The Dam Busters

I plowed through the most recent 5 user reviews of this movie, burrowing past the recitations of historical minutiae and the quibbles about its 50 year old (un)special effects, and thought to myself that everyone missed the point.

Yes, the effects are crude -- the film was made in 19-fricking-54, people! Yes, it gets some of the historical details wrong -- it's entertainment, people! The real point is that it's a fantastic yarn, told with great skill and excitement. When I first saw it (as a teen, before Star Wars) I was glued to the screen. I still am today. And evidently, I'm not alone because in 1977 a certain geeky film maker from Northern California stole a large portion of Dam Busters, mixed in a heapin' helpin' of Hidden Fortress, and peppered it all with a dash of Laurel & Hardy & Flash Gordon, calling it Star Wars.

So I'm giving props where props are due. Don't miss this classic.

The Dambusters is a true story in which the men of 617 Squadron (originally Squadron X) are sent to bomb three key dams in the Ruhr Valley with the famous bouncing bomb. The film shows the young bomber crews training and eventually the mission itself. Many people have said that this raid was a waste of human life and resources but war IS a waste of human life and resources and these men gave the UK a boost in morale and made the Germans realize we weren't beat yet. Apparently Mel Gibson wanted to recreate this movie some years ago but did not get the backing of the MoD,the BBMF or 617 Squadron. With fantastic performances from Richard Todd as Guy Gibson and Michael Redgrave as Barnes Wallis this is a classic film.

It appears that the attack sequences in The Dam Busters were the direct inspiration for the attack on the Death Star in the first Star Wars film. Some of the dialogue is word-for-word, and it is very interesting to watch these two films back to back.

Also, in the original edit of the film, the dog's name (a black labrador) was a historically accurate but socially unacceptable "Nigger". One edit changed the spoken word to "Trigger," while another release cut all scenes with the offending word. This was unfortunate, because parts of the plot became unintelligible -- the dog's name was one of the code-words used during the attack.

Just like to respond to Howard Morley's comments. The dam's raids were urgently needed, and it took only a few months to form 617, train them and attack the dams. Quite a feat I'm sure you'll agree. The film nicely conveys the struggles and the friendships of the crews, put together from the best of the Commonwealth fliers. Even if the screenplay does take some rather large liberties with the story.

As to Guy, he was killed in 1944 on his way back from acting as Master Bomber on a raid over Germany. His Mosquito crashed in Holland, killing him and his navigator. To this day there are no explanations for the crash. Guy should not have been flying at all, but he was so desperate to get back in the air that Bomber Harris gave in and let him. A tragedy. Of the crew of G-George (Guy's ship on the raid) none of them survived the war. The crew crashed whilst trying to bomb the Dortmund-Ems canal later in 1943.

The film is a fitting tribute to the raid, and the massive losses of 617. Of the 19 ships to go out, 11 came back. Of the 77 crew lost on the raid, only 1 survived. This is why the dams were not bombed again. And the problem with the Sorpe was that it was an earth damn, the bombs were not very effective as with the Eder and Moehne.

How do I know all this? My Great-grandmother was a Gibson.

Watch the film and marvel.

By God, this is as definitive as a war film gets. It's on every year, and is as much a part of Christmas as getting drunk and Monopoly. Everyone in this Sceptred isle knows the theme to Dam Busters, and it causes more people to stand up and salute than God Save The Queen. It has moustachioed R.A.F boys, politely bespectacled scientists, laughable special effects, and an entirely predictable ending. It's a British institution, and I don't know where we'd be without it. You can keep your devolution and your New Labour, I've got Dam Busters and I'm not bloody budging.