Danny, the Champion of the World (film)
| Danny, the Champion of the World | |
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| Directed by | Gavin Millar |
| Written by |
Novel: Roald Dahl Screenplay: John Goldsmith |
| Starring |
Jeremy Irons Samuel Irons Robbie Coltrane |
| Distributed by |
Thames Television Disney Channel PorchLight Entertainment |
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Release date
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Running time
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95 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Danny, the Champion of the World is a 1989 film starring British Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons, with his son, Samuel, in the title role. It is based on the 1975 novel of the same name by Roald Dahl, and tells of a father and son who conspire to thwart a local businessman's plans to buy their land by poaching his game pheasants. It was filmed on location in Oxfordshire, mostly at Stonor Park, Henley-on-Thames. The book is written in the style of a reflective memoir by an adult Danny, who the reader might presume grew up in 1950s or 1960s rural England: however, Chapter 6 reveals that the period was in fact the 1970s, given that the "Baby Austin" car that William and Danny were repairing was more than 40 years old, having been made in 1933. The film is set in 1955.
In 1955, William Smith (Jeremy Irons), a widower, lives with his nine-year-old son, Danny (Samuel Irons), in a vardo behind the filling station and garage where he works in the English countryside.
The land that the station and garage is built upon is coveted by businessman Victor Hazell (Robbie Coltrane), who owns the surrounding land and lives in a large mansion several miles away. He attempts to buy the Smiths' land, but William turns down his offers. Used to getting his own way, he begins a campaign of harassment, trying to force them off their land. Several inspectors from the local council come and assess William's property, and it becomes obvious that Hazell has sent them there by alerting them with false stories.
William decides to poach Hazell's prized game pheasants in retribution, using raisins to lure them out, but comes home empty handed; Danny had detected his absence and was relieved to see him return. Afterwards, he reveals that he was out poaching.
A while afterwards, William informs Danny that he will be going out poaching again at night. Danny wakes up during the night, detects his absence (he had promised to be back three hours before), and decides to go and look for him. He heads for the forest at the wheel of a vintage Austin Seven that William had been repairing, but on the way there he passes a police car, which turns around to pursue him after the officers realized that the car was being driven by an underage driver. He manages to shake them off by darting through a gap in the roadside hedges and driving along a country lane until he reaches the forest. He then spots two gamekeepers and hides from them, but then he hears them talking to someone in a deep hole in the ground; when they walk off to tell Hazell, Danny goes over and finds that the man in the hole is William, who had fallen into there and broken his ankle. He manages to rescue him by tying a rope from the boot of the car to a tree, and pulling him up. Hazell and his armed game keepers return to find the pit empty, but hear the car starting and give chase. Hazell recognizes the car as William's.
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