The Dam Busters
Continuing with the theme of water, I watched The Dam Busters for the first time this week. All I knew about this British wartime classic was that some English football fans would sing the Dam Busters March at the opposing Germans, and that the dog's name had been bowdlerised.
The 1954 film is based on a true account of how an elite squadron destroyed dams in the Ruhr valley using revolutionary bombs that skipped over water. Much time was spent on the invention of the bombs and improving the equipment for the squadron's practice runs, so the build up to action was slow. It was kinda nice and geeky actually. The bit where the squadron flew over the hilly "Netherlands" for their mission to west Germany was unintentionally funny, though I totally understand that the film makers didn't have the money for location shots.
The censoring of the Wing Commander's dog's name, Nigger, was worse than I thought it would be. It wasn't just a single mention of an unimportant name but was also the inspiration for the code word signifying a burst dam. Apparently, ITV had gotten complaints when it showed the film (less than ten years ago?) so cut it out and C4 did the same. I think it's wrong because it makes the characters look better than they are to a modern audience. Also, it is unclear to me how many actual black people complained.
Overall, I enjoyed it. The Dambusters turned out to be less jingoistic than the abuse of its theme tune might suggest and the ending was unexpectedly mixed, tending towards downbeat. Jubilance at the success of the mission was overshadowed by reflection on the squadron's losses.
The 1954 film is based on a true account of how an elite squadron destroyed dams in the Ruhr valley using revolutionary bombs that skipped over water. Much time was spent on the invention of the bombs and improving the equipment for the squadron's practice runs, so the build up to action was slow. It was kinda nice and geeky actually. The bit where the squadron flew over the hilly "Netherlands" for their mission to west Germany was unintentionally funny, though I totally understand that the film makers didn't have the money for location shots.
The censoring of the Wing Commander's dog's name, Nigger, was worse than I thought it would be. It wasn't just a single mention of an unimportant name but was also the inspiration for the code word signifying a burst dam. Apparently, ITV had gotten complaints when it showed the film (less than ten years ago?) so cut it out and C4 did the same. I think it's wrong because it makes the characters look better than they are to a modern audience. Also, it is unclear to me how many actual black people complained.
Overall, I enjoyed it. The Dambusters turned out to be less jingoistic than the abuse of its theme tune might suggest and the ending was unexpectedly mixed, tending towards downbeat. Jubilance at the success of the mission was overshadowed by reflection on the squadron's losses.