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Dan loved this although disagree with your assessment of the scene where King George disparages Pitt as just a servant to balance the books which you take too literally. It is clearly designed to tell us the audience that the King is the old duffer who doesnt know what he's talking about by use of irony😏
You that Winston Churchill was drunk and slurd his words and out his face with drugs he had to repeat that speech year after the war when he was sober he was an embarrassment he's a known Paedophile and took drugs
He’s the most amazing actor! He’s fantastic in this. Compare this performance to his portrayal of George Smiley in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Simply amazing.
American here, just wanted to express my appreciation and gratitude for this channel. I'm something of an Anglophile and I love learning about British history, and History Hit makes it so fun and accessible. The presenters are so knowledgeable and passionate, I always look forward to new videos 😀 Also, Gary Oldman is an absolute legend, he is much beloved and admired here in the States.
I fully agree. I'm a German immigrant to the United States, and this is hands down my favorite history channel. It's not just British history. Memorial Day saw the release of the video about getting WWI soldiers the Medal of Honor that was denied to them because of racism. And around the same time, the video about the getting a proper burial for British soldiers at the Battle of Camden, where Dan Snow traveled to South Carolina. Close to my home in Charlotte.
Try his podcasts they are great too. I listen to Dan and his guests along with another channel ‘we have ways’ hosted by Al Murray and James Holland while having breakfast and/or lunch. Full of information and insight 👍
I love watching Dan Snow! He's such an engaging speaker and you can sense his passion for history whenever he speaks. Would love to see more of these videos in the future!
I was already a fan of Dan Snow, but his grasp and detail in this piece are second to none. I find history and particularly that of the United Kingdom very interesting and captivating. There is only one other historian that I enjoy listening to and seeing other than Dan Snow and that is Dr. David Starkey (Praise indeed Mr Snow).
As an American, I truly enjoy Mr. Snow’s absolute knowledge and heartfelt passion for British History! I have enjoyed Dan from the TH-cam History Channel plus watching him on Television over here in the middle of America (Oklahoma)… His passion and knowledge would qualify him for a knighthood (or a least a professor at Eaton or Oxford’)… I been to Oxford a couple of times and I could see him/hear Dan not only educate but couch his students to think out the box to understand her cherished traditions…only a British citizen ever could…
I had reservations about how Meryl Streep was going to pull this off as it's a very hard accent to get right. But then I remembered that she's Meryl Streep
I love his clear love and knowledge of history and I also love that he can also appreciate the movies themselves even with discrepancies. He points out things that historically are incorrect without full blown insulting the work which is nice to see.
Darkest Hour received several accolades, including Best Actor for Oldman at the Academy Awards. Oldman also won the BAFTA Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor--Motion Picture Drama, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role.
Honestly I could watch these videos all day. Gary Oldman is being brilliant as Churchill as he is in any film he is in. Meryl Streep is also brilliant playing Thatcher who was such a divisive PM. Tony Blair handled Diana’s death very well and Michael Sheen nails it.
Michael Sheen did a trilogy of Tony Blair appearances. The first is The Deal, in which he and Gordon Brown (David Morrissey) come up together and compete for the leadership of the Labour Party. The Queen is chronologically second, and the last is The Special Relationship, about Blair's dealings with President Clinton, well played by Randy Quaid (and Hope Davis is the best Hillary Clinton I have ever seen). The third is also the most political of the three, and is very interesting on Blair's influence on US participation in the defence of Kosovo.
This is one of many of Dan's reviews I have watched and I love how his passion for history shines through when he talks about any subject. I love listening to it, and learning from him! Thanks Dan :)
Love these videos with Dan Snow. He reminds me of a fantastic prof I had while at university for a class on Renaissance History. If he was teaching where I went to school, he would have overflowing classes.
It's easy to criticize Neville Chamberlain in hindsight, but he made the best choice with the information he had. He was perhaps naive, but so were many other people. It's important to give people some grace when we look at history.
I just said basically the same. In a modern lens, Chamberlin is a fool to believe Hitler. But in the actual context of the times, Chamberlin made the best choices he could with the information he had. Millions of people were taken in my Hitler's ability to talk. Other heads of state included. Did Chamberlin, to modern eyes, make a mistake? Yes. Is it fair to judge him by what we know now? No.
Exactly. We didn't realise how evil Hitler was or intended to be, and just because Chamberlain's "deal" was the first sign of what was to come doesn't mean that we should condemn him for making it.
I think Churchill's speech isn't just one of the most important speeches in the history of the English language I think it's one of the most important speeches in all of human history
Yes trouble is when it came to helping other countries fight their enemies churchill wasnt so willing so his speeches were a load of bullshit as far as us australians were concerned.
@@johnb1150 not really sure what exactly you're referring to: If you are talking about Gallipoli than you are under the modern and incorrect conception that the British threw away Anzac lives because they did not care about the colonies etc, when in reality the British and French (individually) lost more there than the Anzacs did. It was a collective tragedy born of bad strategy, not some weird feeling of superiority. If you mean WW2 against Japan, then this still makes no sense. The Australians withdrew most of their soldiers from Africa after Japan joined the war and Britain had no real objection to this. Realistically, there wasn't much more that Britain could have done to help Australia (they were kind of busy, and had just lost their eastern capital ships) and honestly most planners realized that Australia was in no real life-or-death danger. Even the Japanese considered an invasion of Australia foolish and pointless
@@kayisonyoutube3435Not really - not when you consider the context, especially the fact that a collapse in British morale and ignominious defeat would most likely have brought a quarter of the globe under Nazi Germany’s dominion. And even if Corporal Browntrousers had permitted an exiled British Government to continue to govern the Empire from Canada, a Nazi Germany in full command of Europe is a very different proposition to the Soviet Union than was hitherto the case. Also, a British defeat would likely have ended the war before the United States’ entry into it after Pearl Harbor, which means the Soviets would have been considerably weaker without the support of the Lend-Lease programme. No, this speech is every bit as important as claimed.
Thatcher calling any compromise with Argentina to be Appeasement was a conscious word choice. She knew the last time Appeasement was attempted, Hitler violated the terms of the armistice and invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia and wasn't intent on going down that path again.
Thus justifying sending elite British troops and millions of pounds of war machinery to "defend" penguins on a rock a thousand miles away from underage, under equiped conscripts sent by a Banana Republic dictator on the verge of losing power whose reasons for war were exactly the same as Thatcher's - distract everyone from the problems at home with a private little patriotic war. No one bought it then - neither in Argentina or England - and deliberately invoking threats of Hitler over what was fundamentally a colonial territory dispute only proves how monstrous she was.
I mean…It’s an effective manipulation of the public consciousness, but of course there’s long leagues of difference between the expansionist Nazi war machine and….Argentina, not even capable of posing a competent threat, laying claim to essentially its backyard.
Intentionally trying to evoke that specter to suit her own ends. Argentina was not going to take on the world just by giving them the Falklands. It was a pathetic attempt on her part to garner public opinion and give herself a veneer of military heroism. Disgusting, and anyone that believes it is ill-informed.
An interesting selection of movies made more interesting by Dan's engrossing and enthusiastic presentation. The movie about Chamberlain reminds me of a history course l took back in the eighties at adult college which covered the origins of WWll
I (I'm Canadian) learned just recently that the UK flag is only called the Union Jack when flown at sea, and is properly the Union Flag otherwise. I love that Dan Snow calls it the Union Flag. I rarely hear it referred to that way. He seems like he would know, which suggests that what I learned is true!
A thrilled looking video about the characteristics speech of Sir Winston Churchill ...during WW2...and Other brilliant figures of recent history of Britain 🇬🇧...with attractive introduction video
2 films I would recommend are The Gathering Storm where Winston Churchill is played by Albert Finney & The Long Walk to Finchley where a young Margaret Thatcher is played by Andrea Riseborough.
Gary Oldman was a wonderful Churchill. It was Edward R. Murrow (American journalist) who said that Churchill mobilized the English language and sent it into battle.
Michael Sheen had actually played Tony Blair in a television film prior to making the movie The Queen. He also has a stunning resemblance so he was the perfect fit.
On British history movie that I have questions about. The 2006 movie Amazing Grace. A great movie. 1. Did the abolitionists really sneak a bill pass parliament that allowed British privateers to seize British slave ships flying false colors during the Napoleonic Wars? 2. Was this a critical bill that financially weaken the slave owners, eventually allowed the British Atlantic Slave trade to be abolished? Note: If so, that is an incredible story. But I would wonder why parliament couldn't overturn this within a year. 3. Or did the slave trade just take a big financial hit due to the very long Napoleonic Wars, without any special bill passing parliament to make this happen? 4. Was the timing of the passage of a later bill in 1807 related to the United States making the importation of slaves from Africa illegal, as specified in the Constitution to take place in 20 years? 5. Did the British wish to be the first to prohibit this and was this factor decisive in the passing of this bill in 1807?
It's unfortunate but whenever I see Chamberlain waving that piece of paper I see a fool. I don't like thinking that way about an earnest man who did the best he could but we are looking at it with hindsight. In hindsight he definitely was very foolish if he actually believed Hitler. It seems as if he did though there's no way to be certain about that. Obviously he had to claim that he had done something important by buying the world more time.
On Churchill's speech in "Darkest Hour" there was a character with the 3rd party(at least separate from Halifax) who would display his approval or rejection of the speech by removing his jacket handkerchief. His approval of the speech and subsequent ovation from the remainder of the audience, according to the plot would show the total victory for Churchill. Did something like this actually happen?
Chamberlain was much less confident that is generally thought - he didn't want to waive the paper; his letters to his sister are full of his doubts about the Hitler agreement.
@@milesconerly5818 And he plays the Queen's Private Secretary in the recent series about Prince Andrew's interview, A Very Royal Scandal. Alex Jennings also played King Charles III in a radio play that came out several years ago. He has portrayed King Leopold of the Belgians (in Victoria). Alex Jennings is one of the best actors the UK has ever produced (and that's a crowded field). He is very versatile and if you check out his IMDb entry, you may find you have seen him in loads more things than you have mentioned.
Gary Oldman's Churchill was masterful , but Brian Cox's interpretation will always be underrated due to both movies were released in the same year . In Cox's Chirchill , he dived deep down to another Churchill , not the BlitKrieg hero but to the D-day Churchill , a man haunted by his own demons , notably the desastrous Gallipoli campaign , a bit of a glory seeking commander reminding us of his predecessor's effort in the war of the Spanish succession . To sum it up, it's a must see as we see another side of Winston presented to us by Brian Cox...
The problem with Cox’s Churchill, was that the entire premise of the film was around Churchill’s opposition to the D-Day landings so close to the event itself. Churchill was initially sceptical but was fully onboard and behind it months before June 6th 1944, so the entire film Cox was in and is portrayal, is based on a falsehood. If Churchill was so against D-Day the days before it happened, it wouldn’t have happened!
@@Slowlythinking Gillian Anderson, good as she was, didn't have the burden of carrying an entire film. But I agree, she deserves consideration. A very Kermodish prejudice.
1:00: 🎥 Dan Snow reviews the portrayal of British Prime Ministers in movies, focusing on the scene from 'The Darkest Hour' depicting Winston Churchill's famous speech. 3:46: 🗣 This X discusses the historical context and significance of Winston Churchill's speech and Margaret Thatcher's response to the sinking of the Belgrano. 7:49: 🇬🇧 Margaret Thatcher's leadership during the Falklands War and her decline as Prime Minister. 11:31: 🎭 The portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II and Tony Blair in the movie 'The Queen' highlights the tension between the elected Prime Minister and the British Monarchy. 15:40: 👑 The monarchy faces challenges and pressure from the public, but the queen and Tony Blair work together to navigate a changing world. 19:31: ✈ Chamberlain returns from Munich with a deal and is hailed as a hero, but Hitler breaks his word. 23:31: 🎥 The film portrays the historical events inaccurately, particularly the role and importance of Prime Minister Pitt. 26:48: 👑 Benjamin Disraeli's political alliance with Queen Victoria and his efforts to bring her out of mourning and retirement. 30:43: 📚 Disraeli's portrayal in the film captures his struggle to maintain power and re-energize conservatism amidst a changing society. Recap by Tammy AI
It'd be interesting if Dan could do another one for Prime Ministers; 'Amazing Grace' - 'Curtin' (he was Australian, not British- & it was a mini-series, not a movie)...
3:30 I still do not think, especially to the regular public, that Churchill is well understood beyond the outer shell of the speeches and 'the hero'. And I don't think this movie really helped very much in that regard.
They should make a movie about David Lloyd George, the PM during the latter part of WWI. He was also among those who negotiated the Treaty of Versailles.
31:30 It's hard to think how long ago it was now. It was an incredibly emotional event, even in Canada there were people weeping in the streets when interviewed by the press.
Oh man I had no idea that Churchill went and re-recorded his greatest hits... While he was still a leading figure in politics, and was just about to become PM again. That is so perfectly Churchill.
The portrayal of the l8 Baroness Thatcher when PM appears, in the film under advisement to be biased to a degree. It is unlikely that most southerners will be able fully to appreciate this. It is certainly true that Chamberlain was deluded and that WW2 could've been shorter had he seen the writing on the wall, as did many, such as my dad, of who's memory I am unspeakably proud. Interesting resume, thanks and.. Nice one Dan & Team! ⭐👍
The act of bowing to the monarch in the investiture of the PM is not the people abasing themselves to the Crown but an elected official bowing to the people in the person of the Queen.
Despite generally being a staunch lefty myself, I feel that the sympathetic portrayal of Neville Chamberlain was much needed. I truly believe he was fully aware of the danger that Hitler posed upon the world, but he was also very aware that Britain was in no current position to fight a major war. He sacrificed his political career to buy us time. Now whether we should have struck sooner is debatable, but considering the Soviet threats of the same time, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He chose to buy precious time whilst rearming in preparation for an inevitable conflict.
I had the opportunity to meet Lady Thatcher and Sir Dennis, after she had retired. She was on a trip to the USA, and I was a Supervisory Inspector with US Immigration. All persons, regardless of position, are required to clear Immigration and Customs. I cleared her and Sir Dennis in a side room to expedite their entry for security reasons. Both Lady Thatcher and Sir Dennis were the soul of courtesy, not a bit of pretension, and we had about a five minute conversation. She was one of a very few people I asked for an autographed photo fir my Office, which she obliged. President Reagan was another, and both their signed photos are above my desk at home now that I'm retired. She and President Reagan, Britain and America, brought back national pride, and were truly a driving force which changed the world and brought down the Soviet Union.
Oh, please. There are swathes of British people who hate her for destroying their industries and communities in the 80s. Flag shagging doesn't pay the bills.
Another note about the The Edge of War. As Dan said, Germany was quite weak in 1938. Even the extra year or two wasn't enough. They were so weak in fact that when the French invaded Germany in response to the invasion of Poland, even the half hearted and piecemeal attack was able to drive all the way to the town of Hornbach, taking 11 other towns and villages along the way, with no resistance. Had the British and French puffed out their chest and made it clear in 1938 that if Germany so much as blinked wrong, the full force of their militaries would come crashing down on Hitler's head, Hitler likely would've given in. To put it more simply, if Britain and France had half the ball Hitler did, there would have been no World War 2. Hell, it would've even had more effect if they'd done it in 1936 in opposition to the Remilitarization of the Rhineland. The whole "Extra year" claim is just a weak cover story to excuse the British and French governments from allowing the horrors of the Holocaust and World War 2 to have occured.
Just came across your video and I'm disappointed you left out Sir Ralph Richardson's performance as PM William Gladstone in Khartoum (1966) with Charlton Heston as Gen "Chinese" Gordon. Curious to know what you think of it.
Is Dan saying all this off the top of his head? He knows all the details, the dates, where each scene actually took place. Quite a brain he has, and a good teacher.
9:06 "Margaret Thatcher famously did not fill her cabinet, surround herself with women." Other than herself there were seven female conservative MPs, two of whom were elected for the first time. Her first cabinet had 21 positions. She couldn't have "filled" the cabinet with women if she'd tried, unless she decided to appoint women who weren't in parliament.
I didn't think Meryl Streep was at all convincing as Margaret Thatcher. Patricia Hodge was a much better protrayal. Meryl Streep seemed to have a soft look about her (not a very good description but the best I can come up with) while Ms Hodge had that edge of hardness and command visible in her expressions.
My two favorites are ‘Darkest Hour’ and ‘Munich; since I like that they are set before and during World War 2 which is one of my favorite subjects. Chamberlain failed to understand that Hitler and his followers didn’t want any peace, their intentions are made clear in Mein Kampf regarding ‘living space’ for Germany. Unfortunately not everyone is a rational person who can be made to see reason. Gary Old man’s portrayal of Churchill is the best that I have seen by far, he really became that character.
Thatcher, one of the greatest PMs who made one of the greatest blunders resonating greatly now, selling off council houses and not using the money to replace them.
"There can be no accommodation with a military dictator who sought to conquer territory by force". Said the Prime Minister of Great Britain. The Irony Lady.
Please note that the "fight on the beaches" speech used simple, direct words of English origin. Only one word was of French origin, "surrender" [from sur rondre, to give one self over as a captive, back in the days when your enemy might let you live in order to demand ransom].
@@John.Flower.Productions I thought everyone was aware of that. I have known it since I was a sprog. Of course I was educated in Scotland, and am old enough that that was when Scotland had one of he highest standards of education in the world.
I enjoyed this review immensely. I think Dan Snow showed great insight into all the films. I was completely unfamiliar with the Munich movie which seems to be the most recent. I read recently that the Prime Ministers don't actually kiss hands or kneel to the monarch, that the term is a leftover from long ago when this was the case and that the monarch simply shakes hands with the incoming Prime Minister. So is the whole business in The Queen with Tony Blair about it just a fiction then?
Disraeli wasn't Prime Minister during any of the Anglo Burmese Wars (he died in 1881, four years before the final annexation of Burma). I think it was Randolph Churchill who gave Burma as a Christmas present?
Churchills speech writer was so good it’s shocking I don’t know the name of him. It’s hard for people to remember just how unpopular the queen was at the time. Very different to how loved she was at her death.
If you enjoyed this please don't forget to like the video and let us know what genre of movies you'd like Dan to react to next! Also please do subscribe if you haven't already and help us reach our goal of 1 MILLION subscribers!
Isn’t that Dan’s dad Jon Snow in the sound on the Falklands video at about 6m40s?
The only issue is that the film isn’t called The Darkest Hour. It’s just Darkest Hour, no ‘the’
“The Darkest Hour” is a 2011 science fiction film 😂
Dan loved this although disagree with your assessment of the scene where King George disparages Pitt as just a servant to balance the books which you take too literally. It is clearly designed to tell us the audience that the King is the old duffer who doesnt know what he's talking about by use of irony😏
Every time I see Meryl as Thatcher I am reminded of Jennifer Saunders playing Meryl as Thatcher...
You that Winston Churchill was drunk and slurd his words and out his face with drugs he had to repeat that speech year after the war when he was sober he was an embarrassment he's a known Paedophile and took drugs
Gary Oldman killed it as Churchill. He BECAME Churchill. One of the finest performances of his career.
He slays like a Royal knight EVERY role he EVER portrays! He is superb!
There were points in that clip where I could hear Reznov 😂 he really is such a joy to watch
Along with Dracula and victor resnov
His Churchill was way too nice but that happens a lot with historical figures in films
He’s the most amazing actor! He’s fantastic in this. Compare this performance to his portrayal of George Smiley in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Simply amazing.
I can't get enough of Dan's breakdowns. More please
More on the way!
Agreed! He's such an engaging presenter!
This are brilliant
This is fantastic
A fountain of knowledge, he covers so much of history it's quite amazing
One day Lord Buckethead will make the cut.
That literally made me LOL
Hehe. Heard about that guy. Has been running still?
@@jozz2248Lost to the Conservatives at Uxbridge's snap election sadly. But he'll be back.
Lord Buckethead will not become the prime minster. He will become the Emperor of a new British Empire.
Legend
Oldman is a chameleon, he becomes every role he performs. It's entertaining to watch any movie he's in
Isnt he amazing? Dracula one minute Winston Churchill the next,both utterly seamless performances.
He currently portrays President Truman in Oppenheimer
Exactly up there with Daniel Day Lewis
From Drexel the pimp to Lee Harvey Oswald, he always steals the show.
American here, just wanted to express my appreciation and gratitude for this channel. I'm something of an Anglophile and I love learning about British history, and History Hit makes it so fun and accessible. The presenters are so knowledgeable and passionate, I always look forward to new videos 😀
Also, Gary Oldman is an absolute legend, he is much beloved and admired here in the States.
Wow, thank you!
I fully agree. I'm a German immigrant to the United States, and this is hands down my favorite history channel. It's not just British history. Memorial Day saw the release of the video about getting WWI soldiers the Medal of Honor that was denied to them because of racism. And around the same time, the video about the getting a proper burial for British soldiers at the Battle of Camden, where Dan Snow traveled to South Carolina. Close to my home in Charlotte.
As an American I too love the history of England.
I recently found out through my DNA, that most of my ancestor’s come from England. 🏴
@@fosterfuchsSo cool! 😎 history is fascinating, especially when it becomes more personal!
Fun fact: Dan Snow is the great-grandson of Prime David Lloyd George through his mother and had did a documentary on him
Tis true!
Whoa. That's amazing.
So Lloyd George knew his father?
@@HistoryHit The reply is supposed to be: Father knew Lloyd George.
Repeat lines 1 and 2 to the tune of Onward Christian Soldiers....
@@HistoryHitIs this the British equivalent of being the son of an NBA superstar?
Love Dan Snows' videos. Entertaining and informative in equal measures.
☺☺☺
Try his podcasts they are great too.
I listen to Dan and his guests along with another channel ‘we have ways’ hosted by Al Murray and James Holland while having breakfast and/or lunch.
Full of information and insight 👍
I love watching Dan Snow! He's such an engaging speaker and you can sense his passion for history whenever he speaks. Would love to see more of these videos in the future!
💯
And now I will spend the day watching The Darkest Hour, The Iron Lady & The Queen.
Just love Dan’s passion for history. It’s catching lol
He’s a vomit!!
Dan is pretty awesome. Also, it’s nice to see a public-facing male historian who’s as hot as the UK’s female historians.
@@grahamstrouse1165 lol agreed 😉
@@moonlightserenade6292 I didn’t know that. Thank you for sharing. 😁
Gary Oldman is rare to see as an actor but everytime you get to see him it’s a masterpiece.
I could listen to Dan Snow talk for hours. He's smart, articulate, knowledgeable, handsome. He looks tall. I bet he's tall. ❤❤️🔥🔥😍
I was already a fan of Dan Snow, but his grasp and detail in this piece are second to none. I find history and particularly that of the United Kingdom very interesting and captivating. There is only one other historian that I enjoy listening to and seeing other than Dan Snow and that is Dr. David Starkey (Praise indeed Mr Snow).
Try watching A History of Britain (2000) by Simon Schama. Also a brilliant orator.
As an American, I truly enjoy Mr. Snow’s absolute knowledge and heartfelt passion for British History! I have enjoyed Dan from the TH-cam History Channel plus watching him on Television over here in the middle of America (Oklahoma)…
His passion and knowledge would qualify him for a knighthood (or a least a professor at Eaton or Oxford’)…
I been to Oxford a couple of times and I could see him/hear Dan not only educate but couch his students to think out the box to understand her cherished traditions…only a British citizen ever could…
Dan Snow is a moron he only gets work because of his family connections
I had reservations about how Meryl Streep was going to pull this off as it's a very hard accent to get right.
But then I remembered that she's Meryl Streep
I have always enjoyed whatever Dan has been the presenter of, I could watch his history shows all day long.
I love his clear love and knowledge of history and I also love that he can also appreciate the movies themselves even with discrepancies. He points out things that historically are incorrect without full blown insulting the work which is nice to see.
Darkest Hour received several accolades, including Best Actor for Oldman at the Academy Awards. Oldman also won the BAFTA Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor--Motion Picture Drama, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role.
It should also win a best bullshit propaganda award.
We should defend our island whatever the cost may be.... we shall never surrender. His speech was intense moments of passion.
Honestly I could watch these videos all day. Gary Oldman is being brilliant as Churchill as he is in any film he is in. Meryl Streep is also brilliant playing Thatcher who was such a divisive PM. Tony Blair handled Diana’s death very well and Michael Sheen nails it.
Michael Sheen did a trilogy of Tony Blair appearances. The first is The Deal, in which he and Gordon Brown (David Morrissey) come up together and compete for the leadership of the Labour Party. The Queen is chronologically second, and the last is The Special Relationship, about Blair's dealings with President Clinton, well played by Randy Quaid (and Hope Davis is the best Hillary Clinton I have ever seen). The third is also the most political of the three, and is very interesting on Blair's influence on US participation in the defence of Kosovo.
This is one of many of Dan's reviews I have watched and I love how his passion for history shines through when he talks about any subject. I love listening to it, and learning from him! Thanks Dan :)
I adore Gary’s performance in The Darkest Hour! They did such a great job telling this story.
I love your breakdowns, thank you for posting this!
Love these videos with Dan Snow. He reminds me of a fantastic prof I had while at university for a class on Renaissance History. If he was teaching where I went to school, he would have overflowing classes.
Nigel Hawthorne was such a brilliant actor.
Yes, Minister
It's easy to criticize Neville Chamberlain in hindsight, but he made the best choice with the information he had. He was perhaps naive, but so were many other people. It's important to give people some grace when we look at history.
True. The appeasement was an attempt to save British men and women from total war.
I just said basically the same. In a modern lens, Chamberlin is a fool to believe Hitler. But in the actual context of the times, Chamberlin made the best choices he could with the information he had. Millions of people were taken in my Hitler's ability to talk. Other heads of state included. Did Chamberlin, to modern eyes, make a mistake? Yes. Is it fair to judge him by what we know now? No.
Exactly. We didn't realise how evil Hitler was or intended to be, and just because Chamberlain's "deal" was the first sign of what was to come doesn't mean that we should condemn him for making it.
Exactly yes. Hindsight is 20/20
I think Churchill's speech isn't just one of the most important speeches in the history of the English language I think it's one of the most important speeches in all of human history
Yes trouble is when it came to helping other countries fight their enemies churchill wasnt so willing so his speeches were a load of bullshit as far as us australians were concerned.
@@johnb1150 not really sure what exactly you're referring to:
If you are talking about Gallipoli than you are under the modern and incorrect conception that the British threw away Anzac lives because they did not care about the colonies etc, when in reality the British and French (individually) lost more there than the Anzacs did. It was a collective tragedy born of bad strategy, not some weird feeling of superiority.
If you mean WW2 against Japan, then this still makes no sense. The Australians withdrew most of their soldiers from Africa after Japan joined the war and Britain had no real objection to this. Realistically, there wasn't much more that Britain could have done to help Australia (they were kind of busy, and had just lost their eastern capital ships) and honestly most planners realized that Australia was in no real life-or-death danger. Even the Japanese considered an invasion of Australia foolish and pointless
Haha! Just a teensy bit Anglo centric of you.
@@kayisonyoutube3435Not really - not when you consider the context, especially the fact that a collapse in British morale and ignominious defeat would most likely have brought a quarter of the globe under Nazi Germany’s dominion. And even if Corporal Browntrousers had permitted an exiled British Government to continue to govern the Empire from Canada, a Nazi Germany in full command of Europe is a very different proposition to the Soviet Union than was hitherto the case. Also, a British defeat would likely have ended the war before the United States’ entry into it after Pearl Harbor, which means the Soviets would have been considerably weaker without the support of the Lend-Lease programme. No, this speech is every bit as important as claimed.
@@johnb1150Churchill’s probably rotting in Hell now but I reckon he’s at least got window unit air-conditioning.
Thatcher calling any compromise with Argentina to be Appeasement was a conscious word choice. She knew the last time Appeasement was attempted, Hitler violated the terms of the armistice and invaded the rest of Czechoslovakia and wasn't intent on going down that path again.
Never again
Just because you had an empire before doesn't mean you continue to be a wanker
Thus justifying sending elite British troops and millions of pounds of war machinery to "defend" penguins on a rock a thousand miles away from underage, under equiped conscripts sent by a Banana Republic dictator on the verge of losing power whose reasons for war were exactly the same as Thatcher's - distract everyone from the problems at home with a private little patriotic war. No one bought it then - neither in Argentina or England - and deliberately invoking threats of Hitler over what was fundamentally a colonial territory dispute only proves how monstrous she was.
I mean…It’s an effective manipulation of the public consciousness, but of course there’s long leagues of difference between the expansionist Nazi war machine and….Argentina, not even capable of posing a competent threat, laying claim to essentially its backyard.
Intentionally trying to evoke that specter to suit her own ends.
Argentina was not going to take on the world just by giving them the Falklands. It was a pathetic attempt on her part to garner public opinion and give herself a veneer of military heroism.
Disgusting, and anyone that believes it is ill-informed.
Chamberlain is more complex than i think i was taught.
I loved every minute of this video, more please 🙏🏽
Thanks!
An interesting selection of movies made more interesting by Dan's engrossing and enthusiastic presentation. The movie about Chamberlain reminds me of a history course l took back in the eighties at adult college which covered the origins of WWll
I (I'm Canadian) learned just recently that the UK flag is only called the Union Jack when flown at sea, and is properly the Union Flag otherwise. I love that Dan Snow calls it the Union Flag. I rarely hear it referred to that way. He seems like he would know, which suggests that what I learned is true!
Finally. A video commenting on historical films that's actually worth watching. Dan Snow does a marvelous job.
A thrilled looking video about the characteristics speech of Sir Winston Churchill ...during WW2...and Other brilliant figures of recent history of Britain 🇬🇧...with attractive introduction video
Gary Oldman is Amazing! I had no idea that was him as Chruchill!😯😯
It wasn’t that was Winston Churchill playing the role of the great Garry Oldman 😅
Gary Oldman disappears into every role he plays. He's one of my favorite actors.
2 films I would recommend are The Gathering Storm where Winston Churchill is played by Albert Finney & The Long Walk to Finchley where a young Margaret Thatcher is played by Andrea Riseborough.
Gary Oldman was a wonderful Churchill. It was Edward R. Murrow (American journalist) who said that Churchill mobilized the English language and sent it into battle.
Michael Sheen had actually played Tony Blair in a television film prior to making the movie The Queen. He also has a stunning resemblance so he was the perfect fit.
On British history movie that I have questions about. The 2006 movie Amazing Grace. A great movie.
1. Did the abolitionists really sneak a bill pass parliament that allowed British privateers to seize British slave ships flying false colors during the Napoleonic Wars?
2. Was this a critical bill that financially weaken the slave owners, eventually allowed the British Atlantic Slave trade to be abolished?
Note: If so, that is an incredible story. But I would wonder why parliament couldn't overturn this within a year.
3. Or did the slave trade just take a big financial hit due to the very long Napoleonic Wars, without any special bill passing parliament to make this happen?
4. Was the timing of the passage of a later bill in 1807 related to the United States making the importation of slaves from Africa illegal, as specified in the Constitution to take place in 20 years?
5. Did the British wish to be the first to prohibit this and was this factor decisive in the passing of this bill in 1807?
It's unfortunate but whenever I see Chamberlain waving that piece of paper I see a fool. I don't like thinking that way about an earnest man who did the best he could but we are looking at it with hindsight. In hindsight he definitely was very foolish if he actually believed Hitler. It seems as if he did though there's no way to be certain about that. Obviously he had to claim that he had done something important by buying the world more time.
On Churchill's speech in "Darkest Hour" there was a character with the 3rd party(at least separate from Halifax) who would display his approval or rejection of the speech by removing his jacket handkerchief. His approval of the speech and subsequent ovation from the remainder of the audience, according to the plot would show the total victory for Churchill. Did something like this actually happen?
Chamberlain was much less confident that is generally thought - he didn't want to waive the paper; his letters to his sister are full of his doubts about the Hitler agreement.
The amount of history knowledge this man has is astonishing
"And Margareth Thatcher deserves a lot of credit for Britain's response to the Falklands War"
That, and dying.
Taking a proper dump.on Maggie...
Please, ppl do not ever change!
Stunningly brilliant and perfectly presented!
I can't get enough of the fact that the actor who played Edward VIII on The Crown is playing Sir Horace Wilson in The Edge of War... such a dichotomy.
Also played the then Prince of Wales, now King, in "The Queen"
@@milesconerly5818 And he plays the Queen's Private Secretary in the recent series about Prince Andrew's interview, A Very Royal Scandal. Alex Jennings also played King Charles III in a radio play that came out several years ago. He has portrayed King Leopold of the Belgians (in Victoria).
Alex Jennings is one of the best actors the UK has ever produced (and that's a crowded field). He is very versatile and if you check out his IMDb entry, you may find you have seen him in loads more things than you have mentioned.
Gary Oldman's Churchill was masterful , but Brian Cox's interpretation will always be underrated due to both movies were released in the same year . In Cox's Chirchill , he dived deep down to another Churchill , not the BlitKrieg hero but to the D-day Churchill , a man haunted by his own demons , notably the desastrous Gallipoli campaign , a bit of a glory seeking commander reminding us of his predecessor's effort in the war of the Spanish succession . To sum it up, it's a must see as we see another side of Winston presented to us by Brian Cox...
The problem with Cox’s Churchill, was that the entire premise of the film was around Churchill’s opposition to the D-Day landings so close to the event itself.
Churchill was initially sceptical but was fully onboard and behind it months before June 6th 1944, so the entire film Cox was in and is portrayal, is based on a falsehood.
If Churchill was so against D-Day the days before it happened, it wouldn’t have happened!
Gillian Anderson played thatcher well in the crown
I even think Gillian Anderson's role was way better than that of Meryl Strip's.
@@Slowlythinking Gillian Anderson, good as she was, didn't have the burden of carrying an entire film. But I agree, she deserves consideration. A very Kermodish prejudice.
1:00: 🎥 Dan Snow reviews the portrayal of British Prime Ministers in movies, focusing on the scene from 'The Darkest Hour' depicting Winston Churchill's famous speech.
3:46: 🗣 This X discusses the historical context and significance of Winston Churchill's speech and Margaret Thatcher's response to the sinking of the Belgrano.
7:49: 🇬🇧 Margaret Thatcher's leadership during the Falklands War and her decline as Prime Minister.
11:31: 🎭 The portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II and Tony Blair in the movie 'The Queen' highlights the tension between the elected Prime Minister and the British Monarchy.
15:40: 👑 The monarchy faces challenges and pressure from the public, but the queen and Tony Blair work together to navigate a changing world.
19:31: ✈ Chamberlain returns from Munich with a deal and is hailed as a hero, but Hitler breaks his word.
23:31: 🎥 The film portrays the historical events inaccurately, particularly the role and importance of Prime Minister Pitt.
26:48: 👑 Benjamin Disraeli's political alliance with Queen Victoria and his efforts to bring her out of mourning and retirement.
30:43: 📚 Disraeli's portrayal in the film captures his struggle to maintain power and re-energize conservatism amidst a changing society.
Recap by Tammy AI
It'd be interesting if Dan could do another one for Prime Ministers; 'Amazing Grace' - 'Curtin' (he was Australian, not British- & it was a mini-series, not a movie)...
Great stuff. Loved this. Thank you Dan.
Oldman was simply remarkable as Churchill....
3:30 I still do not think, especially to the regular public, that Churchill is well understood beyond the outer shell of the speeches and 'the hero'. And I don't think this movie really helped very much in that regard.
They should make a movie about David Lloyd George, the PM during the latter part of WWI. He was also among those who negotiated the Treaty of Versailles.
That would be brilliant. It would be dark as fuck but it would be brilliant.
I wish we could see what he thinks of Gillian Anderson as Thatcher.
This video, in a word. excellent. Lead on.
Thank you Roger! Appreciate it 🙏
I love how oratory establishes leaders. Thats working out really well.
I’d love for you to review Tom Hanks production of the series John Adams & Outlander, as to the historical accuracy of those series!
31:30 It's hard to think how long ago it was now. It was an incredibly emotional event, even in Canada there were people weeping in the streets when interviewed by the press.
Dan mentioned David Lloyd George, but didn't mention that he's actually his great-great grandson!
Oh man I had no idea that Churchill went and re-recorded his greatest hits... While he was still a leading figure in politics, and was just about to become PM again. That is so perfectly Churchill.
Thank you for these great videos, Dan
I believe Attlee said of Chamberlain that he was trying to get the national program on the wireless, but all he got was midlands regional.
The portrayal of the l8 Baroness Thatcher when PM appears, in the film under advisement to be biased to a degree. It is unlikely that most southerners will be able fully to appreciate this.
It is certainly true that Chamberlain was deluded and that WW2 could've been shorter had he seen the writing on the wall, as did many, such as my dad, of who's memory I am unspeakably proud. Interesting resume, thanks and.. Nice one Dan & Team! ⭐👍
Antony Sher was brilliant as Disraeli, a hugely underrated actor who should have had more film roles.
Dan Snow is so dreamy 😍
"I'm big and fat, and a bit drunk!" Possibly the most apt description of Ol' Winston ever...
Amazing, Dan. ❤
5:40 Chirchill also suffered from bouts/episodes of severe clinical depression, I feel like that should have been mentioned as well.
The act of bowing to the monarch in the investiture of the PM is not the people abasing themselves to the Crown but an elected official bowing to the people in the person of the Queen.
Great stuff. Keep it up.👍
Thanks David!
5:44 Correct me if I´m wrong but, wasn´t it Boris Yeltsin that appeared naked in front of us president?
Despite generally being a staunch lefty myself, I feel that the sympathetic portrayal of Neville Chamberlain was much needed. I truly believe he was fully aware of the danger that Hitler posed upon the world, but he was also very aware that Britain was in no current position to fight a major war. He sacrificed his political career to buy us time. Now whether we should have struck sooner is debatable, but considering the Soviet threats of the same time, he was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He chose to buy precious time whilst rearming in preparation for an inevitable conflict.
I'm a History major and I love your videos.
Isnt the actor playing Hitler in "Munich, Edge of war" the same actor who played Goebbles in "Downfall"?
Yes
I'm glad this video is over 30 minutes long
I had the opportunity to meet Lady Thatcher and Sir Dennis, after she had retired. She was on a trip to the USA, and I was a Supervisory Inspector with US Immigration. All persons, regardless of position, are required to clear Immigration and Customs. I cleared her and Sir Dennis in a side room to expedite their entry for security reasons.
Both Lady Thatcher and Sir Dennis were the soul of courtesy, not a bit of pretension, and we had about a five minute conversation. She was one of a very few people I asked for an autographed photo fir my Office, which she obliged. President Reagan was another, and both their signed photos are above my desk at home now that I'm retired.
She and President Reagan, Britain and America, brought back national pride, and were truly a driving force which changed the world and brought down the Soviet Union.
Oh, please. There are swathes of British people who hate her for destroying their industries and communities in the 80s. Flag shagging doesn't pay the bills.
Any Movie Director Ever after watching this: We're going to hire Dan Snow to ensure historical accuracy
Another note about the The Edge of War. As Dan said, Germany was quite weak in 1938. Even the extra year or two wasn't enough. They were so weak in fact that when the French invaded Germany in response to the invasion of Poland, even the half hearted and piecemeal attack was able to drive all the way to the town of Hornbach, taking 11 other towns and villages along the way, with no resistance.
Had the British and French puffed out their chest and made it clear in 1938 that if Germany so much as blinked wrong, the full force of their militaries would come crashing down on Hitler's head, Hitler likely would've given in. To put it more simply, if Britain and France had half the ball Hitler did, there would have been no World War 2. Hell, it would've even had more effect if they'd done it in 1936 in opposition to the Remilitarization of the Rhineland. The whole "Extra year" claim is just a weak cover story to excuse the British and French governments from allowing the horrors of the Holocaust and World War 2 to have occured.
Like this review. I believe that "Tension" in republics is a very Good thing. It should Never be "resolved". Tension resolved equals dictatorship
Long term tension unresolved almost always leads to civil war and collapse
Like something a nazi would say
Just came across your video and I'm disappointed you left out Sir Ralph Richardson's performance as PM William Gladstone in Khartoum (1966) with Charlton Heston as Gen "Chinese" Gordon. Curious to know what you think of it.
Just on looks alone, the Hitler from edge of war is the absolute worst in I have ever seen.
🤣🤣
Is Dan saying all this off the top of his head? He knows all the details, the dates, where each scene actually took place. Quite a brain he has, and a good teacher.
9:06 "Margaret Thatcher famously did not fill her cabinet, surround herself with women." Other than herself there were seven female conservative MPs, two of whom were elected for the first time. Her first cabinet had 21 positions. She couldn't have "filled" the cabinet with women if she'd tried, unless she decided to appoint women who weren't in parliament.
I didn't think Meryl Streep was at all convincing as Margaret Thatcher. Patricia Hodge was a much better protrayal. Meryl Streep seemed to have a soft look about her (not a very good description but the best I can come up with) while Ms Hodge had that edge of hardness and command visible in her expressions.
Meryl Streep using the left hand is the biggest blunder .I never expected they would get this wrong
My two favorites are ‘Darkest Hour’ and ‘Munich; since I like that they are set before and during World War 2 which is one of my favorite subjects. Chamberlain failed to understand that Hitler and his followers didn’t want any peace, their intentions are made clear in Mein Kampf regarding ‘living space’ for Germany. Unfortunately not everyone is a rational person who can be made to see reason. Gary Old man’s portrayal of Churchill is the best that I have seen by far, he really became that character.
Thatcher, one of the greatest PMs who made one of the greatest blunders resonating greatly now, selling off council houses and not using the money to replace them.
These are great thank you for this
Great video as always
Wait, is Benjamin Disraeli there played by Antony Sher? The evil mass-guillotining marquis from Hornblower? That's cool.
Somebody actually remembers Hornblower!
"There can be no accommodation with a military dictator who sought to conquer territory by force". Said the Prime Minister of Great Britain. The Irony Lady.
What a woman we need her now
@@kevinbrown4073 Like we need an ingrown fingernail.
Here we see a salty Argie still mad they lost.
Pick again, you have a good several dozens on your victim list before you get down to my country. Must be tiring having uncivilised half the world.
Please note that the "fight on the beaches" speech used simple, direct words of English origin. Only one word was of French origin, "surrender" [from sur rondre, to give one self over as a captive, back in the days when your enemy might let you live in order to demand ransom].
"Hitler begins the discussion and wants to start talking turkey." I thought they were discussing Czechoslovkia 😂
It's always been surprising to me that very few people are aware Churchill gave his "Iron Curtain" speech at Westminster College in Fulton Missouri
I would be surprised by that, since _'I am glad to come to Westminster College this afternoon…'_ is the opening line of the speech.
@@welshman8954lol
Because they had the guns and the guts to confront communism. Brits wouldnt have cared.
@@John.Flower.Productions I thought everyone was aware of that. I have known it since I was a sprog. Of course I was educated in Scotland, and am old enough that that was when Scotland had one of he highest standards of education in the world.
I enjoyed this review immensely. I think Dan Snow showed great insight into all the films. I was completely unfamiliar with the Munich movie which seems to be the most recent. I read recently that the Prime Ministers don't actually kiss hands or kneel to the monarch, that the term is a leftover from long ago when this was the case and that the monarch simply shakes hands with the incoming Prime Minister. So is the whole business in The Queen with Tony Blair about it just a fiction then?
You know everything, Dan Snow.
Disraeli wasn't Prime Minister during any of the Anglo Burmese Wars (he died in 1881, four years before the final annexation of Burma). I think it was Randolph Churchill who gave Burma as a Christmas present?
Britain couldn't help Poland in 39, or save the 22-miles away France in 40. What on Earth could they have done for distant Czechoslovakia in 38?
Churchills speech writer was so good it’s shocking I don’t know the name of him.
It’s hard for people to remember just how unpopular the queen was at the time. Very different to how loved she was at her death.
? At what time?
@@susanwhite7474 when Diana died