‘Masterpiece’ war film that Winston Churchill ‘watched 100 times’ | Films | Entertainment

A “masterpiece” war film was said to have been a favourite of Winston Churchill is hailed by one fan as “immeasurably beautiful”. That Hamilton Woman (1941) takes place during the Napoleonic Wars and dramatises the real-life story of an affair between Lady Hamilton (Vivien Leigh), who rose from poverty to become a prominent actor and artist’s muse, and naval war hero Lord Horatio Nelson (Laurence Olivier).

Directed by Hungarian–born British film director Alexander Korda, the film is both a war film and a romance, as well as a clear piece of pro-British propaganda. It was made while Korda was living and working in the United States, and invites parallels between Napoleon’s expansionist ambitions with the looming menace of Adolf Hitler‘s Nazi regime, at a time when the US was reluctant to get directly involved.

Only a few months after its release, the US was dragged into the conflict following Japan’s suprise attack on Pearl Harbour.

Churchill, Britain’s Prime Minister at the time, was an old friend of Korda, and was even briefly employed by the filmmaker as a consultant and screenwriter in the 1930s, though none of the films he penned ever saw the big screen.

He’s rumoured to have strongly influenced or perhaps even written one of the scenes in That Hamilton Woman that appears to be a dire warning of the Nazi threat, The Guardian previously reported.

Either way, Mr Churchill is said to have remained a massive fan of the film, with one of Hamilton’s biographers claiming he had seen more than 100 times.

A fan of the film on Rotten Tomatoes called it: “A gem that you really should see”

Another said: “One of my all time favorites with Laurence and Vivien together! Even though they are both superb (as always) Olivier seems to let this be Vivien’s movie. Beautiful love story!”

A third added: “One of my favourites of all time! Both brilliant and a fascinating sad story!” One fan on Reddit said the film is a “masterpiece” because of Leigh’s performance.

That Hamilton Woman has a strong 83% score on Rotten Tomatoes’ Popcornmeter, reflecting the percentage of more than 1,000 audience reviewers who rated it 3.5 stars or higher.