The Gathering Storm (2002)

Winston Churchill's wilderness years of the 1930s, when only he could see the threat that Hitler and a rearmed Germany posed to the world.

Director:

Richard Loncraine

Writers:

Larry Ramin (story), Hugh Whitemore (story)

Stars:

Albert Finney, Vanessa Redgrave, Jim Broadbent

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 19 wins & 31 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Albert Finney	...	Winston Churchill
Vanessa Redgrave	...	Clemmie Churchill
Jim Broadbent	...	Desmond Morton
Linus Roache	...	Ralph Wigram
Lena Headey	...	Ava Wigram
Derek Jacobi	...	Stanley Baldwin
Ronnie Barker	...	David Inches
Tom Wilkinson	...	Sir Robert Vansittart
Celia Imrie	...	Violet Pearman
Hugh Bonneville	...	Ivo Pettifer
Gottfried John	...	Friedrich von Schroder
Anthony Brophy	...	Brendan Bracken
Edward Hardwicke	...	Mr. Wood
Tom Hiddleston	...	Randolph Churchill
Tim Bentinck	...	Marlborough (as Timothy Bentinck)

Storyline

In the 1930s, Winston Churchill was out of government, sitting as a backbench MP. His was a lonely voice warning about German rearmament and the coming of a second major war on the Continent. He lost a great deal of money in the Wall Street crash and now writes - a biography of his ancestor the Duke of Marlborough, a newspaper column - and it's his only means of support. He has a close-knit group of supporter not the least of whom is his wife Clemmie, who he loves very dearly. As he continues to press his concerns about Hitler, he is cast as a warmonger and frequently shouted down in Parliament by members on both sides of the aisle. With reliable information from a Foreign Office civil servant who feels the government is not accurately reporting on rearmament, he provides accurate figures to Parliament and the tide begins to turn. With the onset of World War II in September 1939, Churchill returns to government as First Lord of Admiralty.

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Plot Keywords:

winston churchill | 1930s | english politics | parliament | politics | 

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Taglines:

Germany was arming itself for war. But they didn't count on one man.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

G

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 April 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Lonely War

Filming Locations:

Chartwell House, Westerham, Kent, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Films,BBC Films,Scott Free Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min 120 min (Filmfest Hamburg)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Albert Finney (Winston Churchill), Vanessa Redgrave (Clementine Churchill), Hugh Bonneville (Ivo Pettifer) and Derek Jacobi (Stanley Baldwin) have all appeared in adaptations of the 1934 novel "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie: Finney and Redgrave played Hercule Poirot and Mary Debenham respectively in Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Bonneville played Edward Masterson in Poirot: Murder on the Orient Express (2010) and Jacobi played Masterson in Murder on the Orient Express (2017).

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Goofs

When Clemmie throws the dish of brussel sprouts at Winston the first shot shows the dish up against the wall by the window, in the next shot with Winston the dish is under the drapes.

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Quotes

Winston Churchill: I'm the new First lord.
Military Guard: We know, sir.
Winston Churchill: How do you know?
Military Guard: A signal was sent to the fleet this afternoon, sir.
Winston Churchill: What signal?
Military Guard: Winston is back.
Winston Churchill: [chuckles] He bloody well is!

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Connections

Featured in The Many Faces of...: Ronnie Barker (2012)

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Soundtracks

We Wish You a Merry Christmas
(uncredited)
Traditional
Sung by Lena Headey

User Reviews

Lets hope theres a sequel...

Albert Finney is an ASTOUNDING Churchill. Voice. Appearance. Mannerisms. He's got it all down. Vanessa Redgrave is equally good as "Clemmie." I don't know whether I enjoyed this film because it was about history or because it was a masterful bit of acting. It's historically accurate and shot creatively. Those overrhead shots down into the courtyards are masterful and effective. Lets hope HBO plans one or two more films with Finney and Redgrave, one about the war years and the other about Churchill after the war. One thing puzzled me though. Two huge events of the era were not even mentioned...Edward's abdication and the 1938 Munich crisis.