The Dam Busters (1955)

Directed by

Michael Anderson

Genre

drama film, war film, historical film

Country

United Kingdom

Runtime

2h 02m

Rated

NR

Rating

6.9 of 10 from 160 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This film tells the true story of the RAF's 617 Squadron during World War Two. They plan and carry out a risky bombing raid on German dams using a special bouncing bomb. The story follows the inventor of the bomb and the squadron's commander as they work to make the mission a success.

tenseinspiringstirringpatrioticdetermineddramaticbriskearnest

What happens

The Dam Busters is a 1955 British epic docudrama war film starring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave, and directed by Michael Anderson. Adapted by R. C. Sherriff from the books The Dam Busters (1951) by Paul Brickhill and Enemy Coast Ahead (1946) by Guy Gibson, the film depicts the true story of Operation Chastise in which the RAF's 617 Squadron attacked the Möhne, Eder, and Sorpe dams in Nazi Germany with Barnes Wallis's bouncing bomb. The Dam Busters was acclaimed by critics, who praised its acting (especially that by Todd and Redgrave), Anderson's direction, its superlative special effects photography by Gilbert Taylor, and the soundtrack score by Eric Coates (especially the stirring The Dam Busters March theme tune). The film was Britain's biggest box-office success of 1955. A much-loved British classic, The Dam Busters has since been cited as one of the best British war films and one of the greatest films of the 20th century. In 1999, the British Film Institute voted The Dam Busters the 68th greatest British film of the 20th century. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• La Grande Vadrouille (1966)
• Battle of the V-1 (1958)
• The Way to the Stars (1945)
• Operation Crossbow (1965)
• Battle of Britain (1969)
• 633 Squadron (1964)
• The Sound Barrier (1952)
• Night Bombers (2004)