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Angel Reyes
Angel Reyes

The Battle Of Britain (1969) ##BEST##



This worthy tribute to "the few" has spectacular air battles, a memorable re-creation of the Blitz and a terrific cast that includes Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer and Robert Shaw. It is interesting today to watch so many great names in the twilight of their careers: not just knights Ralph Richardson, Michael Redgrave and Laurence Olivier (as tight-lipped Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding), but also Trevor Howard (excellent as Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park), Harry Andrews, Kenneth More, Patrick Wymark, Nigel Patrick and Curt Jürgens. Most of Sir William Walton's original score was dumped and replaced by Ron Goodwin's music, but a tantalising fragment remains in the air battles.




The Battle of Britain (1969)



For a film that is now over 50 years old, it was an exciting, action-packed movie. There was some unnecessary gore when German bombers were gunned down by British Spitfires, and the occasional over-dramatized moment. For the era, the special effects were impressive. There was some great aerial combat shots and explosions. There was even a German bomber that crashed into a train station in London in one scene that was documented to have similarly occurred during the real battle.


From August 12 to October of 1940, a fierce bombing campaign by Germany took place in preparation for an eventual amphibious invasion of Great Britain. Badly outnumbered and riven by arguments over strategy, the British very nearly lost this critical battle during the early stages of the Second World War. Any attempt to portray this complicated history was bound to be flawed in one way or another, so it was perhaps too big a story to tell in one movie.


The film seems calculated to wear you down over time just as much as the characters are. Stunning aerial battles always come at a high human cost on both sides and the growing trauma to the combatants is reflected in the dramatic subplots. War is not portrayed as anything glamorous, indeed it is shown to be a human meat grinder depicting established characters suffer horrible fates.


As you'd probably expect, much of the movie takes place in the air. There are plenty of dogfights and aerial battles. A large portion of the budget went into filming these scenes and it shows. So many airplanes were used for the filming that at one point it was estimated that they were operating the 35th largest air force in the world. Nowadays they'd make do with CGI planes, but here they are the real thing.


So much money was spent on the planes and air battles that it's obvious the producers wanted to get their money's worth, which brings up the only complaint that I have about the movie. While the dogfights are well filmed and tense, there are so many of them that eventually they start to run together and seem awfully similar. The action is exciting, but it's the personalities of the people involved that make the story interesting and relatable. I wish that more time could have been spent with some of the characters, particularly given the terrific cast involved.


While a solid production that boasts some pretty spectacular aerial shots featuring hundreds of WWII aircraft flying over those famous White Cliffs of Dover, and a fairly accurate historical representation of the eponymous battle, this film is a bit dry for my tastes. It never really moved me emotionally or allowed me to feel engaged with the characters as much as I had hoped. With typical British reserve it seems more documentary than movie.


It soon became clear to the British that the Poles were extremely skilled pilots. In July 1940 the first Polish fighter pilots joined RAF Squadrons. Flying Officer Antoni Ostowicz and Flight Lieutenant Wilhelm Pankratz were posted to No. 145 Squadron RAF on 16 July. Three days later Flying Officer Ostowicz scored the first Polish kill in the Battle of Britain by sharing a He 111 over Brighton. Unfortunately he was also the first Polish pilot to die in the battle, shot down by Messerschmitt Bf 109s south of Swanage on 11 August. Finally the Poles joined the battle against the Germans on equal terms.


A total of 145 experienced and battle-hardened Polish airmen fought in the Battle of Britain - 79 airmen in various RAF squadrons, 32 in No. 302 (Polish) Fighter Squadron and 34 in No. 303 (Polish) Fighter Squadron.


Polish pilots in RAF squadrons played a substantial part in all operations against the Luftwaffe in increasing numbers. One of the finest examples of their work was a remarkable feat accomplished by Sergeant Antoni Glowacki of No. 501 Squadron RAF, who on 24 August claimed five enemy bombers, which were shot down in three combat sorties over one day. He was one of only three pilots who achieved 'Ace-in-a-Day' status during the battle and recalls the day's actions in his memoirs:


Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command, Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, who once was so reluctant to allow Polish pilots into battle, summarised their contribution in probably the most telling way:


They came together to defend the last staging point for a future liberation of Europe. The largest foreign contingent to fight in the Battle of Britain were the Polish. Over five devastating weeks, Poland had been crushed by invaders from Germany and the Soviet Union. Tens of thousands of Polish servicemen escaped to France to continue the fight. When Blitzkrieg swept through Western Europe, pilots of the Polish Air Force relished the chance to fight the Germans again, but despite their battle experience the French were reluctant to let them fly.


Craig Murray: "When the Polish airmen came to Britain there was a realisation they might be worth putting them into their own squadrons. In this case 302 and 303. Now they are formed relatively late into the battle, into August, but from the very start they're incredibly successful, and in the case of 303 Squadron they are the most successful allied squadron during the Battle of Britain.


With the Poles, the way they fight, they get very close to the enemy before they open fire which is a dangerous thing to do but it does ensure a kill more often than not. They're driven by something very different from the British in the sense that Britain is not occupied it may have been attacked but it's not the same as having your country occupied by an enemy force, so, they're very very keen as were the Czechs to bring the battle to the Germans."


The two Polish squadrons 302 and 303 entered service the same month. 302 Squadron excelled in its defence of London in September, accounting for nine aircraft on the 18th of September alone. By the end of the battle, it's score had reached 18 plus a further 12 probable kills. The contribution of 303 Squadron has become legend.


Craig Murray: "One particular group captain decided to test one of the squadrons just to see what their claims were they came back from one sort of quite shaken saying oh yes they do in fact get what they say they get. 303 Squadron has the highest kill count off any squadron during the battle; their kill ratio is something in the region of 14 to one.


Battle of Britain is a 1969 British war film directed by Guy Hamilton, and produced by Harry Saltzman and S. Benjamin Fisz. The film documents the events of the Battle of Britain. The film drew many respected British actors to accept roles as key figures of the battle, including Laurence Olivier as Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, Trevor Howard as Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, and Patrick Wymark as Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Air Officer commanding No. 12 Group RAF. It also starred Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer, and Robert Shaw as Squadron Leaders. The script by James Kennaway and Wilfred Greatorex was based on the book The Narrow Margin by Derek Wood and Derek Dempster.


Hurricanes, which outnumbered Spitfires during the battle, had not fared so well after the war. The Ministry of Defence could supply just three, only one of which could fly. Manufacturer Hawker Siddeley provided another, and one was flown in from Canada, disassembled, aboard an RAF C-130. The sixth, a rare Sea Hurricane Ib, could taxi but tended to overheat in the air.


The Battle of Britain is a classic movie about one of the key battles of World War 2. It stands up there with the epics The Longest Day, Tora,Tora, Tora and a Bridge Too Far. The all-star cast has well known and lesser known English, Canadian, German and others actors who play their roles well. The movie does a good job of portaying both sides of the battle. The special effects and the air battles hold up well after well over 30 years. The criticisms that people have to me are quite unfair. As for charcter development, the movie is about the battle, much like the Longest Day was and there was no time to develop that part of the movie because it focused on the entirety of the battle. Also this is not like Cross of Iron that someone compared it to. Cross of Iron was a fictious story, while this is done in semi-docudrama style.It is an unfair comparison.


I have found this a similar oddity for many excellent films of war. This is one film that more than adequately stands the test of time and I would absolutely love to see a wide-screen DVD version of it offered. Although it helps to have an understanding of war in general, and in particular the second world war and the actual battle of britain, one can be ignorant of those facts and still come away well entertained. It is a wonderfully produced film, acted with talent and grace by a cast of performers who are now legendary. The sets, costumes and musical score are wonderful and perfectly compliment the cinematography. If I can find a copy I am going to add it to my library.


To find out more i recommend battle of britain the movie by Robert Rudhall it is afine book a little out of date but goes to show the current warbird community would have been far poorer without it (ignoring Duxfords hangar though).


Even after 40 years, I still think B of B has got to be one of the best flying films ever made. For me, the little things made the biggest impression. Canfield's dog looking for his master, and the empty chairs and the deadly hush in the Luftwaffe mess showed a whole new generation (mine) what it costs to fight a battle. 041b061a72


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