Joe Wright

Darkest Hour (2018)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Gary Oldman in his role as Chrurchill giving the Victory sign in parliament in the film the Darkest Hour (2017)

Gary Oldman in Darkest Hour (2017) Photo by Jack English © 2017 FOCUS FEATURES LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED


Writer: Anthony McCarten

Director: Joe Wright

Starring: Gary Oldman, Lily James, Ben Mendelsohn, Kristin Scott Thomas, Stephen Dillane, Ronald Pickup, Samuel West

Production Company: Wanda Pictures and Working Title Films

Kent Locations Used: Fort Amherst and Chartwell House

Darkest Hour is a war drama that follows Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman) as he becomes Prime Minister at the start of the Second World War. Churchill is faced with a tough decision: negotiate with Adolf Hitler, who rages war across Europe, or fight and risk many British lives.

Darkest Hour is written by Anthony McCarten (The Theory of Everything) and directed by Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice). The film stars Gary Oldman (The Dark Knight Rises), Lily James (Cinderella), Ben Mendelsohn (Rogue One), Kristin Scott Thomas (Only God Forgives), Stephen Dillane (Game of Thrones), Ronald Pickup (The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), Samuel West (Suffragette) and many others.

Several scenes from the production were filmed at Fort Amherst which itself was used during World War II as an Air Raid Warning command post. Fort Amherst has tunnels that have featured in many films, such as Jekyll and Hyde (2015).

Other scenes were filmed in the grounds of Chartwell House, Churchill’s former home. Set in delightful gardens, Chartwell is a National Trust property in Westerham and the rooms remain much as they were when Churchill lived there. Chartwell has previously been used as a film location by productions such as Flog It! (2014) and The Gathering Storm (2002).

Darkest Hour will be released in the UK on 12th January 2018.

See Darkest Hour trailer here:

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pride and Prejudice (2005)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Elizabeth Bennett (Keira Knightley) and Mrs Bennet (Brenda Blethyn) running down some steps in a garden, plants and shrubbery either side of path

Elizabeth Bennett (Keira Knightley) and Mrs Bennet (Brenda Blethyn)

Director: Joe Wright

Writer: Deborah Moggach

Starring: Keira Knightley, Brenda Blethyn, Matthew Macfadyen, Judy Dench, Talulah Riley, Kelly Reilly, Rosamund Pike, Donald Sutherland, Jena Malone, Carey Mulligan

Production Company: Focus Features, Universal Pictures, StudioCanal, Working Title Films, Scion Films

Kent Filming Locations: Groombridge Place and Gardens

Jane Austen’s classic love story “Pride and Prejudice” is adapted for the big screen with an all-star cast which follows Elisabeth Bennett (Keira Knightley) through the trials and tribulations of love in the 1800’s. A first encounter between head strong Elisabeth and the rich and cold Mr. Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) leaves Elisabeth hating him and declaring that he is the ‘last person’ she could ever marry. Are they able to overcome their ‘pride and prejudices’ to realise that they truly are meant to be together?

Directed by Joe Wright (Atonement, Hanna) and starring a wealth of acting talent including Keira Knightley (Pirates of the Caribbean series, Anna Karenina), Brenda Blethyn (Vera, Secrets and Lies), Matthew Macfadyen (The Three Musketeers, Frost/Nixon), Judy Dench (Philomena, Skyfall), Talulah Riley (Inception,  St. Trinian’s), Kelly Reilly (Sherlock Holmes, Flight), Rosamund Pike (Jack Reacher, Die Another Day), Donald Sutherland (The Hunger Games, The Italian Job), Jena Malone (Step Mom, Sucker Punch) and Carey Mulligan (Drive, Never Let Me Go).

Keira sitting under a tree at Groombridge holding a stick

Elizabeth Bennett (Keira Knightley) sitting under a tree at Groombridge © Groombridge Place

Groombridge Place in Tunbridge Wells was chosen for the perfect location to where they made use of the 17th century house, gardens, extensive woodlands and lake which doubled as the Bennett’s house and grounds.

Jane Austen has many connections with the county as her family originated from Kent and her brother Edward Knight owned Godmersham Park which lies between Ashford and Canterbury. Both Jane and her sister Cassandra were frequent visitors; this is perhaps why Kent appears throughout her novel Pride and Prejudice and it is therefore no surprise that Kent was chosen as the prime location for the new adaptation.

Pride and Prejudice was released in cinemas in September 2005 and can now be bought on DVD.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.