Underplayed Gems

Battle of Britain (1969)

Battle of Britain poster
Directed by
Guy Hamilton
Genre
drama film, war film
Country
United Kingdom
Runtime
2h 06m
Rated
G
Rating
6.8 of 10 from 353 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

This film chronicles the aerial combat between the German Luftwaffe and the British Royal Air Force over England in the summer of 1940. It follows the key commanders and pilots on both sides as they wage a strategic battle for air supremacy. The movie is known for its massive and realistic flying sequences.

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What happens

Battle of Britain is a 1969 British war film documenting the events of the Battle of Britain, the war for aerial supremacy between the German Luftwaffe and the defending Royal Air Force waged over British skies during summer of 1940. The nature of the subject drew many respected British actors to accept roles as key figures of the battle, including Laurence Olivier as Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, Trevor Howard as Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, and Patrick Wymark as Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory. Directed by Guy Hamilton and produced by Harry Saltzman and S. Benjamin Fisz, it also starred Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer, and Robert Shaw as Squadron Leaders. The script by James Kennaway and Wilfred Greatorex was based on the book The Narrow Margin by Derek Wood and Derek Dempster. The film endeavoured to be a generally accurate account of the Battle of Britain, when in the summer and autumn of 1940 the British RAF inflicted a strategic defeat on the Luftwaffe and so ensured the cancellation of Operation Sea Lion, Adolf Hitler's plan to invade Britain. The film is notable for its spectacular flying sequences. It was on a far larger scale than had been seen on film before, or since, making the film's production very expensive. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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