New "Battle Over Britain" movie to be released

[Pete Roberts]

Your post reminds me of another very good movie/doc, Bill, called ‘Danger Close’, about a small group of Aussie soldiers cornered in a rubber plantation by a very large group of Viet Cong at Long Tan during the Vietnam war. Worth a look, apparently quite faithfully follows fact, rare in these types of movies. One of the Hueys used to resupply has been preserved and is on display at the RAAF Museum at Point Cook. A lot of very brave men.

[CharmyDown]

On 11/29/2023 at 10:31 PM, Shoggz said:

Yes, my dad taking me to see the Battle of Britain when it came out is one of my most vivid early memories.

 

I remember being fascinated and a little troubled by the ‘tomato ketchup’ blood on the faces of airmen shot in the sky battles.

 

I also distinctly remember some kid sat near us saying to his own father in the midst of a dog-fight on the screen: “Who are the baddies and who are the goodies?” and my dad saying to me “in these sequences there are no goodies or baddies, there’s just young men doing a job”.. Something which stuck with me.

 

I also remember him being distinctly underwhelmed by the ‘romantic’ strand with Christopher Plummer and Susanah York.

 

[adopt Yorkshire accent] ”They should stick t’facts and the proper history, not make up lovey-dovey nonsense..”

I still have the glossy brochure from when I was taken by mum and dad to the premiere in Bristol, it's one of my most treasured possessions and memories.

The Hurricanes at the start are something else.

"You know what to do with the lame ducks"!

Superb! 

[Shoggz]

36 minutes ago, CharmyDown said:

I still have the glossy brochure from when I was taken by mum and dad to the premiere in Bristol, it's one of my most treasured possessions and memories.

The Hurricanes at the start are something else.

"You know what to do with the lame ducks"!

Superb! 

 

Yeah, those first ten or 15 minutes are just sublime.

 

The Hurricanes

The way they get across the awesome power of the advancing German forces and the, for want of a better word, 'cockiness' of the Luftwaffe staff and airmen.

The way the music comes in after 'The Battle of France is over, the Battle of Britain is about to begin'... I get goosebumps just thinking about it.

[Bill Cross]

On 12/11/2023 at 2:51 PM, Pete Roberts said:

Your post reminds me of another very good movie/doc, Bill, called ‘Danger Close’, about a small group of Aussie soldiers cornered in a rubber plantation by a very large group of Viet Cong at Long Tan during the Vietnam war. Worth a look, apparently quite faithfully follows fact, rare in these types of movies. One of the Hueys used to resupply has been preserved and is on display at the RAAF Museum at Point Cook. A lot of very brave men.

I will have to chase that one down, thanks for the suggestion. Foreign film companies are more-likely to take a chance on an oddball story than Hollywood.

[coogrfan]

 

The Great Patriotic War. There are heavy battles in the USSR, the German army is advancing. A unit of female pilots arrives in a mixed aviation regiment. All of them are young, unexploded and at first do not quite understand what war is. Girls have a hard time in a man's world, but day after day, in a series of air battles, they prove that they are no worse than men.

 

Thought this might be an appropriate place to drop this rather than create a new thread. I know the Russians aren't the most popular folks in the world right now (with good reason...), but I have to admit I'm intrigued.  

Edited December 13, 2023 by coogrfan

[Rick K]

On 11/27/2023 at 12:28 PM, Bill Cross said:

Looks promising, though it would have been more accurate to have them flying Hurries.

I've won many a bar bet that Hurricanes were the main RAF fighter for BOB.  Flew more and downed more Nazi a/c.

[JeepsGunsTanks]

57 minutes ago, Rick K said:

I've won many a bar bet that Hurricanes were the main RAF fighter for BOB.  Flew more and downed more Nazi a/c.

 

That was my disappointment with the Piece of Cake mini-series, they put them in Spits! 

[MikeC]

On 11/28/2023 at 2:40 PM, George said:

It's refreshing to see a new film on the Battle of Britain.  This film may not be a great film but it honors those who served and sacrificed.  

I disagree, I'm afraid: to honour something you need to get it right.

 

Although I have no problem with using the "wrong versions" - or even wrong types - of the aircraft.  When the Hurricane lands ("Sir! It's Air Vice Marshal Park!") nobody expects to see AVM Keith Park himself climb out, it's Trevor Howard, an actor playing the part.  Similarly, for the aeroplanes, we have CASA Merlin-engined Heinkels playing Battle of Britain variants, Spitfire IXs and PR 19s playing the part of BoB Spitfires: and of course they are in the "wrong" camouflage for their own era, but they are (like any actor playing a part) in costume.  Since I started thinking of it like that, it bothers me not one jot, unless they get it so hopelessly wrong that it;s the equivalent of a total mis-casting.

 

On 11/28/2023 at 2:12 PM, mozart said:

It’s tosh! 

 

Don't beat about the bush Max, tell us what you really think.

 

For myself, from what I've seen in this thread and elsewhere, I think I will pass on this, and get my DVD of one of the two really excellent Battle of Britain films off the shelf again.  The other one?  I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet - Angels One-Five.

 

[Pete Roberts]

7 hours ago, coogrfan said:

The Great Patriotic War. There are heavy battles in the USSR, the German army is advancing. A unit of female pilots arrives in a mixed aviation regiment. All of them are young, unexploded and at first do not quite understand what war is. Girls have a hard time in a man's world, but day after day, in a series of air battles, they prove that they are no worse than men.

 

Thought this might be an appropriate place to drop this rather than create a new thread. I know the Russians aren't the most popular folks in the world right now (with good reason...), but I have to admit I'm intrigued.  

 

Probably best they were ‘unexploded’…… 

[Bill Cross]

21 hours ago, Bill Cross said:

I will have to chase that one ["Danger Close"] down, thanks for the suggestion. Foreign film companies are more-likely to take a chance on an oddball story than Hollywood.

Found it streaming on Amazon, and while far from perfect, it has a sense of realism that's missing from other VN movies, including "We Were Soldiers". There are Hueys and Double Uglies, and you get a sense of how intensely motivated the NVA troops attacking the Aussies were. That's often overlooked: these folks were patriots fighting for what they believed was right.

[Iain]

Two major things about the 1960's Battle of Britain film that I think mean it will be very difficult for someone to better:

 

- Real aeroplanes, behaving like real aeroplanes and not someone's interpretation on CGI. I've been fortunate in recent years to have spent time in some quite large formations/flying with other aircraft and have observed at close quarter the way they move in relationship to each other, and it just looks *right* in the BofB film - because it is right... 

 

- It was made by/flown by/advised by people who were involved in the real battle. You can't do that now - that experience has gone.

 

As a teenager I used to (probably) rant a little about 'wrong mark', 'wrong type', 'wrong colours/markings' etc., etc. - but I now recognise the literal 'air force' they pulled together to make the film was something unique - and probably never to be repeated.

 

Sadly I was too young to remember (would have been in my pram at the time) - but we lived in Cambridge whilst they were flying/filming from nearby Duxford. Mum told me we'd be out on Midsummer Common (around corner from our house, near the Fort St George pub) watching Mahaddie's Air Force 'perform' overhead. Oh to have been a little older!!

 

Iain

[George]

On 12/13/2023 at 6:34 PM, JeepsGunsTanks said:

 

That was my disappointment with the Piece of Cake mini-series, they put them in Spits! 

The Piece of Cake novel aircraft were Hurricanes but the show was great!  I don't think the actual RAF fighter pilots who saw the series liked the way RAF fighter pilots were depicted in the series.

[George]

On 12/13/2023 at 11:10 PM, MikeC said:

I disagree, I'm afraid: to honour something you need to get it right.

 

Although I have no problem with using the "wrong versions" - or even wrong types - of the aircraft.  When the Hurricane lands ("Sir! It's Air Vice Marshal Park!") nobody expects to see AVM Keith Park himself climb out, it's Trevor Howard, an actor playing the part.  Similarly, for the aeroplanes, we have CASA Merlin-engined Heinkels playing Battle of Britain variants, Spitfire IXs and PR 19s playing the part of BoB Spitfires: and of course they are in the "wrong" camouflage for their own era, but they are (like any actor playing a part) in costume.  Since I started thinking of it like that, it bothers me not one jot, unless they get it so hopelessly wrong that it;s the equivalent of a total mis-casting.

 

 

Don't beat about the bush Max, tell us what you really think.

 

For myself, from what I've seen in this thread and elsewhere, I think I will pass on this, and get my DVD of one of the two really excellent Battle of Britain films off the shelf again.  The other one?  I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet - Angels One-Five.

 

Here's a clever version of the BoB using 1/72 models.  

 

[George]

On 12/5/2023 at 6:41 PM, JeepsGunsTanks said:

For flying war movies, I like the Battle of Britain, but it's gotta be the long version.  I also really enjoy "The Bridges at Toko-ri", with Holden and Grace Kelly, and "The Hunters" with Mitchum. 

 

A guilty pleasure is "Flight of the Intruder", and it is worth the time just for the great A-1 Skyraider work done by the Planes of Fame. 

Revell made 1/48 scale model of F9F Panther flown by LT Brubaker (William Holden) in The Bridges of Toko-ri.  Fisher made a 1/32 scale model of same F9F Panther if you want to drop $100 for it.  A more recent film about U.S. Navy pilots of the Korean War is Devotion.  Hobby Boss made an F4U Corsair with decal options for the lead pilots in the film.  You can also buy aftermarket decals for the VF-32 in 1/48 scale.

[Tony T]

On 12/14/2023 at 7:10 AM, MikeC said:

......

For myself, from what I've seen in this thread and elsewhere, I think I will pass on this, and get my DVD of one of the two really excellent Battle of Britain films off the shelf again.  The other one?  I don't think anyone has mentioned it yet - Angels One-Five.

 

 

Good old Tiger and Septic. 

IIRC there were some very dodgy special effects, but it was a marvelously human film with the actors playing "real people" drinking beer, smoking and sipping cocktails, with their insecurities and fears. I grew up amongst those people in the 1960s when they were a bit older and find Angels One-Five strangely nostalgic. 

 

My other favourite is Memphis Belle. 

 

Tony