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on September 9, 2016
This is one of my all-time favorites, having seen it when it came out back when I was a tween. It was such a hit that cereal boxes sported cut and fold Spits and 109s on the back. It was huge.
This does a brilliant job of telling the story and is the very best film on the subject that I have ever seen. It should be noted that it was among a group of high quality WWII films that came out in those years, which also included Patton, Tora Tora Tora and others. Later films such as the appallingly Hollywood BS-ized movie Pearl Harbor bark around ten years ago.
If someone wants to know what it was like for the pilots on both sides of the conflict during that critically important few months in world history, the Battle of Britain is the film to see.
This does a brilliant job of telling the story and is the very best film on the subject that I have ever seen. It should be noted that it was among a group of high quality WWII films that came out in those years, which also included Patton, Tora Tora Tora and others. Later films such as the appallingly Hollywood BS-ized movie Pearl Harbor bark around ten years ago.
If someone wants to know what it was like for the pilots on both sides of the conflict during that critically important few months in world history, the Battle of Britain is the film to see.
on June 24, 2013
Made in 1969, this big-budget production effectively recreates one of the most dramatic events in World War II. While the film takes a few liberties with the details, it follows the main phases of the battle quite accurately. After the conquest of France, Germany offered peace on generous terms. Churchill refused, recognizing that the Royal Navy could prevent the Germans from sending an army across the English Channel. As a result, the battle became an aerial war, in which England faced a serious numerical disadvantage. From early July through early August 1940, the Luftwaffe mainly attacked British shipping. Starting on August 12, the Germans began a series of attacks on RAF airfields. This would be the most difficult phase of the battle for England. Factories could replace the lost aircraft, but the RAF was critically short of pilots. Then, on September 7, the Germans turned on London, which proved to be the decisive mistake: it enabled the RAF to counterattack in large numbers. Finally, after sustaining heavy losses in a massive air battle on September 15, the Germans abandoned the plan to invade England. The air battles are spectacular, but the film also recognizes that a key element in England's victory was superior information: radar, and a centralized communications system enabled the RAF to scramble its planes, preventing the Luftwaffe bombers from destroying them on the ground. This is historical film-making at its best.
on August 24, 2010
The plot of this movie has few surprises for anybody familiar with the history of the period; subtlety isn't the point. It's a dramatic recounting of a stirring saga that everybody should remember, especially in this anniversary year. I won't quote Churchill, everybody knows -- or should know -- what he said about the RAF pilots.
Seventy years ago this month, the Lufwaffe tried to destroy the RAF so Germany could invade Britain. They failed. Historians disagree on exactly why they failed to destroy the RAF, and whether Germany could have pulled off an invasion even if they had destroyed the RAF, but there is nearly universal agreement that the late summer and early fall of 1940 was a crucial moment in world history. The revisionists have had their say, and the consensus has I think come back to something pretty close to the standard narrative, if a slightly more nuanced view of that narrative. This film gives the standard narrative as it was understood before all the revisionist historians had picked it over. In its fundamentals the story told by this film is still true: it didn't happen EXACTLY this way, but it did really happen. The RAF really did save Britain and the world against some pretty frightening odds.
It is also clear that the British made extremely effective use of what is anachronistically called "radar" by the cast of this movie (the word actually used by the RAF in 1940 was RDF for Radio Direction Finding). Whatever you call it, it was key to the survival of Britain in 1940. The Germans actually had much better radar technology; what set the British apart was they built the world's first complete system for gathering all available data -- radar, spotters' reports, the current status of every airfield, etc., and providing a complete picture to those deciding how to deploy available resources. Since the RAF was stretched desperately thin, these data were of vital importance (as was another source of data not yet public knowledge when this movie was made: the Ultra Secret of codebreaking).
But none of the radar systems, none of the planning, none of the technology could have saved Britain without the young pilots who flew their fragile craft on sortie after sortie against daunting odds. They were knights of the air, defending their homeland from a truly evil and frightening foe. Today we know how the story ends. In 1940 the outcome was far from clear, and a lot of smart people on both sides thought German victory was inevitable.
Of course the aerial dogfight scenes are the heart of this movie, which has some of the best aerial battle footage ever filmed. Real airplanes -- nearly every suitable airplane that could still fly in 1969 was used -- were flown over the actual locations where the battles took place. Actual London buildings that were being demolished for new construction were burned down for the making of this movie. Today this movie could not be made that way, too few vintage aircraft are still flyable and many of the landscapes look too different from how they looked in 1940. Today computer graphics would have to be used, and while CGI makes some amazing special effects possible it ain't the same. No WWII film has better aerial combat footage than this one, and indeed clips from this film (sometimes converted to low-resolution grayscale for a period feel) have been used in many more recent movies.
Seventy years ago this month, the Lufwaffe tried to destroy the RAF so Germany could invade Britain. They failed. Historians disagree on exactly why they failed to destroy the RAF, and whether Germany could have pulled off an invasion even if they had destroyed the RAF, but there is nearly universal agreement that the late summer and early fall of 1940 was a crucial moment in world history. The revisionists have had their say, and the consensus has I think come back to something pretty close to the standard narrative, if a slightly more nuanced view of that narrative. This film gives the standard narrative as it was understood before all the revisionist historians had picked it over. In its fundamentals the story told by this film is still true: it didn't happen EXACTLY this way, but it did really happen. The RAF really did save Britain and the world against some pretty frightening odds.
It is also clear that the British made extremely effective use of what is anachronistically called "radar" by the cast of this movie (the word actually used by the RAF in 1940 was RDF for Radio Direction Finding). Whatever you call it, it was key to the survival of Britain in 1940. The Germans actually had much better radar technology; what set the British apart was they built the world's first complete system for gathering all available data -- radar, spotters' reports, the current status of every airfield, etc., and providing a complete picture to those deciding how to deploy available resources. Since the RAF was stretched desperately thin, these data were of vital importance (as was another source of data not yet public knowledge when this movie was made: the Ultra Secret of codebreaking).
But none of the radar systems, none of the planning, none of the technology could have saved Britain without the young pilots who flew their fragile craft on sortie after sortie against daunting odds. They were knights of the air, defending their homeland from a truly evil and frightening foe. Today we know how the story ends. In 1940 the outcome was far from clear, and a lot of smart people on both sides thought German victory was inevitable.
Of course the aerial dogfight scenes are the heart of this movie, which has some of the best aerial battle footage ever filmed. Real airplanes -- nearly every suitable airplane that could still fly in 1969 was used -- were flown over the actual locations where the battles took place. Actual London buildings that were being demolished for new construction were burned down for the making of this movie. Today this movie could not be made that way, too few vintage aircraft are still flyable and many of the landscapes look too different from how they looked in 1940. Today computer graphics would have to be used, and while CGI makes some amazing special effects possible it ain't the same. No WWII film has better aerial combat footage than this one, and indeed clips from this film (sometimes converted to low-resolution grayscale for a period feel) have been used in many more recent movies.
on April 28, 2017
One of the great movies of WWII. A great cast and the air battle scenes are great. Especially considering it is pre CGI. One of my favorite movies.
on July 18, 2013
This film gives a good picture of what the aerial defense of Britian was all about, and just how desperate the struggle was for both sides. The germans underestimated the british will to resist their attempt to conquer the british homeland. Winston Churchill's trick of bombing german cities, completely fooled Hitler. Thus the RAF survived the struggle. I could have done without the romance, as this was a life and death struggle . In the end, Hitler was forced to accept failure, and turn to the plans to conquer Russia. I would recommend this dvd to WW11 fans, for its aerial sequences alone. The Battle of Britain in my view, belongs up there with the Battle of Midway, as one of the wars decisive battles. JRV
on August 31, 2017
What a great movie! It surely tells the story of what those folks had to do against all odds to defend their country! Loved this movie!
on April 5, 2014
The movie starts in May 1940 - with the German breakout at Sedan, France. All RAF fighter units are order back to England to defend against the expected Blitz. This sets the stage for the Battle of Britain - an air war fought over England between the RAF and the Luftwaffe. The main German aim in the Battle of Britain was to gain control over Britain's airspace to allow German Naval units to land an invading army in Southern England.
With an all star cast - Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Curd Jürgens, Ian McShane, Kenneth More, Laurence Olivier, Nigel Patrick, Christopher Plummer, Michael Redgrave, Sir David Kelly, Robert Shaw etc - the movie does not fail to entertain.
It covers the period up to September 1940 when the biggest raids failed to break England and forced Adolf Hitler to postpone the German Invasion of England (Operation Sea Lion). A lot of battle action. A lot of Britain. A very beautiful movie!
With an all star cast - Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Curd Jürgens, Ian McShane, Kenneth More, Laurence Olivier, Nigel Patrick, Christopher Plummer, Michael Redgrave, Sir David Kelly, Robert Shaw etc - the movie does not fail to entertain.
It covers the period up to September 1940 when the biggest raids failed to break England and forced Adolf Hitler to postpone the German Invasion of England (Operation Sea Lion). A lot of battle action. A lot of Britain. A very beautiful movie!
on April 21, 2017
Excellent production and very accurate in its historic portrayal. Only issue is the short dramatic sidetracks it occasionally takes.
on April 7, 2016
A really good docudrama of The Battle of Britain told with overlapping storylines and using - at the time in 1968 - the largest collection of Spitfires, Hurricanes and Heinkels in the world.
The entire sub-plot with Christopher Plummer and Susannah York was a waste of time.
Really great combat sequences The scenes in England were filmed for the most part at airfield used in 1940; the German scenes were filmed in Spain.
Not at all politically correct. The ending honors the RAF pilots and ignores the Germans.
The entire sub-plot with Christopher Plummer and Susannah York was a waste of time.
Really great combat sequences The scenes in England were filmed for the most part at airfield used in 1940; the German scenes were filmed in Spain.
Not at all politically correct. The ending honors the RAF pilots and ignores the Germans.
