One great memory from my youth was in the summer of 1964, at the age of 18. I was on a tour of Great Britain. While we were walking down an alley in Westminster, a limousine pulled to a stop at the head of the alley and a man leaned out the window and flashed us the V - sign. In an instant, I recognized him as Winston Churchill. On the telly that night, I learned that he had been leaving Parliament for the last time, having resigned as an MP. I will never forget it.
I remember when I was young and I saw Churchill do the V for victory for the first time. I later found out that it meant victory, but I thought he was joking at the time
The war began in September 1939. The Dunkirk evacuation took place in early summer 1940. Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7th, 1941. So, for more than TWO YEARS (and roughly 19 months after Dunkirk), the U.K. effectively did it alone against the Nazis. Winston Churchill was a pillar of strength during that time.
As a Latvian woman, I detest the notion UK was the only one fighting. We were fighting both Hitler and Stalin and both refused to f*ck off. We dug up streets for trenches. Children fought. We truly felt alone. Our men and boys forced into army on both sides, brothers killing brothers as two monstrous pieces of garbage went on comparing their d*cks. Those who refused were killed with their families. Our Jewish population was murdered. We only regained our freedom in 1991.
0:14 Yeah, the two fingers sign came from the 100 years war. The french used to cut that 2 fingers of every archer they capture, so they can use the longbow anymore, so that troops, in front of the french troops make that sign as defiance.
Churchill's private secretary, John Colville, wrote at the time in his private diaries: "The PM will give the V-sign with two fingers in spite of representations repeatedly made to him that this gesture has quite another significance." So they are both right
"One ought never to turn one's back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flenching, you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!" Winston Churchill
My grandfather was at Dunkirk and couldn't swim but was essentially forced into the water in an attempt to get rescued. He would have drowned if his friend hadn't grabbed hold of him and swam them both to a small French fishing boat. Despite him being under fire in various places throughout the war, he said that was the scariest moment for him.
This is May/June 1940, Pearl Harbour is December 1941, so not 6 months, it's 18 months. To his credit within the limits of his authority FDR did a great deal to try and support Britain behind the scenes, even the "push your planes across the border" was a great effort, at the time elements of Congress wanted to halt all arms sales to any European nation. It is noteworthy that FDR's and through him the US support for Britain infuriated Hitler, the US never declared war of Germany (after Pearl Harbor they declared war with Japan) but Hitler instead "supported" his diplomatic ally Japan and declared war on the United States. The meeting on the train never happened.
This is mostly true, but FDR really wasn't very supportive at this point in the war. Not that he didn't want to be, but conventional wisdom at the time was that Britain was doomed and he didn't want to spend political capital in a lost cause. It wasn't until it began to become clear that England could win the Battle of Britain that FDR started pushing as far as he could to help.
@@hkpew Yeah, speaking here on the same point from a different angle. FDR clearly wanted to help Britain, but it did not have strong US political support and (especially following New Deal political clashes) he felt limited given that conventional wisdom said Britain was finished after the fall of France (which in FDR's defence many British themselves thought was true, such as this film shows). Still, it may have been a dim and guttering light in the dark but he did keep at least some light burning to indicate to Churchill that he (and thus the US) would support Britain as much as he could. It is more of a comment on the many US politicians who resisted entering the conflict against Nazi Germany early in the War then later preached about how they were key supporters in the battle against Nazism after the War was clearly won. Not like we see that sort of behaviour still among many politicians, media and influencers. And as a society we tacitly allow such revisionism by ignoring it.
It should also be remembered that, despite what American children have been taught in school ever since, Russia actually made the greatest contribution to the defeat of Germany. The Cold War meant that this widely understood truth remains all but unspoken in the West.
@@emdiar6588 One, not Russia, the Soviet Union, similar but not the same. Two, in terms of direct fighting and sacrifice of lives no doubt - but the USSR could not have endured or prevailed without the support of Lend-Lease which basically mechanised Soviet logistics in terms of trucks and transport. So the defeat of Nazi Germany required both the Soviet and Western Allies. But the bloodshed, the pain, that fell heavily upon the Soviets - the people of all the regions and nations that were part of that entity. From Stalingrad, to Kursk, to Bagration, to East Prussia and Berlin, with all the vicious little battles before and in-between. And yes, a lot of US history (although other nations tend to be as well) is badly UScentric and blind to the wider reality.
It's not one of Winston Churchill's more inspirational quotes, but "It's no damn use ducking. The bullet has gone a long way past you by now!” has a lot personal of meaning to me.
If you want good round story of this period. The Kings Speech (with Colin Firth) is a good choice. Kings Speech is about the King. His coming to power before the war and his personal difficulties with public speaking. It was nominated for 12 Oscars and won 4. On a budget of 8 million it earned 250 million.
Sir Winston Churchill, the saviour of the western world. He and the British fought alone against the Nazis and the Fascists for over a year until first Soviet Union (July 1941) and then the USA (December 1941) entered the war. By the way: All battles where the real battles.
"I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly." - Winston Churchill If you want some WW1 movies I recommend War Horse directed by Steven Spielberg. Its an interesting and emotional World War 1 piece.
""I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly." - Winston Churchill" Funnily enough, I can't find any actual source for when/where Churchill "said" this which tends to make me view it as a myth. it's also (imo) not particularly witty.
I was born a few days before Churchill died. My Dad was always proud that I “lived a few days in the life of the greatest Briton”. Churchill had plenty of flaws, prejudices, vices. He was often wrong and made some awful decisions. He was often not a nice man. But, he was the right man at the right time. Without his leadership, we might never have had the courage to stand alone for so long.
Another great Churchill quote: "We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle" Winston Churchill.
@@dansiegel995Atlee was not a good prime minister. Thatcher was the Prime Minister that finally started to fox the problems he caused by ending nationalized industries.
A fantastic performance by Gary Oldman in thissun; really drove home the desperate plight of the British in the War's early days. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is another fantastic Oldman flick, but the plot is highly complex and does no hand-holding.
Screenwriter Anthony McCain also wrote a history book, The Darkest Hour. Churchill did disappear to talk with citizens about the war. If that ever happened on a subway is not known.
German defeat. to be clear. the Luftwaffe suffered horrendous losses.. highly experienced aircrews were lost - men who'd trained for years .. all shot down over England would be captured and made pows for duration - many shipped off to Canada... if they hadn't been killed already when their planes shot down
Two things worth looking up referencing this, Gary Oldman at a actors round table discussing Churchill and Gary Oldman, in costume as Churchill, dancing like James Brown, great movie, one of the best actors in the last 3 decades.
3:48 - although is done for theatrical value; the hat on the chair is a nice touch. If you look closely and the back of the bench behind each politician you will see a little "prayer card" containing their name. By long standing convention in the House of Commons if you attend morning prayers you can "reserve" a seat in the commons by placing one of these cards in the little frame.
You should try "Young Winston" which is a pretty good biopic of his childhood and early life up into his first election to Parliament (I think in 1904, when he was 30). He had some amazing adventures including being in one of the last great horse cavalry charge battles in history.
If you, or anyone, gets to London, go visit the War Rooms. After the war, they were basically just left as they were. You can feel the history oozing from the very walls.
14:02 the imagery and metaphors in this movie are amazing. Just as in life Churchill is focused on his writings (he wrote several books) when suddenly 100% of his attention is forced away and on to a red menace. 23:18 In the darkest hour when when Churchill is forced into appeasment with Germany. He is in the room upset there is a single dim light in a dark room. Then, when the King offers his support, there are suddenly 2 light sources. Beautiful imagery.
Brooklyn here!!!! Wow guys!! I watched this about 4 weeks ago. Gary Oldman puts on a performance of life time in this film. It was so good I didn't even knew it was him until the ending. ♥️
I'm glad you saw this. Yes it's a slow burner but it's one of the best Gary Oldman performances imo. Churchill despite everything was the right man, in the right place in the right time..
@@DLites151 "Tell that to the Indian people , especially the millions that he killed in Bengal. Fuck off with that shit." The Soviet Union lost 8-9 million civilian lives to famine and disease out of a total population of 170.6 million in order to win WW2. In comparison the 2-3 million civilian lives lost in India to famine and disease was out of a total population of 550.4 million (entire British Empire at the time). The guy had a war to win. ... He might have been a prick towards Indians, but there were much bigger pricks who did worse for less...
You give them too much credit. The girl seemed "meh" and the clown in the cowboy hat has absolutely zero comprehension that anything of importance ever happened outside of his state.
In Greece, as is in Spain, most people nap at 4-6. Its not bad at all actually. You have more energy for the night and are more fresh. Plus, we are nations known for our longevity, so I think napping is very important.
My favorite Churchill quote was from an exchange with Lady Astor, who loathed him: Astor: Sir, if you were my husband, I would poison your tea, Churchill: Madam, if you were my wife, I would drink it.
17:55 It's worth remembering that the attack on Pearl Harbor wasn't an isolated incident. On the other side of the International Date Line (so, according to the calendar, the 8th of December, but in reality, these are all within hours of each other), the Japanese also launched attacks on British Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong, Thailand, the Dutch East indies, Guam, Wake Island and Batan Island. Oh, and they're all 1941, so... 18 months after the movie.
A decent movie, but I kind of still think that the BBC/HBO TV movie 'The Gathering Storm' with Albert Finney as Churchill remains the definitive. Captured his 'wilderness years' and his depression along with his tremendous work to warn the danger of Nazi Germany and Britain's ill-preparedness. It also encompasses the help provided him by his growing clique from all walks of political life, who shared his fears. A great companion piece to this is the Norwegian movie 'The King's Choice' which is about the Norwegian King in the opening days of Germany's invasion. It's one of the best WWII I've ever seen. It's not an action film, but it perfectly captures the fear and uncertainty of the time. There's also a few issues with Darkest Hour. It neglects to feature the key support Atlee and Labour showed in shoring up Churchill and averting Halifax's peace. The French P.M Reynaud fought hard with his cabinet to keep France in the war, and was torn apart by the collapse. He was also a friend of Churchill's, and I resent the film portraying him as it did. He wasn't a great man, but he stood up to Petain and Vichy France and for his troubles ended up in jail and then later, a concentration camp. Churchill's speeches also weren't immediately popular with the public, and it took time for them to be fully won over by him. It's a film that dumbs things down a bit too much and has too many false, cloying scenes. Still, OIdman's performance is excellent, so that to an extent saves the film .
I think the film Atonement's Dunkirk scene is 1000x better than the Dunkirk film even if it only lasts about 10 minutes. It actually shows the terrible conditions and feelings of the men that were trapped there rather that about 1000 dudes just waiting on the beach like in the Nolan film
I had a real problem with the "Dunkirk" movie because it started with absolutely no explanation of what the situation was. Why were the British on that beach what happened? Not even a mention of the year. I imagine young people under the age of 40 had no idea what was happening.
It really is true, thats how you flip people off in England. Legend has it the gesture began with archers during a war with France. They would make the gesture to show the enemy they had two fingers to pull the bow string back with, and "we're going to get you."
You pull a bow with 3 fingers. The french would amputate 2 fingers from captured english archers, making it impossible to pull a bow, but leaving them with enough fingers to be useful. The legend is wrong,
I DOES mean "Up Yours!" Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941, so the U.S. didn't come into The War for another 19 months. England was alone, until Germany invaded the Soviet Union June 22, 1941. In the estimation of most reputable historians, Churchill saved Western Civilization. Hard to beat that. Churchill went off on his own more than once, but there is no record of anything resembling the depiction of Churchill in The Tube in this film.
Yeah it's a bit sad that the scene on the tube didn't happen IRL but I'm sure on those outings that he took that he definitely spoke to some of the everyday populace so I think the scene could be considered a faithful creative leap
Gary Oldman is not given as much credit as he deserves. In my opinion he is the greatest actor of all time. There are a lot of great actors out there but they all still come across as themselves in every role they play. Oldman can completely transform himself. It is amazing to see. And I'd say Daniel Day Lewis comes in second place.
Apparently there's account that the underground scene happened like that and probably didn't. He was known to "disappear" and show up somewhere in London speaking to the people during the war however. The thing that most people don't remember about the early days of WWII, and definitely before Pearl Harbor, was that the US didn't have the industry churning out tanks and planes or have a lot of men in arms. So there's not much we could have done early on. FDR was trying to arm countries in Europe when and where he could for a year or so. Then we ended up having to fight across two oceans. I always find it interesting when America is criticized for not doing enough early in WWI or WWII, but we had a very large German population and Ireland didn't want anything to do with it for a while either. So the UK had to fight off an multi month air campaign from Germany basically alone... except for some American volunteers and supplies. You can find a video of Churchill speaking in front of the US Congress on RUclips and it's very cool to hear his voice and see his mannerisms. Also, people should read George Washington's farewell address to the country before he left office. He makes a very specific comment on why America should stay out of European affairs, and this letter was read in every public school for a long time and it did have an influence on how people thought.
My father used to tell me that our soldiers used cardboard tubes to train to use bazookas; tanks were trucks with the word "tank" painted on them, and other such substitutions because we didn't have the military supplies before the war. A depression was on, Democrats were in charge, and the one place they love cutting to fund their socialist programs is the military.
The “Eagle Squadron” American volunteers in the RAF were a very small number, there were far more Polish, Czech, French and Belgian pilots, along with Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, South African, Indian and Caribbean pilots, than American.
America took advantage of the war. It sold weapons to the UK at inflated prices, with loans that had massive interest rates. America has never been a friend to the UK or any other country.
"We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender." WInston Churchill, June 4, 1940
Winston had some of the best philosophical quotes of all time. He was a philosopher more than anything else. "There is only one thing worse than fighting with allies, and that is fighting without them". (The UK had fought France and the US many times... but needed them in this fight)
"When will the lesson be learned? When will the lesson be learned? How many more dictators must be wooed, APPEASED-good God, given immense privileges-before we learn? You cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth!" Very appropriate with today's current events…
This is such a fantastic movie, and I’m so glad to see you react to this. Wish more people did as well. This movie reminds me so much of “Lincoln.” A similarly great actor, Daniel Day Lewis, playing another amazing historical figure who completely plays the role perfectly. One of my favorite Churchill stories is one where he’s at a party and had been drinking too much. A woman walked up to me and told him “Mr. Churchill, you’re drunk.” His response was: “Well that may well be madam. But you’re ugly. And in the morning, I’ll be cured of my drunkenness. However, you will still be ugly.”
Really enjoyed this reaction from you guys and its made me want to watch the film myself as I've been thinking about it for a while, also my grandfather was captured during the evacuation of Dunkirk he was in the 4th Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and was captured at the battle of Cassel and spent the rest of the war as a POW at Stalag XXB in Poland, and like so many others he never talked about it to anyone he did mention he was put on the long march from Poland as the Russians advanced towards Berlin.
Make sure you wink with the closed eye and make sure you do the two finger 'v' the right way round. That was our darkest hour and the years following could have been even darker if things had not worked out. Great reaction to a great movie.
the 2 finger sign comes from the war in France as the French use to cut off the two fingers off British archers so they do not bow their arrows ever again so the other archers would put up the two finger sign to say we still have our fingers hence f-off
10:56 When he says snap he's referring to a card game in which players draw cards with each other until they find a matching pair and the fastest person to say snap wins. TL;DR he just said a British version of jinx.
Lily James as Pamela Anderson in Pam & Tommy is absolutely incredible. An amazing performance. If she doesn’t win for best actress in a drama series I’ll be shocked.
The train scene was fictional, but it was true that Mr. Churchill did go about the streets on his own at times to talk to people. The scene basically served as a summary of his occasional walks in public. He was a very complex man, but when his country was at its darkest hour. When they were the only nation standing defiantly against Hitler’s Europe. He was the right man for the time. He rallied the resistance and rallied his country to never surrender to Fascism.
Yes, the "V" gesture is the Brit version of flipping someone off. A V for Victory gesture has the palm facing the other person. The "V" gesture that means F.O. shows the back of the hand to the other person.
The v sign was first used by medieval bowman because if caught they would have there fingers cut off so they could not use a bow. They showed the v sign as a message to the enemy
@@johanschmidt3228 That is a bit of a myth. They might well have done that after the French threatened to cut off their bow fingers, and enjoyed the two meanings, but there is some evidence that the middle finger gesture that dated back to at least the Romans, was doubled by showing two fingers.
To be honest watching this with you guys , all I could picture and think of is Ukraine and what they are going through. 🇺🇦❤ thanks for the reaction. 🇬🇧🇺🇸
Not quite the same though. Ukraine should definitely fight to remain an independent nation, however they do have elements within the nation that are a huge issue. The Nazi type groups, such as the Azoz Regiment and neo-Nazi Social National Assembly (SNA), within Ukraine are part of the problem, and are a cause for this war. It's not just Russia wanting to retake Ukraine, it's to end the killings of Russians of various ethnic backgrounds inside Ukraine.
@@MG-ll5nw Puppet? Those are facts. There are neo-Nazi type groups in Ukraine. It's clear the real puppet is you, and you're probably some neo-nazi supporter to try and silence the truth, by falsely claiming someone is a puppet of Russia for posting facts. Interesting your RUclips account was created in 2014 but has nothing associated with it. It's very likely that you are a Nazi supporter and a troll.
@@shinrapresident7010 Iraq is an entirely different situation. The US continually interfered with Ukrainian affairs leading up to 2014, by aiding a Neo-Nazi and helping to overthrow a democratically elected President, even if that President was a pro-Russian. As I said, Ukraine should definitely fight to remain an independent sovereign nation, but it's not as black and white as "Russia bad, Ukraine good." Also, Ukraine is nothing like the UK during WWII, it's far more complicated than that.
@@shinrapresident7010 So... What does this have to do with anything? Nobody except you mentioned Iraq. Ukraine has nothing to do with Iraq or the Iraq war. It doesn't have to do with the Azov Regiment or the other Neo-Nazi groups in Ukraine that are apart of their military and even some inside their government. Zelensky, who is Jewish, even awarded an a known neo-nazi one of Ukraine highest military honors. Just recently for International Women's day, NATO posted on their twitter various women in Ukraine. They later had to take down several photos of some of the women, due to them having the Black Sun patch on their plate carriers. The Black Sun is a neo-Nazi symbol. That's what's being discussed. Ukraine and the war there isn't just a black and white issue, there are many facets to it. Russia is invading, but they are also responding to what many of the neo-Nazi groups have done since 2014. Which includes killing people inside the Donbas region in Ukraine, who are of Russian but also ethnic minorities. Just last year in 2021, a few months ago in November, over 800 Jewish headstones in a cemetery were destroyed by neo-Nazis in Ukraine.
Favourite Quote was when Bessie Braddock MP said to him “Winston, you are drunk, and what's more you are disgustingly drunk.” and his reply was " 'My dear, you are ugly, but tomorrow I shall be sober, and you will still be ugly."
An excellent "what it was like" series was done by the British called _'Danger: UXB'_ which was available as a DVD box set, which I have since I thought it was a good show when it was broadcast.....but I don't know if it is available on any of the streaming services.
@@keithrose6931 Yes indeed. I may have to set some time aside this weekend to watch some episodes. It was through this series that I learned of the existence of the 'butterfly' bombs.
Admiral Yamamoto, the architect of the Pearl Harbor attack said "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." Prior to Pearl Harbor, a majority of Americans favored neutrality. FDR campaigned in 1940 on keeping out of the war. December 7, 1941 turned it around. Hitler, filled with hubris, declared war on the US four days later.
PS Dunkirk was May 1940 - while Pearl Harbour was Dec 1941. V for "f*** off" is supposed to related to a the French - it was the longbow mans draw fingers (which the French liked to cut off!). Churchill lead an interesting life - and of course had an American mother! Took part in one of last great cavalry charges with the 21st Lancers at the Battle of Omdurman. Became a reporter and covered the Boar War, and was captured, was interned and escaped! Chopped and changed his politics - is often held responsible for the disaster at Gallipoli in WW1 - the idea largely came from him, but not any operational control. Resigned from government in 1915 the re-joined the Army - serving in the trenches with the 2nd Grenadier Guards and later the 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers
Also there are some inaccuracies, our Navy had already lined up the boats earlier and on their own so it wasn't actually his idea. The meeting with the people on the train never happened and nor did the King visit him. Nor was Churchill ever being "ousted" by his cabinet, there were frustrations, but there was no record/evidence of this, he pretty much had their backing. His famous speech happened on June 4th, not May 28th, after celebrating saving the soldiers at Dunkirk, from what I've read. He also had many different secretaries not just one.
THIS IS IMPORTANT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO INSULT UK CITIZENS!!!!!! V for victory/peace sign is with your palm facing the person you are talking to. BUT If you do it with the back of your hand facing them it CAN be taken, like you just showed them your middle finger, that being said it does have other meaning as well, but none of them are nice either. Make sure you don't show someone the wrong side of your hand.
'That's how you flip people off. That can't be right.' Throughout Chuchill's public career a 'nice' description of him could be summed up a 'a cheeky bugger'. As a historian I find it ironic that Churchill was a bit of a trial to his secretaries, Hitler was 'a perfect gentleman' to his... Also flying newly produced in the USA fighterplanes up to the Canadian Border and pushing them over...to then be flown transatlantic to Britain was a thing that happened. 1939-1940-early 1941 was definitely the Darkest Hour for Britain.
@22:48 Not 6 months, but 1.5 year to be precise. This movie takes place in early days of the war (1940). The attack on Pearl Harbour didn't happen until December 7th, 1941.
That is indeed how yo "flip someone off" in the uk (although a middle finger is seen as perhaps more aggressive) the 2 digit "Vickies" as they are called are usually used more in a jovial way like when drunk and getting your picture taken or secretly doing behind the back of yer pal or boss.
0:04 I've found that which side of the hand you present to the public says different things. And yes, "backhand: is an "FU!," as observed by "Mr. Cowboy.";) A "Hans Gruber" thing.
Husband was right: in the U.K. and Ireland, the V sign for victory is done with two fingers with your palm facing out, but two fingers with your palm facing in toward you means "F* off!"
Here in the UK, the v sign with the fingernails facing towards the person you're showing them to means only one thing - f**k off!" With the fingernails pointed to oneself, it means 'peace'. Love those moments on The Tube (subway) when he talks to the people. Well, that and his magnificent speech. All of the speeches are word for word what Churchill said.
He was a naval admiral in WW1 that oversaw the Gallipoli landing in Turkey of the Australian and New Zealand army Corp which became a defining battle in our cultural identity. Australians and New Zealanders still commemorate the battle with a public holiday. He had his faults, but he was a warrior twice when the world needed a warrior.
my old man was a kid when churchill won the war, he once ran into churchill, literally, my father as a kid bumped straight into winston, and i remember him telling me that winston looked down at my father and said with a smile "not looking were you are going is a sign that you either have your head in the clouds in a particularly good book, and since i dont see a book in your hands, i assume you were thinking about your supper" and then when he sent my father on his way winston said "next time carry a book with you so the next person you run into cannot fault you for clumsiness dear boy" edit: once my father grew up, he started smoking the same cigars as churchill out of respect for him, and the cigar smoking has carried on as our family tradition, i smoke them, and even my daughter enjoys a cigar, my grandchildren are to young to smoke, but i expect they will also partake in it when they are old enough
Thanks guys i really love this movie. Churchill was a major player in ww1 as well first lord of the admiralty ( secretary of the navy) was blamed on a disastrous campaign. Quit joined the army seved as a colonel in the trenches, then was brought back to parliament and was appointed minister of war ( defense secretary) he was unpopular with some because he was a member of two different parties. Liberal Democrat then conservative. ( he said if your not liberal by 25 you have no heart if your not conservative by 35 you have no brain)
'The Outsider' (2020) HBO series would definitely be up your street. It's brilliant. (Based on a Stephen King novel. Like a cross between Midnight Mass and The Conjuring. Only 10 episodes.)
18:00 Indeed. That's exactly right. Churchill writes in his diary the day after Pearl Harbor that he had the best night's sleep in years, knowing that Britain had won the war.
Yes f off ( but also victory or reverse hand peace) it originated from the hundred years war , French said the would cut the fingers off English archers captured, before the battle the arcchers gave them the fingers. ( act of defiance)
The two finger salute is "Up Yours!" or up your arse! originated from the Battle of Agincourt were the English fought the French the two fingers is from the archers and how you hold an arrow in the bow, they used to raise their fingers to show they still had them to fight as the French would cut off those finger if caught, so it was in defiance and to show they still had them with an "Up Yours!" V by 1940 turning them around was V for Victory. Which as you saw Churchill learnt to do correctly.
Yeah, it's a great performance - as you suspected, the tube train thing is utter nonsense. Churchill wrote that he only every attempted to use the tube once during a general strink in 1926 and managed to get hopelessly lost. He was an incredible figure and a national hero - but 'man of the people'? Emphatically not.
what ever started the "V", it ended up being a mutual sign between the French and the British; when I lived in France, the French kids were telling me about it. Was a regular greeting, even in the 60's
The king stayed at Buckingham Palace even though it was bombed 9 times by the nazis also Churchill was a poor peace time pm but an excellent war time p.m
"We shall fight on the beaches" is the most famous speech in UK history. It stills gives me chills
Especially when you hear it at the beginning of Iron Maiden's Aces High.
Arguably one of the most famous in World History...certainly as given in English.
Even here in the states, we learned that speech in high school.
@@gutz1981 live to fly, fly to live, aces high!
surely it’s the “for christs sake mick”? from gavin and stacey?
One great memory from my youth was in the summer of 1964, at the age of 18. I was on a tour of Great Britain. While we were walking down an alley in Westminster, a limousine pulled to a stop at the head of the alley and a man leaned out the window and flashed us the V - sign. In an instant, I recognized him as Winston Churchill. On the telly that night, I learned that he had been leaving Parliament for the last time, having resigned as an MP. I will never forget it.
That is quite something to witness.
I remember when I was young and I saw Churchill do the V for victory for the first time. I later found out that it meant victory, but I thought he was joking at the time
Cool
Bollocks
The war began in September 1939. The Dunkirk evacuation took place in early summer 1940. Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7th, 1941. So, for more than TWO YEARS (and roughly 19 months after Dunkirk), the U.K. effectively did it alone against the Nazis. Winston Churchill was a pillar of strength during that time.
To be fair, June '41, Hitler's invading USSR, has shifted Germany's war effort.
@@zvimur In a big way, even still the german navy didn't stand up to the Royal Navy nearly as well
As a Latvian woman, I detest the notion UK was the only one fighting. We were fighting both Hitler and Stalin and both refused to f*ck off. We dug up streets for trenches. Children fought. We truly felt alone. Our men and boys forced into army on both sides, brothers killing brothers as two monstrous pieces of garbage went on comparing their d*cks. Those who refused were killed with their families. Our Jewish population was murdered. We only regained our freedom in 1991.
UK never fought alone they had the empire behind them
@@johncarter449 - Hence, this is why the empire was all part of the UNITED KINGDOM.
Gary Oldman did a hell of a good job of portraying Winston Churchill. And he earned that Oscar.
He had been constantly robbed again and again. It was about time.
0:14 Yeah, the two fingers sign came from the 100 years war. The french used to cut that 2 fingers of every archer they capture, so they can use the longbow anymore, so that troops, in front of the french troops make that sign as defiance.
V sign is,was away of ecpressing
Expressing the sentiment of foxtrot Oscar to the protagonists
This film shows how politicians are reptilian predatory immoral creatures they thought they were setting church up to faillittle did they know.
Churchill's private secretary, John Colville, wrote at the time in his private diaries: "The PM will give the V-sign with two fingers in spite of representations repeatedly made to him that this gesture has quite another significance."
So they are both right
The archers thing is a nice story, but there's no evidence for it (and in any case it was a three finger amputation threat).
"One ought never to turn one's back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flenching, you will reduce the danger by half. Never run away from anything. Never!"
Winston Churchill
My grandfather was at Dunkirk and couldn't swim but was essentially forced into the water in an attempt to get rescued. He would have drowned if his friend hadn't grabbed hold of him and swam them both to a small French fishing boat. Despite him being under fire in various places throughout the war, he said that was the scariest moment for him.
This is May/June 1940, Pearl Harbour is December 1941, so not 6 months, it's 18 months. To his credit within the limits of his authority FDR did a great deal to try and support Britain behind the scenes, even the "push your planes across the border" was a great effort, at the time elements of Congress wanted to halt all arms sales to any European nation. It is noteworthy that FDR's and through him the US support for Britain infuriated Hitler, the US never declared war of Germany (after Pearl Harbor they declared war with Japan) but Hitler instead "supported" his diplomatic ally Japan and declared war on the United States. The meeting on the train never happened.
This is mostly true, but FDR really wasn't very supportive at this point in the war. Not that he didn't want to be, but conventional wisdom at the time was that Britain was doomed and he didn't want to spend political capital in a lost cause. It wasn't until it began to become clear that England could win the Battle of Britain that FDR started pushing as far as he could to help.
@@hkpew Yeah, speaking here on the same point from a different angle. FDR clearly wanted to help Britain, but it did not have strong US political support and (especially following New Deal political clashes) he felt limited given that conventional wisdom said Britain was finished after the fall of France (which in FDR's defence many British themselves thought was true, such as this film shows). Still, it may have been a dim and guttering light in the dark but he did keep at least some light burning to indicate to Churchill that he (and thus the US) would support Britain as much as he could. It is more of a comment on the many US politicians who resisted entering the conflict against Nazi Germany early in the War then later preached about how they were key supporters in the battle against Nazism after the War was clearly won. Not like we see that sort of behaviour still among many politicians, media and influencers. And as a society we tacitly allow such revisionism by ignoring it.
It should also be remembered that, despite what American children have been taught in school ever since, Russia actually made the greatest contribution to the defeat of Germany. The Cold War meant that this widely understood truth remains all but unspoken in the West.
@@emdiar6588 One, not Russia, the Soviet Union, similar but not the same. Two, in terms of direct fighting and sacrifice of lives no doubt - but the USSR could not have endured or prevailed without the support of Lend-Lease which basically mechanised Soviet logistics in terms of trucks and transport. So the defeat of Nazi Germany required both the Soviet and Western Allies. But the bloodshed, the pain, that fell heavily upon the Soviets - the people of all the regions and nations that were part of that entity. From Stalingrad, to Kursk, to Bagration, to East Prussia and Berlin, with all the vicious little battles before and in-between. And yes, a lot of US history (although other nations tend to be as well) is badly UScentric and blind to the wider reality.
FDR was an idiot and that comment about pushing planes was his way of saying no help
First time watching Gary Oldman was in "The Professional".
He remains the scariest "bad cop" I ever saw in a movie.
"EEEVVVVVERRRYYYONNNNEEEE!!!!!"
@@thefourhorsemen91 F%"k you Erik hahahah, you stole my line!!!
It's not one of Winston Churchill's more inspirational quotes, but "It's no damn use ducking. The bullet has gone a long way past you by now!” has a lot personal of meaning to me.
If you want good round story of this period. The Kings Speech (with Colin Firth) is a good choice. Kings Speech is about the King. His coming to power before the war and his personal difficulties with public speaking. It was nominated for 12 Oscars and won 4. On a budget of 8 million it earned 250 million.
Sir Winston Churchill, the saviour of the western world. He and the British fought alone against the Nazis and the Fascists for over a year until first Soviet Union (July 1941) and then the USA (December 1941) entered the war. By the way: All battles where the real battles.
"I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly." - Winston Churchill
If you want some WW1 movies I recommend War Horse directed by Steven Spielberg. Its an interesting and emotional World War 1 piece.
Also 'They Shall Not Grow Old' by Peter Jackson. Best WW1 movie ever.
1917 is a good one as well
He would be removed from office now, as an alcoholic and replaced by some appeaser like Starmer.
@@minty447 So is 'Dunkirk'
""I may be drunk, Miss, but in the morning I will be sober and you will still be ugly." - Winston Churchill"
Funnily enough, I can't find any actual source for when/where Churchill "said" this which tends to make me view it as a myth. it's also (imo) not particularly witty.
I was born a few days before Churchill died. My Dad was always proud that I “lived a few days in the life of the greatest Briton”.
Churchill had plenty of flaws, prejudices, vices. He was often wrong and made some awful decisions. He was often not a nice man. But, he was the right man at the right time. Without his leadership, we might never have had the courage to stand alone for so long.
Another great Churchill quote: "We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle" Winston Churchill.
and that's why he lost post-war. Social policy was desperately needed after the war to get them on their feet. No time for trickle down economics.
But he was not a Republican who was a spend a holic, unable to keep his hands off the people's money.
@@dansiegel995Atlee was not a good prime minister.
Thatcher was the Prime Minister that finally started to fox the problems he caused by ending nationalized industries.
A fantastic performance by Gary Oldman in thissun; really drove home the desperate plight of the British in the War's early days.
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is another fantastic Oldman flick, but the plot is highly complex and does no hand-holding.
Screenwriter Anthony McCain also wrote a history book, The Darkest Hour. Churchill did disappear to talk with citizens about the war. If that ever happened on a subway is not known.
The Dunkirk evacuation was May 1940.
The 'Battle of Britain' was September 1940, first German set-back.
Pearl Harbour was December 1941
German defeat. to be clear. the Luftwaffe suffered horrendous losses.. highly experienced aircrews were lost - men who'd trained for years .. all shot down over England would be captured and made pows for duration - many shipped off to Canada... if they hadn't been killed already when their planes shot down
“ if your going through hell keep going” - Churchill
My favorite
Two things worth looking up referencing this, Gary Oldman at a actors round table discussing Churchill and Gary Oldman, in costume as Churchill, dancing like James Brown, great movie, one of the best actors in the last 3 decades.
Operation Dynamo was amazing. It's covered also in Mrs. Miniver, one of FDR's favorite movies and an Oscar winner.
3:48 - although is done for theatrical value; the hat on the chair is a nice touch. If you look closely and the back of the bench behind each politician you will see a little "prayer card" containing their name. By long standing convention in the House of Commons if you attend morning prayers you can "reserve" a seat in the commons by placing one of these cards in the little frame.
You should try "Young Winston" which is a pretty good biopic of his childhood and early life up into his first election to Parliament (I think in 1904, when he was 30). He had some amazing adventures including being in one of the last great horse cavalry charge battles in history.
Bet it doesn't mention his out and out racism...
@@redcardinalist give it a rest.
If you, or anyone, gets to London, go visit the War Rooms. After the war, they were basically just left as they were. You can feel the history oozing from the very walls.
Very true.
14:02 the imagery and metaphors in this movie are amazing. Just as in life Churchill is focused on his writings (he wrote several books) when suddenly 100% of his attention is forced away and on to a red menace.
23:18 In the darkest hour when when Churchill is forced into appeasment with Germany. He is in the room upset there is a single dim light in a dark room. Then, when the King offers his support, there are suddenly 2 light sources. Beautiful imagery.
Brooklyn here!!!! Wow guys!! I watched this about 4 weeks ago. Gary Oldman puts on a performance of life time in this film. It was so good I didn't even knew it was him until the ending. ♥️
Currently reading Churchill - Walking With Destiny. Very complex man who was what they needed at that moment in time.
I'm glad you saw this.
Yes it's a slow burner but it's one of the best Gary Oldman performances imo.
Churchill despite everything was the right man, in the right place in the right time..
Tell that to the Indian people , especially the millions that he killed in Bengal. Fuck off with that shit.
@@DLites151 What Alan said is true and will never not be true.
@@DLites151 "Tell that to the Indian people , especially the millions that he killed in Bengal. Fuck off with that shit."
The Soviet Union lost 8-9 million civilian lives to famine and disease out of a total population of 170.6 million in order to win WW2.
In comparison the 2-3 million civilian lives lost in India to famine and disease was out of a total population of 550.4 million (entire British Empire at the time).
The guy had a war to win.
...
He might have been a prick towards Indians, but there were much bigger pricks who did worse for less...
@@nt78stonewobble wrong. Soviets and British were both worse than the Germans. This is obvious.
You give them too much credit. The girl seemed "meh" and the clown in the cowboy hat has absolutely zero comprehension that anything of importance ever happened outside of his state.
In Greece, as is in Spain, most people nap at 4-6. Its not bad at all actually. You have more energy for the night and are more fresh. Plus, we are nations known for our longevity, so I think napping is very important.
My favorite Churchill quote was from an exchange with Lady Astor, who loathed him:
Astor: Sir, if you were my husband, I would poison your tea,
Churchill: Madam, if you were my wife, I would drink it.
17:48 aside from revelling in war profiteering, up until the outcome was already decided and they wanted a piece of the spoils..
Lily James was also in "Yesterday", a fantasy story about the Beatles. She played the girlfriend of the main character.
17:55 It's worth remembering that the attack on Pearl Harbor wasn't an isolated incident. On the other side of the International Date Line (so, according to the calendar, the 8th of December, but in reality, these are all within hours of each other), the Japanese also launched attacks on British Malaya, Singapore and Hong Kong, Thailand, the Dutch East indies, Guam, Wake Island and Batan Island.
Oh, and they're all 1941, so... 18 months after the movie.
A decent movie, but I kind of still think that the BBC/HBO TV movie 'The Gathering Storm' with Albert Finney as Churchill remains the definitive. Captured his 'wilderness years' and his depression along with his tremendous work to warn the danger of Nazi Germany and Britain's ill-preparedness. It also encompasses the help provided him by his growing clique from all walks of political life, who shared his fears. A great companion piece to this is the Norwegian movie 'The King's Choice' which is about the Norwegian King in the opening days of Germany's invasion. It's one of the best WWII I've ever seen. It's not an action film, but it perfectly captures the fear and uncertainty of the time. There's also a few issues with Darkest Hour. It neglects to feature the key support Atlee and Labour showed in shoring up Churchill and averting Halifax's peace. The French P.M Reynaud fought hard with his cabinet to keep France in the war, and was torn apart by the collapse. He was also a friend of Churchill's, and I resent the film portraying him as it did. He wasn't a great man, but he stood up to Petain and Vichy France and for his troubles ended up in jail and then later, a concentration camp. Churchill's speeches also weren't immediately popular with the public, and it took time for them to be fully won over by him. It's a film that dumbs things down a bit too much and has too many false, cloying scenes. Still, OIdman's performance is excellent, so that to an extent saves the film .
You know for the Dunkirk evacuation he said SEND EVERYONE!!!
I find Christopher Nolan’s film “Dunkirk” to be a great companion piece to this, they each portray a different side of the war
interesting that both movies came out at the same time and were both about the British in ww2 during the same year
You probably know this, but the reactors have seen Dunkirk.
I think the film Atonement's Dunkirk scene is 1000x better than the Dunkirk film even if it only lasts about 10 minutes. It actually shows the terrible conditions and feelings of the men that were trapped there rather that about 1000 dudes just waiting on the beach like in the Nolan film
Dunkirk was an embarrassing film. So much wrong it was horrendous
I had a real problem with the "Dunkirk" movie because it started with absolutely no explanation of what the situation was. Why were the British on that beach what happened? Not even a mention of the year. I imagine young people under the age of 40 had no idea what was happening.
It really is true, thats how you flip people off in England. Legend has it the gesture began with archers during a war with France. They would make the gesture to show the enemy they had two fingers to pull the bow string back with, and "we're going to get you."
You pull a bow with 3 fingers. The french would amputate 2 fingers from captured english archers, making it impossible to pull a bow, but leaving them with enough fingers to be useful. The legend is wrong,
This start of this film and Dunkirk is June 1940, Pearl Harbour doesn’t happen until December 1941 btw!
Yes. We realized this later. Makes the time even crazier to think about!
Easy mistake to make, loving your reviews though guys!
@@colinrattray816 Unfortunately, yes - it WAS a very easy mistake to make...
I DOES mean "Up Yours!" Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941, so the U.S. didn't come into The War for another 19 months. England was alone, until Germany invaded the Soviet Union June 22, 1941. In the estimation of most reputable historians, Churchill saved Western Civilization. Hard to beat that. Churchill went off on his own more than once, but there is no record of anything resembling the depiction of Churchill in The Tube in this film.
Yeah it's a bit sad that the scene on the tube didn't happen IRL but I'm sure on those outings that he took that he definitely spoke to some of the everyday populace so I think the scene could be considered a faithful creative leap
The US didnt do anything until late 1942.
The Tube scene was used with creative license to depict Churchill's embodiment of the national will to resist.
Gary Oldman is not given as much credit as he deserves. In my opinion he is the greatest actor of all time. There are a lot of great actors out there but they all still come across as themselves in every role they play. Oldman can completely transform himself. It is amazing to see. And I'd say Daniel Day Lewis comes in second place.
Apparently there's account that the underground scene happened like that and probably didn't. He was known to "disappear" and show up somewhere in London speaking to the people during the war however. The thing that most people don't remember about the early days of WWII, and definitely before Pearl Harbor, was that the US didn't have the industry churning out tanks and planes or have a lot of men in arms. So there's not much we could have done early on. FDR was trying to arm countries in Europe when and where he could for a year or so. Then we ended up having to fight across two oceans. I always find it interesting when America is criticized for not doing enough early in WWI or WWII, but we had a very large German population and Ireland didn't want anything to do with it for a while either. So the UK had to fight off an multi month air campaign from Germany basically alone... except for some American volunteers and supplies. You can find a video of Churchill speaking in front of the US Congress on RUclips and it's very cool to hear his voice and see his mannerisms. Also, people should read George Washington's farewell address to the country before he left office. He makes a very specific comment on why America should stay out of European affairs, and this letter was read in every public school for a long time and it did have an influence on how people thought.
My father used to tell me that our soldiers used cardboard tubes to train to use bazookas; tanks were trucks with the word "tank" painted on them, and other such substitutions because we didn't have the military supplies before the war. A depression was on, Democrats were in charge, and the one place they love cutting to fund their socialist programs is the military.
The “Eagle Squadron” American volunteers in the RAF were a very small number, there were far more Polish, Czech, French and Belgian pilots, along with Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, South African, Indian and Caribbean pilots, than American.
America took advantage of the war. It sold weapons to the UK at inflated prices, with loans that had massive interest rates. America has never been a friend to the UK or any other country.
"We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender." WInston Churchill, June 4, 1940
Are you sure that wasn’t Robin Hood addressing his me.man (who had an uncanny resemblance to Carey Elews) in the 15th century
Winston had some of the best philosophical quotes of all time. He was a philosopher more than anything else. "There is only one thing worse than fighting with allies, and that is fighting without them". (The UK had fought France and the US many times... but needed them in this fight)
Gary Oldman is one of the gifted actors to ever do it 💯
22:51: six months!? that's June 1939 to December 1941. two and a half years.
June 1940 - 18 months
"When will the lesson be learned? When will the lesson be learned? How many more dictators must be wooed, APPEASED-good God, given immense privileges-before we learn? You cannot reason with a tiger when your head is in its mouth!"
Very appropriate with today's current events…
Frenchman 1: he's delusional.
Frenchman 2: he's English.
Me: you're god damned right! 😆
This is such a fantastic movie, and I’m so glad to see you react to this. Wish more people did as well. This movie reminds me so much of “Lincoln.” A similarly great actor, Daniel Day Lewis, playing another amazing historical figure who completely plays the role perfectly.
One of my favorite Churchill stories is one where he’s at a party and had been drinking too much. A woman walked up to me and told him “Mr. Churchill, you’re drunk.” His response was: “Well that may well be madam. But you’re ugly. And in the morning, I’ll be cured of my drunkenness. However, you will still be ugly.”
18:02 - 'Germany was going to conquer the world' - they couldn't conquer Britain which was 20 miles away, how were they going to conquer the world?
Really enjoyed this reaction from you guys and its made me want to watch the film myself as I've been thinking about it for a while, also my grandfather was captured during the evacuation of Dunkirk he was in the 4th Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and was captured at the battle of Cassel and spent the rest of the war as a POW at Stalag XXB in Poland, and like so many others he never talked about it to anyone he did mention he was put on the long march from Poland as the Russians advanced towards Berlin.
Make sure you wink with the closed eye and make sure you do the two finger 'v' the right way round. That was our darkest hour and the years following could have been even darker if things had not worked out. Great reaction to a great movie.
Yes, flicking the "V" at someone is the UKs middle finger. It means "up yours"
Reverse v is V for Victory
FYI: This was directed by Joe Wright -- the same person who directed 2005's Pride & Prejudice (that you recently reacted to).
the 2 finger sign comes from the war in France as the French use to cut off the two fingers off British archers so they do not bow their arrows ever again so the other archers would put up the two finger sign to say we still have our fingers hence f-off
yeah but no its a myth theres no evidence to back it up and it has more or less been thoroughly debunked by historians
@@Frequencydead so does your claim .
@@Frequencydead ruclips.net/video/4TGYKnGZXcM/видео.html take a look
10:56 When he says snap he's referring to a card game in which players draw cards with each other until they find a matching pair and the fastest person to say snap wins. TL;DR he just said a British version of jinx.
The parliament scene at the beginning is true to real life.
My favourite Oldman role was as Bex in The Firm.
Lily James as Pamela Anderson in Pam & Tommy is absolutely incredible. An amazing performance. If she doesn’t win for best actress in a drama series I’ll be shocked.
Winston Churchill is the greatest Briton to ever live. Rule Britannia ! 🇬🇧👑
There is a Churchill quote at the end of the original movie "Midway", that I like very much.
The train scene was fictional, but it was true that Mr. Churchill did go about the streets on his own at times to talk to people. The scene basically served as a summary of his occasional walks in public.
He was a very complex man, but when his country was at its darkest hour. When they were the only nation standing defiantly against Hitler’s Europe. He was the right man for the time. He rallied the resistance and rallied his country to never surrender to Fascism.
Yes, the "V" gesture is the Brit version of flipping someone off. A V for Victory gesture has the palm facing the other person. The "V" gesture that means F.O. shows the back of the hand to the other person.
The v sign was first used by medieval bowman because if caught they would have there fingers cut off so they could not use a bow. They showed the v sign as a message to the enemy
@@johanschmidt3228 That is a bit of a myth. They might well have done that after the French threatened to cut off their bow fingers, and enjoyed the two meanings, but there is some evidence that the middle finger gesture that dated back to at least the Romans, was doubled by showing two fingers.
btw you need 3 fingers to pull a bow
To be honest watching this with you guys , all I could picture and think of is Ukraine and what they are going through. 🇺🇦❤ thanks for the reaction. 🇬🇧🇺🇸
Not quite the same though. Ukraine should definitely fight to remain an independent nation, however they do have elements within the nation that are a huge issue. The Nazi type groups, such as the Azoz Regiment and neo-Nazi Social National Assembly (SNA), within Ukraine are part of the problem, and are a cause for this war. It's not just Russia wanting to retake Ukraine, it's to end the killings of Russians of various ethnic backgrounds inside Ukraine.
@@My-Name-Isnt-Important Spoken like a true puppet of Putin.
@@MG-ll5nw Puppet? Those are facts. There are neo-Nazi type groups in Ukraine. It's clear the real puppet is you, and you're probably some neo-nazi supporter to try and silence the truth, by falsely claiming someone is a puppet of Russia for posting facts. Interesting your RUclips account was created in 2014 but has nothing associated with it. It's very likely that you are a Nazi supporter and a troll.
@@shinrapresident7010 Iraq is an entirely different situation. The US continually interfered with Ukrainian affairs leading up to 2014, by aiding a Neo-Nazi and helping to overthrow a democratically elected President, even if that President was a pro-Russian. As I said, Ukraine should definitely fight to remain an independent sovereign nation, but it's not as black and white as "Russia bad, Ukraine good." Also, Ukraine is nothing like the UK during WWII, it's far more complicated than that.
@@shinrapresident7010 So... What does this have to do with anything? Nobody except you mentioned Iraq. Ukraine has nothing to do with Iraq or the Iraq war. It doesn't have to do with the Azov Regiment or the other Neo-Nazi groups in Ukraine that are apart of their military and even some inside their government. Zelensky, who is Jewish, even awarded an a known neo-nazi one of Ukraine highest military honors.
Just recently for International Women's day, NATO posted on their twitter various women in Ukraine. They later had to take down several photos of some of the women, due to them having the Black Sun patch on their plate carriers. The Black Sun is a neo-Nazi symbol. That's what's being discussed.
Ukraine and the war there isn't just a black and white issue, there are many facets to it. Russia is invading, but they are also responding to what many of the neo-Nazi groups have done since 2014. Which includes killing people inside the Donbas region in Ukraine, who are of Russian but also ethnic minorities. Just last year in 2021, a few months ago in November, over 800 Jewish headstones in a cemetery were destroyed by neo-Nazis in Ukraine.
Churchill "I may be drunk,...but you are ugly....and tomorrow i will be sober "
Favourite Quote was when Bessie Braddock MP said to him “Winston, you are drunk, and what's more you are disgustingly drunk.” and his reply was " 'My dear, you are ugly, but tomorrow I shall be sober, and you will still be ugly."
Left eye wink for sure. LMMFAO!!!
It's so much more funny than the right eye.
An excellent "what it was like" series was done by the British called _'Danger: UXB'_ which was available as a DVD box set, which I have since I thought it was a good show when it was broadcast.....but I don't know if it is available on any of the streaming services.
Damn good series.
@@keithrose6931 Yes indeed. I may have to set some time aside this weekend to watch some episodes.
It was through this series that I learned of the existence of the 'butterfly' bombs.
Admiral Yamamoto, the architect of the Pearl Harbor attack said "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve." Prior to Pearl Harbor, a majority of Americans favored neutrality. FDR campaigned in 1940 on keeping out of the war. December 7, 1941 turned it around. Hitler, filled with hubris, declared war on the US four days later.
PS Dunkirk was May 1940 - while Pearl Harbour was Dec 1941. V for "f*** off" is supposed to related to a the French - it was the longbow mans draw fingers (which the French liked to cut off!).
Churchill lead an interesting life - and of course had an American mother! Took part in one of last great cavalry charges with the 21st Lancers at the Battle of Omdurman. Became a reporter and covered the Boar War, and was captured, was interned and escaped! Chopped and changed his politics - is often held responsible for the disaster at Gallipoli in WW1 - the idea largely came from him, but not any operational control. Resigned from government in 1915 the re-joined the Army - serving in the trenches with the 2nd Grenadier Guards and later the 6th Royal Scots Fusiliers
Also there are some inaccuracies, our Navy had already lined up the boats earlier and on their own so it wasn't actually his idea. The meeting with the people on the train never happened and nor did the King visit him.
Nor was Churchill ever being "ousted" by his cabinet, there were frustrations, but there was no record/evidence of this, he pretty much had their backing.
His famous speech happened on June 4th, not May 28th, after celebrating saving the soldiers at Dunkirk, from what I've read.
He also had many different secretaries not just one.
Darkest Hour won two Oscars for Best Actor and Best Makeup and Hairstyling
THIS IS IMPORTANT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO INSULT UK CITIZENS!!!!!!
V for victory/peace sign is with your palm facing the person you are talking to.
BUT
If you do it with the back of your hand facing them it CAN be taken, like you just showed them your middle finger, that being said it does have other meaning as well, but none of them are nice either.
Make sure you don't show someone the wrong side of your hand.
The US did enter the war till 1942 this happened in 1940 just before the battle of Britain the US was not there we won the Battle of Britain
'That's how you flip people off. That can't be right.' Throughout Chuchill's public career a 'nice' description of him could be summed up a 'a cheeky bugger'. As a historian I find it ironic that Churchill was a bit of a trial to his secretaries, Hitler was 'a perfect gentleman' to his... Also flying newly produced in the USA fighterplanes up to the Canadian Border and pushing them over...to then be flown transatlantic to Britain was a thing that happened. 1939-1940-early 1941 was definitely the Darkest Hour for Britain.
Yes! Finally a reaction on this amazing movie! Can also recomend:
"The kings speech", another great movie forgotten in the reaction coommunity.
@22:48 Not 6 months, but 1.5 year to be precise. This movie takes place in early days of the war (1940). The attack on Pearl Harbour didn't happen until December 7th, 1941.
That is indeed how yo "flip someone off" in the uk (although a middle finger is seen as perhaps more aggressive) the 2 digit "Vickies" as they are called are usually used more in a jovial way like when drunk and getting your picture taken or secretly doing behind the back of yer pal or boss.
1940 was Dunkirk. The war started in 39 for us. Pearl was Dec 42
Oldman is amazing.
Absolutely
This is without a doubt one of the greatest films I’ve seen in a long time.
0:04 I've found that which side of the hand you present to the public says different things. And yes, "backhand: is an "FU!," as observed by "Mr. Cowboy.";) A "Hans Gruber" thing.
Husband was right: in the U.K. and Ireland, the V sign for victory is done with two fingers with your palm facing out, but two fingers with your palm facing in toward you means "F* off!"
Church hill often woke up at noon. Wokred very late and took dinner around 11pm.
Dont forget Alun Turing decoding the enigma machines aswell, you should watch Imitation game
Famous Churchill story, a woman accused him of being drunk. He said she was ugly, but in the morning he would be sober.
The Battle of Britain 1969 takes up where this movie ends..... Epic air battles.
Here in the UK, the v sign with the fingernails facing towards the person you're showing them to means only one thing - f**k off!" With the fingernails pointed to oneself, it means 'peace'. Love those moments on The Tube (subway) when he talks to the people. Well, that and his magnificent speech. All of the speeches are word for word what Churchill said.
He was a naval admiral in WW1 that oversaw the Gallipoli landing in Turkey of the Australian and New Zealand army Corp which became a defining battle in our cultural identity. Australians and New Zealanders still commemorate the battle with a public holiday. He had his faults, but he was a warrior twice when the world needed a warrior.
He was never an admiral in WW1. He was the First Lord of the Admiralty, he ran the navy.
my old man was a kid when churchill won the war, he once ran into churchill, literally, my father as a kid bumped straight into winston, and i remember him telling me that winston looked down at my father and said with a smile "not looking were you are going is a sign that you either have your head in the clouds in a particularly good book, and since i dont see a book in your hands, i assume you were thinking about your supper" and then when he sent my father on his way winston said "next time carry a book with you so the next person you run into cannot fault you for clumsiness dear boy"
edit: once my father grew up, he started smoking the same cigars as churchill out of respect for him, and the cigar smoking has carried on as our family tradition, i smoke them, and even my daughter enjoys a cigar, my grandchildren are to young to smoke, but i expect they will also partake in it when they are old enough
Thanks guys i really love this movie. Churchill was a major player in ww1 as well first lord of the admiralty ( secretary of the navy) was blamed on a disastrous campaign. Quit joined the army seved as a colonel in the trenches, then was brought back to parliament and was appointed minister of war ( defense secretary) he was unpopular with some because he was a member of two different parties. Liberal Democrat then conservative. ( he said if your not liberal by 25 you have no heart if your not conservative by 35 you have no brain)
'The Outsider' (2020) HBO series would definitely be up your street. It's brilliant. (Based on a Stephen King novel. Like a cross between Midnight Mass and The Conjuring. Only 10 episodes.)
18:00 Indeed. That's exactly right. Churchill writes in his diary the day after Pearl Harbor that he had the best night's sleep in years, knowing that Britain had won the war.
Yes f off ( but also victory or reverse hand peace) it originated from the hundred years war , French said the would cut the fingers off English archers captured, before the battle the arcchers gave them the fingers. ( act of defiance)
That speech at the end is classic!!!!!
The two finger salute is "Up Yours!" or up your arse! originated from the Battle of Agincourt were the English fought the French the two fingers is from the archers and how you hold an arrow in the bow, they used to raise their fingers to show they still had them to fight as the French would cut off those finger if caught, so it was in defiance and to show they still had them with an "Up Yours!" V by 1940 turning them around was V for Victory. Which as you saw Churchill learnt to do correctly.
Yeah, it's a great performance - as you suspected, the tube train thing is utter nonsense. Churchill wrote that he only every attempted to use the tube once during a general strink in 1926 and managed to get hopelessly lost. He was an incredible figure and a national hero - but 'man of the people'? Emphatically not.
You probably know Liliy James from Yesterday, in which her performance was stellar
what ever started the "V", it ended up being a mutual sign between the French and the British; when I lived in France, the French kids were telling me about it. Was a regular greeting, even in the 60's
"if you're going through hell,keep going"
that's my favourite Churchill quote.
The king stayed at Buckingham Palace even though it was bombed 9 times by the nazis also Churchill was a poor peace time pm but an excellent war time p.m