Yesterday The Emperor...Today "The Queen"

You will kneel before...

Whoops, wrong movie!

The Story:

In 1997, Tony Blair (Michael Sheen) is elected Prime Minister of England in a landslide victory.  Queen Elizabeth (Helen Mirren) welcomes him to the position, and then the unthinkable happens... Princess Diana is killed in an auto accident.  This movie is basically a recreation of that turbulent week in the life of the Royal Family.

This is an interesting look at the lives of the monarchy, and what and how they lived their lives up until that moment.

As Diana was no longer a member of the Royal Family, she wasn't entitled to... well, anything.  Protocol procedures were set in place, and that's just the way things are.

Naturally, the British people (and the world) loved Diana, and they began to grow bitter with the Royals and the perceived lack of caring and sympathy on their part.

Blair actually gained more respect as he was the only official that seemed to even acknowledge what Diana meant to the people.  He tries to persuade the Queen to make a public display, but she refuses and continues to follow protocol.

Naturally, it's the worst week of the Queen's life.

: /

Mirren does a bang up job as the Queen, but that's to be expected.

This is a good movie, however I don't believe that it was a great one.  All of the accolades it received... well, okay, I don't see it, but that's fine.  Somehow with the passing years and they hype and Academy Awards that surrounded it, I was expecting something... more.

It wasn't bad, by any stretch of the imagination.  Like I said, it wasn't a great movie, it's basically a character study of the stoicism of the Queen.

Final Grade: B-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Glad I saw it, but once was good enough.

It's Fascinating to Learn the "Secrets of the Dead: Churchill's Deadly Decision"

Don't mess with Winston!

The Story:

Winston Churchill gets elected as Prime Minister...just in time for World War II to effectively kick off and all of Europe falls like dominoes except Britain and France.  Then literally, within the month that Churchill is in power, France gives up the fight, and so it's Great Britain, alone, to face the Axis Powers, who are about to get their hands on the 2nd largest naval fleet in Europe.  The United States will not honor Churchill's request for aid, fearing Britain will fold as quickly as France has, so Churchill makes a fateful decision.

This is that story.

Wow!

Just when you think you know everything about World War II, it's nice to find documentaries like this that focus on specific events or times that bring clarity to some decisions instead of the overarching "we won, they lost" perspective of the war.

Why does France giving up elicit jokes to this day?  Watching how fast the Nazis stormed in, and the timeline for their surrender makes it abundantly clear now.  It is amazing how fast it all happened, and seems inconceivable that one country could literally swarm over Europe that quickly and decisively.

Scary.

Meanwhile, all of this is happening as Churchill is learning the ropes and trying to keep Britain out of Nazi hands, as he watches government after government fall before Hitler.

Then, Roosevelt is not even close to offering aid to the Brits, and Churchill gets desperate.

The French Admiral claims that if they fall to the Nazis, he vows that not a single ship will be taken by the Germans.

What do you do in Churchill's position?  Here's a government that signed a treaty with Great Britain that said neither country could surrender without approval by the other party.

We give up!  Sonuva...

Needless to say, some French are still bitter about what Churchill did.

But at the end of the day, the ships did not fall into Nazi hands and could not be used against the British (or America) and because he showed the true backbone of the British, Roosevelt sent ships to bolster the British navy.

Fascinating stuff, and great also because they actually have a lot of footage from events...not reenactments, and also managed to interview several survivors, both French and British.

Highly recommended, and available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing!

Final Grade: A

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: Hard to say, once you see it, you've seen it.  Let some time go by, and yes, it would probably be just as impressive on repeated viewings.  Plus, I always love WWII history!