Hope and Glory

"The epic story of a world at war. And a boy at play."

1987 1h 53m EN

👍

6.9

SOLID

★6.9TMDB · 225

DramaWarFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A middle-aged man recalls his childhood growing up in and around London during World War II.

“The epic story of a world at war. And a boy at play.”

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Cast

Sebastian Rice-Edwards
Bill
Geraldine Muir
Sue
Sarah Miles
Grace
David Hayman
Clive
Sammi Davis
Dawn
Derrick O'Connor
Mac
Susan Wooldridge
Molly
Jean-Marc Barr
Bruce

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Boorman
Writers: John Boorman
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

39 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Billy Rohan Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Boorman, shot by Philippe Rousselot. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Peter Martin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Ian Crafford shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Sebastian Rice-Edwards and Geraldine Muir and Sarah Miles carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The epic story of a world at war. And a boy at play.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Boorman directs. Philippe Rousselot behind the camera. Peter Martin scores. Ian Crafford cuts. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

139 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
3Part of the "Billy Rohan Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by John Boorman, shot by Philippe Rousselot. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Peter Martin. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Ian Crafford shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Sebastian Rice-Edwards and Geraldine Muir and Sarah Miles carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "The epic story of a world at war. And a boy at play.".
9IMDB entry: tt0093209 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 8 themes, including "london, england", "wartime", "based on true story", "semi autobiographical".

The technical file

Cinematography: Philippe Rousselot
Original score: Peter Martin
Editing: Ian Crafford
Production design: Anthony Pratt
Costume design: Shirley Russell
Makeup / hair: Joan Carpenter
Runtime: 113 min · 1h 53m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Hope and Glory (1987)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Part of

Billy Rohan Collection

The story of Billy Rohan and his life growing up during the World War II. The sequel tells the story of a now adult Billy going off to the Korean War.

Also by

John Boorman

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-01-30
★ 7/10
This film contains one of the funniest wartime scenes I think I've ever seen... The fish! Anyway, it all centres around the young "Bill" (Sebastian Rice-Edwards) who finds himself - along with mother "Grace" (Sarah Miles) and elder sister "Susie" (Geraldine Muir) caught up in London at the start of WWII. His father (David Hayman) is soon away fighting and his mother refuses to be parted from her children so they stay and muddle through the bombs and the mayhem, the death and the disaster - all whilst, though the eyes of this bold and unafraid child, we see an opportunity for mischief and joy. This is especially apparent when the school of their rather puritanical/Dickensian headmaster (Gerald James) is blown to smithereens. As he and his sister get a bit older, their hormones also start to kick in a little and the joys of illicit sex (or is it true love?) for her and bemusement - and a bit of fibbing - for him are enjoyable to watch. Then they head to their grandfather "George" (the scene-stealing Ian Bannen) who keeps a large house and though outwardly quite strict, is actually a wonderful tonic for his family and for the viewer watching. The narrative doesn't shy away from the ghastliness of war, but it contextualises it engagingly by using the innocence of the youngsters to illustrate that even amidst the rubble there is fun to be had in their hideouts, straight out of an Enid Blyton story. Miles is strong here as the mother who struggles to bring up her children amongst all this carnage, whilst also remaining keen to keep her family together for the spirit-lifting occasional visits from dad. The thing is genuinely funny at times, too - you'll see what I mean about an act of God and the fish, but he's also in a gang that give out ranking points depending on which swear words you know - the "f" word being the ultimate emergency alarm call. The sterling and charming effort from Rice-Edwards parallels a little with Christian Bale's in "Empire of the Sun" that was also made in 1987 and also looks ar war from a child's perspective. This kind of film is the kind the British do well - the stiff upper lip stuff, sure, but also the portrayal of a stoicism, humour and strength of character (not always obvious!) and John Boorman writes and directs with skill and empathy as we progress. If you can, see it in a cinema - the cinematography is great at subtly conveying the wreckage and the pastoral with equal eloquence and I did enjoy this.

Production companies