THE DAM BUSTERS:Revisited and Remembered
As you recall, I briefly mentioned that filmmaker Peter Jackson was going to do a remake of an old war movie classic The Dam Busters. Don’t get me wrong. I actually admire Peter Jackson for making the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the 2005 remake of King Kong. Some fans actually hoped that he would be involved in the supposed upcoming prequel The Hobbit and try to make a live version of the animated classic The Last Unicorn. But why bother doing a remake of The Dam Busters.
The original movie was done in black and white and starred Richard Todd. The movie was actually based on a true RAF bomber mission in World War Two. The actor himself had actually served in World War Two and leaned back to his combat experience to better portray Guy Penrose Gibson, the squadron leader of the actual mission. The movie was also credited in launching the careers of actors Robert Shaw (Black Sunday, Jaws, The Deep) and Patrick McGoohan (Secret Agent Man, The Prisoner) who were just starting out. This was their first movie break.
However, the real star of the movie was not the actors themselves but the aircraft -the Avro Lancaster. Amazingly enough, there was a sizable number of Lancaster bombers in the RAF following World War Two. In fact, the RAF provided heavy support and technical advice in the making of the movie. Today, the RAF maintains one surviving and flyable Lancaster bomber, along with a Spitfire and Hurricane, for historical purposes and to commemorate the anniversaries of World War Two.
This was a well-made war movie that gave nothing but the nuts-and-bolts of the mission from the planning to the execution. There was no gung-ho heroics involved, compared to such bad war movies as Pearl Harbor and that 2009 abomination The Inglorious Basterds (pardon my language).
Perhaps the only controversy in the movie was that the squadron leader had a pet dog with a seemingly offensive name -enough said. When the movie was shown on TV, the dog’s name was edited for content.
Given the fact that Peter Jackson would try to do a remake of the original, it raises plenty of questions. Will the dog in the movie have the same name or will the movie change it in order to pander/placate the politically correct? How will the movie obtain Lancaster bombers? Will they have to resort to CGI? Will the movie be filmed in New Zealand, which subbed for New York for the 2005 movie King Kong? Many movie/history buffs believe that such a remake will never hold a candle to the original. The original movie is available on DVD.
Two final words: For the benefit of those reading this entry, I will include the movie. Enjoy it, while you can. The movie is available on DVD. Lastly, Richard Todd passed away on the fall of 2009. This entry is dedicated in his memory.
The original movie:
http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=88C74BC03CB71A0B
The controversial part of the movie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgePEO7GUtE
