Battle of Britain (RPKG/DVD)

During a 15-year period (1962-1977), the all-star cast recreation of major World War II battles was an expensive sub-genre of the action-adventure/war film category. Undoubtedly spurred by the success of 20th Century-Fox's 1962 mega hit The Longest Day and ending, ironically, with 1977's well-intentioned but widely ignored A Bridge Too Far, the "big cast, big budget" war epics ranged from excellent (The Longest Day, The Great Escape), decent (Tora! Tora! Tora! and A Bridge Too Far), all the way down to dismal (1966's Battle of the Bulge, 1976's Midway). Not only did the law of diminishing returns apply here (as it did with the countless Star Wars knock-offs that hit the silver screen soon after that film became a cultural force to be reckoned with), but the then-ongoing war in Vietnam soured audiences on any film that was in any way favorable to the military.Nevertheless, the big-name war epic was embraced by many countries that had participated in World War II, and one of the United Kingdom's biggest contributions was, naturally, 1969's The Battle of Britain, a spectacular if rather uneven mix of historical recreation and fictionalized melodrama that commemorates the decisive defeat of the German air force (Luftwaffe) by the outnumbered fighter pilots of the Royal Air Force in the summer of 1940.The movie, directed by Guy Hamilton (who later would be briefly connected with the struggles to bring Superman: The Movie to take flight but was better known for directing a James Bond flick or two), has many things in its favor. First, it's fast paced -- considering it covers a five-month period (May to September 1940) -- and has a running time of two hours and 12 minutes. Second, it boasts some of the best aerial photography ever filmed, employing as many airworthy vintage aircraft that producers Harry Saltzman and S. Benjamin Fisz could acquire (mostly Hurricanes, Spitfires, Heinkel 111 bombers and Messerchmitt Bf 109s). Third, it has a stirring and memorable score by Sir William Walton, with its two dueling themes of a Germanic martial march and the soaring victorious RAF fanfare underscoring the beautifully choreographed aerial battles. Fourth, it has a stellar cast of mostly British stars of the 1960s, including Harry Andrews, Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Curt Jurgens, Laurence Olivier, Christopher Plummer, Ralph Richardson, Robert Shaw, and Susannah York. Finally, Hamilton and his production team shot the film on location in France and the British Isles, attempting -- and mostly succeeding -- to get the period details just right.Nevertheless, in trying to give the audience both a history lesson and some human interest drama by delving a bit into the personal lives of the airmen, the screenplay by James Kennaway and Wilfred Greatorex seesaws wildly from war documentary (albeit in color) to soap opera dramatics (namely the conjugal conflicts between Canadian squadron commander Plummer and his WAF wife York). Also, the fact that this sort of war epic doesn't rely on a single "lead" to carry the picture but instead scatters its cast in small vignettes on and off the field of battle (or, in this case, in and out of the cockpits) doesn't give the audience a single hero to identify with or follow throughout the whole movie.Although some of my fellow reviewers have pointed out that The Battle of Britain's complement of aircraft is limited to five types of live-action aircraft (Hurricanes and Spits for the RAF, He-111s, Bf-109s and two Ju-52 transports for the Luftwaffe), choosing to depict the Ju-87 Stukas with model photography and ignoring the twin-engine Messerchmitt Bf 110 fighter and the Ju-88 medium bomber, I can perhaps live with that, realizing that there might not have been any of those in flyable condition in 1969. Maybe if the film had been shot in the 21st Century with CGI special effects (as in the horrible Michael Bay effort, Pearl Harbor), this "oversight" would have been unforgivable, but considering how vastly different the miniature photography scenes would have looked in contrast to the breathtaking live action aerial footage, it was wise that the producers put their budget where it counted. I -- in contrast to more accuracy-minded folks -- don't penalize the producers for using various variants of aircraft to stand in for their 1940 forbears. Nor do I find fault with the now outdated visual effects; yes, some of the explosions (particularly of crashing planes and the big bombing raid on London at night) look cartoony, but, again, this film was made in 1969, not 2004...or even 1999.The MGM 2003 DVD release is a bit lacking in the critical areas of sound (it's okay but not exactly earthshaking) and extra features, since the only such offering is the original theatrical trailer. Heck, it doesn't even bring a chapter list or one of those trivia-filled booklets such as those in the MGM Home Entertainment DVDs of The Great Escape and A Bridge Too Far. Nevertheless, its restoration to widescreen places The Battle of Britain's DVD version head and shoulders above the fullscreen VHS videotape edition.

Finally!They got it right this time!The movie runs at 132 minutes, not at 176 as stated on Amazon.com page.But this must have been a typo,... can happen to anybody...However, the High Definition transfer is perfect in every aspect. I can tell since I have a 16:9 Sharp Aquos TV Screen connected to a Sony Digital Multichannel DVD player.The reproduction is far superior from what we had in movie theaters, when this movie was originally shown.Sharp images, vivid but not overbearing color and a perfect copy of the movie was used, hence this is the version (Collector's Edition) that any serious collector should have.Concerning sound, the improvement over the previous version, which was only in plain Mono, into a full blown Dolby Digital 5.1 sound is considerable.The Center Channel is well defined, even during action scenes, allowing dialogues to be heard even during explosions and the musical commentary.Basses are evenly distributed and are never overbearing. I own 5 JB Lansing speakers for the main sound reproduction, plus four Yamaha satellite speakers for lateral surround reproduction and I can guarantee that the surround effects are highly effective.The musical soundtrack alone is something to witness, in order to believe how much work went into this version.Think about it. With this version you not only get the original Ron Goodwin score delivered with the movie, as it was when originally released, but you also get the full original score as composed by Sir William Walton, as an alternatively scored movie version.Since this version comes with two DVDs, it is well worth mentioning that the second DVD is filled with extras such as "Battle for The Battle of Britain" documentary, filmed at the time when production was underway and commented by Actor Michael Caine, which is highly informative about the difficulties that had to be overcome in order to film this spectacular movie, 3 new Featurettes called "Authenticity in the Air", "A Film for the Few" and "Recollections of an RAF Squadron Leader", which help to better understand the technical aspects of the film.To end it, you get an animated photo gallery called "Images form the Sky".On disc one, you also get a full commentary track, a very interesting one at that, with the director, Guy Hamilton, the aerial sequence director Bernard Williams and Historian Paul Annette.If you are not a fan of Dolby Surround Tracks, or if you don't own a home theatre arrangement, you also get the original Mono soundtrack, which is very helpful if watching this movie on a small, or portable TV set. This Track also has a very good sound resolution.This is a classic war movie. It does not judge the events. Just like "Tora! Tora! Tora!" it attempts to tell the events as they happened, just adding a few small dramatic interpersonal moments to add dramatic license to it.For those interested in historical events of World War II, this may have better been completed with at least one period documentary, such as the Frank Capra's documentary of the same name: "Battle of Britain", which contains actual footage of that mythical battle in the skies of Britain in 1940.But as we all know, we cannot get everything, just because we want it.Be it enough to say, that this is a movie you will never get again in this form.Just think that the producers assembled as many real "period" aircraft as they could get their hands on and made them actually fly again.Many of these planes were actually flown by some RAF and Luftwaffe Aces, who actually DID participate in the Battle of Britain, hence knowing how to reproduce the exact maneuvers they performed in the air during the war.Moreover, you get to watch the cream of the cream of British actors of the time. From Ralph Richardson to Robert Shaw and from Kenneth More to Laurence Olivier. You also get Christopher Plummer, Trevor Howard, Susannah York, Curt Juergens and Michael Caine.They might make a new version of this, but all you will have is probably a bunch of CGI recreated aircraft flying virtually and you probably will miss out on the legendary performances of the above mentioned cast members.I don't know if there ever will be an "ultimate" version of this movie, but this "Collector's Edition" is what probably comes closer to it than any other version I have ever watched before, including the original theatrical release.In my personal view this is a "must buy". Even though the price may appear to be a bit steep, consider how much work went into the production of this 2-DVD set and you will see that it is money well spent.Now you can throw away your old VHS tape indeed.

The Battle of Britain was released in 1969 during a period of classic war films that you just don’t see today. It was made when there were still ample supplies of World War II equipment to make the film more realistic. Hence there are plenty of British Hurricane and Spitfire fighters and also German BF109 fighters and HE111 bombers from Spain by the way that appear throughout the movie. In total around 100 planes were found and used showing the scope of the battles that were filmed.It also featured an all-star cast like many of its contemporaries. That included Laurence Olivier as Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding the commander of the Royal Air Force, Trevor Howard as Vice Air Marshall Sir Keith Park, Christopher Plummer as Squadron Leader Colin Harvey, Michael Caine as Squadron Leader Canfield, Robert Shaw as Squadron Leader Skipper, Ian McShane as Sergeant Andy Moore, Curd Jurgens as Maximillian Baron von Richter, amongst others.The heart of the movie is the air combat scenes and there are plenty of them. The use of period planes makes most of these scenes great. The film also covers the British air command so you get a sense of the overall fight not just the dog fights between individual planes. The costs are shown as well such as after the first German bombing of a British air field the bodies of women personnel are shown. Later Ian McShane loses his family during the strikes on London. The attrition is also portrayed as one of the rookie pilots becomes a group commander and takes on two pilots right out of school because all of his friends had been killed.Overall, this is one of the great war movies of its time. There are huge battles that are spectacular, and it does the general history well.C

Battle of Britain's (henceforth BoB) premise should be self-explanatory by now of course yet the cinematic flair, scale and technical accomplishment it peerlessly exerts cannot be overstated. BoB is sheer spectacle on an unparalleled level of which, given the inevitable increasing scarcity in period accurate/serviceable aircraft, would be impossible to mount today. At least not without the incorporation of copious amounts of immersion-breaking CGI.And BoB gets so much right. An insatiably stirring yet rarely intrusive (or overly nauseating) patriotic tone. An iconic, infectiously chest-thumping orchestral score by the inestimable Ron Goodwin. A good balance between documentary and drama. Germans conversing in their native language (rare for Anglo/American war films of the period) for added authenticity. The meticulous, extensive sourcing of period accurate aircraft and the considerable expense afforded making many of these ageing antiques airworthy (although plane buffs will always lament the aesthetical period inaccuracies with the 'ME109's' and 'Heinkel 111's' depicted in the film of which had been procured from the Spanish Airforce!) is both an incredible and unsurpassed achievement.Uniforms too seem to have been afforded near-unrivalled research and attention to detail scarcely seen in WW2 films of the period. The most impressive for me though was a barely 5 second shot at the very beginning of the film of some German labourers clearing war debris in the background. You can barely make it out (even on Blu Ray) but instead of generic 'feldgrau' Wehrmacht uniforms (as one might expect) they correctly sport 'Organisation Todt' armbands and khaki uniforms ('Todt was the German engineering corps). You almost [i]never[/i] see 'Todt represented in war films. Now that's attention to detail!For all it's technical prowess and masterful attention to detail though BoB has garnered some moderate criticism over the years for various historical misdemeanours. Arguably the worst of these is it's depiction of the Luftwaffe bombing civilian targets first (albeit accidentally) before the RAF responds in kind. In truth it was the RAF who initiated bombing civilian targets and whilst this 'flip' is understandable from an artistic/narrational perspective, it's nevertheless a deliberate misrepresentation of historical fact that's rightly contested.Other, more minor accuracy issues become quickly apparent too and BoB, like the vast majority of its contemporaries, sadly neglects styling female characters hair in appropriate 40's fashions (the lead female character: Section Officer Harvey - played by Susannah York sports a distractingly anachronistic 60's 'bob' cut for example) nor stick a then common moustache on most of the clean-shaven British male characters. BoB further accedes to cliche by opting for established famous British actors to portray the bulk of "the few" despite most of them being visibly much older than the average RAF pilot in 1940. These are ultimately trivial gripes though.All that said it almost seems heretical to chastise 'Battle of Britain' for such quibble-like shortcomings given its incomparable technical triumphs, compelling story and mesmeric visual splendour.A true classic and a truly remarkable achievement.

It’s very disappointing that there has been no restoration done to the title whatsoever. This looks to have been lifted from the DVD version without any attempt to clean up the picture or sound. As a result this offering is certainly not worth the money. It is sad as the film was originally well done and a joy to watch in the original cinema version. I can still remember seeing it for the first time 50 years ago. The subject matter is important and tells a story of the heroic pilots who’s valour staved off Hitler’s planned invasion. As such it would be great if it could be restored to it’s original glory, BFI take note.

This was the first film that my Father took me to see at the cinema at RAF Cottesmore in 1969 when I was 9.He was in the Royal Air Force as I would later be.He had told me all about how the RAF outnumbered by the Germans held off the onslaught in 1940 which stopped them from invading.This Movie using actual aircraft (no CGI), filmed at actual BoB bases like Duxford, Biggin Hill, The cast are the best of British Lawrence Olivia, Michael Caine etc.The flying sequences are outstanding and true to life according to my Dad.This film is a must have for people who want to see what the BoB is all about how the FEW defended this country in our DARKEST HOUR.I have owned VHS. DVD and now BLU RAY which is the best of the bunch the picture is near perfect and the sound of the merlin engines through the new soundtrack gives me goosebumps.

Bought this because I no longer have a VHS player. The DVD was very poor quality, very grainy, hard to believe it was taken off a proper film version. The subtitles are also missing for the German-speaking parts as per the original movie. There is a subtitle feature call English Hard of Hearing which if enabled, puts enormous subtitles up over all the dialogue.

This is the best-ever movie made about the Battle of Britain, more comprehensive and informative than many documentaries whilst being hugely entertaining as a bonus. Made in 1968 before CGI was available, the vintage Spitfires & Hurricanes are real aircraft flown by RAF pilots. The Spanish-built Me109Es and Heinkel 111s borrowed from Franco's then-contemporary air force and flown by Spanish AF pilots look authentic; the stunt pilots also included 4 volunteers from the private `Confederate Air Force' in Texas. The fabulous aerial sequences filmed from a converted B25 camera plane and from a cameraman harness-suspended from a helicopter have a visceral quality never matched by CGI; you can almost smell the aviation fuel and feel the prop-wash from these classic aircraft.A generally intelligent script tells the story with historical accuracy, albeit with some occasional minor dramatic licence. The stellar cast reads like the Who's-Who of 1960s British and German cinema stars. Certain performances stand out: Lawrence Olivier studied Hugh Dowding's clipped accent & mannerisms and even dyed and styled his hair to closely match the retired Air Marshall, who was still alive in 1969. German stand-up comedian Hein Riess is a dead ringer for Hermann Goering, and plays his cameo role to comedic perfection. Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Curd Jurgens, Christopher Plummer, Susannah York, Robert Shaw, Kenneth More, and a host of other actors fill out the cast.The real stars though are the aircraft and balletic aerial sequences, notably a 5-minute scene late in the film with only William Walton's poignant orchestral score as a soundtrack. Though rivet-counting obsessives may object that the RR Merlin-engined Hispano Buchon is not a real Me109E, and that some of the Spitfires used in the background shots were later marques with 4 & 5-bladed props, the film is authentic enough to be more than credible and is an unforgettable cinematic experience.The DVD is in cinema aspect 2.35-1 so in letterbox format when played on a 16:9 widescreen TV: the right editorial decision, as it looks absolutely spectacular and nothing is cut from the original cinema image. The extras are great too: the film with voiceover commentary by director Guy Hamilton and other key members of the film crew is particularly fascinating, notably describing how the large bomber formations filmed in Spanish skies were edited into the close-up aerial dogfights filmed with far fewer aircraft over Duxford, and that many of the taxi-ing aircraft to be destroyed in ground attacks were constructed at Pinewood Studios and fitted with lawnmower engines. You also can choose to watch the entire film to William Walton's fabulous musical score, rather than just the bits edited into the original cinema release.BoB was released in 1969 to a cynical and war-weary western world following the USA's catastrophic venture in Vietnam. Like its essentially similar US contemporary `Tora Tora Tora' BoB did not do well at the box office, losing US$10 million on the investment at a time when public interest in WW2 was at a historic low. However, the film has worn the years well and remains a unique piece of cinematic history showcasing a hundred classic aircraft in spectacular 1960s Technicolor. The DVD is in every way perfect and if you have any interest in this vital moment in 20th century world history, buying it should be a no-brainer.