The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain

1995

Action / Comedy / Drama / Romance

18
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 55% · 32 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Spilled 55% · 10K ratings
IMDb Rating 6.6/10 10 19607 19.6K

wales world war i village 1910s cartographer

Plot summary

When an English cartographer arrives in Wales to tell the residents of the Welsh village of Ffynnon Garw that their 'mountain' is only a hill, the offended community sets out to remedy the situation.

Director

Christopher Monger Photo
Christopher Monger

Top cast

Robert Pugh Photo
Robert Pugh as Williams the Petroleum
Hugh Grant Photo
Hugh Grant as Reginald Anson
Tara Fitzgerald Photo
Tara Fitzgerald as Elizabeth aka Betty from Cardiff
Colm Meaney Photo
Colm Meaney as Morgan the Goat
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
804.32 MB
1280*534
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 39 min
Seeds 4
1.52 GB
1920*800
English 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
24 fps
1 hr 39 min
Seeds 11

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by Sion 8 / 10

Hugh Grant - A Fine Comedy Actor

The Englishman....has just been shown again here in Cardiff. The cinema was packed yet again. The story is based on a story about a small place north of Cardiff. A lovely film indeed.The type of film I'm sure will be shown on BBC2 on Sunday afternoons for many years. The script was both moving and very funny and Hugh Grant shows that he is indeed a fine comedy actor.Tara Fitzgerald was very sexy as Betty and I also enjoyed the performances of Kenneth Griffith,Robert Pugh,Ieuan Rhys,Lisa Palfrey and Ian Hart. There is so much violence in the cinema these days it was so nice to enjoy a film with all my family. I hope to watch it again soon on video.
Reviewed by hitchcockthelegend 8 / 10

I don't want Ffynnon Garw to be on the map because we begged for it.

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
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