After Brexit: 5 Winston Churchill Films You Need to Watch

James Jay Carafano

History, Europe

Learn all about the man who stopped Hitler and may have saved Western Civilization.

After Thursday’s elections in the UK, there is no question old Albion is entering a new day. Hopefully that new day will see a U.S.-UK Free Trade Agreement placed on a fast track.

The Brits have once again chosen a bold leader, something they tend to do at decisive moments. In 1979, after suffering through decades of decay wrought by creeping socialism, they turned to the Iron Maiden, Margaret Thatcher, to pull them from the slough of economic despond. Earlier that century, when faced with the horror of Nazi Germany, they cashiered the Great Appeaser and brought in the British Bulldog, Winston Churchill.

No leader has been more inspiring than Churchill, and more than a few miles of celluloid have been dedicated to documenting his storied career. Those whose knowledge of Winston derives solely from season one of The Crown know only the last, faltering chapter of his long career. They’ve missed all the best parts. Here are five films that better illustrate the life of one of the truly great leaders of the modern age.

#5. Young Winston (1972). The young man might not have been in such a hurry if he knew his public life was going to span decades and rewrite history. Traveling to South Africa to cover the Boer War, the young journalist himself engages in combat. Captured in battle, he escapes and becomes a prominent public figure. And so launches a remarkable career in politics. Gen Z, eat your heart out.