Dunkirk (1958) Soldiers are separated from their comrades-in-arms during the Dunkirk evacuation and face a terrifying journey to safety. A heroic lance corporal takes charge, aiming to lead the platoon to sanctuary while those around him panic. Second World War adventure, starring John Mills, Richard Attenborough, Robert Urquhart and Bernard Lee Read more at Dunkirk (1958) on ITV4, Christmas Day 3:35pm - TV Guide UK TV Listings
I do not think that this film can be bettered.It's stood the test of time in that such incidents must have happened to groups who sought safety when the BEF was forced to withdraw from France. I can imagine that the cost of production was reasonable given that it was not made in colour.
Directed by Barry Norman's dad, Leslie, who had been a Major in the RAOC in the war. I guess this would have helped with accuracy and still plenty of contemporary kit around for the look of things. Does it have Alfie Bass and Sam Kydd in it? Every other War film did
One of the first "ensemble" movies, and possibly the best war film made by the British cinema. It's been a personal fave for years. I saw it as a kid....then it wasn't on the box for another decade or more. Really a series of little vignettes or episodes as they were experienced by all the parties involved, the encounter with the RA battery in the wood is suprisingly effective/moving. It's a film I always wish had been made in colour - but as with The Longest Day, and Is Paris Burning?, not just was overall production cost a factor but the wish to use big chunks of period black&white film throughout the movie. But one of the really big things in the movie for me was the use of big wide open detail- and vista-filled camera angles, dozens if not hundreds of yards wide, rather than the tight camera angles of modern telly and cinema designed for nothing more than saving on production expense Having sat through the truly awful Atonement version of Dunkirk a few years back, and that "remarkable" three-part docudrama produced by the BBC ten years or more ago now, I can only hope the upcoming Christopher Nolan "Dunkirk" approaches this classic in quality and redresses the balance somewhat.
