The Dam Busters - Collectors Edition [Blu-ray] [2018]

great

Great to watch this again, almost paid the extra £1 to buy rather than rent but as I haven’t watched it in about 30 years thought the rental was worth it.

In these woke hysteria times its great to see that releases like this still exist which publish the movie as it was within its original historical context.The movie on itself is great. Particularly the last twenty minutes are a lot of fun in the way we can totally see the attack on the death star in star wars, as lucas seemed to have knicked sequences shot for shot from Dambusters without any shame.The edition is great and the only thing missing was an audio commentary, but the extras have lots of info on the making of the movie already.Recommended if you like classic movies because this restoration is excellent and the film is not censored.

Classic and true war film

Nothing

The reputation of this 1955 British classic directed by Michael Anderson has justifiably endured through the decades, all the more remarkable because the film was made in monochrome on a modest budget and the rather primitive ‘special effects’ of the aerial action sequences are in a different league to the cutting-edge CGI common in the present century.The sharp intelligent script and fine character acting from Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave are matched to a fast-paced narrative story line, historically accurate and with a documentary feel.Guy Gibson himself was killed flying a Mosquito on operations over Europe in 1944, so though he survived the May 1943 Ruhr Dams raid he did not survive the war. However many of the other people portrayed in the film were still alive in 1954 and were consulted extensively to ensure the fine details were got right. The Avro Lancasters in the film are real aircraft still airworthy in 1954: four were used in the film and flown by serving RAF pilots.Because the film was made only 9 years after the end of WW2 it has the look and feel of the period. Decades-later reconstructions rarely get right exactly how people looked and spoke, their values and selfless devotion to duty so anachronistic in the 21st century, but here it’s natural and true-to-life. The script has an economy of language, refreshing absence of mawkish emotional baggage and no sub-plot to clog-up the action, qualities from which many aspiring modern film-makers might learn. The theme music by Eric Coates is one of the most instantly recognisable scores in cinematic history, perfect in tone with an enduring power which endows the story with a kind of nobility and sense of great occasion.This special anniversary Blu-ray offers the film in both the previously available 1.37:1, and for the first time a more cinematic 1.75:1 format on no fewer than five disks as follows:1. The film on DVD in 1.37:12. The film on DVD in 1.75:13. The film on Blu-ray in 1.37:1, with ‘special features’4. The film on Blu-ray in 1.75:1 (with no special features)5. A DVD of special features including a documentary film about the work of Barnes Wallis dating from around 1960; a long documentary colour film of the operation featuring extended interviews with all the surviving 617sqn aircrew still alive in the 1990s; a feature on the film restoration and a library of stills from the original film set.The wide-screen 1.75:1 format has never previously been available on DVD or Blu-ray and is excellent, though the difference in quality between the DVD and Blu-ray offerings is hardly noticeable.In addition, you get a superb 64-page colour-print book featuring:• Essays by Dan Snow, Jonathan Falconer and Andrew Dickens (his article is titled “Is the Dam Busters still relevant today?”)• Reprints of contemporaneous newspaper articles about the film on its release in 1955• Barnes Wallis’ original notes and diagrams about the bouncing bomb• A feature about the London premiere attended by HRH Princess Margaret• Loads of tech and history about the Avro Lancaster and the formation of 617 sqn• Full crew and cast list of the filmPlus:• a fold-out poster featuring all 20 of the ‘Operation Chastise’ Lancasters in colour profile (one aircraft was a spare and not used on the raid) by the RAF Benevolent Fund• a fold-out aerial photo of the flooded region around the breached Moehne dam the day after the raid• some monochrome postcard stills featuring scenes from the filmAll in all, this is the definitive ‘Dam Busters’ set, a fine quality piece of work and a steal at £22.00.In an unedited script Guy Gibson’s pet labrador retains his name, in 1943 England a centuries-old word in common use for a specific shade of dark brown completely absent the baggage attached to it in the USA with its very different racial-social history (in Peter Jackson’s proposed new remake, in a gesture towards modern PC sensibilities the dog is reportedly to be referred to throughout as ‘Nigsy’, a pet name Gibson often used when calling his labrador which steers the hound clear of possible controversy).

I've loved this movie ever since I was a schoolboy. Redgrave as Barnes Wallace was superb. A must for WWII history buffs. Visual effects are a bit clunky, but, hey, it was made in the '50's.

The Dam Busters is a movie that I have meaning to pick up for a long time now. With this awesome new Collectors Edition out, it seemed like the perfect time to jump on board and purchase this British film classic.By now, I'd like to think that everyone knows the story. Much like The Great Escape, this movie has been a family tradition for many and know it back to front. But for those that don't, the plot is quite simple. The first half of the movie has us following the birth and development of a "bouncing bomb" designed to level Nazi dams in Germany during World War II. The second half is about the flight crews who go on the mission to utilise these new explosive devices. It is a very simple plot to follow and one that still flows perfectly, even after all these years.We get treated to some good humour, a lot of sorrow and a good bit of intensity. The acting in the movie is about as perfect as you could expect from the 1950s and superb cast utilise these emotions perfectly. If you're not completely engrossed in the film within the first thirty minutes, I'd be shocked and concerned.Visually, I would say that the movie has aged in some ways for the worst but overall it still looks great. The visual FX like the Flak tracer shells and the black dot censoring the bombs are quite noticeable. A problem that has become quite common with new sharp bluray releases. But you should expect these kind of flaws in such an old movie and to be honest, they didn't bother me one bit. I appreciate the effort put into it and the fact that everything else in the movie looks sharp with excellent dialogue and some fantastic cinematography, which makes up for some dated special effects.The blu-ray transfer to my eyes looked absolutely beautiful and I couldn't be happier with it. I noticed some people complaining about the different aspect ratios. After trying each bluray disc, I found both aspect ratios to be adequate and shouldn't be a problem for anybody intending on watching the movie. One is of course the original and the other is a wide screen print. They both looked great on my big screen television, I don't know what the bickering is about to be honest.The Collectors Edition package itself is excellent. The box is fairly sturdy and looks great, perfect for displaying on your shelf somewhere. The contents including a signed photograph, post cards and an extensive booklet which is great for fans of the movie. I did find the addition of the film spread across two DVDs and the special features on a third disc to be a bit of a waste. it would have been better to have the soundtrack as the DVDs seem a bit redundant with the excellent bluray prints with the exact same content. But that is a minor niggle.At the end of the day. I reckon fans of the movie will adore this box set. Especially if it continues to be set at the reasonably good price of £20 that I got mines for. The film looks stunning and sharp, the box looks great and everything inside makes for a great collectors piece. If you already love this movie, The Dam Busters Collectors Edition is well worth every penny.(... and NO, the dogs name does not need to be censored!)

A great movie, with a good cast and the story was from an actual event.

World war 2 docudrama shot in black and white (square picture) so that actual bomb test footage can be used in the film. Picture and sound were clear and sharp. First half of the film covers Dr. Barnes Wallace, the brilliant engineer who designed the bouncing bombs as well as the grand slam earthquake bombs used by the British. The second half of the film covers how Wing Commander Guy Gibson organized a new wing and carried out the Dam Busting raids in Germany. The unfortunate part of the film is the fact that Commander Gibson named is Black dog the N-word. The word is used several times during the film in reference to the dog and as a code word for the breaching of one of the dams. If you can get passed that and still enjoy the film you will see a true piece of history carried out by brave flight crews against the longest of odds. You will also see and hear actual Lancaster and wellington bombers in flight. They could have edited out all references to the dog but they left the film intact. I'm glad they did.

Mai 1943 Großbritannien plant mit der Operation Chastise, die Wasserversorgung und Energiegewinnung im Ruhrgebiet lahmzulegen. Die Royal Air Force beauftragt deshalb den Konstrukteur Barnes Wallis (Michael Redgrave), eine Spezialbombe herzustellen. Er entwickelt eine sogenannte "Rollbombe". Diese hat er speziell zur Zerstörung von Talsperren konstruiert. Die Bombe wird in einiger Entfernung von der Staumauer an der Seeseite einer Talsperre abgeworfen und springt wie ein Kieselstein über die Wasseroberfläche, um Torpedonetzen auszuweichen, bevor sie an der Mauer auf den Grund des Stausees sinkt, um dort zu explodieren. Leider wird der Plan wegen fehlender Produktionskapazität zu den Akten gelegt.Wallis ist verärgert und sucht den Befehlshaber der britischen Bomberflotte, Sir Arthur Harris (Basil Sydney), auf. Nach einiger Zeit ist Harris doch davon überzeugt und es gelingt ihm, den Premierminister dazu zu überreden, das Projekt doch noch zu starten.Für diese Operation wird eine spezielle Bomberstaffel unter dem Kommando von Wing Commander Guy Gibson (Richard Todd) gebildet. Gibson rekrutiert erfahrene Piloten, die Flüge bei niedriger Höhe absolvieren und üben müssen. Nach einigen Wochen Training startet die Operation Chastise.Der britische Kriegsfilmklassiker, der auf wahren Begebenheiten beruht, war 1956 für den Oscar in der Kategorie "Beste visuelle Effekte" sowie für den Britisch Film Academy Award nominiert.Sprachen Deutsch und Englisch (Mono DTS-HD Master Audio), Laufzeit ca. 125 Min. Bildformat 1.37.1. Extras: Diverse Dokumentationen, Fotogalerie.

great movie

I Love true stories. This is a very good window into the past in WWII where men used their intellect to solve hard problems and the young men who sacrificed their lives to destroy the Nazi war machine. Though some modern arm chair historians downplay this obvious success. It was a huge morale booster for the British and a signal to us Yanks that the British could truly offer resistance to the German on slot. This event did a lot in convincing the USA to entering the War. In a five star rating this is a seven for a history buff.