Battle of Britain - Definitive Edition [1969] [DVD]

This film is a winner on three counts. It brings together most of the best actors of a generation, it uses the real aircraft which took part and it was overseen from a historical perspective by pilots who flew in the battle, (Stanford Tuck, Douglas Bader and Adolph Galland amongst them).
It tells the story of the summer of 1940 with peerless aerial photography (no naff pearl habor CGI) and superbly well staged ground action such as the London Blitz and the airfield attack. I found all of the central characters thoroughly believable with the performances of Sir Larry as 'Stuffy' Dowding and Robert Shaw's Squadron leader being outstanding. This is a film I can drag out and watch every 18 months or so and it never fails to enthrall and move me. There should have been more Hurricanes than Spits and the Me 109's shouldn't have had Merlin engines, but what the hell. It's well directed, beautifully shot and above all it's FACTUAL!

I have to admit to being terribly disappointed with this version. I already own an old VHS copy and the excellent DVD Special Edition and I had high hopes of this Blu-ray version being a significant improvement. How wrong I was, this version is grainy, slightly cropped with poor colour registration and with little more detial that on the DVD. It has none of the special features from the DVD release and no alternate soundtrack with the William Walton score. In fact, it has NO special features of any kind. There is also a very annoyong subtitle that appears at odd times that cannot be removed.

This film is badly in need of a full restoration to show up the details of the original release, instead we have a badly presented, poor quality version that is best avoided. If you want a good copy of this film, stick to the DVD.

To say that the release of this film on DVD is long overdue, in my opinion, would be a gross understatement!

This is truly the definitive movie about the Battle of Britain. Ok, CGI technology can make a film look good, but after all said and done, it still isn't real is it? The aircraft in this film are, and again in my opinion, the real stars of this classic film. Once assembled for filming, the aircraft were the 35th largest air force in the world!

This truly is a masterpiece, the list of stars in this film is almost endless, Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir Ralph Richardson, Sir Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Christopher Plummer, Curt Jurgens, Susannah York (what a babe!) Edward Fox and the always-excellent Robert Shaw, to name but a few. A very young Ian McShane (of Lovejoy fame) also stars as a young Flight Sergeant, who loses his family in horrific circumstances.

Added to that, the movie has been digitally re-mastered, so the picture quality and sound quality is as clear as it was when it was originally released back in 1969 (I was a wee 4yr old!)

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!