Dave HomewoodCheers Daz. It’d be interesting to hear which other pilots have taken part in creating the simulator. Any other famous ones?
Jack’s story is great. I wonder if he has considered making a fuller version, a whole book. He has a great writing style. I might have to try to contact him and encourage him. He doesn’t live too far away from here.
Dave HomewoodI can’t for the life of me recall the film title, I wish I could. It was made within the last five years I’d expect, and appeared to be made-for-tv, but wasn’t up to the standard of most British one-off dramas. It was a bit sci-fi-ish, and a bit too much like it was in the American mould of conspiracy films if I remember right, but overall it was not too bad. It was certainly obscure and it played on TV here with little fanfare.
Basically a young Tonado pilot gets himself inadvertantly mixed up in conspircay etc., when alien space craft are spotted and the RAF capture one and have it hidden in a hangar on some remote RAF base (very Aer 57-ish). I think there was the obligitory lovely young female scientist on his side too. Can’t remember any notable actors in it, probably made on a shoestring with lots of free help from the RAF – that’s the impression it gave.
That’s all I can recall, sorry. Someone here must have seen it. I only watched it for the fighters, I hate Sci-fi unless its Red Dwarf.
As for the boxes this jet sits on, its hard to tell – are they wooden or concrete?
Dave HomewoodThis is probably way off the mark, and though meant to be a serious suggestion will sound as daft as some of the jokes here – but one thing that popped into my head is perhaps it was raised for film work? There was British a film a few years back about the RAF taking on alien space craft. I just wonder if maybe this was used for cockpit shots, raised so the background would be blue sky and the props men can use smoke to look like you’re flying in clouds. The film featured RAF Tornadoes and Jaguars if i recall correctly.
It definately looks like the type of weather you’d get when you wanted blue skies!
Dave HomewoodDave. Books, magazines, chat etc will continue to have a role, and info will remain tied to money in the future too…
Cheers!
Yep, you’re absolutely right. The problem is for me, at the moment I’m not tied to money. Doh! 🙂
I have to say though your book looks very reasonably priced for such a specialist subject. Looks good too.
Dave HomewoodThat’s a great story Robbo, thanks for sharing it. Wow, it would be great to see that film he mentions.
I’m looking forward to seeing those slide scans Mark. 🙂
Thanks James for the info too. Much appreciated. The Stranraer is merely something I have been curious about since I visited Hendon in 1993. Till then I’d never heard of a Stranraer. So although I commend you for your efforts in recording the history of this aircraft, in a book which I’m sure is very good, I doubt I’d ever need to buy the book. I am very aware of Aeroplane Monthly and the publishers Putnam, but if you could see the price of books in this country you’ll realise why looking up obscure info on the internet instead of rushing out and buying a hard copy is the best option.
Even if I wanted a book on the Stranraer or many of the subjects we discuss here,l I doubt that I’d ever find one in a local bookshop, and it is unlikely you’d find such books even in a good library these days, although I make frequent use of the university library. You lot are very fortunate in Britain where you have excellent ranges of books available for cheap prices. We don’t. Thanks to the internet and the small population, and the distance most books have to be freighted, booksellers carry little stock and only mainstream stuff mostly now. These days if I want a book (which on my budget is rare sadly) I have to use the internet to buy it anyway. It’s always cheaper ordering from abroad, or second hand. To me, bookshops are almost obsolete. I hate to admit it, I used to buy lots of books when I was richer. But that seems the way of the world nowadays. Hopefully this will explain why you seem to think I never read books and ask too many questions. 🙂
Dave HomewoodThanks guys, that’s facinating, I knew all the light and medium bombers had almost free run of Europe by day after D Day but I’d never considered the heavy bombers being so active by day. I wonder if much film of daylight raids exists.
Dave HomewoodWow, a great shot Mark. So there may possibly be the remains of more than just one left then? Interesting. I thought the RAFM example was the last.
Dave HomewoodI’m not at all familiar with this museum – do they restore their aircraft to fly? Or is it a completely static museum? It would be great to see some of these aircraft in the air. Especially the Sandringham and the Lancaster.
Dave HomewoodIf I were going to make a Bomber Command film, I’d base it around a story following an RAF crew with mixed nationalities (Brits, a Kiwi, an Aussie, a Canadian, etc) so it has international appeal. They’d prepare for a raid, go off and bomb a city, and the raid would be a really rough one with lots of action and many of their mates going down around them. But when they get through ok and set course for home, they’re attacked by night fighters, and shot down. Some, if not all, would survive, and then they’d have to make it back to Britain avoiding the enemy all the way.
I know this has been done before on film, in ‘One of Our Aircraft Is Missing’, but certainly not recently in the modern era of film making, and lets face it that was a film for a different audience from a different era. (has this same sort of theme been done in other films?)
It is a story that could be done well and involve lots of realistic action on the ground and in the air, and be made sensitively to represent many who found themselves really in those circumstances, even if the film is not directly based on a real crew. I guess if the money men demanded there could also be love interests – the woman at home for one crewman, and the young French girl helping them for another – oohlala.
One thing I’d ensure is it would be real and gritty and really make you think about what the crews endured, and would not be the flag-waving Boy’s Own Adventure style of films like Memphis Belle (a film I like but it isn’t the style I’d go for). The British make the best drama in the world and have the best dramatic actors, so of course it would be made there. Anyway, that’s my thoughts.
Dave HomewoodThat’s the worst scheme I have ever seen on a Buchon! 😮
Dave HomewoodIndeed Mark, my mistake. I’ve only seen ‘A;ways’ once but I’d love to see it again. I’ve seen ‘Forever Young’ too, and once was enough for me!
I love Air America, some great flying by the OFMC guys. I’d never seen or heard of the C-123 till I saw that film. It is quite an awesome plane, as was the Turbo Porter. The C-123 went on to star in another pretty good film, Operation Dumbo Drop.
Dave HomewoodI really sincerly hope they leave The Dambusters alone.
After the original what more could be done with it?
Yes, the original is very good for its time. Not much could be improved on apart from the addition of colour and the more natural acting techniques and special effects of today. By the latter I refer to the dam models, which do look pretty fake.
Or they could take the story from a whole different angle altogether; as most of the film is about Wallis’s struggle. maybe they could follow a crew (not Gibson’s) through the training and show what happened after they returned and they were branded by the press as heroes.
Perhaps it could begin with a reunion of oldies who are looking back, (maybe they could use the real oldies in a docu-drama style?) There are all sorts of ways of re-doing a film. But I agree, the original is a classic and even if a new one came along it couldn’t diminish the original.
Personally I think a film about Bomber Command should be made, but about a different story. Everyone knows the Dam Buster story, why not tell a story of heroism that no-one knows?
Dave HomewoodHang on a minute, wasn’t there a ‘Dambusters sequence’ in Chicken Run, which he of course starred in! Or was that another kid’s film I saw. I know they did a parody of The Great Escape… 🙂
Hogans Heroes and Dambusters isn’t the end of it. I once saw an interview which said he was the new James Bond!!!! 😮
I don’t think he’s a bad actor, but he does have a bad publicist. He has done at least one aviation related film – remember that romantic crap with B25’s in it, was it ‘Always and Forever’ or something like that.
Dave HomewoodThanks Mark. That’s why it was not mentioned at all a while back when we discussed the Hudson survivors. Does the CAF still fly it? Or is it tucked away in a museum somewhere?
Dave HomewoodThanks John,
I didn’t know that it was Peter Jackson behind the Russian film, that’s even better news as I am sure with his determination and his experience, it’ll get done and be fantastic. At the moment he’s filming King Kong which also has a certain amount of aviation in it. He has also discussed his intention to make a World War One film in the future too, using his collection of aircraft.
If you refer to the American actor Mel Gibson, I won’t believe that a new Dambusters were coming out till it arrives – though I’d like to see it or any new films about Bomber Command. Sadly Gibson seems to have a publicity rumour mill behind him that comes out with one outlandish statement after another. He has been publicised as making many films that just never turn out to be true.
That is interesting about the proposed RAAF film script. I really hope it gets made. It would be a great film, and I’m sure that it will be considered with interest by the Australian film industry, who are known for making many excellent films, mini-series and television serials about your country’s wartime exploits, so hopefully this will be another to add to the list. Some great Aussie war films and TV include Gallipoli, A Town Like Alice, The Sullivans, The Lighthorsemen, ANZACS, Heroes, A Fortunate Life, Changi…. hmmm, seems to be time for an RAAF flick.
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