Stars: Robert Hardy, Sian Phillips, Nigel Havers, Tim Pigott-Smith, Sam Wanamaker, Edward Woodward, David Swift, Edward Woodward, Edward Woodward, Tim Pigott-Smith

Director: Ferdinand Fairfax

Summary: This miniseries is based on Sir Martin Gilbert's acclaimed biography of Winston Churchill. Covering his wilderness years, the period between 1933 and 1939, the series begins as Churchill (Robert Hardy) resigns from his post as Chancellor of the Exchequer and heads into an uncertain political future. Absorbing and well acted, WINSTON CHURCHILL: THE WILDERNESS YEARS is a fascinating portrait of the 20th century's greatest political figure during that century's most troubled time.

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It's easy to forget that, though fronting the British war effort through most of World War Two, Winston Churchill had spent the previous decade isolated in Parliament and in an internal opposition to the Conservative party. Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years dramatises this period, in which the growing menace of Nazism in Germany was met with indifference, even fear by governments of the day who were more concerned with their survival than in serving those who had elected them. Churchill is perceptively played by Robert Hardy who confirms the image without falling into caricature. Visionary and obstinate by turns, he galvanises his supporters and enrages his enemies with a passion borne of conviction. A seasoned British cast includes Peter Barkworth as the amiable but ineffectual Stanley Baldwin, Eric Porter as the truly "out of time" Neville Chamberlain, Edward Woodward as the scheming Samuel Hoare, and Nigel Havers as the tragically flawed Randolph Churchill. Martin Gilbert has done a persuasive job transforming his novel into a TV script, the scenes in the House of Commons having a gritty reality that makes compulsive viewing.

On the DVD: It's a pity that the Southern Pictures production first screened in 1981 has emerged so dimly in this incarnation. Has the master tape eroded so badly, or was it simply not available? However, it's worth putting up with the technical defects to enjoy this historically informed and grippingly dramatic serial. --Richard Whitehouse

Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 0
Year:	1981
Release Date:	December 3, 2001
Runtime:	416 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	86012
Keywords:	Years, Wilderness, Box, General, Four, Churchill, Set, Winston, Drama, Historical, Discs
Genre:	Drama