Phillip Doorbar

Oh dear, just watched the first half of this film and I couldn’t wait for the interval (it’s a Kinema in the Wood thing!). As a 39 year ex RAF regular and 9 year Reservist (that’s 48 years service) I think I have some authority and experience of authentic RAF history and behaviour to call upon. I realise the film was made on the cheap and I was willing to give it a chance, but I am afraid I was unable to do so. The film started badly, with unintelligible dialogue spoken into oxygen masks. Perhaps that is the fault of the cinema’s sound system, but I doubt it. It then stared to show cracks with tie knots the size of fists, innapropriate behaviour between Officers and Other Ranks, non period dialogue and a host of other trivia that should have, with a decent technical advisor, been nipped in the bud. The breaking point for me was the simple salute. Not one of the actors managed to carry off an authentic salute, which really isn’t that difficult. They were saluting in corridors, saluting without headdress, the two Flight Lieutenants were even saluting each other even though they were the same rank! The Flight Lieutenant Flight Engineer (with increadible designer stubble) even takes the pilot Flt Lt into the Sergeants Mess because ‘the food is better’. It simply would not have happened. I’ve no idea how the second half went, as I took the opportunity of the interval to go home. A great disappointment as I had been looking forward to this film after much local hype. I have studied Bomber Command particularly during this era and unfortunately I have to say it’s a poor representation of the period. Young crews (all volunteers) with a typical age of 21 did fly, night after night, over Germany, with a very poor chance of survival. They did vent their fears and trepidations in pubs and bars all over Lincolnshire. Their’s was a bizarre existence, - normal life for a few days, then abject fear for a few hours in the dark skies over Germany, to return to ‘normality’ once again. This film lacks the tension and the real sense of crew bonding that actually took place. This is obviously my own opinion and I stand open to any criticism of my personal view.