Battle of Britain
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VHS Movie Reviews of Battle of Britain
Movie Review: Historically accurate and great if you love airplanes!
Summary: 4 Stars
This movie is historically accurate, well acted and has some amazing flying scenes. Very real in many ways, especially the scenes of Spitfire's, Messerschmitt Bf 109's and Heinkel HE-111 German bombers where they are all actual aircraft, not the digital nonsense we tend to see today. The first three quarters have continuity and come together well if you have even a clue about the history of the Battle of Britain. The last quarter does tend to drift and was disappointing given the talent available to this movie. If you are a W.W.II airplane buff that enjoys reliving history then you have to own this movie. If you are looking for a movie with an exciting conclusion, you might be disappointed.
Movie Review: Fantastic For Widescreen, But Story Is Lacking
Summary: 3 Stars
If ever a film was made for widescreen photography this has to be it, as excellent panoramic scenes abound in this film. This new two-disc special edition DVD that was recently released finally gives this movie its visual due, so all can appreciate those ultra-wide scenes.
Those shots, and the airplanes, of course, were fun to look at. The more interested you are in either aviation or World War II, the more you going to like this film. There was also more action in here than I expected, almost too much of the same type of shots that got a little repetitive.
That, and the fact that the characters just didn't involve the viewer much are the downfalls of the film. There is a fairly big cast and we never really got to know any of these pilots. I thought the story was bit disjointed, too, and lacked suspense. Perhaps if I knew more about this part of the war, I would appreciate this more.
Note: My DVD said this was rated "G." How can that be? There were numerous swear words in here, certainly enough to qualify for a "PG."
All in all, a decent film but not one I'd watch numerous times. It just isn't as dramatic as it should be.
Movie Review: good movie. but not to be taken too seriously.
Summary: 4 Stars
Yeah its a good movie but its not historically accurate as the other reviewers want you to believe. The sound track is fantastic though and uplifting with poor jerry splattering blood. At face value Churchill's makes it like only the pilots matter and this makes little sense. There were thousands of people behind the scenes in a variety of roles that made the victory possible and luck was part of it. Movie Review: THE BATTLE TO KEEP ME AWAKE
Summary: 3 Stars
i love war movies..but usually there a cast that you care about..i didn't find it in this one..the story needs work..not putting the movie down its definitely worth a watch with its amazing aerial scenes..its too long and dull in some areas..and what up with the sub-titles in this flick Movie Review: Very well done film on an important part of history that we must remember
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie came out when those who fought World War II were middle aged to older men and women. It was nostalgic for them and informative for their children and now for their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. For my purposes, I do not care about the technical lapses or the different versions of the score or subtitles. Pick the version you prefer, and the restored collector's edition is certainly the best, but I urge you to see the movie and learn the broad outlines of a very important turning point in WWII.
Air battles are difficult for several reasons beyond all the historically accurate ones (which are fearsome in themselves). First, if you really show the air battle things get awfully impersonal. Who is doing what to whom in those specks in the sky? If you only show close-ups, you lose the majesty of the flying and the massed planes in battle. So, a very delicate balance has to be struck. This film succeeds wonderfully well at finding the right way to depict the personal and the impersonal in this kind of fighting.
You also have the difficulty of scale. The sky is a big place and planes, not matter how big or how many, can disappear up there. Yes, clouds are a necessary backdrop, but planes have to be shown close together when in fact they fly rather far apart. If you try to shoot them going across the screen, well, they move awfully fast unless you are far away, and then you have the scale problem again. Again, the battles here are exciting and at times breathtaking even in our age of fake CGI graphics that can do anything but often actually destroy the drama.
The other problem is differentiating the battles. You have the same planes that look pretty much the same from fight to fight, so how do you keep dramatic intensity? This film does a fine job by increasing the tension of certain events, while showing the wear and tear on the pilots whether veteran or newbie.
In my view, the film's greatest achievement is controlling the depiction of the general officers dealing with strategy and the real probability of defeat on the British side, the field officers, and the pilots. We get to see the great struggle in decision making and how it all translates to the life and often the death of young men struggling to fly too few aircraft against too many Germans. It is also stunning to see the way ordinary people down below are affected with the battle raging overhead. The scenes of the farmers watching planes and parachutes come down in their fields are wonderful. And the contrast of the pilots sitting in quiet with birds chirping so shortly after the noise, fire, and fury of air battle is quite intense and realistic. Their fatigue is also shown correctly. So many were simply flown until they died because their nation needed them. And they did what was needed of them. Heroes all.
I think the way the people are depicted is also very seriously done. No one is perfect. People make selfish and superficial decisions and they also deal with real personal horrors. Up in the air, the pilots on both sides are depicted as real people doing the job they were asked to do and struggling to stay alive. It doesn't matter which side you are on when you are trying to crawl or jump out of a burning plane that is trying to make you share in its death.
This is a part of history that must not be forgotten. That it doesn't focus one bit on Americans (who were not really in the war yet) should not free us from the obligation of remembering this. We need to do so for our own sakes.