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The Dam Busters [1954] | ![The Dam Busters [1954]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51qQBKyg%2BjL._SL160_.jpg)
 enlarge | Director: Michael Anderson
Actors: Richard Todd, Michael Redgrave, Ursula Jeans, Basil Sydney, Patrick Barr
Studio: Optimum Home Entertainment
Category: DVD
List Price: £12.99
Buy New: £4.89
You Save: £8.10 (62%)
New (22) from £4.89
Rating:  10 reviews
Format: Full Screen, Pal
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Universal, suitable for all
Region: 2
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 120 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
EAN: 5060034577201
ASIN: B000KRMZK6
Theatrical Release Date: 1954
Release Date: January 8, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new and factory sealed.
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| Customer Reviews:
 The best of British - an impressive film December 19, 2006
Mr. Ian A. Macfarlane (Fife, Scotland)
30 out of 30 found this review helpful
This is one of the best of British stiff-upper-lip War films, and pretty faithful to its factual subject. It tells the two stories - of the invention of the bouncing bomb which would do severe damage to the Ruhr dams, and of the raid which used those bombs to inflict that damage - well. Characterisation is good and the performances of Richard Todd as Guy Gibson and, particularly, Michael Redgrave as Barnes Wallis, the inventor, are entirely appropriate and convincing. While the special effects of the raid itself are very much 1954 and now unconvincing, the tests of the bomb are very well depicted and seem true to life. It is perhaps worth knowing that Todd, with John Mills and others one of the archetypal British-military-hero film actors of the 50s, found one scene difficult to play, and that the very last one, when he tells Wallis that he must go away and write to the parents and families of those who did not come back ; difficult because, as a wartime officer himself in reality, he had done that more often than he cared to remember. The film generally carries that stamp of authenticity and, as such, is a good deal more than just an exciting tale. Well worth watching
A bomb that bounces? What a crazy notion! May 27, 2007
T. Bobley (UK)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
If only our clever old boffins could come up with some way to blow up Germany's dams. But surely it's impossible. How do you get a bomb into just the right position to shatter a huge structure of solid concrete that's cushioned against any sort of impact by a vast body of water on one side? One boffin, Barnes Wallis, had the nutty idea that you could get a bomb into the perfect place for dam destruction if you could just get it to bounce across the reservoir then sink on impact with the dam. Ridiculous! Or so the men from the ministry were inclined to think. But Barnes did it. He needed all his perseverance and ingenuity and when he finally succeeded, he modestly gave credit for the original idea to Nelson, who found that canon balls could do enemy ships more damage if you could get them to bounce across the water. Because the RAF fliers had to drop the bombs so precisely, they had to invent a way of ensuring the right altitude (it had to be exactly 60 feet) and distance from the dams (600 yards). The needs of the time seem to have given rise to a fountain of ingenious solutions from our brave, clever chaps.
The Dam Busters is a wonderful film of heroism and stoicism in fighting a strong and resourceful foe abroad and battling the frustrating inertia of a rigid bureaucracy at home. It's a remarkable, true story, very moving, reminds us of what we have to be grateful for, who we should be proud of, and why. The acting is excellent and the music is that *Dam Busters Music* that we always associate with The Dam Busters film. I couldn't tell you how many times I've watched this film on the telly - only that I watch it whenever it's been broadcast. And I've watched the DVD twice since I received it last week. It's over 50 years old, made in black and white, the special effects are pretty good for the time it was made (but of their time nevertheless) and there are no special features - not even subtitles. It doesn't matter. Whether it's despite its age and limitations or because of them, this is one of my favourite films and I recommend it.
The Definitive Bombing Run film April 22, 2007
C. Pierides (South Africa)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
I watched this film several years ago, and this remains my firm best ever in its class. The footage of the magnificent Lancaster Bombers in flight, probably one of the last times these aircraft ever flew in numbers post the war. The magnitude of dropping bouncing bombs, outrageous in concept, magnificent and daring in its reality.The high casulty rate, incredible sacrifice of the brilliant pilots flying at 60 metres from the surface, the way of life of the scientists and pilot, and the clastrophobic red tape these people have to overcome, a battle against bureaucracy before the barrage of guns, gives one a true sense of what this must have been like.It is said that George Lucas used people involved with the dam busters to set up and assist with the attack on the death star sequence. Certainly, this would make a lot of sense. The tunnel sequences give the same sense of flying close up that I personally experienced flying hand gliders some years ago.Sure the dam busting itself has a sense of studio make in it, but this still remains a suberb film.
The best British war film? An incredible story. September 15, 2007
Mr. Andrew Moore (Worcestershire)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
The phrase "they don't make 'em like that any more" is the perfect way to describe this film.
OK, so we all know the story of Barnes Wallis and his crazy idea for a bouncing bomb to blow up the dams, and then 617 squadron Led by Guy Penrose Gibson to deliver the bomb. But that doesn't make this film any the less stiring.
The acting is terrific the special effects less so by todays standards but the film is almost 60 years old.
The music is brilliant and the raid itself is fantastically done. The rest of the film follows the development of the bombs and the practise flights to get the skills to destroy the dams. Oh and the bit where Gibsons dog dies raised more than one tear among the audience I recently had the pleasure to view this amazing film with at a cinema screening.
I cannot recommend this film more highly, its a must see film for any film fan or war film fan and one I have seen many times and will return to again and again.
Beyond praise April 22, 2008
Vandal9
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Five decades after it was made, this movie still remains as enthralling and evocative as ever: the true sign of a great classic.
The story of the Dams Raid of 1942 is a step back into a time-warp: Britain as she used to be, a great Imperial power, at her very, very best, ablaze with patriotism and heroics. An amazing cast representative of that period: moustachioed RAF brass, bowler-hatted officials with incredibly stiff upper lips, handsome, daredevil pilots with cut-glass Oxford accents, the outrageously eccentric boffin Barnes Wallis ... not to mention the glorious Lancs (the roar of those Merlins!) and the beautiful Nigger, Gibson's labrador, sadly run over on the night of the raid. The photography and special effects were brilliant for the 50s, the attack scenes nail-bitingly tense and utterly realistic. To cap it all, there is Eric Coates's iconic Dam Buster's March.
In the mid-fifties, every boy was running about with arms outstretched making machine-gun noises and pretending to be a Lanc: and probably chanting the March tune at the same time! The film took the country by storm.
The raid cost the lives of 56 fliers. It failed to bring the war to a quick end as was hoped; but at a dark time when any success was priceless, its heroism and technological achievment scored a stunning propaganda victory, lifting British hearts sky-high with hope and admiration.
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