1 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:14,000 (PLEASANT MUSIC DRIFTING) 2 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:19,400 (BIRDS CHIRPING) 3 00:00:23,360 --> 00:00:25,800 I can't find it, Daddy, I've looked EVERYWHERE! 4 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:29,039 All right, don't worry, we'll find it in the morning. 5 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:30,759 I've got another one here. 6 00:00:30,760 --> 00:00:31,800 Ready? 7 00:00:37,040 --> 00:00:38,039 Stand by. 8 00:00:38,040 --> 00:00:41,239 Four, three, two, one... 9 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:42,280 Fire! (SHOT) 10 00:00:43,000 --> 00:00:44,359 Oh, I'm sorry, it's no good. 11 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:46,719 It's over there in that flowerbed somewhere. 12 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:52,239 The glorious spectacle of The Dam Busters begins in the spring of 1942 13 00:00:52,240 --> 00:00:55,119 in a pretty cottage under a silver sky 14 00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:57,759 where a bespectacled man is playing marbles 15 00:00:57,760 --> 00:00:59,119 with his children. 16 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:01,480 How unassuming, how very British... 17 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:04,039 Based on real events, 18 00:01:04,040 --> 00:01:08,559 the 1955 epic is considered one of the most complex, rousing 19 00:01:08,560 --> 00:01:10,839 and realistic of war movies. 20 00:01:10,840 --> 00:01:16,599 Would you say it has a legacy as a sort of historical document? 21 00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:21,359 And I mean in the sense of what we understand and know of that whole mission, 22 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:22,919 Operation Chastise, 23 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:24,359 really comes from the film. 24 00:01:24,360 --> 00:01:26,359 I mean, I think you could argue 25 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:31,719 that it's probably the most useful film to understand World War Two overall 26 00:01:31,720 --> 00:01:33,719 because this was a war 27 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:38,519 that was fought through technological innovation and mechanical production, 28 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:41,599 coupled with suitable intelligence 29 00:01:41,600 --> 00:01:43,919 and the odd daring feat, you know? 30 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:49,119 I mean, this was a war where the industrial power of the two different sides 31 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:50,159 was critical. 32 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:52,200 (ATMOSPHERIC MUSIC) 33 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:07,840 (CONTINUES) 34 00:02:29,000 --> 00:02:31,919 (FADES) 35 00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:35,799 The man in question is the brilliant and eccentric aircraft engineer 36 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:36,839 Barnes Wallis, 37 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:40,759 played with strange nobility by Michael Redgrave. 38 00:02:40,760 --> 00:02:42,159 Rather than a game, 39 00:02:42,160 --> 00:02:46,199 he is figuring out how to get a marble to skim along a tub of water 40 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:48,400 and hit a specific target. 41 00:02:48,920 --> 00:02:52,839 He has already dreamed up his miraculous bouncing bomb. 42 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:54,480 (SIGHS) Watch it, Christopher. 43 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:59,639 Four, three, two, one... 44 00:02:59,640 --> 00:03:00,679 Fire! (SHOT) 45 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:01,759 Fire, that's good! 46 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:03,040 Mark it, Mary! 47 00:03:07,520 --> 00:03:11,839 Barnes Wallis was an engineer and inventor 48 00:03:11,840 --> 00:03:17,279 who began work in the shipping industry, in fact. 49 00:03:17,280 --> 00:03:19,439 He was trained as an engineer, 50 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:21,639 he got a degree in engineering. 51 00:03:21,640 --> 00:03:23,199 Clearly, it was in his blood 52 00:03:23,200 --> 00:03:26,399 and he started to work 53 00:03:26,400 --> 00:03:30,839 basically sort of improving on various elements in shipping. 54 00:03:30,840 --> 00:03:34,839 Very quickly, he decided that he preferred aviation. 55 00:03:34,840 --> 00:03:36,719 He was very, very gifted 56 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:42,239 in terms of finding new ways of constructing all kinds of machinery 57 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:47,279 and especially plane fuselages that were lighter and stronger. 58 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:50,839 In fact, he invented the geodesic structure 59 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:55,159 which made that the bombers and the planes that were flying 60 00:03:55,160 --> 00:03:57,439 in this construction 61 00:03:57,440 --> 00:04:02,560 were far lighter and less likely to actually suffer material damage. 62 00:04:03,400 --> 00:04:06,639 Do you know how much water it takes the Germans to make a ton of steel? 63 00:04:06,640 --> 00:04:08,800 Haven't the least idea. One hundred tons. 64 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:11,239 Now, just look at this. 65 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:14,439 The whole of this great arsenal of war factories in the Ruhr 66 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:17,439 depends for its water on three enormous dams. 67 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:20,879 The Mohne, the Eder and the Sorpe. 68 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:25,599 Directed with documentary poise and understated emotion by Michael Anderson, 69 00:04:25,600 --> 00:04:28,199 The Dam Busters is a film in two halves. 70 00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:33,479 In the first, we follow Wallis' attempts to prove his ingenuous bomb will work. 71 00:04:33,480 --> 00:04:36,039 In the second comes the mission itself 72 00:04:36,040 --> 00:04:39,319 led by the dashing Wing Commander Guy Gibson, 73 00:04:39,320 --> 00:04:43,800 played by Richard Todd in a monument to un-showy valour. 74 00:04:46,520 --> 00:04:49,359 Tell me a little bit about the real history of The Dam Busters, 75 00:04:49,360 --> 00:04:51,519 the famous Operation Chastise. 76 00:04:51,520 --> 00:04:54,039 Operation Chastise was a British operation 77 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:55,839 to try to destroy... 78 00:04:55,840 --> 00:04:57,239 Well, to at least cripple 79 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:01,119 large parts of the German industrial machine, which was based in the Ruhr Valley, 80 00:05:01,120 --> 00:05:02,599 where they had coalmines, 81 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:03,639 steelworks, 82 00:05:03,640 --> 00:05:07,999 uh, and they were supplied by three or four significant dams for electric power 83 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,919 and to hold back the waters of the river, 84 00:05:10,920 --> 00:05:12,119 the Ruhr River. 85 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:15,159 The idea was that if you destroyed these dams 86 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:17,519 you would cripple German industrial production 87 00:05:17,520 --> 00:05:19,959 and that would delay all sorts of things 88 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:22,799 from armaments manufacture to development of new weapons. 89 00:05:22,800 --> 00:05:24,039 And it was seen really... 90 00:05:24,040 --> 00:05:28,079 Actually almost from the beginning of the Second World War as an important operation. 91 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:30,759 The problem was the technology wasn't there to hit a dam. 92 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:34,079 The Germans had prepared against it with nets to prevent torpedoes. 93 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:37,279 Conventional bombs would run the risk of not hitting the dam at all, 94 00:05:37,280 --> 00:05:42,119 so the British had to work out a way of getting a bomb up against the dam 95 00:05:42,120 --> 00:05:43,279 to blow the dam apart 96 00:05:43,280 --> 00:05:44,319 and that was... 97 00:05:44,320 --> 00:05:47,919 It was as much a technical feat of engineering invention 98 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:50,999 as it was a feat of flying expertise. 99 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:52,199 In the end, 100 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:54,399 what happened was the inventor Barnes Wallis 101 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:56,719 came up with what we now know as the bouncing bomb, 102 00:05:56,720 --> 00:05:59,919 which was a cylindrical bomb with a particular kind of backspin 103 00:05:59,920 --> 00:06:03,439 which once it hit the wall of the dam would sink straight to the bottom 104 00:06:03,440 --> 00:06:05,599 and that's when it would detonate its charge, 105 00:06:05,600 --> 00:06:08,719 which would mean that the charge would go off at the base of the dam. 106 00:06:08,720 --> 00:06:12,959 It would take more than one bomb but they would eventually blow the dam apart and release it 107 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:13,999 so it was... 108 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:16,999 We think of it as an incredibly romantic adventure film 109 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:22,239 but really it's a film and a story about technical and engineering expertise 110 00:06:22,240 --> 00:06:24,519 up against a really complicated problem 111 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:27,439 and then new ways of delivering that payload. 112 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:29,599 All set? Yes, sir. 113 00:06:29,600 --> 00:06:32,039 Well, you've done a fine job with this team. 114 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:34,159 I couldn't have asked for a better one. 115 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:35,800 Good luck. Thank you, sir. 116 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:37,800 Good luck! 117 00:06:39,320 --> 00:06:40,319 (CAR DOOR CLOSES) 118 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:41,359 Come on, then. 119 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:42,399 (DOOR CLOSES) 120 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:45,520 (REVVING) 121 00:06:48,400 --> 00:06:50,919 This is the tale of two contrasting men 122 00:06:50,920 --> 00:06:53,399 who went beyond what was required of them, 123 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:57,759 a vision of the courage it took to strike at the heart of the enemy 124 00:06:57,760 --> 00:07:00,959 in one of the most unconventional missions of World War Two 125 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:03,839 by bouncing a bomb into three dams, 126 00:07:03,840 --> 00:07:08,159 devastating German industry and turning the tide of the war. 127 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:10,599 I had at the back of my mind 128 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:14,759 the idea that while you couldn't float anything along the surface, 129 00:07:14,760 --> 00:07:17,840 you couldn't tickle it with an existing bomb of any kind 130 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:22,880 and you couldn't float torpedoes down towards it 131 00:07:24,280 --> 00:07:26,680 because of the netting, which hung down... 132 00:07:27,280 --> 00:07:30,079 The only thing to do is to make something which hopped 133 00:07:30,080 --> 00:07:31,920 so I made something which hopped! 134 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:36,439 After a conversation with a friend of his who was a keen cricketer, 135 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:40,159 he discovered that if he put a backspin on the bomb 136 00:07:40,160 --> 00:07:43,800 then it would perform exactly as he wanted it to. 137 00:07:44,760 --> 00:07:46,719 Now, he put all these things together 138 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:51,679 and that was an incredible sort of feat of engineering that had to be achieved, 139 00:07:51,680 --> 00:07:55,679 not just in terms of the bomb itself 140 00:07:55,680 --> 00:07:57,880 but also in the way it was delivered. 141 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:02,639 The wonderful thing about this, in terms of the film, 142 00:08:02,640 --> 00:08:06,319 is that you see this in quite a lot of detail, 143 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:10,799 the development of how he actually managed to achieve this, 144 00:08:10,800 --> 00:08:12,559 the successes, the failures, 145 00:08:12,560 --> 00:08:13,599 it was a... 146 00:08:13,600 --> 00:08:16,359 It's like a sort of rhythm that goes like this. 147 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:18,440 You know that he's going to achieve it 148 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:21,199 because of course we know the history of it 149 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:24,839 but the effort and the failures in between 150 00:08:24,840 --> 00:08:27,159 are what gives the film its suspense. 151 00:08:27,160 --> 00:08:30,399 And it all centres on this figure of Barnes Wallis 152 00:08:30,400 --> 00:08:33,359 who was, let's say, to put it politely, 153 00:08:33,360 --> 00:08:34,799 an eccentric gentleman! 154 00:08:34,800 --> 00:08:35,839 He was... 155 00:08:35,840 --> 00:08:39,719 I mean, he was a dedicated aerodynamic engineer 156 00:08:39,720 --> 00:08:41,279 all of his life, really. 157 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:42,799 He started off... 158 00:08:42,800 --> 00:08:45,279 His father was a GP but was ill. 159 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:47,799 They lived in a state of gentile distress, he said, 160 00:08:47,800 --> 00:08:50,399 so he became an engineering apprentice, 161 00:08:50,400 --> 00:08:54,199 moved very quickly into aircraft manufacture at Vickers 162 00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:59,359 and began work on the airships, the R-80 and the R-100, 163 00:08:59,360 --> 00:09:03,559 and this is where he developed what we would call the geodesic design... 164 00:09:03,560 --> 00:09:06,159 But if you think about the way an airship is designed, 165 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:08,039 these struts that are very, very firm, 166 00:09:08,040 --> 00:09:09,079 very strong, 167 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:11,799 these lines that go from one end of the airship to the other 168 00:09:11,800 --> 00:09:14,479 and then the outside of the airship is covered in fabric. 169 00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:15,839 He moved that into bombers. 170 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:18,559 So, if you think about it, it features in the film, in fact, 171 00:09:18,560 --> 00:09:21,519 the Wellington bomber, which is structured much the same way. 172 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:24,959 A very, very strong basis for the fundamental structure of the object. 173 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:29,079 I mean, after the war, he was involved in the aerodynamics that would produce Concorde. 174 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:31,119 He was very interested in flow and strength 175 00:09:31,120 --> 00:09:34,559 and all these sort of very nerdy details about how minor things would work 176 00:09:34,560 --> 00:09:36,719 and how you could get the best possible effect 177 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:39,239 from the trickiest little engineering adjustment. 178 00:09:39,240 --> 00:09:43,759 Yet, more than simply depicting a fascinating episode of military history, 179 00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:48,879 The Dam Busters is a meditation on national identity in the face of crisis, 180 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:52,719 held aloft by one of the most stirring scores ever written. 181 00:09:52,720 --> 00:09:54,719 I'll see what we can do. Oh. 182 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:56,360 Well, goodbye. Goodbye. 183 00:09:57,040 --> 00:09:58,079 Goodbye. Goodbye. 184 00:09:58,080 --> 00:09:59,119 Goodbye. 185 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:01,560 And keep at it... I think you've got something! 186 00:10:02,280 --> 00:10:06,999 (STIRRING MUSIC) 187 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:08,040 (BLOWS) 188 00:10:18,600 --> 00:10:19,600 (SHOT) 189 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:27,640 (TRUNDLING) 190 00:10:29,280 --> 00:10:30,400 Contact port outer! 191 00:10:31,840 --> 00:10:33,520 Contact port outer! 192 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:49,079 (ENGINES CONTINUE AND FADE) 193 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:51,319 In the vast tapestry of World War Two, 194 00:10:51,320 --> 00:10:54,359 few missions stand out like Operation Chastise. 195 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:58,239 On the perfectly moonlit night of May 16th 1943, 196 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:00,639 the 617 Squadron of Lancasters 197 00:11:00,640 --> 00:11:03,599 took off from RAF Scampton near Lincoln 198 00:11:03,600 --> 00:11:07,759 to bomb the Mohne, Edersee and Sorpe Dams in the Ruhr Valley 199 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:11,319 using bouncing bombs dropped from only 60 feet. 200 00:11:11,320 --> 00:11:13,480 Two of the dams were destroyed. 201 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:17,919 Barnes Wallis and Guy Gibson are very real heroes. 202 00:11:17,920 --> 00:11:21,960 (MUSIC PLAYING) 203 00:11:23,680 --> 00:11:26,319 The king and queen are welcomed by Wing Commander Gibson 204 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:28,079 while visiting The Dam Busters. 205 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:32,320 His majesty congratulates Australian Flight Lieutenant Martin, who won the DSO. 206 00:11:34,640 --> 00:11:36,399 The queen has a word with an American 207 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:38,199 serving with the Canadian Air Force, 208 00:11:38,200 --> 00:11:40,640 Flight Lieutenant McCarthy, another DSO winner. 209 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:45,119 While Gibson's own Lancaster stands majestically in the background, 210 00:11:45,120 --> 00:11:47,959 the king meets members of the crews of the special task force 211 00:11:47,960 --> 00:11:50,999 involved in the breaching of the Mohne and Eder Dams. 212 00:11:51,000 --> 00:11:54,079 These men, hand-picked, were withdrawn from Bomber Command 213 00:11:54,080 --> 00:11:57,879 to train in secret for this attack, which had been long in prospect. 214 00:11:57,880 --> 00:12:01,039 Wing Commander Gibson received the VC for his gallantry 215 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:03,319 to add to his four other decorations. 216 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:05,839 The operation achieved its aim, 217 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:07,599 in two ways, actually... 218 00:12:07,600 --> 00:12:10,679 It did destroy two of the dams at least, 219 00:12:10,680 --> 00:12:12,639 they had slowed down the industry. 220 00:12:12,640 --> 00:12:14,439 Also, at the same time, 221 00:12:14,440 --> 00:12:18,719 it created a HUGE morale boost for the British, 222 00:12:18,720 --> 00:12:22,759 which gave them sort of added impetus to continuing the war. 223 00:12:22,760 --> 00:12:25,079 There was some criticism about it, 224 00:12:25,080 --> 00:12:27,839 that it wasn't a wholehearted success, 225 00:12:27,840 --> 00:12:29,039 but... 226 00:12:29,040 --> 00:12:33,039 'Cause the Germans did actually rebuild the dams and were sort of back functioning, 227 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:34,439 but it nonetheless... 228 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:38,399 The actual operation worked as well as it could under the circumstances 229 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:42,679 and did indeed slow down the German war machine. 230 00:12:42,680 --> 00:12:44,999 Now, obviously, in a romanticised sense, 231 00:12:45,000 --> 00:12:46,759 it makes for a great movie 232 00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:51,159 but in a historical sense there's some debate about whether the dam busting was successful, 233 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:52,199 isn't there? 234 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:54,799 Yes, I mean, it was literally successful 235 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:58,479 in that two of three dams they set out to destroy were destroyed. 236 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:00,559 And the Ruhr Valley was flooded... 237 00:13:00,560 --> 00:13:03,319 What Barnes Wallis and other people had hoped 238 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:05,959 was that the RAF would then carpet-bomb the area 239 00:13:05,960 --> 00:13:07,519 during the rebuilding 240 00:13:07,520 --> 00:13:10,679 but there's a figure in the film, the head of bomber command, 241 00:13:10,680 --> 00:13:11,719 Bomber Harris, 242 00:13:11,720 --> 00:13:14,479 who really didn't hold with this mission. 243 00:13:14,480 --> 00:13:17,519 In the film, he is shown as the guy who backs the mission to the hilt 244 00:13:17,520 --> 00:13:19,759 in the face of opposition from the ministry 245 00:13:19,760 --> 00:13:21,959 but, really, he was not into low-flying. 246 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:24,159 He was not into this sort of derring-do. 247 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:26,359 He thought the operation was a waste of time. 248 00:13:26,360 --> 00:13:29,399 He thought it was a great feat of flying but he didn't follow up. 249 00:13:29,400 --> 00:13:31,319 So, the British didn't bomb the valley 250 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:34,479 and the Germans were able to rebuild the dams in, you know, 251 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:36,439 a number of months, less than a year. 252 00:13:36,440 --> 00:13:40,159 The Germans themselves were not as convinced that the raid had been a failure. 253 00:13:40,160 --> 00:13:42,559 They were very, very dismayed by it. 254 00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:44,039 Albert Speer, after the war, 255 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:47,279 talked about the damage to the German industrial production. 256 00:13:47,280 --> 00:13:52,159 Significantly, it also meant that a lot of people working on the concrete emplacements 257 00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:53,759 for the D-Day landings 258 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:56,119 to protect against the Allied invasion 259 00:13:56,120 --> 00:14:00,039 had to be moved from the beaches back to the Ruhr Valley to rebuild the dams. 260 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:01,479 So, that meant that the... 261 00:14:01,480 --> 00:14:02,519 When D-Day arrived, 262 00:14:02,520 --> 00:14:04,519 this was not the intention of the raid 263 00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:07,759 but it meant that when D-Day arrived the defences there were weaker. 264 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:10,199 It's sort of a success of unintended consequences. 265 00:14:10,200 --> 00:14:13,599 It probably made the war shorter but not in the way that was planned, 266 00:14:13,600 --> 00:14:15,079 in a sense. 267 00:14:15,080 --> 00:14:16,959 Now, there's a full moon tonight 268 00:14:16,960 --> 00:14:18,400 so normal ops are out. 269 00:14:19,440 --> 00:14:21,519 We'll be the only people flying 270 00:14:21,520 --> 00:14:25,759 and to avoid the fighters we'll have to keep a zero beat 271 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:27,479 all the way there and back. 272 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:31,360 (COMMOTION) 273 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:33,640 (ENGINE STARTS) 274 00:14:34,840 --> 00:14:37,679 With World War Two such a rich source 275 00:14:37,680 --> 00:14:39,799 throughout the late '40s and '50s, 276 00:14:39,800 --> 00:14:42,400 The Dam Busters story was an ideal subject. 277 00:14:43,120 --> 00:14:46,519 Howard Hawks had planned a version with a script by Roald Dahl. 278 00:14:46,520 --> 00:14:48,840 Michael Balcon tried at Ealing. 279 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:54,199 Producer Robert Clark at the Associated British Picture Corporation 280 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:58,879 succeeded by convincing both the Royal Air Force and a sceptical Wallis 281 00:14:58,880 --> 00:15:00,960 that he would stay true to the events. 282 00:15:01,760 --> 00:15:03,839 But it was a sort of symbolic success 283 00:15:03,840 --> 00:15:07,519 and that's probably one of the reasons why it becomes a celebrated film! 284 00:15:07,520 --> 00:15:08,559 It was. 285 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:11,399 They sent a Spitfire over the following day 286 00:15:11,400 --> 00:15:13,479 just to try and film the success. 287 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:17,679 I mean, this was the point at which they were starting to use cameras a lot in aircraft. 288 00:15:17,680 --> 00:15:20,399 Guy Gibson, one of the central characters in the film, 289 00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:22,039 was obsessed with using cameras. 290 00:15:22,040 --> 00:15:23,999 He was very keen on filming the raids, 291 00:15:24,000 --> 00:15:25,439 filming what was happening 292 00:15:25,440 --> 00:15:28,719 and they sent a Spitfire out to film the damage that had been done 293 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:32,919 and then the following day the pictures were all over the front pages of the newspapers 294 00:15:32,920 --> 00:15:35,599 and it was seen, spiritually, within the UK, 295 00:15:35,600 --> 00:15:37,879 as a significant turning point in the war 296 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:40,119 and we took the fight to heart of Germany. 297 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:43,639 It was also very important for two reasons with the Allies. 298 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:46,199 Stalin at this point was fighting on the Eastern Front 299 00:15:46,200 --> 00:15:48,359 and feeling VERY abandoned by the West. 300 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:53,759 He was concerned that the Russians were having to shoulder the vast bulk of the war fighting 301 00:15:53,760 --> 00:15:57,639 and the idea that the British were at least doing something mollified him a little, 302 00:15:57,640 --> 00:16:00,159 made him feel that there was a genuine alliance there 303 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:01,359 and also in America... 304 00:16:01,360 --> 00:16:05,519 The Americans weren't particularly interested in aerial bombardment, 305 00:16:05,520 --> 00:16:09,919 it was something they didn't really see the strategic significance of 306 00:16:09,920 --> 00:16:12,199 and it was after the raid... 307 00:16:12,200 --> 00:16:15,799 Guy Gibson's publicity tour of the United States 308 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:18,439 was very, very important in bringing the... 309 00:16:18,440 --> 00:16:22,239 Not just public opinion round again to the British way of doing things 310 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:25,599 but also this idea of bombing as being a critical part of the war, 311 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:27,439 which, of course, in the end it was. 312 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:29,159 Authenticity was everything. 313 00:16:29,160 --> 00:16:30,999 Screenwriter R.C. Sherriff, 314 00:16:31,000 --> 00:16:34,480 best known for his poignant World War One play, Journey's End, 315 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:38,399 drew from the historic account by Paul Brickhill. 316 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:42,159 This remarkable Australian writer had flown Spitfires 317 00:16:42,160 --> 00:16:44,719 and escaped from a German POW camp 318 00:16:44,720 --> 00:16:47,759 and also wrote the book that inspired The Great Escape 319 00:16:47,760 --> 00:16:49,560 and To Serve Them All My Days. 320 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:52,559 And Sherriff actually met with Wallis, 321 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:55,919 who gave him a demonstration of his home-made experiments. 322 00:16:55,920 --> 00:16:56,999 When you're ready! 323 00:16:57,000 --> 00:16:58,719 This should get our feet wet! 324 00:16:58,720 --> 00:16:59,760 Watch it... 325 00:17:01,120 --> 00:17:02,120 Fire! 326 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:04,439 (BOOMING) 327 00:17:04,440 --> 00:17:05,759 (DEBRIS FALLING) 328 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:07,920 (TENSE BEAT) 329 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:11,159 Good heavens, that's wonderful! 330 00:17:11,160 --> 00:17:12,399 Wonderful! 331 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:17,279 The person who really made the film come to life 332 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:20,800 was an Australian journalist called Paul Brickhill. 333 00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:24,439 He had a rather extraordinary early life. 334 00:17:24,440 --> 00:17:27,359 He was a copyboy, he went into journalism, 335 00:17:27,360 --> 00:17:32,519 he joined the Australian Royal Air Force 336 00:17:32,520 --> 00:17:34,239 during the war. 337 00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:38,119 He became a prisoner of war in Germany 338 00:17:38,120 --> 00:17:42,119 and it was while he was in the prisoner of war camp in... 339 00:17:42,120 --> 00:17:44,319 In fact, it was Stalag III, 340 00:17:44,320 --> 00:17:49,679 that he became involved in an extraordinary escape plan. 341 00:17:49,680 --> 00:17:52,519 The problem was that he, during the course of this, 342 00:17:52,520 --> 00:17:54,599 he was going to escape with everybody else, 343 00:17:54,600 --> 00:17:55,999 developed claustrophobia, 344 00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:57,159 so he was left behind. 345 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:00,359 As he was left behind and he was with a few of the other lads 346 00:18:00,360 --> 00:18:02,239 who couldn't in fact go on the plane, 347 00:18:02,240 --> 00:18:04,319 they decided that what they would do is... 348 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:06,279 They all had stories about escape plans, 349 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:09,239 that they write them down on tiny little bits of paper 350 00:18:09,240 --> 00:18:11,199 so the Germans wouldn't find them. 351 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:14,879 Finally, he was released and he wrote a book about his experiences 352 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:16,880 and it was called The Great Escape. 353 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:19,759 Extraordinary success! 354 00:18:19,760 --> 00:18:21,479 As that book came out, 355 00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:23,959 or in the process of him writing that book, 356 00:18:23,960 --> 00:18:25,999 somebody approached him to say, 357 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:31,000 "Well, look, you know, we love this so how about The Dam Busters story?" 358 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:34,279 He got immediately interested in that 359 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:38,159 and so he was actually writing almost the two books simultaneously! 360 00:18:38,160 --> 00:18:40,599 He'd sort of more or less finished The Great Escape 361 00:18:40,600 --> 00:18:43,520 but then he started to work on The Dam Busters book. 362 00:18:44,560 --> 00:18:50,439 Incredibly, at the same time as The Dam Busters book came out, 363 00:18:50,440 --> 00:18:51,879 Douglas Bader, 364 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:53,879 who was trying to write his own biography 365 00:18:53,880 --> 00:18:58,519 of being a sort of heroic figure in the RAF, 366 00:18:58,520 --> 00:18:59,799 approached him and said, 367 00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:01,879 "Will you write my autobiography?" 368 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:05,479 Extraordinarily enough, he then wrote a third book called Reach for the Sky 369 00:19:05,480 --> 00:19:06,640 about Douglas Bader. 370 00:19:07,240 --> 00:19:11,399 Director Michael Anderson had only a handful of B-movies to his name 371 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:15,119 but had worked alongside Anthony Asquith and David Lean. 372 00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:19,600 He had a reputation as a formidable first assistant director. 373 00:19:20,760 --> 00:19:23,599 Having served with the Royal Corps of Signals, 374 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:25,599 his planning was meticulous 375 00:19:25,600 --> 00:19:30,840 and his dedication to realism such that he would send footage to Wallis for his approval. 376 00:19:31,840 --> 00:19:34,239 So, what is so extraordinary about The Dam Busters? 377 00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:35,639 It's virtually a docudrama 378 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:40,319 and you have all this vast amounts of information and detail 379 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:43,159 and you needed a director in Michael Anderson 380 00:19:43,160 --> 00:19:46,679 who could pull it all together and make it a compelling narrative! 381 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:49,039 Yes, Anderson is a very interesting director. 382 00:19:49,040 --> 00:19:51,599 By the time The Dam Busters comes around, 383 00:19:51,600 --> 00:19:54,719 he is building a very strong reputation on set 384 00:19:54,720 --> 00:19:58,160 but he hasn't yet found the material to direct his great film. 385 00:19:58,480 --> 00:19:59,839 He had started off as an actor 386 00:19:59,840 --> 00:20:02,959 then he moved into assistant directing. 387 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:04,319 He was production manager, 388 00:20:04,320 --> 00:20:06,759 he worked on In Which We Serve with David Lean 389 00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:08,119 and then war broke out 390 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:10,239 and he was in the Royal Signal Corps. 391 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:13,919 It's not clear what he did there, but certainly part of that is in comms. 392 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:15,759 It's not clear whether he was filming. 393 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:19,479 And then he worked with Peter Ustinov making films in and around the war effort 394 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:23,159 and finally came out and started working on sort of neo-realist films. 395 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:25,599 There was a British film he made called Waterfront, 396 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:27,999 which was about Liverpool during the Depression, 397 00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:32,479 which was very, very much a sort of a precursor to the Grim Up North films 398 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:34,919 of the sort of the late '50s and '60s. 399 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:40,119 He wanted to do a very, very realistic version of events. 400 00:20:40,120 --> 00:20:44,199 I mean, if you read about what he did, in terms of realism, 401 00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:45,239 it is... 402 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:46,359 It is extraordinary! 403 00:20:46,360 --> 00:20:49,519 I mean, he went to Wallis and said... 404 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:52,159 Showed him footage and said, "Is this how it happened?" 405 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:54,919 They wanted to shoot real Lancaster Bombers. 406 00:20:54,920 --> 00:20:59,239 He even wanted to cast people who looked exactly like the real figures they played! 407 00:20:59,240 --> 00:21:01,719 And of course, they also used actual footage 408 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:03,599 from Barnes Wallis' test runs. 409 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:06,159 He shot footage of the tests of the bomb 410 00:21:06,160 --> 00:21:08,719 to persuade the ministry and to persuade the RAF 411 00:21:08,720 --> 00:21:14,479 and, uh, Michael Anderson cut in the literal footage from those tests into the film, 412 00:21:14,480 --> 00:21:16,199 which is why it's in black and white, 413 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:19,159 so that those bits of real-life footage can be used. 414 00:21:19,160 --> 00:21:21,279 Now, these are the first dropping tests 415 00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:23,440 at the Chesil Beach near Weymouth. 416 00:21:24,240 --> 00:21:25,600 Here comes the Wellington. 417 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:29,239 Matt Summers is the pilot and I'm working the release gear. 418 00:21:29,240 --> 00:21:31,199 (WHIRRING) 419 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:33,000 Now, in a moment, you'll see the bomb. 420 00:21:34,360 --> 00:21:36,160 There it goes... Now watch! 421 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:44,960 (WHIRRING CONTINUES AND FADES) 422 00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:56,000 (ENGINE ROARING) 423 00:22:11,280 --> 00:22:13,800 Well, I suppose there's nothing much we can do. 424 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:16,560 Except wait... 425 00:22:18,320 --> 00:22:20,600 The AOC's waiting to take us back to Grantham. 426 00:22:22,640 --> 00:22:28,599 (SEARCHING MUSIC) 427 00:22:28,600 --> 00:22:32,079 Michael Redgrave was an established star by 1955. 428 00:22:32,080 --> 00:22:35,359 He had The Lady Vanishes and The Browning Version behind him 429 00:22:35,360 --> 00:22:37,039 and was lauded on stage. 430 00:22:37,040 --> 00:22:39,240 He had also served in the Royal Navy. 431 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:43,679 While he was a risky choice for Wallis, being ten years younger, 432 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:47,559 Redgrave understood that he was a reclusive genius 433 00:22:47,560 --> 00:22:50,679 but with this unwavering belief in his idea, 434 00:22:50,680 --> 00:22:55,359 rolling up his trousers to retrieve bomb test fragments from the sea 435 00:22:55,360 --> 00:22:59,279 and staring down rooms full of glowering civil servants... 436 00:22:59,280 --> 00:23:03,599 The great thing about it was of course that Redgrave could act the part. 437 00:23:03,600 --> 00:23:05,319 He was a superb actor, 438 00:23:05,320 --> 00:23:07,439 one of the great lights of the theatre. 439 00:23:07,440 --> 00:23:12,919 And so, he took great care in emulating 440 00:23:12,920 --> 00:23:15,879 without being a sort of impersonating Barnes Wallis 441 00:23:15,880 --> 00:23:19,319 in his sort of slightly boffin-ish air... 442 00:23:19,320 --> 00:23:22,159 But what he really had was this determination, 443 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:25,679 this sort of drive to solve any problem. 444 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:26,839 This was what it was, 445 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:29,559 it was an engineering problem for him. 446 00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:35,519 This is why the film has such an extraordinary level of intensity 447 00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:38,479 at the beginning AND at the end 448 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:41,559 because he realised that he was a man, a scientist, 449 00:23:41,560 --> 00:23:45,759 whose sole purpose at this particular time 450 00:23:45,760 --> 00:23:48,759 is focused on solving 451 00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:53,359 this incredibly difficult problem of precision. 452 00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:55,639 Anderson was so committed to accuracy 453 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:58,879 that he wanted his actors to resemble their real counterparts. 454 00:23:58,880 --> 00:24:03,079 That was one of the reasons that made Richard Todd so perfect for Gibson, 455 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:04,720 he looked just like him! 456 00:24:05,560 --> 00:24:08,679 He also happened to be on contract at Associated British 457 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:12,959 following active service as a captain in the parachute regiment, 458 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:15,719 dropping into Normandy on D-Day, 459 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:18,280 something he replayed in The Longest Day. 460 00:24:18,920 --> 00:24:19,920 (SIGHS) 461 00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:22,959 I'm afraid I'm asking a great deal of you... 462 00:24:22,960 --> 00:24:25,200 Do you think you can fly it to those limits? 463 00:24:25,960 --> 00:24:27,680 Well, it's hard to say off hand. 464 00:24:27,840 --> 00:24:29,799 The altimeter is no good at that level 465 00:24:29,800 --> 00:24:32,919 but, well, they've given me some of the best pilots in the Air Force 466 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:34,359 so we'll see what we can do. 467 00:24:34,360 --> 00:24:36,919 You haven't tested the full-sized bomb yet, have you? 468 00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:38,359 No, it's being assembled now. 469 00:24:38,360 --> 00:24:40,079 I hope to try it in a week or ten days. 470 00:24:40,080 --> 00:24:43,239 Do you really mean that a five-ton bomb can bounce along the water 471 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:44,839 like a ping-pong ball? 472 00:24:44,840 --> 00:24:47,239 It's been hard to persuade some people that it will 473 00:24:47,240 --> 00:24:50,959 but I've every reason to believe it will behave exactly like those miniatures. 474 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:53,439 Well, how far from the target do we drop the bomb? 475 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:57,520 Ah, that's the third factor that I'm afraid requires absolute accuracy. 476 00:24:58,680 --> 00:25:00,479 I've got a little more work to do on it 477 00:25:00,480 --> 00:25:02,919 but I think it'll be 600 yards. 478 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:05,280 Did you invent this thing out of your own head? 479 00:25:06,200 --> 00:25:07,879 Well, yes, I... 480 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:09,920 I think I might say I invented it! 481 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:12,040 Well, I think it's terrific! 482 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:15,719 How would you describe the film? 483 00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:17,439 Because it's not a documentary... 484 00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:21,479 Somehow, Anderson has found a way of making a very stirring, 485 00:25:21,480 --> 00:25:22,999 a very passionate film 486 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:25,959 yet with this extraordinary sort of British reserve. 487 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:30,439 Yes, it is, I think, almost unlike any other war film 488 00:25:30,440 --> 00:25:32,599 in that it's a film of two halves. 489 00:25:32,600 --> 00:25:37,319 The first half is the individual against the system film, 490 00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:40,519 the one man, you know, trying to get his idea across 491 00:25:40,520 --> 00:25:41,879 against bureaucracy. 492 00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:45,599 Sort of Kafkaesque in a sense as he moves around the... 493 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:48,119 This is Barnes Wallis? This is Barnes Wallis, yes. 494 00:25:48,120 --> 00:25:50,239 This is Michael Redgrave as Barnes Wallis, 495 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:52,319 moving around the corridors of Whitehall, 496 00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:54,479 trying to get seen, waiting outside offices. 497 00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:57,279 Somehow gripping because they're showing the invention. 498 00:25:57,280 --> 00:25:59,079 We know it will work, we've seen... 499 00:25:59,080 --> 00:26:01,519 Of course, partly because we're watching the film, 500 00:26:01,520 --> 00:26:04,359 but we know, we've seen he's made it work, we're backing him, 501 00:26:04,360 --> 00:26:06,239 the humble guy up against the ministry. 502 00:26:06,240 --> 00:26:08,679 And then it flips at the moment that he meets Gibson 503 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:12,999 and it starts to transition into a heroic men on a mission movie 504 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:15,519 where Gibson's putting together the team 505 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:18,039 and off they're going on the heist sort of film. 506 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:21,959 And the crossover is very, very gentle, 507 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:25,520 it doesn't quickly stop and then you go over to the air crew. 508 00:26:26,040 --> 00:26:28,599 Gibson is with Wallis during the test runs, 509 00:26:28,600 --> 00:26:29,959 Gibson is backing Wallis. 510 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:32,759 I mean, Gibson takes the whole process very personally 511 00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:35,479 and they work together and they appear to like each other, 512 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:36,919 so it's a very... 513 00:26:36,920 --> 00:26:39,279 It's about these two men, the moment they meet, 514 00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:40,519 how they work together 515 00:26:40,520 --> 00:26:43,799 and then, if you like, Wallis hands over the baton of this mission 516 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:45,199 to the heroic pilot 517 00:26:45,200 --> 00:26:47,399 and then all he can do is pace and wait. 518 00:26:47,400 --> 00:26:51,759 The camera drifts around the rooms filled with British and Australian aircrews, 519 00:26:51,760 --> 00:26:56,639 capturing entire lives in the accumulation of pre-flight rituals. 520 00:26:56,640 --> 00:27:00,160 Putting on a brave face takes on a universe of meanings. 521 00:27:00,800 --> 00:27:06,679 The detail of flying resonates with the pragmatic courage it takes to get into the air 522 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:08,560 against a barrage of flak. 523 00:27:09,560 --> 00:27:12,799 And that is Robert Shaw as Gibson's copilot, 524 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:15,040 Flight Sergeant John Pulford. 525 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:17,679 Shaw was a friend of Redgrave's 526 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:21,280 and Anderson was struck by how much he too resembled the real man. 527 00:27:22,080 --> 00:27:25,799 Virtually the entire cast and surely most of the crew 528 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:28,360 came with first-hand experience of the war. 529 00:27:29,240 --> 00:27:32,199 This lent the film an invaluable integrity. 530 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:34,919 They were not only honouring the men of the mission 531 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:36,639 but their own comrades. 532 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:38,999 There is something enormously moving 533 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:42,240 about the way Todd delivers Gibson's casual instruction 534 00:27:43,280 --> 00:27:45,479 for the men to begin their mission. 535 00:27:45,480 --> 00:27:46,639 "Come on, then." 536 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:51,160 (TENSE MUSIC) 537 00:27:55,760 --> 00:28:01,760 (INDISTINCT CHATTER) 538 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:14,119 One of the things that Anderson does really well 539 00:28:14,120 --> 00:28:19,879 is to take this really, really big story and personalise it. 540 00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:25,799 He REALLY gets into intimate details of the characters 541 00:28:25,800 --> 00:28:30,479 and he does this by looking at them individually 542 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:31,519 and also in... 543 00:28:31,520 --> 00:28:32,960 In groups. 544 00:28:33,320 --> 00:28:35,599 One of the things that Anderson is really good at 545 00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:40,079 is showing how the pilots prepare themselves before this mission 546 00:28:40,080 --> 00:28:41,720 which is almost suicidal... 547 00:28:43,200 --> 00:28:46,200 And it's the calmness, it is the calm before the storm. 548 00:28:47,200 --> 00:28:50,239 The two Australian pilots, for example, who are sharing a room, 549 00:28:50,240 --> 00:28:51,919 they're sort of reading magazines 550 00:28:51,920 --> 00:28:55,719 and then just throw them across the room to each other to sort of share their mags. 551 00:28:55,720 --> 00:28:58,359 There's a little bit of jazz playing in the background. 552 00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:01,479 They could be just waiting for their girlfriends to arrive. 553 00:29:01,480 --> 00:29:04,399 Another man is just writing a letter, 554 00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:06,799 um, as many of them would have done, 555 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:09,719 and then he starts winding his clock, 556 00:29:09,720 --> 00:29:12,519 which he just leaves on his dresser. 557 00:29:12,520 --> 00:29:14,919 There's even somebody who, actually, 558 00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:18,360 just in fact when they're out, sort of waiting to be picked up, 559 00:29:19,080 --> 00:29:20,800 have a small game of cricket. 560 00:29:21,960 --> 00:29:23,799 You know, and all of these things, 561 00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:27,679 all of these things show a relative normality, 562 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:30,839 a relative sort of almost Zen kind of piece 563 00:29:30,840 --> 00:29:33,480 before this mighty storm that's approaching. 564 00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:36,399 And I think that that is really important 565 00:29:36,400 --> 00:29:40,119 because what happens then and what Anderson does brilliantly 566 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:46,159 is to show exactly the same rooms afterwards, 567 00:29:46,160 --> 00:29:47,680 empty. 568 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:49,439 And you understand, 569 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:53,519 you feel the cost without having to show people being killed. 570 00:29:53,520 --> 00:29:56,039 You see the emptiness and the vacancy 571 00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:58,999 of where a human being once was. 572 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:02,919 Anderson approached the film with a documentary clarity, 573 00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:05,919 consciously shooting in a sober black and white 574 00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:09,239 in order to incorporate real footage of the test runs 575 00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:14,240 as well as shots of the conveniently flooded Ruhr Valley of 1955. 576 00:30:15,080 --> 00:30:19,439 That is the real RAF Scampton where the 617 was based. 577 00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:24,279 Only the scene of Gibson devising the targeting spotlights 578 00:30:24,280 --> 00:30:29,200 while watching dancing girls is a delightfully cinematic addition to history. 579 00:30:29,840 --> 00:30:33,799 (UPBEAT MUSIC) 580 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:37,080 (CONTINUES) 581 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:44,160 (DRONING) 582 00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:47,279 Up a bit... A bit more. 583 00:30:47,280 --> 00:30:48,399 Now hold it! 584 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:49,600 That's too much! 585 00:30:52,200 --> 00:30:54,000 Down, down... 586 00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:56,360 Now hold it now! Fine! 587 00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:09,279 For the incredible shots of their four Avro Lancasters 588 00:31:09,280 --> 00:31:12,719 pirouetting over Lake Windermere and Derwent Reservoir, 589 00:31:12,720 --> 00:31:15,319 which stood in for the German reservoirs, 590 00:31:15,320 --> 00:31:20,039 real-life bomber pilots had to fly as low as 30 feet above the water. 591 00:31:20,040 --> 00:31:23,960 It was the only way for the perilous flying to be effective on camera. 592 00:31:24,800 --> 00:31:28,119 Meanwhile, a full-scale fuselage was built on a gimbal 593 00:31:28,120 --> 00:31:30,719 to bank and tilt against back projection 594 00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:33,919 with the actors stoically at the controls. 595 00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:36,480 So, let's talk about the realism of the flying 596 00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:39,839 because I think everyone remembers the model work 597 00:31:39,840 --> 00:31:42,119 and they remember also the music, of course, 598 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:45,839 but the aerial photography in The Dam Busters is peerless, 599 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:46,879 isn't it? 600 00:31:46,880 --> 00:31:51,959 Yes, by the time the film was made the Lancaster Bomber had been retired by the RAF. 601 00:31:51,960 --> 00:31:54,639 They still had a number mothballed and they were... 602 00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:57,159 The RAF lent them to the production 603 00:31:57,160 --> 00:32:01,519 for what I think in today's terms would be roughly £1.5 million! 604 00:32:01,520 --> 00:32:02,559 So, it was... 605 00:32:02,560 --> 00:32:04,719 You know, it was a publicity film for the RAF, 606 00:32:04,720 --> 00:32:06,839 but they were still going to get their money! 607 00:32:06,840 --> 00:32:08,079 And the bomber, 608 00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:09,959 the Lancaster Bomber had been replaced 609 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:11,919 by something called the Lincoln Bomber, 610 00:32:11,920 --> 00:32:14,679 which had a lot of similarities in the way it was flown, 611 00:32:14,680 --> 00:32:18,439 so the pilots for the Lincoln were also allowed to fly for the film. 612 00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:21,599 So, they had three Lancasters to represent the bombers 613 00:32:21,600 --> 00:32:23,599 and one Lancaster to do the filming. 614 00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:25,079 I mean, funnily enough, 615 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:30,560 the raid itself required the bombers to fly at 60 feet above the water. 616 00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:34,159 The filmmakers, when they saw the Lancasters at 60 feet, 617 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:36,720 it actually didn't look that dramatic to them 618 00:32:37,400 --> 00:32:39,519 so they asked the Lancasters to fly lower 619 00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:40,999 at 40 feet above the water! 620 00:32:41,000 --> 00:32:43,399 Wasn't it 30 feet? I think they came down to 30 feet! 621 00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:45,919 Yeah, they started at 40 and then they went down to 30, 622 00:32:45,920 --> 00:32:50,479 to the point where sometimes the propellers were actually almost doing water spouts on the lakes 623 00:32:50,480 --> 00:32:51,519 as they went over! 624 00:32:51,520 --> 00:32:52,919 At one point, the pilot said, 625 00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:54,999 "Well, what happens if we crash and die?" 626 00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:57,679 And they said, "Oh, well, we probably won't do the film!" 627 00:32:57,680 --> 00:32:59,119 So, it was hardly reassuring! 628 00:32:59,120 --> 00:33:01,719 When you see the film, there are two dams they go into, 629 00:33:01,720 --> 00:33:05,559 which are represented by two actual dams in the Lake District, 630 00:33:05,560 --> 00:33:07,559 two actual areas in the Lake District, 631 00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:10,439 one of which was as dangerous to fly down as the film depicts 632 00:33:10,440 --> 00:33:13,399 and the pilots were terrified when they were flying down there 633 00:33:13,400 --> 00:33:15,959 because to pull up in time was GENUINELY dangerous! 634 00:33:15,960 --> 00:33:19,479 So, they were flying WAY beyond the extremes for these aircraft! 635 00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:22,240 They were flying at a level that Guy Gibson wasn't flying! 636 00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:24,639 The model work, 637 00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:29,119 including a 40-foot dam built at Elstree to crack like piecrust, 638 00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:31,519 was done before the main shoot 639 00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:35,720 so that the aerial shots could build towards a specific climax. 640 00:33:36,600 --> 00:33:39,319 Famously, the plunging Lancasters 641 00:33:39,320 --> 00:33:42,679 were the inspiration for the Death Star trench run 642 00:33:42,680 --> 00:33:45,239 in George Lucas' original Star Wars. 643 00:33:45,240 --> 00:33:48,519 Lucas even employed Gill Taylor, 644 00:33:48,520 --> 00:33:51,479 who had masterminded the special effects photography 645 00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:52,999 on The Dam Busters. 646 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:58,160 (DRONING) 647 00:34:00,120 --> 00:34:04,880 Down, down, down, down... 648 00:34:05,920 --> 00:34:06,919 Down... 649 00:34:06,920 --> 00:34:08,759 We're too high! Down... 650 00:34:08,760 --> 00:34:10,839 We're too high, skipper, we won't make it! 651 00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:12,799 Steady... Hold it there! 652 00:34:12,800 --> 00:34:15,479 It's too late, skipper, it's too late! 653 00:34:15,480 --> 00:34:19,000 (ROARING) 654 00:34:24,720 --> 00:34:30,720 (JOYFUL MUSIC) 655 00:34:37,720 --> 00:34:42,120 (FADES) 656 00:34:43,720 --> 00:34:46,439 Eric Coates had no interest in writing music for film, 657 00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:48,879 which is exactly what he told the producer 658 00:34:48,880 --> 00:34:51,559 but Robert Clark wouldn't take no for an answer, 659 00:34:51,560 --> 00:34:53,599 convincing the classical composer 660 00:34:53,600 --> 00:34:56,319 this was a matter of honouring history 661 00:34:56,320 --> 00:35:01,240 at which point Coates mentioned he had written the perfect piece only the day before! 662 00:35:02,240 --> 00:35:07,880 The stirring, patriotic, legendary Dam Busters March has never been matched. 663 00:35:08,440 --> 00:35:12,159 Indeed, it has become the unofficial anthem for the Royal Air Force. 664 00:35:12,160 --> 00:35:13,359 The story goes 665 00:35:13,360 --> 00:35:19,319 that he was experimenting with Elgar-style marches. 666 00:35:19,320 --> 00:35:21,759 He wanted to do something in the form of Elgar 667 00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:27,279 and when he was approached to write the score for The Dam Busters, 668 00:35:27,280 --> 00:35:30,719 he turned it down because he wasn't interested in film music, 669 00:35:30,720 --> 00:35:31,920 he really wasn't... 670 00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:36,319 However, when he was told that this was a film of national significance 671 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:37,359 and importance, 672 00:35:37,360 --> 00:35:40,359 he sort of changed his mind and he started to work and then he... 673 00:35:40,360 --> 00:35:44,799 He thought, "I have something that might work!" 674 00:35:44,800 --> 00:35:47,359 Which was The Dam Busters March, 675 00:35:47,360 --> 00:35:50,039 to all intents and purposes which he'd already written. 676 00:35:50,040 --> 00:35:52,760 It was his sort of tribute to Elgar. 677 00:35:53,400 --> 00:35:54,919 They brought that in. 678 00:35:54,920 --> 00:35:57,520 Clearly, it was absolutely perfect for it! 679 00:35:58,080 --> 00:36:00,599 He didn't want to write too much of the rest of the music 680 00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:05,679 and, in fact, Leighton Lucas wrote a great deal of the other music, such that it is, 681 00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:08,279 incidental music and things like that. 682 00:36:08,280 --> 00:36:10,640 What's fascinating is for a piece of music 683 00:36:11,240 --> 00:36:13,119 which is now SO famous 684 00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:16,719 and is, you know, in the repertoire of every military band 685 00:36:16,720 --> 00:36:18,239 that ever existed, 686 00:36:18,240 --> 00:36:21,479 especially during the flypasts on the queen's birthday, 687 00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:22,639 things like that... 688 00:36:22,640 --> 00:36:25,359 Is that it's used fairly infrequently in the film. 689 00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:28,199 In fact, the most significant part of it 690 00:36:28,200 --> 00:36:30,479 is NOTHING to do with the flying, 691 00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:34,839 it's to do when they're waiting to get into the lorries 692 00:36:34,840 --> 00:36:37,119 to take them to the Bombers. 693 00:36:37,120 --> 00:36:39,359 It's kind of ironic really, though, isn't it? 694 00:36:39,360 --> 00:36:40,559 It's become triumphal, 695 00:36:40,560 --> 00:36:42,359 yet, actually, if you watch the film, 696 00:36:42,360 --> 00:36:44,399 that's not kind of the message of the film. 697 00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:47,039 The film is very poignant and very considered. 698 00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:49,879 I mean, it takes a lot of unpacking, I think, 699 00:36:49,880 --> 00:36:50,919 that whole thing. 700 00:36:50,920 --> 00:36:53,319 There's something about the film that is... 701 00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:56,439 It's a very un-triumphant movie, 702 00:36:56,440 --> 00:36:58,920 it's a very sorrowful movie towards the end. 703 00:36:59,920 --> 00:37:00,999 It's about a mission 704 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:05,080 that we're not entirely certain was as successful as it was intended to be 705 00:37:05,640 --> 00:37:06,879 and yet the music, 706 00:37:06,880 --> 00:37:12,479 it's become this symbol of sort of a jingoistic patriotism 707 00:37:12,480 --> 00:37:15,759 which you think that almost no one involved in any part of that 708 00:37:15,760 --> 00:37:17,839 would have had any interest in, really! 709 00:37:17,840 --> 00:37:19,079 There was a... 710 00:37:19,080 --> 00:37:22,319 One of the original pilots was on set during filming 711 00:37:22,320 --> 00:37:23,559 and he said, at one point, 712 00:37:23,560 --> 00:37:26,999 "I think you're making a bit too much of this mission, we just did our job!" 713 00:37:27,000 --> 00:37:31,119 No one at any point saw this as being this symbol of jingoistic patriotism 714 00:37:31,120 --> 00:37:35,119 but the music itself has created this sort of mythical power 715 00:37:35,120 --> 00:37:38,039 which I think, actually, almost no one would have wanted, 716 00:37:38,040 --> 00:37:39,080 in a strange way. 717 00:37:40,120 --> 00:37:42,799 The power of The Dam Busters lies in what is UNSAID. 718 00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:46,199 So much of the story is told in uncomplaining faces. 719 00:37:46,200 --> 00:37:49,999 The lower half of his face concealed beneath an oxygen mask, 720 00:37:50,000 --> 00:37:52,719 Todd works wonders with only his eyes 721 00:37:52,720 --> 00:37:55,959 as he receives news of the planes that have gone down. 722 00:37:55,960 --> 00:37:58,559 Redgrave's Wallis is quietly devastated 723 00:37:58,560 --> 00:38:00,880 at the human cost of his great idea. 724 00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:03,519 Rather than jingoism, 725 00:38:03,520 --> 00:38:06,679 Anderson concludes on a note of great solemnity, 726 00:38:06,680 --> 00:38:11,199 the camera steadily watching the returning hero Todd walk into the distance, 727 00:38:11,200 --> 00:38:14,920 his first duty being to write to the families of the fallen. 728 00:38:15,480 --> 00:38:19,599 Anderson, I think, does an extraordinary job of communicating what it's like 729 00:38:19,600 --> 00:38:20,879 to be on board, 730 00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:23,359 and more power to Richard Todd 731 00:38:23,360 --> 00:38:25,479 because he does so much acting with his eyes, 732 00:38:25,480 --> 00:38:27,399 because his face is covered with a mask, 733 00:38:27,400 --> 00:38:30,159 and still conveys great emotion and great courage 734 00:38:30,160 --> 00:38:32,839 with very minimal gestures! 735 00:38:32,840 --> 00:38:37,599 There is a particular point where the three wings of the raid 736 00:38:37,600 --> 00:38:39,439 go over the coast 737 00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:40,479 and each... 738 00:38:40,480 --> 00:38:44,079 The captain of each of those wings says, "Enemy coast ahead!" 739 00:38:44,080 --> 00:38:47,519 And at that point all of the stars put masks across their faces 740 00:38:47,520 --> 00:38:49,079 and from then on you don't... 741 00:38:49,080 --> 00:38:50,639 All you've got is your eyes! 742 00:38:50,640 --> 00:38:53,319 And they're conveying everything from their terror 743 00:38:53,320 --> 00:38:55,159 to their lack of understanding... 744 00:38:55,160 --> 00:38:57,479 People keep popping up and popping down, 745 00:38:57,480 --> 00:38:58,999 it's a very active process! 746 00:38:59,000 --> 00:39:00,999 But there's... You can't see their faces! 747 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:02,039 Imagine that now, 748 00:39:02,040 --> 00:39:03,919 that you would show the stars of the film 749 00:39:03,920 --> 00:39:06,879 but they would be completely hidden from the audience's view! 750 00:39:06,880 --> 00:39:10,199 It's a very, very, very powerfully done piece of acting by everybody. 751 00:39:10,200 --> 00:39:12,319 Not just Richard Todd, but all of the actors, 752 00:39:12,320 --> 00:39:16,000 all of the bomb crew managed to bring us on board with them! 753 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:22,439 Is it true? All those fellows lost? 754 00:39:22,440 --> 00:39:24,679 Only two aircraft went down in the attacks, 755 00:39:24,680 --> 00:39:27,679 that was Hopgood's over the Mohne and Maudslay's over the Eder. 756 00:39:27,680 --> 00:39:29,999 Astell got it soon after crossing the coast 757 00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:33,080 and Dinghy Young was shot down over the sea on his way home. 758 00:39:34,320 --> 00:39:35,959 And the rest we don't know about... 759 00:39:35,960 --> 00:39:39,239 They've been calling them since midnight but they haven't answered. 760 00:39:39,240 --> 00:39:41,440 The flak was bad, worse than I expected. 761 00:39:43,520 --> 00:39:44,720 Fifty-six men... 762 00:39:46,160 --> 00:39:48,399 If I had known it was going to be like this, I... 763 00:39:48,400 --> 00:39:49,800 I'd never have started it. 764 00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:51,959 Now, you mustn't think that way. 765 00:39:51,960 --> 00:39:55,679 If all these fellows had known from the beginning they wouldn't be coming back, 766 00:39:55,680 --> 00:39:57,479 they'd have gone for it just the same. 767 00:39:57,480 --> 00:40:01,079 Isn't a single one of them would've dropped out, I knew them all, that's true. 768 00:40:01,080 --> 00:40:02,640 It's a REAL downbeat ending 769 00:40:02,880 --> 00:40:04,839 but what it does is it shows... 770 00:40:04,840 --> 00:40:10,119 And in fact, Richard Todd has said that that was the hardest scene for him to do 771 00:40:10,120 --> 00:40:11,959 and as he's walking away he was crying 772 00:40:11,960 --> 00:40:13,159 because, of course, 773 00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:15,399 as somebody who had been in the war himself, 774 00:40:15,400 --> 00:40:18,839 had been a captain, parachute regiment, 775 00:40:18,840 --> 00:40:21,959 he had himself had to have written those letters 776 00:40:21,960 --> 00:40:27,679 so he knew EXACTLY what was going through the mind of Guy Gibson 777 00:40:27,680 --> 00:40:29,279 at that time 778 00:40:29,280 --> 00:40:32,679 and I think that that is achingly beautiful, 779 00:40:32,680 --> 00:40:35,559 a wounding ending to the movie, 780 00:40:35,560 --> 00:40:39,319 which is as significant as it could possibly be. 781 00:40:39,320 --> 00:40:43,199 Effecting the perfect balance of patriotism and poignancy 782 00:40:43,200 --> 00:40:46,639 for an audience still nursing the wounds of World War Two, 783 00:40:46,640 --> 00:40:50,199 The Dam Busters became the biggest British film of 1955. 784 00:40:50,200 --> 00:40:54,559 The scope of the production marks it out as a blockbuster of its day 785 00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:57,640 and it garnered an Oscar nomination for its special effects. 786 00:40:58,480 --> 00:41:02,359 But what endures is its breathtaking detail... 787 00:41:02,360 --> 00:41:04,360 It was a revelation for the viewer. 788 00:41:05,600 --> 00:41:06,599 So, tell me, 789 00:41:06,600 --> 00:41:09,559 what became of both Guy Gibson and Barnes Wallis? 790 00:41:09,560 --> 00:41:11,759 You know, after the mission? 791 00:41:11,760 --> 00:41:15,519 Well, Guy Gibson went on a large publicity tour of the United States 792 00:41:15,520 --> 00:41:19,679 and spent a long time out there sort of drumming up interest in the idea of bombing, 793 00:41:19,680 --> 00:41:21,319 in the British war effort. 794 00:41:21,320 --> 00:41:23,719 He became frustrated, he came back 795 00:41:23,720 --> 00:41:26,479 and he then wanted to get back into action 796 00:41:26,480 --> 00:41:28,719 so he joined a Mosquito Squadron. 797 00:41:28,720 --> 00:41:31,359 It was a plane he was not experienced in. 798 00:41:31,360 --> 00:41:32,399 He did... 799 00:41:32,400 --> 00:41:36,439 Led a mission he was not necessarily experienced to lead 800 00:41:36,440 --> 00:41:38,679 and it is not certain whether he was shot down 801 00:41:38,680 --> 00:41:40,479 or whether he actually ran out of fuel 802 00:41:40,480 --> 00:41:42,719 because the Mosquito had these two fuel tanks. 803 00:41:42,720 --> 00:41:45,599 They found his plane many years later buried underground 804 00:41:45,600 --> 00:41:48,079 and it's possible that he just was not... 805 00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:51,199 You know, he wanted to win, he wanted to fight 806 00:41:51,200 --> 00:41:52,879 and he wasn't ready for that plane, 807 00:41:52,880 --> 00:41:55,039 which is quite heartbreaking, in a way, 808 00:41:55,040 --> 00:41:56,239 if you think... 809 00:41:56,240 --> 00:41:58,879 The idea that at the end he died in the air 810 00:41:58,880 --> 00:42:01,759 but not in the way that he would have wanted to, who knows... 811 00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:03,959 Barnes Wallis then went on inventing. 812 00:42:03,960 --> 00:42:06,719 I mean, he went on inventing till his retirement in 1971. 813 00:42:06,720 --> 00:42:09,039 He contributed to designs that led to Concorde. 814 00:42:09,040 --> 00:42:10,119 He was... 815 00:42:10,120 --> 00:42:14,799 He never produced anything as epoch-making as the bouncing bomb 816 00:42:14,800 --> 00:42:19,519 but his bombing ideas did lead to significant bunker-busting bombs. 817 00:42:19,520 --> 00:42:22,079 He probably has more influence on warfare 818 00:42:22,080 --> 00:42:23,639 than he would like to admit. 819 00:42:23,640 --> 00:42:25,639 Certainly, after the raid, 820 00:42:25,640 --> 00:42:27,679 when he saw the human cost, 821 00:42:27,680 --> 00:42:32,519 he was so horrified that he refused to let a test pilot into any of his inventions 822 00:42:32,520 --> 00:42:36,239 until it had been very, very significantly tested by models. 823 00:42:36,240 --> 00:42:39,359 He was terrified of losing a single other pilot's life. 824 00:42:39,360 --> 00:42:44,119 The Dam Busters is not simply a captivating men on a mission movie 825 00:42:44,120 --> 00:42:46,599 or an account of great British guile 826 00:42:46,600 --> 00:42:47,799 or, for that matter, 827 00:42:47,800 --> 00:42:52,879 a shining example of the ingenuity of British filmmaking in the '50s 828 00:42:52,880 --> 00:42:55,239 in the quiet dedication of these men, 829 00:42:55,240 --> 00:42:57,319 led by Wallis and Gibson, 830 00:42:57,320 --> 00:43:02,439 but Anderson's objective was to document a history that had been mythologised. 831 00:43:02,440 --> 00:43:04,679 Remarkably, in 1955, 832 00:43:04,680 --> 00:43:08,600 there were elements of Operation Chastise that were still classified. 833 00:43:09,400 --> 00:43:12,359 The fact that the bombs spun backwards for stability 834 00:43:12,360 --> 00:43:15,039 had to be covered up in the real footage. 835 00:43:15,040 --> 00:43:16,399 Nevertheless, 836 00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:19,959 the film stands as the defining testament 837 00:43:19,960 --> 00:43:22,800 to the achievements of two remarkable men. 838 00:43:24,200 --> 00:43:26,119 Aren't you going to turn in, Gibby? 839 00:43:26,120 --> 00:43:28,959 No, I... I have to write some letters first. 840 00:43:28,960 --> 00:43:31,760 (BIRDS CHIRPING IN DISTANCE) 841 00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:51,999 (TENDER MUSIC) 842 00:43:52,000 --> 00:43:56,840 (CONTINUES) 843 00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:29,320 (FADES) 844 00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:35,960 Subtitles by Sky Access Services www.skyaccessibility.sky