Directed by:
Michael AndersonScreenplay:
R.C. SherriffCinematography:
Erwin HillierComposer:
Leighton LucasCast:
Richard Todd, Michael Redgrave, Basil Sydney, Derek Farr, Stanley Van Beers, Colin Tapley, Ursula Jeans, Laurence Naismith, Robert Shaw, George Baker (more)Plots(1)
Split into two distinct sections, the film deals first with the fraught, but the ultimately successful development of a new bomb, by Dr. Barnes N. Wallis (Michael Redgrave). The second deals with the mission itself during the British raid on the Ruhr Dams, and its associated costs for the enemy and for the British airmen. Adapted by R.C. Sherriff from Paul Brickhill’s book “Enemy Coast Ahead” and featuring superlative special effects photography by Gilbert Taylor (to say nothing of Eric Coates’ stirring theme tune), The Dam Busters was Britain’s biggest box office success of 1955. (StudioCanal UK)
(more)Reviews (2)
The film was made in 1955 and you can clearly tell by its special effects (the tracers looked just weird). I did have a great time watching, though. What unexpectedly fascinated me was Dr. Wallis’s research. I really enjoyed the journey from a golf ball to a five-ton bouncing bomb. The flights over the Channel on the way to the mission objective were not so great. I was starting to get worried that the creators wanted to show them in real time. I also wouldn’t mind a deeper insight into the personal life of the pilots to portray the individual characters in greater detail. Anyway, I was satisfied overall so it wasn't a waste of time.
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Yes, the final half hour is riveting, but what happens before it is no less interesting. The Dam Busters surprised me very pleasantly and immediately became one of my top air war films. And that doesn't change despite the fact that the actors spend three quarters of the film just talking, planning, testing, modifying and talking... This (and the fact that the film is not boring at all) are the things that made Dam Busters different and remarkable.
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Gallery (56)
Photo © NBC Universal
![The Dam Busters - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/161/408/161408715_3483da.jpg)
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