Battle of Britain: Collector's Edition

The titular air battle of August 1940, in which Britain's outnumbered RAF held off Hermann Goering's mighty Luftwaffe—staving off the German invasion and thwarting Hitler's blitzkrieg conquest of Western Europe—was of enormous significance in the ultimate outcome of World War II. So it's not surprising that it was the subject of a big-budget movie, one in a string of similar pictures made during the 1960s and ‘70s (The Longest Day, Anzio, Midway, Tora! Tora! Tora!) featuring major stars (here Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, and Robert Shaw, among others) and the sort of extensive combat recreations that challenged filmmakers before the advent of computer-generated effects. As with most such efforts, Battle of Britain inclines to plodding earnestness (particularly in the scenes on the ground, though there are also bursts of the obligatory tough-guy humor), but the sequences of aerial combat remain impressive, with an authenticity that today's frantic SFX creations conspicuously lack. Boasting an excellent widescreen transfer, this two-disc “collector's edition” features an audio commentary by director Guy Hamilton, aerial director Bernard Williams, and historian Paul Annett (viewers also have the option of replacing Ron Goodwin's music with the discarded score by Sir William Walton, which isn't as conventionally rousing but is still the work of a major composer and well worth hearing). The second disc is filled with a series of featurettes, including a “making-of” narrated by Caine, another on the difficulties encountered in recreating the air combat, and a third offering reminiscences by an actual RAF squadron leader. In 1969 audiences stayed away in droves—like most pictures of its ilk, Battle of Britain was a financial disappointment—but this sumptuous DVD release should reach a wider audience. A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)[Blu-ray Review—June 24, 2008—MGM, 132 min., G, $39.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1969's Battle of Britain has a nice transfer with DTS HD 5.1 Master lossless sound, but no bonus features. Bottom line: a solid looking Blu-ray release that is—unfortunately—missing all of the extras from Sony's double-disc standard DVD “collector's edition.”]