The Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain (1969)

Director: Guy Hamilton. Produced by Harry Saltzman. Screenplay: Wilfred Greatorex & James Kennaway from Derek Dempster and Derek Wood's book "The Narrow Margin". Starring: Michael Caine, Ian McShane, Sir Laurence Olivier, Christopher Plummer, Sir Ralph Richardson, Susannah York, Edward Fox, amongst many....

     Summary: In 1940 one nation stood alone against the Nazi War machine and one aerial battle would decide provide a turning point in history.... For more go to www.imdb.com

Impressions of the Movie

     Truly one of the most remarkable war movies ever made Harry Saltzman's "The Battle of Britain" was made in 1969. Remarkable in that its production crew included technical input from no less than eleven military pilots most of whom actually fought in the battle. These names include Sir Douglas Bader, Robert Stanford-Tuck and Adolf Galland. Twenty-seven Spitfires, six Hurricanes, fifty Bf-109's, thirty-two Heinkel He-111 bombers and two Junkers Ju-52 transport planes were used in the production. Pre-computer generated graphic (CGI) special effects, this movie represents the most realistic portrayal of aerial combat ever committed to film. Every effort was made to make the portrayal as authentic as possible. Indeed, no expense was spared. If real aircraft weren't available then radio-controlled models were used. Many scenes in the movie are portraying real events. Most characters are based upon actual participants. This movie is more drama-documentary than war movie.

     So, what is so great about this movie? Firstly it is a very British movie about a very British legend. It is a classic war movie in a very traditional sense. This is no anti-war movie with graphic portrayals of horror. That is not what this movie is trying to do. It is trying to tell the whole story. At the same time, it does not glorify the events. The feel of the film is not triumphant - it is moody. There is an air of foreboding. You will see pilots shot, burnt and trapped alive in falling planes. You will see the rows of dead at British aerodromes. You will see exhausted pilots fall from their planes in tears at the sudden death of a comrade. You will watch the quiet the befalls the German pilots as, one by one, their comrades don't come home.

     The tragedy of war is all there. But we are not allowed to dwell upon it. Here was a nation and empire on the edge of an abyss. With Britain out of the war there would have been no second front. No Allied assault on the Reich from the Air. No D-Day. The US may well have stayed out of the European war entirely (they didn't enter until 1941 remember). The Nazi's would have had full reign over the British Empire and turned those resources against Russia. The Battle of Britain may well have been a side-show in comparison to the Great Patriotic War. However, without this one titanic struggle the world would have been a very different place. Even if Stalin had finally overcome Hitler - say, by 1947, the entire of Europe and the British, French and other European Empires would all have fallen under Soviet control. True global domination. No cold war. Game over. The US completely isolated.

     In fact it is hard to imagine a World in which the British did not win the Battle of Britain. Around it all other world events hinged. The Battle became a legend before it had finished. There were many more battles to come but few had been so pivotal and so dependent upon so FEW combatants. This story has it all. The planes were legendary. Their pilots heroes. What heroes do we have these days? Footballer's? C'mon!

     This movie tells a very important story in a compassionate and even-handed way. The Germans feature as much as the Commonwealth pilots. This is not some 'good-versus-evil' fable. Nothing is clear cut. Each young man had his mission. There are no appeals to patriotism in this movie. However, it still doesn't fail to stir the senses. How could so few make so a big difference? We all live in the shadow of this story.

     Even if you put the enormity of the tale to one side you still end up with a rip-roaring story. You simply couldn't make this stuff up. You get to see the working class pilots rub shoulders with the traditional stereotypical public-schoolboy RAF pilot. You see how enthusiastic the young German Pilots were as they started the battle. Then you see them as they die, one by one, until their Commanders blame them for defeat.

     The movie starts with one young (and very green) RAF pilot being taught how to fight by his Commander. By the end of the battle that same boy is a man and telling his young men how to fight and survive. His previous Commander is dead. It almost feels like you were there. Young pilots vomiting from the nerves of waiting for battle. Families torn asunder as one pilot finds his wife and children killed by a German bomb. How can this not be moving?

     Even if it doesn't move you through story telling then there is no denying that this movie has one of the best music scores you will ever hear. The sequence known as "Battle in the Air" plays WITHOUT sound effects and ONLY to Sir William Walton's score. The most moving combat sequence in any movie ever. Hands down, the finest war movie ever made.