Robert Hardy Archives - Page 2 of 2

“Darkest Hour,” the movie: an interview with The Australian

28 December 2017 Comments 14 Comments

For The Australian …

Troy Bramston of The Australian newspaper had pertinent questions about the new movie Darkest Hour, starring Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill. With the thought that Troy’s queries might be of interest, I append the text of the interview.

The Australian : Of all the things Winston Churchill is purported to have said and done, the myths and misconceptions, which are the most prevalent and frustrating for scholars? None of these appear in the film, but there are three things that rankle: 1) The lies—that he was anxious to use poison gas; that he firebombed Dresden in revenge for Coventry; that he exacerbated the Bengal famine, etc.…

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Churchill Bio-Pics: The Trouble with the Movies

10 August 2017 Comments 2 Comments

“The Trouble with the Movies” was published in the American Thinker, 5 August 2017.

David Franco, reviewing the film Churchill, starring Brian Cox, raises questions he says everyone should be asking. “Isn’t the ability to accept one’s mistakes part of what makes a man a good leader? …. To what extent should we rely [on] past experiences in order to minimize mistakes in the future? These are the questions that make a bad movie like Churchill worth seeing.”

Well, I won’t be seeing this bad movie. Described as “perverse fantasy” by historian Andrew Roberts, it joins a recent spate of sloppy Churchill bio-pics that favor skewed caricatures over historical fact.…

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Tim — Moment of Triumph: Robert Hardy / Winston Churchill returns to the Admiralty, 1939.

“Tim”: In Memory of Timothy Robert Hardy, 1925-2017

3 August 2017 Comments 5 Comments

“What Price Churchill?” Click here for the final moments of a momentous television epic. “Churchill: The Wilderness Years” (1981) enshrined him forever as the greatest of “Churchills” in a sea of pale imitations. Martin Gilbert‘s close involvement with the scriptwriters gave him truth and substance. In a world of revisionist history, flawed portraits and overplayed roles, it was accurate to a fault. Timothy Robert Hardy was the only actor to play her father for whom Lady Soames would brook no word of criticism. I’ll always remember her greeting Tim with outstretched arms: “Papa!”

Hardy at Hillsdale

I’m glad we were in time.…

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“Churchill’s Secret”: Worth a Look

22 September 2016 Comments 1 Comment

Churchill’s Secret, co-produced by PBS Masterpiece and ITV (UK). Directed by Charles Sturridge, starring Michael Gambon as Sir Winston and Lindsay Duncan as Lady Churchill. To watch, click here.

Excerpted from a review for the Hillsdale College Churchill Project.

PBS and ITV have succeeded where many failed. They offer a Churchill documentary with a minimum of dramatic license, reasonably faithful to history (as much as we know of it). Churchill’s Secret limns the pathos, humor, hope and trauma of a little-known episode: Churchill’s stroke on 23 June 1953, and his miraculous recovery. For weeks afterward, his faithful lieutenants in secret ran the government.…

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Churchill @ Hillsdale CCA, 4-7 Oct. 2015

9 October 2015 Comments 0 Comments

I was pleased to be part of a program with Timothy Robert Hardy, the most inimitable and genuine actor to ever play the role of Winston Churchill; and Minnie Churchill, Sir Winston's granddaughter-in-law, an expert on Churchill's oil paintings. We were joined in presentations by two outstanding scholars, Andrew Roberts and John Maurer. CCA events are open to Hillsdale students, faculty and members of the College's President's Club.

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Robert Hardy’s “Wilderness Years”

5 October 2015 Comments 3 Comments

5 October 2015: Turning 90 this month and as vivacious as ever, Timothy Robert Hardy spoke tonight on “My Life with Churchill” at a Hillsdale College Churchill seminar, attended by over 500 registrants and 200 students, sponsored by Hillsdale’s Center for Constructive Alternatives. That afternoon I had the privilege to play Alistair Cooke, and introduce four excerpts from Tim’s inimitable portrayal in the documentary, “Winston Churchill: The Wilderness Years.” Here is the introduction to the first excerpt, which may be viewed on YouTube (first 12 minutes). All four excerpts will be published later by The Churchill Project for the Study of Statesmanship.…

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Robert Hardy at 85: The Greatest “Churchill”

13 September 2010 Comments 0 Comments

Written for a birthday tribute in October 2010….

We have all heard about the art of Timothy Robert Hardy, even though we don’t need to do so, since it is self-evident. But that really doesn’t matter, does it? His three-decade involvement with the Churchill saga provides a balsamic reiteration of what we know, are glad that we know, pity those who do not know, and are proud to be associated with.

It began with his peerless portrayals of Sir Winston in the 1981 “Wilderness Years” TV documentary; David Susskind’s 1986 “Leaders” series; a London stage play; the mini-series “War and Remembrance”; and—just this August 20th—a brilliant reading from Churchill’s tribute to “The Few” on its 70th annniversary.…

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