A Great WW II Aviation Movie

Palmpilot

Palmpilot

Touchdown! Greaser!
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Richard Palm
I just saw Dark Blue World, and it was great! It's avalable used quite cheaply too. One of the Amazon customer reviews says it best:

Dark Blue World - An instant classic!, June 4, 2002
By Stephen P. Osvath (Medina, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) This review is from: Dark Blue World (DVD)

I'm quickly realizing that there are some unbelievably good foreign films out there (I own about a half-dozen now). My wife and I watched Dark Blue World on DVD this weekend. It is one of the best epic war movies that I've ever seen and a very fine DVD release. The cinematography was amazing and the Dolby Digital mix was stunning. I felt as if there really were Spitfires and BF-109s flying through my living room!

In case you haven't heard of it, Dark Blue World is about Czech fighter pilots who fought for the RAF during World War II. In addition to an amazing history lesson, it was one of the best war screenplays I've ever seen and was wonderfully acted and directed. This is the first movie in a long, long time that I really felt connected to the characters. It makes me want to see more from this director and these actors. Jan Sverák should have been nominated for Best Director. Ondrej Vetchý (as Frantisek Sláma), Krystof Hádek (as Karel Vojtisek), and Tara Fitzgerald (as Susan) were all outstanding. It is rare that you see a movie so well balanced with stellar performances. Even the dog was perfectly cast (you'll know what I mean when the tears are rolling down your face as the main character has to leave her behind)!

Most of the movie is in Czech with English subtitles, which is refreshing. Hearing everything in the correct language sure does make the experience so much more fulfilling. It has the best aerial combat scenes in any film, ever. You'd think that you were seeing very high-quality historical film of the real thing. I'm a pilot and, as such, I'm extremely demanding in this area for accuracy down to the last detail. Let me tell you that the production staff for Dark Blue World didn't miss any detail. The combat sequences will take your breath away and really leave you with an appreciation for the sacrifices made by these pilots.

Even though I just saw it a couple of days ago, I'm gonna watch it again really soon. You won't be disappointed!!! I think that this film is the sleeper hit of 2001. It has my unqualified recommendation.
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http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Blue-Wor...1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1319126735&sr=1-1

[Edit: By the way, I don't recommend reading the professional review that Amazon has up. It's a good review, but I think it has too many spoilers. I wouldn't read the back cover of the case, or look too closely at the front cover for the same reason.]
 
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I got the DVD several years ago. A very good story. Some of the flying scenes are CGI reworkings of footage from "Battle of Britain", but you'de be hard pressed to tell which ones.
 
shoot, I think I've seen it but it doesn't ring a bell. So I ordered it on Amazon just in case.
 
How often do they show Spitfires in that movie? Is it one or two scenes or most of the movie?
 
MachFly said:
How often do they show Spitfires in that movie? Is it one or two scenes or most of the movie?
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There is a lot of aerial combat footage, and it looked to me like they were all Spitfires on the British side, although I admit that I'm not totally sure I could pick a Hawker Hurricane out of a lineup. The combat footage looked very realistic to me, but I've never been in combat.

The lack of Hurricanes seemed odd to me, because I was under the impression that there were lots of them in service in WW II. However I don't know whether the RAF mixed types in the same squadron.

By the way, the reason I posted a customer review instead of the professional review that Amazon has up is because I thought the latter has too many spoilers in it. I wouldn't read the back cover of the case, or look too closely at the front cover for the same reason.
 
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Palmpilot said:
There is a lot of aerial combat footage, and it looked to me like they were all Spitfires on the British side, although I admit that I'm not totally sure I could pick a Hawker Hurricane out of a lineup. The combat footage looked very realistic to me, but I've never been in combat.

The lack of Hurricanes seemed odd to me, because I was under the impression that there were lots of them in service in WW II. However I don't know whether the RAF mixed types in the same squadron.

By the way, the reason I posted a customer review instead of the professional review that Amazon has up is because I thought the latter has too many spoilers in it. I wouldn't read the back cover of the case, or look too closely at the front cover for the same reason.
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I see,
Thanks


In the beginning of the war the RAF did have them in the same battle but not in the same squadron. Spitfires would normally go after 109s & 190s and Hurricanes would go after the bombers.
 
MachFly said:
I see,
Thanks


In the beginning of the war the RAF did have them in the same battle but not in the same squadron. Spitfires would normally go after 109s & 190s and Hurricanes would go after the bombers.
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There were no 190's in the B of B. Only 109E's as fighters.
 
MachFly said:
Right, I was referring to the time period when BOB started to when the Hurricane retired.
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Got it. The Hurricane was a really underated plane.
 
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