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It is a broad view that extends our understanding and compassion... -- Times, May 29, 2004
Product Description
Bomber is the story of the final mission of RAF Lancaster bomber WF183 - call sign O - Orange, which took place one night in 1943. It is also the story of the many men and women - British and German - whose lives were irrevocably changed by that night's bombing raid. Starring Tom Baker, Frank Windsor, Samuel West, Emma Chambers and Jack Shepherd, Bomber is a brilliant production and a consistent bestseller for the BBC Radio Collection.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 34 people found the following review helpful
Originally transmitted on BBC Radio 4 within a real-time framework one weekend in 1995, this dramatisation of Len Deighton's novel still stands among the very best drama productions in the audio medium I've heard, almost ten years later.
Though on the surface this play appears to deal with many elements familiar to those Britons who grew up watching films about our brave boys in the RAF, it is no Battle Of Britain-style flagwaver and quickly descends into the hellish futility and atrocity of the actions those courageous young men were called upon to perpetrate - and the appalling carnage frequently visited upon them in the act of doing so.
Fortunately, this is an intensely humane story, a tragedy which displays compassion towards all parties. A lack of human drama would render the story somewhat souless but production is equally matched with excellent performances, surmounted by the Tom Baker's grave tones as a narrator who effortlessly makes the listener feel like a spectator. The interviews with real veterans interspersed through the drama only adds to its power.
I'd recommend this drama on many levels, but I personally think its worth hearing just to demonstrate the dynamic potential of well-produced radio. The harrowing four minute autopsy of a seven-second blast of cannon fire is, in my mind at least, far more violent and affecting than anything achieved by cinema, and an extraordinary set-piece that shows just what radio can do in the theatre of the mind's eye.
Crudely put, this play is a human drama which is at times like a cross between Saving Private Ryan and Memphis Belle. Being an airman has never seemed such an appalling prospect, and while I shall never comfortably look on a Halifax or Lancaster Bomber ever again, nor - I hope - will I forget what flying those machines often demanded of the young men appointed to visit the whirlwind upon German towns and cities.
15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
I cannot compliment this drama/ documentary audio enough. You are immersed in the lives of the people impacted by this day and night very effectively and you cannot but feel how terribly tragic circumstances really were for all sides involved. I was greatly moved throughout, especially as many of the more appalling events are underwritten by veterans and civilian testimony.
Excellent
Excellent
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
I have listened to this over and over and every time I find something new. The writing of Mr Deighton, the writing of the scriptwriter, the actors and the whole production team should all win an award of some kind because this is truly unforgettable.
While not wanting to give anything of the plot away, the whole story revolves around the last 24 hours of a Lancaster Bomber, its crew, the other crews of a raid and those ordinary Germans caught up in a night of sheer terror. Whilst the story is a work of fiction, the listenner gets to hear the real reminiscences of bomber crews, ground crews and those on the receiving end of Bomber Commands tactics to flatten whole areas in carpet bombing raids.
I have the greatest admiration for those young men of Bomber Command, who night after night flew in appaling conditions expecting that night to be their last, brave souls all of them. This production brings a new dimension to their stories because this is no ordinary audio book, no ordinary work of fiction. The listener is taken into the cockpit of the Lancaster Bomber for the whole of the raid from start to finish, you hear the engines, the gunfire, the screams of dying men... you can almost smell the blood, sweat and fear while the flak explodes all around. You can see the searchlights and watch the town burning below.
But that is not all. This production takes you onto the ground where the bombs are falling. Starting earlier in the day with ordinary people doing their daily things, a birthday party, a marriage proposal... then the bombs fall and the burning starts. You take refuge in a cellar with a woman and child and rubble falls all around. You can feel the terror, hear the explosions and you fight the fires as your town burns.
Again in the air you are attacked by fighters and go down in burning aircraft or parachute to hoped for safety.
Back in England you wait heart in your mouth to see if your loved one returns and receive the telegram saying your son has been killed in action.
The characters are superbly crafted by the writers and actors, many of them famous names easily recognisable by their voices but every one playing their parts perfectly, no one vying for a staring role because what matters are the real stories of ordinary men, women and children caught up in events so terrible that I expect most people will end with a tear in the eye. I know I do every time.
One final note. I am a school teacher and have played this to some of my pupils who like most teenagers think war is an exciting game. This has moved them to utter silence, so powerful is this production. Some have openly wept in front of classmates and no one laughed at them. Powerful stuff. Well done BBC.
While not wanting to give anything of the plot away, the whole story revolves around the last 24 hours of a Lancaster Bomber, its crew, the other crews of a raid and those ordinary Germans caught up in a night of sheer terror. Whilst the story is a work of fiction, the listenner gets to hear the real reminiscences of bomber crews, ground crews and those on the receiving end of Bomber Commands tactics to flatten whole areas in carpet bombing raids.
I have the greatest admiration for those young men of Bomber Command, who night after night flew in appaling conditions expecting that night to be their last, brave souls all of them. This production brings a new dimension to their stories because this is no ordinary audio book, no ordinary work of fiction. The listener is taken into the cockpit of the Lancaster Bomber for the whole of the raid from start to finish, you hear the engines, the gunfire, the screams of dying men... you can almost smell the blood, sweat and fear while the flak explodes all around. You can see the searchlights and watch the town burning below.
But that is not all. This production takes you onto the ground where the bombs are falling. Starting earlier in the day with ordinary people doing their daily things, a birthday party, a marriage proposal... then the bombs fall and the burning starts. You take refuge in a cellar with a woman and child and rubble falls all around. You can feel the terror, hear the explosions and you fight the fires as your town burns.
Again in the air you are attacked by fighters and go down in burning aircraft or parachute to hoped for safety.
Back in England you wait heart in your mouth to see if your loved one returns and receive the telegram saying your son has been killed in action.
The characters are superbly crafted by the writers and actors, many of them famous names easily recognisable by their voices but every one playing their parts perfectly, no one vying for a staring role because what matters are the real stories of ordinary men, women and children caught up in events so terrible that I expect most people will end with a tear in the eye. I know I do every time.
One final note. I am a school teacher and have played this to some of my pupils who like most teenagers think war is an exciting game. This has moved them to utter silence, so powerful is this production. Some have openly wept in front of classmates and no one laughed at them. Powerful stuff. Well done BBC.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Bomber
great product very realistic sound track and a good story about both sides of the conflict in the air and in the towns and villages of both nations that are war Bomber
Published 9 days ago by dave
BOMBER
This story whilst fictional is bang on in its detail and must rank amongst the very finest of historical books on bomber command. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Andy k
Buy it.
Len Deightons 'Bomber' is a work of fiction, but only just. Deighton's research makes parts of the book read like the most detailed of documentaries. Read more
Published 6 months ago by A. Young
Superb Radio Drama
"Bomber" takes radio drama to a new height. A large cast, superb sound effects and great attention to war time flying detail make this a truly epic production. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Don Wardell
Excellent Radio Play
This CD brings to life the excellent book written by Len Deighton. Very poignant and moving play. Very highly recommended.
Published 8 months ago by Gyron Junior
Strike hard , strike sure - Learn what it was like for the men of...
Len Deighton completely hit the nail on the head with this epic. Adapted for radio by the BBC in the mid 1990s it was broadcast to widespread critical acclaim. Read more
Published 8 months ago by David Taylor
Devastating Impact
When Deighton's 1970 novel appeared there was no war novel like it. The excellent film A Matter of Life and Death [DVD] had dared to take an unbiased view of soldiers of any... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Amon Avis
Read the book!
Len Deighton is probably one of the most underrated British writers. This may have to do with so called intelectuals' problems in accepting writers who also write entertainment. Read more
Published on 20 Jun 2008 by TKr
Powerful stuff
While this work is based on Len Deighton's 1970 novel Bomber rather than an actual raid in 1943 (there is a disclaimer at the end), it has a gripping intensity to it - I found... Read more
Published on 17 Jan 2008 by connoisseur
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