[go: up one dir, main page]

    Release calendarTop 250 moviesMost popular moviesBrowse movies by genreTop box officeShowtimes & ticketsMovie newsIndia movie spotlight
    What's on TV & streamingTop 250 TV showsMost popular TV showsBrowse TV shows by genreTV news
    What to watchLatest trailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightFamily entertainment guideIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsEmmysSan Diego Comic-ConSummer Watch GuideToronto Int'l Film FestivalSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll events
    Born todayMost popular celebsCelebrity news
    Help centerContributor zonePolls
For industry professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign in
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Two Men Went to War

  • 2002
  • PG
  • 1h 49m
IMDb RATING
6.6/10
1K
YOUR RATING
Two Men Went to War (2002)
Home Video Trailer from Indican
Play trailer2:25
1 Video
4 Photos
ComedyDramaWar

Comedy drama based on the true story of two British Army dentists who in 1942, eager to see action, go A.W.O.L. and invade occupied France on their own.Comedy drama based on the true story of two British Army dentists who in 1942, eager to see action, go A.W.O.L. and invade occupied France on their own.Comedy drama based on the true story of two British Army dentists who in 1942, eager to see action, go A.W.O.L. and invade occupied France on their own.

  • Director
    • John Henderson
  • Writers
    • Richard Everett
    • Raymond Foxall
    • Christopher Villiers
  • Stars
    • Kenneth Cranham
    • Leo Bill
    • Derek Jacobi
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.6/10
    1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • John Henderson
    • Writers
      • Richard Everett
      • Raymond Foxall
      • Christopher Villiers
    • Stars
      • Kenneth Cranham
      • Leo Bill
      • Derek Jacobi
    • 12User reviews
    • 9Critic reviews
    • 57Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos1

    Two Men Went To War
    Trailer 2:25
    Two Men Went To War

    Photos3

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster

    Top cast37

    Edit
    Kenneth Cranham
    Kenneth Cranham
    • Sergeant Peter King
    Leo Bill
    Leo Bill
    • Pvt. Leslie Cuthbertson
    Derek Jacobi
    Derek Jacobi
    • Major Merton
    Anthony Valentine
    Anthony Valentine
    • Sergeant Major Dudley
    James Fleet
    James Fleet
    • Major Bates
    Richard Sutton
    Richard Sutton
    • Private Horrocks
    Anthony O'Donnell
    Anthony O'Donnell
    • Chief armourer
    Glen Davies
    • Corporal at bomb crater
    Paul Bayfield
    • Dental trainee 1
    Jason Round
    • Dental Trainee 2
    Julian Glover
    Julian Glover
    • Colonel Hatchard
    Tim 'Nobby' Clarke
    • Young sergeant
    Nick Miles
    • Sergeant Mowat
    Brian Bosley
    • Drill sergeant
    Dickon Tolson
    • Bar Steward
    Nick Hussey
    • Sentry
    Nathan Stevenson
    • Sentry
    Tim McMullan
    Tim McMullan
    • Military Policeman on train
    • Director
      • John Henderson
    • Writers
      • Richard Everett
      • Raymond Foxall
      • Christopher Villiers
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews12

    6.61K
    1
    2
    3
    4
    5
    6
    7
    8
    9
    10

    Featured reviews

    2Mnk!

    "Put that bloody light out! Doncha know there's a war on!?"

    Two Men Went To War is a based-on-fact WW2 story about a couple of disgruntled British Army dentists who decide to 'invade' France and cause havoc among the enemy. Purloining a load of hand-grenades, the pair go AWOL and travel down to Cornwall, where they steal a boat. Setting off for France in the dead of night, the sequence of shots features the hotel where they had stayed and the harbour they were departing - all picked out with 'practical' lights blazing through the hotel's windows and other bright lights strung all around the harbour walls! This, in wartime blackout Britain, on a coastline facing enemy-occupied France, in waters regularly patrolled by German e-boats! Another commenter in this section states that the lighting was authentic in that the Cornish locals at the time figured that as they had never been attacked before, there was no reason to assume that they ever would be attacked then or in the future. However, even is this is true, the script should have made reference to this hard to believe 'fact' in dialogue, simply because the situation was so unusual and would have breached the strictly enforced wartime regulations concerning the blackout. Usually in movies, such 'blackout lighting', considering a story's authenticity, would be restricted to moonlight effect only. Another oversight in the film is the lack of anti-shatter window tapes which criss-crossed every pane of glass in Britain during the war. It's hard to believe that this glaring error went unnoticed by cast and crew. I suspect someone in authority said, 'Oh, they'll never realise," and simply let it go.
    6ruddy_jim

    It's not a documentary!

    This film is a solid 6/10. 3 out of 5 Stars etc...

    First - it is billed as a comedy-drama based on the true story of two men who go AWOL in order to invade France. Anyone who is going to be so upset by lights on in a harbour or no tape on the windows that they would rant about it for weeks probably won't like this film.

    Second - anyone who can enjoy a film for what it is, in this case a light comedy-drama based on bizarre true happenings, will likely enjoy this film.

    In true British style, Two Men Went to War, is a story of character development and plot. It is not a Hollywood block buster action flick nor a Japanese sword fest but rather a mature enduring story that is family friendly and a joy to watch.

    Why only 6/10 then? It could have been a little deeper for my taste and I would have liked to see some of the moral issues of the day addressed. It is definitely more light comedy than drama.

    A worth-while watch for those who can ignore minor historical inaccuracies like no tape on windows, lights on in a harbour and a modern shipping container that could have easily been covered in canvas.
    8scottheleen

    I wish more war-movies where like this.

    What superb movie. The tale of two English dentists, who, before D-day, decide to invade France on their own. The result is one of the most enjoyable war-movies I have ever seen. It starts of quite slow, but the pacing suits the story. There are no big build-ups leading to massive machine-gun fights with lots of dead Germans and gore. Rather, you are kept in suspense to whether their comical blunders will bear any results or whether they will manage not to kill themselves by mistake in the process. It had myself and most of my family laughing within the first couple of minutes, and we never really stopped till the end. Bravo! I hope to see more movies like this.
    8IronBob

    Wasn't sure what to make of this one...

    I have to say, I wasn't very interested in seeing this until the end as it just didn't entertain me at the beginning but I hung in with it and noticed that over the coarse of the film, the relationship between a young, naive private and a grumpy old sergeant, both dentists bored with their perspective lot in the army who decide it's time to contribute to the war effort, began to solidify.

    If even half of their adventures are true then they were two truly amazing men who pulled off quite a feat. This is one of those films that is more human interest than anything but it holds your attention as it progresses by some of the situations they find themselves in and the wonderful way it's brought to conclusion.
    8rosie-42

    Unexpected British comic delight

    What an unexpected delight is this true-ish wartime tale of two army dentists determined to do something for the war effort. A grizzled WW1 Sergeant and callow private go AWOL, heading for Cornwall and then to France armed with a rucksack of grenades, a couple of pistols and the odd dental tool. Possessing a comic lightness of touch rarely seen in Britain since the halcyon days of the Ealing comedies, this wonderful tale of British eccentricity is hilariously funny mainly because it never goes for the obvious laugh. Realisitic enough that the adventure is frequently nerve-wracking, with a splendid plot that constantly wrongfoots your guesses, the mismatched comic pair of Kenneth Cranham and Leo Bill work brilliantly. Filmed in vibrant colours so rarely seen in a British film, the movie succeeds way beyond its modest ambitions. It's the rare sort of film that banishes the blues and puts you in a good mood that lasts for ages afterwards. What more can you ask from a film than that?

    More like this

    The Boy in the Woods
    5.8
    The Boy in the Woods
    Le prisonnier fantôme
    6.6
    Le prisonnier fantôme
    The Resistance Fighter
    5.9
    The Resistance Fighter
    Churchill's Secret
    6.8
    Churchill's Secret
    Extrêmement fort & incroyablement près
    6.9
    Extrêmement fort & incroyablement près
    Narvik
    6.6
    Narvik
    La Grande-Bretagne face au Blitz
    6.8
    La Grande-Bretagne face au Blitz
    On Wings of Fire
    7.0
    On Wings of Fire
    The Last Rifleman
    6.7
    The Last Rifleman
    Au coeur de la tempête
    7.0
    Au coeur de la tempête
    Seul dans Berlin
    6.5
    Seul dans Berlin
    Churchill
    6.0
    Churchill

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The epilogue states: "King and Cuthbertson never saw each other again. Sergeant Peter King was transferred to active service where he won the M.C. He was awarded the D.S.O. in Korea and finally promoted to Major. He retired to New Zealand and died in a motoring accident in 1962. Private Leslie Cuthbertson was transferred to the Durham Light Infantry and also survived the war. In 1967, he was made Deputy Lord Mayor of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He died in 1995."
    • Goofs
      During the attack on the German Listening Post the Sergeant climbs over a container to get onto the roof. This type of container wasn't invented until 20 years later in the 1960s.
    • Quotes

      Maj. Bates: An army that can't bite is an army that can't fight.

    • Connections
      Followed by Two More Men Went to War (2003)
    • Soundtracks
      (We're Going to Hang Out) The Washing on the Siegfried Line
      Written by Michael Carr (as Carr) and Jimmy Kennedy (as Kennedy)

      Performed by Flanagan and Allen

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 1, 2002 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • 2 Men Went to War
    • Filming locations
      • Charlestown, Cornwall, England, UK(Port scenes, Pub scenes)
    • Production companies
      • Ira Trattner Productions
      • Ira Trattner Productions
      • Little Wing Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $151,435
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $10,672
      • Mar 28, 2004
    • Gross worldwide
      • $218,378
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 49m(109 min)
    • Color
      • Color

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb App
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.