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DVD Battle of Britain
There's something about this film that's so irresistible, despite its grandiose manipulation. Maybe because it recounts the greatest air battle in history, achieving the greatest aerial battle in film history. Maybe because it has such a terrific cast (Harry Andrews, Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Curt Jurgens, Laurence Olivier, Nigel Patrick, Christopher Plummer, Michael Redgrave, Ralph Richardson, Robert Shaw, Patrick Wymark, and Edward Fox). Maybe because it's so technically well-made, thanks to the Bond team of producer Harry Saltzman and director Guy Hamilton and the great cinematographer Freddie Young. Or maybe because there is something truly riveting about watching the British kick the Nazis back to Germany. --Bill Desowitz
The importance in Battle of Britain lies not in its special effects nor its graphic depictions of aerial carnage, but in the fact that it remains - after 33 years - the definitive movie about this pivotal event in British history. Furthermore those who have seen it before can enjoy the crisp digital remaster - no crackles or pops, guaranteed. There's something to appeal to everyone here, there's love interest, comic relief aplenty; an understated, semi-documentary feel to the scenes where top-level decisions are taken and a James Bond-like slickness to the action scenes. The Germans are, of course, portrayed in time-honoured fashion, ugly brutes or fancy, jackboot-wearing cissies, but if you get into the sprit of the film you soon forget that and just enjoy it. And here's a great chance to see the great Sir Lawrence Olivier ham it up beautifully with the few lines he has. Robert Shaw is really good as the in-your-face squadron leader who don't take no bull from no one. I can really recommend this movie, it will appeal to young movie fans, history students and the old fuddies who saw it the first time around in 1972.
Scenes from a movie
"Battle of Britain" has suffered for 35 years by a severely truncated edit. It has always resembled a bad local TV station edit on many fronts, with characters disappearing, huge lapses in continuity, and perhaps the most abrupt ending ever dumped on the moviegoing public. It has always felt to me like "selected scenes from a good movie". Its success and ongoing soft spot in the hearts of WWII fans is based on the strength of the battle scenes, the sheer scope of assembling so many period planes long after the war, and the lavish attention to detail. But it has always been hobbled miserably in its effort to tell the stories of the characters it follows because of huge chunks of the film being edited out for a shorter running time. What astonishes me is that NO ONE on Amazon or the Internet Movie Database ever mentions this glaring problem.
Got a gripe with too much soap opera, and that eliminating schmaltz in favor of cool aerial footage is a good thing? Well, fine, but if you are going to introduce a big crowd of characters and follow them around for the first 2 hours of the picture, the least you can do is not whack a mangled ending on the film and not at least give some glimpse of what happened to them. And don't have them suffering from the effects of five scenes chopped from the film and not expect the viewer to be confused and annoyed.
(What WAS all of that white dust all over Ian McShane, and where did it all suddenly disappear to in the next shot? And what's he doing in bed with Robert Shaw? Are they father and son? Lonely butch officers? And was his family killed - it's implied, but he doesn't seem to care and no one ever addresses it. And this is not an isolated incident of characters disappearing or doing seemingly confusing or unmotivated actions. It especially runs rampant through the last half hour of the film, at least in its US edit.)
After seeing the film again on TCM today, my frustration with this film all came back. Clearly, the dogfight and battle scenes were considered the major draw, and all of that character development malarky was considered superfluous. But no one has ever explained what was cut or whether it still exists anywhere. MGM seems to have hurt more than it helped with its DVD release, by cramming in music tracks that the producers rejected, changing title content, etc., but retaining the butchered running length.
Comes now Columbia Tri-Star with a new DVD version of the film, due in October 2005. The UK original length was 151 minutes. It was cut to 132 for its US release.
With no fanfare, this new version claims a running length of 176 minutes - a full 34 minutes longer than the one in common US release. And I have heard it rumored that the music track question is finally answered by having BOTH the rejected Walton soundtrack AND the superior Goodwin music on the disc as alternate tracks. Perhaps now, finally, after three and a half decades, we'll be able to see this incredible film in its entirety.
A little dated
This movie is appropriate to anyone interested in WW2 history but its style is a bit dated now. The director never bothered to developed the characters, the one or two "human interest" elements seem to be peripheral to the main story.
The Blue Max is highly unusual among Hollywood films, not just for being a large-scale drama set during the generally overlooked World War I, but in concentrating on air combat as seen entirely from the German point of view. The story focuses on a lower-class officer, Bruno Stachel (George Peppard), and his obsessive quest to win a Blue Max, a medal awarded for shooting down 20 enemy aircraft. Around this are subplots concerning a propaganda campaign by James Mason's pragmatic general, rivalry with a fellow officer (Jeremy Kemp), and a love affair with a decadent countess (Ursula Andress).
As directed by John Guillermin (who later made The Battle of Britain in 1969), the film's main assets are epic production values, great flying scenes, and stunning dogfights.... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): George Peppard - James Mason - Ursula Andress Director(s): John Guillermin DVD Release Date: Released the 20 May 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The wartime memories of surviving World War II bomber squadrons were still crystal clear when this acclaimed drama was released in 1949--one of the first postwar films out of Hollywood to treat the war on emotionally complex terms. Framed by a postwar prologue and epilogue and told as a flashback appreciation of wartime valor and teamwork, the film stars Gregory Peck in one of his finest performances as a callous general who assumes command of a bomber squadron based in England. At first, the new commander has little rapport with the 918th Bomber Group, whose loyalties still belong with their previous commander. As they continue to fly dangerous missions over Germany, however, the group and their new leader develop mutual respect and admiration, until the once-alienated commander feels... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Henry King DVD Release Date: Released the 21 May 2002 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Six months after the Japanese destroyed the U.S. Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbor, the Americans discovered the Japanese were planning to seize the Naval base at Midway Island--a perfect staging point for invading Hawaii or the mainland. Outnumbered four to one, the Americans won a surprise victory and shattered the backbone of the Japanese Imperial Navy. This 1976 film feels more like a history lesson than a drama, but World War II buffs will appreciate the attention to historical fact (especially the way in which fate and a few bad decisions turned the tide), as well as the generous use of actual battle footage. The all-star cast includes Robert Mitchum, James Coburn, and Cliff Robertson in cameos and a whole slew of familiar TV faces in supporting roles. Hal Holbrook is fun as an... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Jack Smight DVD Release Date: Released the 30 October 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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I love this film from my childhood - yes some of the special effects look a bit ropey now, but that's more than made up for by the genuine footage of the real Mosquitos in action and Ron Goodwin's fantastic theme tune - easily one of the best movie themes ever.
( By the way, anyone unconvinced that George Lucas in fact got the idea for the Death Star scene fom this fine film might like to know the following: When Lucas originally devised Star Wars and was showing a rough cut print to the movie studio bigwigs, he hadn't had enough budget left for the SFX to show them the Death star finale. So instead, he intercut aerial dogfight footage from British WW2 movies including the Dambusters, the Battle Of Britain, and .....633 Squadron. Case closed!! More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Cliff Robertson - George Chakiris - Maria Perschy Director(s): Walter Grauman DVD Release Date: Released the 20 May 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Sink the Bismarck! recounts one of the most famous battles in the history of naval warfare. Shot in semidocumentary style, the black-and-white film covers all sides in the famous hunt for the powerful German warship that terrorized the sea for eight days. The story and combat are rendered as faithfully as possible to C.S. Forester's novel. There are a few historical errors and some other minor liberties taken for dramatic license, both of which the viewer will easily be able to overlook. The only major addition to historical fact is a fictional romance between leads Kenneth More and Dana Wynter, which never gets in the way of the action. Edward R. Murrow cameos, and one of the founding fathers of movie magic, Howard Lydecker, assists with the special effects. The film is... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Kenneth More - Dana Wynter Director(s): Lewis Gilbert (II) DVD Release Date: Released the 20 May 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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