Original subtitles

We do not care about the mental health

the psychological conditions amongst your men...

just so long as you keep winning.

320 miles.

For Paddy Mayne to function, he needs someone to rebel against.

I'm perfect for the job, don't you think?

Mission completed. We leave Italy to the ordinary soldiers now.

We... we're going home.

The Italian government has fallen.

The Italian guards have left the camp.

We have 20 minutes to get free.

Just leave it!

Come on!

Come on!

Got it!

Push!

Give me some of that!

Get off! That's mine!

Stirling.

Stirling, come on.

Germans are on the hill.

We don't have much time.

We need to take our chances before the Germans arrive.

What news of my men?

What are you talking about? - I had no news for 15 days.

My men, the S-A-fucking-S. Are they alive?

Well, the reports I heard...

they're most of the reason the Italian government fell.

Now I hear they're on their way home.

Get that down you.

It's the first I've heard about it.

Can you believe that?

Hey, listen up.

So...

That was Italy.

Some craic, wasn't it?

Some craic. Our grand old tour of Europe...

began here.

But who knows where our itinerary will take us next.

But first...

Tonkin, you better tell these what you got up to

cos they'll not believe me.

Well... I was captured.

They were going to shoot me, I escaped, and then, uh...

An angel came and scooped you up.

Ooh-hoo! Tinky Tonkin.

Something like that.

You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Um...

but what I will say is...

Me standing here now, you all standing here now...

it is living proof

that someone up there...

likes us.

Yes.

So we are unstoppable.

I'll drink to that, Tonk!

Thank you, sir.

This place is a maze. It has been a fort, a church, monastery.

There's holes everywhere. - What do we do with holes, David?

We hide in them.

You said the Allied troops are advancing. Soon they will be here.

The Germans are not coming to secure this prison.

They are coming

to take the prisoners away and ship us all back to Germany.

But... they'll have to find us first.

Find a hole, sit tight

wait for them to leave.

The only person who was better than me at playing hide and seek

was my mad sister.

Yes, and she was once missing for three days.

Listen, hide and seek is best played by individuals

otherwise one tends to start giggling.

Good luck, old boy.

David. - Yes.

Are you sure you're quite alright? - Oh, God, no.

No. Not sure at all.

Come on, chaps!

They're here! We need to hide! Quickly!

Wake up, boys.

You're home.

KERSHAW: Weren't fucking lying, were ya?

Hold tight, boys.

Cor, blimey.

Haven't seen 'em for a while.

Feels like it's all over.

Paddy said it's just begun.

How long we got at home, Paddy?

Till the whistle blows and the second half begins.

You can spend half time brushing up on your French.

♪ There'll be bluebirds over ♪

♪ The white cliffs of Dover ♪

♪ Tomorrow, just you wait and see ♪

♪

♪ There'll be bluebirds over ♪

♪ The white cliffs of Dover ♪

♪ Tomorrow ♪

♪ Just you wait and see... ♪

♪ I'll never forget the people I met ♪

♪ Braving those angry skies ♪

Daddy!

♪ Remember where as the shadows fell ♪

♪ The light of hope in their eyes ♪

♪ And though I'm far away ♪

♪ I still can hear them say ♪

♪ "Thumbs up!" ♪

♪ For when the dawn comes up ♪

♪ There'll be bluebirds over ♪

♪ The white cliffs of Dover ♪

♪ Tomorrow ♪

♪ Just you wait and see ♪

♪ There'll be love and laughter ♪

♪ And peace ever after ♪

♪ Tomorrow ♪

♪ When the world is free ♪

♪ There'll be bluebirds over ♪

♪ The white cliffs of Dover ♪

♪ Tomorrow ♪

♪ Just you wait ♪

♪ And see ♪

♪ But give me enough of the fine old stuff that's made near Galway Bay ♪

♪ Come gaugers all from Donegal ♪

♪ Sligo and Leitrim too ♪

♪ We'll give them the slip and we'll take a sip ♪

♪ Of the rare old mountain dew ♪

The mist will bring the brown trout up.

It'll be a good day.

Aye.

And the mist'll hide us from the bailiffs.

It'll be a grand day all round, |I'd say.

Mist and fog...

are always our friends.

So the sand of the desert

couldn't keep your soul buried, Owen. - I know.

I missed the fog.

And the water.

The fish.

You.

I missed you.

I'm not sure I can forgive myself.

For any of it.

See, I keep waking up and finding myself alive

no matter how hard I try.

It's like a horse race, but actually, you're riding on a carousel

so there's no chance your horse will overtake the one in front.

The one behind you will never catch you up.

The horse in front is contentment. The horse behind you is death.

There I am

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Blair Mayne

sitting on a plaster fucking horse, unable to get off the fucking carousel.

You sure got off the carousel, though, didn't you?

I was spun off.

That was not my choosing.

No, you got off to stick around in the desert.

It was the desert where we were most easily ourselves.

Ah, yeah. The desert.

When it was the desert, and you and me.

You and me.

Paddy.

You don't think you'll make it to Berlin, do you?

It's not reaching Berlin that concerns me.

It's this.

The aftermath.

Sitting in a boat...

sitting on a tractor, sitting at a desk.

And nothing comes at you.

Nothing comes whizzing, or exploding, or...

punching or stabbing. It's just air.

Just the dead fucking air.

Fuck.

Please!

They're leaving us to drown!

Stop the boats!

Stop the boats!

Here...

At least when the air is empty, when there's no fucker there

you still always have company.

Aye.

At least from now on, I'll never truly be alone.

Oh, God.

Get me up. Get me free. Get me through the war.

Get me a drink.

As you can see, I've, um, taken a bit of a tumble

from the wagon. Would you mind...

Ah. - To victory.

Yes. Sorry, I, um...

I don't... I don't... I don't really drink toasts to anything anymore.

It's rather odd ceremony to... offer up a sip of the thing

that's destroying your sanity for the sake of some good cause or other.

Your mind is surviving.

I see that.

And you have changed.

I can see that. - I was obliged to kill people.

I was good at it.

But I've learned that I'm not so good at what comes next.

What, you mean you feel regret? - No.

I feel horror at my lack of regret.

How was your journey home?

I took a flight with Lieutenant Colonel Bill Stirling.

I got a message that you wanted to see me as soon as I got back to England.

What was so urgent?

Uh...

I really can't remember.

But I... I could make an educated guess

what with you being French

and what likely comes next in the conduct of the war.

For the next few months, I imagine you'll become rather important.

Important how?

Ah, well...

like almost everything else in this crucial moment in the war

that is a secret.

HQ. Oh, hello, sir.

Come.

At ease. Take a seat.

First, Colonel Stirling, congratulations from Winston Churchill himself

on your part in redrawing that map.

Mr Churchill has a fondness for the SAS stretching back to Africa.

And we too, on behalf of the Allied Force Headquarters

now have a very high regard for your men

and what they are able to achieve.

Why is it that all this praise and niceness is making me nervous?

As you know, preparations are well underway

for the invasion of Northern Europe.

We've explored a range of possible invasion points

along the French and Dutch coasts.

And done it in such a way

that German intelligence will believe that all of them are possible.

Current thinking in Berlin is that we will attack the Hook of Holland

thanks to tireless deception work

carried out by Dudley Wrangel Clarke and British Intelligence.

May I just say, before you continue, that wherever

it is decided the main invasion force should land

I hope that all the earlier flattery was not an attempt to solicit the SAS

to once again act as shock troops.

No, that is not what this meeting is about.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

AFHQ believe the best use of the SAS would be in advance of the main invasion.

1 SAS and 2 SAS would be dropped behind coastal defenses.

How far behind? - 30 miles.

And how far in advance of the main invasion?

36 hours. - 36 hours?

Their task would be to establish positions

and then to disrupt every attempt by the enemy

to reinforce the coastal defenses

at the actual point of invasion.

This would be nothing more than a suicide mission.

No other regiment was even considered for this vital role.

Because deep, deep, deep down, somewhere in the corridors of military power

there is a resentment against the SAS, against my brother

and against the success we have achieved.

Actually, old man, everyone pretty much knows

the success is almost entirely down to Paddy Mayne.

Ah.

Who you would have killed in action or shot dead?

Executed, to protect the conventional troops who would take all the glory.

The SAS have proven their worth

and they are best used arriving where they are least expected.

Well, this plan would be unexpected

because it is insane.

I am leaving this meeting. - Sit down. We have other matters.

The answer is no, and I will fall on my sword over it.

You may not need to fall on your sword, Colonel Stirling.

If you continue to question orders

there are those inside GHQ

who will happily stab you in the back.

Dismissed.

I surrender! - Hier.

Please! Don't shoot!

Please!

Prepare, prepare...

the iron helm of war.

Bring forth the lots, cast in the spacious orb

the Angel of Fate turns them with mighty hands

and casts them out upon the darkened earth. - You!

Stop. - Prepare...

Can I help you with something, officer?

You were seen running through the village.

A mother and her children heard you talking.

They thought you might be talking into one of those radios.

And they thought perhaps I was a one-man German invasion

come to Northamptonshire all alone?

I'll need to see identity papers. Come on.

I am a soldier.

But I'm not German.

I'm Irish.

And why were you running?

Cos for a man in my condition, running is the same as walking.

Plus I'm in a hurry.

To get where? - London.

You're going to London on foot? - Aye.

What that lady and her children heard was me reciting poetry

which, in my madness, I'm very fucking prone to do.

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Blair Mayne.

Special Air Service?

Do you deliver mail?

If there's going to be an invasion

I am always first with the news.

That's why I'm going to London.

There's going to be a wee invasion and I think they want me to be a part of it.

Actually, Officer...

I'm running late for my first meeting.

So, in the name of His Majesty the King

I need to borrow your bike.

Borrow my... borrow my bike?

Fuck.

♪ Singing a song, we march along the highway ♪

♪ Say goodbye to sorrow ♪

♪ There's always tomorrow ♪

♪ To think of today ♪

♪ Sing as we go, although the skies are grey ♪

Oh, fuck.

Where is he? - He's waiting for you, General.

♪ So sing, as we go along ♪

Colonel Stirling isn't alone.

His companion cycled all the way down the corridor

with his hands off the handlebars.

This fucking regiment.

♪ As we go a-long ♪

Whoever you are, a general just walked in the room.

The arm I use to salute is a wee bit stiff, sir.

I fell off my bike in Hendon in my haste to get here.

Colonel Stirling, what is the meaning of all this?

And what the fuck is he doing here?

What I am doing here, sir, is giving my professional opinion on your plan.

You shared a classified plan of operation without permission.

As I recall from our last meeting, General Montgomery insisted

the entire success of the SAS in Italy was down to Paddy Mayne.

So why wouldn't I share what you're still daring to call the plan

with him?

30 miles behind the lines...

36 hours before the invasion.

All glory to the fallen. - That information is top secret.

But 30 miles behind, 36 hours before

it'll make no difference where in France your forces land.

My regiment will all be dead by the time you set foot on the beach.

Right, so, to be clear

you are sharing classified information

and from what I'm hearing, you are suggesting

that you would disobey a direct order!

No, no.

No, no, sir. I would go alone myself.

That I would do. But I would not ask my men to come with me

since most of my men are quite keen to live.

Whereas I am, at best, equivocal.

Oh, and the other problem with your plan, sir

is that it would not work.

If you drop us into France 36 hours before

it'd only take one gust of wind to blow one parachute into the arms of the enemy.

They would put two and two together

and begin to work out where the invasion point is.

And you would be giving them 36 hours to prepare.

Since it's you...

and especially you

I will share your concerns with General Montgomery.

And, Colonel Stirling...

your conduct in this matter will be noted at the very highest level.

Fuck!

Goodness.

Were you and I just on the same side?

Goodness... I think we were.

And from what I could tell by your man's wee outburst just there

you might have just sacrificed your military career to save the SAS.

I told you in Cairo.

My brother was this regiment's midwife.

I am not prepared to be its coroner.

Also in Cairo

I told you you had done nothing to earn my respect.

Chopped down no trees, cut up no logs, fed no fires.

Please don't say anything nice to me. It'd be too confusing.

Will they listen to us, do you think?

A rather grand old spy has invited me for drinks tonight.

I understand you're invited too. - Aye, I got a note.

Cocktails at the Ritz.

Did the grand old spy say what the meeting is about?

No.

But I'm guessing it will either be a celebration, fond farewell

or an execution.

Your single-malt whiskey, sir.

Thank you.

Ah.

Now, behave.

Ahem.

Paddy.

So...

you are the grand old spy.

That's how my commanding officer describes you.

Oh.

Well, Paddy, I've, uh...

I've called you here to give you some good news.

Shall we, um, order some champagne?

No, no, I'm sound, thank you.

What good news?

Well, I've heard from AFHQ that Montgomery has agreed

to think again about the SAS's involvement in the coming invasion.

And he's changed his mind, Paddy, because of you.

He holds you in high regard.

Well, I thought you'd be pleased.

For myself, the manner of my passing is a detail, so...

being excused a suicide mission is of no consequence.

My friend, Bill Stirling

is afraid that, come what may

the knives are now officially out for him.

He's your friend

and your commanding officer?

Aye, that is some achievement.

Is my friend right to be concerned about knives?

Ahem...

And in his silence, he spoke a thousand words.

Let's drink a toast.

To common sense.

And second thoughts.

Let's see what the night brings.

You know...

I can recall a drunken conversation around a fire

in which somebody said the SAS was invented by a spy

who wore Chanel dresses.

Is that you?

Uh...

Well...

these days, I prefer a less elaborate couture

but, uh... yes.

It was I who started this whole extraordinary process.

Which makes you, Paddy Mayne, my offspring.

And every young German that you strangle is on my account with God.

So you could say the SAS is kind of a lethal poem

from the imagination of a deranged poet.

Give me that fucking flask.

Bravo!

Thank you. We'd now like to invite you

to the floor for our next number... - Ah.

Fools Rush In.

Two spies at the same table.

And a secret to be revealed.

Who said that war couldn't be fun?

French 75.

Uh, two, please.

What?

It's going to be a difficult evening.

What exactly is this meeting about?

My creator over here said something about the truth.

There now.

All four of us are gathered.

So now we can begin.

Where exactly did Paddy suggest we meet?

He said he was invited somewhere fancy.

And where he goes, we should be allowed to go.

JOCK: Night, night, ladies!

Enjoy yourselves!

Mm...

Tomorrow morning, intensive preparations will begin

for the invasion of France.

Paddy Mayne and 1 SAS will be deployed

to the Highlands of Scotland at 7am.

Which is why my boys are now all safely tucked up in bed.

2 SAS will be deployed to Scotland in three days' time.

And to complete the triangle, Eve Mansour

will be deployed to the same camp a day later.

Yes, Colonel Stirling.

Eve was briefed this morning by General de Gaulle himself.

Which is why |I've called this meeting.

General de Gaulle has ordered Eve to act as liaison

between the British and French SAS

who will fight together as part of the invasion force.

So Eve will be deployed to the Ayrshire camp.

As will you, Colonel Stirling, so the two of you...

will be working closely together.

Officers and liaison will be cooped up in close quarters

living cheek by jowl for...

several months.

Are you trying to make a point of some kind?

Of a particular kind.

Allied Force HQ have heard a rumor.

They need to know the status of your relationship

with the new French liaison officer.

What do Allied Force HQ need to know exactly?

There is nothing that needs to be known about our relationship.

This is fucking absurd.

Colonel Stirling, I ask you again, is there anything that needs to be known?

If the rumor is that we are sleeping together

then the rumor is wrong.

We are not and we'll never.

Oh, no, no, no, no.

Not my business.

Well, it will be your business if it affects your preparations for invasion.

It'll be left to you to deal with the mess.

The mess?

Yes, there is a mess.

AFHQ have decided to open an inquiry

into your close relationship in Italy

with a French spy.

OK.

OK.

Dudley Wrangel Clarke

AFHQ's bitter little emissary of bitter little messages.

I made the mistake of questioning an order

and then being proven right, thus proving someone else wrong.

And this is how revenge is taken.

Very well.

To avoid an entirely unnecessary yet embarrassing inquiry

I will tender my resignation in the morning, as I suspect you knew I would.

And you can tell those that sent you

the feud between the British Crown and the ancient Clan Stirling

which began in 1715 is entirely mutual.

And then, please...

tell them to fuck off.

Sometimes my job is terribly difficult.

Particularly in matters of the heart.

You fucking bastard.

That was highly entertaining.

A spiteful officer-class vendetta...

amounting to the removal of an effective officer

right ahead of the most important operation of the war.

I'm just acting on instruction.

Who will replace him?

Oh, you know, someone...

far less effective.

But then the officer class knows that in truth

the SAS is run by you, so...

what do they care?

You just carry out their orders. - Yes.

War's a dirty business.

Isn't it?

I don't know.

I just cut throats.

I don't break hearts.

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you. Thank you.

We'd like to invite you onto the floor for a slightly livelier number.

Roller.

The SAS have arrived!

Ladies, the men are here!

Oh-ho-ho-ho! Look out.

Standards must have dropped in here, I'd say.

Alright, Pad?

Gentlemen, the maitre d' has asked you to please leave.

These men are under my command.

Why would they be taking instructions from you?

Groups of military in uniform greater than five are not allowed

into the restaurant and bar area.

I must have counted 25 American soldiers, all in uniform.

That is a special celebration.

We do make exceptions. - Well, when the bribe's right, is it?

Chewing gum, cigarettes... Yankee dollars?

All we've got is scars.

Sir, if you need help escorting these gentlemen out

we are United States Marines.

I really don't think you Brits can afford these prices.

Pardon me?

This is the Ritz.

I really don't think you Brits can...

Come on!

♪ I be a man can a mystery man ♪

♪ Be a doll, be a baby doll ♪

♪ It can't be fun, not anyway ♪

♪ It can't be found no way at all ♪

♪ A distant man can't sympathize ♪

♪ He can't uphold his distant laws ♪

♪ Due to form on that today... ♪

I told you to stop, Reg. - He's alright...

Children.

Children, children, children.

My children.

Soldiers of the Special Air Service, you have a very early day tomorrow.

And you have a war to win.

Okey-dokey.

Let's make tracks.

See you in Paris, sweet pea.

Come on, please.

♪ I be a man can a mystery man ♪

♪ Be a doll, be a baby doll ♪

♪ It can't be fun, not anyway ♪

♪ It can't be found no way at all ♪

There is literally, literally

nothing here.

Oh, aye, there is.

Look, there's a bush there. Look.

And, uh...

there's a tree, cowering in the wind.

And then there's... there's rocks.

And above that's the sky.

God never got round to this place.

God never got round to this place.

I actually think it's quite beautiful.

And if the rest of you fuckers would fuck off

and if Hitler would fuck off

then I could easily see myself living out the rest of my days here.

What are we gonna drink, Paddy?

Melted snow and rabbit's blood.

And we're going to Kill red deer stags with our teeth.

Oh, it's going to be a grand adventure out here, boys.

♪ Neat, neat, neat ♪

♪ She ain't got no name to call ♪

♪ Neat, neat, neat ♪

Come on then. We're in behind.

I do hope nobody was in there.

♪ I be a man can a mystery man ♪

Ready... go.

♪ It can't be fun, not anyway ♪

Remember what we talked about.

♪ A distant man can't sympathize ♪

♪ He can't uphold his distant laws ♪

♪ Due to form on that today... ♪

What time we at, Pad? - Three minutes. Absolute shite, boys.

Oi! That was you, ya fat bastard!

Load them up.

Missed a spot.

Oh, shit.

Oh!

Halt! - Ah, shit.

Jesus.

Halt! - Fuck!

We have a special place designed for men like you.

We have a special place designed for men like you.

Dear David.

I have resigned.

So, no Stirlings will participate in the assault on Europe.

Our men are gathering in great numbers near our family home.

They're to be trained in a new level of total war.

The regiment has been saved from a certain suicide mission

and been given one which is merely insanely reckless.

The men of the SAS are now in the rough hands of your friend and mine.

I am sure their next adventure will make us both proud.

Your loving brother, Bill.

Last night...

I shot and shattered a bottle of brandy belonging to the French battalion.

This is by way of recompense.

I learned in Africa

that my communication with the French

is best conducted through medium of dead deer.

Can I come in?

Of course.

Please, sit anywhere.

I have news.

I already know what happened to David.

I received a letter yesterday.

He said they have sent him to a castle in the clouds.

I believe the castle is called Colditz Castle.

Is that bad? - It's far from good.

But he will escape.

He will try, that is fucking certain.

Actually, my news is not about David.

In my capacity as commanding officer, I have been sent here

to relay to the French liaison

the exact date

of the invasion of France. - Hang on, one second.

Tell me.

The first advanced party of British SAS invasion units

will land in France...

tonight.

I myself only found out last night

so I've come to tell you.

Your French boys will be deployed tomorrow.

Then I will see you in France.

You're coming too?

How could I not?

So who's gonna eat the fucking deer?

We will win, Paddy.

That is the intention.

Will you try to stay alive?

That is the intention.

See, I'd quite like to see Berlin.

And after that, who knows?

After that, you will be David's best man at his wedding.

I will make sure of it.

That gramophone there, is that a wind-up one?

Yes, it's all I could find here. - And you won't be needing it?

No, I won't be needing it.

Well, if you don't mind...

Paddy, what are you going to do with a record player

in the middle of an invasion?

The boys are tired of my singing.

So, if on some battlefield between Normandy and Paris

you hear Whiskey in the Jar played at full volume

you'll know I'm close.

We shall not fail or falter.

We shall not weaken or tire.

Neither the sudden shock of battle

nor the long drawn trials of vigilance

and exertion will wear us down.

Give us the tools

and we will finish the job.

Paddy!

What the fuck is that?

It's a gramophone, Reggie.

A record player.

I thought it'd be nice to have some music to listen to.

Music? - Aye.

I'm going to take it into France with us

and then we can all listen to some music together.

Paddy, are you fucking mad?

Of course he's bloody mad, we're all bloody mad.

And how do you plan on getting that down to the ground?

Oh, I've all that worked out, Reggie boy.

I'm going to strap it to my left leg

and then be sure to land on my right.

What's the record, Pad?

Woo!

♪ As I was goin' over the far Kilgarry mountains ♪

Single pound for it!

♪ I saw Captain Farrell and his money he was counting ♪

♪ I first produced my pistols and then produced my rapier ♪

♪ Said stand and deliver for I am your bold deceiver ♪

♪ Mush-a ring dum-a doo rum-a da ♪

♪ Wack fall de daddy-o, wack fall de daddy-o ♪

♪ There's whiskey in the jar ♪

♪ I went into my chamber ♪

♪ For to take a slumber, I dreamt of gold and jewels ♪

♪ And for sure it was no wonder ♪

♪ That Jenny took me charges, she filled them up with water ♪

♪ And sent for Captain Farrell to be ready for the slaughter ♪

♪ Mush-a ring dum-a doo rum-a da ♪

♪ Wack fall de daddy-o ♪

♪ Wack fall de daddy-o, there's whiskey in the jar ♪

Stand!

You ask, what is our aim?

I can answer in one word.

Victory.

Victory at all costs.

Victory in spite of all terror.

Stand!

And fucking deliver!

♪ Out of my way, I'm a-running high ♪

♪ Take a chance with me and a-give it a try ♪

♪ Ain't no woman in the world I don't know ♪

♪ Walk all over ♪

♪ You! Oh! ♪