Battle of Britain poster & wallpaper

Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Curd Jürgens

England defends itself against an aerial onslaught during the summer of 1940.

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81% liked it

2,026 ratings

G, 2 hrs. 13 min.

Directed by: Guy Hamilton

Release Date: September 15, 1969

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DVD Release Date: May 20, 2003

Stats: 558 reviews

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French Poster Battle of Britain Susannah York as Section Officer Maggie Harvey in Battle of Britain (1969) Battle of Britain Battle of Britain
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Flixster Reviews (558)

  • SirPant
    September 24, 2009
    SirPant
    It's good but it's not the brilliant classic every says it is, sorry, but it's overrated in my opinion! Certainly not the great Guy Hamilton's best!
  • hypathio7
    June 6, 2009
    hypathio7
    This picture directed by Guy Hamilton of some of the James Bond movies left me disappointed. A couple of the same men to appear about a decade later in A Bridge Too Far are present again (Caine, Olivier, and Fox). A couple other faces stand out a little (Howard, Plummer, Shaw, ...( read more)and York). It really doesn't matter though because the characters are so under defined. I don't have any military experience let alone flying experience. I expect that anyone who does might enjoy this movie more. But I thought it was seriously lacking in the narrative or drama department. There was almost no development of the characters to give the audience reason to care for anyone. At least it was a WWII movie that had a major female character in the service with York. And it tried to give equal time to the German air force preparing to attack England. At least there was that. Hamilton and the producers ended up intricately recreating the battles in the air. It is one big reenactment! However, it becomes about showing off the fire and explosions and some maneuvers. They expected that the pure drama of the historical event would be enough to hold the audience's attention, but it wasn't for me. I was jumping to extremes when I thought that A Bridge Too Far made it too difficult to identify the actors and what was happening some times. When you hardly have time to get to know the characters and their personalities, try recognizing who is who with fighter pilot goggles and hoods and radio/air masks! And I had a bloody hard time telling which were the German planes and which were the British planes in the heat of battle! I guess I'd be no good serving in the air force. The making-of docs were more interesting in explaining the uses and challenges of the planes. One that I can't find on IMDb (hosted by Michael Caine) does a clearer job explaining the history with occasional clips from the movie and archival footage to show who was involved.
  • AgentLexi2132
    January 1, 2008
    AgentLexi2132
    CLassic war film!
  • hanbaz
    October 29, 2009
    hanbaz
    A spectacular British film depicting the the front of the battles from the air during 1940. Even though it is mostly from the British front there's an insight into the german pilots.

    It has some great action sequences of the spitfires for its year and with some great names suc...( read more)h as Plummer, Howard, Olivier and Caine to keep the rest of the film together and give insight into the pilots.

    I think its a good classic.
  • bjaccobs
    August 15, 2009
    bjaccobs
    A WWII film about England defending itself against German bombers.
    The aerial battle sequences are fantastic in this movie and I would recommend watching it just for those scenes. The rest of the movie is average fare.
  • FiLmCrAzY
    August 9, 2009
    FiLmCrAzY
    fantastic movie and captures the historical event that happened in 1940 britain!
    really fantastic movie worth a watch!
  • riyals
    May 4, 2009
    riyals
    Classic film which is enjoyable and historic to watch.
  • matthewmulliss
    March 25, 2009
    matthewmulliss
    Good WW2 actioner, with brilliant air to air cinematography. Love that final sequence
  • ifou
    March 23, 2009
    ifou
    Needed more Spitfire dogfights :D

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  • WrellikW
    July 20, 2008
    WrellikW
    I like this film! It's the only tribute, to the persistance of, Air Marshal Dowding for fighting against old Government thinking and getting Radar installed, which saved England; America wasn't even in the picture yet.
    This is a good movie and I highly recommend it!

    Take care all,
    William
    Zzzzzzoooommmmm!

    "It is easy to be brave, from a distance." -American Indian Proverb-
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Battle of Britain Trivia

  • In 1940 the Royal Air Force fights the German Air Force for control of British air space to try to prevent a German invasion of Great Britain. Michael Caine, Trevor Howard and Curt Jurgens star. What's the name of this film?  Answer »
  • (1969) It's 1940 and the British Royal Air Force has a real struggle on its hands, fighting to control British air space and prevent a German invasion. The war might have had a very different ending without the tireless efforts of these courageous flyers.  Answer »
  • "We either stand down or blow up - which do you want?" Was spoken by Michael Caine in which 1969 movie?  Answer »
  • Jack Hawkins was not in Battle of Britain (he was dead by then, poor guy) but Michael Caine was. So who else was in that movie?  Answer »
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