Lancaster Skies | |
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Directed by | Callum Burn |
Written by | Andrew Burn Callum Burn & Sam Parsons |
Produced by | Andrew Burn Callum Burn |
Starring | Jeffrey Mundell,
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Cinematography | Sam Parsons |
Edited by | Callum Burn |
Music by | James Griffiths |
Production company | Tin Hat Productions |
Distributed by | Kaleidoscope Film Distribution |
Release date |
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Running time | 98 minutes |
Language | English |
Budget | £80,000 |
Box office | $67,520 [1] |
Lancaster Skies is a 2019 British war film focusing on the British bomber campaign in World War II. [2] It is a homage to the British war films of the 1940s and 1950s.[ citation needed ]
1943: Angry and bereaved by the death of his younger brother, Flight Lieutenant Douglas Miller, a broken, solitary, Spitfire ace, who survived the Battle of Britain, transfers to RAF Bomber Command, determined to take the war to the skies over Germany. On arriving at his new posting, he is given the unenviable task of replacing the much-loved skipper of an experienced Lancaster bomber crew, who was killed in action just days before. Struggling to bond with his new crew and obsessed with his desire to wage war at any cost, Miller tries to find a way to gain their trust and overcome his inner demons, to become the leader they need. [3]
With a total budget of £80,000, the visual elements proved very challenging. In keeping with the retro style of the film, scale models were used for most visual effects. Digital effects were kept to a minimum. [4] [5] [6] [7]
The Guardian gave the film two stars, saying: "Lancaster Skies feels like cinema made in a sensory deprivation tank—fear, desperation and the roar of engines are all missing in action. When the climactic battle sequence finally arrives there's little dread or excitement". [8]
Every Film Blog gave the film 6/10, and said: "Burn didn't have money to throw around on Lancaster Skies but he has, nevertheless, created a movie which makes its audience think". [9]
Road Rash Reviews gave the film 5/5, saying: "Lancaster Skies is a World War II tale that is strongly character driven, with high production values, which set this film at a stratospheric height". [10]
The Dam Busters is a 1955 British epic war film starring Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave. It was directed by Michael Anderson. The film recreates 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.
Battle of Britain is a 1969 British war film directed by Guy Hamilton, and produced by Harry Saltzman and S. Benjamin Fisz. The film documents the events of the Battle of Britain. The film drew many respected British actors to accept roles as key figures of the battle, including Laurence Olivier as Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, Trevor Howard as Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park, and Patrick Wymark as Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory. It also starred Michael Caine, Christopher Plummer, and Robert Shaw as Squadron Leaders. The script by James Kennaway and Wilfred Greatorex was based on the book The Narrow Margin by Derek Wood and Derek Dempster.
Royal Air Force Scampton or RAF Scampton is a former Royal Air Force station located adjacent to the A15 road near to the village of Scampton, Lincolnshire, and 6 miles (9.7 km) north-west of the city of Lincoln, England.
Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby, is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located 13.7 kilometres (8.5 mi) south-west of Horncastle, and 15.8 kilometres (9.8 mi) north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and home to three front-line Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4 units, No. 3 Squadron, No. 11 Squadron and No. 12 Squadron. In support of front-line units, No. 29 Squadron is the Typhoon Operational Conversion Unit and No. 41 Squadron is the Typhoon Test and Evaluation Squadron. Coningsby is also the home of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) which operates a variety of historic RAF aircraft.
Dark Blue World is a 2001 film by Czech director Jan Svěrák, the Academy Award-winning director of Kolya, about Czech pilots who fought for the British Royal Air Force (RAF) during the Second World War. The screenplay was written by Zdeněk Svěrák, the director's father. The film stars Czech actors Ondřej Vetchý, Kryštof Hádek and Oldřich Kaiser. British actors include Tara Fitzgerald, Charles Dance and Anna Massey.
Reach for the Sky is a 1956 British biographical film about aviator Douglas Bader, based on the 1954 biography of the same name by Paul Brickhill. The film stars Kenneth More and was directed by Lewis Gilbert. It won the BAFTA Award for Best British Film of 1956. The film's composer John Addison was Bader's brother-in-law.
The Way to the Stars is a 1945 Anglo-American black-and-white Second World War drama film made by Two Cities Films. The film was produced by Anatole de Grunwald, directed by Anthony Asquith, and stars Michael Redgrave, John Mills, Rosamund John, and Stanley Holloway. In the United States it was shortened by 22 minutes, and the shortened version was distributed by United Artists under the title Johnny in the Clouds.
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) is a Royal Air Force flight which provides an aerial display group usually comprising an Avro Lancaster, a Supermarine Spitfire and a Hawker Hurricane. The aircraft are regularly seen at events commemorating the Second World War and upon British State occasions, notably Trooping the Colour, celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's 80th birthday in 2006, as well as the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in 2011 and at air displays throughout the United Kingdom and Europe.
The Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre is an aviation museum in East Kirkby, Lincolnshire, England. It was opened to the public in 1988 by Lincolnshire farmers Fred and Harold Panton, as a memorial to their older brother, Christopher Whitton Panton, who was killed on operations during the Second World War.
Alexander Adolphus Dumphries Henshaw, was a British air racer in the 1930s and a test pilot for Vickers-Armstrongs during the Second World War.
Number 92 Squadron, also known as No. 92 Squadron and currently as No. 92 Tactics and Training Squadron, of the Royal Air Force is a test and evaluation squadron based at RAF Waddington, Lincolnshire. It was formed as part of the Royal Flying Corps at London Colney as a fighter squadron on 1 September 1917. It deployed to France in July 1918 and saw action for just four months, until the end of the war. During the conflict it flew both air superiority and direct ground support missions. It was disbanded at Eil on 7 August 1919. Reformed on 10 October 1939,at Tangmere Airfield, the unit was supposed to be equipped with medium bombers but in the spring of 1940 it became one of the first RAF units to receive the Supermarine Spitfire, going on to fight in the Battle of Britain.
A flypast is a ceremonial or honorific flight by an aircraft or group of aircraft. The term flypast is used in the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. In the United States, the terms flyover and flyby are used.
Avro Lancaster PA474 is a four-engined, Second World War era, Avro Lancaster heavy bomber operated by the Royal Air Force Battle of Britain Memorial Flight as a tribute to all members of Bomber Command during the Second World War.
Various real-world aircraft have long made significant appearances in fictional works, including books, films, toys, TV programs, video games, and other media.
Squadron Leader X is a 1943 British World War II spy drama directed by Lance Comfort and starring Eric Portman and Ann Dvorak. The screenplay was adapted by Miles Malleson and Wolfgang Wilhelm from a short story by Emeric Pressburger. Unfortunately, the BFI National Archive currently considered this film as "missing, believed lost".
Air Aces is a Cineflix produced series that airs on History channel in Canada. The series originally aired in the UK titled Heroes of the Skies on September 20, 2012. The series premiered in Canada as Air Aces on January 7, 2013 on History and also aired on Military Channel later in 2013. The show tells the stories of the most heroic airborne combat missions in history. The series uses real vintage aircraft and re-creates mid-air combat sequences. Featuring Spitfires, Lancaster bombers, and Phantom fighters and aerial stunt teams, the series dramatizes the exploits of the world's greatest Air Aces. The series also features interviews with the last surviving veterans and military historians and rare archival footage.
Royal Air Force Ossington or more simply RAF Ossington is a former Royal Air Force station located near the village of Ossington, Nottinghamshire, England.
Dunkirk is a 2017 epic historical war thriller film written, directed and co-produced by Christopher Nolan that depicts the Dunkirk evacuation of World War II from the perspectives of the land, sea and air. It features an ensemble cast comprising Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles in his film debut, Aneurin Barnard, James D'Arcy, Barry Keoghan, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, and Tom Hardy.
Six Minutes to Midnight is a 2020 British war drama film directed by Andy Goddard from a screenplay loosely based on a true story by Goddard, Celyn Jones and Eddie Izzard, starring Izzard, Judi Dench, Carla Juri, James D'Arcy and Jim Broadbent.
Spitfire Over Berlin is a 2022 British war film, focusing on an aerial spying mission during World War II. Like Burn's prior film, Lancaster Skies, it is a homage to the British war films of the 1940s and 1950s, and is inspired by true events.