| The Dam Busters | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Dam_Busters_1954.jpg) 1955 British quad format film poster | |
| Directed by | Michael Anderson |
| Screenplay by | R. C. Sherriff |
| Based on | The Dam Busters by Paul Brickhill Enemy Coast Ahead by Guy Gibson |
| Produced by | Robert Clark W. A. Whittaker |
| Starring | Richard Todd Michael Redgrave |
| Cinematography | Erwin Hillier Gilbert Taylor (Special Effects Photography) |
| Edited by | Richard Best |
| Music by | Eric Coates Leighton Lucas |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Associated British Pathé |
Release date |
|
Running time | 124 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | £419,528 (UK)[1] |
The Dam Busters is a 1955 British epic docudrama war film starring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave, that was directed by Michael Anderson. Adapted by R. C. Sherriff from the books The Dam Busters (1951) by Paul Brickhill and Enemy Coast Ahead (1946) by Guy Gibson, the film depicts the true story of Operation Chastise when in 1943 the RAF's 617 Squadron attacked the Möhne, Eder, and Sorpe dams in Nazi Germany with Barnes Wallis's bouncing bomb.
The Dam Busters was acclaimed by critics, who widely praised its acting (especially Todd and Redgrave's), Anderson's direction, its superlative special effects photography by Gilbert Taylor and soundtrack score by Eric Coates (especially the stirring The Dam Busters March theme tune). The film was Britain's biggest box-office success of 1955.[2] A much-loved British classic, The Dam Busters has since been cited as one of the best British war films and one of the greatest films of the 20th century. In 1999, the British Film Institute voted The Dam Busters the 68th greatest British film of the 20th century.[3] Its depiction of the raid, along with a similar sequence in the film 633 Squadron, provided the inspiration for the Death Star trench run in Star Wars.
A remake has been in development since 2008, but has yet to be produced as of 2024[update].
- ^ Porter, Vincent. "The Robert Clark Account." Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol. 20, No 4, 2000.
- ^ "R.A.F. Dam Busters of 1943". The Age. No. 30, 935. Victoria, Australia. 26 June 1954. p. 16. Retrieved 3 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ British Film Institute – Top 100 British Films (1999). Retrieved 27 August 2016