40th Anniversary Of The Battle Of Britain Film

Steady on, old boy, this isn’t Star Wars…. :diablo:

I’m gonna set myself up for a flaming here:diablo: , but I was singularly underwhelmed when I recently saw BoB. I recorded it from Xmass and was really looking forward to seeing it again – last time was yonks ago.

OK – the flying/organisation/restoration/logistics etc. of putting this together was great…….but……the dialogue was terrible, the plot cliched, repetetive shots of planes taking off (sometimes mirror images)/gunners shooting, things exploding or falling out of the sky got quite irritating. The very weak plot was not helped by the wooden acting.

(The Spitfires were lovely though.):D

When PJ finishes remaking The Dambusters……….

DS

What the film needs is a `Special Edition`.
Replace all the old rubbish special effects with good quality CGI special effects. Maybe supplement the dog fight sequences with some CGI in cockpit footage and additional flying sequences.
It can be done just look at Dark Blue World.

Aye that bit makes hairs on back of my neck stand up, strange how it can have such an effect. The bit where the crippled Heinkel limps back over the French coast also strikes a chord with me, not sure why!

Got to love the theme kicking in as that Heinkel splashes down during the “Northern Raid” sequence.

:)See ,we can visualise and hear it now ,makes you realise how important sound is.The film Jaws used music before you even first saw the shark.

Ah, thats the bit, always brings a lump to the throat.

Got to love the theme kicking in as that Heinkel splashes down during the “Northern Raid” sequence.

The bit of Walton’s score that is left in works really well I think, it’s quite a contrast to the rest of the score, it gives a different ‘feel’ to the aerial combat scenes

It wasnt a verion of this that was left out – it was Waltons entire score! ‘Battle in the Air’ is the only part of the Walton score retained in all prints of the film. He wrote a lot of music for the film, the majority of which was never ued (although some copies of the film have his end title theme instead of the familar Goodwin one). I personally really like the Walton music and he must have been incredibly upset to have it rejected. Then again the Goodwin score is fabulous too!

That link to the Proms ‘Battle in the Air’ is simply awesome.
Thanks for posting trumper.

Ahh ,thanks for that.Both of them are winners music wise but i guess we’ve grown up and got accustomed to the music score as it stands.Familiarity to the point you can I D where in the film you are by the music.

now this is the one in the film but by William Walton so which version was the one left out?

It wasnt a verion of this that was left out – it was Waltons entire score! ‘Battle in the Air’ is the only part of the Walton score retained in all prints of the film. He wrote a lot of music for the film, the majority of which was never ued (although some copies of the film have his end title theme instead of the familar Goodwin one). I personally really like the Walton music and he must have been incredibly upset to have it rejected. Then again the Goodwin score is fabulous too!

Here are some William Walton links

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ICmMTCabnM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feJsR1Kgibc from the proms now this is the one in the film but by William Walton so which version was the one left out?
Fantastic to see it performed live and that it was nearly removed from the film according to Richard E Grant at the end. 😮

I have, and for me it doesnt work as well as Goodwin’s and actually feels quite weird. I think the producers got it right despite Laurence Olivier threatening to walk out if they didnt go with the Walton score.

I have that version Daz, and oddly I haven’t bothered with that option either! Lots of nice extra goodies on that set though 🙂

If you can snag the two-disc special edition DVD, you get the option of watching the film with the Walton score. Strangely, I’ve never done this yet! :rolleyes:

An even better purchase is the CD of the score that includes all the Sir William Walton music written for the film (in addition to ‘Battle in the Air’) that was largely rejected, allegedly due to its short length which was unsuitable for a sound-track album – its actually superb and a very interesting to contrast with the Goodwin score that was ultimately adopted in the finished film.

That must have been a wonderful moment Nightfighter.

For those that do not already have it I recommend sticking it on your xmas list immediately. Available at Amazon.

Totally agree Dogtail, when i passed out at Swinderby, the RAF band from cranwell played the Luftwaffe March as we left the parade ground. I dont think ive ever had a bigger smile on my face since. Ive got the soundtrack in my car and never get bored with it.

Nobody has mentioned the outstanding music written for the film by Ron Goodwin and incorporating William Walton’s incredible ‘Battle In The Air’ scherzo.
The music makes the good film a great one. And I dont think the acting is wooden or the script cr@p.

‘Pearl Harbour’ should not even be mentioned in the same breath. One of the cheesiest films Ive ever had the misfortune to see.

the sound was incredable with 5 B-17s, god knows what a large formation would sound like..

My mother says it was horrible… Day and night constantly. Mind you her brother was a flight engineer who didn’t come back.

I was 8 when BOB was made and i remember one dinner time playing on the school playing field, when the teacher in charge suddenly screamed at us all to lay down (yes we all thought she had gone mad) I layed on my back and was in ore as a formation of aircraft flew over the school, all with crosses on thier wing it was incredable. When it came out in 69, I went to see it in norwich and in those day there was an intermission and down at the front below the screen they had some of the R/C models they used in the film production….I being an aviation nut even at that age was in heaven.
P.S while on movies, I was talking in a public phone box in Thetford to my wife (then girlfriend) when five B-17s went over being chased and fired at by a gang of 109s….yep that was the filming of memphis Bell, the sound was incredable with 5 B-17s, god knows what a large formation would sound like..
Gary