Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Ignore the cover of the DVD. The love interest is really a minor part of this wonderful British miniseries which follows an RAF squadron through the "Phoney War" (September 1939 - May 1940), the battle for France (May-June 1940), and the Battle of Britain through its climax in the fall of 1940.
This is not your usual squadron of movie heroes. For starters, the squadron commander seems to spend more time working on the wine list than thinking about strategy. As for flying, he wants them to fly into battle in straight, wingtip-to-wingtip formations like a marching band. The pilots are for the most part upper class elites happy with the leader's 'fox and hounds' demeanor. Some of the pilots are not especially likeable, particularly "Moggy" , a boarding-school bully who, it turns out, is an ace killer. The one "Yank", a Canadian socialist and veteran of the Spanish Civil War, gets to smirk at the upper crust poseurs.
It's a good mix, and for the first six months of the war, there's not a lot of go at the Boche, and what is great about the series is the shock and surprise when the war begins in earnest. The battle scenes are as well done as the big screen "Battle of Britain", except we really know these characters by the time the real war hits. Some excel, some crack, and some pack it in. One character starts to speaking exclusively in quotes from Churchill speeches, unnerving the squadron adjutant. The final two episodes are very, very intense, and unlike Hollywood, the movie does not play favorites with who lives and who doesn't.
The Spitfire was the most beautiful plane ever flown, and we get good long looks at the real thing. The flying scenes are a treat. Great for grognards, but the story is well rounded and a good time should be had by all.
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