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Summary: Loves the Hispano Buchon
Review: The Buchon is often called the Spanish 109, but was armored differently. It is a very good substitute and in The Battle of Britain this airplane was put through its paces. The Kalamazoo Air Zoo is in possession of a Buchon that took part in the filming of the above movie. It is a privilege to be able to watch this wonderful movie and know that we at the Air Zoo have a special tie.
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Summary: Never So Few - - Planes Given So Much
Review: Viewed this film again after seeing it in 1969. The tape was able to still capture the rich colors of the English coast and the song of the Spitfires. As a pilot it was interesting to see such attention to detail. The flight instruments were even correct. Yesterday, I was even able to touch one of the films Spitefires; like so many, it too is retired here in Florida. If you like airplanes and historical dramas this is your film.
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Summary: Best WWII flying sequences ever filmed
Review: The days when you could put a dozen airworthy Spitfires, and a bunch of Spanish 109s and HE 111s in the air to make a film are LONG gone. Not much of a plot/storyline, but the movie feels right and authentic due to the amazing flying/combat sequences that are unlikey to ever be bested on film. Great soundtrack too. The major characters of Dowding, Leigh-Mallory, Park, and Goering are very well acted and completely believable. The guy who played Goering is so realistic it's spooky.
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Summary: A concise, accurate, and real depiction of a great battle.
Review: I saw this movie for the first time as a child in the early 70s and fell in love with it then. In November 1998 I spent a week in England with two days in Dover (one in Calais, France across the channel), ground zero for the real battle. Since my trip I bought the video from Amazon and watch it many (!!!) times to appreciate where I was. It's amazing how accurate the movie is to locations, events, and weapons. A great aerial war movie.
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Summary: Excellent Telling Of England's "Finest Hour"
Review: The best part of this movie is the sound track and effects. The German Martial music is inspiring and the sounds the planes make in combat is superb. Nothing quite like a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine at full song!!Again the dialogue is lame -- can anyone make a good flying movie without dull dialogue and stupid cliches?? "12 O'Clock High" is still the best.
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Summary: If you like airplanes...
Review: ...then this is for you. Lovingly shot aerial sequences done with real WWII aircraft. They got the ME-109's from the SPanish Air-Force, and the Spits and Hurricanes from around the UK. If you like pistons and propellers, there are sonme great moments in store for you here! Some well-crafted performances as well from the then hot-list of British stardom.
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Summary: An excellent recreation of aerial combat.
Review: As a WWII buff, I love this movie. The production crew went to great lengths to find the necessary aircraft and film them in some very well choreographed combat sequences. Add to this a number of vignettes based on actual incidents such as Adolf Galland's famous reply to a patronizing question from Goering or the activation of the Polish Squadron and you've got a great WWII movie. There is one glaring weakness though. The characters and situations on the ground are not at all compelling. So, if you want drama go elsewhere. If you want Spitfires and 109's you have found them.
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Summary: Great movie!
Review: I saw this movie. It's about the most momentous battle since the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Like the Battle of Midway two years later, an inferior force, (the RAF), went up against a superior force, (the Luftwaffe). The Battle, like Stamford Bridge and Hastings, in 1066, was like the defense of Cenlac Hill by Harold's housecarls. This time, however, the the shield wall held. After the Battle of Britain, Winston Churchill said of the RAF, "Never in the field of human conflict, has so much been owed by so many to so few." END
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Summary: Best WW2 Air Combat Movie
Review: The "Battle of Britain" with Michael Caine has actually aged quite well, despite the nearly universal use of computer graphic imagery in today's movies. The film skillfully weaves real WW-2 vintage aircraft (Spitfires and Spanish-built He-111s) with models (mostly Stukas) to capture the close-quarters of 1940s air combat, so unlike today's pushbutton missile encounters. To their credit, the directors avoided jarring inserts of stock war footage. In contrast to the silly computerized air battles in the recent "Pearl Harbor," these planes don't zoom across the screen pulling 20-g turns like Lucas Arts star fighters. And thank God the Germans speak German. The battle scenes make the movie. The prime advantage of the DVD version is it allows the viewer to skip over the silly and disposable love-interest between Christopher Plummer and Julie Christie. This is a guy's movie, after all. Michael Caine is at his prime -who else can toss off a line like, "right - attacking now" with such British deadpan. The movie aptly captures the mood that the battle was, to quote Wellington's oft-repeated Waterloo comment, "a close-run thing."
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Summary: Perhaps the best aerial combat movie I've seen
Review: "Battle of Britain" starts with RAF pilots evacuating in France with the Germans in hot pursuit. The situation is grim, as the RAF are outnumbered nearly 4-1 and the Germans seem to be unstoppable. Despite this, the British continue a stiff upper lip and refuse to back down, and from then on must deal with constant German attacks and shortages in manpower - all real issues the RAF had to deal with back in this point in the war. Much of the storyline is told from different perspectives of the characters, some historical figures and some from the ranks of the front-line. It is much like the way they did the story in "A Night to Remember": there is no real main story, but different characters in different parts of the event having their own experiences. It works fairly well, with the exception of perhaps Christopher Plummer's and Susanna York's characters. It's not so much that it's a love story as much that it's never really resolved and therefore makes itself pointless - I don't want to give away any spoilers, but if you watch the film you'll know what I mean. Otherwise, the other characters and subplots don't get in the way of the story too much and serve to give you a perspective of what the war was like. The aerial combat scenes were - as I've already suggested in my title - completely astounding. The accuracy is very good, with Spitfires looking like Spitfires and Heinkels looking like Heinkels. The way they filmed the combat was well done, and I must give the cinematographer thumbs up for the beautiful shots of the sky backdropped against the planes. The point-of view from the cockpit was the best part of the film, especially a shot where you watch from cockpit-view as a Spitfire flies right over the edge of a Heinkel, nearly crashing into it. The DVD is a bit lacking, I'm afraid. As far as special features...I hope you like the theatrical trailer and watching the movie with French or Spanish subtitles. The theatrical trailer isn't worth you're time, unfortunately. It's a series of random images from the film with a narrator chanting, "Never before has a movie been done like this! Watch as planes zoom around and things fall down and go boom!" The movie itself looks and sounds good, and I suppose that's what really matters to most people. Still, I see a waste of potential. Despite this, I would definately suggest to my fellow war-film gurus that they pick up this movie. It is in the same breath of "Tora, Tora, Tora" and "A Bridge Too Far," and it doesn't fail.
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