Product Details

• Actors: Judi Dench, Bob Hoskins, Christopher Guest, Will Young, Kelly Reilly
• Directors: Stephen Frears
• Writers: David Rose, Kathy Rose, Martin Sherman
• Producers: Bob Hoskins, Cameron McCracken, David Aukin, David M. Thompson
• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Weinstein Company
• DVD Release Date: April 18, 2006
• Run Time: 103 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (97 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000ETRCN0
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,881 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #24 in	Movies & TV > Military & War > Comedy
  #54 in	Movies & TV > Art House & International > British Cinema > Comedy

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The blitz-bombing of London in World War II provides the serious backdrop for the uplifting entertainment of Mrs. Henderson Presents, a delightful British comedy anchored by the flawless performances of Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins. After losing a son in World War I, and becoming a widow in 1937, the wealthy and respectable Mrs. Henderson (Dench) decides that the best way to support soldiers going off to battle is to give them a wartime send-off they'll never forget. Thus, she buys and renovates the Windmill Theater in London's Soho district, hires Mr. Vivian Van Damm (Hoskins) as the impresario of an all-day musical variety show called "Revudeville," and secures permission from the censorious Lord Cromer (Christopher Guest) to include naked women in the stage show – on the condition that the ladies remain still onstage to qualify as "art," like nude portraits in a gallery, with the "foliage" of their "midlands" discreetly obscured. "Revudeville" is an instant hit, British propriety remains tastefully intact, and as The Windmill's fortunes rise, fall, and rise again, Mrs. Henderson Presents develops an emotional depth and good-natured nobility that's perfectly matched to the comedy of tweaking British manners. Working from an eloquently witty, fact-based screenplay by Martin Sherman, director Stephen Frears (High Fidelity) brings out the best in a well-chosen cast, and Andrew Dunn's cinematography (enhanced by judicious use of digital effects to show the London blitz in progress) casts a warm, inviting glow over this winning tale of show-biz tenacity in the best and worst of times. --Jeff Shannon

Product Description
Academy Award winner1 Judi Dench (Shakespeare in Love) received her fifth Oscar® nomination for her saucy, hilarious performance in Mrs. Henderson Presents. Laura Henderson (Dench) may be a widow in London but she is certainly not going to spend the rest of her days playing bridge. In a time when England is brought to its knees by war, she brings a nation to its feet in applause—with a live show featuring nude girls! Dench and Academy Award nominee2 Bob Hoskins have won critics’ hearts in this stylish gem that Joe Morgenstern from The Wall Street Journal calls "one of the wittiest comedies to come our way in a very long time!" "Two hours of relentless, heart-pounding pleasure." - Rex Reed, The New York Observer 1Best Supporting Actress, Shakespeare in Love 2Best Actor, Mona Lisa

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Perfect British Confection with Heart, April 19, 2006

By	Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Mrs. Henderson Presents (Full Screen Edition) (DVD)

MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS is easily one of the best films of 2005. That it didn't garner an Oscar for Judi Dench is amazing as this is one of her finest roles (in a long line of superb films!). Director Stephen Frears (Dangerous Liaisons, Dirty Pretty Things, The Grifters, Liam etc) has put together a film that is at once nostalgic, sophisticated, intelligent, witty, sad, and thoroughly entertaining. This little film is a winner.

London, 1937, and Laura Henderson, having lost her only son in WW I is discovered at the graveside of her recently departed husband. Not wanting to be stuck with the British widow stance, she decides on a hobby to occupy her time: she buys, renovates and readies a theater in the West End of London, hires Vivian Van Damm (Bob Hoskins) to be her impresario and the two successfully begin a music hall type of entertainment. Their efforts are soon so imitated that their income falters, giving Mrs. Henderson a new concept: she will introduce full nudity into her theater to replace the French postcard surrogates the soldiers carry. Mrs. Henderson is indefatigable, has a laceratingly funny relationship with Van Damm, and even manages to cajole the politicians to go along with her 'new concept'. By now WW II is at it s peak and despite the London blitzkriegs the theater manages to survive, but not without some sacrifices and some self-revelations between Mrs. Henderson and Van Damm. There are many little subplots involving the company of performers, but they all blend nicely into the poignant story.

Judi Dench is absolutely radiant in this role, a role that allows her to cover a wide gamut of moods, each of which she handles expertly. Likewise, Bob Hoskins gives the performance of his rich career and the other cast members in this ensemble piece could not be better. The music and staged numbers are delightful and the atmosphere of London under siege is very realistic. In every way this is a successful movie, one that deserves a wide audience and one of those DVDs worthy of placing in your film library. A hearty Bravo! to all concerned! Grady Harp, April 06

41 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another celebration of the London theatre scene, November 27, 2005

By	Joseph Haschka (Glendale, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

Last year's cinematic celebration of the London theatre scene was BEING JULIA, in which Annette Bening plays a no-longer-young stage actress of the late 1930s, who has hitherto starred in the productions her theatre-owner husband stages, and who crafts a delicious revenge against a fresh-faced protege whom her spouse hires and falls in love with.

Based more on actual events, and also set in the late 1930s/early 40s, MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS has wealthy Laura Henderson (Judi Dench), on the death of her husband, purchasing and renovating a derelict cinema and renaming it The Windmill Theatre for want of anything more interesting to do in 1937. To manage the establishment from the outset, she hires strong-willed Vivian Van Damm (Bob Hoskins), who insists on having final say on their stage performances' artistic content and the day-to-day running of the place. He begins by presenting an around-the-clock vaudeville show, the 24/7 nature of which is a groundbreaking concept. This keeps The Windmill the talk-of -the-town for awhile, i.e. until other London theatres begin to imitate, and then ticket sales fall off. To regain the advantage, Laura has the idea of putting naked actresses on-stage, but then must convince the dubious Van Damm and outmaneuver the absolute veto power of the censorous city authorities, here personified by Laura's friend, Lord Cromer (Christopher Guest).

The creators of MRS. HENDERSON PESENTS have taken timeline liberties. The real Mrs. Henderson actually acquired The Windmill site in 1931, opening first with a live play, "Inquest", which proved unsuccessful. After briefly returning to screening films, a new manager, Van Damm, produced and opened the non-stop "Revuedeville" in 1932. From then on, The Windmill entered history ("We never closed") as the only London theatre to stay open throughout the war, including the Blitz.

Dench steals the show as the meddling owner, and Hoskins holds his own as her nemesis-manager. The film deftly captures their stormy, but oddly affectionate, relationship, as well as the perils of staging performances while German bombs fell. Kelly Reilly is delightful and gorgeous as Maureen, the first showgirl recruited by Hoskins for The Windmill's bill of nudie cuties.

Towards the film's end, Laura poignantly reveals why she had the idea for removing the actresses clothes. Knowing that, and seeing the reason why she made frequent pre-war visits to France, it's particularly sad when the film ends before the Allied victory and the final credits reveal that Henderson died in 1944. She left The Windmill to Vivian, who ran it until his death in 1960. Van Damm's daughter then operated the establishment until 1964, when it was unable to compete with the strip joints. Since then, the site has hosted a cinema, a casino, a nude-review theatre, and (presently) a lap-dancing club.

MRS. HENDERSON PRESENTS is a thoroughly charming and unpretentious film about a little piece of London theatre history. It probably won't make it out of the art houses, but see it if you can.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "I'd rather drink ink!", December 12, 2005

By	M. J Leonard "MikeonAlpha" (Silver Lake, Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Stephen Frears directs acting legend Dame Judy Dench in Mrs. Henderson Presents, a spectacular and thoroughly entertaining film that is an absolute delight from beginning to end. Expect Oscar nominations for both Bob Hopkins and the legendary Dench.

Based on a true story, the movie begins in 1937 when the wealthy Laura Henderson (Dench) has just been widowed. Refusing to go gently into widowhood, Laura heeds the advice of her friend Lady Conway (a riotous Thelma Barlow) and finds herself a hobby. But she just can't handle needlepoint, and being a board member on various charities just isn't her thing, so instead, she decides to buy a run down property on Great Windmill Street in Soho with the intention of turning it into a theater.

Of course, Mrs. Henderson knows nothing about running a music hall, so she enlists the help of Vivian Van Damm (Bob Hoskins), a currently unemployed theatre manager. The problem is that Laura and Vivian don't exactly see eye to eye - Vivian sees Laura as snotty and rude, a product of her privileged class, while Laura views Vivian as "Jewish" a cigar smoker who is kind of low class.

It doesn't help that they also end up clashing professionally. They're both strong willed individuals, who each have different artistic visions for the theater, with most of their time taken up arguing and trading acerbic barbs at one another. But eventually they manage to sort out their differences and make a go at it, and success comes quickly, with shows running almost continually. This daily novelty, however, can't withstand competition from movie houses and other vaudeville shows in the West End.

Laura decides to add nude young women to the mix, hoping that it will increase attendance, but her old friend the Lord Chamberlain (Christopher Guest) isn't wild about the idea. He tells her that he'll reluctantly license the show as long as the naked ladies stand perfectly still on stage, thereby skirting around the draconian English censorship laws.

Mrs. Henderson Presents is everything one should expect from a British film, and in the hands of a director of the caliber of Stephen Frears, the film is an absolute pleasure to watch. Spanning from the pre-war years up until the London blitz, the film captures the darker pulses of the Second World War, while also remaining strangely lighthearted in tone and character.

Thanks to a gorgeously fluid script by Martin Sherman, and the talented cast, the film is mostly pitch perfect. The musical interludes have a flashy charm there's the presence of fourteen vintage stage musical numbers, including Benny Goodman's Goody Goody and the classically jaunty Babies of the Blitz. The supporting players also lend a startling authenticity to the proceedings - Kelly Reilly is particularly memorable as a spunky Windmill girl and cute Pop Idol winner Will Young makes an appealing big screen debut as Bertie, the theater's resident male ingénue, who tells Laura that he's "of the other persuasion."

Mrs. Henderson Presents may be old-fashioned, but it's also witty, and lots of fun. But make no mistake; this is Ms. Dench's film. And while Hoskins is delightful as Laura's foil, it is really the grand Dame of British acting that steals the show and takes command of the film. She's just pitch perfect in the role of "a most exasperating woman," who says whatever's on her mind, and has an endlessly sharp tongue. This is one of her best roles. Mike Leonard December 05.