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List Price: $29.98 | | Label: Koch Vision
Salesrank: 31408
Released: February 13, 2007 |
| Our Price: $13.80 |
| Used Price: $13.88 |
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MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Michael Caine, John Lithgow, Bob Hoskins and Ed Begley Jr. star in this award-winning mini-series shot in hi-def. At the Tehran and Yalta Conferences, the strong personalities of three of the world’s most powerful leaders threaten their fragile alliance. This riveting historical drama portrays the precarious relationship between Franklin D. Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin at the pivotal moments when the final strategies of the war hung in the balance.
Description of World War II - When Lions Roared:
It's hard to imagine more compelling material than the backroom machinations between FDR, Winston Churchill, and Josef Stalin that led to the precarious alliance of these three leaders against Hitler. World War II--When Lions Roared is an unusual mixture of scenes dramatized from speeches and diplomatic correspondence and archival newsreel footage. The three main actors--John Lithgow (3rd Rock from the Sun, Kinsey) as Roosevelt, Bob Hoskins (Mrs. Henderson Presents, Mona Lisa) as Churchill, and Michael Caine (Alfie, The Quiet American) as Stalin--all deliver strong performances. Hoskins, even under heavy make-up, doesn't look much like Churchill, but he's got the man's gruff, stern cadences nailed. Caine's make-up is more effective, but the key to Caine's performance is in his mysterious, gimlet eyes. The script is oddly cobbled together from speeches and diplomatic correspondence and so thick with high-flown rhetoric and pontification, which certainly fits the mini-series' romantic view of WWII but can be a bit much to stomach after an hour or two of stirring declamation. When Lions Roared, as you might guess from the title, suffers from unapologetic hero worship of FDR and Churchill, presenting them as wise and resolute throughout, wily codgers the likes of which we shall not see again, etc.. Also strange are split-screen scenes of the leaders in their various lairs, from which they speak to each other as if in mid-conversation--obviously intended to depict the decision-making process economically, but the effect is uncomfortably chummy and glib. Nonetheless, history buffs will enjoy the wary regard in which these world leaders held each other as they negotiated the fate of the world. --Bret Fetzer
World War II - When Lions Roared Reviews:
History in the Making 
2008-10-18 - From a historial point of view this DVD is interesting. From an artistic video point of view it is disppointing. There is too much confusion with the dual portrayal of World Leaders. It takes time to understand what is going on. This story is pure history and would be useful for students, history teachers and writers. Michal Caine was excellet playing the part of Stalin.
Enjoyable historical movie.
2008-06-27 - This mini-series was very enjoyable. Not really traditional Hollywood style though. Several of the shot compositions were a bit cheesy. Also, the main characters did a strange soap-operaesque pause while another character (in another location) was talking. The splicing didn't make sense to me.
The acting was fine and Michael Caine's accent was believable. I think he humanized the Stalin character enormously.
One character that I did miss was Truman. The movie basically stops with the death of FDR. While I understand that Truman was "out-of-the-loop" while VP, he was nevertheless a wartime president.
Overall, I would recommend this movie. Although, I would only purchase it on sale or rent it.
Far better than the Amazon review would have you believe 
2008-04-29 - It is perhaps the nature of the medium that on the internet we continually get reviews which complain that the product would be much better if only it were something completely different than it was intended to be. It is somehow more disappointing in an Amazon-sanctioned review which one hopes is based upon some sense of the purpose of the thing.
In this case, it ought to be understood that the whole raison d'etre of the film is to use only the actual words of the historical figures portrayed as dialogue for the film. Therefore, the "oddly cobbled-together" script to which the Amazon reviewer refers is not cobbled-together at all, but rather an adaptation of written correspondence into monologue or dialogue. It is a brilliant device and admirably executed. The "strange" split-screen scenes of which the reviewer complains are some of the cleverest in the film, turning correspondence that would have taken weeks of transport to travel back and forth in wartime into contemporaneous conversation.
All this with actual footage of the war, the results of the decisions of these men, played out behind them. It is unusual, perhaps, for television, but it is eminently theatrical and hardly "chummy" or "glib." The overall effect of the film is not the sort of jingoism implied by the Amazon reviewer, but a sense of the true complexity and difficulty of the dilemmas these men faced--and the different means each of them utilized in handling them. FDR, for example, hardly comes off well in his acquiescence to Stalin without consultation of Churchill.
Caine is good. Lithgow is not very good. Hoskins is pitch-perfect! The film is highly recommended for its originality, its historicity, and its thoughtful approach to a difficult subject.
HIstory Comes To Life 
2007-07-17 - This is by far the best docudrama I have ever seen. Once in a lifetime certain actors were born to play certain roles, and this is one of those times. John Lithgow, Bob Hoskins and Michael Caine were absolutely perfect and truly brought these historical characters to life. I have seen many great actors portray FDR, yet when I saw this portrayal I actually thought I was seeing FDR. Hoskins portrayal of Churchill was equally brilliant and believable. There are no words to adequately describe the performance of Michael Caine, except that this film shows that he definitely is among the greats. In short, this film brings history to life in a way that is informative as well as entertaining.
A Docudrama that Entertains and Informs
2007-03-21 - It is good to see this 1994 television miniseries finally come out on DVD. Be prepared for a long evening (the running time for the two discs is three hours 23 minutes) but it is time well invested. WORLD WAR II: WHEN LIONS ROARED is a creative montage of actual film clips from the newsreels shown in theaters at that time together with contemporary filmed drama in script written by David W. Rintels and crafted and directed by Joseph Sargent. This film allows us to revisit history the way it was - with more behind the scenes activity among the great powers than most other films offer.
The roaring lions are very well portrayed by John Lithgow as Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Bob Hoskins as Winston Churchill and Michael Caine as Stalin. Each actor steps wholly into his role without resorting to mimicry or simply stage makeup. It is fascinating to see how the USA was a non-intervener at first (a refreshingly different stance form the current aggressor role we have adopted) and how the needs of the planet required global cooperation in the face of Hitler et al. Ed Begley Jr. offers a lot of information about the important figure Harry Hopkins about whom we hear little as does Jan Triska as Vyacheslav Molotav, Stalin's key man.
The compilation of real footage with created footage including the split screen technique to allow the three leaders to interact from their different locations works well. This is one of those historic films that deserves repeated viewing. An excellent production. Grady Harp, March 07
