1
00:00:05,615 --> 00:00:08,453
Tobruk is under
24 hour bombardment.
2
00:00:08,523 --> 00:00:12,757
The map on the wall keeps being
redrawn and men are dying.
3
00:00:12,919 --> 00:00:15,160
I share your impatience
with the conduct of the war.
4
00:00:15,240 --> 00:00:17,120
And I intend to do
something about it.
5
00:00:17,199 --> 00:00:19,712
Right now beauty
is not a currency I value.
6
00:00:19,767 --> 00:00:21,960
Apologies, that sounded like an attempt
to be charming, didn't it?
7
00:00:22,039 --> 00:00:24,039
I've decided to form
a parachute regiment.
8
00:00:24,120 --> 00:00:25,001
You've decided?
9
00:00:25,032 --> 00:00:27,120
I've decided you are
the right kind of men.
10
00:00:27,199 --> 00:00:30,519
The others are all insane,
in jail or like me in despair.
11
00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:31,454
Where's Mayne?
12
00:00:31,501 --> 00:00:33,540
He's going to Burma
to fight the Japanese.
13
00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:35,600
- Heard you want to come as well?
- Why not?
14
00:00:35,679 --> 00:00:39,880
- We're not at war with Japan yet.
- If Paddy's going we will be quite soon.
15
00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:43,119
We parachute units of selected men
into the interior
16
00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:45,199
and then attack Rommel's
supply line from the desert.
17
00:00:45,270 --> 00:00:47,640
- No one parachutes in the desert.
- We know.
18
00:00:47,960 --> 00:00:50,520
I was hoping Mayne would join us
but we can do it without him.
19
00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:52,359
What should we call ourselves?
20
00:00:52,439 --> 00:00:56,515
We do not stand down any more.
That should be the name of our unit.
21
00:00:56,586 --> 00:00:58,695
The men who refuse
to stand down.
22
00:01:02,039 --> 00:01:03,759
Based on a true story,
23
00:01:03,840 --> 00:01:08,760
the events depicted
which seem most unbelievable
24
00:01:09,560 --> 00:01:12,400
are mostly true.
25
00:01:18,159 --> 00:01:20,519
CAIRO
JUNE 1941
26
00:01:56,560 --> 00:01:57,840
Hello?
27
00:02:27,039 --> 00:02:28,039
Hello?
28
00:02:28,422 --> 00:02:29,444
Oh.
29
00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:35,360
You must be the French person.
30
00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:40,000
Are you Colonel
Dudley Wrangel Clarke?
31
00:02:41,000 --> 00:02:42,120
At your service.
32
00:02:42,479 --> 00:02:47,400
And this is the Cairo Headquarters of
British Secret Intelligence Middle East.
33
00:02:50,719 --> 00:02:51,619
Fun, isn't it?
34
00:03:00,548 --> 00:03:02,814
If we don't get there soon,
we're gonna lose him.
35
00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:13,400
Yes, bring them through.
36
00:03:24,039 --> 00:03:27,759
Nurse, this one's fading fast.
Get him checked by the doctor.
37
00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:29,719
- Whoops.
- Excuse me.
38
00:03:30,639 --> 00:03:32,719
Dr Gamal,
here's the list of patients.
39
00:03:33,120 --> 00:03:34,759
So that's 15 from Tobruk.
40
00:03:35,240 --> 00:03:38,759
Twenty from Sidi Barrani
and one from God knows.
41
00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:41,319
This is the one from God knows.
42
00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:44,680
Shit.
Get him through.
43
00:03:52,919 --> 00:03:55,580
I imagine you're a little
surprised I am who I am.
44
00:03:55,620 --> 00:03:57,699
This office is what it is and...
45
00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:01,400
I do what I do
in the way that I do it.
46
00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:07,159
Nothing surprises me in Cairo, except
your Chanel dress. Where did you get it?
47
00:04:07,842 --> 00:04:09,800
Eh. Paris.
48
00:04:10,960 --> 00:04:13,759
You're so beautiful.
Wish I was French.
49
00:04:14,479 --> 00:04:16,480
I'm not French.
I'm Algerian.
50
00:04:18,959 --> 00:04:21,279
And how is this your war?
51
00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:24,600
Trying to save
Africa from the Nazis.
52
00:04:26,079 --> 00:04:28,360
Close your eyes and imagine it.
53
00:04:32,639 --> 00:04:35,600
If you're spying for the French,
I know your boss.
54
00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:37,759
He's a drunk
and a heroin addict.
55
00:04:38,079 --> 00:04:41,720
I'm able to negotiate
my way around his idiocy.
56
00:04:42,279 --> 00:04:43,680
Good.
57
00:04:47,800 --> 00:04:48,422
In that case
58
00:04:48,447 --> 00:04:52,248
when it comes to Anglo-French
intelligence operations in Cairo,
59
00:04:53,720 --> 00:04:56,759
why don't you and I just
keep it between ourselves?
60
00:04:58,234 --> 00:04:59,594
I'd like that.
61
00:05:00,199 --> 00:05:02,879
And may I suggest we
start with something...
62
00:05:03,199 --> 00:05:05,120
rather wonderful.
63
00:05:08,301 --> 00:05:11,741
- Oh, shit.
- Is that a medical term?
64
00:05:13,199 --> 00:05:14,519
You can hear me?
65
00:05:14,879 --> 00:05:17,240
Do you feel any pain?
66
00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:19,360
No.
67
00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:21,560
What about now?
68
00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:24,040
What do you feel?
69
00:05:24,920 --> 00:05:26,120
Regret.
70
00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:31,645
If I die in this way, it would mean
my life was a one act comedy,
71
00:05:31,670 --> 00:05:34,680
with not even an interval
for gin and tonic.
72
00:05:34,759 --> 00:05:37,160
Prepare him for surgery now.
Now. Move, move.
73
00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:42,118
You see, war is about deception because
deception is a war against reality
74
00:05:42,240 --> 00:05:45,032
and reality
is the enemy of the soldier,
75
00:05:45,141 --> 00:05:50,321
particularly the heroic soldier
who must live a life of heroic fiction.
76
00:05:50,439 --> 00:05:52,680
And the fruit
of deception is victory.
77
00:05:53,160 --> 00:05:54,279
Death to the truth.
78
00:05:54,879 --> 00:05:58,000
And all its bastard offspring
including fear and caution.
79
00:05:58,319 --> 00:06:03,279
Colonel Clarke, you seem to have
invented an entire British regiment.
80
00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:04,920
Yes, from thin air.
81
00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:09,639
I used actors
for the photos of soldiers.
82
00:06:10,079 --> 00:06:12,519
Planes are made
out of wood and glue.
83
00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:15,480
On aerial reconnaissance
they seem terribly real.
84
00:06:16,399 --> 00:06:20,040
I made six copies of that folder
for indiscreet distribution.
85
00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:22,600
I took one to the Gauche Club
last night in my briefcase
86
00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:25,240
where I ran into the attaché
at the Spanish embassy
87
00:06:25,319 --> 00:06:26,680
as of course I knew I would.
88
00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:30,279
I accidentally left my briefcase
under his table for him to find
89
00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:34,240
so that by tomorrow morning, Berlin
will be in receipt of fresh intelligence
90
00:06:34,319 --> 00:06:37,519
that the British have a brand new
parachute regiment in East Libya
91
00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:40,009
preparing to drop
troops behind their lines.
92
00:06:40,519 --> 00:06:43,439
The Italians will send
troops back in response,
93
00:06:43,519 --> 00:06:46,279
then our glorious leader,
Commander-in-Chief Middle East,
94
00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:49,759
General Auchinleck will act,
sending three British divisions
95
00:06:49,839 --> 00:06:53,106
to attack the right flank which
will be almost defenceless.
96
00:06:53,379 --> 00:06:54,270
Et voilà!
97
00:06:55,079 --> 00:07:00,246
A battle won by wood,
glue and my own genius.
98
00:07:04,639 --> 00:07:09,120
You can have that. Make copies.
Leave it where it can be read.
99
00:07:10,279 --> 00:07:14,519
The Spanish and the Portuguese
diplomats are the fast tracks to Berlin.
100
00:07:18,639 --> 00:07:20,920
I, too, have an idea for an operation.
101
00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:24,560
Which I also think
is rather wonderful.
102
00:07:24,639 --> 00:07:28,399
But the difference is,
my soldiers are real.
103
00:07:52,839 --> 00:07:54,120
Did you find anything out?
104
00:07:54,199 --> 00:07:56,759
Yeah, apparently it was
a complete disaster.
105
00:07:56,839 --> 00:07:59,439
Stirling's parachute tore in half.
106
00:08:01,439 --> 00:08:02,560
Did he die?
107
00:08:02,920 --> 00:08:04,680
They say it's touch and go.
108
00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:10,279
See the problem with Stirling
is that he is a dreamer.
109
00:08:10,360 --> 00:08:11,480
So are you, Paddy.
110
00:08:12,279 --> 00:08:14,160
He is from that class of men...
111
00:08:14,879 --> 00:08:19,399
who do things imagining they are writing
it down in their autobiography.
112
00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:23,120
Until their biography reaches
an unexpected full stop.
113
00:08:26,399 --> 00:08:28,839
If he dies, I will attend his funeral,
114
00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:35,240
because, for some reason,
he actually liked me.
115
00:09:24,279 --> 00:09:26,799
What on earth are you doing,
jumping out of aeroplanes?
116
00:09:27,919 --> 00:09:30,399
Even as a boy you were always
idiotically optimistic
117
00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:32,480
about the effects of gravity.
118
00:09:36,759 --> 00:09:39,320
I'm told by the doctor
not to express pity.
119
00:09:41,279 --> 00:09:45,919
They said pity suggests hopelessness
which encourages despair.
120
00:09:46,559 --> 00:09:48,919
Rigorous concern
is preferred so...
121
00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:50,759
I will be rigorous in my concern.
122
00:09:50,840 --> 00:09:51,840
How are you?
123
00:09:51,919 --> 00:09:54,080
My mother looked up my condition
in a medical dictionary.
124
00:09:54,159 --> 00:09:56,399
She tells me only one in five
people with a spine contusion
125
00:09:56,480 --> 00:10:00,519
ever walk again but, I am
always, always in the minority.
126
00:10:00,600 --> 00:10:03,200
She believes I will be
one of the one in five.
127
00:10:03,279 --> 00:10:06,279
She also tells me of grouse.
128
00:10:11,159 --> 00:10:14,679
I've been working on the idea,
your idea,
129
00:10:14,759 --> 00:10:19,480
my idea now because I've added some
whistles and bells. Yes, take a look.
130
00:10:20,759 --> 00:10:22,159
This is totally illegible.
131
00:10:24,559 --> 00:10:27,240
My eyes hurt so I've been writing
with my eyes closed
132
00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:30,960
but you see I'm hoping to persuade
my eyes and my legs, my...
133
00:10:31,600 --> 00:10:32,759
fucking legs.
134
00:10:35,480 --> 00:10:37,200
Persuade my legs that
they are required.
135
00:10:37,279 --> 00:10:39,519
I'm making a case
to my toes, my shins
136
00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:42,240
and my insolent knees
that they are needed.
137
00:10:42,320 --> 00:10:44,399
- Needed for what?
- Ideas are coming quickly.
138
00:10:44,480 --> 00:10:46,759
Even this feather
is confirmation.
139
00:10:47,720 --> 00:10:51,679
Falling from between
the pages like fate. Come.
140
00:10:53,559 --> 00:10:56,799
You see, on my family estate
they shoot grouse.
141
00:10:56,879 --> 00:11:00,080
But they only shoot them
when they are in the air.
142
00:11:01,360 --> 00:11:02,440
Grouse.
143
00:11:02,519 --> 00:11:05,279
We will be a regiment
of fucking poachers,
144
00:11:05,360 --> 00:11:08,279
shooting grouse,
in their roost, in the dark.
145
00:11:08,879 --> 00:11:12,120
Shooting them on the ground,
not like gentlemen, not at all.
146
00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:14,320
You know Stirling,
you might consider it prudent
147
00:11:14,399 --> 00:11:15,960
to ask them
what medication they've given you
148
00:11:16,039 --> 00:11:18,600
because you're not making
any sense at all.
149
00:11:20,039 --> 00:11:23,559
The grouse are German
and Italian aeroplanes.
150
00:11:23,639 --> 00:11:25,240
We won't wait
for them to take off.
151
00:11:25,320 --> 00:11:27,759
We will shoot them on the ground.
Lewes, think about it!
152
00:11:27,840 --> 00:11:30,759
There's no point thinking about it
'cause it's all academic.
153
00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:32,279
Even if we could get to the airstrips,
154
00:11:32,360 --> 00:11:35,480
there's no bomb small enough
to carry miles across the desert.
155
00:11:35,559 --> 00:11:36,639
And we'd need dozens.
156
00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:39,919
You can figure that out and I'll persuade
Paddy Mayne to join us.
157
00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:43,039
News from GHQ is that our
little experiment is over.
158
00:11:43,360 --> 00:11:46,360
Our unit has been stood down
with immediate effect.
159
00:11:46,799 --> 00:11:50,360
Paddy Mayne is going to Burma
and I'm going back to Tobruk.
160
00:11:51,720 --> 00:11:54,600
And I imagine you are being
sent home to Scotland.
161
00:11:54,960 --> 00:11:59,080
No. No one does things
with me or to me.
162
00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:02,840
I will get better.
163
00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:06,639
Then, Lewes, you and I
and Paddy Mayne,
164
00:12:07,759 --> 00:12:09,840
we will go poaching.
165
00:12:38,159 --> 00:12:41,799
I have some very
important intelligence
166
00:12:42,399 --> 00:12:44,879
from a long range desert group.
167
00:12:47,039 --> 00:12:50,320
But I'm afraid it's all the way...
168
00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:56,240
over here.
169
00:12:56,679 --> 00:12:58,279
- You're a bastard.
- I know.
170
00:13:07,879 --> 00:13:10,600
I received word from
General de Gaulle last night
171
00:13:10,679 --> 00:13:14,440
and he gave me permission to speak
to you about a certain matter.
172
00:13:14,799 --> 00:13:17,399
- Here we go.
- Careful.
173
00:13:24,879 --> 00:13:26,759
These men are not actors.
174
00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:31,440
They're all French paratroopers who
escaped France ahead of the Nazis.
175
00:13:31,519 --> 00:13:36,320
General de Gaulle urgently wants these
men to join up with a British unit.
176
00:13:36,679 --> 00:13:39,000
Why are you telling me?
I do jokes and tricks.
177
00:13:39,080 --> 00:13:42,919
The British are losing the war
and need all the help they can get.
178
00:13:45,399 --> 00:13:48,840
You are the most effective
covert operative in Africa.
179
00:13:48,919 --> 00:13:50,480
You make things happen.
180
00:14:00,000 --> 00:14:02,240
Textbook recruitment technique.
181
00:14:02,679 --> 00:14:07,000
Batter me into submission with flattery.
I love it, do continue.
182
00:14:15,559 --> 00:14:18,320
British high command listens to you.
183
00:14:18,399 --> 00:14:20,840
Suggest an operation that requires
French speaking soldiers.
184
00:14:20,919 --> 00:14:24,240
Creative formulation is my area.
Don't tread on my toes.
185
00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:27,120
I'm the one who invents
regiments around here.
186
00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:29,679
I will tread on your
toes when we dance.
187
00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:33,519
We're dancing, are we?
188
00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:36,399
Phase two after flattery
is usually seduction.
189
00:14:37,679 --> 00:14:39,600
But that may not work with you.
190
00:14:41,879 --> 00:14:43,279
I do love to dance.
191
00:14:44,440 --> 00:14:45,840
So we have a deal.
192
00:14:46,240 --> 00:14:48,320
I will help you with
your fictional regiment
193
00:14:48,399 --> 00:14:50,399
if you help me with my real one.
194
00:14:56,600 --> 00:14:57,840
Vive la France.
195
00:14:58,279 --> 00:14:59,440
God Save the King.
196
00:15:01,399 --> 00:15:02,519
Well done.
197
00:15:04,399 --> 00:15:05,720
Now let's do it all again.
198
00:15:05,799 --> 00:15:07,039
Shall we?
199
00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:17,000
11 COMMANDO CAMP
HELIOPOLIS, CAIRO
200
00:15:42,159 --> 00:15:44,000
Lieutenant Mayne.
201
00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:49,679
Paddy, are you supposed
to be somewhere else?
202
00:15:49,759 --> 00:15:51,120
We're looking for Lieutenant
Robert Blair Mayne.
203
00:15:51,200 --> 00:15:52,679
Probably.
204
00:15:53,080 --> 00:15:54,240
You're in check.
205
00:15:55,679 --> 00:15:56,919
Paddy...
206
00:15:57,559 --> 00:16:00,240
why don't you just make
yourself known to the captain?
207
00:16:00,320 --> 00:16:04,559
I'm hardly known to myself.
Plus the captain gets my goat.
208
00:16:05,639 --> 00:16:07,720
Lieutenant Mayne.
209
00:16:07,799 --> 00:16:09,919
Paddy, think about Burma.
210
00:16:10,759 --> 00:16:14,960
Don't do anything that will jeopardise
our deployment to Burma.
211
00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:19,519
Mayne, I've been looking
all over fucking Cairo for you.
212
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:21,759
You're meant
to be in a briefing.
213
00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:25,440
But you're too busy playing
chess with your boyfriend.
214
00:16:25,519 --> 00:16:29,559
Get on your fucking feet and get yourself
a shave while you're at it.
215
00:16:31,919 --> 00:16:34,480
I have my friend in check.
216
00:16:35,440 --> 00:16:39,919
In two moves it'll be checkmate.
Now, wait your fucking turn.
217
00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:47,399
Get on your fucking feet,
you lazy Irish fucker.
218
00:17:00,840 --> 00:17:02,320
Look, here I am.
219
00:17:03,960 --> 00:17:06,359
Burma would've been so nice.
220
00:17:27,960 --> 00:17:30,319
I don't advise going in there, sir.
221
00:17:31,720 --> 00:17:33,359
Come on, open the door.
222
00:17:55,799 --> 00:17:58,559
I said I didn't want to see him.
223
00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:02,000
And they said I had to.
224
00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:07,000
And I have grown weary of destroying
the self-confidence of these guards
225
00:18:07,079 --> 00:18:10,200
who take turns
to try and grind me down.
226
00:18:14,119 --> 00:18:15,400
What do you want?
227
00:18:21,359 --> 00:18:22,839
My mother sent it to me.
228
00:18:24,160 --> 00:18:27,359
- Did you ever shoot grouse?
- Pardon me?
229
00:18:27,440 --> 00:18:30,319
- I said did you ever shoot grouse?
- Grouse?
230
00:18:34,319 --> 00:18:35,599
No.
231
00:18:36,640 --> 00:18:37,720
Nah.
232
00:18:38,720 --> 00:18:42,920
No, no, I was never invited
to the grouse shoots in Newtownards.
233
00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:46,759
Just not the right blood line.
234
00:18:47,920 --> 00:18:49,799
Just a yeoman farmer.
235
00:18:50,680 --> 00:18:52,559
They'd have had me as a beater.
236
00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:57,000
But if I'd have been invited
to their piss up, shoot up frenzies,
237
00:18:57,079 --> 00:18:59,960
it'd have been their sunless
faces I'd have been beating in.
238
00:19:00,680 --> 00:19:05,279
Those land owning, gentrified,
boy buggering toffs
239
00:19:05,359 --> 00:19:08,440
would never have countenanced
my presence, so, no.
240
00:19:10,200 --> 00:19:12,039
No, nah, nah.
241
00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:17,160
I've shot at Frenchmen, Germans,
242
00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:19,640
Italians...
243
00:19:21,240 --> 00:19:22,960
But I never shot at birds.
244
00:19:30,319 --> 00:19:31,400
Next question.
245
00:19:33,640 --> 00:19:36,240
But I will use my blood as ink
246
00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:40,079
and this feather
as my quill to write my poetry.
247
00:19:45,359 --> 00:19:46,480
How badly do you
want to get out?
248
00:19:46,559 --> 00:19:49,079
I heard you fucked up,
jumping out of a plane.
249
00:19:49,160 --> 00:19:52,880
I hear that you fucked up
your commanding officer.
250
00:19:53,839 --> 00:19:55,920
Hit him with a piano
is what I heard.
251
00:19:56,440 --> 00:19:59,319
And as a result
you're not going to Burma.
252
00:20:00,279 --> 00:20:02,680
I go to the East
every night in my poetry.
253
00:20:05,359 --> 00:20:08,799
"By the old Moulmein pagoda,
254
00:20:09,799 --> 00:20:11,359
"Eastward to the sea,
255
00:20:12,079 --> 00:20:16,480
"There's a Burma girl a-settin',
And I know she thinks of me..."
256
00:20:16,559 --> 00:20:19,400
I want you to imagine
a British regiment...
257
00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:22,160
"For the wind Is in the palm trees,
And the temples Bells they say..."
258
00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:23,839
without all of the things
that you hate.
259
00:20:23,920 --> 00:20:27,240
- "Come ye back You British soldier..."
- No yes sir, no sir...
260
00:20:27,319 --> 00:20:30,440
- "Come ye back To Mandalay..."
- No pips, no strips for rum and hash.
261
00:20:31,000 --> 00:20:33,640
"On the road to Mandalay
Where the flying fishes play..."
262
00:20:33,720 --> 00:20:37,359
- No bugles, no salutes...
- "And the dawn comes Up like thunder..."
263
00:20:37,440 --> 00:20:40,759
No waiting for the piss
poor orders to dribble down...
264
00:20:40,839 --> 00:20:41,839
through the ranks.
265
00:20:41,920 --> 00:20:45,079
And we would be stood down
and stood down, and stood down.
266
00:20:45,160 --> 00:20:46,960
No, there will be no one
to stand us down.
267
00:20:47,039 --> 00:20:48,880
We will be answerable to no one.
268
00:20:51,759 --> 00:20:53,640
Answerable to no one, Paddy.
269
00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:59,039
And you have permission
for your adventure from GHQ?
270
00:20:59,119 --> 00:21:03,079
Here's the part that
you will love the most.
271
00:21:04,359 --> 00:21:08,440
We will shoot their aeroplanes
when they're parked on the ground.
272
00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:12,480
Now no doubt your father
and your grandfather,
273
00:21:12,559 --> 00:21:15,799
and great grandfather were
from a long line of poachers.
274
00:21:15,880 --> 00:21:18,920
Well now, now they will
give you medals for it.
275
00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:20,640
I asked you a question.
276
00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:25,000
Do you have permission from GHQ?
277
00:21:25,079 --> 00:21:26,400
- No.
- No?
278
00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:28,680
I haven't told them yet.
279
00:21:28,759 --> 00:21:32,799
Then I see very little prospect of there
being any fighting in your wee circus.
280
00:21:32,880 --> 00:21:34,880
Oh, God, there will be fighting.
281
00:21:36,359 --> 00:21:39,599
There will be fighting
but only with the enemy.
282
00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:42,400
If you join us, I would
want your word
283
00:21:42,480 --> 00:21:44,640
that you will not punch
your commanding officer
284
00:21:44,720 --> 00:21:47,079
because your commanding
officer...
285
00:21:47,559 --> 00:21:48,680
It will be me.
286
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:51,279
Your comrades will be
men like yourself.
287
00:21:51,359 --> 00:21:55,960
Sweepings of public schools,
military prisons, men who do not obey.
288
00:21:58,000 --> 00:22:00,200
Men who need only one order,
289
00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:04,640
go, kill, return, go again.
290
00:22:08,079 --> 00:22:12,319
The alternative,
the only alternative
291
00:22:13,680 --> 00:22:15,119
for you, Paddy Mayne,
292
00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:17,440
is that one day
they're going to hang you.
293
00:22:18,279 --> 00:22:20,440
Why do you want me
in particular?
294
00:22:32,359 --> 00:22:33,559
Because...
295
00:22:35,680 --> 00:22:40,119
you would use your blood
as ink to write history.
296
00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:45,240
That's very poetic.
297
00:22:46,279 --> 00:22:47,519
Are you a poet?
298
00:22:48,839 --> 00:22:51,400
Actually a painter. Failed.
299
00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:59,160
If you decide to join us,
300
00:23:00,839 --> 00:23:02,839
I can get you out of here.
301
00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:06,920
How? You don't even
have a fucking regiment.
302
00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:09,319
No, but I will have,
do you know why?
303
00:23:10,359 --> 00:23:11,599
Because...
304
00:23:12,680 --> 00:23:19,000
the fucking landowning, gentrified,
boy buggering toffs
305
00:23:19,079 --> 00:23:22,599
who used to shoot grouse on my
father's Highland estate...
306
00:23:23,759 --> 00:23:26,359
Well, now they're
running the British Army.
307
00:23:28,279 --> 00:23:29,400
Cheerio.
308
00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:46,039
TWO WEEKS LATER
309
00:24:04,640 --> 00:24:07,519
GARDEN CITY
CAIRO, BRITISH GHQ.
310
00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:18,319
Lieutenant Stirling, 8 Commando.
311
00:24:18,400 --> 00:24:20,920
I'm here to see General
Sir Claude Auchinleck.
312
00:24:21,000 --> 00:24:25,160
A lieutenant to see the commander
of the entire North Africa division?
313
00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:26,960
Do you have a pass?
314
00:24:27,039 --> 00:24:30,240
No. I do not but
I do have my class.
315
00:24:30,319 --> 00:24:31,720
If you could get
a message to the General...
316
00:24:31,799 --> 00:24:33,920
Why don't you fuck off?
317
00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:39,559
No. My message actually would be that
my father, General Archibald Stirling,
318
00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:42,200
was always accommodating
319
00:24:42,279 --> 00:24:45,400
when Claude Auchinleck
would drop by unannounced.
320
00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:48,759
Perhaps he might
return the favour.
321
00:24:48,839 --> 00:24:50,920
No pass, no entry.
322
00:24:55,960 --> 00:24:58,720
- Charming.
- And stick your class up your arse.
323
00:25:03,319 --> 00:25:04,440
Stop there.
324
00:25:07,039 --> 00:25:09,759
Right, papers please. Okay.
325
00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:13,960
Where you coming from?
326
00:25:15,359 --> 00:25:16,440
Yep.
327
00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:20,400
Okay.
328
00:25:27,640 --> 00:25:29,079
Wait, wait, wait.
329
00:25:29,680 --> 00:25:32,359
Wait! Stop the truck!
330
00:25:33,279 --> 00:25:36,359
Wait. Stop.
Wait, stop the truck!
331
00:25:59,759 --> 00:26:02,599
- Oh, shit.
- Pass, sir? Thank you, sir.
332
00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:11,960
General Auchinleck wants to know
333
00:26:12,039 --> 00:26:13,599
when this fucking noise
is going to die down.
334
00:26:13,680 --> 00:26:14,920
He's trying to work.
335
00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:16,160
They'll be done by midnight.
336
00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:19,839
Right, a crate of champagne,
that might pacify him. Come on.
337
00:26:23,839 --> 00:26:26,519
A gift for General Auchinleck
from General Ritchie.
338
00:26:26,599 --> 00:26:27,680
- Pass, Sir?
- Take a bottle
339
00:26:27,759 --> 00:26:30,200
He won't be counting. Come on.
340
00:26:30,880 --> 00:26:32,119
Thank you, Sir.
341
00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:41,039
Excuse me. I have a delivery
for General Auchinleck.
342
00:26:41,599 --> 00:26:44,160
Third floor,
other side of security.
343
00:26:47,519 --> 00:26:49,640
Corporal, come and take this for me
would you?
344
00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:51,599
- Yes, sir.
- We're going to the third floor.
345
00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:54,599
What on earth has happened
to your top button? Do it up, corporal.
346
00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:55,680
Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.
347
00:26:55,759 --> 00:26:56,960
There's a lieutenant in
the building without a pass.
348
00:26:57,039 --> 00:26:58,240
Place is going
to the fucking dogs.
349
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:01,559
- Hello?
- There's a lieutenant who's got in.
350
00:27:03,759 --> 00:27:06,599
A gift for General Auchinleck
from General Ritchie.
351
00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:08,960
And I want to report that
I put this fucking crate down
352
00:27:09,039 --> 00:27:10,599
for one minute
in the gentlemen's lavatory,
353
00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:12,319
already two bottles are stolen.
354
00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:14,400
What is happening
to security in this building?
355
00:27:14,480 --> 00:27:15,640
We'll look into it, sir.
356
00:27:15,720 --> 00:27:18,359
I'm afraid I left my
security pass on my desk.
357
00:27:19,119 --> 00:27:21,400
- I beg your pardon?
- It's okay, sir. We know his face.
358
00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:23,440
Not the point.
Not the fucking point.
359
00:27:23,519 --> 00:27:27,200
Enlisted men should carry their security
pass with them at all times.
360
00:27:27,279 --> 00:27:29,039
What is happening
in this place with top buttons?
361
00:27:29,119 --> 00:27:30,839
Do up your fucking buttons.
362
00:27:31,200 --> 00:27:32,519
It gets quite hot, sir.
363
00:27:33,480 --> 00:27:35,000
Yes, it's Cairo.
364
00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:38,039
But we are British.
365
00:27:41,279 --> 00:27:42,400
Come.
366
00:27:44,680 --> 00:27:47,920
A gift for General
Auchinleck from General Ritchie.
367
00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:50,759
General Auchinleck
is finishing a meeting.
368
00:27:51,160 --> 00:27:53,839
And I am General Ritchie.
Who the hell are you?
369
00:27:55,079 --> 00:27:57,640
- Show me your security pass.
- I'm...
370
00:28:12,759 --> 00:28:14,000
Sir...
371
00:28:18,359 --> 00:28:19,440
Put me through
to the guard commander.
372
00:28:19,519 --> 00:28:20,720
Sir, I know you.
373
00:28:21,400 --> 00:28:22,640
And you know me.
374
00:28:23,039 --> 00:28:25,599
Both you and General Auchinleck used
to shoot on my father's estate.
375
00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:29,720
My father was Archibald Stirling.
I'm Lieutenant David Stirling.
376
00:28:29,799 --> 00:28:31,400
My mother Margaret used
to make her own gin
377
00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:34,480
and do bird impressions.
She was very good at owls.
378
00:28:38,440 --> 00:28:39,599
Hello, sir?
379
00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:41,039
Sorry I misdialled.
380
00:28:41,680 --> 00:28:44,960
Put me through to General Auchinleck
in the war room.
381
00:28:45,039 --> 00:28:47,839
Yes, I remember your face now.
382
00:28:49,359 --> 00:28:50,880
But all the spots have gone.
383
00:28:50,960 --> 00:28:54,039
A raw onion recipe for acne
that my mother invented.
384
00:28:54,119 --> 00:28:56,160
What the hell are you doing
delivering champagne?
385
00:28:56,240 --> 00:28:59,160
I'm not. I am delivering this.
386
00:29:00,680 --> 00:29:02,079
It's an idea.
387
00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:07,279
An idea that might
move the war in our favour.
388
00:29:07,359 --> 00:29:09,160
How did you get past security?
389
00:29:09,240 --> 00:29:13,519
The same way we will get past Rommel's
security and attack his airfields.
390
00:29:13,599 --> 00:29:17,400
Deception and inordinate
amounts of self-belief.
391
00:29:17,799 --> 00:29:19,960
Auch.
Remember Archie Stirling's boy?
392
00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:24,000
Gangly, spotty one who was
forever falling out of trees.
393
00:29:24,079 --> 00:29:26,759
The one who siphoned the petrol
from our cars to make petrol bombs.
394
00:29:26,839 --> 00:29:27,920
Oh, God, yes.
395
00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:30,759
Well, he's in your office.
Says he has an idea.
396
00:29:35,200 --> 00:29:37,119
Your father was
a very popular man.
397
00:29:37,200 --> 00:29:38,680
The general is on his way.
398
00:29:38,759 --> 00:29:41,279
- Do you have three glasses?
- What are we celebrating?
399
00:29:41,359 --> 00:29:43,200
Read on. You'll see.
400
00:29:44,119 --> 00:29:46,599
I can't read
your writing. Tell me.
401
00:29:47,319 --> 00:29:50,920
The Germans' eastward advance
along the North African coast
402
00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:52,759
has swung the war
in their favour.
403
00:29:52,839 --> 00:29:53,839
With respect,
404
00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:56,799
our high command has been no match
for Rommel's brilliance,
405
00:29:56,880 --> 00:29:59,359
his speed, his agility, but...
406
00:30:00,920 --> 00:30:03,640
I believe Rommel
has made a mistake.
407
00:30:05,839 --> 00:30:08,039
Lieutenant Stirling who
couldn't climb a fucking tree
408
00:30:08,119 --> 00:30:10,160
thinks that Rommel
has made a mistake.
409
00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:11,920
He has moved too quickly.
410
00:30:12,000 --> 00:30:14,039
His supply line
is 500 miles long.
411
00:30:14,599 --> 00:30:17,000
His fuel dumps and airstrips
are strung out along the coast
412
00:30:17,079 --> 00:30:18,960
with miles of empty
desert between them.
413
00:30:19,039 --> 00:30:21,880
I have a way of attacking
Rommel's airbases
414
00:30:21,960 --> 00:30:25,039
and neutralising them in advance
of the allied counterattack
415
00:30:25,119 --> 00:30:28,559
which I'm sure the two of you
are planning even as we speak.
416
00:30:30,440 --> 00:30:34,119
You don't salute when
a general enters a room?
417
00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:38,599
In my detachment there will be a
respectful disregard for form and ritual.
418
00:30:40,599 --> 00:30:43,079
How the fuck did he get in here?
419
00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:48,039
I'm not asking for anything
other than permission and 60 men.
420
00:30:49,480 --> 00:30:51,680
Men I will choose
according to my own criteria.
421
00:30:51,759 --> 00:30:54,440
You're trying to emulate your
father and become a war hero.
422
00:30:54,519 --> 00:30:58,119
No, sir, I'm trying to emulate
my mother who, as you know,
423
00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:01,519
always gets her own way
by being famously insane.
424
00:31:02,559 --> 00:31:05,440
And by the way the petrol bombs
were my sister's idea.
425
00:31:05,519 --> 00:31:08,680
She felt sorry for the grouse
and wanted to alert them.
426
00:31:09,200 --> 00:31:12,519
I know that Winston Churchill is
raving down that telephone line at you
427
00:31:12,599 --> 00:31:14,920
to do something
to slow down Rommel's advance.
428
00:31:15,000 --> 00:31:18,079
The Germans must not
be allowed to reach Cairo.
429
00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:20,799
With 60 good men, we can cut
Rommel's supply line
430
00:31:20,880 --> 00:31:23,960
like cutting a desert snake
in two with a shovel.
431
00:31:24,039 --> 00:31:27,039
I am a long-shot,
a shot in the dark, but...
432
00:31:28,240 --> 00:31:29,559
at least I am a shot.
433
00:31:41,759 --> 00:31:44,240
You have your
father's handwriting.
434
00:31:46,039 --> 00:31:47,279
Sit.
435
00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:53,279
We have no vehicles or equipment
or weapons to spare
436
00:31:53,359 --> 00:31:54,880
for some wild experiment.
437
00:31:55,319 --> 00:31:57,119
We would steal
everything we need, sir.
438
00:31:57,200 --> 00:31:58,200
Steal from where?
439
00:31:58,279 --> 00:32:02,519
We would steal weapons and equipment
from the allied troops, first.
440
00:32:03,359 --> 00:32:06,319
And then from the Germans
and the Italians.
441
00:32:06,400 --> 00:32:09,400
We would set up our base
behind enemy lines.
442
00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:12,279
We would report to no one
and require nothing.
443
00:32:14,519 --> 00:32:15,839
And as a gentleman...
444
00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:20,480
I will wager with you both
£100 that within six months,
445
00:32:21,359 --> 00:32:23,720
we will destroy more enemy
airplanes on the ground
446
00:32:23,799 --> 00:32:26,720
than the RAF
will destroy in the air.
447
00:32:28,119 --> 00:32:29,559
By a factor of three.
448
00:32:31,480 --> 00:32:34,119
Now wouldn't that
be something to celebrate?
449
00:32:34,680 --> 00:32:39,400
So, a mysterious new parachute
regiment appears from nowhere,
450
00:32:40,599 --> 00:32:43,000
operating out of East Libya?
451
00:32:44,119 --> 00:32:47,440
Stirling, do you
have a name for your outfit?
452
00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:49,119
No, I don't.
453
00:32:49,200 --> 00:32:51,359
Well, oddly enough...
454
00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:54,279
we do.
455
00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:27,799
Lieutenant Stirling, welcome.
Welcome to my sanctuary.
456
00:33:32,640 --> 00:33:35,559
I hold my midday meetings
here because it's cool.
457
00:33:36,559 --> 00:33:38,440
And because it's so beautiful.
458
00:33:39,799 --> 00:33:42,359
And because since my whole
profession is to tell lies,
459
00:33:42,440 --> 00:33:46,319
I've chosen here as the one place
in the world where I tell only the truth.
460
00:33:49,319 --> 00:33:51,480
You should know,
whoever you are,
461
00:33:52,039 --> 00:33:55,839
that I have no interest
in espionage in any of its forms
462
00:33:55,920 --> 00:34:00,000
nor do I have any idea why
GHQ have instructed me
463
00:34:00,079 --> 00:34:02,440
to have a meeting
with a fucking spy.
464
00:34:04,519 --> 00:34:08,599
- Just tell me what the meeting is about.
- It's not really a meeting.
465
00:34:10,159 --> 00:34:11,599
It's a baptism.
466
00:34:13,280 --> 00:34:15,480
And here is the new born.
467
00:34:21,360 --> 00:34:24,840
He crosses himself at the door
and swigs whisky at the altar.
468
00:34:24,920 --> 00:34:27,719
You see,
I've researched you, Stirling.
469
00:34:30,440 --> 00:34:31,840
What is this?
470
00:34:33,559 --> 00:34:36,639
This is the uniform
of my very latest creation.
471
00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:39,800
The SAS.
472
00:34:41,880 --> 00:34:43,480
Right. Who are the SAS?
473
00:34:44,760 --> 00:34:46,280
You are the SAS.
474
00:34:48,079 --> 00:34:50,440
Let me check if
I've got the right size.
475
00:34:52,559 --> 00:34:53,679
Yes.
476
00:34:55,480 --> 00:34:58,719
Look at the badge
of your new regiment.
477
00:35:00,400 --> 00:35:02,159
Look at the pips, Stirling.
478
00:35:02,239 --> 00:35:04,559
You're to be the leader
of a brand new detachment
479
00:35:04,639 --> 00:35:08,599
and as you can see, you've already
been promoted, rank of captain.
480
00:35:09,159 --> 00:35:12,480
What the fuck
are you talking about?
481
00:35:14,599 --> 00:35:17,159
The SAS is a ghost
regiment that I created.
482
00:35:19,320 --> 00:35:24,079
And I've spent six months convincing the
Germans and the Italians that it's real.
483
00:35:24,159 --> 00:35:28,760
And then you come along, offering
to turn my ghosts into flesh and blood.
484
00:35:31,320 --> 00:35:32,719
Lots of blood.
485
00:35:36,199 --> 00:35:37,639
Fun, isn't it?
486
00:35:39,880 --> 00:35:41,079
Or is it fate?
487
00:35:48,920 --> 00:35:50,840
It's all part of a game, you see.
488
00:35:55,920 --> 00:35:59,039
I've already told you that in this place
I only speak the truth,
489
00:35:59,119 --> 00:36:00,320
so I'll tell you the truth.
490
00:36:00,400 --> 00:36:04,480
GHQ has no great faith in your
idea for a rogue regiment.
491
00:36:05,639 --> 00:36:09,599
But, it would help enormously
with their deception
492
00:36:09,679 --> 00:36:13,679
if a few real soldiers wearing
uniforms like that could be captured.
493
00:36:13,760 --> 00:36:15,360
Or shot dead in the desert.
494
00:36:18,159 --> 00:36:20,360
So, I'm able to tell you the truth
because I've researched you
495
00:36:20,440 --> 00:36:22,400
and I know that even though
I'm making you aware
496
00:36:22,480 --> 00:36:25,320
that your unit will be a counter
in a game of deception,
497
00:36:25,400 --> 00:36:26,719
you'll do it anyway.
498
00:36:28,400 --> 00:36:31,599
'Cause you yourself
are a work of fiction,
499
00:36:32,719 --> 00:36:37,079
trying to write yourself into the
history books, just like your father.
500
00:36:37,159 --> 00:36:39,599
And probably your grandfather
before him.
501
00:36:39,679 --> 00:36:41,360
And on and on,
502
00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:47,360
all the way back to the warrior chieftains
of the great clan Stirling.
503
00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:53,320
Captain Stirling,
504
00:36:54,440 --> 00:36:56,800
agreeing to take on
the name and the trappings
505
00:36:56,880 --> 00:36:58,800
of the fictional regiment known
as the SAS
506
00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:00,800
is the only way
that you're going to get GHQ
507
00:37:00,880 --> 00:37:03,559
to give you permission
to start recruiting.
508
00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:07,679
You have 24 hours
to make up your mind.
509
00:37:15,519 --> 00:37:17,079
I don't need 24 hours.
510
00:37:21,639 --> 00:37:24,320
Oh, well, in that case,
511
00:37:25,440 --> 00:37:28,119
I hereby baptise
this new born infant,
512
00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:34,360
L Detachment, 1st Brigade
Special Air Service.
513
00:37:38,599 --> 00:37:42,519
Our father who art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
514
00:37:44,079 --> 00:37:46,639
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
515
00:37:46,719 --> 00:37:48,440
On earth as it is in heaven.
516
00:37:49,599 --> 00:37:52,360
Give us this day
Our daily bread.
517
00:37:52,920 --> 00:37:54,320
And forgive us our trespasses,
518
00:37:54,400 --> 00:37:56,920
As we forgive those
Who trespass against us.
519
00:37:57,239 --> 00:37:59,719
And lead us not Into temptation,
520
00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:01,400
But deliver us from evil.
521
00:38:02,480 --> 00:38:06,320
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
522
00:38:08,960 --> 00:38:11,440
Forever and ever. Amen.
523
00:38:35,440 --> 00:38:36,800
Gone.
524
00:38:37,440 --> 00:38:38,559
Good.
525
00:38:47,440 --> 00:38:49,000
Telegram from Cairo, sir.
526
00:39:11,039 --> 00:39:13,400
- Tea for you, sir.
- Thank you, Bob.
527
00:39:20,360 --> 00:39:21,400
Riley, Almonds.
528
00:39:21,880 --> 00:39:23,079
Buongiorno.
529
00:39:24,159 --> 00:39:26,760
Remember that fuck up
with the parachutes?
530
00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:27,880
Yeah.
531
00:39:30,280 --> 00:39:32,960
Stirling wants to know
if we'll do it again.
532
00:39:35,719 --> 00:39:37,280
- Aye, yeah.
- Yeah.
533
00:39:48,480 --> 00:39:50,480
What the fuck
are you doing here?
534
00:39:51,119 --> 00:39:53,800
I'm a spy.
It's not that hard to find out
535
00:39:53,880 --> 00:39:56,800
that you like to come here every evening
at five to drink whisky.
536
00:39:56,880 --> 00:39:57,880
Drink, madam?
537
00:39:57,960 --> 00:39:59,760
Champagne. A bottle
and two glasses.
538
00:39:59,840 --> 00:40:01,559
One for me and
one for the captain.
539
00:40:01,639 --> 00:40:02,599
Yes, ma'am.
540
00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:09,960
Who told you I'm a captain?
541
00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:13,599
We have a mutual friend.
542
00:40:13,679 --> 00:40:16,000
He gave me the news
about your promotion.
543
00:40:16,079 --> 00:40:18,039
If the mutual friend
is Dudley Clarke,
544
00:40:18,119 --> 00:40:20,559
you should know
that he is not my friend
545
00:40:20,639 --> 00:40:25,079
and I do not discuss news
of any kind with French spies.
546
00:40:25,440 --> 00:40:27,280
You accepted Clarke's offer.
547
00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:30,119
You have your own unit.
548
00:40:30,199 --> 00:40:32,840
You have permission to recruit men.
That makes you very useful to me.
549
00:40:32,920 --> 00:40:35,320
Excuse me, can I
get the bill please?
550
00:40:35,400 --> 00:40:37,360
The whisky, not the champagne.
551
00:40:39,840 --> 00:40:41,480
I hope you brought cash.
552
00:40:42,280 --> 00:40:44,679
You know, I read
an article in a magazine
553
00:40:45,480 --> 00:40:47,960
about the fact that
according to research,
554
00:40:48,039 --> 00:40:50,599
in Cairo right now
the average length of time
555
00:40:50,679 --> 00:40:53,079
between strangers meeting
and having sex...
556
00:40:53,920 --> 00:40:56,199
is down to one hour
and 14 minutes.
557
00:41:01,360 --> 00:41:02,360
Sir.
558
00:41:02,440 --> 00:41:04,000
- That's fine, pop the cork.
- Of course, madam.
559
00:41:04,400 --> 00:41:07,480
I estimate it would take us 45 minutes
to drink the champagne
560
00:41:07,559 --> 00:41:09,840
and discuss the business
that we have to discuss.
561
00:41:09,920 --> 00:41:11,079
We have nothing to discuss.
562
00:41:11,159 --> 00:41:13,880
The walk to your apartment
would be 20 minutes.
563
00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:16,000
That's one hour and five minutes.
564
00:41:16,079 --> 00:41:19,440
Leaving us nine minutes
in your room to complete the dance.
565
00:41:23,320 --> 00:41:29,000
You know your profession, your calling
is very, very harmful to the soul.
566
00:41:30,840 --> 00:41:33,960
My father would invite
former spies to the house
567
00:41:35,159 --> 00:41:39,599
and they would just sit there
and stare into the fire.
568
00:41:41,079 --> 00:41:43,679
I always wondered
what they were looking at.
569
00:41:45,239 --> 00:41:46,400
What business?
570
00:41:48,639 --> 00:41:52,119
I have been asked by General de Gaulle
to find a way to get French paratroopers
571
00:41:52,199 --> 00:41:54,840
involved in combat missions
with a British unit.
572
00:41:54,920 --> 00:41:56,800
The soldiers I'm talking
about are men like you.
573
00:41:56,880 --> 00:41:57,880
Like me?
574
00:41:57,960 --> 00:42:00,000
They really want to fight soldiers,
officers.
575
00:42:00,079 --> 00:42:02,800
No, I've already
chosen my officers.
576
00:42:02,880 --> 00:42:06,159
They're a particular sort.
They are men like me.
577
00:42:07,280 --> 00:42:08,519
A particular sort.
578
00:42:09,079 --> 00:42:12,039
This... is a grouse feather.
579
00:42:13,639 --> 00:42:18,440
The grouse is a bird bred
to be shot, born to be killed.
580
00:42:19,320 --> 00:42:22,800
Apparently, according to Clarke,
my new unit is like that.
581
00:42:25,440 --> 00:42:29,119
These soldiers, these Frenchmen
without a country...
582
00:42:29,920 --> 00:42:31,679
They are prepared to die.
583
00:42:32,320 --> 00:42:36,519
I have no need of cosmetic soldiers
recruited to boost one man's ego.
584
00:42:36,599 --> 00:42:40,320
Perhaps we could get this business
done in less than 45 minutes.
585
00:42:41,920 --> 00:42:45,760
One hour and 14 minutes seems like
such an awful waste of precious time.
586
00:42:45,840 --> 00:42:48,480
You have a balcony,
let's drink it there.
587
00:42:49,000 --> 00:42:51,880
You would sleep with me
for France, would you?
588
00:42:54,840 --> 00:42:57,559
When I'm older
and stare into the fire,
589
00:42:58,920 --> 00:43:02,599
I want there to be some things
that I did just for the hell of it.
590
00:43:03,360 --> 00:43:05,079
Mostly I don't like people.
591
00:43:06,320 --> 00:43:07,440
But I like you.
592
00:43:10,519 --> 00:43:12,199
And I am of use to you.
593
00:43:15,559 --> 00:43:16,800
Yes, of course.
594
00:43:25,079 --> 00:43:28,760
It's so very odd
when one meets oneself.
595
00:43:42,159 --> 00:43:46,760
We will sleep together but there
will be no Frenchman in the SAS.
596
00:44:19,360 --> 00:44:20,920
Come on, Paddy!
597
00:44:22,840 --> 00:44:24,920
Go on, Paddy.
598
00:44:30,119 --> 00:44:31,880
Fuck off! Fuck off.
599
00:44:48,280 --> 00:44:50,440
Away from the fucking animal.
600
00:44:52,119 --> 00:44:54,800
Fuck off.
Fuck sake.
601
00:44:59,880 --> 00:45:01,159
Aye.
602
00:45:03,920 --> 00:45:06,119
Aye, they put me
on another charge.
603
00:45:07,320 --> 00:45:09,000
Fighting in a boxing ring.
604
00:45:10,480 --> 00:45:13,960
It's like being charged for murder
in a war. Is it not?
605
00:45:14,280 --> 00:45:17,480
With the second charge,
that'll give you three years.
606
00:45:19,480 --> 00:45:21,679
And you'll be
stripped of your rank.
607
00:45:26,400 --> 00:45:29,599
Stirling got permission
from GHQ to go ahead.
608
00:45:29,679 --> 00:45:30,760
Get the fuck...
609
00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:35,800
And this time, they have a badge
and they have a name.
610
00:45:39,159 --> 00:45:41,719
"1st Special Air Service Brigade."
611
00:45:43,000 --> 00:45:46,199
Sounds like a branch
of the fucking post office.
612
00:45:46,280 --> 00:45:48,320
You are on two charges.
613
00:45:49,400 --> 00:45:53,960
Now if you get three years, this war is
gonna be over by the time you come out
614
00:45:54,039 --> 00:45:56,400
and you'd have
missed all the fun, yeah?
615
00:45:58,920 --> 00:46:00,239
Think about that.
616
00:46:03,079 --> 00:46:04,239
So...
617
00:46:07,800 --> 00:46:09,679
If you decide to join them,
618
00:46:10,400 --> 00:46:12,679
I will join the SAS too.
619
00:46:19,400 --> 00:46:21,559
Also, Stirling wants to know
620
00:46:22,119 --> 00:46:26,719
if there's anyone in here that you've met
in whom you've seen potential.
621
00:46:36,440 --> 00:46:37,800
This is Reg.
622
00:46:40,000 --> 00:46:41,199
Pleasure to meet you.
623
00:46:42,679 --> 00:46:44,360
Another fucking Paddy.
624
00:46:46,000 --> 00:46:49,119
This regiment isn't all
fucking Paddys, is it?
625
00:46:49,440 --> 00:46:51,119
For crying out loud.
626
00:46:52,840 --> 00:46:54,880
Just don't fucking annoy him.
627
00:46:56,760 --> 00:46:58,639
Morning, sir.
Commander Wilson, Gordons.
628
00:46:58,719 --> 00:47:01,159
- You have never been put on a charge.
- No, sir.
629
00:47:01,239 --> 00:47:04,480
- For insubordination or fighting?
- No, sir. Never, sir.
630
00:47:05,079 --> 00:47:06,159
Why the hell not?
631
00:47:07,639 --> 00:47:08,800
Next!
632
00:47:11,400 --> 00:47:12,559
Mayne...
633
00:47:19,199 --> 00:47:24,519
Since we have no aircraft, we will be
simulating a parachute jump landing.
634
00:47:24,880 --> 00:47:26,639
How are we gonna do that?
635
00:47:29,639 --> 00:47:31,239
See he forgot to roll.
636
00:47:31,320 --> 00:47:32,559
Pathetic.
637
00:47:33,840 --> 00:47:36,840
Do not share water,
it's a 20 mile march.
638
00:47:36,920 --> 00:47:39,559
If you don't like it,
return to your units.
639
00:47:39,639 --> 00:47:40,960
Seekings, move!
640
00:47:41,280 --> 00:47:42,400
Next!
641
00:47:45,320 --> 00:47:47,639
Are you here on behalf
of your father, son?
642
00:47:47,719 --> 00:47:49,000
I am 19-years-old.
643
00:47:49,719 --> 00:47:52,079
But so far in this war
I've killed 21 men.
644
00:47:52,159 --> 00:47:53,599
Instead of judging
myself on my age,
645
00:47:53,679 --> 00:47:56,960
I judge myself by that number
so in fact you can call me 21.
646
00:47:57,039 --> 00:48:00,679
I am looking to increase that number
and I hear you might be able to help.
647
00:48:00,760 --> 00:48:02,480
Why do you want
to fight in the desert?
648
00:48:02,559 --> 00:48:05,360
Because in the desert it will be harder
for the enemy to hide from me.
649
00:48:05,440 --> 00:48:07,159
- Hide from you?
- Yes, sir.
650
00:48:12,000 --> 00:48:13,360
Go and join those men.
651
00:48:13,679 --> 00:48:14,760
Yes, sir.
652
00:48:16,880 --> 00:48:19,199
You must learn
to march on an inch of water.
653
00:48:19,280 --> 00:48:21,320
I have proved this can be done.
654
00:48:23,159 --> 00:48:25,159
- Funny.
- Only ten more miles.
655
00:48:25,480 --> 00:48:27,679
- Next!
- Corporal Dave Kershaw, sir.
656
00:48:27,760 --> 00:48:30,239
Why do you want to fight
in the desert, Dave?
657
00:48:30,320 --> 00:48:31,760
I just love
killing fascists, sir.
658
00:48:31,840 --> 00:48:35,239
Got a taste for it when
I was in Spain like, you know. Loved it.
659
00:48:36,920 --> 00:48:38,280
Pleasure, sir.
660
00:48:47,480 --> 00:48:50,199
I understand you gentlemen
are very good at killing people.
661
00:48:50,280 --> 00:48:51,559
You heard right.
662
00:48:55,400 --> 00:48:56,519
Go.
663
00:49:19,480 --> 00:49:22,480
Don't be flapping now, Reg.
Don't be bottling it.
664
00:49:34,599 --> 00:49:37,280
- Chalky White, sir.
- Are you taking the piss?
665
00:49:37,360 --> 00:49:38,960
- No, sir.
- I think you are.
666
00:49:39,519 --> 00:49:41,599
And that's exactly
what I'm after.
667
00:49:50,119 --> 00:49:51,280
Down!
668
00:49:57,360 --> 00:49:59,360
- Oh, fuck me.
- Don't be scared, lad.
669
00:49:59,719 --> 00:50:00,880
Go!
670
00:50:02,119 --> 00:50:03,679
Get the fuck off.
671
00:50:04,880 --> 00:50:07,039
- Send that fool back to his unit.
- Next!
672
00:50:07,119 --> 00:50:09,400
Guardsman Rob Willey
of the 8th Commando.
673
00:50:09,480 --> 00:50:11,280
Right. How many women
have you slept with, Rob?
674
00:50:11,360 --> 00:50:12,480
Twelve, sir.
675
00:50:14,559 --> 00:50:15,800
Welcome to the SAS.
676
00:50:16,559 --> 00:50:17,840
Thank you, sir.
677
00:50:20,280 --> 00:50:21,599
Take cover!
678
00:50:29,920 --> 00:50:32,079
Up the fucking rifles, boy.
679
00:50:45,440 --> 00:50:46,599
Finally.
680
00:50:47,679 --> 00:50:49,199
I feel at home.
681
00:50:49,519 --> 00:50:50,559
All right?
682
00:50:51,599 --> 00:50:52,679
We go again?
683
00:50:53,079 --> 00:50:54,239
We go again!
684
00:50:56,760 --> 00:50:58,440
Brace up!
685
00:51:03,000 --> 00:51:04,239
Relax, Sergeant.
686
00:51:05,480 --> 00:51:06,960
All right, relax.
687
00:51:11,599 --> 00:51:12,920
Take these and hand
them out to the men.
688
00:51:13,000 --> 00:51:14,159
Yes, sir.
689
00:51:25,440 --> 00:51:29,840
Gentlemen, what you have before you
is a very important document
690
00:51:30,159 --> 00:51:35,840
which will inform every aspect of your
service with your new regiment.
691
00:51:37,119 --> 00:51:42,079
Page one is a list of the specific
objectives we have been given by GHQ
692
00:51:42,159 --> 00:51:45,320
for the duration
of the forthcoming campaign.
693
00:51:46,480 --> 00:51:47,480
On the second page
694
00:51:47,559 --> 00:51:50,239
you will see a diagram of the chain
of command within our unit
695
00:51:50,320 --> 00:51:52,719
along with protocols
and uniform requirements
696
00:51:52,800 --> 00:51:54,719
which must be strictly obeyed.
697
00:51:56,320 --> 00:51:58,400
And on the third page
you will see a list
698
00:51:58,480 --> 00:52:03,920
of the equipment, supplies and tactical
support we will be given by GHQ
699
00:52:04,000 --> 00:52:06,360
for our actions behind enemy lines.
700
00:52:07,000 --> 00:52:08,159
The SAS...
701
00:52:11,599 --> 00:52:13,079
is a blank page.
702
00:52:17,840 --> 00:52:19,519
And it our job to fill it.
703
00:52:21,840 --> 00:52:24,840
Right, we move out today.
704
00:52:32,039 --> 00:52:34,760
Why don't you think
of a better badge, Jock?
705
00:52:39,239 --> 00:52:41,719
Right, you heard him, lads.
Clear off.
706
00:53:32,880 --> 00:53:34,199
Have they deployed?
707
00:53:34,599 --> 00:53:36,920
They've been sent
to a place called Kabrit.
708
00:53:37,000 --> 00:53:40,320
Two hundred miles behind
the German and Italian lines.
709
00:53:52,760 --> 00:53:54,239
What are the chances
of survival?
710
00:53:59,480 --> 00:54:02,079
My beautiful new
regiment is beyond air cover
711
00:54:02,159 --> 00:54:05,599
in one of the most inhospitable
terrains in the world.
712
00:54:06,400 --> 00:54:09,199
With daytime temperatures
reaching 50 degrees
713
00:54:09,760 --> 00:54:12,039
and very little
in terms of armaments.
714
00:54:12,119 --> 00:54:15,280
No tanks, no armoured cars,
just a truck or two.
715
00:54:17,920 --> 00:54:19,760
But they are very resourceful men.
716
00:54:32,079 --> 00:54:36,000
Just give me the percentage
that they will last beyond Christmas.
717
00:54:38,199 --> 00:54:40,159
Ten percent?
718
00:54:45,719 --> 00:54:47,599
What a curious war this is.
719
00:55:11,760 --> 00:55:13,159
This is us, lads.
720
00:55:15,039 --> 00:55:16,760
Have a piss and a fiddle.
721
00:55:40,719 --> 00:55:42,320
Let's fuck off to Burma.
722
00:55:47,360 --> 00:55:48,559
Is this it?
723
00:55:49,400 --> 00:55:51,519
There's literally nothing here.
724
00:55:54,719 --> 00:55:56,480
Fucking hell.
725
00:55:59,800 --> 00:56:00,840
This...
726
00:56:01,960 --> 00:56:03,639
is SAS base camp.
727
00:56:04,920 --> 00:56:06,039
It's just us now.
728
00:56:06,119 --> 00:56:09,159
We have complete
freedom to operate.
729
00:56:10,440 --> 00:56:11,880
This is what we wanted.
730
00:56:13,000 --> 00:56:17,400
Stopping the advance of fascism
across Africa is now down to us.
731
00:56:17,480 --> 00:56:18,639
God help us.
732
00:56:19,519 --> 00:56:22,880
We won't all survive
but we will triumph.
733
00:56:25,079 --> 00:56:27,920
All but three vehicles
are to return to Cairo.
734
00:56:28,360 --> 00:56:32,920
If any of you wish to stand down
and go back, you're free to go.
735
00:56:34,000 --> 00:56:36,920
If anyone wishes to return,
raise your hand now.
736
00:56:45,400 --> 00:56:46,679
Good.
737
00:56:47,719 --> 00:56:51,960
Well, let's set some fires,
brew some tea.
738
00:56:53,719 --> 00:56:55,679
And drink some bloody rum.
739
00:56:55,760 --> 00:56:58,559
- Come on, unload it over here, boys.
- Right, men, you heard him.
740
00:56:59,559 --> 00:57:01,920
That's right, you heard him.
Come on. Let's go!
741
00:57:02,000 --> 00:57:03,760
You heard the man. Move!
742
00:57:39,000 --> 00:57:43,920
Revised and Synchronized by
FAST TITLES MEDIA