The "Battle of Britain" was one of the most critical battles of World War II, and was fought against Germany by the RAF. The German Luftwaffe planes way outnumbered what the RAF had -- something like 640 vs. 2500 - astonishing - but the RAF went ahead anyway to keep Germany from invading their country.

I'm not a World War II expert, though I'm sure there are plenty of them who have seen this film and posted a review, so I'll leave the critiques about whether or not this was a realistically told story to them.

In my own opinion, it was a lot of stars without much to do and some fantastic aerial battles. The stars include Michael Caine, Trevor Howard (replacing Rex Harrison),Harry Andrews, Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Christopher Plummer, Ian McShane, Curt Jergens, Kenneth More, Nigel Patrick, Michael Redgrave, Robert Shaw, Susannah York, Robert Flemyng, and Edward Fox. Dirk Bogarde must have been on vacation. Timothy Dalton auditioned for a role but did not get it; Alec Guinness was to play a role that was eventually cut from the script. An astonishing cast.

Characters therefore weren't fully developed - there were so many of them - but the real story is in the skies where the battles rage, with some very exciting flight sequences as well as some glorious scenery. Filming took place in England and Spain.

For some history of the film, I suggest the "trivia" section here, which goes into the collecting of the planes and cites scenes based on real incidents.

If you like World War II films, this sprawling tribute to the RAF is for you.

This movie will not appeal to everyone. Depending on who you are, your reaction may be very different and I venture to say this movie probably had a wider range of scores than most other movies on IMDb. Some have told me they didn't like it because it was hard to tell who people were and what, exactly, was happening in the film. This is probably the average person. Whereas, aviation lovers have told me that the film is BRILLIANT! Me, being a history teacher and a bit of a know-it-all when it comes to WWII aviation, naturally loved the film! When it comes to historical accuracy, this film is great and it tried so hard to get it right. The producers scoured Europe for real WWII vintage planes (getting most of the German aircraft from the Spanish air force). What you see in the film was actually the correct model plane that COULD have been seen in the battle. Lots of early models Bf-109s, He-111, Spitfires and Hurricanes were used for the movie. They didn't have any airworthy Stukas (Ju-87),so they made 1/3 scale models and seamlessly integrated them into the film. So, the picky historical accuracy monster within me was appeased. All too often, the planes shown in WWII movies are either models that were NOT flying when the battle occurred or are made up of crappy and grainy old film footage from the era (like the abysmal film MIDWAY). In this case, it's all authentic. The only MINOR problem is that you might think the Germans only flew these three models of planes in 1940--other common bombers like Do-17s and Ju-88s were not used in the film--probably because they simply weren't available. This is certainly understandable.

Now I must acknowledge that when the movie was NOT showing air combat, it did lag just a bit. The story line involving Susanna York and Christopher Plummer did seem "tacked on" and the guest appearances weren't really necessary, though I liked the very sad role played by Ian McShane--it was very touching seeing what happened when he went home on leave. Also, the victory itself seemed a little bit anti-climatic at the end.

However, for pure accuracy of detail and love of the material, this film can't be beat. See it and if you are not a huge historian or aviation buff, relax and you'll find the film STILL has a lot to offer.

By the way, months after writing my initial review, I read one review here on IMDb that said this film was "strictly TV fare". Hmmm,...I sure bet this person didn't see the movie on the big screen back in 1969 but I did!! It was much better and amazing to watch the aerial battles on the huge screen. Even though I was a kid, it still stands out in my mind better than almost any film I've seen in the theater! "Strictly TV fare"?! Rubbish!!

A nice account of the famous battle in 1940, told with an all-star ensemble cast, a big budget and plenty of scope. You learn plenty about what went on in a tale told with an eye for realism and detail. It's a bravura undertaking, of the same scope as even better classics like THE LONGEST DAY. Not quite on par with that film or others of its ilk, but very well made and with a lot of earnest players in the cast: the likes of Christopher Plummer, Michael Caine, Trevor Howard and Laurence Olivier certainly don't disappoint.