The Darkest Hour - Trailer and Clips from the New Churchill History Drama

Within days of becoming Prime Minister, Winston Churchill must face his most turbulent and defining trial: exploring a negotiated peace treaty with Nazi Germany, or standing firm to fight for the ideals, liberty and freedom of a nation.

The following is a trailer and film clips from the Darkest Hour, a new history drama starring Gary Oldman, Lily James and Ben Mende.  The film opens in theaters on December 22.

Christmas Under Fire (1941) | BFI National Archive

Despite the Blitz, it's 'business as usual' as England prepares for Christmas in this propaganda film intended for US audiences. It's a Christmas of holly and barbed wire, guns and tinsel, yet the British, we are told, are determined to make it as cheerful as possible.

"England is fighting for her life", asserts the American narrator, but it is admiration rather than pity that the film seeks to evoke. The filmmakers achieve this with emotions bigger than most 10-minute films could contain, as we watch plucky Londoners creating a subterranean Christmas on Underground platforms and the choristers of King's College sing their hearts out. While no doubt intended to encourage US support in the War, 'Christmas Under Fire' ultimately offers a portrait of a nation "unbeaten, unconquered and unafraid". (Poppy Simpson)

All titles on the BFI Films channel are preserved in the vast collections of the BFI National Archive. To find out more about the Archive visit http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collect...

The Battle of Britain - "London Can Take It"

Produced by the British Government in October 1940, 'London Can Take It' is narrated by American journalist Quentin Reynolds and pays tribute to London and its people during the Blitz on the capital.

The film's huge impact at the time, especially in the USA, makes it historically one of the most important of the Ministry of Information's wartime films.

Battle Of Britain 75th Anniversary - Veterans Speak To Sky News

July 10, 1940 marks the start of one of the most significant moments in British history.

That summer, Germany's Adolf Hitler, having captured France, looked to invade the last bastion of democratic Europe - Britain. The plan was known as Operation Sea Lion.

Hitler ordered the German Luftwaffe to bomb the country into surrender.

The defence of Europe rested with the Royal Air Force and their success in the ensuing battle - the Battle of Britain - left Sir Winston Churchill to declare: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

The Vision of Sir Winston Churchill - Then and Now

When we read the following speech by Rabbi Nachum Shifren, we knew it was a speech we had to share with Sunlit Uplands readers.  Rabbi Shifren evokes the memory and words of our blog's patron, Sir Winston Churchill, in rallying people of good will to the defense of Western civilization.  As Rabbi Shifren points out, the struggle in which the West finds itself today is no less serious, and in many ways a continuation of that great struggle led by Churchill -- away from the "abyss of a new dark age" and "forward into broad, sunlit uplands.''

Rabbi Shifren's speech is addressed to the thousands of supporters of the English Defense League in Luton, England.

From NewsWithViews

By Rabbi Nachum Shifren

For millions of Americans such as myself, there remains a special grandeur in the British people, long after the "Great War" has ended, long after the average schoolboy or girl has stopped recalling that there was once a real threat to the entire island.

What we remember most from those long-forgotten trials of fire, is the tremendous spirit of defiance, an unyielding attitude of tenacity in the face of an overwhelming evil. There are no fitting words to use in recounting the admiration that has been shown for that great statesman and hero to all that understand and cherish what we have in our Western civilization, the great Sir Winston Churchill.

The Battle of Britain