This
is an impassioned outcry from the author
who is desperately worried about the
corruption of this country. This book
offers a powerful polemic on the decline
of modern day Britain. The author argues
that British culture is in ruins, and
institutions held in contempt. There has
been an acceleration in the decay of
society and culture. Fewer people read;
universities have become less and less
free; more churches are closing; language
has become more homogenised; the city
skyline is emblematic of the triumph of
Mammon; the monarchy is merely hanging on
and immigration is at an unprecedented and
unsustainable level, a fact accepted even
by those who first welcomed its growth.
Hitchens
identifies everything that he feels has
gone wrong with Britain since the Second
World War and makes the case for the 'many
millions who feel that they have become
foreigners in their own land and wish with
each succeeding day that they could turn
the clock back'. He describes and
criticises the growing strength of such
forces as multiculturalism. He argues that
English schools had largely ceased to
teach the history of the country,
criticising the preference for
methodology, or the literature of
Britain's past. One chapter analyses the
use of TV and radio soap operas to spread
liberal cultural and moral propaganda, and
refers to several instances where this
intention has been openly expressed by the
editors and authors of such programmes.
Writing with brilliance and flair,
Hitchens targets the pernicious effects of
TV culture, the corruption and decay of
English language, and the loss of
deference.
He
writes - my only concern now is to ensure
that others, in some unimaginable future,
will be able to find at least one voice
which will explain to them how one of the
fairest, kindest civilisations ever to
have existed on earth ... should in so
short a time have wasted its birthright
and thrown away its gifts.
The
Gathering Storm is a BBC-HBO co-produced
television biographical film about Winston
Churchill in the years just prior to World
War II. The title of the film is the same as
the title of the first volume of Churchill's
largely autobiographical six-volume history
of the war, which covered the period from
1919 to 10 May 1940, the day he became prime
minister. The film stars Albert Finney as
Churchill and Vanessa Redgrave as his wife
Clementine Churchill ("Clemmie");
Finney gained many accolades for his
performance, winning both a BAFTA Award for
Best Actor and an Emmy for Outstanding Lead
Actor. The film also features a supporting
cast of British actors such as Derek Jacobi,
Ronnie Barker, Jim Broadbent, Tom Wilkinson,
Celia Imrie, Linus Roache and Hugh
Bonneville. Simon Williams and Edward
Hardwicke both make brief appearances
amongst the supporting cast. The film was
directed by Richard Loncraine and written by
Hugh Whitemore. Among the film's executive
producers were Ridley Scott and Tony Scott.
As
the Romans leave Britain, the Native Britons
(led by King Arthur) stand up to a new
threat of a hoard of invading Saxons (led by
Stellan Skarsgard in hairy villain mode).
It's got a round table, knights, good music,
action, adventure, battles, and a noble
warrior who rises to become King Arthur, but
everything else about this revisionist
legend is pure Hollywood. That's not such a
bad thing if you enjoyed Rob Roy, Braveheart,
Gladiator and Troy, and there's some
intriguing potential in presenting the
"real" Arthur (played by Clive
Owen) as a 5th-century soldier of Rome,
assigned to defend Roman-imperial England.
Guinevere (Keira Knightley) is a warrior
babe in face-paint and Lancelot (Ioan
Gruffudd) is a nonentity who eventually
fades into the woodwork. Never mind. Best to
enjoy the atmosphere of beautiful Irish
locations, the handsome ruggedness of Owen
and his hearty supporting cast, and the
entertainment of a Jerry Bruckheimer
production that strips battle-ready
Guinevere down to leather-strap S&M gear
while all the men sport full-body armor.
Hail to the queen, indeed ! A good
historical and entertaining film that does
stir those patriotic emotions !
Handsome
charmer Ewan McGregor stars in this
hilarious, musical skewering of 1950s
England. Austerity be gone! The war is over.
It's time for frothy coffee in Soho cafes,
teenage kicks and rock n roll music...
almost. Not for Private Hopper in his last
months of national service. Hopper has been
assigned to the War Office where he is
responsible for translating anything that
comes from the Russians, and brewing regular
cups of the barely bloody drinkable. When he
gets bored, he can always dream himself into
a musical landscape where anything is
possible. In the real world Hopper finds
himself caught up with a real cast of
characters. Private Francis Francis, new to
the big city and completely out of his
depth; the Corporals, Colonels and Majors
who make life not worth living on a daily
basis; cinema organist Harold Atterbow, a
man with a dark and sweaty secret, and the
beautiful temptress Sylvia - bountiful
blonde usherette at the local Odeon - who
will bring them all crashing onto the rocks
of desire.
WELLINGTON
- THE IRON DUKE (BOOK) by Richard Holmes
An
astute historical analysis and a hugely
readable informative narrative about
Wellington's life from a shy, slightly
awkward loner from the Anglo-Irish nobility,
to commander in chief of the allied forces
that defeated Napoleon. The Iron Duke is
shown to be idealistic in politics, cynical
in love, a wit and a man of enormous courage
often sickened by war. We associate
Wellington so much with the battle of
Waterloo that it's easy to forget that,
before the battle, he had had a long
military career already and that, after it,
he had an even longer career as politician,
prime minister and pillar of the
establishment. Richard Holmes's admirably
clear and succinct biography of the Duke has
a chapter on his youth and a concluding
chapter which races swiftly through the 37
years of his post-Waterloo life. However the
bulk of the book, unsurprisingly, is given
over to a description and analysis of his
military exploits.
TOMMY
is Richard Holmes' tribute to the ghosts of
the millions of ordinary soldiers who fought
in the First World War. To discover new
voices and new perspectives on the war he
has trawled through the rich archives of
letters, diaries and memoirs that still
exist, most of them written while the
fighting still continued. From these he has
constructed an extraordinarily vivid and
moving picture of what it felt like to be
one of the millions of men who served in the
British army during the four years between
August 1914 and the armistice on November
11, 1918. From Private Albert Bullock
rejoicing in the discovery of 200 Woodbines
in the pack of a fellow soldier who had fled
the front line, to
Private Eric Hiscock
describing the horrors of finding himself
entangled in barbed wire. The Tommies, whom
Richard Holmes rescues from obscurity, prove
powerful witnesses to the diverse realities
of the war. Beneath the stereotyped images
of the First World War that we all carry in
our heads, the real lives of the men who
fought it are still there to be discovered
and Holmes’s book brings them forcefully
to our attention.
WAR
HORSE (DVD)
WAR
HORSE is a thrilling and spectacular
production based on the celebrated novel by
Michael Morpurgo. WAR HORSE director Steven
Spielberg's epic adventure, is a tale of
loyalty, hope and tenacity set against a
sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe
during the First World War. The film is a
tale of bravery, loyalty, and the
extraordinary bond between a young recruit
and his horse. Actors, working with
astonishing life-sized puppets by the
internationally renowned Handspring Puppet
Company, take audiences on an unforgettable
journey through history.
This
is an impassioned outcry from the author
who is desperately worried about the
corruption of this country. This book
offers a powerful polemic on the decline
of modern day Britain. The author argues
that British culture is in ruins, and
institutions held in contempt. There has
been an acceleration in the decay of
society and culture. Fewer people read;
universities have become less and less
free; more churches are closing; language
has become more homogenised; the city
skyline is emblematic of the triumph of
Mammon; the monarchy is merely hanging on
and immigration is at an unprecedented and
unsustainable level, a fact accepted even
by those who first welcomed its growth.
The
Gathering Storm is a BBC-HBO co-produced
television biographical film about Winston
Churchill in the years just prior to World
War II. The title of the film is the same as
the title of the first volume of Churchill's
largely autobiographical six-volume history
of the war, which covered the period from
1919 to 10 May 1940, the day he became prime
minister. The film stars Albert Finney as
Churchill and Vanessa Redgrave as his wife
Clementine Churchill ("Clemmie");
Finney gained many accolades for his
performance, winning both a BAFTA Award for
Best Actor and an Emmy for Outstanding Lead
Actor. The film also features a supporting
cast of British actors such as Derek Jacobi,
Ronnie Barker, Jim Broadbent, Tom Wilkinson,
Celia Imrie, Linus Roache and Hugh
Bonneville. Simon Williams and Edward
Hardwicke both make brief appearances
amongst the supporting cast. The film was
directed by Richard Loncraine and written by
Hugh Whitemore. Among the film's executive
producers were Ridley Scott and Tony Scott.
As
the Romans leave Britain, the Native Britons
(led by King Arthur) stand up to a new
threat of a hoard of invading Saxons (led by
Stellan Skarsgard in hairy villain mode).
It's got a round table, knights, good music,
action, adventure, battles, and a noble
warrior who rises to become King Arthur, but
everything else about this revisionist
legend is pure Hollywood. That's not such a
bad thing if you enjoyed Rob Roy, Braveheart,
Gladiator and Troy, and there's some
intriguing potential in presenting the
"real" Arthur (played by Clive
Owen) as a 5th-century soldier of Rome,
assigned to defend Roman-imperial England.
Guinevere (Keira Knightley) is a warrior
babe in face-paint and Lancelot (Ioan
Gruffudd) is a nonentity who eventually
fades into the woodwork. Never mind. Best to
enjoy the atmosphere of beautiful Irish
locations, the handsome ruggedness of Owen
and his hearty supporting cast, and the
entertainment of a Jerry Bruckheimer
production that strips battle-ready
Guinevere down to leather-strap S&M gear
while all the men sport full-body armor.
Hail to the queen, indeed ! A good
historical and entertaining film that does
stir those patriotic emotions !
Handsome
charmer Ewan McGregor stars in this
hilarious, musical skewering of 1950s
England. Austerity be gone! The war is over.
It's time for frothy coffee in Soho cafes,
teenage kicks and rock n roll music...
almost. Not for Private Hopper in his last
months of national service. Hopper has been
assigned to the War Office where he is
responsible for translating anything that
comes from the Russians, and brewing regular
cups of the barely bloody drinkable. When he
gets bored, he can always dream himself into
a musical landscape where anything is
possible. In the real world Hopper finds
himself caught up with a real cast of
characters. Private Francis Francis, new to
the big city and completely out of his
depth; the Corporals, Colonels and Majors
who make life not worth living on a daily
basis; cinema organist Harold Atterbow, a
man with a dark and sweaty secret, and the
beautiful temptress Sylvia - bountiful
blonde usherette at the local Odeon - who
will bring them all crashing onto the rocks
of desire.
An
astute historical analysis and a hugely
readable informative narrative about
Wellington's life from a shy, slightly
awkward loner from the Anglo-Irish nobility,
to commander in chief of the allied forces
that defeated Napoleon. The Iron Duke is
shown to be idealistic in politics, cynical
in love, a wit and a man of enormous courage
often sickened by war. We associate
Wellington so much with the battle of
Waterloo that it's easy to forget that,
before the battle, he had had a long
military career already and that, after it,
he had an even longer career as politician,
prime minister and pillar of the
establishment. Richard Holmes's admirably
clear and succinct biography of the Duke has
a chapter on his youth and a concluding
chapter which races swiftly through the 37
years of his post-Waterloo life. However the
bulk of the book, unsurprisingly, is given
over to a description and analysis of his
military exploits.
TOMMY
is Richard Holmes' tribute to the ghosts of
the millions of ordinary soldiers who fought
in the First World War. To discover new
voices and new perspectives on the war he
has trawled through the rich archives of
letters, diaries and memoirs that still
exist, most of them written while the
fighting still continued. From these he has
constructed an extraordinarily vivid and
moving picture of what it felt like to be
one of the millions of men who served in the
British army during the four years between
August 1914 and the armistice on November
11, 1918. From Private Albert Bullock
rejoicing in the discovery of 200 Woodbines
in the pack of a fellow soldier who had fled
the front line, to
Private Eric Hiscock
describing the horrors of finding himself
entangled in barbed wire. The Tommies, whom
Richard Holmes rescues from obscurity, prove
powerful witnesses to the diverse realities
of the war. Beneath the stereotyped images
of the First World War that we all carry in
our heads, the real lives of the men who
fought it are still there to be discovered
and Holmes’s book brings them forcefully
to our attention.
WAR
HORSE is a thrilling and spectacular
production based on the celebrated novel by
Michael Morpurgo. WAR HORSE director Steven
Spielberg's epic adventure, is a tale of
loyalty, hope and tenacity set against a
sweeping canvas of rural England and Europe
during the First World War. The film is a
tale of bravery, loyalty, and the
extraordinary bond between a young recruit
and his horse. Actors, working with
astonishing life-sized puppets by the
internationally renowned Handspring Puppet
Company, take audiences on an unforgettable
journey through history.