Battle of Britain
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VHS Movie Reviews of Battle of Britain
Movie Review: Never was So Much Owed by So Many to So Few
Summary: 5 Stars
This was "the greatest air battle in history" when the outnumbered British RAF successfully fought off the superior German Luftwaffe in 1940 and prevented an invasion of England. Over 100 vintage aircraft were used to recreate this story. It starts in May 1940 France, the French are retreating, the Germans are advancing. British Hurricanes must be flown quickly to safety. Air Marshal Dowding asks that all fighter planes be kept in England for homeland defense. A peace offer is made to the British but this is refused. The film shows the need to train pilots quickly while the Germans attacked channel shipping. The British are trying to produce 100 aircraft per week. The Germans are bringing up boats for the planned invasion after the RAF was destroyed on the ground. [No mention of the British navy?]
German aircraft were designed for short-range tactical warfare. They would have only thirty minutes over England. British radar allowed an early warning and minimized their use of aircraft. The German attacks on the radar towers brought Spitfires in a counterattack. German Heinkels bombed British airfields to eliminate their defenders. The Germans believed they destroyed half of the British fighter planes. One Spitfire would attack a flight of bombers to break up their formation, then the others would pick off individual targets. The British shortage was in pilots, not fighters. The British bombed London. The Germans stopped bombing airfields and switched to bombing London. On September 7, 1940 the largest German air attack began on London. This was a surprise for the British, and fires spread. The film shows the effects. [Imagine 9/11 happening every week!] They gained pilots from the Polish, Czech, and Canadian groups. Sending German planes to bomb London put them at the limits of their range, and allowed the British to concentrate their fighters for maximum effect against the bombers. German fighters were sent to guard the bombers, but they failed to destroy the RAF. The day arrived when all British aircraft were committed, there was no reserves.
After a week the day arrived when there were no more German attacks. The German strategy had changed. "Never was so much owed by so many to so few." A few years later the British published books on the Ultra secret. We learned there was more to this story than the radar towers. The British could decipher the German codes and had an ultra-reliable source on their plans. Could this have been used to trick the Germans into bombing London and to spare the airfields? Or to convince the Germans that Britain had been neutralized and was no longer a threat? We know about "The Man Who Never Was", but not about the changed German strategy.
The parallel views of German activities show that the war was finally over, and a united Europe was possible in the future. This was not possible in the 1950s.
Movie Review: Outstanding Aerial footage and well acted.
Summary: 5 Stars
I have a particular affinity for this particular film having been brought up in the UK during the war, losing and Father and an Uncle in that war, coming to America and growing up further. I served the US Forces for 23 years. During that tenure I tried to live up to that of my ancestors. I can remember as a child the blackouts and running to the Bomb Shelter whilst the Luftwaffe flew overhead. I can remember one time my father shooting up into the sky with a pellet gun. Not that it helped much I suppose that it was a gesture of defiance. Or if anything a morale booster to the others about us.Movie Review: Original Battle of Britain?
Summary: 3 Stars
3 stars...otherwise five because of the end title music (when Sir Lawrence Olivier looked up in the sky outside of his office)...wasn't this originally a UA film?...the VHS was fine but, this DVD changed the end title music that isn't even from the Battle of Britain original movie soundtrack. The climax of the entire movie was that--and they blew it (It sent tingles up my spine). Are you listening MGM? Also Churchill's famous quote is curiously missing: "Never in the field of human conflict...etc. What is going on here? My original "feel good" memories of this movie are now ruined (I first saw this great flick in the local theater in 1969 when I was 18 years old).Movie Review: One of the best war movies I've ever seen
Summary: 5 Stars
...and I mean it. I've seen them all and I rarely label movies like this, but BoB deserves every bit of 5 stars and if I could give it more I would. The historical accuracy of the movie is amazing and the acting is better than some movies today. I saw this on TV once when I was a kid and couldn't find it locally, fortunately was able to buy it online and watch it again in the comfort of my own home, on DVD! Since then there was a Collectors Edition released, I would've bought that instead. But the original is still quite good. The soundtrack is very captivating. The HE-111 battles are accurate and quite fun to watch. Instead of focusing on one pilot throughout a battle, the movie places you in different planes and bombers from different angles, very cool technique and very fun to watch. Only downside was the occasional cheesy effect for plane explosions - not sure why they did this considering other effects were amazing, like the Spitfire crashing on beach. But not enough to take a star off, so we'll leave it as a 5 star beauty and a must see for any war fan.Movie Review: a great air battle movie,but too unfocused
Summary: 3 Stars
while this has some of the best air battles put on screen this movie is full of too many stars to keep track of the whole time so it leaves you cold! still the air battles are the best!!!!!