Battle of Britain (1969) Review

An all-star cast fills in-between beautiful scenes of aerial combat in this recounting of the famous World War II battle over Great Britain’s skies. While the fictional characters are nothing to write home about, the real drama comes from the unfolding nightmare that really did happen. Glorious cinematography will make you want to see it on a big screen – the bigger the better. UPDATED August 2014 for a full rewrite, Blu-ray details, and HD screen captures.

From August 12 to October of 1940, a fierce bombing campaign by Germany took place in preparation for an eventual amphibious invasion of Great Britain. Badly outnumbered and riven by arguments over strategy, the British very nearly lost this critical battle during the early stages of the Second World War. Any attempt to portray this complicated history was bound to be flawed in one way or another, so it was perhaps too big a story to tell in one movie.

Three main focuses are interweaved throughout: the factual RAF Fighter Command struggle to form an effective strategy (based on book The Narrow Margin), depictions of the air war itself, and drama around fictional fighter pilots.  Most of the focus is on the second and features the best aerial footage I’ve seen in any movie not named The Blue Max. With the noted James Bond film series director Guy Hamilton helming the movie, great action was guaranteed.

Captain America: The First Avenger

Finally a live action Captain America movie that is a good movie has arrived. Filled with action, a sweet romance, and a great deal of heart, it has everything a summer blockbuster should have. But will it be a hit with the public?

I just got back from seeing Marvel’s latest movie blockbuster attempt and can say it ranks up there with Iron Man 2 and Thor in quality, but below Iron Man. But I like it better than the two films I grouped it with and that is what sets it apart. Like Thor, it is part of the 3D fad of the moment.

Captain America begins with a discovery of a strange object in the Artic ice and for a second I thought I’d stumbled into a preview screening of The Thing prequel/remake. The object is very large and mysterious, with the government types using a fancy laser to cut their way into it. Inside they find conventional beams and struts, along with a frosted over cockpit. A glint draws the attention of one explorer and he scrapes away the frost to reveal that famous shield.

The film goes back to 1942 and a skinny young man desperately trying to get passed on a physical to join the armed forces. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) has a laundry list of ailments that render him 4F (unsuitable for service) and can’t talk his way in. Later on, his since of right earns him a beating outside a theater only to be rescued by his best friend, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) who is about to be shipped out. As is typical of the movie, there are a lot of nice character moments between the two and you can buy the friendship.

A series of events bring Steve to the attention of a scientist, Erskine (Stanely Tucci) in charge of a project to create a “super soldier” for the US government. Dr. Erskine is a warm and humane presence in each scene Tucci steals. Yep, even Tommy Lee Jones is unable to stop Tucci from stealing his scenes, though it is a close run race.

Rogers also meets quite a dame… err, woman…. err, lady in Peggy Carter (Haley Atwell). Not just easy on the eyes, she is a nicely three dimensional character. You can interpret that anyway you want, it still applies. I’m going to have to see some other movies Atwell is in if this one is any indication of her acting skills. Carter can hold her own with the boys and is a crack shot. She also sees the real man in the frail frame of Rogers.

Of course Steve Rogers makes it through the experiment and becomes a perfect specimen of humanity with enhanced speed, reflexes, strength, and agility. But things go awry very quickly and he ends up being one of a kind.

Over in Norway and Germany, a vicious and brilliant scientist Johann Schmidt aka The Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) has been experimenting with powers mortals shouldn’t tamper with. Shockingly, he’s succeeding and his branch of the SS, Hydra, is becoming a force to be reckoned with. There is a connection between him and Rogers that destines them to be foes.

A journey towards becoming a hero and leader follows for Steve Rogers, with lots of action that doesn’t overwhelm the development of the characters. It is an unapologetic tribute to the bravery of the Allied soldiers who fought in WWII as well as old movie serials.

Chris Evans really surprised me and it is hard to believe he is the same actor who played the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four movies. His Rogers is a very believable and likeable hero, evincing bravery without arrogance and with an ever present sense of decency. The final scene set in the 1940’s was unexpectedly touching due to his and Atwell’s performances.

Hugo Weaving did a note perfect performance as the prideful and somewhat insane Red Skull. This is a character driven by a belief in his own mental perfection and a vicious temper.  The makeup effects were excellent and this incarnation of the character owes much to the unreleased 1990’s movie. But it is a much better portrayal.

Having Tony Stark’s dad, Howard (Dominic Cooper), be the genius behind Captain America’s shield and other gadgets was a stroke of genius. He also gets some excellent lines and you can see Tony didn’t fall far from the family tree.

Little things I noticed:

The way they worked an authentic version of the original comic book costume into the movie is very inventive and deliberately cringe worthy. The whole USO thing was an interesting addition to the mythos.

Fans of Luftwaffe ‘46 projects and fan fiction will love this movie to death. The aircraft are all derived or inspired by radical designs from WWII that never saw the light of day.

Keep an eye out for a dummy clad in an all red jumpsuit at the World’s Fair. It is a nod to the original Human Torch from the 1940’s.

There is a Band of Brothers connection in the film. Neal McDonough plays Dum Dum Dugan complete with walrus mustache. You may remember him as Buck in the fantastic WWII miniseries.

Stay after the credits. What happens after is much bigger than in any of the previous Marvel films. Much bigger.

Captain America: The First Avenger is a very enjoyable and old fashioned film. But most of all, it has a lot of heart and characters you’ll like. I recommend it to anyone over the age of 10 and especially to anyone who liked Raiders of the Lost Ark or The Rocketeer.

Aerial Recon Photos from WWII

I saw this at the Telegraph and had to share, the photos are amazing.  In the US, the motto “Unarmed, Alone, and Unafraid'” was used by photoreconnaissance squadrons as they flew incredibly dangerous missions.  Usually they flew solo with no weaponry, relying on speed and surprise to stay alive.  The pictures of Operation Market Garden and the D-Day landings are particularly compelling.

A Suprising Newspaper Promotion

You would never see this in the USA these days.  The Daily Telegraph is giving away a voucher to pick up a free 1/72 Revell Spitfire Mk. II kit in the Saturday editon and another in the Sunday Telegraph for a 1/72 Revell Hurricane Mk. 1!  This warms my heart as it should any scale model builder and I hope parents take advantage of this opportunity across the pond.  Those two fighters were the backbone of the Royal Air Force in WWII, so a great chance at a history lesson is there besides teaching the joys of model building.

If such a thing were done here, it likely would cause a bunch of gray haired gentlemen to fight over the newspapers, I'm sad to say. The loss of hobbies where boys use their hands has been one of the more distressing changes in our society, as more passive forms of entertainment have taken over. You don't see that many youngsters building kits, they would rather be playing video games or watching movies.

As soon as my room is repaired and everything moved back in, I'll be eagerly getting back to finishing some kits myself.

A Truly Useless Idiot

Sometimes there will be a public figure that gathers a following with rhetoric and positions that sound reasonable, even if you don't agree with them.  Then at a later point, the mask will come off and they will be revealed as nutcases or evil manipulators of the truth.

I haven't decided which Pat Buchanan is or if he is both.  But it is clear that he has very strong fascist leanings with his continued attempts to rewrite the history of WWII and Adolph Hitler in particular. There are so many things wrong with his statements in this article that I barely know where to begin.

First off, Hitler did want war, trying to make him out to be a peacenik who was forced to invade Poland is utterly deranged.  The British escape at Dunkirk enraged him as a failure to crush his enemy, he didn't let the troops escape.  The only reasons he tried peace attempts with Britain was due to his plans to double cross Stalin and invade the Soviet Union -- Adolf didn't want a two front war because of the drain on materials and troops. His dream of succeeding where Napoleon failed drove his foolish attack on the Soviets.

Then there is the farcical question about the Luftwaffe only having twin engine bombers.  The Nazi scientists were working on and did have four engine bomber designs, but they were at a low priority.  Why?  Simple answer:  they planned on having captured airstrips to fly their bombers from thanks to the blitzkrieg attacks being so successful at taking land.  The twin engine bombers were perfectly suited to this, where the four engine bombers needed large airstrips, as the US Army Air Force found out in the Pacific and England. Hitler's plans were concentrated on continental Europe and I often wonder what horrors would have happened if he's only had the one front war he expected.

Buchanan is either an outright liar or insane to be pushing this garbage, though history shows that both conditions are not mutually exclusive.  What is apparant is that Buchanan is a neo-Nazi, not just a sympathizer, but the full blown fascist that haunted the 20th Century.

He should be accorded no respect and his viewpoints widely publicized so that people will know what he really is.

Seventy Years Ago in Poland

On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland in an act that would eventually plunge Earth into a second world war. The evils of socialism were fully unleashed at that point, with Hitler the fascist and Stalin the communist agreeing to split the country.  While this went on, Great Britain and France dithered about going to war, despite their alliance with Poland that required them to. 

So why did they dither?  I always thought Chamberlain was simply a weak fool and this article in the Telegraph reinforces that view.  I would submit that weakness is always rewarded with force, especially when dealing with dictators and I am watching the same behavior with Obama in his foreign dealings. Look for the violent and dangerous men of the world to take advantage of that in the years to come.