Search - The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain on DVD

Sharon F. (Shar) from AVON PARK, FL
Reviewed on 7/1/2024...

It was hard for me to understand the actors because of their heavy accents, but turned out to be a cute, heartwarming story of a small town bound and determined to save their mountain.

Rob V. from PORT ORCHARD, WA
Reviewed on 1/29/2010...

Regardless of Hugh Grant's personal life, you've got to love him as an actor, especially when he takes on these roles as the little lost puppy in need of a woman to save him. Tara Fitzgerald is gorgeous and cute at the same time as the love interest.
The movie works well, primarily because the love story is only a by-product of the main story which is based on the true story of a town in Scotland that believes that its "hill" is actually the first mountain inside Scotland. When measurements prove otherwise, they set about trying to raise the height of the hill to make it a mountain.
It's the colorful characters that make the movie. I great love story that is a lot more than just a love story. Fun to watch and very satisfying.

2 of 3 member(s) found this review helpful.

Jan B. from STATEN ISLAND, NY
Reviewed on 11/22/2008...

I absolutely love this movie! Hugh Grant is his usual charming self. It's funny and the ending will bring a tear to your eye if you have any heart at all!!

2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Aimee M. (AimeeM)
Reviewed on 11/22/2008...

A fun romantic comedy. Cute because it is based off of actual events in a teeny tiny welsh town.
Hugh Grant is great, as we would expect, and the accents in the movie make it fun.

Definitely worth watching!

2 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

Is it a hill? Is it a mountain? No, it's a great comedy!

Daniel J. Hamlow | Narita, Japan | 11/25/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

""All this fuss...over what? Is it a hill, is it a mountain? Perhaps it wouldn't matter anywhere else, but this is Wales."So what happens in this epic story about the Englishman who went up a hill but came down a mountain? On Sunday, 17 June 1917, cartographers/retired army officers Reginald Anson and George Garrad come to a Welsh village to measure Ffynnon Garw to determine whether it's a hill or a mountain. Their presence causes anxiety among the villagers, who are on pins and needles when they hear the British standard of a mountain defined as anything over 1,000 feet. The Britons stay at the inn of the cheeky Morgan the Goat (as opposed to Morgan the Sheep?), intending to leave after their task is completed. However, guess what height Ffynnon Garw is less than?The villagers put things in motion with two objectives: one, to make sure their beloved Ffynnon Garw becomes a mountain, and two, to extend the Britons' stay, such as something involving two pounds of sugar and a gas tank, and a knife. The first objective forms the action of the movie, villagers moving dirt from their gardens bucket by bucket, tray by tray, through toil, sweat, and sacrifice, and placing them...guess where? And excuses for delay? The war--take note of the date listed above.There's also a conflict between the religiously fervent Reverend Jones and Morgan, as the latter doesn't go to church and plies alcohol. When Jones asks Morgan, "Have you no shame?" Morgan flippantly pats himself down and says "No, can't think where I left it" and walks off, leaving Jones fuming.During the movie, we see that the younger Anson is more sympathetic and humble to the villagers, while the stout and older Garrod is more logical, arrogant, and looks down on the Welsh. A typical British attitude during the period of Empire there. Anson is also taken by Betty, a maid who comes to help Morgan tend bar and also to charm the cartographers. It all goes back to Anglo-Welsh relations. The Welsh have had a rough time of it all, like the Irish. Those who survive the trenches of France return to labour only to die for coal. Sad times indeed for the Welsh.The whole point of the movie is not just the standard height set for a mountain, but Welsh pride, of national identity. For the Welsh, all they have for monuments are mountains, no pyramids or temples. And if Ffynonn Garw isn't a mountain, then Anson might as well redraw the map and put the Welsh in England. After all, as Morgan tells Betty, "Maps are the undergarments of a country, they give shape to continents." And what's in a measurement anyway? As Morgan says, "Do we call a short man a boy or a small cat a dog? No! This is a mountain, our mountain, and if it needs to be a thousand feet, then by God let's make it a thousand feet!�E In other words, it's all relative.The concept of telling the village people with identical surnames by their occupation or personality is ingenious and charming, so we can tell the difference between Williams the Petroleum from Williams the Deaf. Some are more telling, as in the case of Johnny Shellshock. And there are the Thomas Twps: Thomas Twp and his brother Thomas Twp 2. As one of them says, "we've no learning than most, so people say we're twp, but we're not twp as to not know that we're twp." Right, that makes sense.All the leads are splendid, particularly Colm Meaney as Morgan the Goat and Kenneth Griffith as the strict but passionate Reverend Jones. And Hugh Grant (Anson) has another charming leading lady, Tara Fitzgerald (Betty), who ranks up there with Andie McDowell (Four Weddings) and Martine McCutcheon (Love Actually). She really has a winning smile and saucy brogue that makes her character lovable. And darn if Ian Hart keeps popping up, be it Harry Potter, Michael Collins, and now here, as Johnny Shellshock.A wonderful little movie with a wonderful Celtic score, as the ideas and themes that emerge make this more than a one-joke movie. And for you boyos, this was written by Hamlow_the_Writer_Who_Went_Up_A_Paragraph_But_Climbed_Down_A_Review."

A movie with heart and fun for Anglophiles and country folk

Deborah Snavely | Eugene, OR | 09/01/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This movie is a labor of love, as is its topic. This true story, well acted and beautifully filmed, initially stopped me with its music as I surfed past a television broadcast. Within minutes, I was entranced, equally by the fine character acting as by the familiar faces of Hugh Grant and Colm Meaney. In the first 10 minutes, I cancelled all other plans for that evening, and spent my first commercial break calling friends to tell them it was on, then spent my remaining commercial breaks surfing to find it on video. Movies of similar beauty, heart, and soul include Waking Ned Devine, Fairy Tale: A True Story, Shakespeare in Love, and The Secret of Roan Inish. I'm now buying a copy to give my mother as a gift, and look forward to watching it on our home theater system. A movie of the people, with quiet in-jokes between English and Welsh that seem to elude the Ugly AmeriMalkin. Spend a couple of hours with the people of Wales, and feel your heart expand with the love and care and fun of this fine film. There aren't enough of such gems available!"

The psychological distance between a hill and a mountain

Debbie Lee Wesselmann | the Lehigh Valley, PA | 04/14/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This unassuming film takes place during World War I in a Welsh village when two English cartographers, Anson (Hugh Grant) and the more senior Garrad (Ian McNeice), arrive as part of the war effort to map the Welsh countryside. The villagers are jubilant that they are finally going to be noticed since they have what they call "the first mountain in Wales" within their boundaries. Unfortunately, to qualify as a mountain in the eyes of the British government, the peak must be 1000 feet high and, of course, this one falls just short, much to the outrage and sorrow of the townspeople. To have their mountain reclassified as a hill threatens their regional pride and identity. Naturally, they stubbornly set out to do something about it. In a town with so few surnames that people are designated by profession or personality - Williams the Petroleum or Evans the End of the World - the town has its surprising divisions that first must be bridged.The charm of this film lies in its gentle good humor and the coziness of the small Welsh community it evokes. Everything about this film is simple - the premise, the characters, the conflict, the resolution - and this lack of complexity allows the determination of its characters to shine through in a way that a more boisterous film would not. Hugh Grant plays his usual awkwardly charming character, fitting for the role but occasionally annoying. Colm Meaney is wonderful as innkeeper Morgan the Goat, and Kenneth Griffith turns in a remarkable performance as Morgan's foil, the elderly but feisty Rev. Jones. Tara Fitzgerald is radiant as the love interest Betty. Ian Hart as Johnny Shellshocked nicely underplays his part as the young man returned from the war with emotional scars. Indie film aficionados and Hugh Grant fans will probably like this movie more than the average American viewer will. This quiet exploration of the huge emotional difference wrought by a few feet will delight those seeking a feel-good movie without commercial flashiness. Stay away if you are looking for a hilarious romantic comedy because, chances are, you won't find it here."