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IMDbPro

Darkest Hour

  • 20172017
  • PG-13PG-13
  • 2h 5m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
206K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,506
72
Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour (2017)
This true story begins at the precipice of World War II as, within days of becoming Prime Minister of Great Britain, Winston Churchill (Academy Award nominee Gary Oldman) must face one of his most turbulent and defining trials: exploring a negotiated peace treaty with Nazi Germany, or standing firm to fight for the ideals, liberty and freedom of a nation. As the unstoppable Nazi forces roll across Western Europe and the threat of invasion is imminent, and with an unprepared public, a skeptical King, and his own party plotting against him, Churchill must withstand his darkest hour, rally a nation, and attempt to change the course of world history.
Play trailer1:03
11 Videos
99+ Photos
BiographyDramaWar
In May 1940, the fate of World War II hangs on Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Adolf Hitler, or fight on knowing that it could mean the end of the British Empire... Read allIn May 1940, the fate of World War II hangs on Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Adolf Hitler, or fight on knowing that it could mean the end of the British Empire.In May 1940, the fate of World War II hangs on Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Adolf Hitler, or fight on knowing that it could mean the end of the British Empire.
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
206K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
1,506
72
    • Joe Wright
    • Anthony McCarten
  • Stars
    • Gary Oldman
    • Lily James
    • Kristin Scott Thomas
    • Joe Wright
    • Anthony McCarten
  • Stars
    • Gary Oldman
    • Lily James
    • Kristin Scott Thomas
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 715User reviews
    • 425Critic reviews
    • 75Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 2 Oscars

    Videos11

    Official Trailer #2
    Trailer 1:03
    Watch Official Trailer #2
    International Trailer
    Trailer 2:47
    Watch International Trailer
    Trailer #1
    Trailer 2:21
    Watch Trailer #1
    Up Your Bum
    Clip 1:11
    Watch Up Your Bum
    Not Buggering It Up
    Clip 1:27
    Watch Not Buggering It Up
    Reason With A Tiger
    Clip 1:06
    Watch Reason With A Tiger
    Be Yourself
    Clip 0:33
    Watch Be Yourself
    Your Majesty
    Clip 0:44
    Watch Your Majesty
    Winston Churchill, British History Reborn in 'Darkest Hour'
    Interview 1:49
    Watch Winston Churchill, British History Reborn in 'Darkest Hour'
    Through the Lens: Tracking Shots in the Films of Joe Wright
    Video 1:33
    Watch Through the Lens: Tracking Shots in the Films of Joe Wright
    Gary Oldman Goes Beyond the Makeup in 'Darkest Hour'
    Video 2:26
    Watch Gary Oldman Goes Beyond the Makeup in 'Darkest Hour'

    Photos222

    Lily James in Darkest Hour (2017)
    Lily James in Darkest Hour (2017)
    Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour (2017)
    Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour (2017)
    Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour (2017)
    Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour (2017)
    Gary Oldman and Ben Mendelsohn in Darkest Hour (2017)
    Gary Oldman, Ronald Pickup, and Samuel West in Darkest Hour (2017)
    Gary Oldman and James Eeles in Darkest Hour (2017)
    Gary Oldman and Kristin Scott Thomas in Darkest Hour (2017)
    Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour (2017)
    Kristin Scott Thomas in Darkest Hour (2017)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Gary Oldman
    Gary Oldman
    • Winston Churchill
    Lily James
    Lily James
    • Elizabeth Layton
    Kristin Scott Thomas
    Kristin Scott Thomas
    • Clemmie
    Ben Mendelsohn
    Ben Mendelsohn
    • King George VI
    Ronald Pickup
    Ronald Pickup
    • Neville Chamberlain
    Stephen Dillane
    Stephen Dillane
    • Viscount Halifax
    Nicholas Jones
    Nicholas Jones
    • Sir John Simon
    Samuel West
    Samuel West
    • Sir Anthony Eden
    David Schofield
    David Schofield
    • Clement Atlee
    Richard Lumsden
    Richard Lumsden
    • General Ismay
    Malcolm Storry
    Malcolm Storry
    • General Ironside
    Hilton McRae
    • Arthur Greenwood
    Benjamin Whitrow
    Benjamin Whitrow
    • Sir Samuel Hoare
    Joe Armstrong
    Joe Armstrong
    • John Evans
    Adrian Rawlins
    Adrian Rawlins
    • Air Chief Marshal Dowding
    • (as Adrian Rawlings)
    David Bamber
    David Bamber
    • Admiral Ramsay
    Paul Leonard
    • Admiral Dudley Pound
    David Strathairn
    David Strathairn
    • President Roosevelt
    • (voice)
      • Joe Wright
      • Anthony McCarten
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Double Take: Showstopping Biopic Transformations

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    Photos

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    Storyline

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    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Gary Oldman spent a year studying Winston Churchill and his mannerisms before starting on this movie.
    • Goofs
      Blackout restrictions were imposed starting in September 1939 and strictly enforced, requiring all vehicles to be fitted with slotted covers that only allowed a tiny sliver of light to be directed downwards toward the road. However, all the vehicles in the street scenes had fully exposed headlights.
    • Quotes

      Winston Churchill: You can not reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth.

    • Crazy credits
      At the end of the closing credits the Big Ben clock is heard striking.
    • Connections
      Featured in CTV National News: Episode dated 7 September 2017 (2017)

    User reviews715

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    I never tire of watching this!
    This biopic of a very narrow period in Winston Churchill's life - May 1940 to be exact - was probably made to earn British actor Gary Oldman the academy award, but man, did he ever earn it! This film won Oscars for Best Actor for Oldman and for makeup, and I'd say they definitely earned that. Great trouble is taken to make sure you believe you are looking right at Sir Winston. Oldman literally disappears into the part.

    The film opens with Parliament in open rebellion over Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's failure to deal with Hitler and the opposition party demanding his resignation. Chamberlain wants Halifax to replace him, another appeasement advocate cut from the same cloth as he, but Halifax refuses saying his "time has not yet come". So Winston's party picks him literally - while holding their noses - because nobody else wants the job. And for good reason. Hitler is knocking over European countries with the ease of dominoes and the entire British army is trapped at Dunkirk, with so many damaged ships blocking the harbor that no other ship can get into it to rescue them.

    Next we meet Oldman's portrayal of Sir Winston. He is a man of enormous appetites - food, drink, cigars - and sometimes tremendous temper. His spending brings him to the brink of bankruptcy multiple times. His party doesn't like him. The king resents him for how he advised his brother when he was planning to marry Wallis Simpson. And Chamberlain and Halifax STILL want to appease Hitler and because Churchill does not, they are working to undermine him, particularly with the king.

    The film uses two obvious plot devices that are probably not based in fact. One is Churchill's young secretary who at first he scares to death with his tantrums, but later the two become close as he softens his approach with her . The other is a trip into a subway to get "the man on the street's opinion" about Hitler that just seems eye-rollingly over the top. There is a baby that the mother oddly says looks like Churchill, what seems like an interracial couple in 1940, and a woman who, from the way she is dressed, appears to be a socialist. Yet they to a man, to a woman, to a child, encourage Churchill to fight Hitler to the end. This fictitious event seems to be stolen from Shakespeare, but if you must steal, then steal from the best.

    Honorable mention has to go to Kristen Scott Thomas as Clementine, Winston's supportive wife who is often overlooked by history. Also deserving mention is Ben Mendelsohn as King George VI, who is portraying a man much more comfortable as monarch than he was portrayed in Then King's Speech, but then this is not his story.

    Yes, it is not historically accurate, but if Churchill did confront the situations and people he confronted in this film, he probably would have acted exactly as he was portrayed here.

    I knock off one star for not at least TRYING to explain to the audience WHY - with Hitler obviously not trustworthy - members of Parliament would not realize the choice was between slavery and war. The answer is that WWI cost Britain a generation of young men. Literally every British young man who went to war either died or was maimed. And in the end the entire conflict seemed like it had been for nothing. And so many of the British - and more of the Americans - did not want to go through this a second time with the exact same country, not realizing until it was almost too late that the Kaiser was no Hitler.
    helpful•26
    7
    • AlsExGal
    • Aug 26, 2018

    Details

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    • Release date
      • December 22, 2017 (United States)
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • China
    • Official sites
      • Official Site
      • Official Site (Austria)
      • English
      • French
      • German
      • Italian
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Wentworth Woodhouse, Wentworth, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, UK
    • Production companies
      • Focus Features
      • Perfect World Pictures
      • Working Title Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 2 hours 5 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Atmos

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