Americans often say to us Brits "Well, we saved your asses in the war!" Well here's a movie that shows that whilst the US did later help us save Europe, we had saved our own arses 18 months before Pearl Harbor, thank you very much. Having said that, it's a shame that 52% that voted Brexit seem to have forgotten that we couldn't have done it without the crucial help of the Polish/Czech refugee airmen flying in RAF uniform.A well made, well researched, historically accurate (apart from the lack of Hawker Hurricanes - a purely logistical issue due to lack of surviving examples in 1969) war film in the vein of The Longest Day and A Bridge Too Far with possibly the best depiction of WWII aerial combat ever put on film. This film should have pride of place in all movie buff's collections.

This is really a stirring and magnificent account of one of the most important events in history. Britain really was on her knees at the time and if the Battle of Britain had been lost then the Nazis may well have gone on to dominate the world.Filled with many of the top British actors of the time this film accurately portrays the events of summer 1940 when the RAF defeated the Luftwaffe and effectively stopped any hope the Nazis had of invading this country. The music is also fantastic and provides a superb backdrop to the dogfighting scenes. The Heinkel 111s and Bf 109s used by the "Luftwaffe" in the film may not have been accurate as they were not actually Heinkels or 109s and no other German bomber types except Stukas are shown but these are small details when compared to the epic nature and difficulty in re-enacting an event of nearly 30 years earlier at the time. It also shows the terror and horror for very young men with very few hours flying experience who had to face death on a daily basis.Of the stars only Michael Caine's character is killed although Christopher Plummer's ends up badly burned.I think this film is very important in that it shows a real and war changing event accurately and shows the true courage of the young men who fought so bravely to keep this country free.

I remember when this film came out in 1969-1970. It was an achievement then and to my way of thinking and remains so if only to "give flavor" to what was involved for the citizens of Britain. The dogfights were very skillfully staged and I'm sure could be easier done with CGI these days. Moreover, the subtitles with the translation into German were appreciated for intonation and feeling. It resembled "The Longest Day" in that regard. The ensemble cast was skillfully chosen. Susannah York (definitely beautiful) recently passed on. Many of the other actors (Laurence Olivier, Trevor Howard, Robert Shaw and Curd Jürgens) have been dead for quite some time so this is a time capsule of sorts. Christopher Plummer (He was awarded the C.C. (Companion of the Order of Canada, Sir Edward Fox, and Sir Michael Caine are among the few who remain with the living. Altogether a great flick and I recently saw it again on TCM and was stirred again. See it for yourself and enjoy that cast!!!

This is one of the large all-star international cast war movies of the 60s and as such it's a worthy entrant. The majority of the budget went into the aircraft and it shows. The flying sequences are some of the best shot in film. Unquestionably, whilst the sense of period is brilliantly captured in the battle sequences, the behind the scenes moments are less successful. Unfortunately the weak links are mainly the sequences between Maggie and Colin Harvey. Susannah York is simply too modern, and the attention to detail slipped a little in costume and hair styling. The chemistry between Miss York and Mr Plummer is also somewhat lacking. That said, on balance, this film is a fine tribute to "The Few".