The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain (1995)

Director:

Christopher Monger

Writers:

Ivor Monger (story)
Christopher Monger

Release Date:

12 May 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

A romantic comedy about a town that wouldn't give up. A man who couldn't get out. And the mountain that brought them together.

Plot:

When an English cartographer must tell a Welsh village that their mountain is only a hill, the offended community sets out to change that.

Plot Keywords:

Mountain | Hill | Wales | Welsh | 1910s

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Hugh Grant	...	Reginald Anson
Tara Fitzgerald	...	Elizabeth aka Betty from Cardiff
Colm Meaney	...	Morgan the Goat
Ian McNeice	...	George Garrad
Ian Hart	...	Johnny Shellshocked (Jones)
Kenneth Griffith	...	Reverend Jones
Tudor Vaughan	...	Thomas Twp
Hugh Vaughan	...	Thomas Twp Too
Robert Pugh	...	Williams the Petroleum
Robert Blythe	...	Ivor
Garfield Morgan	...	Davies the School
Lisa Palfrey	...	Blod Jones
Dafydd Wyn Roberts	...	Tommy Twostroke
Ieuan Rhys	...	Sgt. Thomas
Anwen Williams	...	Mavis
David Lloyd Meredith	...	Jones the JP
Fraser Cains	...	Evans the End of the World
Jack Walters	...	Grandfather
Harry Kretchmer	...	Young Boy
Howell Evans	...	Thomas the Trains
Maisie McNeice	...	Girl in classroom
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nicholas McGaughey	...	Narrator (voice)
Barry Foy	...	Welsh Man #4 (uncredited)

Directed by
Christopher Monger

Writing credits
Ivor Monger		(story)
Christopher Monger

Produced by
Sarah Curtis	....	producer
Sally Hibbin	....	executive producer
Robert Jones	....	executive producer
Scott Maitland	....	associate producer
Paul Sarony	....	associate producer
Bob Weinstein	....	executive producer
Harvey Weinstein	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Stephen Endelman

Cinematography by
Vernon Layton

Film Editing by
David Martin

Casting by
Michelle Guish

Production Design by
Charles Garrad

Art Direction by
Chris Lowe

Set Decoration by
Liz Griffiths

Costume Design by
Janty Yates

Makeup Department
Joceline Andrews	....	makeup artist
Michele Baylis	....	makeup assistant
Kezia De Winne	....	makeup designer
Susie Lawley-Wakelin	....	makeup assistant
Moira Thomson	....	makeup assistant

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
David Daniels	....	first assistant director
Guy Heeley	....	third assistant director
Stephen Woolfenden	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Tom Bowyer	....	construction manager
Billy Bridge	....	chargehand
Janna Craze	....	scenic painter
David Fitzjohn	....	stand-by painter
Gary Fox	....	stand-by props
Alastair Gow	....	stand-by carpenter (as Alistair Gow)
John Greaves	....	storyboard artist
Liz Griffiths	....	props buyer
Robert Gurney	....	construction labor
Josh Jones	....	stand-by carpenter (as Joshua Jones)
Tina Jones	....	assistant art director
Toby Longin	....	stagehand
Mike Malik	....	property master
Robert Manuel	....	construction labor
Ben Pulsford	....	stand-by carpenter
Gawain Rainey	....	construction labor
Guy Rutter	....	stand-by painter
Nick Thomas	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Rusty Coppleman	....	sound editor
Loveday Harding	....	boom operator
Graham Headicar	....	dialogue editor
Richard King	....	sound effects editor
Jacques Leroide	....	adr editor (as Jaques Leroide)
Karl Mader	....	sound assistant
Clive Pendry	....	dubbing editor
George Richards	....	sound mixer
Hugh Strain	....	dubbing editor
Steve Hancock	....	sound camera operator (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Andy Bunce	....	special effects assistant
Mervyn Loynes	....	special effects supervisor
Jim Davey	....	scanning and recording (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Alex Bicknell	....	digital effects producer
Nicholas Brooks	....	visual effects
Matt Johnson	....	digital compositor
Aviv Yaron	....	data operator: Cinesite
Kim Libreri	....	chief technology officer (uncredited)
Craig Zerouni	....	digital effects artist (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Phil Allan	....	best boy
Ken Ashley-Johnson	....	grip
David Budd	....	camera operator
Raymond Buttons	....	additional grip
Peter Chester	....	electrician
John Deaton	....	focus puller: second unit
Kathy Friend	....	clapper loader: second unit
Finn Hardaker	....	camera trainee
Ossie Jung	....	gaffer
Eddie McCarthy	....	electrician
Jan Pester	....	Steadicam operator
Jan Pester	....	director of photography: second unit
Chris Pinnock	....	focus puller: second unit
Richie Raith	....	additional grip
Alan Rank	....	additional grip
Ian Rice	....	electrician
George Richmond	....	clapper loader
Neil Robertson	....	clapper loader: second unit
Chyna Thomson	....	first assistant camera
Mark Tillie	....	still photographer
Bill Vanderkris	....	crane grip

Casting Department
Sarah Beardsall	....	casting: Wales
Gaynor Richfield	....	casting assistant: Wales

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Christian Motta	....	costumer
John Norster	....	wardrobe coordinator
Amanda Trewin	....	costumer: Mr. Grant

Editorial Department
Liz Green	....	first assistant editor
Liz Roe	....	second assistant editor (as Elizabeth Roe)
Tom Mayclim	....	negative cutting assistant (uncredited)

Music Department
Francesca Adair	....	music assistant
Stephen Endelman	....	conductor: score
Stephen Endelman	....	orchestrator
Isobel Griffiths	....	conductor: orchestra
Todd Kasow	....	music editor
James Nichols	....	score recordist (as James P. Nichols)

Other crew
Lucy Amor	....	floor runner
Hilary Benson	....	production coordinator
Lesley Campion	....	cashier
Elinor Day	....	script editor
Penny Dyer	....	dialogue coach
Karin Fermor	....	stand-in: Tara Fitsgerald
Cherry Fiddaman	....	production accountant
George Higgins	....	stand-in: Mr. Meaney
Christopher John Lee	....	assistant location manager
Floriane Mathieu	....	press attache: France
Susie Menzies	....	production secretary
Sally Morgan	....	location manager
Matthew Morris	....	floor runner
Sara Morris	....	production runner
S. Shane Newell	....	production executive
Mary Norden	....	garden design
Tim Prosser	....	rushes runner
Robert Rhys-Jones	....	floor runner
Steve Ricard	....	stand-in: Mr. Grant
Ann Simpson	....	continuity
Roberta Taylor	....	drama coach
Keith Thompson	....	helicopter pilot
Andrew Jack	....	dialect coach: Colm Meaney (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Miramax Films
• Parallax Pictures

Distributors

• Gaumont Buena Vista International (GBVI) (1995) (France) (theatrical)
• Miramax Films (1995) (USA) (theatrical)
• Miramax International (1995) (worldwide) (theatrical)
• Prooptiki (1996) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Abril Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Audio Visual Enterprises (1997) (Greece) (VHS)
• Buena Vista International (Spain)
• Echo Bridge Home Entertainment (2011) (USA) (DVD)
• Falcon (Czech Republic)
• Filmes Lusomundo (Portugal)
• Miramax Home Entertainment (USA) (VHS)

Special Effects

• First Effects

Other Companies

• Pinewood Studios  movie studio
• Abbey Road Studios  music recorded at
• Angels & Bermans  costumes supplied by
• Castle Air  helicopter (as Castle Air, Liskeard, Cornwall)
• Cinesite  special optical effects
• De Lane Lea Sound Centre  post-production facilities (as De Lane Lea, London)
• Decca Records  soundtrack
• Epic Soundtrax  soundtrack
• Film Finances  completion guarantor
• General Screen Enterprises  titles and opticals
• Grip House  grip equipment (as Grip House London Ltd.)
• Joe Dunton & Company  camera equipment
• Phil Symes Associates  unit publicity
• Salon Productions  cutting room equipment
• Samuelson Lighting  lighting equipment (as Michael Samuelson Lighting)
• Sapex Scripts  post-production script services
• Sylvia Wheeler Film Services  negative cutting

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild language

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:S | Germany:12 (w) | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #33696) | Iceland:L | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Gyrn Moelfre, Powys, Wales, UK

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

Despite the implication in the film, and the real-life local legend, the story is fiction. Historians have determined that the mound at the summit of Garth Mountain (the inspiration for the movie) is a Bronze Age burial mound. In 1999, local officials and the History Society placed a sign on the mountain, telling the many climbers who've been coming there because of the movie's popularity of the site's real significance - and warning that they face two years in prison if they disturb the burial mound.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The Bristol Channel should be visible from the hill. Also missing is the Taff River and Castell Coch.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator:For some odd reason, lost in the mists of time, there's an extraordinary shortage of last names in Wales. Almost everyone seems to be a Williams, a Jones, or an Evans. To avoid widespread confusion, Welsh people often add an occupation to a name. For example, there was Williams the Petroleum, and Williams the Death. There was Jones the Bottle, and Jones the Prize Cabbage...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert: Crimson Tide/A Little Princess/The Perez Family/The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill/Swimming with Sharks" (1995)

Soundtrack:

Men of Harlech

Charming and Original

Those two adjectives say it all. Hugh Grant is at his best as a shy WWI era officer whose task it is to measure the mountains of Wales. He plays very well against Colm Meaney, a rogue and scoundrel who finds his better nature despite himself.

This film was crippled before an American audience because of its slow pace and long title. The humor is subdued, and often buried under accents that many moviegoers must have been unfamiliar with. But I believe this film only improves with repeated viewings. The actors do a uniformly good job, and play their characters with great heart.

The soundtrack stands out as one of the best as well. It adds to the mystery and beauty of the region and adds a unique feel to the film.

Children may find it too slow and dull, but anyone with an appreciation for a good, heartwarming story will enjoy it. I recommend it in particular to those with a love for the British Isles in general, or Wales in particular.