Battle of Britain (1969)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Guy Hamilton

Writers:

James Kennaway (screenplay) and
Wilfred Greatorex (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

24 October 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | History | War

Plot:

In 1940, the British Royal Air Force fights a desperate battle vs. the Nazi Germany Air Force for control of British air space to prevent a Nazi invasion of Britain.

Plot Keywords:

Luftwaffe | Nazi | 1940s | Bomber | Bomb

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award.

Cast

Harry Andrews	...	Senior civil servant
Michael Caine	...	Squadron Leader Canfield
Trevor Howard	...	Air Vice Marshal Keith Park
Curd Jürgens	...	Baron von Richter (as Curt Jurgens)
Ian McShane	...	Sgt. Pilot Andy
Kenneth More	...	Group Capt. Baker
Laurence Olivier	...	Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding
Nigel Patrick	...	Group Capt. Hope
Christopher Plummer	...	Squadron Leader Colin Harvey
Michael Redgrave	...	Air Vice Marshal Evill
Ralph Richardson	...	Sir David Kelly (British minister to Switzerland)
Robert Shaw	...	Squadron Leader Skipper
Patrick Wymark	...	Air Vice Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory
Susannah York	...	Section Officer Maggie Harvey
Michael Bates	...	Warrant Officer Warwick

Also Known As:

The Battle of Britain (USA) (DVD title)

Runtime:

133 min | UK:151 min (original version)

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German | Polish | French

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Brazil:12 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1969) | Singapore:PG | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | West Germany:12 | Argentina:Atp | Canada:G | USA:G | Iceland:L

Filming Locations:

Bentley Priory, Middlesex, England, UK

Company:

Spitfire Productions

Trivia:

Towards the end of the film, a British Spitfire flyer shoots down a German bomber, which then falls over central London before crashing into a railway station. This actually happened, (although the fighter used in the real incident was a Hurricane, not a Spitfire and the bomber was a Dornier Do17 rather than a Heinkel 111). The RAF pilot didn't shoot the bomber down, though; he had run out of ammo when he spotted the bomber apparently trying to attack Buckingham Palace. In desperation, he rammed the bomber, taking off the tailplane. The fuselage then crashed into Victoria Station. Incredibly, he managed to parachute to safety. His own plane rammed into the ground at 350 mph. It was buried so deep that the authorities just left it there. In May 2004 the former RAF pilot was on hand as the remains of his aircraft were unearthed to make way for a new water main. Remarkably, part of the incident was captured on film, the tailplane fluttering down and the fuselage section (minus the wings outboard of the engines, which were torn off by aerodynamic forces) plummeting towards the ground.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: (At 01:30) A Polish flight of Hurricanes is flying in formation with Messerschmitt 109s (the 109s at the rear). The 109s can be easily distinguished from the Hurricanes by their tailplane struts.

Quotes:

Squadron Leader Colin Harvey: I'll give you a piece of advice: stay single.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The 100 Greatest War Films (2005) (TV)

A Historic event recreated with skill and wit.

Perhaps not many new viewers of this gigantic recreation are aware of the fact that this movie was filmed almost 30 years after the actual events took place.

The efforts to put History on screen were huge. Everything in this account of the facts, comes directly from those who were actually involved in it: from the British and German fighter aces to private Londoners, they all contributed to make this not just another "war movie", but rather a dramatized documentary with accurate precision.

This by no means signifies that it is just that. The sky battles were very carefully choreographed, in accordance to rules of combat, which were followed in the 1940s. Some planes were flown by the same veterans, so that when you see a Messerschmitt Bf-109 followed by Spitfire Mk 1, you know it's for real.

The technical efforts were immense and although the Messerschmitts have reworked engines and even the Heinkel He.111s have different aerials and engine specs, because they were updated by the Spanish Air Force for later use after World War Two, the difference is barely noticeable when one watches one of those spectacular aerial battles.

On the whole, this is a history lesson about how a people, isolated from the rest of the world, and in a minority position, withstood the overwhelming crushing machine of the Axis: the Luftwaffe.

More than a movie, this is a celebration to those brave people, both civilian and military, who did commit themselves against all odds, to resist and fight back a very aggressive and dangerous enemy.

This, together with "The Longest Day", "Sink the Bismarck!", "Tora! Tora! Tora!" and "A Bridge Too Far" is one of those rare examples to make history come to life again and should be considered as didactic material for schools.

An excellent multi-national cast and a skillful direction, make this a masterpiece of its genre.