Hope and Glory is a 1987 British comedy-drama-war film, written, produced and directed by John Boorman, and based on his own experiences of growing up in the Blitz in London during World War II. The title is derived from the traditional British patriotic song "Land of Hope and Glory". The film was distributed by Columbia Pictures.
Plot
Beginning just before the start of the Second World War, the film tells the story of the Rowan family: Bill, his sisters Sue and Dawn, and his parents Grace and Clive, living in a suburb of London. After the war starts, Clive joins the army, leaving Grace alone to watch over the children.
Seen through the eyes of 10-year-old Bill, the "fireworks" provided by the Blitz every night are as exciting as they are terrifying. His family do not see things in quite the same way as the bombs continue to drop, but their will to survive brings them closer together. The nightly raids do not provide the only drama, however, as his older sister, Dawn, falls for a Canadian soldier, becomes pregnant, and finding her life turned upside down, soon discovers the value of her family. The family eventually moves to the Thames-side home of Grace's parents when their house burns down (not in an air raid, but in an ordinary fire). This provides an opportunity for Bill to spend more time with his curmudgeonly grandfather.
Cast
- Sebastian Rice-Edwards as Billy Rowan
- Sarah Miles as Grace Rowan
- David Hayman as Clive Rowan
- Geraldine Muir as Sue Rowan
- Sammi Davis as Dawn Rowan
- Susan Wooldridge as Molly
- Derrick O'Connor as Mac
- Ian Bannen as Grandfather George
- Anne Leon as Grandma
- Jean-Marc Barr as Corporal Bruce Carrey
Filming locations
The main film set was built on the disused runway at the former Wisley Airfield in Surrey and other scenes by the river were shot near Shepperton Lock.
Awards
The film received Academy Awards nominations for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration (Anthony D.G. Pratt, Joanne Woollard), Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen. The film was nominated for the prestigious Grand Prix of the Belgian Film Critics Association.
Archival film
The "newsreel" footage shown in the local cinema contains scenes from the 1969 film Battle of Britain.
Critical response
The film was favourably reviewed by critic Pauline Kael in her film reviews collection Hooked.
It's hard to believe that a great comedy could be made of the Blitz but John Boorman has done it. In his new, autobiographical film, he has had the inspiration to desentimentalize wartime England and show us the Second World War the way he saw it as an eight-year-old. The war frees the Rowans from the dismal monotony of their pinched white-collar lives. He doesn't deny the war its terrors. Yet he gives everything a comic fillip. That's the joy of the film: the war has its horrors, but it also destroys much of what the genteel poor like Grace Rowan (Sarah Miles), have barely been able to acknowledge they wanted destroyed. It's like a plainspoken, English variant of the Taviani brothers' The Night of the Shooting Stars.
Sequel
In 2012, John Boorman revealed that a sequel to the film, to be titled Queen and Country, was in the works. The film tells the story of an older Bill Rowen as a soldier during the Korean War. The film was selected to be screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. It was released generally in 2015.
References
External links
- Hope and Glory at the Internet Movie Database
- Hope and Glory at AllMovie
- Hope and Glory at Box Office Mojo
- Hope and Glory at Rotten Tomatoes
