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6.4/10
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The adopted daughter of a privileged British politician uncovers a family secret in the weeks leading up to World War II.The adopted daughter of a privileged British politician uncovers a family secret in the weeks leading up to World War II.The adopted daughter of a privileged British politician uncovers a family secret in the weeks leading up to World War II.
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- TriviaFinal theatrical movie of Corin Redgrave (Oliver).
- Goofs(at around 1h) During the screening of the movie scene with Gilbert and Anne, they are showing a camera angle and close-up of Gilbert that wasn't actually recorded at location.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Breakfast: Episode dated 12 August 2011 (2011)
- SoundtracksGoody Goody
(Johnny Mercer, Matty Malneck)
© 1935 The Johnny Mercer Foundation (ASCAP) and Chappell & Co. Inc (ASCAP)
All rights on behalf of the The Johnny Mercer Foundation
Administered by WB Music Corp. All rights reserved
Performed by Andy Kirk and his Twelve Clouds of Joy
Courtesy of GRP Records
Licensed by kind permission of Universal Music Operation Ltd.
Featured review
A good old-fashioned thriller (with an abysmal epilogue)
Summer 1939, and as much of Britain prepares for war, a shady cabal of aristocrats and Government officials plots to mollify Hitler and secure a quick, painless peace. When Anne Keyes (Romola Garai), the adopted daughter of a wealthy family, stumbles across the conspiracy, she finds her life under threat - as one by one her allies turn out to be traitors, or turn up dead. In his first feature for 10 years, writer-director Stephen Poliakoff deals with some weighty themes - fascism, adoption, familial loyalty - while alighting on fascinating aspects of the readying for war, such as pets being killed and heaped onto pyres. "It's like a vision of hell, isn't it?" asks Anne's father (Bill Nighy). "Animals going onto a fire in a quiet English summer." Despite its depth, though, Glorious 39 is really an old-fashioned thriller: engrossing and atmospheric, with a gnawing, ever-present sense of menace and some mightily effective set pieces.
The film does have its faults, floundering in the final 15 and closing with an atrocious scene that serves no purpose, beyond fulfilling a perceived desire for a happy ending and satiating Poliakoff's need to hammer the audience over the head with poorly-conceived pseudo-irony. In common with his 1991 film Close My Eyes, it also has moments of stiltedness and artificiality that snap you out of the story. But for all that, I don't understand the hammering it's been given by most critics. Its Hitchcockian elements - the stomach-tightening tension piquing during a slew of well thought-out suspense scenes - are marvellously handled, and the film is also notable for Garai's expressive, layered turn, which catches the eye in a cast that includes Nighy, Julie Christie, Jeremy Northam, David Tennant and Jenny Agutter. And Christopher Lee, but I don't like him.
The film does have its faults, floundering in the final 15 and closing with an atrocious scene that serves no purpose, beyond fulfilling a perceived desire for a happy ending and satiating Poliakoff's need to hammer the audience over the head with poorly-conceived pseudo-irony. In common with his 1991 film Close My Eyes, it also has moments of stiltedness and artificiality that snap you out of the story. But for all that, I don't understand the hammering it's been given by most critics. Its Hitchcockian elements - the stomach-tightening tension piquing during a slew of well thought-out suspense scenes - are marvellously handled, and the film is also notable for Garai's expressive, layered turn, which catches the eye in a cast that includes Nighy, Julie Christie, Jeremy Northam, David Tennant and Jenny Agutter. And Christopher Lee, but I don't like him.
helpful•98
- rick_7
- Apr 8, 2010
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- 1939
- Filming locations
- Castle Acre Priory, Swaffham, Norfolk, England, UK(extensive ruins)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £3,700,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $182,253
- Runtime2 hours 9 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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