Battle of Britain (1969) is hailed as a crucial war film that concentrated on aerial battles during World War II. Amazingly, the movie was filmed in 1969, long after the war, but is hailed as one of the premiere films in capturing the realism of those death-defying air battles. Although the film starred some notable names - Harry Andrews, Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Curd Jürgens, Ian McShane, Kenneth More, Laurence Olivier, Christopher Plummer - it's been critiqued time and again for its impressive battles scenes and less for its spotty storyline and characterization.

The actual battles portrayed in the film occurred in the skies of England and the English Channel from July to September 1940. The Germans hoped to eliminate the Royal Air Force's fighter planes, but the R.A.F. pilots surprised the Germans with an incredible two-month battle that changed the course of the history for both sides.

As the Germans begin their strikes, R.A.F. Air Chief Marshal Dowding (Laurence Olivier) readies his fighter pilots to defend Britain. The battle is merciless; the German's eventually moving over England cities and dropping bombs. Air Vice Marshal Park (Howard) understands the German Luftwaffe's planes outnumber the R.A.F's by more than 2 to 1 - 650 planes of the R.A.F. vs. 2,500 of the Luftwaffe, but he realizes the survival of his country relies on his shoulders and hopes his troops are up to the challenge.

Michael Caine

Caine (Canfield) and Plummer (Colin Harvey) play squadron leaders who face incredible challenges in sending their pilots out to face their foes. Robert Shaw plays Skipper, an overbearing squadron leader whose arc feels thrown in for story departure.

While the cast is mostly male-dominated there are some women among the forces. Susannah York plays section officer Maggie Harvey, who is married to Colin. The romance angle doesn't work well in a film so heavily focused on battle, but York more than adds to plot in her scenes when she watches her female comrades killed by a German bombing strike.

The real stars of this film, however, are the planes in the sky and the incredible men flying them. There was little CGI used in this movie - mostly backdrop and burning scenes - so the aerial shots you see are authentic aircraft photographed during WWII by Skeets Kelly and John Jordan, models or actual pilots who do an amazing job in creating realistic war scenes.

For fans of war films Battle of Britain is an enthralling and exciting film. Although the pacing lags and the dialogue is not the best, the dogfights and cockpits blown to pieces, gunfire producing a sky full of bullets supplemented by patriotic musical scores produce a tug at the heartstring and brings a chill to any loyal countryman. For those who like a solid story with their movies, other war movies might be a better choice.

This collector's edition contains some great bonus features war fans complained that were missing on earlier DVD releases of the film. Any fan of war movies will want to own this DVD just to watch them.

Special Features

Disc One

V €¢ Feature-Length Audio Commentary with Director Guy Hamilton, Aerial Sequence with Director Bernard Williams and Historian Paul Annett.

V €¢ William Walton Score

Disc Two

V €¢ Battle for the Battle of Britain - a TV documentary hosted by Michael Caine

V €¢ Authenticity in the Air - featurette with cast interviews

V €¢ A Film for the Few - making of featurette with technical information

V €¢ Recollections of an R.A.F. Squadron Leader - featurette about one pilots experiences

V €¢ Images From the Sky - Animated Photo Gallery

Director: Guy Hamilton

Writers: Derek Dempster (book), Wilfred Greatorex (screenplay)

Cast Members: Harry Andrews, Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Curd Jürgens, Ian McShane, Kenneth More, Laurence Olivier, Christopher Plummer

Rating: G - general audiences

DVD Release Date: 10/25/2005

Classic Movie Guide Rating: 2.5 our of 5 stars

Run Time: 132 minutes

Studio: United Pictures/MGM

Format: Color - widescreen

Photo credits: United Artists/MGM Home Entertainment