Hurricane - 303 Movie Due For Imminent Release

[Dai Fledermaus]

Due for release August 17th

**LINK**

[Jon H]

Its not floating my boat looking at the trailer. Seems to have a little too much fake hollywood 'action' at first glance.

[FilmBuff]

Posted by Jon - Laser Engines on 27/07/2018 10:37:51:

Its not floating my boat looking at the trailer. Seems to have a little too much fake hollywood 'action' at first glance.

Guys - it's a movie drama - not a documentary on Discovery Channel

[Jon H]

Posted by FilmBuff on 27/07/2018 11:00:37:

Posted by Jon - Laser Engines on 27/07/2018 10:37:51:

Its not floating my boat looking at the trailer. Seems to have a little too much fake hollywood 'action' at first glance.

Guys - it's a movie drama - not a documentary on Discovery Channel

Then im definitely not interested! Why over dramatise something already pretty dramatic?

[Andy Meade]

Crikey, talk about hard to please! A story not told before, featuring the model from our PSSA mass build? I'm in

[Phil Cooke]

nevermind the flying scenes, some of the pilots are well dodgy too!

[FilmBuff]

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

I'm intending watching this when I get a few minutes spare:

[Cuban8]

Not wasting my time on it after the Dunkirk travesty - looks to be out of the same mould. Seen the trailer, it'll just wind me up. It'll be on TV within a year, might give it a chance then and, of course, the remote falls readily to hand.

Actually a very worth story that needs to be told, but for me, not like this.

[Simon Feather]

You may like to know that this film "Hurricane", about Polish squadron 303 is now available on Netflix if you have access to that.

I watched it the other day - many of the flying scenes look a bit fake, unfortunate in these days of high quality CGI; but it's good that the story has been told. As noted above by FilmBuff - it's a drama, not a documentary. Some nice static shots of planes on the ground. I did feel it left a lot of "joining the dots" for the viewer to do.

regards

Simon

[leccyflyer]

The flying schemes looking fake is a function of CGI, not in spite of it. Haven't seen this one yet and will wait for it to come on the telly, but practically all of the more modern flying films have been hugely disappointing, looking like a glorified computer game, through overuse of CGI and completely unrealistic application of those techniques. Gimmicky "bomb's eye" viewpoints remain just gimmicks and the finished CGI products can't hold a candle to the real life aerial choreography of Battle of Britain, or even Piece of Cake as seen on TV yesterday, using real aeroplanes.

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Nigel R]

Dunkirk had a boat load of non CGI flying shots. As a film, I thought it was excellent. It was a terrible documentary. Oddly enough though, I didn't watch it expecting a documentary. If you want a documentary, don't watch a drama.

https://eu.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2017/07/28/how-christopher-nolan-shot-those-amazing-aerial-dunkirk-dogfights/513407001/

CGI is what it is, sometimes it is used well and sometimes not.

Edited By Nigel R on 04/02/2019 13:58:01

[Geoff S]

I watched most of it a couple of evenings ago and I'm not sure I'll bothe2 watching the 20/25 minutes left. It is a truly awful piece of work with cardboard characters very poor flying scenes. I realise they're CGI but that isn't either a reason or an excuse.

The first part where a Swiss/Polish character steals a Tiger Moth is really feeble and probably prejudiced my feelings towards the rest.

It's a pity really because it's a story well worth telling but this film fails in that endeavour miserably. And I like Hurricanes which makes it all the worse.

Geoff

[Colin Leighfield]

We are bound to be picky because we are enthusiasts but at least it does raise some awareness in a wider and otherwise disinterested audience, much better than nothing. Steve McQueen tearing around on a motorbike had absolutely nothing to do with the real Great Escape, but at least because of that there are infinitely more people who are aware that it happened than there would otherwise be and know about the consequential murders committed by the Gestapo. Most people don’t know about the amazing contribution of Polish pilots that fought the Luftwaffe in the Polish Air Force, then in the French Armee De L’Air before escaping to GB and doing it all again with the RAF knowing that their own families were being brutalised back home. Anything raising that awareness is worth doing, even if it is flawed in our eyes. Just my personal opinion though!

[Ray Wood 4]

I enjoyed the film for what it is/was history that needs highlighting, it was a Stampe he borrowed I think 😀

Regards Ray

[Simon Feather]

Hear hear Colin. I merely pointed out that the film is now available. It tells a story - how accurately I am not in a position to tell, and my personal opinion was that much of it looked as though it might have filmed against green screen as there was a lot of "flatness" in some of the imagery. But I am no expert, so I can't tell - I do know that some of it appeared rough around the edges which one has come not to expect from modern CGI. Perhaps it was lower budget than recent blockbusters.

Some of the shots do show very clearly how weathered and battle-worn the aircraft were, not like our pristine showroom models.

It tells a valuable and little-known story, whatever its shortcomings in our "expert" eyes. Watch it - or not - in the spirit it was intended and with an uncritical eye on the flying scenes.

Simon

[Colin Leighfield]

Well said Simon.

[J D 8]

Much of the flying shots for the dreadfull Pearl Harbour were originaly filmed with real aircraft before the directors changed their mind's tempted by the more " thrilling " CGI, I wonder what happened to the footage.

   TORA TORA TORA was a hundred times better all round.

Edited By J D 8 on 04/02/2019 22:48:03

[Peter Jenkins]

Two points.

I'm surprised there are so many contributors to this post who are able to say with clarity what air fighting looks like from a cockpit. I thought most of us stood on the ground and flew our aircraft. From what I've seen of the snippets of film the camera gun shots seem quite like those I watched when I was shown real camera gun photos of mock combat when I served in the RAF. Yes there are howlers when Spitfires replace Hurricanes but then again how many people these days know the difference plus it is much easier to get air to air shots with Spits as there are so few flying Hurricanes around.

Second, I am delighted that 303 Sqn is being given such prominence. They were, after all, the highest scoring squadron in the Battle of Britain despite not being involved until late on. Not many people know that as it is rarely mentioned. I believe that within the Polish Air Force, even during the communist era, the exploits of their countrymen flying in the RAF was something that generated much pride. I know when I took some Polish Air Force Officers around the UK in 1999, the one request they made that was not to do with business, was to visit the Polish Air Force Memorial outside RAF Northolt.

[Lima Hotel Foxtrot]

Posted by Simon Feather on 04/02/2019 21:56:10:

Hear hear Colin. I merely pointed out that the film is now available. It tells a story - how accurately I am not in a position to tell, and my personal opinion was that much of it looked as though it might have filmed against green screen as there was a lot of "flatness" in some of the imagery. But I am no expert, so I can't tell - I do know that some of it appeared rough around the edges which one has come not to expect from modern CGI. Perhaps it was lower budget than recent blockbusters.

Some of the shots do show very clearly how weathered and battle-worn the aircraft were, not like our pristine showroom models.

It tells a valuable and little-known story, whatever its shortcomings in our "expert" eyes. Watch it - or not - in the spirit it was intended and with an uncritical eye on the flying scenes.

Simon

Quite right, and well said. There's a lot of rubbishers on here who have been quick to prejudge this film. A lot people will have worked very hard, so why not give it a chance? It's not purporting to be a documentary.

Does anybody remember "Dark Blue World?" Not a great film, but it had some nice flying bits in at and covers much the same ground so I expect this will be similar as a piece of dramatic entertainment.

[Geoff S]

I certainly think the contribution Polish airmen made to defending this country deserves recognition but I'm afraid this film does a very poor job of achieving it. It's not just the flying scenes - I'd accept that they're not likely to be perfect - but the script is sloppy, the characters poorly drawn stereotypes and the whole thing unwatchable.  I was very disappointed because I expected to like it.

I saw 'Dark Blue World' and enjoyed that far more.

Last night I watched 'A Matter of Life and Death' with David Niven and made in 1946. I first saw some of it when it first came out but, as I was only about 7, I didn't understand it. It was probably 'A' rated but it was in my uncle's cinema in Radcliffe-on-Trent which we could access through a back door from his garden so there was no control I thought it was brilliantly done with very skilfully created and imaginative sets. A very much better film with far more limited resources. The acting was of the period, of course, and seems odd now but I enjoyed it.

Geoff

Edited By Geoff Sleath on 05/02/2019 20:06:41

[stu knowles]

The story is far better told in 'Dark Blue World' I thought that this film has little to commend it. The flying scenes are dire.

It has made me want to dig out the dvd of DBW and watch that again but that's about the best thing to be said.

[Colin Leighfield]

Isn’t it odd the way that we see the same things differently? I remember watching “A Matter of Life and Death” years ago and thought that it was far from Niven’s finest work. To be frank pretty silly and disappointing because I kept on watching it in the expectation that something might actually happen! A ridiculously prolonged flaming Lancaster death dive which turned out to be about the unfortunate airman (Niven) en route to heaven. It was amazingly well produced for a film of the time and I thought that all of that wonderful Technicolor could have been used to make something decent.

Everybody’s opinion is valid though, we just have different perceptions. If this work makes a lot of people aware of the valiant efforts of these Polish pilots who otherwise wouldn’t have a clue, then it was very worthwhile. In that context, our critical “enthusiast’s” eyes really don’t matter at all, do they? Once again, just my opinion.