Dam Busters tells the (mostly) true story of the men who developed and delivered the bouncing bomb used against German dams to cripple their industrial output.
I've seen my share of WWII films, and while this one has many of the standard features, it has one thing that makes it unique: it shows the critical importance played by the engineers in this -- as in any -- war effort. I guess being an engineer myself, I found the character of Barnes Wallis (the developer of the unique bomb) particularly endearing: his single-minded pursuit of an idea, his refusal to accept defeat, the tension and anxiety while watching trials go bad one after another. I've been through all that but not during a shooting war, so I can only imagine how much of a pressure cooker he was in.
OK, nerds aside, the rest of the cast is also splendidly real and believable. The effects are, well, let's face it, this was 1954 and it looks worse than a Godzilla movie, but somehow that doesn't detract from the impact of the movie. You still get that tense seat-of-the-pants feeling as the Lancasters fly straight into the gauntlet of machine gun fire, just praying they won't get hit and be able to deliver their payload.
Just the footage of the flying Lancasters alone is enough reason to watch, if you are into WWII aircraft. There seem to be 5 or 6 in use during the shooting, and their appearance (even on the small TV screen) is impressive. One can only imagine what it would have been like on the big screen.
Another fine touch is the final denouement: mission accomplished, but there is no crowing or high-fiving, just the sober realization that 56 men did not return from the raid. The victors are tired, weary, simply sink into their beds for sleep. To me this seems like a much more realistic ending than the back-slapping good cheer that a typical (shallower) movie would have ended with.
It's long, maybe could have been trimmed here and there, but not without losing the effect of what it's like to be down at the base, waiting for news, no way to communicate except to just wait. Or the pilots training and training for a mission whose objective they don't know. It's a bit demanding of the viewer, as there seems to be not quite enough tension to spread over the 2+ hour running time.
Overall, 7 out of 10 for a truly classic wartime film.
I've seen my share of WWII films, and while this one has many of the standard features, it has one thing that makes it unique: it shows the critical importance played by the engineers in this -- as in any -- war effort. I guess being an engineer myself, I found the character of Barnes Wallis (the developer of the unique bomb) particularly endearing: his single-minded pursuit of an idea, his refusal to accept defeat, the tension and anxiety while watching trials go bad one after another. I've been through all that but not during a shooting war, so I can only imagine how much of a pressure cooker he was in.
OK, nerds aside, the rest of the cast is also splendidly real and believable. The effects are, well, let's face it, this was 1954 and it looks worse than a Godzilla movie, but somehow that doesn't detract from the impact of the movie. You still get that tense seat-of-the-pants feeling as the Lancasters fly straight into the gauntlet of machine gun fire, just praying they won't get hit and be able to deliver their payload.
Just the footage of the flying Lancasters alone is enough reason to watch, if you are into WWII aircraft. There seem to be 5 or 6 in use during the shooting, and their appearance (even on the small TV screen) is impressive. One can only imagine what it would have been like on the big screen.
Another fine touch is the final denouement: mission accomplished, but there is no crowing or high-fiving, just the sober realization that 56 men did not return from the raid. The victors are tired, weary, simply sink into their beds for sleep. To me this seems like a much more realistic ending than the back-slapping good cheer that a typical (shallower) movie would have ended with.
It's long, maybe could have been trimmed here and there, but not without losing the effect of what it's like to be down at the base, waiting for news, no way to communicate except to just wait. Or the pilots training and training for a mission whose objective they don't know. It's a bit demanding of the viewer, as there seems to be not quite enough tension to spread over the 2+ hour running time.
Overall, 7 out of 10 for a truly classic wartime film.