Hello Pat :-)...to be honest, I haven't yet heard any actor with quite the timbre that Churchill had. In 'Into the Storm' I was impressed with Brendon Gleeson's portrayal of WSC. His out-thrust jaw, the pugnacity of his expression, the stoop that he affected - these were all very close to the original. I don't quite remember the voice, but from what I do remember, it certainly was better - to a huge degree, than the 'Churchill' voice on McKellen's documentary.
On Wednesday, September 25, 2013 5:36:12 AM UTC+12, PatFinn1940 wrote: > > Hi, Grimsdyke-- > > I am definitely a great admirer of Churchill; I have been for as long as I > can remember. My earliest recollection of the great man is the > documentary series 'The Valiant Years', which I watched as a child. And > I also remember watching his funeral service on TV. > > Who do you think would have been a better reader of Churchill's words in > this particular documentary? I took it for granted that the person knew > what he was doing; as an American, I am not as well acquainted with > 'Churchill voice-imposters' as many British Churchillians might be. I'm > just curious. (And I am opening that question up to everyone here on the > board, BTW.) > > And thanks for your kind words. > > Pat > > On Tuesday, September 24, 2013 7:04:01 AM UTC-4, Grimsdyke wrote: >> >> Pat, I am an unashamed admirer of Churchill - as I guess you are. >> Whatever our private stations and the lives we each lead, it surely isn't >> possible for us to admire Churchill for too many disparate reasons, and so >> there must invariably be - present in all of us who admire him - that deep >> respect for courage and the unyielding allegiance to principle and honour >> that the great man embodied. So I absolutely respect your observations >> here, and thanks to you I have now bought this 3-disc set myself....and >> have been watching (and listening) entranced. There is however one thing >> about it that degrades the experience for me, and also (I feel) cheapens >> the production in spite of all McKellen's gravity and skill in narration: >> and that is the person who reads Churchill's words. He made me cringe and >> squirm with something very near disgust. He labours so much to reproduce >> the tonal qualities of the Original, that he sounded by turns like an >> elderly coquette attempting to make himself agreeable, and by turns like >> some valetudinarian monk trying to coax a juvenile congregation. His >> wheedling voice and abominably exaggerated lilt (done with nauseating >> frequency, and usually ridiculously misplaced) made a mockery of the >> perfectly-turned prose that he was reading. Nor did he prnounce many of his >> words the way Churchill did. One example is the word 'sure', which he >> pronounces as "shore"; whereas Churchill always said "shoo-er". There are >> many more. >> >> If one listens to WSC (the real man, that is) on the many recordings >> available on http://archive.org/details/Winston_Churchill , one will at >> once recognize, I think, what a sorry counterfeit this 'stand-in' is. >> Churchill's voice is measured and direct. He doesn't wheedle in the >> slightest. And whenever he allows a lilt to shape the last words of a >> phrase, its aptness is self-evident, and wraps his words in a profoundness >> that seems to come from the Ages. >> I wish they'd chosen someone else to read the Great Man's words; or at >> least had made him study Churchill's delivery more closely. This fellow >> spoils it for me. >> >> On Wednesday, September 4, 2013 2:55:53 AM UTC+12, PatFinn1940 wrote: >>> >>> Greetings-- >>> >>> I'm wondering if any fellow Churchillians have seen the three-part >>> documentary *Churchill, *narrated by Sir Ian McKellen? It was shown >>> on my local PBS channel the past three Sundays. It featured interviews >>> with family members (Mary, Lady Soames, grandson Winston S. Churchill, and >>> granddaughter Celia Sandys), colleagues (Anthony Montague Browne, Evan >>> Davies), and descendants of colleagues (Lloyd George's great-grandson). I >>> noticed it was done back in 2003. >>> >>> I thought it was *very *well done. The person who read Churchill's >>> words was marvelous. It was like the great man had come back to life!! >>> >>> I must confess that I was very sad at the end, watching Churchill's >>> physical decline. There was wonderful clear footage of the funeral >>> procession from Parliament up through Whitehall. And when St Paul's >>> Cathedral choir was singing *The Battle Hymn of the Republic, *I 'lost >>> it'...and the tears really flowed during the procession on the River >>> Thames, as the dock cranes were lowered in tribute. >>> >>> I live not far from where Churchill's American grandfather, Leonard >>> Jerome, was born and raised. And that's a real honor to me. >>> >>> What are your thoughts on this documentary? Thanks. >>> >>> Patricia Finnegan >>> [email protected] >>> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "ChurchillChat" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/churchillchat. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
