Posted on 03/14/2025 3:08:51 PM PDT by buwaya
The classic film, "Battle of Britain", from 1969. This is a vastly intelligent movie, presenting a complex military-political situation with endless nuance - while at the same time being a superlative action movie. And an episodic tragedy. It simply hasn't been done better, not discounting the various "War and Peace" productions.
Among other things you see here the outlook of the European postwar, along with it the case for NATO, presented with utter clarity.
It is a whole world view distilled in two hours.
I’m pretty sure we saw that when I was a kid. There were graphic scenes of RAF dogfights. Too much for a 6-year-old.
A good flick. Michael Caine is killed off too early and Susannah York was a true English beauty.
Good luck with your health. Prayers.
Thanks man.
I saw it in theatre when it came out. It was mostly panned by the critics but I loved it. There are scenes like when the RAF fighters are taking off to go into battle that move me like very few war films do.
“From spring chicken to shitehawk in one easy lesson.”
“Takatakatakataka…”
Stupid critics. Well, that is a recurring comment.
Repeat please.
Saw it in the military 1969. Excellent movie! Now got a DVD copy of it. Still an intelligent movie but not by TODAY’S standards. No Spandex clad superheros coming in to save the day.
The Luftwaffe Me-109s, Ju-52, and He-111’s in this movie were retired versions from the Spanish Air Force.
The Me-109’s are actually Spanish HA-1112-M1L Buchóns with a 1,600 hp Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. A version of the Rolls-Royce Merlin engine was used in the Spitfire, P-51, Mosquito, Hurricane, Lancaster, Boulton Paul Defiant, and Fairey Battle.
The He-111s were actually Spanish built CASA 2.111 bombers with a Rolls-Royce Merlin engine. One of these planes used in this movie was displayed at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, TX until it closed last year. The museums aircraft are currently in storage. Plans are for this museum to reopen at the Denton airport but nothing has been announced about this yet. See this plane in this link:
https://vintageaviationnews.com/warbirds-news/cavanaughs-casa-2-111-on-the-move.html
The Ju-52 is a Spanish built CASA 352 with Rolls-Royce Merlin engines.
Excellent movie which I’ve seen before, but will be happy to watch again. Best of all, Monty Python and the Holy Grail is free with ads.
There were a lot of technical people involved, so a number of interesting articles have been written by eyewitnesses. If those "Messerschmitts" and "Heinkels" looked really, REALLY low when flying low passes, that is because the Spanish Air Force pilots flying them were both good and willing to show everyone else how you did "low."
bkmk
It’s too bad they didn’t have any JU-88’s in the film. That was a beautiful plane.
Ian Mcshane and Edward fox, yeah that movie was star studded. I saw it in the theater when it came out. My parents took me, I think I was 7
Worse than the fate of Edward Albert (Jr) in the film “Midway”?
I am blown away by the way this thing teases out the critical parts of the “big picture” with what seem like throwaway lines - see the meeting between Ribbentrop and the British ambassador, its chock full of what we can only call bitter ironies. Have you heard people speaking like that? Yes you have. The neat implication that Churchill was a drunk for instance.
Hitler being outraged that the British were doing unto them what they had been busy doing, all along, unto everyone else, etc. The sacrificial nature of war, all repeated ad infinitum. Men go to die knowing they will die. Service and inter-allied rivalries/suspicions described in some detail, while the “big picture” shows the pettiness of it.
And on and on throughout. This flick is deep, but its all embedded in the story and the action.
And, moreover, knowing that ALL this has shown up elsewhere, over and over, IRL, to this day. I guess for that one needs to have been around a bit.
Very good movie.
Repeat please.
“Niemcy!”
And of course, panning shots with a bit of “official” commentary. As a comment on officialdom? Of course. They did that a fair bit in 1969.
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