Hope and Glory (film)

Plot

The film begins on 3 September 1939, the day Britain declared war on Germany. It tells the story of the Rohan family (Billy, his sisters Sue and Dawn, and his parents Grace and Clive), who live in a suburb of London. Clive joins the army, leaving Grace alone to watch over the children. She almost sends Billy and Susie away from London, but pulls them back on the train platform when she realizes she cannot bear to be apart from them. Thus, Billy stays in London for the first years of the war.

Seen through the eyes of 10-year-old Billy, the "fireworks" provided by the Blitz (September 1940 – May 1941) every night are as exciting as they are terrifying, and the ruins they leave are a fascinating playground for Billy and other boys his age, who are largely unsupervised. The nightly raids do not provide the only drama, as Billy's older sister, Dawn, falls for Canadian soldier Bruce, becomes pregnant, and, finding her life turned upside down, discovers the value of her family.

When the Rohans' house burns down (due to an ordinary fire), the family moves to the bucolic Thames-side home of Grace's parents. This provides an opportunity for Billy to spend more time with his curmudgeonly Grandfather George, who teaches him "the ways of the river".

In the autumn of 1942, Winston Churchill delivers his famous "end of the beginning" speech. Bruce returns from his secret posting and goes AWOL to find Dawn. Immediately after they are married in the village church, MPs take Bruce away. That afternoon in the living room of her grandparents' house, Dawn gives birth to a son.

Although Grace has rented a house for the family just down the river, Billy must go back to London until he can get into the local school. George drives the boy to his old school, only to find the block filled with ecstatic children, as a stray bomb has destroyed the building. George drives Billy home. The adult Billy recalls: "In all my life, nothing ever quite matched the perfect joy of that moment. My school lay in ruins, and the river beckoned with the promise of stolen days." The credits roll over imagery of the river, to the music of "Land of Hope and Glory".

Cast

• Sarah Miles as Grace
• David Hayman as Clive
• Derrick O'Connor as Mac
• Susan Wooldridge as Molly
• Ian Bannen as Grandfather George
• Sammi Davis as Dawn
• Jean-Marc Barr as Bruce
• Sebastian Rice-Edwards as Bill
• Geraldine Muir as Sue
• Annie Leon as Grandma
• Gerald James as Headmaster
• Nicky Taylor as Roger
• Sara Langton as Pauline

John Boorman provides the voice of the film's narrator. Boorman's daughter, Katrine Boorman, appears as Charity (one of Grace's sisters), while his son, Charley Boorman, appears as the downed Luftwaffe pilot.

Production

Filming locations

According to TCM host Dave Karger's afterword to an April 2021 broadcast of the film, Boorman re-created the street on which he lived. The million-dollar 40-acre set was the largest constructed in England since World War II. The main film set was built on an unused runway at the former Wisley Airfield in Surrey, and the scenes by the river were shot near Shepperton Lock. Filming also took place in Hightown Road, Ringwood, Hampshire, and at Bray Studios in Berkshire.

Archival footage

The "newsreel" footage that Bill sees at the local cinema in the film contains scenes from the 1969 film Battle of Britain.

Critical response

Hope and Glory received very positive reviews at the time of its release, and was named one of the best films of 1987 by over 50 critics. Only Broadcast News appeared on more top 10 lists in 1987.

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 96% "Fresh" score based on 26 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100 based on 15 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.

The film was favourably reviewed by critic Pauline Kael in her film reviews collection Hooked:

Critic Emanuel Levy's review was also positive, writing: "Director John Boorman offers a warmly nostalgic view of his childhood in a London suburb during WWII."

In 1987, Roger Ebert wrote:

Box office

Goldcrest Films invested £1,288,000 in the film and received £1,665,000, making them a profit of £377,000.

The film made £845,927 in the UK.

Awards and nominations

Sequel

A sequel to the film, titled Queen and Country, was made in 2014. The sequel tells the story of an older Bill Rohan as a soldier during the Korean War. It was selected to be screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, and received a general theatrical release in 2015.

References

References

1. Vagg, Stephen. (11 January 2026). "Forgotten British Film Moguls: Jake Eberts".
2. CIEPLY, MICHAEL. (19 March 1988). "Director Disputes Columbia Claim 'Hope and Glory' Helped Cause Loss".
3. (2005). "Back to the Future: The Fall and Rise of the British Film Industry in the 1980s – An Information Briefing". British Film Institute.
4. Janet Maslin. (9 October 1987). "Film Festival; Boorman's ''Hope and Glory''". [[The New York Times]].
5. Richard Corliss. (19 October 1987). "War Dreams: ''Hope and Glory''".
6. (30 October 1987). "Hope and Glory". The Washington Post.
7. "Interview with Alan Sutton".
8. Howard Maxford. (8 November 2019). "Hammer Complete: The Films, the Personnel, the Company". McFarland.
9. (24 January 1988). "Film Critics Agree: 1987 Was a Good, Bad Year". [[Los Angeles Times]].
10. "Hope and Glory". Rotten Tomatoes.
11. "Hope and Glory Reviews". [[Metacritic]].
12. "Home". CinemaScore.
13. Kael, Pauline. (1990). "Hooked".
14. "Archived copy".
15. Ebert, Roger. "Hope and Glory movie review & film summary (1987) {{!}} Roger Ebert".
16. (1990). "My indecision is final". Faber and Faber.
17. "The 60th Academy Awards (1988) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
18. (27 July 2018). "BSFC Winners: 1980s".
19. (1988). "BAFTA Awards: Film in 1988". [[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]].
20. "Best Cinematography in Feature Film".
21. "Hope and Glory – Golden Globes". [[Hollywood Foreign Press Association]].
22. "36 Years of Nominees and Winners". [[Independent Spirit Awards]].
23. "The 13th Annual Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards". [[iLos Angeles Film Critics Association]].
24. "1987 Award Winners".
25. (19 December 2009). "Past Awards".
26. "New York Film Critics Circle: 1987 Awards".
27. "Awards Winners". Writers Guild of America.
28. "10th Annual Youth in Film Awards".
29. Justin Kroll. (11 September 2012). "John Boorman sets 'Hope and Glory' sequel". Variety.
30. "Cannes Directors' Fortnight 2014 lineup unveiled". Screendaily.