The Winslow Boy
by David Mamet
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DVD details
Actor: Gemma Jones, Lana Bilzerian, Matthew Pidgeon, Nigel Hawthorne, Rebecca PidgeonDirector: David Mamet
Brand: Sony
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled)
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen, 1.85:1
Running Time: 110 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-02-01
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Sony Pictures
DVD Reviews of The Winslow Boy
DVD Review: Fantastic Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie creates suspense out of nothing, and springs wonderful little surprises everywhere. A great little move, with great acting. It gives you a little taste of English Parliament too!DVD Review: What a Delightful Surprise!
Summary: 5 Stars
It took me several years to get around to purchasing "The Winslow Boy". Although I was certain that I would like it--after all, Nigel Hawthorne was in it--I had no idea that I was in for an hour-and-a-half of such absorbing drama. In one of his last roles, Hawthorne brings a poignant combination of strength and tenderness to the role of the patriarch, whose determination to "let right be done" almost breaks apart the family that he is trying to preserve. His scenes with Gemma Jones--torn apart by her conflicting roles as loyal wife and loving mother--are especially moving. Because of the ensemble acting of the entire cast, the family dynamic is entirely believable.
The real surprise for me, however, was Jeremy Northam in the role of Sir Robert Morton, KC, MP. Although Northam's performances in films such as "Gosford Park" and "Enigma" have been enjoyable, his portrayal of the aristocratic barrister quietly sizzled with sensual undertones that would do a handsome brooding Jane Austen hero proud. I found myself waiting for him to come onstage, as it were; and wishing that I could hear his moving summation to the jury; and that I might be allowed to follow Sir Robert's romantic pursuit of Miss Winslow. The last lines of the film are simply tantalizing.
Much of this "wanting more of Morton" derives not only from Northam's portrayal, but also from playwright Terrance Rattigan's technique of having the action take place offstage. The technique, which dates back to Greek tragedy, contributes to the dramatic tension of "The Winslow Boy." The very device of having characters relate the events taking place elsewhere, however, will likely render the drama inaccessible to some viewers, who demand fast-paced visual action. But for those who savor a riveting drama of quality, "The Winslow Boy" will not disappoint.
DVD Review: Worthwhile, But See Donat Version
Summary: 3 Stars
This is an excellent film, and J.N. and N.H. are especially good, but I had two major reservations. First, I did not at all care for R.P.'s smirking performance as Kate Winslow; I did not feel that there were great unspoken depths--on the contrary, I found her entirely one dimensional. There was also some excellent dialogue in the first film version that was not carried over to the second. I have not read or seen the play, and do not know if the dialogue I missed was in fact part of the original screen adaptation, but even if it was Mamet should have retained it. What I specifically have in mind is the moment when Kate and Sir Robert meet. In the first film, Kate is expecting her fiance and flings open the front door with a "John, you're late!", only to find Sir Robert standing there, looking very posh and remote in his evening clothes. She says, "Oh, I'm sorry, I was expecting a friend." As it turns out, of course, it is Sir Robert and not John who turns out to be the truest friend to her and her family.
A scene that was carried over to the new version is the one in which Winslow wants to drop the case because it may threaten Kate's engagement, and Kate assures Sir Robert that her fiance will remain loyal. In the original, Robert queries Kate on this in a sudden and abrupt way that makes it clear he is testing her resolve, and Kate replies in a way that makes clear that although she claims John will hold firm, she's pretty sure that he will not. When Sir Robert sees that she is prepared to sacrifice her future to the principle of right (for, like Sir Robert, she cares more about the principle involved than clearing her brother), he softens towards her. Indeed, although this film is a fine romance (of the stiff-upper-lip school), thanks to Leighton's performance it is also far more appealingly feminist than the remake.
Leighton and Hardwicke are quite marvelous in the 1940s version, but at the center of it is the great Robert Donat, with his white-faced handsomeness, his dark gaze, his beautifully melancholy voice, and his sadly detached manner. The delicacy with which he works his way through the film, with his restraint and remoteness making the moments of emotion or flirtation all the more affecting, is extraordinary. Northam's performance is in the same vein, and also superior, but don't miss Donat!
DVD Review: Intelligent and thought provoking
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very intelligent, profound and remarkable film, for both the acting and the character interaction. The plot and subject matter are superb, this is a film for those that like to think, be moved, and relish profundity. This film is one that will not easily be forgotten in the mind of the viewer, I would recommend to take the time to watch this film carefully, so as to be properly prepared and experience it fully.DVD Review: good use of viewing time
Summary: 5 Stars
Loved it -Great plot and performances = Watched it the second time with my 13 year old - the truth is the truth and the film shows the power and cost of this belief. I set out to be entertained and I was and too my surprise so was my daughter. We had lots to talk about after seeing the film. We have recommended it to others.
Description of The Winslow Boy
As a family tries to prove their youngest sons innocence in a highly publicized trial the ties that bind and the lawyer for the defense are tested in full. Special features: making-of featurette theatrical trailers talent files and director and cast commentary. Subtitles in english and much more. Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 06/24/2008 Starring: Nigel Hawthorne Rebecca Pidgeon Run time: 110 minutes Rating: G Director: David MametMany thought The Winslow Boy was an odd choice of material for David Mamet. It was originally a Terence Rattigan play from 1946, taken from a true incident in England in 1908 about a boy, 13, discharged from Royal Naval College for allegedly stealing and cashing a five-shilling postal order. The boy's father, Arthur Winslow (Nigel Hawthorne), mounts a lengthy and expensive legal campaign to clear his boy's and by extension his own name, with the rallying cry, "Let right be done!" The resultant notoriety, the dwindling fortune of the Winslows, as well as the punishment this pressure exacts on them, form the surface action of the story. Yet underneath the staid manners of the dialogue there roils a whole emotional life hardly hinted at in the actors' faces. The famous lawyer engaged to defend the boy, Sir Robert Morton (Jeremy Northam), makes a suitable sparring partner for the Winslows' daughter, Catherine (Rebecca Pidgeon), a suffragette whose suitors are scared off by the family's legal battle. The unspoken romance between these two is more the point than whether right is done or not. Pidgeon brings the same inscrutable countenance that complicated her role in Mamet's previous film, The Spanish Prisoner, to this film--but here everybody seems to have it. As the differences between appearance and actuality reconcile themselves, Mamet builds bridges to his other works, House of Games and The Spanish Prisoner, for instance, for the ways in which dialogue is a cover for someone's true nature. The Winslow Boy is masterful in its quiet treatment of human mysteries. --Jim Gay
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