Categories Print Media Warriors

Ten Films About the Plight of Refugees

Warriors

by Stephen Ariel | The Spectator | March 11, 2022

The tragic ongoing events in Ukraine have highlighted the plight of refugees, with over 2m people (mainly women and children) fleeing the country since Russia invaded on 24 February 2022. Sadly, refugee crises have been occurring since the dawn of what may ironically be called ‘civilisation’, most notably the Biblical Exodus from Egypt and Caesar’s conquest of Gaul, which began when the Swiss Helvetii confederation, under pressure of Germanic tribes, sought to cross into Roman territory on their westward journey to safety.

Movies concerning refugees range from the past (Exodus: Gods & Kings) to the dystopian future (Children of Men) and are international in scope, including the UK (Limbo), Bosnia and Herzegovina (Welcome to Sarajevo) and West Africa (Beasts of No Nation). There are also a fair number of motion pictures which follow the lives of rulers forced to exit their countries (including Leo the Last, A King in New York, The Last Emperor, The Exception, The King’s Choice, and Monsieur N), but I will concentrate on the fate of the less privileged seekers of asylum.

If you have the fortitude for watching more films in a similar vein, you may want to check out Peter Kosminsky’s BBC TV movie Warriors (1999), which depicts a group of British soldiers serving with the United Nations Protection Force in Bosnia during the Lašva Valley ethnic cleansing of 1993. The harrowing drama stars Matthew MacFadyen, Damian Lewis, and Ioan Gruffudd. Video clips:

Continue reading Ten Films About the Plight of Refugees

Categories The Forsyte Saga

30 Best PBS Masterpiece Series (And Where to Stream Them) – Oct 15, 2020

Forsyte Saga

by Allison Keene & Staff | Paste Magazine | October 15, 2020

The Forsyte Saga (2002)

Available on Amazon here via a PBS Masterpiece Subscription (7-day free trial available)

Created by: John Galsworthy, Stephen Mallatratt
Stars: Damian Lewis, Rupert Graves, Gina McKee, Corin Redgrave, Ioan Gruffudd

Before Downton Abbey, there was The Forsyte Saga. Chronicling the lives of three generations of a wealthy family from the late 1800s through early 1900s, The Forsyte Saga is based on the John Galsworthy trilogy of the same name. It is, in some ways, a British version of Dynasty. The 2002 version is fantastically dramatic and heartbreaking, full of schemers and dreamers and a grandly charming cast as it spins its dizzying tale of romance and woe. Lushly produced, it should not be mistaken for high art so much as engrossing melodrama. While it may drag a little as it goes, including the repetition of a number of relationship quandaries, not enough can be said about Damian Lewis’ lead performance as the jealous, difficult Soames. If series about the scandals and foibles of the uppercrust appeal to you, you cannot go wrong with Forsyte. —Allison Keene

Read the rest of the original article at Paste Magazine

Categories Charity Events Football/Soccer Sports Summertime

Damian Shows Off Footballing Skills for Soccer Aid 2018 – June 10, 2018

Battling it Out for England Alongside His Band of Brothers

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | June 10, 2018

THE ANNOUNCEMENT

As we previously announced, Damian returned to the Pitch as Central Midfielder for 2018’s Soccer Aid for Unicef charity event, held Sunday, June 10, 2018 at Old Trafford football stadium in Manchester, UK and he could not wait for it!

Continue reading Damian Shows Off Footballing Skills for Soccer Aid 2018 – June 10, 2018

Categories Charity Events Football/Soccer News

Announcement: Damian Joins Soccer Aid 2018 – April 27, 2018

Soccer Aid for Unicef: Two Teams, One Goal

by Gingersnap | damian-lewis.com | April 27, 2018

Today it was announced that Damian will return for Soccer Aid 2018, joining Team Robbie playing for England.  Damian played in the very first Soccer Aid back in 2006 and has gone on to make several subsequent appearances in the match, mainly as a central midfielder.

Here are the details:

What: Soccer Aid for Unicef
Who: England vs Soccer Aid World XI
When: Sunday June 10, 2018
Where: Old Trafford, Manchester
Time: Kick off at 8:00 pm (BST)
How: Purchase tickets here or call 0161 444 2018
Broadcast: ITV and STV
Presenters: Kirsty Gallacher and Dermot O’Leary
Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Teams: England Team Captain Robbie Williams vs. Soccer Aid World XI  Team Captain Usain Bolt
Why: Soccer Aid brings stars, football legends and all of us together to raise money so that more children around the world can grow up healthy, happy and safe. The football match was started by Robbie Williams and Jonathan Wilkes in 2006. Over the last 10 years, the £24 million raised by Soccer Aid has enabled Unicef to help more children than any other humanitarian organization. Unicef provides life-saving food, vaccines, clean water and protection from violence to millions of children around the world.

And guess what former Homeland co-star joins Damian on the field?

Continue reading Announcement: Damian Joins Soccer Aid 2018 – April 27, 2018

Categories Band of Brothers Media Print Media

Watch Out for The Young Dudes, Evening Standard, July 8, 2000

Young, gifted and British: the new crop of Brit actors seems to have been cast in the mould marked “Good-Looking — But In An Unconventional Manner”. And there is nothing the film industry likes more than faces that stick in the mind long after they’ve smiled or scowled their way across a screen. Continue reading Watch Out for The Young Dudes, Evening Standard, July 8, 2000

Categories Media Print Media Warriors

Warriors: Oh what a lonely war, Daily Mail, November 22, 1999

Warriors: Oh what a lonely war

by Peter Paterson, Daily Mail, November 22, 1999

OVER the past two nights, we have seen, in Warriors, a deeply moving, alarmingly realistic and powerfully acted drama about a war in Bosnia-Herzegovina that occurred less than a decade ago, yet has been almost wiped from the memory by subsequent Balkan troubles.

Given this collective amnesia and magnificent as it was in many respects – Warriors had no time to explain the witches’ brew of Serb versus Croat, Moslem versus Orthodox, the bitter legacy of World War II, the Tito dictatorship or the collapse of communism. As a consequence, the complexities of who was fighting whom, and why, were barely intelligible to anyone who had not at least seen the shortened, three-hour version of that great documentary The Death of Yugoslavia. Continue reading Warriors: Oh what a lonely war, Daily Mail, November 22, 1999

Categories Interviews Media Print Media Warriors

Fighting Talk, New Woman – October, 1999

Love Wars

by Staff | New Woman | October, 1999

Ioan Gruffudd and Damian Lewis play soldiers in a new BBC drama, so we thought we’d check out their basic training in the love wars.

We love a man in uniform, and they don’t come much better-looking than Ioan Gruffudd, 25, and Damian Lewis, 27. They’re officers in “Warriors”, BBC’s new hard-hitting series about Bosnia. But if they were really in the army, would they lead the charge or get beaten up in the showers?

Right, you ‘orrible men, we’re taking you over the NW emotional assault course to see what you’re made of…

Continue reading Fighting Talk, New Woman – October, 1999