Film Review
With its star-studded cast and a budget of 12 million dollars, this epic
account of one of the most important chapters in British military
history deserves to be a great film and a fitting tribute to those few
who did so much for their country with so little (or words to that
effect). And indeed
Battle
of Britain has some impressive moments - the action sequences
are spectacular even by the standards of a blockbuster production - but
the film falls short of its potential. With so much going on and
such a big story to tell in such a limited space, there is little space
for character development, so it isn't surprising that most of the
protagonists in this monumental drama are little more than crude
ciphers whilst some (notably the Germans) are blatant caricatures
(including an Adolf Hitler who looks like he was left over from a bad
Monty Python sketch).
The film would have been a challenge for any director and Guy Hamilton
makes a reasonable stab at it, although he is not as successful here as
he was with his previous wartime drama,
The Colditz Story (1955).
It is the scale of undertaking that clearly overwhelmed Hamilton.
He had already demonstrated, in his work on
Goldfinger
(1964), the most highly rated of the James Bond movies, a flair for
action-adventure and it is the action sequences in
Battle of Britain where he is most
inspired. Elsewhere, the director has difficulty getting the best
out of his battalion of iconic screen actors and only just manages to
put together a coherent narrative.
What saves
Battle of Britain
and makes it a classic of its genre are the authentic recreations of the air
battles, which were shot with the last surviving Spitfires, piloted by
veteran flyers. Not only are these sequences utterly
gripping, providing an unflinching portrait of aerial combat, but they
are also beautifully composed - there is a balletic poetry about them,
which is heightened by a piece of music that Sir William Walton
composed especially for the film.
The German attack on London is also stunningly realised and provides
the film with some of its most poignant and harrowing scenes.
These startling images serve as an effective reminder of how
spectacularly close to defeat Britain came during WWII and how the
courage and initiative of a few brave souls managed to repel
an over-confident invader and, in doing so, change the course of the
war. If this film helps to preserve the memory of this event, it
will have done its job.
© James Travers 2009
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Next Guy Hamilton film:
Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
Film Synopsis
In the spring of 1940, British fighter pilots are waging a losing
battle against the Nazis in continental Europe. Seeing that the
fall of France to Germany is inevitable, Air Chief Marshal Dowding
advises the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to withdraw all
RAF fighters and prepare for a German attack on mainland Britain.
When the British reject a barbed peace offering from the Germans, it is
not long before the Luftwaffe are pounding the southeast of England
with a series of aerial bombardments intended to obliterate the
country's air defences ahead of a full-scale invasion. The
British reaction is swift, but light air strikes on Berlin merely
provoke the Nazis into changing their strategy and launching an all-out
attack on London. This proves to be a costly error. The
German military may have accurately assessed the strength of the
British air force, but they have severely underestimated the
resourcefulness and resilience of their opponents...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.