Product Details

• Actors: Cliff Robertson, George Chakiris, Maria Perschy, Harry Andrews, Donald Houston
• Directors: Walter Grauman
• Writers: Frederick E. Smith, Howard Koch, James Clavell
• Producers: Cecil F. Ford, Lewis J. Rachmil, Walter Mirisch
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: English, German
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Fox Home Entertainme
• VHS Release Date: November 13, 1991
• Run Time: 102 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (60 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302224322
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #176,352 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

92 of 94 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Footage of De Havilland Mosquito Bombers, January 7, 2001

By 

D. Blackdeer (Kansas) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 633 Squadron [VHS] (VHS Tape)

World War II adventure film about a Royal Air Force fighter-bomber squadron assigned to destroy a Nazi nuclear weapons research facility in Norway. Cliff Robertson headlines the movie as a former Eagle Squadron pilot in command of 633 Squadron with a colorful assembly of international pilots. They embark on the hazardous assignment with the target located inside a Norwegian fjord, guarded by an immense array of anti-aircraft artillery. Worth noting is the story was probably inspired by the real-life exploits of RAF Mosquito squadrons that conducted such dangerous missions, hunting down Nazi ship convoys along Norway's rugged coastline.

The real attraction of this film is abundant footage of authentic World War II-era De Havilland Mosquito bombers used for the movie production. The scenes of these rare aircraft in flight are a delight, especially since there the are no airworthy examples left in the entire world today (the last one was lost with its crew in a tragic crash in 1996). The model airplane special effects are too obvious, especially when compared to the quality of "The Bridges of Toko Ri" starring William Holden. Nonetheless, it's still pretty exciting and viewers can't help but compare the squadron's climatic attack in the treacherous fjord with "Star War's" Jedi attack on the Empire's Death Star.

The script and several scenes could have been better, but the authentic aircraft are worth watching. Overall a decent adventure, dated, but enjoyable if you're a fan of the famous De Havilland Mosquito fighter-bomber built of wood, and flown by pilots in daring missions that helped win World War II.

For those interested, there's a nice De Havilland aircraft museum north of London, England, on the actual grounds where these impressive aircraft were built. The original prototype Mosquito airplane, and another production model used in the later movie "Mosquito," are on display.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Treat for Aviation Buffs !, September 8, 2003

By 

peterfromkanata (Kanata, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: 633 Squadron (DVD)

This film seems to have attracted a number of interesting, positive reviews--there is little for me to add except to say that is is a fine World War II thriller, featuring Cliff Robertson, George Chakiris and a solid British cast in support.

Of course, the real "stars" of the movie are the Mosquitos--seeing them fly is a feast for aviation fans. Some scenes really seem to put you in the cockpit with our heroes as they train for their "mission impossible". There is also a fair bit of model work involved, and this is perhaps the only area of the movie that is dated. Special effects have made huge strides since the sixties--when these planes crash or blow up, it is not done in a convincing way for modern audiences.

Cliff Robertson is fine in the lead--later in the decade, he was to win an Oscar for "Charly", yet he has always been under-rated. His career certainly had it's "ups and downs"--in the seventies, he blew the whistle on a Hollywood executive who was embezzling money, and good movie roles seemed to "elude" him for a while. Clearly, he is a man of great integrity. It was nice to see him, after so many years, have an important role in the monster hit, "Spiderman".

George Chakiris aquits himself well as a Norwegian resistance leader. British character actors, Harry Andrews and Donald Houston, provide the mandatory "stiff upper lips" ! When the movie is over though, it is those fabulous planes that you remember most.

The DVD is widescreen, with decent colour for its age--the sound is mono ( imagine those Mosquitos in surround ? ! ). The packaging is very rudimentary, but I suppose this is in keeping with the low price ?

If you like war films with the accent on aviation, this one is for you. Try it !

Footnote dated 16 July, 2011--well--the price was "low" when I bought it !

A very sad footnote, dated 10 September 2011--Mr. Cliff Robertson has passed away at the grand age of 88--another fine actor has left us.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ...george lucas hang your head in shame!, September 19, 2005

By 

R. Lewis - See all my reviews
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This review is from: 633 Squadron (DVD)

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!!