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| Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years 1929 - 1939 | 
 enlarge | Director: Ferdinand Fairfax
Actors: Robert Hardy, Sian Phillips, Nigel Havers, Chloe Salaman, Tamsin Murray-leach
Studio: KOCH VISION
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.98
Buy New: $15.13
You Save: $14.85 (50%)
New (30) Used (7) from $15.13
Avg. Customer Rating:  20 reviews
Sales Rank: 31478
Format: Color, Content/copy-protected Cd, Dolby, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 2
Running Time: 415
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 6602
ISBN: 141723136X
UPC: 741952660293
EAN: 9781417231362
ASIN: B0007TV64S
Theatrical Release Date: January 16, 1983
Release Date: May 10, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new and factory sealed. Most orders shipped within 24 hours directly from our warehouse.
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
It's easy to stay glued to all 390 fascinating minutes of this 1981 television series, which concentrates, in great detail, on an agonizing decade in the political life of Winston Churchill. Ousted in 1928 from his powerful position in Britain's Conservative government, Churchill (Robert Hardy) assumes--for the first of many times to come--that his career is over. But a pattern emerges: Churchill, the maverick defender of Britain's empire, is pressed back into service only to be attacked for unpopular views about the King's abdication and Hitler's threat. Time and again Churchill is banished, but this sprawling drama provides much colorful detail about the great man's trips to America (what a sight: Churchill in Monument Valley), his passion for his family, and his prescient drive to complete a historical tome before 1939--the year he becomes Prime Minister. Hardy is superb; excellent support comes from, among others, Eric Porter as Neville Chamberlain. --Tom Keogh
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| Customer Reviews: Read 15 more reviews...
 Great Biography of a great man October 4, 2008
This is a DVD version of an older PBS biography. I wore out my VHS version years ago. If you love Churchill you will enjoy this professional biography of him.
 20th century's greatest man August 25, 2008
this is a a wonderful story about an incredibly great man.....ruined by poor sound quality.
 Fascinating but Flawed January 29, 2008
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
This series held my interest from beginning to end. How could it miss with such a monumental protagonist and absorbing subject matter. I especially liked Nigel Havers as Randolph, and the actors who played Stanley Baldwin, Ramsay McDonald, and Clement Atlee. I am afraid that I am less enthusiastic about Sian Phillips, who always plays Sian Phillips, and who, in my estimation, managed to make Clemmie rather unpleasant (as unpleasant as Phillips, appropriately, made Livia Augusta in "I Claudius."). As for Robert Hardy, he does an on-target impression of Sir Winston Churchill, but I think that he was misdirected.
Did Sir Winston really orate twenty-four-seven? Surely he spoke in a more modulated voice with the family around the dining room table [when he wasn't shouting at Randolph] or in the privacy of his bedroom! In this production, he addresses his "dear Clemmie" in his "fight-them-on-the-beaches" persona, to such an extent that Hardy's portrayal sometimes slips into parody. But again, I believe that the fault must be laid at the door of the director.
This quibble aside, the production is excellent. The recreation of the scenes in the House of Commons is fascinating. When Churchill is at the dispatch boxes letting Labour have it, Hardy is magnificent. This series is highly recommended for anyone interested in British political history.
Full justice to the character November 14, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I bought this DVD because I have always admired this great man, Sir Winston Churchill. Having read several books about him and having been enamored by his famous one-liners, both inside and outside of parliament, I wanted to get a "feel" for the person. Let me tell you that this DVD did precisely that. The fact that the focus is on the decade of 1929-1939 when Churchill was believed to be politically inconsequential makes this very interesting becaue it builds up the case for the "delicious" outcome that history has already shown us. It is not easy to portray a leader such as Churchill whose persona is well-established/remembered even many years after his death. While it is possible to copy trademarks such as the rotund body shape and cigar, it is far more difficult to build the personality, charisma and forcefulness that he had within a character role. This has been done brilliantly by Robert Hardy.
Intriguing September 10, 2007
This is an excellent insight of the pre-war Churchill and his rise through a political elite that was determined to marginalize him. Robert Hardy is superb as Churchill. Neville Chamberlain is portrayed as a man who seems lost in an astounding socialistic dream world while perilous events in Europe threaten England's very survival.
Two cautions: A background knowledge of British politics would be helpful in understanding the full cast of characters and events, especially in the somewhat tedious first four episodes. Also, the transfer appears to be from a video tape rather than an original film and is not especially sharp when played on an HDTV.
Otherwise, this is a fine production and the final four episodes are compelling. I only wish that the producers could have followed-up with Hardy in the role of the wartime Churchill.
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