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The Worst Film Ever

Pretty Good

Masterful Movie

A Masterpiece!

The fact that this movie had attained only a 6.6 rating here is a (not so complimentary) testament to the quality, taste and perceptiveness of IMDb's voting population. The movie is so charming, with excellent production values, casting, acting, storytelling, in a word it's brilliant and highly entertaining in every way. (OK, that was more than one word, but I could not hold back.) I am not in the habit of mixing in with voting and ratings and reviews and such, but this time, upon seeing the 6.6, I could not resist but immediately give it a 10 to try to even out this poor judgment, and then to put in my two cents' worth.

Others have described the plot of this film. I just add my praise to that of a few other reviewers who saw much more than the gentle comedy in "The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill …" The movie was filmed in Wales, and gives us some nice scenic shots of the countryside, with the mountain/hill. But much of the enjoyment of this film is in the character studies. It so nicely gives us a look at several people and their "Welshness." I can't say how folks from Wales may like the depictions; but they are curious, warm, friendly, and very real people shown in this film. All the acting is first-rate. Colm Meany and Kenneth Griffith play wonderfully off each other as pub-owner Morgan the Goat and Reverend Jones, respectively. Hugh Grant is very good in one of his most laid back comedy roles – here as a naturally shy young veteran from WW I. Tara Fitzgerald is very good as Betty. The rest of the cast make up a wonderful variety of different, if not eccentric, characters. This is not a comedy of rip-roaring laughter. It isn't loaded with sight-gags, or witty one-liners. There are a few clever lines, but the comedy of this film is in the everyday lives of the people of this Welsh community, and in the cunning to rouse the community to deal with a mountain of a problem. It is a very clean film, suitable for all ages and audiences. As many others have noted, it's a comedy of warmth that makes one feel good at its end. This film isn't for modern movie-goers who must have a constant flow of adrenalin. Or maybe it is – to help slow them down so they can learn to smell the roses along the way. Regarding the town's problem, it's interesting that there don't seem to be any real set standards for designation of mountains versus hills. The sources I checked seem to agree that the difference is more in the degree of steepness, rather than actual height. Funny though, that the 1,000-foot mark of distinction seemed to come from the U.S., where the British favored more a 2,000-foot mark. The outside scenes of this movie were filmed at Gyrn Moelfre, a hill or mountain in northeast Wales near the border with England. It has an elevation of 1,716 feet above sea level. But it rises just 778 feet above the surrounding terrain. The movie shows people climbing the hill on a trail with switchbacks. Indeed, climbing any hill of good size gives one the "feel" of having scaled a small mountain.The story came from one that director Christopher Monger heard from his grandfather about the village of Ffynnon Taf (Taff's Well), and it's nearby mountain/hill, Ffynnon Garw (Garth Hill). It's located just a few miles north of Cardiff. But because of modern growth, the movie was filmed further away in the middle of Wales near Liansilin.

The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain is directed by Christopher Monger and written by Ivor Monger. It stars Hugh Grant, Ian McNeice, Tara Fitzgerald, Colm Meaney and Kenneth Griffith. Music is by Stephen Endelman and cinematography by Vernon Layton.Set in 1917, plot finds Grant and McNeice as two English cartographers who arrive in the Welsh village of Ffynnon Garw to measure what the locals proudly proclaim to be Wales' first mountain. However, it turns out that the "mountain" is 16 feet below the required 1000 feet requisite so therefore can only be classed as a hill. This news causes disgust amongst the locals, who then set about stopping the cartographers going home whilst they attempt to build atop of the hill to make it over 1000 feet.A film with a big title that is matched by the size of its heart, Monger's film owes much to those fun community based pictures that filed out of Ealing Studios back in the 40s and 50s, Re: Whisky Galore! and The Titfield Thunderbolt. We can also safely place it the whimsy category where something as wonderful as Local Hero sits, while the old British comedy staple that encompasses an obsession with size (The Mouse That Roared) watches over the film like an approving British cinematic angel.Homespun humour marries up with the utterly engaging view of quirky village life to provide us with just under 100 minutes of entertainment. Although clearly simple in plot and structure, to simply dismiss it as such does not do justice to the fine work of the ensemble cast and the writing of Ivor and Chris Monger. With Grant doing what he does best, the amiable nervous fop, picture has a lead actor fully comfortable with the tone and texture of the production, while around him there are a number of fine character actors putting delightful meat on the comedy bones of oddball characters with names such as Morgan the Goat, Johny Shellshock, William the Petroleum and Betty from Cardiff! Best of the bunch is Griffith as Reverend Jones, a grumpy, stubborn eccentric who underpins everything so wonderfully skew-whiff about life in Ffynnon Garw.As for the writing? The screenplay has a wonderful ear for small village dialogue, while in amongst the value of community spirit theme, sits a near sombre observation of the effects of war on such a community. The production design is appealing, with Layton's photography around the Powys locations a visual treat, and Endelman's music has a suitably warming and jaunty feel; even if it starts to get a touch repetitive later in the piece. It doesn't have widespread appeal, it's clearly a film aimed at a small portion of film fans that love those films mentioned earlier. But in an era when film is being smothered by CGI and visual gimmickry, revisiting something like The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain offers up a most refreshing and diverting experience. 8/10

This film is about the villagers in a Welsh village building a mountain from a hill.The determination of the villagers is striking. It touches me that everyone in the village used every imaginable way to heighten the hill to a mountain. The train conductor has to lie, villagers have to do some vandalism, and a woman has to flirt to make the two surveyors stay. It shows that even the hardest task can be achieved through collective effort. It also reminds us not to give up even if there are obstacles that hinder our progress. This film brings such a warm and positive message, which is a rarity nowadays.