The Battle Of Britain (DVD)

The 1969 all-star big budget extravaganza 'The Battle of Britain' is recently arrived to DVD, albeit on region 1 only for the moment. Never fear though, it's an MGM release, and region 2 releases are never too far behind.

It's arrival on DVD is extremely welcome, as a buffed up widescreen print finally allows one to be totally smitten with the flying sequences. Presented as intended, and making full use of the scope process, the air ...
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Guy Hamilton (Goldfinger, The Ipcress File) brings the same effortless flow to the film that he used succesfully in his 1964 Bond outing. In recounting the heroic efforts of both the RAF and the Luftwaffe, he never lets the action overwhelm the story, while equally he never lets historical fact bog down a 133 minute production.

Wilfred Greatorex and James Kennaway have assembled a mostly hit but sometimes miss screenplay, ... more

The 1969 all-star big budget extravaganza 'The Battle of Britain' is recently arrived to DVD, albeit on region 1 only for the moment. Never fear though, it's an MGM release, and region 2 releases are never too far behind.

It's arrival on DVD is extremely welcome, as a buffed up widescreen print finally allows one to be totally smitten with the flying sequences. Presented as intended, and making full use of the scope process, the air battles are naturally 'The Battle of Britain's greatest strength.

Guy Hamilton (Goldfinger, The Ipcress File) brings the same effortless flow to the film that he used succesfully in his 1964 Bond outing. In recounting the heroic efforts of both the RAF and the Luftwaffe, he never lets the action overwhelm the story, while equally he never lets historical fact bog down a 133 minute production.

Wilfred Greatorex and James Kennaway have assembled a mostly hit but sometimes miss screenplay, often bending the truth and inserting a romantic storyline that does the most to damage the pace of the film. On the whole though they have provided a polished script that often sparkles and cracks as the accomplished cast go through their paces.

In recounting the running battle for air supremacy over Britain and the Channel in 1941, the writers have felt it necessary to cram in as many characters as possible. Possibly at the insistence of the studio wanting an all star cast, we are thrown character after character, each one played by a famous face. The people come and go, and often we are left to second guess that perhaps they were shot out of the air, or just had to 'go elsewhere'. If ever 'The Battle of Britain' needed a bedfellow, then surely it would be 'A Bridge Too Far' which fell foul of an ensemble cast. There are just too many faces too take in, and often they are fleeting appearances that lend nothing to the production.

Of the cast, Robert Shaw, Laurence Olivier, Christopher Plummer and Trevor Howard get most screen time, which is criminal if you bear in mind the other names involved with the production. Michael Caine is reduced to a walk on role, Kenneth More is wasted in an equally brief bit of casting. Michael Redgrave, Ian McShane, Harry Andrews, Barry Foster and Edward Fox all drift in and out of the picture, while Susannah York is afforded far TOO much screentime as one half of an insipid romance.

If all the above sounds like an attempt to deter you from seeing 'the Battle of Britain' do not be fooled. Flaws aside it is a tremendous piece of entertainment, take the rough with the smooth and you will not be disappointed. Breathtaking in it's scope of production, the vast collection of aircraft used to make the movie made it the 11th largest airforce in the world. Taking in some great locations, and looking wonderful thanks to the cinematography of the peerless Freddie Young, it's a visual feast.

Mixing real aircraft with mostly astonishing model work, and the occasional bit of optical effects, the dogfights over Britain are fantastic and a snub to CGI. Just knowing that most of this was happening for real, just makes the heart beat a little faster as the Spitfires bank away into steep rolls before engaging Messerschmitts at breakneck speed.

There are plenty of highlights to be had from the performaces too, Olivier brings a very real weariness and sense of impending defeat to Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding. Robert Shaw packs a punch as one of the many Squadron Leaders we are introduced to, while the best exchange of lines comes early in the movie as Sir Ralph Richardson (Sir David Kelly the British Minister to Switzerland) and Curt Jurgens (Baron von Richter) discuss Hitler's plans to invade Britain. Priceless stuff.

If the visuals aren't quite dynamic enough for you, then Ron Goodwin's score should do the trick. Famously brought in to rescore the movie after the producers shelved Sir William Walton's score, Goodwin does sterling work in providing an action soundtrack for a demanding movie. Creating cues for both the RAF and Luftwaffe, 'Battle' is perhaps Goodwin's most succesful exercise in action scoring.

The DVD itself is criminally bereft of extras, and one can only hope for a Special Edition sometime in the future. MGM have given us a reasonably clean print (given the vintage) presented in 2.35:1 anormorpic display. The colours are vibrant, but there was a disappointing amount of damage throughout the film. Sound is presented in two channel digital mono, and does the job fine, though again, the heart quickens at the thought of a 5.1 remixed special edition. Just a thought MGM.

The real let down with the disk though is that they've sourced the transfer from an American print. This means we are robbed of the nice British set of opening credits, and have some lousy blobby blurry credits slapped onto the picture. The credits also contain an error, failing to mention Ron Goodwin and giving sole credit for the score to Sir William Walton.

The end of the film is also slightly different to the British release, with a different Churchill speech played over the end credits, and the inclusion of Sir William Walton's 'Battle of Britain March'. Welcomed as an alternative, I do however hope that the future Region 2 release sources the material from the original British print.

Available on play.com for £9.99, it's well worth tracking down, and the widescreen release breathes new life into this Bank Holiday afternoon TV favourite.

 

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