mark.waltz With parents like his, it's no wonder that Winston Churchill found a place in history. It wasn't that they raised him for greatness, basically not even raising him at all. Brought up by a loving nanny, young Winston wanted nothing more than a chance to rise in politics with his Parliament father at his side. Shear determination and a will to serve made him perhaps the greatest prime minister (or at least the most remembered) in British history.If there were awards for voice-over, the one provided by young Simon Ward would have gotten one for sure. Not only does he play the role of young Winston from his early 20's on up, he also provides the much altered voice for the fat old man that people remember. Robert Shaw and Anne Bancrift portray his wealthy parents, with Pat Heywood as sweet as a biscuit as his devoted nanny. Shaw is outstanding as the elder Churchill, with Bancroft gorgeous as the noble mother who tried to make up in Winston's adulthood to make up for her neglect. Outstanding photography and a gorgeous score makes this lush epic very well worth seeing, with equally fine direction by Richard Attenborough. Battle scenes going back to wars prior to 1900 are epic in scope. There's a lot of memorable supporting parts for some of England's finest actors. I'm sure that this would look gorgeous on the big screen, but many films like this in the 1960's and '70s were forgotten by award time, although this got a few nominations. The mixture of history, family drama and light comedy will keep your attention. A little sleeper that may run over 2 1/2 hours but won't make you nod off.

CitizenCaine Young Winston is perhaps one of the forgotten films of the early 1970's, and there may be no better explanation for it besides the fact Hollywood pumped out a plethora of artistically successful productions as well as films successful at the box office. Richard Attenborough directs another all-star British cast, as he did in his first film, along with a main actress of the day to play Churchill's neglectful mother: Anne Bancroft. The film stars Robert Shaw as Churchill's impossibly over-bearing father Lord Randolph, whose bout with syphilis led to his slow decline. Simon Ward plays the young Churchill from his late teens into his mid 20's as an equally adventurous, arrogant, brash, and ultimately courageous young man coming into his own after failing to meet his father's ridiculous standards for achievement and success.The film is slow-moving in the first half with the not-too-original background of a young boy mistreated by parents, aimlessly searching for direction in life. Writer Carl Foreman's Oscar-nominated screenplay heats up in the second half with Churchill's adventurous exploits as a lieutenant and a journalist. Attenborough is best at panning the majestic landscapes and filming action scenes peppered with intense emotion, as during Winston's escape from Pretoria. Ward is the very embodiment of a young Churchill, and it's his voice imitating the famous elder Churchill's that narrates the film. The film benefits immensely from its strong British cast, including Jack Hawkins, Ian Holm, Anthony Hopkins, Patrick Magee, Edward Woodward, and John Mills. Look for an appearance by Jane Seymour and Nigel Hawthorne in his film debut. The film was Oscar-nominated for its Art Direction and Set Decoration as well as its costumes. The film climaxes somewhat unexpectedly when Ward gives a speech in Parliament, echoing a battle Lord Randolph fought years before. It's a deliberately paced film telling a story about one of the twentieth century's most important figures. *** of 4 stars.

Corky1984 Young Winston chronicles the formative years of one of England's greatest ever statesman. We witness the early childhood of Churchill, pass through his army days and encounter his first forays into the world of Edwardian politics as a Tory MP tempted to switch to the Liberals. With a strong cast, including Robert Shaw as Churchill's coldly distant father, Lord Randolph (briefly Chancellor of the Exchequer), and Anthony Hopkins as David Lloyd George, this is a film that saunters along at a nice pace. The chap who plays Churchill also looks remarkably similar to the great man in his youth, a nice bit of casting. The highlight of the film is the battle of Omdurman, where Churchill took part in one of the British Empire's final heroic cavalry charges, brilliantly portrayed. I would have liked to have seen a greater concentration on this illustrious episode, however, but there you go! Other highlights include Churchill's daring escape from a Boer prison camp and his somewhat hot-headed defence of a train deep in enemy territory during the 1899-1902 conflict. Attenborough is an excellent director and whilst this is not his best work, it merits a viewing. For a readable and concise look at Churchill's life, I would recommend Richard Holmes' In the Footsteps of Churchill.

ma-cortes The picture is based on Winston Churchill's autobiographic book titled : ¨My early life : a roving commission¨ . The movie talks about infancy , the school times in a strict discipline , the young military and journalist career and the election as parliamentary at the early age twenty six years old . He intervened against the rebels in India , at defense of the British Empire . Winston participated in the last charge of Brit brigade in Sudan war along with general Kitchener (John Mills) in command the Army against Derviches that had formerly vanquished general Gordon (1884 , Khartoum, events narrated in the film with the same title with Charlton Heston). Later on , he was to South Africa as journalist in English-Boer war (1899-1902 , the leaders were Rhodes-Kruger respectively) that Kitchener would finish (though there he would create the first concentration camp) . Churchill is imprisoned but he breaks out from Pretoria . After the spectacular getaway which obtained world fame he was elected as Parliament member where he speaks an overlong speech that makes it a little bit boring . He subsequently becomes Tory (or Conservative) Party leader confronting Prime Minister Salisbury (Laurence Naismith) and later on , facing LLoyd George (Anthony Hopkins) , Liberal Party leader . The film won several Oscar nominations or Academy Awards , to original screenplay (Carl Foreman), Production design (Geoffrey Drake) and Costume (Anthony Mendleson) but achieve none . Simon Ward is enormous and Anne Bancroft , Robert Shaw and Anthony Hopkins are magnificent . This was the first of five films that Richard Attenborough and Anthony Hopkins worked together on . They later worked together on Magic (1978), A bridge too far (1977), Chaplin (1992), and Shadowlands (1993). Very good support cast , actors Ian Holm, John Mills, Jack Hawkins , Patrick Magee, Anthony Hopkins and Edward Woodward all received 'special appearance' credits and debut theatrical feature film of actor Nigel Hawthorne . The sensitive and romantic music score was masterfully composed by Alfred Ralston . The motion picture was well directed by Richard Attemborough .