Monday, October 9, 2017

The 40s House 2001


     A married couple, their daughter and her two boys agree to spend 9 weeks living under the conditions of WWII in Britain.  Michael and Lyn along with Kirstie, Ben and Thomas will be under the same roof in the 40s house.  They are moving into a home that has been renovated to be just like a home of this time period.  They will wear the clothing, have the hairstyles and live with rationing.  Tending a garden will be essential and they will need to build an Anderson air raid shelter.  Several historians and experts formed a War cabinet working behind the scenes to direct events.  The family will theoretically live through 6 years of war in the 9-week time period. 
     Everything the family is used is turned upside down.  Life was very difficult in the wartime period.  Rationing and the bombings were especially hard.  Shampoo, bath soap, cleaning powders and detergent were in short supply.  Later, there weren’t any cigarettes.  There could be monetary fines for not adhering to the blackout codes.  The use of energy resources and water was carefully monitored and excess use caused a fine.  There are no time saving devices and there was a time the family lived without water and heat.  Michael was sent away for a period to work in a factory.  Volunteering for Lyn and Kirstie was necessary and later Kirstie went to work in an airplane factory.  Lyn was left to do all the housework, shopping and taking care of the boys before and after school.  4* (I really liked this movie)  

225 min, Reality-TV with Geoffrey Palmer, Piers Brendon, Guy de la Bedoyere, Ben, Kirstie, Lyn, Michael, Thomas Hymers, Susan Jebb, Norman Longmate, Warren Rushton, Dennis Cornish, Lia Cramer.  I didn’t view this as a TV series but as a DVD with all the episodes.  

Note:  Imdb 8.3 out of 10, tv.com 5.9* out of 10* with 22 votes, Amazon 4.7* out of 5* with 44 reviews, the moviedb 60% out of 100 user score.
Special Note:  Filmed in West Wickham, Kent, England, UK.  There is another TV series liked this one titled The 1900 House of 1999.

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