The life of Winston Churchill (1874-1965) is examined from a personal perspective in this three-hour PBS series hosted by Churchill's granddaughter Celia Sandys. Essentially a biographical travelogue, Chasing Churchill follows Sandys to various locales, some of which are the stuff of history—Cuba (prior to the Spanish-American War, where Churchill went as a journalist), South Africa (where the young Churchill spent time during the Boer War), Washington D.C. (where his duties during World War II took him to see President Roosevelt in the White House), North Africa (where he spoke with generals embroiled in military campaigns against German forces during the war)—and other sites Churchill traveled to for more personal reasons. At each stop, Sandys finds people who share recollections about her grandfather, including an elderly woman who recalls seeing Churchill and Roosevelt attend church together in Washington, a Moroccan man who reminiscences about Churchill's North Africa sojourns, etc. And whenever she can, Sandys brings up Churchill's passion for painting, pointing to canvases he produced throughout his life. On the down side, Sandys does tend to dismiss as merely amusing some questionable aspects of her grandfather's behavior—such as Churchill's extravagance (at his publisher's expense) during his later travels—and her remarks about singer Maria Callas in a segment concerning a visit on Aristotle Onassis' yacht seem unnecessarily cruel. But overall this is an affectionate, beautifully made tribute Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
Chasing Churchill
(2007) 180 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.95 w/PPR). PBS Video. Closed captioned. ISBN: 0-7936-9464-7. Volume 24, Issue 1
Chasing Churchill
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