Darkest Hour (4K UHD + Blu-Ray) (Hong Kong Version / Chinese subtitled) 黑暗對峙

As someone interested in history, but who is not a scholar, I decided to do a bit of homework before watching the movies  Dunkirk (2017) (BD) [Blu-ray ] and Darkest Hour. I looked them up on the Internet, using resources like Wikipedia to simply get the gist of what was going on, historically, so I might better grasp the dramatizations created in the two movies. I watched Dunkirk first, and Darkest Hour a few days later.Because I was so bowled over by both movies, I can confidently recommend that these films be watched back to back, because they cover the same period, both specifically (Dunkirk – one event) and generally (Darkest Hour – about a nation’s resolve, leading into the war years). Conversely, the action of Dunkirk is seen through the eyes of an “everyman” character, a soldier among many soldiers, sailors and airmen, mostly nameless, but who made up the forces, which eventually helped England, defend itself from Hitler’s massive assault machine during World War II. Because they had been successfully evacuated from the encircled Dunkirk, British forces were able to regroup and come back stronger. Had this event not occurred, they might have been largely wiped out, and the war could have had an entirely different and deeply tragic conclusion.Meanwhile, Darkest Hour takes up the story from the perspective of Winston Churchill, portrayed brilliantly by Gary Oldman, who deservedly won the 2017 Best Actor Oscar for this film, along with his wife, his young secretary, members of the British Parliament, and even the King.Dunkirk is a mesmerizing and relentless portrayal of a turning point in a battle that was very nearly lost. In case readers here want to be kept in suspense, I won’t reveal its climactic moments, but this same time in history is briefly visualized in Darkest Hour. Both films have incredibly moving sequences. The aerial dogfights in Dunkirk were made real by the filmmakers’ refusal to turn them into some kind of Star Wars, breakneck-speed fest. It’s clear by the fine details that these airmen were working with technology quite primitive by today’s standards. Because we are invited into their cockpits through the use of beautifully calculated camera close-ups, their heroism becomes palpable, and we sweat and grit our teeth and hold on to our seats as if we were in there with them. Two scenes in the final half hour of Dunkirk may resonate with some viewers long after the movie is over. They did me, not to mention the breathtaking cinematography (shots of the beaches from the air, with thousands of men lined up to be rescued while the Germans continued their bombing raids, are among the most memorable scenes in the movie).While Dunkirk is saturated in tones of aqua, blue, pale yellow, green and white, Darkest Hour uses warm browns and sepias, with accents of red, orange, navy blue and beige. It is another animal entirely, but is a perfect counterpoint, dramatically and emotionally, to Dunkirk. Churchill, I learned from my research, was a tremendously complex individual, with a history of both failures and successes in various leadership roles. He had detractors as well as champions. While other portions of his life and career apparently revealed him as a deeply flawed human being, what Darkest Hour makes clear is that he was a tremendous communicator, and it was much to his credit that England did not surrender, but fought to the bitter end, and with the help of its allies, arose triumphant. Now I’m not knowledgeable enough to speculate that the British Empire would have triumphed over the Nazis if America had not finally been sucked into the war. But Darkest Hour pulls out all the emotional stops as it races toward its conclusion, and I was left with both tears and renewed astonishment at the fortitude of a small nation’s resilience, sacrifice and determination – all foreshadowed in the speeches of Winston Churchill. Darkest Hour is not an action film, and yet compared to Dunkirk, it seems to be over much, much faster. Personally, I attribute this to the extraordinary Gary Oldman. This is surely his finest hour on the Big Screen!Each of these two movies is stronger, I think, because of the existence of the other. The prime message that I took from this pair of fine films was not so much some notion of the “glory of war,” but just how valuable and hard won is the peace. During World War II, Hollywood movies seem to have been created as rallying cries to the battlefield and to victory, with manly men proudly marching into danger and destruction, and sturdy women working in the factories and keeping “the home fires burning” – and these entertainments often fulfilled their purpose. Dunkirk and Darkest Hour accomplish something a bit different – to remind us of the necessity of shared sacrifice, so important when the world faced down the “Great Dictator,” but which seems almost like a foreign, impossible concept now. I don’t see any leaders today who have the strength of character of a Winston Churchill, who can help us put aside our petty differences and to see ourselves as a nation with common goals, a society capable of achieving some kind of unity while remaining free. Woe to us if we ever have to face another Hitler!

My husband and his brother both love history and do a lot of reading. They both enjoyed the portrayal of Winston Churchill and the turning point in a battle that was nearly lost at Dunkirk. We all recommend purchasing it. Very riveting story.

My first chance to really understand better exactly what Churchill accomplished with mostly just his wits and ability to rally the English people. Gary Oldman became him! Enjoyed the conversations shown between him and his aides as well as royalty.

It moved a tad slow but was good movie.

Gary Oldman is a genius

Great movie.... Highly recommend!

The Darkest Hour covers Winston Churchill’s start as prime minister of England in May 1940. It’s about his struggles not only with Hitler but within the British government as well.The film begins with the divisions within the English parliament over Churchill’s (Gary Oldman) ascension to power. First, Neville Chamberlin (Ronald Pickup) is forced out of office over the course of the war. He and Viscount Halifax (Stephen Dillane) still believe England can negotiate with Germany so they plot against Churchill. Their world view was shaped by World War I and they didn’t want to see another generation of young Brits killed in war. Churchill on the other hand is the only candidate that all the parties can agree. upon as the next PM even though he is widely disliked. Even the king (Ben Mendelsohn) isn’t fond of him. This shows that Churchill was really fighting a two front war when he became prime minister. Not only did he have to face the Germans but he was constantly facing backbiting from within England as well. Every major decision he made such as trying to get the British Expeditionary Force in France out at Dunkirk faced dissension. That’s actually the main focus of the story, Churchill trying to keep his government together.Of course when he takes power he has to deal with Hitler and his expansion in Europe. That begins with the Nazis invading France, Dunkirk, etc. There’s a rousing scene towards the end when he takes the subway to parliament and polls the passengers about what they think about the war. They give him the confidence to continue on with his policy and leads to his never surrender speech. It’s an uplifting end to a story that began with Churchill struggling to deal with domestic and international forces that were all against him.C

Wanted to have my own copy of this great movie. Great acting, great performances by every actor. Very happy customer!

Darkest Hour is an historical drama/character biopic that tells the story of Winston Churchill's first month as Prime Minister. A time when World War Two went from bad to worse for Britain, and when all seemed lost. In the face of this, with other politicans clamouring for peace with the Nazis, with seemingly no hope of victory, it was going to be a very stern test of his leadership abilities...Historical dramas are usually dramatisations, in that things will be altered slightly in order to make it work as a movie. Thus those who want to nit pick such things will find enough to keep them happy here, despite a stellar effort it makes in so many ways. They will particularly latch onto a scene which is an even less accurate depiction of travel on the London Underground than that seen in 'Thor: the Dark World.' But some of this will be an education to many, and it does manage to do what Dunkirk, by virtue of it's focus, couldn't, and mention those who had to hold the line. To the last man.And yet where this does succeed brilliantly is in the character drama department. It's a story of a man facing so many challenges, so many things stacked against him, and so many personal issues, and yet finding the strength to come through. In that respect, it is superb. Gary Oldman does a brilliant job of transformation acting in the lead, and you do forget that you're watching an actor in makeup after a while. As a character drama in this way, it does a great job of making the viewer think. What you might do in similar circumstances. Would you fight for a seemingly lost cause, or would you want to try and get peace?And said tube scene is worth it because it reminds us of a salient truth that is often forgotten. Politicans don't govern us. They govern for us. You would wish for a present day politician who would do this.So whilst it's not quite perfect and thus not quite a five star film, for what it does as outlined above, it is a very memorable and worthwhile watch, and well worth a look.The dvd has the following language and subtitle options:Languages: English, Castilian Spanish, Russian.Subtitles: English, Arabic, Castilian Spanish, Danish, Estonian, Finnish, Hindi, Icelandic, Lavian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Portugese, Russian, Swedish.It's also English audio captioned.The disc begins with a single trailer, which can be skipped via the next button on the dvd remote.Extras:A commentary from the director.Into Darkest Hour. A seven minute overview of the project. Interesting viewing, if a bit brief.Gary Oldman: becoming Churchill: four minutes about his performance. A fascinating look at the actor's craft. Well worth a watch.The disc also comes with the usual flyer with code for downloading a copy of the film onto a digital device.

Many great things have been said and written about the film, mostly about Gary Oldman's portrayal of Winston Churchill, which is indeed a Oscar worthy performance in my view.For myself having now watched the film i must agree that the praise attributed is well deserved even though as many will no doubt point out the film has been tailored for theatrical presentation so is not totally historically accurate, however the theme does give a good indication of the struggle the incoming Prime Minister in May 1940 had to face.With the entire British Army in retreat in Europe cornered and seemingly trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk the U.K Government are faced with the prospect of trying to negotiate with the German and Italian authorities or stand alone with defeat looking inevitable.Winston Churchill would not only order the unlikely evacuation of around 300,000 troops from Dunkirk.Britain would stand virtually alone for the following 18 months or so.The film is in my view very worthy of a viewing.Though not portrayed in the film the country would later in 1940 face the 3/4 month Battle of Britain July 10th - Oct 31st and indeed the Blitz 7th Sept 40' - 10th May 41'

Churchill was a man of his time, essentially a Victorian who believed like the Victorians did that there was nothing higher than the English race. He was a member of the upper class who took to the rigid class structure like a duck to water. He was a passionate advocate of the British Empire which for him was the gold standard.This multicultural, twentieth-first century load of tosh ought to have a health warning, and the writer and director ought to be ashamed of putting onto the screen this piece of fiction.I rarely give one star reviews, but this is my pick for 2018, pushed over the edge by the squirming, vomit inducing, mind-numbing sequence in the tube.There are subtitles for the HOH.‘The Gathering Storm’ in which Albert Finney played Churchill and Vanessa Redgrave played Clementine was superior in every way.

Anchored by an extraordinary award-winning performance by Gary Oldman, this handsomely mounted account of the dangerous defeat-ladentimes for Britain and her allies in 1940 as Churchill takes on foes without and within is a reminder of how precarious those times were in manyways, not least for the fractious differences of views among the powerful about Nazi Germany and her intentions. The rescue of the troopsfrom the beaches of Dunkirk (surely the greatest escape of WW2) is skimmed over, perhaps for cinematic story-telling purposes, but thestranger than fiction account given in his 1982 book "Skies to Dunkirk - A Personal Memoir" by Air Marshal Sir Victor Goddard KCB CBE MAsets the record straight. A group-captain on Lord Gort's staff, he was sent on a risk-laden flight from France to the UK with a messagefrom his BEF commander for naval help in securing the rescue of the men at Dunkirk. After landing in England, Goddard reached London andachieved an entry into a meeting of the Defence Chiefs, where, faced with the limitations of naval help on offer, expressed the view to amazedsenior officers unused to such forthright behaviour from a junior officer, that boats of all sizes and types be sent to help in the evacuation..He was requested to leave the meeting but later learnt that his impetuous view had been taken up and the rest - as they say -is history!

Excellent production values are evident. The director has sought dark colours, smoky rooms and gloomy scenes. And opening the film with bedroom dictation to a young female secretary at a typewriter was very odd: Never mind Churchill's Victorian morality, dictation was to a short hand pad and typed up afterwards: Felt deliberately artificial to add ineptitude to the atmosphere; certainly set the film off very awkwardly.There is a heavy concentration on political sniping, selfish manoevering, stupid dead ends, mistakes, misunderstandings and weakness. There is nothing smoothly Holywood about this. A historian might give a better analysis of the incomprehension engendered at his level by the well understood shock impact of the German BlitzKrieg and the time it took to understand it, but Churchill's meeting with the french felt very odd. The Fall of France and Churchill's position on the french fleet are reliably documented and this account is at odds with my reading on it from several sources. It felt like an attempt to reduce Churchill, to build him up later and make survival more dramatic and unexpected.It was a difficult film to watch and grated in many places but perhaps good to see this angle... I'm in two minds about the film though.