The Gathering Storm (2002 Film)

The Gathering Storm (2002 Film)

The Gathering Storm is a BBC–HBO co-produced television biographical film about Winston Churchill in the years just prior to World War II. The title of the film is that of the first volume of Churchill's largely autobiographical six-volume history of the war, which covered the period from 1919 to 10 May 1940, the day he became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

The film stars Albert Finney as Churchill and Vanessa Redgrave as his wife Clementine Churchill ("Clemmie"); Finney gained many accolades for his performance, winning both a BAFTA Award for Best Actor and an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor. The film also features a supporting cast of British actors such as Derek Jacobi, Ronnie Barker, Jim Broadbent, Tom Wilkinson, Celia Imrie, Linus Roache and Hugh Bonneville. Simon Williams and Edward Hardwicke both make brief appearances amongst the supporting cast.

The film was directed by Richard Loncraine and written by Hugh Whitemore. Larry Ramin and Whitemore won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing. Among the film's executive producers were Ridley Scott and Tony Scott.

A sequel, Into the Storm, was released in 2009. Churchill is portrayed by Brendan Gleeson in this film, which focuses on the prime minister's days in office during the Second World War.