh. You will laugh, and you'll have a good time. Do remember, though, that it is a S-P-O-O-F, and is supposed to be over-the-top and silly. I gave it an 8 out of 10.