Young Winston

1972 "Rebel Soldier Hustler Prisoner Fugitive Firebrand"
6.7| 2h29m| PG| en| More Info
Released: 10 October 1972 Released
Producted By: Columbia Pictures
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Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
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Synopsis

This historical drama is an account of the early life of British politician Winston Churchill, including his childhood years, his time as a war correspondent in Africa, and culminating with his first election to Parliament.

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Reviews

Greenes Please don't spend money on this.
Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film
Calum Hutton It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...
Justina The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.
vitachiel Solid biography of the early life of Winston Churchill. The casting is top notch, it's a pity we don't get to see more of Anthony Hopkins, but it was an early appearance for him. The boy that played kid Winston and the guy who played young man Winston have a extraordinary resemblance to the real Churchill, and they perform their parts very well too.The story is directed well enough to keep you entertained for 2,5 hours. The only hindrance is Churchill's annoying voice-over; although the manner of speaking may be historically correct, it distracts from the story with its quaint intonation. This may be a minor issue to some, but the distraction keeps coming back.All in all a well-directed biopic, which will also appeal to non-connoisseurs.
pawebster What an excellent cast. Anybody who was anybody in the British acting world in 1972 was in this film. In addition, there was the little known Simon Ward doing a fantastic, difficult, turn as Churchill. The one thing lacking here - and it is due to the script - is Churchill's impish and often self-deprecating humour, which he brilliantly used to counterbalance the overweening ambition he was rightly accused of.The trouble is the poorish script and the plodding direction. Richard Attenborough had many great moments as a director, but this wasn't one of them. The pace is often slow and exciting moments are somehow rendered almost dull. Read Churchill's own account of his imprisonment and escape and compare it to this lame version.It has dated more than Churchill's true story and his own writings. The thing that has dated most is Anne Bancroft's ludicrous thick early 1970s makeup. If she had worn that makeup in 1900, she would have been for ever shunned as a harlot.I wish someone would have another go at this subject.
intelearts Young Winston definitely shows Attenborough on a large scale - one can see where some of the crowd scenes in Gandhi came from - and is a cracking film.Entertaining from start to finish with a riveting performance from Simon Ward, who never quite reached these heights again and went on to light adventure roles like the Duke of Buckingham in the Three Musketeers.All in all, this is history light, but it completely watchable. It cleverly mixes the battle scenes and the politics to produce a Boy's Own adventure with great costuming and nice attention to details.Helped along by an excellent all-star cast you can't really go wrong if you like adventure history films - the last half hour is superb, and a two hours long it doesn't waste time but never rushes.Great fun, and just serious enough to remind you why the Churchill myth, rightly or wrongly (and the film never touches the darker side of Churchill) meant that in 2003 he was voted the greatest Englishman of all time.
Tirogesflair Like most reviewers here - I saw the film originally on the big screen back in 1972. As an eager young historian then - I recall how much this film helped bring to life Winston Churchill and political and social life of Great Britain in the decades before the First World War. Simon Ward was brilliant as the young Winston but Robert Shaw's tortured performance as Lord Randolph Churchill stand out - especially the scene where he is addressing the House of Commons when clearly his mind was fast gowing. Anthony Hopkins does have a small - but crucial role in the film as Liberal M.P David Lloyd George. It was his friendship with Churchill and the then political issue of tariffs v Free trade that led to Churchill leaving the Conservatives and becoming a Liberal for the next 20 years. I do also recall the final 'ghost' scene - so i will be interested to see what the new DVD will do about that as a missing scene from the earlier video release.