Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews

Dorathen Better Late Then Never

HomeyTao For having a relatively low budget, the film's style and overall art direction are immensely impressive.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

MartinHafer I must tell you up front that I have a prejudice towards this film, as I love airplane movies--particularly WWII air films. So, when I saw this on the queue for Netflix, I thought I had to see it--especially since I am familiar with the famed fighter-bomber, the Mosquito. It was an amazingly able and agile plane--one of the best of the war, though it's seldom talked about today.David McCallum stars in this film. If the name isn't familiar, he was one of the stars of the 1960s show "The Man From UNCLE". Unfortunately, he really wasn't given a personality in the film--he was there, but not much more.The story is about a Mosquito squadron. Their job will now be to bomb a rocket production facility. However, it will take absolute precision bombing using very odd bouncing bombs--much like smaller versions of the ones used to blow up the dams in the Ruhr Valley (for more on that, see the excellent film "Dam Busters"). But there's a hitch---the Germans are anticipating it and have moved all the shot down Mosquito crews to this location--daring the Brits to carry out this raid and kill their own men.The action is generally good, but due to a lack of availability, the German fighters are actually slow-moving transport/observation planes. At times, some of these planes are models and move in impossible ways.And, considering how much better the flying sequences were in "The Battle of Britain" (also 1969), I could see how this film might have been overshadowed. There also is a bit of predictability towards the end--with a few clichés among the escaped prisoners. Overall, a decent movie that's worth watching but also one that is far from a must-see.

screenman Actually, this comment is unlikely to contain spoilers for the simple reason that there is nothing to spoil.I have seen some wretched movies in my time but this one is surely dancing on the edge of disaster canyon.There is another movie that most wartime adventure fans will have seen, called '633 Squadron'. It's a well-paced action drama with just enough of the characters' personal lives to give them an interesting depth. Nothing fancy, just predictable. There's a Dam-Busters/Guns of Navarone do-or-die mission to fulfil at all costs, and so on. A competent cast is led by Cliff Robertson, George Chakiris and other stalwarts. And of course, there's that unforgettable stirring theme music, arguably the real star of the show.Well, after this movie was cut and canned, and the studios closed for the day. Someone sneaked into the cutting-room and rummaged through the bins. They found all of the takes no director in his right mind would touch with a barge-pole and hurried back to their little bedsits. Then they came up with a story so preposterous that only a lobotomised hamster could take it seriously, and looked around for a schmuck - I mean star.The best they could come up with was David McCallum. He alone led a bunch of nobodies through a montage of hastily-pasted '633 Squadron' out-takes in an attack upon yet another secret Nazi base, using bouncing bombs - this time bouncing along the ground would you believe?No; I didn't either.It is not very often that I actually squirm with embarrassment. But this was one such occasion.If you haven't already seen it, save yourselves. My DVD is serving as a coaster.

robinakaaly I think the fighters attacking the British airfield (anyone know which one it was) towards the end are Me108s, which were often used in war films as stand-ins for Me109s. The Me108 was a twin seater (side by side) trainer with a similar rear body, wing and tail to the Me109. I think some were used in The Battle of Britain film. The film is also worth watching for the two Avro Ansons which appear at the end carrying the rescued PoWs. It is said that these were brought ashore at Southampton before being flown back to the airfield. Southampton was a civil port, and submarines operated out of HMS Dolphin at Gosport in Portsmouth Harbour. The nearest airfield was probably Lee-on-Solent.

colin-barron I like this movie even though it is not the best air movie made.Contrary to what Sgt Slaughter has said the "Highball" bouncing bomb depicted in the movie did actually exist and was capable of being used against tunnels though its primary role was anti-shipping. The monochrome footage of the Mosquito test dropping a "Highball" on land ,which is used in the film ,is genuine footage from WW2.However the "Highball" could only be fitted to bomber versions of the Mosquito. The Mosquitoes used in the film were supposed to be FBVI fighter - bomber versions with nose guns and short bomb bays which could not be fitted with Highball. Also ,fitting of Highball necessitated removal of the bomb bay doors and the film Mosquitoes supposedly carry Highball inside their bomb bays.The worst feature of the film,as pointed out by other reviewers , was the excessive use of footage from "633 Squadron". Despite this,four genuine airworthy Mosquitoes were used in the production. A fifth Mosquito which was in a damaged,non-airworthy condition,was used in the crash scene at th end. This particular Mosquito can now be seen at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford. Three of the four airworthy Mosquitoes used in the film still exist while the fourth Mosquito T3 RR299,which was the last airworthy Mosquito in the World,was destroyed in a flying accident in 1996.The credit sequences of the film feature four Mosquitoes flying in formation. This was the last time that four Mosquitoes flew together.I am always amused by the scene where David McCallum's character comments on the apparently large amount of flak defending a château when in fact it is one 20mm Oerlikon Twin mount and a single light machine gun.