The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain (1995)

Comedy favorite Hugh Grant (BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY) stars as a young man who offends an entire town by declaring their mountain -- a prized landmark -- to be a "hill." But soon he finds the eccentric locals, led by a witty innkeeper (Colm Meaney -- STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION) will stop at nothing to defend their honor! While the townspeople rally around their "mountain," a fiery young woman (Tara Fitzgerald -- SIRENS) charms the puzzled out-of-towner into seeing things their way! You'll be elevated by laughter as the hilarious townspeople rise to the occasion -- and the bewildered visitor stumbles into love when he least expects it!

Great Movie For Those Who Aren't Even Fans of Hugh Grant

This is a fun movie about people accomplishing a goal that only has value to those of their town.
The towns people are enjoyable characters who come off as genuine as the country side is beautiful. July 2, 2008

A great story

I have actually also read the book, which tells you something aboutthe impact this movie had upon me. In it Monger points out one of the great ironies of the story- the man with the longest and most enigmatic nickname did not need one: The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain was quite probably the only man named Anson living West of the Welsh border. He wasn't named Williams, Evans, Jones or Morgan. That he had one was a mark of the respect and admiration that the townfolk had for the schoolmaster. And understandably: In the course of the movie we see a high class Englisman fall in love with a place and a people, not just Betty From Cardiff.

This is a story of a miracle that these humble Welsh folk wrought for themselves: A miracle of love, courage and healing in the midst of awful war [OK, there's a wee bit of skullduggery as well]. And it is exemplified most of all in the character of Anson in that moment after the sun has gone down on the last possible day when their dream could be attained: The moment when Betty has pleaded with him to stay the night atop the mountain so that he can measure it in the early morning light before he has to leave. With that she takes an extraordinary risk, putting her reputation permanently on the line by offering to stay the night with him to keep him company. Of course, what she is really offering him is far more than merely a single night. And then we watch the miracle unfold as Anson finds the courage to fight past the trauma of war and his class prejudices to accept her offer of a lifetime of love. It is a truly moving, indeed tearjerking moment because we can see that this is a decision that he will never, ever regret for an instant- no matter what his family might think of his bride. It is a truly beautiful moment and Tara Fitzgerald and Hugh Grant were never better than at that moment in this movie- acting so good that we see the future of their characters unfolding before them.

As you can tell this is a favorite movie of mine. April 29, 2008

No Surprises in this comedy

This is a charming movie, although it does drag a bit. There are no surprises...........you know the story almost from the beginning to end within the first 20 minutes. Nevertheless, it is enjoyable, mainly due to the great sound track. It is good clean comedy with an inspirational message as to what plain ordinary people can do if they just want it badly enough. I liked it quite a bit, and felt proud of the townspeople and their endeavors. The world needs more of this kind of inspiration and brotherhood. February 28, 2008

Warm and funny comedy set in Wales

A pleasant, unusual comedy. Supposedly based on a real story (but probably not) and set in 1917, it tells the story of two English cartographers (Hugh Grant and Ian McNeice) who arrive in a Welsh village in order to take the measure of the nearby mountain, considered the pride of the locals. According to the height (more specifically, if it is higher than 1,000 feet), it will be determined whether it is indeed a mountain or it is just a hill. When the first measure turns out that it is just a few feet under the 1,000 mark, the anxious villagers will take action. In order to makes sure that it is recorded as a mountain, they will transport dirt and soil from the fields, and to the peak, bucket by bucket. At the same time, they will do everything to prevent the two cartographers from leaving town before they can take a second measure. Eventually, Grant, who falls in love with a local girl (Tara Fitzgerald), will help the villagers in their task (the other cartographer is much more meaner and dismissive of the Welsh). This is a small film in every sense, but it is very warm and funny. February 27, 2008

Love it!

It's Hugh Grant-what more could you ask for? It is a period flick about two English cartographers measuring mountains for maps during the war and all the citizens go through to get their mountain on the map. Very charming! February 17, 2008

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