Cheap Battle of Britain [Region 2] (DVD) (Guy Hamilton) Price

Related Products

Customer Reviews of Battle of Britain [Region 2]

An enduring version of a great tale
The Battle of Britain was one of the most pivotal historical events of the last century, when an outnumbered few held off the largest military juggernaut of the time. Being a serious history buff of the era, I believe this film captures the essentials in a very compelling way. One can always quibble over details, but the direction, acting, and action sequences are the best possible at the time of its production. Most compelling to me is Sir Laurence Olivier's riveting depiction of Air Chief Marshal Dowding, an ascetic stuffy personality that is credited with the grand air strategy that won the battle. No grandstanding here.. a very honest portrayal. <
> <
>Where the film falls short is understandably in the effects department. The air combat sequences lack the kind of cohesive realism of later films, but the storytelling is solid and the musical score makes all the difference. In the hands of a Steven Spielberg with today's visual technology, the sequences would be far more compelling, but for the period, they were the best that one could expect. <
> <
>In the making of the film, the limited ability of special effects at that time made the filmmakers crash and destroy numerous WW2 aircraft during production to achieve realism. Today, such aircraft are nearly priceless and noone would think of destroying any during the production of a film. The fate of numerous Heinkel 111's that met their end in crash sequences would never be repeated today. But even at the time of production, genuine ME-109E's of that period were unobtainable and the filmmakers had to rely on a fleet of Spanish post-WW2 109's for the sequences. Only a historical nitpicker would notice as I did, but in nearly every other historical respect, they got it right. <
> <
>Being a fan of WW2 films, this is one of the best ever despite its age. Unlike most other WW2 films of the time, this one still sparkles through great acting and storytelling.

Great Piece of History
This movie is the true story of one of the turning points in world history. Outnumbered by at least four to one, RAF pilots from UK, the Commonwealth, USA, France,and Poland, volunteers to a man, took on the mighty undefeated Luftwaffe and fought them to a standstill. <
>As Churchill said at the start of the Battle of Britain "Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization......If we should fail, then the whole world will sink into the abyss of a New Dark Age!" <
>Apart from the emotional bit, it's a bloody good movie. <
>Buy it and enjoy