The Gathering Storm (2002)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Audio Commentary-Richard Loncraine (Director) And Frank Doelger (Producer) Biographies-Cast & Crew
Rating
Year Of Production	2002
Running Time	95:49
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	2,4	Directed By	Richard Loncraine
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	Albert Finney Vanessa Redgrave Jim Broadbent Linus Roache Lena Headey Derek Jacobi Tom Wilkinson Ronnie Barker Tom Hiddleston Celia Imrie Hugh Bonneville Gottfried John Anthony Brophy
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$39.95	Music	Milton Ager Al Dubin Howard Goodall

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	Unknown	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    The Gathering Storm is a HBO movie about the period in the 1930s when Winston Churchill was a backbencher in the Baldwin Conservative government. The film charts his realisation of the Nazi threat and his attempts to wake the country up to the danger. It also portrays the relationship between Churchill and his wife Clementine.

    The film begins with Churchill visiting the site of the battle of Blenheim, at which his ancestor the Duke of Marlborough led the British army to victory. Then we see Churchill's home life, his money problems, and his protests in Parliament against Indian independence. Through the agency of a senior civil servant in the Foreign Office, Churchill gains access to secret documents that contain information about Germany's military build-up, and he uses these in Parliament to warn of the impending danger.

    The Gathering Storm has a fine cast, but towering over them all is Albert Finney as Churchill. He manages to look uncannily like the British politician, and has his physical and vocal mannerisms down to a T. Even more impressively, he invests the character with a humanity often lacking in film portraits of this kind. Almost as impressive is Vanessa Redgrave as his long-suffering wife, and their scenes together are wonderful.

    The supporting cast is surprisingly strong, with even small parts cast with name actors. Linus Roache is good as the ill-fated Ralph Wigram, and Derek Jacobi makes the most of his few scenes as Stanley Baldwin. Tom Wilkinson overacts slightly in his small part, while Ronnie Barker came out of a long retirement to play Churchill's butler Inches. Jim Broadbent also appears as Desmond Morton.

    Richard Loncraine's direction is generally very good, and the film builds to a satisfying and moving conclusion. Some scenes were shot at Churchill's actual home, which is now a museum, and some effort has been made to achieve an authentic look and feel to the production.

Video

    The video quality is pretty good, though not ideal.

    The film is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is enhanced for 16x9 displays. The case says incorrectly that the aspect ratio is 1.85:1. As the film was made for cable television, I suspect that the 1.78:1 ratio is the original aspect ratio.

    This film was shot for cable television and looks it. It is not ideally sharp, looking a little fuzzy for the most part. The level of detail revealed is reasonable, and apart from one or two instances where the lighting is murky, everything that happens on screen can be seen clearly.

    No film or film to video artefacts were noted.

    English and English for the Hearing Impaired subtitles are provided. These are clear and accurately reflect the dialogue, though American spelling is used.

    While the jacket indicates that this is a dual-layered disc, it is in fact a single layered disc.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There are two audio tracks provided. The default track is a Dolby Digital 5.1 track, with a Dolby Digital 2.0 track also available. I listened to the default track.

    Dialogue is generally clear and easy to understand, though at several points I had trouble with Albert Finney's mumbling of certain phrases. Otherwise, the audio transfer is exemplary.

    The surround channels are used sparingly, only for music and some occasional effects, such as the sound of a thunderstorm. The subwoofer only kicks into life during the thunderstorm, and when Churchill's daughter Sarah is playing a record and dancing to it.

    The music score is a weak link on this film. It is by Howard Goodall, who has presented several TV series about music, such as Howard Goodall's Big Bangs. The music is one of those sweeping orchestral scores that ram home the emotional sequences without much subtlety or intelligence. A pity, as this film deserved better.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Audio Commentary

    The audio commentary is provided by director Richard Loncraine and producer Frank Doelger. Much of the commentary is taken up with describing the locations used and the attempts to create believable settings. Loncraine's attempts to open up the material through the use of locations is discussed at length. They also talk about the on-screen chemistry between Finney and Redgrave. There are a few dead spots in the commentary, but for the most part this is quite interesting. Both are good talkers and give insights into the filmmaking process.

Cast and Crew Biographies

    Several pages for each of the main cast, the director and the writer, giving career information and listing some of their film and stage work.

    There is censorship information available for this title. Click here to read it (a new window will open). WARNING: Often these entries contain MAJOR plot spoilers.

    This film has been released on DVD in Region 1. Compared to the Region 1 release, the Region 4 release misses out on:

• French Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack
• Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack
• Spanish and French subtitles

    I see no reason therefore to prefer the Region 1 over the Region 4.

    This film is worth seeing solely for Albert Finney's stunning, Emmy Award-winning performance. But apart from that, this is an interesting and satisfying treatment of Churchill's "wilderness years". Highly recommended.

    The video quality is quite good, though it could have been better.

    The audio quality is very good.

    The extras are satisfactory.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall