10/10. This rare eight-hour, four-part series chronicles the decade before World War II when Churchill was out of power and was the "lone voice in the wilderness" against Hitler. If you have any interest in biography, politics, war and history, then you may love this richly-endowed, true story as much as I did. Given that the production's budget probably excluded the use of massive crowd scenes (unless you qualify The House of Commons), everything about it - acting, writing, casting, cinematography, score - appears flawless to me in its quiet, solid style. Then again, I may be over-awed by what might be a perfect performance in one of the best roles that an English-speaking actor could have. Robert Hardy delivers a first-class impression of one of the greatest figures of history. It helps that Winston Churchill was not just noble but entertaining, showing eloquence with comedic flourish even in his private moments. *** Spoilers May Follow *** Indeed, I was struck by how consistent the public Churchill was in speaking to the House with the private Churchill in confronting his son. Love him or hate him, he is shown to be a honest, emotional, principled creature who lived in the grand style, acted as he preached, and dealt warmly and fairly with everyone. Perhaps this was because he had a born star's aristocratic ego. A Canadian counterpart might be Don Cherry. An American counterpart might be Muhammad Ali or Rush Limbaugh. If the historical material is as accurate as it seems to be, then I rate this as the best biographical drama that I have ever seen for its accuracy, entertainment, and importance. I guess that it is historically faithful, because Churchill's fight against Indian independence and Ghandi is chronicled. In these "politically correct" post-sixties times, his defence of King and Empire, although consistent with his now-easy stance against Hitler, probably helped the BBC to decide to turn down producing this mini-series. When it aired in 1999 and 2001 on British Columbia's Knowledge Network, it had me reserving every Friday night in anticipation for the next episode. "Roots" also held me in great suspense as a child, but I saw as an adult that its class is far lower than that of "Churchill." Therefore, I also rate this film as the best mini-series that I've ever seen.
