The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain (1995)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Christopher Monger

Writers:

Ivor Monger (story)
Christopher Monger (writer)

Release Date:

12 May 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

A romantic comedy about a town that wouldn't give up. A man who couldn't get out. And the mountain that brought them together.

Plot:

When an English cartographer must tell a Welsh village that their mountain is only a hill, the offended community sets out to change that.

Plot Keywords:

Mountain | Hill | Wales | Welsh | WWI

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Hugh Grant	...	Reginald Anson
Tara Fitzgerald	...	Elizabeth aka Betty from Cardiff
Colm Meaney	...	Morgan the Goat
Ian McNeice	...	George Garrad
Ian Hart	...	Johnny Shellshocked (Jones)
Kenneth Griffith	...	Reverend Jones
Tudor Vaughan	...	Thomas Twp
Hugh Vaughan	...	Thomas Twp Too
Robert Pugh	...	Williams the Petroleum
Robert Blythe	...	Ivor
Garfield Morgan	...	Davies the School
Lisa Palfrey	...	Blod Jones
Dafydd Wyn Roberts	...	Tommy Twostroke
Ieuan Rhys	...	Sgt. Thomas
Anwen Williams	...	Mavis

Also Known As:

Anglez, ki je sel na hrib in se vrnil z gore (Slovenia) [sl]
Az angol, aki dombra ment fel, de hegyröl jött le (Hungary) [hu]
Der Engländer der auf einen Hügel stieg und von einem Berg herunterkam (Germany) [de]
El inglés que subió una colina, pero bajó una montaña (Spain) [es]
Engelsmannen som gick upp för en kulle men kom ner från ett berg (Sweden) [sv]
Englænderen der gik op på en bakke men kom ned fra et bjerg (Denmark) [da]
Englantilainen joka nousi kukkulalle mutta laskeutui vuorelta (Finland) [fi]
Englezul care a urcat o colina dar a coborît un munte (Romania) [ro]
L'anglais qui gravit une colline mais descendit une montagne (France) [fr]
L'homme qui gravit une colline et redescendit une montagne (Canada: French title) [fr]
L'inglese che salì la collina e scese da una montagna (Italy) [it]
L'inglese che salì la collina e scese la montagna (Italy) (alternative title) [it]
O Inglês Que Subiu Uma Colina e Desceu Uma Montanha (Portugal) [pt]
O Inglês que Subiu a Colina e Desceu a Montanha (Brazil) [pt]
O englezos pou anevike ena lofo, alla katevike ena vouno (Greece) [el]

MPAA:

Rated PG for mild language.

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #33696) | Iceland:L | Finland:S | Germany:12 (w) | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Gyrn Moelfre, Powys, Wales, UK

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

When Williams the Petroleum breaks a piece of the Englishmen's car and pretends to discover it, he says he doesn't know the English name for it, but in Welsh it's called a "beth-yn-galw." "Beth-yn-galw" translates more or less to "whatchamacallit".

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: At the end of the scene where the Reverend slashes the front tire of the Englishman's car, a reflection of a crew member can be seen in the windshield of the car after the Reverend exits.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: For some odd reason, lost in the mists of time, there's an extraordinary shortage of last names in Wales. Almost everyone seems to be a Williams, a Jones, or an Evans. To avoid widespread confusion, Welsh people often add an occupation to a name. For example, there was Williams the Petroleum, and Williams the Death. There was Jones the Bottle, and Jones the Prize Cabbage...
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Who the #$&% Is Jackson Pollock? (2006)

Soundtrack:

Men of Harlech

Highly favorable review

A delightful, hugely underrated romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant. It's a crime that one of Hugh Grant's best films is hardly ever mentioned in interviews with him or articles about him, and is usually only listed in complete listings of Grant's films. Written and directed by Christopher Monger, and based on a (true?) story told to him by his grandfather, the film is set in rural South Wales during World War One. The story centers around two surveyors, one played by Grant, sent to map the terrain of South Wales. Using a village as a base, the surveyors redefine a local mountain as a hill, causing much consternation among the villagers. The villagers engage in devious activities to keep the surveyors in the village, while they literally add height to the hill to make it a mountain. Hugh Grant is on top form as the shy and inarticulate surveyor, and is helped by an excellent supporting cast. Beautiful cinematography and appropriately celtic music are icing on the cake of this thoroughly enjoyable film. Like "Local Hero", "The Englishman" is made in the style of the British Ealing comedies of the forties, and in this reviewers opinion, captures even more successfully the spirit of a small rural village taking on and beating the system.