World War II - When Lions Roared [DVD] [1994]

This review is for World War II When Lions Roared and not the severely truncated Then There Were Giants edition of this film.On the face of it they are the same film but on closer inspection there is nearly seventy minutes missing from Then There Were Giants which is something to consider before making your purchase.
This two part made for TV film has no action whatsoever so if that is what you are looking for then you are going to be disappointed.This film runs like a play (the screenplay was adapted from a twelve hour play) with nearly all the converse played out in a studio with very little interaction with either set or props.As soon as you understand that this film is all about the dialogue between the ostentatious big three the sooner you realise the importance of this film.An awful lot of the screenplay is derived from secret telexes sent to each other during World War II and does highlight superbly the relationships between the three and also their true agendas.
Most of the pivotal moments are included in the film from Roosevelt's day of infamy speech to congress to all the major conferences including the conferences in Tehran and Yalta.Stalingrad too gets a mention yet on the downside there is no mention of the Battle Of Britain and no sight of Eleanor Roosevelt who was widely known to have heavily influence her husband.
John Lithgow was superb as Roosevelt and I found myself totally immersed by his portrayal as indeed I was by the great Bob Hoskins and Michael Caine who all tackled their roles with a growing enthusiasm.Binding the film together is the stock footage of the war shown at key points throughout the film.Overall this is an excellent production showing some of the wars definitive moments and decisions as made by the three lions themselves.
Filmed in English with no extras on the disc at all.

This is a most interesting film with excellent, sustained performances by the three stars. The concept of having them speak the actual words of the three men from original, historical dispatches, telegrams etc. is just brilliant. There are a few minor inaccuracies: Stalin, for example, didn't speak English, so couldn't possibly have addressed Churchill and Roosevelt in English at Yalta. Churchill would never have pronounced 'primarily' as 'pry-mary-lee', as Bob Hoskins did; that's a fairly recent US import. It's really most unfortunate that the UK version is on only one DVD; the US version, called 'When Lions Roared' is on two discs and almost twice as long and not at all boring. It also covers events like the Yalta conference not on the UK version. I have both versions, which I bought from Amazon. I trust this won't be edited out!

If you want to see history in the making without a whole heap of hoopla and self promotion by any nation, this is the program for you. The relationships between Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin are revealed by way of the top secret telexes they sent each other as the war unfolded. This is the bare-bones story and is a must for any serious student of that most perilous era of human history. Not to be missed.