The Battle of Britain Film…The best war movies

A favourite from my childhood – Fighter Squadron.

Thunderbolts tearing across Europe just before D-Day, dogfighting with Luftwaffe-painted Mustangs….

The one that got away.

I’m not so sure the violence in ‘Went the Day Well?’ would shock the children at my local school…

…when I first went in (to help with WW2 history, science and engineering topics) all the eight-year-old boys were talking about ‘Grand Theft Auto’ that they played; it is a 18-Certificate game I believe.

Seeing as we are straying from aviation, how about ‘The Way Ahead’ ?

Particularly brutal in places, that one. And an ultimately uplifting message for the populace in dark times. I especially enjoyed the transformation from general ‘good egg’ to savage Nazi that we see in the German 2nd in command.
And the bit where Nora shoots her putative man friend, the village spy.
And Butch Harris (Basil Sidney), as a Jerry.

Yes, much enjoyed. I have the DVD and watch it often. What a shock it would be if it were to be shown in schools !

How about ‘Went the Day Well?’ which was made during the war and is very interesting in its attitude towards the enemy and self-sacrifice by the civilian population (it is also virtually a blueprint for ‘The Eagle Has Landed’).

The Gift Horse

‘Pearl Harbor‘ you mean! 😉

I still think we’ve missed a few absolute classics:

The Cain Mutiny

Mr Roberts

M*A*S*H

Casablanca

Pearl Harbour

Sorry couldn’t resist

‘Paths of Glory’ with Kirk Douglas. Not one of his better known films but one I feel is undeservedly overlooked. A harsh and dark story which, unusually from our point of view, is about the French army in WW1. One of my favourites.

The Battle of Britain film is a particularly tedious and boring film. Yes we all love the aviation but having to sit through two hours of tedious scripts and poor acting does not a good film make.
My aviation three would be 6 o’clock high, Angels one five and dark blue world.

How about 12 O’clock High, twice as good as 6 O’clock Low !!!!

I still think we’ve missed a few absolute classics:

The Cain Mutiny

Mr Roberts

M*A*S*H

Casablanca

The Battle of Britain film is a particularly tedious and boring film…

“KILL THE HERETIC!!!!!”

(To quote the best film ever made…..anybody?)

The Battle of Britain film is a particularly tedious and boring film. Yes we all love the aviation but having to sit through two hours of tedious scripts and poor acting does not a good film make.
My aviation three would be 6 o’clock high, Angels one five and dark blue world.

‘Operation Daybreak’ is also one of my favourites too; historically pretty accurate with a very moving end.

I wouldn’t call ‘Where Eagles Dare’ or ‘The Guns of Navarone’ war films exactly…

…more adventurous yarns set against the Nazis…..as is ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ really.

Still, very memorable music and some memorable scenes too. I’ve got a soft spot for ‘Operation Crossbow’ though; it contains, to my mind, one of the most tension-building (but purely fictional) endings to a film ever made…

…George Peppard with the switch-gear inside the power-house with one machine-pistol magazine left and surrounded by German engineers, and Jeremy Kemp held at gunpoint by the Nazi commander but knowing which switch to pull!

Like the scenes with the test-pilots trying to find the fatal flaw in the V1 by flying a piloted version too.

Firebird

Yes, you did at #33. I missed it. Sorry about that. Does doubling up make it an even greater film ?

No one has yet mentioned the somewhat glossy but, with spectacular shots of Mosquito aircraft; 633 Squadron. Plus the music was stirring !

Err………I think you’ll find it has :rolleyes:

Crikey ! I didn’t know the half of that. What a composer. 633 Squadron is played regularly on Classic FM.