Arriving on Prime Video in Australia on July 25th, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is an action comedy that tells of the story of the first-ever special forces organisation formed during WWII by UK Prime Minister Winston Churchill and a small group of military officials, including author Ian Fleming.
Directed by Guy Ritchie and featuring an all-star cast, including Henry Cavill, Alan Ritchson, Eiza González, Alex Pettyfer and Cary Elwes, the film is a “charismatic vehicle” (you can read our full review here) that is sure to set tongues wagging with Prime viewers.
As the film releases, cast members Henry Cavill, Alex Pettyfer and Henry Golding revealed how they became involved with the film, how it was to work with Guy Ritchie and the story of their real-life counterparts.
Henry, how did you become involved with the film?
Henry Cavill: I wanted to reinvigorate my love for filmmaking. I wanted to get back into a job which was going to be the most enjoyable, and sort of get my creative juices flowing again. And so, when I heard Guy (Ritchie) was doing this, it was an immediate draw for me. My most enjoyable job has probably been The Man from U.N.C.L.E. with Guy, and arguable my best job as well.
Alex, how was the experience of working with Guy Ritchie?
Alex Pettyfer: My personal experience working with Guy has been, creatively, probably one of the most scary and liberating experiences. Just the way he commands this, like, spontaneity, you know? And feeling completely liberated by the end of the day, but so overwhelmed throughout the experience of the day.
Do you have a favourite action scene from the film?
Alex Pettyfer: Well, seeming as Alan (Ritchson) takes most of the action and saves me most of the time, I would say my favourite experience watching the action is I have been captured, and the boys are coming to save me, and I’m compromised in a pretty unique way, shall we say. And the comedy aspect between Alan and myself that plays out in that scene is quite funny.
What is the story of the SOE?
Henry Golding: I think this is one of the first modern day sort of telling of the conception of the SOE, which is the Special Operations Executive. It’s a band of men and women that Winston Churchill put together to complete, under the cover of deniability, these operations which really swayed the war for Great Britain. They were definitely a really integral part of defeating the Nazis.
Henry Cavill: The mission in this movie is so important because it was about removing Nazi Germany’s U-Boat dominance in the Atlantic. The war would have been lost had this mission not been successful. It was something that was unthought of. Our characters we’re giving birth to “deniable operations”. It’s in the title – “Ungentlemanly Warfare”! They weren’t going to win otherwise. And that’s one of the special things about people like Winston Churchill, is that he could see the wood through the trees.
How was the look of your characters created?
Henry Golding: Creating the look of Freddy is always a team effort. We have an amazing head of wardrobe, Loulou (Bontemps), who picks out some of the most phenomenal outfits for all of us. And then Guy always has the last say and always has the last little twizzle on it. He’s a very stylish man. He’s got great taste.
Alex Pettyfer: Loulou is a genius costume designer, and she created kind of a guideline to differentiate each of these characters. Especially because we are all disguised as fishermen and sailors. She’s a master craftsman in creating these very unique differences between each characters.
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is now streaming on Prime Video.
