Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.
- Winston Churchill

Starring: Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Harry Andrews, Robert Shaw, Curd Jürgens, Ian McShane, Kenneth More, Laurence Olivier, Nigel Patrick, Christopher Plummer, Michael Redgrave, Ralph Richardson, Patrick Wymark, Susannah York, Michael Bates, Robert Flemyng

DML Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ - good

"Gentlemen, you're missing the essential truth. We're short of 200 pilots. Those we have are tired, strained, and all overdue for relief. We're fighting for survival. Losing. We don't need a big wing or a small wing. We need pilots. - And a miracle" - Air Chief Marshall Sir Hugh Dowding

Why watch this? This expensive British war epic is historically significant.

Plot Summary: In the summer and autumn of 1940, the German Luftwaffe launches a sustained aerial campaign to destroy the Royal Air Force and military infrastructure in preparation for a land invasion of Great Britain. This story dramatically chronicles the strategic and tactical air battles fought between the two air forces as the British utilize their fighter command, radar technology, and determination to defend their homeland. Ultimately, the RAF, though outnumbered, successfully repels the German attacks in a decisive turning point of World War II.

Dad's Preview: The Battle of Britain was a war for aerial supremacy that would be known as the greatest moment for either the German Luftwaffe or  Royal Air Force (RAF). Germany, with its superior numbers of planes and pilots, was determined to bomb, then invade, London. England stood strong and Germany eventually lost the war. This film features a provincial who's who of British actors, much like America's war epic The Longest Day (1962). I found this historical film interesting and quite entertaining, especially the fighter plane dogfights featuring many refurbished British Spitfires against the German Messerschmitts. Critics of the day found the film too long, but for the most part, historically accurate. If you are a war buff, you need to visit this chapter in World War II.

Spitfire Productions; United Artists