Whitehall Universe

1984 film by Marek Kanievska

2017 film directed by Joe Wright

Two first-year students at Oxford University join a secret society and learn that their reputations can be made or destroyed over the course of one evening.

A look at the life of Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, with a focus on the price she paid for power.

The King's Speech tells the story of the man who became King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George ('Bertie') reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded stutter and considered unfit to be king, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue. Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country into war.

今年是一战爆发100周年，BBC推出了多个纪念节目，本片即为其中之一；《战前37天》主要讲述了战争爆发前37天的政治博弈。

《童话归来 Once Upon a Time》的Robert Carlyle及《王冠 The Crown》的Victoria Hamilton将主演政治题材6集Sky One英剧《内阁作战室 Cobra》。这部Ben Richards负责执笔的剧集主角为英国首相Robert Sutherland（Robert Carlyle饰）及总参谋长Anna Marshall（Victoria Hamilton饰），他们将在内阁作战室/ COBRA（Cabinet Office Briefing Room A）与英国其他专家﹑政治家﹑危机规划人员共同应付各种决定，而同时间主角还得处理个人生活﹑政治对手等。
其余角色包括国内应急秘书处首长Fraser Walker（Richard Dormer饰）﹑内政大臣Archie Glover-Morgan（David Haig饰）﹑国会议员Francine Bridge（Marsha Thomason饰）及首相妻子Rachel Sutherland（Lucy Cohu饰）。

2006 film directed by Stephen Frears

BBC One的3集迷你剧《英式丑闻 A Very English Scandal》根据Jeremy Thorpe的真人真事所改篇。在60年代末英国才刚刚对同性恋除罪化，而当时作为自由党领袖，以及百年来英国政党中最年轻的领袖，Jeremy Thorpe（Hugh Grant饰）隐藏着一个秘密 – 他有一个前同性恋人 Norman Scott（Ben Whishaw饰）。
只要Norman Scott还活着，这对Jeremy Thorpe来说都是威胁，因此他策划谋杀前度，但最终不但不成事，还被对方指控意图谋杀。此事令Jeremy Thorpe成为首位因谋杀案而受审判的英国政治家，更被公众得知他的同志身份；最终Jeremy Thorpe虽然被判无罪，但也结束了政治生涯。
该剧由Stephen Frears执导﹑Russell T. Davies负责执笔。

1934年，苏联海外谍报机构在英国剑桥大学秘密招募了三个青年学生，他们的名字是菲尔比，伯格斯和迈克林。当时英伦三岛仍然被世界经济危机的阴影所笼罩，法西斯德国和意大利又在欧洲大陆崛起，斯大林铁腕统治下的苏联被很多西方理想主义的青年视为希望和拯救和平的力量。在英国，剑桥大学成了左派的大本营，他们组成了在世界情报史上大名鼎鼎的剑桥间谍帮（CAMBRIDGE SPY RING）。
第二次世界大战爆发后，剑桥间谍帮的成员几乎全部被英国政府雇佣，安排在一些关键的部门工作。菲尔比1940年加入了特别行动处（Special Operations Executive）,这个机构的任务是指挥在欧洲大陆的情报工作，第二年转到著名的M16，即英国对外谍报处，1944年成为一个部门的领导。具有讽刺意义的是这个部的任务就是对苏联的情报工作。在其它成员中，伯格斯加入了英国外交部，在驻美大使馆工作，实际上为英国M15，即反间谍处工作。迈克伦在英国外交部担任美洲处主任。
在二次大战中，这些打入英国政府要害部门的苏联间谍向苏联提供了难以计数的重要情报，包括英国在苏联的情报工作，英美秘密会谈，美英核武器的发展等等。在苏联和德国进行的库尔斯克会战中，由于得到了这个间谍帮提供的由英国密码部门破译的德国密码，苏联掌握了德国的军事情报，从而在这次关键的会战中掌握了主动。
大战后期苏联向东欧的快速扩张，很大程度上也要归功于这个间谍帮提供的这些地区反法西斯力量的情报和美英对这些地区战后的安排，但这个间谍帮对苏联的贡献实际上超出了提供情报。菲尔比等人利用他们所处的特殊地位向英国--常常包括美国，因为英美分享情报--提供假情报或夸大某些情报的价值，使得决策部门作出错误判断。
1951年，剑桥间谍帮的两个元老人物伯格斯和迈克伦因为身份败露而逃往苏联，他们的叛逃自然使得反间谍机构怀疑和他们关系密切的菲尔比。但菲尔比不但没有一起叛逃，反而镇定自若。对他的怀疑和审查持续了好几年，直到1955年11月7日，当时的英国首相兼外交大臣麦克米兰亲自在英国下院声明：菲尔比是个忠心耿耿的不列颠臣民。从那以后，菲尔比又在英国情报部门为苏联工作了好几年，直到1963年，当英国反谍报机构掌握了确凿的证据时，他才不慌不忙脱身前往苏联，和他的老同志们会合，领取苏联政府的最高奖赏：红旗勋章。布兰特一直与皇室保持密切关系，担任女王私人收藏画作的鉴定员，直至1979年被剥夺爵位，但未受到其他制裁。

A thriller set in London, in which a politician's life becomes increasingly complex as his research assistant is found dead on the London Underground and, in a seemingly unrelated incident, a teenage drug dealer is shot dead.

Senior Cabinet Minister, Aiden Hoynes (David Tennant), is happily married to Freya (Emily Watson), a junior minister. When we meet Aiden he is a rising star in Westminster. He went into Parliament driven by idealism, but after his son Noah was diagnosed with Aspergers he allowed himself to be sucked into the power games of Westminster, which provided him with a place to hide.

2005 film by Fernando Meirelles

The British ambassador to Tazbekistan is tasked with securing a £2 billion helicopter contract for the UK. Things begin badly when Davis accidentally shoots an Ibex, the national animal, while on a hunting trip with the president - and are further jeopardized when an arrogant young British human rights activist is arrested by the regime on trumped-up charges. This throws Davis into direct conflict with Neil, who believes Britain should be prioritising human rights over winning arms contracts. Neil, though, has ethical troubles of his own when the Tazbek secret police blackmail him into spying on the British for them.
The embassy is hosting a 'Best of British Festival' which offers an opportunity for Davis to impress the Tazbeks and persuade them to go with the British helicopters. However, the best the festival can offer is a medieval folk group from Gloucestershire, a demonstration of how to make a pork pie and a one-man production of Frankenstein. Nobody, least of all Davis, is feeling too confident...Then news reaches them that the human rights activist is facing the death penalty and the ambassador and his team are forced to make a tough decision.

It’s November 1990 and Britain’s longest serving Prime Minster for more than 150 years is about to announce her resignation after almost 11 years in office. She has just been forced to face another ballot for the position of Conservative leader (illustrated here by an amusing bit of footage featuring John Sergeant) and her party ally Geoffrey Howe has just stepped down due to her European policy.
And so marks the political downfall of Maggie Thatcher, played by multi-BAFTA nominated actress Lindsay Duncan who starred as Servilia in the HBO/BBC series Rome, the subject of this TV film entitled Margaret which tells the story a woman who simply couldn’t keep up the fight after her time as British Prime Minister.
Thatcher – A Hate Figure or Political Revolutionary?
The name Margaret Thatcher drums up many images and polarised opinions. She is someone who was famous for her tough-talking persona (earning her the nickname the ‘Iron Lady’), her staunch approach to the trade unions, the introduction of the poll tax (and successive riots) and the 1982 Falklands War, all of which made her a hate figure amongst the politically active left-wing but viewed as a strong leader by her supporters.
This film is an intimate portrayal of a woman on the brink of ruin; a human story about Maggie behind the public persona as she loses her grip on the power she had strived to achieve. In her last days the Cabinet tell her that she must go before she is "humiliated" and she is being challenged by her long time rival Michael Heseltine.
The story is also complemented by flashes to 15 years previously showing Maggie challenging the then Conservative leader Ted Heath and how she rose through the ranks of the Tory party.
“A drama not a documentary” – says Margaret Writer Richard Cottan
It’s not the first time Thatcher has been documented on screen either through real-life footage or in fictional accounts but it’s one that is bound to confront your perception on the person it portrays. The toughest task however must be trying to make even the most hardened anti-Thatcherite feel any sympathy for her.
Screenwriter Richard Cottan said: “What I was trying to do was to take the downfall as the narrative spine of a more personal story. When writing the script the biggest challenge was deciding what to leave out. I'm sure there will be much debate about the blurring between fact and fiction but I consider this to be a drama not a documentary.”
An Impressive Supporting Cast for Margaret
The producers have managed to attract an exciting array of veteran actors to portray her closest allies and advisors including Ian McDiarmid (Emperor Palpatine from the Star Wars films) as Thatcher's husband Denis, Robert Hardy (All Creatures Great And Small) as her trusted second-in-command Willie Whitelaw, Philip Jackson (Poirot) as no-nonsense press secretary Bernard Ingham and Kevin McNally (Pirates Of The Caribbean and recently ITV’s Demons) as Kenneth Clarke.
The supporting cast also lists John Sessions as Geoffrey Howe, Michael Maloney (Notes On A Scandal) taking the role as Thatcher's successor John Major, Roy Marsden (The Palace) as Norman Tebbit, Casualty’s Nigel Le Vaillant as former Conservative Prime Minster Ted Heath and an appearance by the Queen played by Rosemary Leach.
Whether or not the content of Margaret and the human side of Thatcher will appeal to most people the prospect of seeing such an impressive display of talent on one screen is too tempting to miss.
Regardless of your personal opinions on the Thatcher government and despite being vilified by numerous comedians (namely Ben Elton) and countless rock bands over the decades she still remains as one of the most important political figures in British history and the reason why she is still the topic of TV shows almost 20 years later.

基于Sarah Vaughan所著同名畅销小说，聚焦英国特权精英的丑闻和被卷入其中的女性。原著讲述一名雄心勃勃的威斯敏斯特政客在被控强奸后婚姻破裂的故事，妻子相信丈夫是无辜的，而控方律师同样坚信他是有罪的。
弗兰德饰演詹姆斯·怀特豪斯，是一位雄心勃勃，富有魅力的初级部长，一直以来分享着妻子的好运。米勒饰演他的妻子苏菲，牛津大学毕业，育有两个孩子，看似完美的生活即将被引爆。道克瑞饰演主攻性犯罪的刑事律师＆王室法律顾问凯特·伍德克罗夫特，她在自己的领域迅速崛起，刚刚接手了一个百年难遇的案子。

Three-part series by Michael Cockerell going behind the scenes at Whitehall

PBS Masterpiece买下休·劳瑞、海伦·麦克洛瑞主演的BBC 4集惊悚新剧《弃之不理》北美发行权。本剧由戴维·黑尔([朗读者])操刀剧本，讲述彼得·劳伦斯(休饰)是一位具有魅力的保守党政府部长。即使他的个人生活被对手无耻地暴露出来，他仍然不在意。在竞争对手试图整垮他的同时，他仍继续追求自己的野心。