Wonderfully offbeat film!

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The film was still a fun one that will make you laugh and have you leaving the theater feeling like you just stole something valuable and got away with it.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

One marks the virtual beginning of the Third Reich and one its virtual end. When Hitler was forced to abandon his plan to invade Britain he concentrated on Russia,thus sowing the seeds of his Country' downfall. And whatever revisionist historians may say,the main reason he did so was the inability of the Luftwaffe to gain air superiority,let alone the air supremacy required for a successful campaign. "The Battle of Britain" recounts the epic air war between Dowding's young pilots and Goering's. It's aerial photography is legendary,some of it shot over Essex where I was lving at the time. The Unit used a Liberator which would swoop low over the fields and we would wave to the pilot as he flew majestically past,followed by a gaggle of Spitfires in "Finger Four" formation. Tragically one of the cameramen was killed when he fell out of the aircraft. Both the Luftwaffe and the RAF are portrayed positively in an era when Germans were often thought of as psychopathic murderers. The actors are secondary to the machinery and tend to soft pedal except Mr R.Shaw who was incapable of keeping his charisma under wraps and the great Mr K.More who plays his usual humane officer role to perfection. There is nothing more than a "For Christ's sake" from Mr Shaw to offend those who are determined to take offence at something and nothing more tittilating than Miss York 's suspenders to tittilate those who are determined to be tittilated. This is as much an historic document as a wart film.

Despite what the title suggests, this is not really a film about the Battle of Britain. While it follows the basic plot of the Battle, and features various public-domain characters like Hugh Dowding and Adolf Hitler, it's primarily a series of expensive air battles strung together with expository dialogue. If you like that sort of thing, it's a fine movie.The fleet of vintage aircraft assembled for the picture is impressive, even though armchair historians will happily point out the sundry inaccuracies: for example, all the German aircraft in the film are actually Spanish Air Force planes fitted with British Rolls-Royce engines -- the same ones the British Spitfires and Hurricanes had. Many of the Spitfires are later marques, and there are several types absent from the German air force. (Displaying an appalling lack of foresight, most air forces scrapped their fighters and bombers at the end of the war so they could start building jets instead, causing endless frustration for future generations of film-makers.) Despite all that, this is one of the few movies to get anywhere near the reality of 1940 with its skies full of planes.The non-flying scenes act as a tribute to the Royal Air Force and, to a lesser extent, the people of England who lived through the Blitz. A-list actors like Michael Caine, Robert Shaw, and Christopher Plummer play the stalwart heroes with a minimum of characterization that ensures they will remain largely symbolic: they're figureheads rather than fictional characters. On the one hand this robs the film of human interest; on the other hand, it also avoids distracting the audience with unnecessary melodrama.The air battles are vividly choreographed and set to stirring martial music, mostly by Ron Goodwin, but with a cameo from Sir William Walton for the climax. Compared to "Tora! Tora! Tora!" -- 1970's cinematic assault on Pearl Harbor -- "The Battle of Britain" is slightly less elaborate but ultimately more satisfying. It's easier to make an exciting action movie when the good guys win, after all.

There's not much in the way of character development in this film. It's not that kind of film, so let's get that out of the way at the start. Michael Caine, Laurence Olivier, Robert Shaw, and Christopher Plummer (among many others) are on hand for their star power and charisma, but don't expect awards-worthy performances. This movie, as the title suggests, is about the Battle of Britain, so you should expect Spitfires, dogfights, the Blitz, and lots of pompous Prussian military marches.And that's exactly what you get. The makers of the film assembled a huge fleet of vintage aircraft from around the world: many Spitfires were restored to airworthy condition just for the movie and are still flying today because of it; Messerschmitts and Heinkels were loaned by the Spanish Air Force and have gone on to star in films and air shows; a trio of Hurricanes make a rare appearance. This might only be of interest to aviation enthusiasts or history buffs, but so what: it's an historic film, the only occasion outside of newsreels that you'll ever see these aircraft in their element, and it's breathtaking.The plot follows the basic timeline of the Battle. After Dunkirk, the British withdraw to their island and Hitler contemplates his options. Eventually, after a few perfunctory scenes set the stage, the Luftwaffe launches its attack. The outnumbered pilots of the Royal Air Force fight back against impossible odds. Young, inexperienced men are thrown into combat with a short life expectancy. Untried Polish volunteers acquit themselves rather well, in a couple humorous scenes. Olivier, as Air Chief Marshal Dowding, lends gravitas to the situation, while his German counterpart, Goering, frets and struts and intimidates his underlings.There's plenty missing, but there's plenty to like. The stars all do their bit for queen and country, and the attention to detail is superb. The narrative often seems to skip bits and pieces, and leaves several characters hanging...but as I said, this isn't about the characters so much as the moment in history that they happen to be passing through.

This is one of the large all-star international cast war movies of the 60s and as such it's a worthy entrant. The majority of the budget went into the aircraft and it shows. The flying sequences are some of the best shot in film. Unquestionably, whilst the sense of period is brilliantly captured in the battle sequences, the behind the scenes moments are less successful. Unfortunately the weak links are mainly the sequences between Maggie and Colin Harvey. Susannah York is simply too modern, and the attention to detail slipped a little in costume and hair styling. The chemistry between Miss York and Mr Plummer is also somewhat lacking. That said, on balance, this film is a fine tribute to "The Few".