Film
The Dam Busters: 75th Anniversary Special
- Director
- Michael Anderson
- Certificate
- PG
- Running Time
- 125 mins
Stiffen those upper lips, you ‘orrible shower, it’s the patriotic true tale of Dr. Barnes Wallis’s (Michael Redgrave) cunning bouncing bombs, which succeeded in hitting the Hun where it hurts in the Ruhr Valley. Deeply Embarrassing Historical Fact: yes, the little dog who gets run over really was called ‘Nigger’. What’s more, he was played by a dog of the same name. For US consumption, this was dubbed as ‘Trigger’. British TV broadcasts of the film are generally censored, but it’s not clear which version has been restored for this special anniversary event. Interestingly, the BBFC has actually raised the film’s certificate from U to PG, though that may be because of all the smoking. Slightly Less Embarrassing Fact: The Dam Busters was a huge influence on Star Wars, which recycles several lines of dialogue.
Broadcast live from the Albert Hall, this 75th anniversary event is introduced by historian Dan Snow, who’ll be joined by family members of the dam busters crew and several other boffins. Before the screening of this new 4K restoration, the Glenn Miller Orchestra will play The Dam Busters March, and, excitingly, we’re promised an “on stage ‘bouncing bomb’ experiment”.
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