BBC 4 Fifties British War Films: Days of Glory
Prince Monalulu
Posts: 35,900 Forum Member
✭
For those who watched it earlier.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pkj2m
In the 1950s, Britain looked back on its epic war effort in films such as The Dam Busters, The Cruel Sea and The Colditz Story. However, even at the time these productions were criticised for being class-bound and living in the past.
Journalist and historian Simon Heffer argues that these films have real cinematic merit and a genuine cultural importance, that they tell us something significant not only about the 1950s Britain from which they emerged but also about what it means to be British today.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pkj2m
In the 1950s, Britain looked back on its epic war effort in films such as The Dam Busters, The Cruel Sea and The Colditz Story. However, even at the time these productions were criticised for being class-bound and living in the past.
Journalist and historian Simon Heffer argues that these films have real cinematic merit and a genuine cultural importance, that they tell us something significant not only about the 1950s Britain from which they emerged but also about what it means to be British today.
0
Comments
As a teenager when that film came out which I saw at the cinema, I thought the special effects were terrible.
A lot of fuss is made about the austerity in the fifties, which frankly, I never saw. Leaving school at seventeen I was able to choose between six reasonably paid jobs with prospects and having saved all my money from my "Saturday and holiday job" for a year, whilst still at grammar school, I bought my first car. My parents were working class but we were short of nothing.
Harold MacMillan said around the same time; "You've never had it so good" and I can't dispute that.
Living in south London, by the mid-fifties, I was aware there was little evidence left of bomb damage.
Conversely, I think many young people these days, despite their best efforts, have "never had it so bad."
The scenes of flooding the following day were actually official German newsreel - they looked quite realistic to me.I don't think anyone had heard of CGI in those days.
Off the top of my head I'd guess they were...or something like that - all models,but there were some great shots of Lancs.
In the real-life escape upon which that film was based one of the prisoners doing the vaulting was Carry On regular Peter Butterworth. He auditioned for a role in the film but was rejected for not looking herioc enough.
Other prisoners in the camp who went on to become famous were Talbot Rothwell who wrote a lot of the Carry Ons, Rupert Davies who played Inspector Maigret for the BBC in the 60s and Stratford Johns from Z-Cars and Softly Softly
CGI...can be seen as advancement in films or a backward step! Lawrence of Arabia was obviously made pre CGI, and if CGI had been around then, would not have been such an impressive film to watch
The Dams in The Dambusters I assumed used matt photography, imposing a scene of 'raging water' over the top of a breaking dam...................still a bloody good film though, .then there is ICE COLD IN ALEX ...Brill .....and Sylvia Syms
Laughably bad? For 1955? That's why it was nominated for an Oscar for Best Effects. Of course it looks hokey now - you've had 55 years of progress. Oh, and by the way. The bad black blobs for the bombs was because in 1955, UPKEEP was still classified SECRET.
I thought Heffer over-egged it in places, but it was honest of him to point out that the films were being derided at the time. I just can't agree with his view of the status of Dunkirk though - it is very, very creaky.
She's told the story of the Carlesbergs before in another documentary. Or some of this is old footage.
She certainly was a looker in her day.
The British war films of the 50's have much more realism and quality to them than the gung ho dross Hollywood churned out.
Watch Ice Cold in Alex with a few cold ones in the fridge, on a warm day wait till the end and pour one with them. Trust me it's worth it! You can get pretty much the same glasses as well.
But most of the actually flying was for real and if you watch it, it's bloody good flying as well.
Remember back in the 1950's we had no money and who'd really want the Dam Busters made by the yanks?
Great book, great film. On Radio 5 a couple of years back they used to do their book club on Up All night and they persuaded one of their female reviews to read the book even though she was no fan of war books etc. She came back on the following week saying how she'd loved reading it.
The shots of the dams blowing up I can live with, although by today's standards they'd be considered laughable. The worst shot for me (of the ones they happened to pick out in the doc) was a shot of a Lancaster framed by the cockpit window of one of the other Lancasters. I'm not sure how they actually did it, but somehow the "cockpit" must've been fixed to the model of the other Lancaster, as the movement of both relative to the back-projected ground was identical. It created a very odd-looking effect, as if both planes were stationary and the rest of the earth was moving around them...
The thing that struck me most about The Dam Busters section though was how young the director Michael Anderson came across in the modern day interview, both in looks and his general alertness. I had to look him up online and it turns out he's 93, although he came across a good 20 years younger in this. I hope I'm like that at his age!