Does the detail matter? Yes it does to me now (to my wifes annoyance) but in 1969 seeing the aircraft flying over Ipswich where I lived at the time kindled an interest in me at 12 years old to match my fathers at the same age during the war.
I learnt that the Messerschmidts and Heinkels used in the filming had Merlin engines and it inspired an interest in seeing the real thing. I collected the cards with the bubble gum and the excellent series of books.
I remember seeing the aircraft at Duxford for the filming and opposite on the hillside was the French Chateau used in the early sequences. It was a flat piece of scenery! A film prop.
At the time there weren’t the aircraft to provide a historically accurate record – witness the Proctukas! – but it was enough to give a better and more balanced view of the conflict than the propaganda films that had gone before. It was also in colour which was a decision that made the use of newsreel impossible.
SPR is a recent film using the latest techniques and knowledge. It is a masterpiece but it does not mean that all modern films are the same. Pearl Harbour compared with Tora Tora Tora is a good example of this!
It would be great to have a remake of the BOB that is historically accurate and I hope that the studios will fund such an epic.
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