The Battle of Britain [Blu-ray] [1969] [US Import] [Region A]

There is also the added bonus that the original sound score, by the great Sir William Walton has been added back into the film, making it all the more gripping, and incredibly moving.

Being an ex-soldier, and having seen action, I have a rough idea what war can be like. Coupled to that is the fact that my late Grandfather who was a Canadian, flew and fought in the Battle of Britain, sadly he lost his life in 1944. I never got to know him, but the sense of pride that I have in him, and for all RAF pilots for what they achieved in those 19 hard weeks, in the summer of 1940, will stay with me, until my dying day.

The second disc is the one with all the amazing extras. There is an absolutely brilliant documentary about the Battle of Britain, and the making of the movie, narrated by Sir Michael Caine. This is the original documentary, which was shown on television in 1969 to coincide with the release of the film.

There are also some other extras on the second disc too, but if you want to know what they are... GO AND BUY IT! Why are you still sitting there eh?

What this all boils down to, is an excellent two disc DVD. The fact that it cost £16.99 in my opinion is well worth the money. If you are a WWII movie buff like myself, you will be falling over yourself to get this and add it to your collection.

GET IT!! I promise you will not regret it!

I hereby apologise to MGM for such unkind thoughts, because this edition is superb. The US version is in mono, where this release has 5.1 & DTS (it is excellent) and for fans of William Walton (they only used about 5 minutes of his score in the original film, Ron Goodwin supplying the rest), the soundtrack with the full Walton score as an alternative. The picture has also been restored and has a full anamorphic 2.35:1 picture.

It is a well worn cliché, but in summer 1940, Britain stood alone, facing the might of the Luftwaffe and the German army which had swept all aside. The Battle of Britain is one of the pivotal moments in the history of this country, and I believe that this film does it justice. The cast are excellent but particularly Laurence Olivier as Hugh Dowding and Robert Shaw as Squadron Leader Skipper. The film has been well researched and manages to weave all aspects of the battle into the film.

Some of the special effects are a little bit dated, but this was made 35 years ago, and they do not detract from the story. But what makes this film convincing are the real aircraft used to make it. Various reports suggest that when assembled, the aircraft were anywhere between the 11th and 35th biggest air force in the world. The aerial battles are just excellent, and the shots of bombers and fighters in formation over the real life locations in 1940, give a powerful sense of authenticity. When I think about scenes like the flight of Me109’s breaking to attack a flight of Spitfires, and compare it to the awful unrealistic Battle of Britain CGI scenes used in Pearl Harbour (which was an awful film in itself), I cannot help but think that this film is something special. I have read reviews from some “rivet counters” who state that the German Bombers are not authentic. This is true as the aircraft were built by CASA in Spain for the Spanish Air Force after the war, but you do not notice.

I cannot recommend this film enough and at last the DVD version lets us see it in all its glory.