[Captain Eddie]

I am eagerly awaiting The Red Baron!!!!

[bsmith13]

I get excited every time I see an RB trailer. Looks great!

[MoMo]

I'm posting the latest intel from Iain Murray's site. Also a link to the quoted article by him. If you haven't read his stuff on " The Dambusters " yet, you could use it to get to his site which is the one I posted a link to earlier in the thread. Iain has the most fascinating site on the 1950s production. He has all the gaffs and gold listed on it. A real treat for you Lancaster buffs.

"The Dam Busters" (1955) - Comments and Inaccuracies

"The Dam Busters" (2008)

A remake of "The Dam Busters" is a work in progress of Sir David Frost's Paradine Productions. Main photography is expected to take place in Spring 2008 with delivery of the film to the studio in early 2009 for a possible summer 2009 release.
People and companies known to be involved in the remake include:

• Sir David Frost - Executive Producer
• Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings, King Kong etc.) - Producer
• Christian Rivers - Director (making his directorial debut, as Michael Anderson did on the original film)
• Steven Fry (QI, Wilde, Blackadder, Gosford Park etc.) - Scriptwriter
• Weta Workshop - large props, including ten Lancasters
• Weta Digital - digital visual effects

No cast have been announced as yet; Sir Ian McKellen has been mooted in the media as a possible Barnes Wallis (though he's actually 8 years too old), and James McAvoy has also been connected with the film.
The press have already picked up on the possible use of "Nigger" in the film, and Peter Jackson has said they'll be "damned-if-they-do, damned-if-they-don't"!

(© Iain Murray 2008 - last update 8th January 2008)

[MoMo]

You see how far back the media controversy started !

has been attacked by an anti-censorship group for removing all references to a dog called "nigger" from the film the Dam Busters.
The network edited out all uses of the black labrador's name when the 1950s film about the raid on the Ruhr valley in Germany during the second world war was screened on Saturday afternoon.
But Index on Censorship said the move was "unnecessary and ridiculous", and left holes in the film's plot.
"Taking it out is unnecessary and ridiculous. It is a 50s film and it should be kept in context. The dog is also a very important part of the film, as its name is used as a codeword for one of the bombing runs," said a spokeswoman for the group.
Ian McBride, the managing editor of compliance at Granada, which broadcast the classic war film, said the company wanted to avoid offending viewers.
"Dam Busters was made in the early 1950s and you can imagine it was probably perfectly normal in the 1950s, but no one would dream of calling a dog by that name now. What we are sensitive to is viewers being offended by it," he said.
ITV also censored the film when it was broadcast at the end of 1999, but laid the blame on LWT, which alleged that a junior member of staff had edited the broadcast without approval from senior managers.
But Ian McBride is a respected documentary maker, responsible for a string of highly acclaimed programmes including the drama documentary on the Hillsborough disaster and a documentary on the Birmingham Six.
The dog also caused problems across the Atlantic, where it was renamed "Trigger" by networks in the US.
The film, based on a real-life story, relies heavily on wing commander Gibson's dog as a plot device.
The faithful pet is run over in the middle of the film, and his name becomes a codeword for the bombers' prime target.
Viewers of the edited version complained that the dialogue was clipped, with key exchanges left out of the film.

Dan Milmo
MediaGuardian,
Monday June 11 2001

[MoMo]

Or......if you wish to fly the mission, find this on ebay and away you go.........

Dam Busters (Flight Simulator Or Combat Simulator Add-On) Review

On 16th May 1943, 19 aircraft led by Wing Commander Guy Gibson flew on Operation 'Chastise', now commonly known as the 'The Dam Busters' raid. Lancaster ED932, AJ-G was flown by Gibson and carried the ingenious bouncing bomb designed by Barnes Wallis which was used to attack dams in Germany's Ruhr valley. Now you can experience the first realistic simutlaion that meticulously captures the heroism and sheer excitement of the historic Dam Busters raid of 1943 and many other operations of the squadron behind it Much like Wallis and his team struggled to make this remarkable technical achievement, Just Flight and its development team have worked diligently to achieve the level of realism worthy of such historic events. Mimicking history, one of the most difficult elements was the bouncing bomb effect - a first in flight simulation! Imagine flying a heavy Lancaster bomber, 60 feet above the water in the dark of night, whilst under heavy flak - your only focus is maintaining a steady course and altitude above all else. The Dam Busters most famous mission demands you summon the skill and courage of the heroic WWII crew to destroy the Ruhr dams and paralyse the enemy's industrial heart. It's no surprise the raid was carried out by the RAF's elite! The Dam Busters, as 617 Squadron became known as after the raids of May 1943, were also responsible for some of World War II's other great sorties: the sinking of the Tirpitz, raids on V1 & V2 rocket sites, Bergen U-boat pens and of course the raid on Hitler's Nest. The Dam Busters hosts an impressive and authentic selection of aircraft which were used by 617 Sqn. including the famous 'bouncing bomb' Lancaster, Grand Slam Lancaster, Lancaster B1, Mosquito and Wellington..

[MoMo]

" Charlie Wilson's War "

If you want to go to the movies and see a movie which entertains you, go see this one!

It's slick, witty, entertaining and well made. The script is aimed at adults who have a few braincells as well as a sense of humour. You also have to have a sense of history in order to appreciate the irony of the unlikely combination of a US Congressman, a CIA rebel, a sexy Texas Millionairess, the Saudis, a belly-dancer, President Zia of Pakistan, an Egyptian Minister and an Israeli arms-dealer, all combining in a clandestine move to arm the Afghanistani, militant Talliban, in embryo, in order to help them fight the Russian invasion of the 1980s.

The plot and style owe a lot to TV shows like " The West Wing ". But, this is better stuff because the constraints of TV writing do not apply here.

Hanks is great, Julia Roberts is very good, but Philip Seymour Hoffman ( sic ) shines as the scene-stealing, CIA malcontent who steals the movie !

The downside is that we have to root for a sleazy politician, a, too, powerful rich lady and a sub-stratum of the CIA who subvert US doctine by interfering, when they should not. The result : lots of Russians are killed instead of Afghanis.

The film claims that this is the first nail in the Soviet Union's coffin. The characters revel in the number of Soviet attack helicopters being shot down by the supplied Stingers. They glory in Russian soldiers being killed, as well as sympathising with the numbers of Afghanis being mown down by the Russian choppers.

The action scenes ( aided by a lot of CGI ) are spectacular and harrowing. It's a bit like a Russian Charlie Sheen being sent in to destroy a village in Afghanistan with no Wagner for support ! The war scenes are very matter-of-fact ( just in case we feel too sorry for those drug-peddling zealots who, one day, will be levelling the Stingers at us ! )

In the end, the irony is that if they'd kept their noses out of the whole mess, there probably would not have been a wealth of war materiel, or trained Mujahadin, to blight that part of the world........perhaps no X-Twin Towers?

Yes, we can laugh now.

[MoMo]

Yes, we can laugh now.

Oh, I forgot to say, the fairer sex is well represented...and well-exposed... in the Vegas scenes. You can enjoy " Charlie Wilson's War ", even if you have no sense of humour! Mrs MoMo laughted a lot too, so it's safe to take your better half or girlfriend to !

[flyXwire]

Originally Posted by MoMo

Oh, I forgot to say, the fairer sex is well represented...and well-exposed... in the Vegas scenes. You can enjoy " Charlie Wilson's War ", even if you have no sense of humour! Mrs MoMo laughted a lot too, so it's safe to take your better half or girlfriend to !

Saw Charlie Wilson's War and loved it!

[Rush104]

Originally Posted by MoMo

You see how far back the media controversy started !

I'm just waiting for the PC police to go after the estate of Joseph Conrad- to make sure all future printings of his books are as non-offensive as possible...

[jim]

Originally Posted by Captain Eddie

I am eagerly awaiting The Red Baron!!!!

WHY, does he owe you money?