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04-28-2003, 11:32 PM
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#1 of 63 
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Battle of Britain DVD
I noticed this dvd is soon to be released and tried running a search on the forum tonight,but it's tied up. Anyway, the review I did see on another dvd site gave it a thumbs up. I was just wondering if anybody has some other input to offer. I believe it was released originally in the early 60's.and done fairly well with alot of actual footage.
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04-29-2003, 06:50 AM
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#2 of 63
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Karl I assume you're talking about the movie 'Battle of Britain' released in 1969 with Laurence Olivier, Michael Caine, Robert Shaw etc?
It's a huge favorite of mine and can't wait to get it on dvd, sadly it's not in Digital Stereo and there are no extras, but at least we're getting it in the proper ratio.
As far as I know real WWII footage was not used in the film, it was all done with models and full sized planes, and very well done too, nearly half of this film consists of air battles, really amazing.
Composer Ron Goodwin did a memorable theme for it, the original composer was William Walton but his music was dumped and replaced by Goodwin's, you can hear a few minutes of Waltons music during the last air battle over London.
The film was a huge hit in Britain but a flop in the States.
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04-29-2003, 09:42 AM
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#3 of 63
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Steve Christou wrote :
....sadly it's not in Digital Stereo
The original mix for this film, by Gordon K. MaCallum in theater 2 at Pinewood Studios, is mono.
Steve Pickard
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04-29-2003, 10:00 AM
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#4 of 63
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I'll definitely get this, just to watch the planes - they cleaned out the Spanish air force, which still had a number of license-built Me-109s and He-111s flying, but with Merlin engines. They also searched the world for flyable Spitfires and Hurricanes, so they're the real stars of the movie.
Early in the film a Hurricane does a roll over a column marching in France and there's a wonderful popping as the engine stutters - they had a carburetor, you know.
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04-29-2003, 11:04 AM
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#5 of 63
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Quote:
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they cleaned out the Spanish air force, which still had a number of license-built Me-109s and He-111s flying, but with Merlin engines
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I think they were Hispano-Suiza engines (at least some); but no matter - in the air BoB is fantastic. One the ground, it's rather more ordinary, but I'm still disappointed that (a) it's a bare bones release (here's hoping for R2), and (b) the rumoured restoration of Sir William Walton's score hasn't taken place. Again, I'm rooting for R2.
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So many films, so little time... |
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04-29-2003, 11:47 AM
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#6 of 63
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Hmmm it is possible the eventual region 2 will have a few extras, but I ain't holding my breath, there's no announcement of a release over here yet, well I can't wait to get BoB on DVD (BoB?) so it's Bare-Bones BoB r1 for me. 
ps. A Bridge Too Far is being re-released on region 2 in a special edition next month,
2 discs packed with extras (I hope), nice.
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04-29-2003, 11:48 AM
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#7 of 63
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Quote:
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The film was a huge hit in Britain but a flop in the States.
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I don't even remember it showing in the theaters around here back in 1969. I was 16 years old at the time: prime age for glorious war epics. Maybe we were too busy watching the moon landings......or upset about the Vietnam draft.
Sad thing is that it's a favorite of mine yet I've never seen a version other than my P&S VHS. What a travesty.
"Winston would pick on a day like this...."
The film came out 5 years before Ultra was disclosed. This scene always gets me laughing because Winston actually knew beforehand that it would be THE critical day.
Feline videophiles Susie and Dukie.
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04-29-2003, 11:56 AM
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#8 of 63
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Dennis if they had Henry Fonda in it as the Prime Minister and Charlton Heston as the main star than maybe it would have had a chance across the pond...
and also Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, and Charles Bronson as a team of wisecracking Spitfire pilots, yeah.... erm no.... 
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04-29-2003, 12:01 PM
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#9 of 63
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Henry Fonda as Winston? He looks more like Clement Atlee to me ("a modest man with much to be modest about").
Feline videophiles Susie and Dukie.
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04-29-2003, 12:10 PM
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#10 of 63
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Quote:
A Bridge Too Far is being re-released on region 2 in a special edition next month,
2 discs packed with extras (I hope), nice.
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I was hoping so too, but it seems to have disappeared from most R2 sites, and at play.com (where I first spotted it), the date is listed as T.B.A.
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So many films, so little time... |
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