Battle of Britain (1969)
Country: GB
Technical: col/scope 131m
Director: Guy Hamilton
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Robert Shaw, Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer, Kenneth More, Susannah York, Ian McShane
Synopsis:
Britain stands alone during the summer of 1940 against a concerted German air assault on its airfields. Outnumbered in planes by four to one and running out of pilots, it seems only a matter of time before air superiority over England is lost. Then the bombing raids suddenly turn their attention to the capital...
Review:
A celebrated production showcasing the best of British acting talent and subtitled Germans, together with an impressive display of extant war planes and plentiful aerial combat sequences. The downside of the multi-angled approach (fighter command, a couple of airbases, radar observation, the Germans across the Channel) is an inevitable watering down of the drama, not just in the sense of desperation as resources dwindle but in the rather token elements of personal tragedy that are granted screen time (York and Plummer's frustrated marriage, McShane's catastrophic bereavement). Ron Goodwin's intrusively militaristic score, replacing Walton's during post-production, is a double-edged sword, but at least five minutes of almost wordless footage is given over to showcasing the latter's Battle in the Air, a standout sequence in this unsatisfying picture.
Country: GB
Technical: col/scope 131m
Director: Guy Hamilton
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Robert Shaw, Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer, Kenneth More, Susannah York, Ian McShane
Synopsis:
Britain stands alone during the summer of 1940 against a concerted German air assault on its airfields. Outnumbered in planes by four to one and running out of pilots, it seems only a matter of time before air superiority over England is lost. Then the bombing raids suddenly turn their attention to the capital...
Review:
A celebrated production showcasing the best of British acting talent and subtitled Germans, together with an impressive display of extant war planes and plentiful aerial combat sequences. The downside of the multi-angled approach (fighter command, a couple of airbases, radar observation, the Germans across the Channel) is an inevitable watering down of the drama, not just in the sense of desperation as resources dwindle but in the rather token elements of personal tragedy that are granted screen time (York and Plummer's frustrated marriage, McShane's catastrophic bereavement). Ron Goodwin's intrusively militaristic score, replacing Walton's during post-production, is a double-edged sword, but at least five minutes of almost wordless footage is given over to showcasing the latter's Battle in the Air, a standout sequence in this unsatisfying picture.
Country: GB
Technical: col/scope 131m
Director: Guy Hamilton
Cast: Laurence Olivier, Robert Shaw, Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer, Kenneth More, Susannah York, Ian McShane
Synopsis:
Britain stands alone during the summer of 1940 against a concerted German air assault on its airfields. Outnumbered in planes by four to one and running out of pilots, it seems only a matter of time before air superiority over England is lost. Then the bombing raids suddenly turn their attention to the capital...
Review:
A celebrated production showcasing the best of British acting talent and subtitled Germans, together with an impressive display of extant war planes and plentiful aerial combat sequences. The downside of the multi-angled approach (fighter command, a couple of airbases, radar observation, the Germans across the Channel) is an inevitable watering down of the drama, not just in the sense of desperation as resources dwindle but in the rather token elements of personal tragedy that are granted screen time (York and Plummer's frustrated marriage, McShane's catastrophic bereavement). Ron Goodwin's intrusively militaristic score, replacing Walton's during post-production, is a double-edged sword, but at least five minutes of almost wordless footage is given over to showcasing the latter's Battle in the Air, a standout sequence in this unsatisfying picture.