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If You Love All Things English, You'll Love 'The King's Speech' [Movie]
Fox News ^ | 12/12/10 | James P. Pinkerton

Posted on 01/17/2011 6:51:20 AM PST by Dr. Scarpetta

You will love “The King’s Speech,” a new movie about Great Britain in the '30s, a time of hesitation and then greatness, when the country reluctantly faced up to the challenge of Hitler and Nazism, two years before the United States similarly faced up.

As with many great films, “Speech” is a personal movie inside a historical movie.

The “personal” movie is the story of a character struggling to overcome a disability.

In “Speech,” the drama is the true story of the future King George VI, who had suffered from a severe stammer all his life.

The story begins in 1925, when Prince Albert (he didn’t take on the name “George” until he assumed the throne in 1936), attempts to give a brief speech at Wembley Stadium outside of London.

It’s a painful scene to watch, as the prince struggles to get his words out, as tens of thousands look on--and then look away from the pitiful spectacle.

After that embarrassment, he resolves never again to make a fool of himself in public.

Yet by the mid-30s, George V is dying, and it becomes obvious that the older brother is unqualified to be king.

Indeed, the stakes are now high: George V observes that Adolf Hitler seeks to control one half of Europe, and Josef Stalin seeks to control the other half. So what will England do?

The new medium of radio made it possible for a single leader to communicate across the planet. Hitler was doing it, with his message of hateful propaganda, and so his opponents had to master the radio waves.

Realizing that history would summon him to duty, like it or not, our prince--played with Oscar-grabbing understatement and poignancy by Colin Firth--resolves to improve his speech, seeking out the best speech therapists in London.

(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: kingsspeech
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To: SC_Pete

Socialism already had a death grip on the neck of what was the British Empire and the war finished the job. Pretty much our story, too.


21 posted on 01/17/2011 7:32:24 AM PST by T-Bird45 (It feels like the seventies, and it shouldn't.)
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To: Dr. Scarpetta

Best movie I have seen in years.


22 posted on 01/17/2011 7:33:07 AM PST by La Lydia
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To: Strategerist
IIRC, Winston Churchill recounts that he and King George in 1940 would practice shooting Tommy Guns....neither was going to leave Britain if the Germans invaded, and intended to shoot it out and not be taken alive.

That's an intriquing bit of history...

23 posted on 01/17/2011 7:33:32 AM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: Dr. Scarpetta

Saw this on New Year’s Eve - outstanding. Not the typical Hollywood sanctimonious garbage.


24 posted on 01/17/2011 7:34:13 AM PST by Dilbert56 (Harry Reid, D-Nev.: "We're going to pick up Senate seats as a result of this war.")
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To: La Lydia
Best movie I have seen in years.

I totally agree!

25 posted on 01/17/2011 7:34:27 AM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: Dilbert56
Saw this on New Year’s Eve - outstanding. Not the typical Hollywood sanctimonious garbage.

How true!!

26 posted on 01/17/2011 7:35:45 AM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: bcsco

You’re welcome...


27 posted on 01/17/2011 7:36:18 AM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: US Navy Vet

Yes. Great movie too.


28 posted on 01/17/2011 7:44:36 AM PST by SC_Pete
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To: Inspectorette

British actor Colin Firth was named best actor at the Golden Globes last night.

29 posted on 01/17/2011 7:46:19 AM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: Dr. Scarpetta

Oh I loved Colin Firth in Jane Austin’s “Pride and Prejudice”. I am quite looking forward to seeing this movie as well! We rarely go to the movies, but this one sounds like it might be worth it!


30 posted on 01/17/2011 7:47:23 AM PST by sneakers
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To: Dr. Scarpetta

From the Sublime to the Ridiculous.

31 posted on 01/17/2011 7:48:21 AM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: sneakers
We rarely go to the movies, but this one sounds like it might be worth it!

It definitely is. The audience applauded at the end.

32 posted on 01/17/2011 7:49:40 AM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: martin_fierro

Yikes!


33 posted on 01/17/2011 7:50:09 AM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: All

bump


34 posted on 01/17/2011 7:52:24 AM PST by Squidpup ("Fight the Good Fight")
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To: All

Yes, I’m a big Anglophile, and numerous Freeper endorsements are certainly a highly respected source of further motivation.

Ultimately, I’m afraid however, that this will be a sad experience; representative of a great, courageous and civilized British culture, that is gone forever.


35 posted on 01/17/2011 7:55:08 AM PST by EyeGuy (RaceMarxist Obama: The Politics of Vengeance)
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To: Dr. Scarpetta
it becomes obvious that the older brother is unqualified to be king.

Yes, there's quite the story there, eh?

36 posted on 01/17/2011 7:55:32 AM PST by martin_fierro (< |:)~)
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To: L.A.Justice; TMD; Diana in Wisconsin; Neoavatara

Ping


37 posted on 01/17/2011 7:56:50 AM PST by Dr. Scarpetta
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To: Dr. Scarpetta
Prince Albert (who later reigned as King George VI) had a stammer all his life, and he had to work to overcome it. That part is true, but the story has been “Hollywooded” to make it more dramatic. He had an unpleasant time giving his speech at Wembly in 1925, but after working with Lionel Logue he was able to handle adequately a speech at the opening of the Australian Parliament in 1927. The movie moves the timeline of his therapy much closer to the beginning of WWII.

No doubt he never felt comfortable with public speaking, but he was able to handle it, although his delivery was always awkward, as can be heard in his broadcast speech of September 3, 1939, the start of WWII.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAhFW_auT20

38 posted on 01/17/2011 7:57:41 AM PST by Cheburashka (Democratic Underground - the Hogwarts of Stupid.)
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To: La Lydia

If it’s half as good as the last movie I saw about that era, the Made-for-TV “The Gathering Storm”, it should win the Oscar, hands down.


39 posted on 01/17/2011 7:58:38 AM PST by dfwgator
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To: sneakers
Look who plays Myrtle Logue, the wife of the speech therapist.


40 posted on 01/17/2011 8:01:00 AM PST by Tijeras_Slim (Jubtabulously We Thrive!)
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