Battle of Britain
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Movie Reviews of Battle of Britain
Movie Review: After seeing the DVD I am suitably impressed
Summary: 5 Stars
I recently had the chance to check out a review copy of this DVD from MGM Home Entertainment and I am impressed.
The year 1940 was a grim one for Britain. With their backs up against the wall they were the lone country in Western Europe still resisting the onslaught of Nazi Germany. Many felt that German victory was a foregone conclusion and after appealing for peace with the island nation Hitler unleashed the luftwaffe on the country in an effort to pave the way for an eventual land invasion.
Outnumbering the British in the number of aircraft the Germans began bombing airfields in Britain in an attempt to immobilize the beleaguered Royal Air Force. In this battle for the skies the British pilots, the Free French and Polish exiles stood together and faced off the threat in heroic style.
Produced by Harry Saltzman, one of the men behind the James Bond movies and directed by Guy Hamiltom (who had performed a similar chore for Saltzman on "Goldfinger") the movie features a veritable who's who cast of British stars. Joining Michael Caine, Robert Shaw, Harry Andrews, Edward Fox, Ralph Richardson, Trevor Howard and Laurence Olivier was Canadian star Christopher Plummer and German actor Curt Jurgens (who would go on later to play a Bond villain).
Based loosely on the book "Dual of Eagles" Hamilton directs "Battle of Britain" with his usual flair and the colors are vivid and nicely reproduced on this DVD. The audio is similarly excellent with the sound of the Spitfires, Messerchmitts and Hurricanes reverberating through the speakers in what amounts to some of the most incredible aerial combat ever committed to film.
The sole extra feature on this DVD release is the original theatrical trailer. Whereas the main feature has obviously been restored painstakingly and lovingly the same cannot be said for the trailer. With some scratchy audio and niches and blemishes on the print it is of a noticeable inferior quality when compared with the movie itself.
This however is a minor quibble and "Battle of Britain" has been applauded for its accuracy. In short it is a triumph of sixties World War II filmmaking and, especially at its low price tag, it is easy to recommend.
For those with a multi-region DVD player it's interesting to note that the Region 2 release of this movie features a Guy Hamilton audio commentary.
Movie Review: An enduring version of a great tale
Summary: 5 Stars
The Battle of Britain was one of the pivotal historical events of the last century, when an outnumbered few airmen barely held off the largest military juggernaut of the time. Being a serious history buff of the era, I believe this film captures the essentials in a very compelling way. One can always quibble over details, but the direction, acting, and action sequences are the best possible at the time of its production. Most compelling to me is Sir Laurence Olivier's riveting depiction of Air Chief Marshal Dowding, an ascetic stuffy personality that is credited with the grand air strategy that won the battle. No grandstanding here.. a very honest portrayal.
Where the film falls short is understandably in the effects department. The air combat sequences lack the kind of cohesive realism of later films, but the storytelling is solid and the musical score makes all the difference. In the hands of a Steven Spielberg with today's digital visualisation technology, the sequences would be far more compelling, but for the period, they were the best that one could expect.
In the making of the film, the limited ability of special effects at that time made the filmmakers crash and destroy several actual WW2 aircraft during production to achieve a level of realism. Today, such aircraft are nearly priceless and no-one would think of destroying any during the production of a film. The fate of numerous Heinkel 111's that met their end in crash sequences would never be repeated today. But even at the time of production, genuine German-made ME-109s were unobtainable, and the filmmakers had to rely on a fleet of Spanish Air Force post-WW2 109-derived aircraft for the sequences. Only a historical nitpicker would notice as I did, but in nearly every other historical respect, they got it right. A small but telling detail is that the British Hawker Hurricanes in the film accurately experience an engine hiccup when they roll inverted, due to fuel interruption in their gravity-fed carburetors.
Being a fan of WW2 films, this is one of the best ever despite its age. Unlike most other WW2 films of the time, this one still sparkles through the superb acting of its all-star cast and a well-written screenplay.
Movie Review: An Action-Packed Recreation of A Pivotal Historical Event
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie has everything: The German forces overrunning much of Europe, the Dunkirk evacuation, the Nazi plan to leave England alone if she would let the Germans rule Europe, the defiance of the British, the Luftwaffe superiority in number of planes, the attempt to cow England into submission, the bombings of London, the planned invasion of England (real or bluff), the many episodes of fierce aerial combat, the shortage of experienced RAF pilots, and much more. Hermann Goering is confident that he can sweep the RAF from the skies in a matter of weeks. The RAF personnel have other ideas.
Additional features show how the movie was made in the late 1960's. The then 86 year-old Sir Hugh Dowding is shown, as a consultant, in a wheelchair. German ace Adolf Galland is interviewed.
At the end of the movie, a table is shown of the many nationalities of RAF fighters. Poles contributed 141 pilots, of whom 29 perished in defense of England. Initial British reluctance gives way to acceptance. A funny scene shows a Polish pilot parachuting out, greeting a pitchfork-wielding English farmer with "Good Morning, Sir", and getting held up as a Boche (German). The movie touches on the skill and ferocity of the Polish airmen. However, the Poles contributed more to the Allied victory in the Battle of Britain than this movie leads the viewer to realize. Please click on 303 Squadron: The Legendary Battle of Britain Fighter Squadron, and read, for example, the Peczkis review.
Movie Review: Battle of Britain - A MUST for Widescreen!
Summary: 5 Stars
I first saw this movie at the Hollywood Theater in 1969, and its original rating was GP for adult language and mild violence. The GP rating (now PG) has been reduced to G in the US and Canada, yet remains PG in the UK. Having owned the VHS version of this for several years, I eagerly awaited the arrival on DVD. I even emailed MGM-UA on a number of occasions, urging its release. Now, after seeing it in its proper aspect, it is a film for which Widescreen is a must. This should be on the same shelf as Patton, and Saving Private Ryan.
Guy Hamilton directed an Oscar winning cast, as well as military piloted aircraft through the retelling of events from July through September of 1940. The aerial scenes are choreographed to fill the screen from left to right, and set to classical music as the combat ensues.
Both sides of the conflict are represented through vignettes portrayed by the actors, and unlike contemporary film making, the good guys are buying the farm with the bad. It is a testament to the adage, "War is Hell." In the end, their backs to a wall, against 4-1 odds, the RAF is victorious, and Europe remains divided between allied and axis forces. "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."
The only thing missing is a DTS or Dolby 5.1 soundtrack, but they didn't have those in the day of its original release.
Movie Review: Britain's Big Patriotic Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
Once again RAF Spitfires, Hurricanes, and Luftwaffe ME109's swirl in deadly dogfights over the White Cliffs and green fields of summer, 1940, as Ron Goodwin's stirring music underscores the action. About 100 vintage fighter and bomber aircraft were assembled for the filming (big stars in their own right) but, for me, it's all about the human cast: Lord Olivier as the dour, irascible and eccentric Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding (who, after the war, credited the ghosts of his deceased wife and lost airmen with guiding him to victory); Trevor Howard as the aggressive New Zealander, Air Vice Marshal Keith Park, who commanded fighters in the corner of Britain most susceptible to German attack; Sir Michael Caine as a young flight leader in the "Millionaires' Squadron" (one of whom actually purchased a neighboring gas station so squadron members could have access to "petrol" for their sports cars); Nigel Patrick; Christopher Plummer; Sir Michael Redgrave; Sir Ralph Richardson; Robert Shaw; and Susannah York.
In spite of the movie's dozen, or so, famous flubs, it works as entertainment, it's surprisingly accurate (although time-compressed), and even includes a very proper little love story (York and Plummer).
"Never have so many owed so much to so few". Amen.