Considering that very little attention has been given to the Battle of Malta during WWII, this was a welcome film. How this small island was able to hold out against the combined forces of Italy and Germany is amazing and may be one of the important turning points in the war.
Now this isn't to say the film is perfect. It was obvious it had a somewhat limited budget and so a lot of archival footage was used. Much of it was included very well and rather seamlessly, though a few clips were grainy and sucked. Why they chose to include these clips, I have no idea. So if you are looking for tons of real planes and realistic air battles like the film THE BATTLE OF Britain, this isn't quite it. Plus I noticed that an amazing number of German JU-87 and 88s were used in the film, though other planes were curiously missing (such as HE-111s, DO-17s and other German bombers as well as fighters). But, considering that few of these existed any more, this can be understood. So can the use of some models of Spitfires that were later variants that came out AFTER the battle. Only a fat-headed purist like me would notice this stuff, however, and it's a bazillion times better than rotten archival footage-ridden films like MIDWAY (where practically everything was wrong--don't even get me started).
To give this film a human interest side, the producers created the character played by Alec Guinness. He is a reconnaissance pilot who is on the way to Egypt when he is stranded and then based on Malta. His humanity and plans for the future with the girl he grows to love is a backdrop that is used to highlight the sense of impending doom and sacrifice. While some may notice that his part didn't allow him to use his massive acting talents (many could have handled the role), he was pretty good in his rather limiting role.
Overall, a very tense and well-written film that is great for history teachers and airplane buffs. Others may or may not find the film as compelling, but I was struck by one reviewer who almost sounded like he thought the battle was a big waste of time and "tripe". A very odd perspective, indeed....and I'll say no more about that.
Now this isn't to say the film is perfect. It was obvious it had a somewhat limited budget and so a lot of archival footage was used. Much of it was included very well and rather seamlessly, though a few clips were grainy and sucked. Why they chose to include these clips, I have no idea. So if you are looking for tons of real planes and realistic air battles like the film THE BATTLE OF Britain, this isn't quite it. Plus I noticed that an amazing number of German JU-87 and 88s were used in the film, though other planes were curiously missing (such as HE-111s, DO-17s and other German bombers as well as fighters). But, considering that few of these existed any more, this can be understood. So can the use of some models of Spitfires that were later variants that came out AFTER the battle. Only a fat-headed purist like me would notice this stuff, however, and it's a bazillion times better than rotten archival footage-ridden films like MIDWAY (where practically everything was wrong--don't even get me started).
To give this film a human interest side, the producers created the character played by Alec Guinness. He is a reconnaissance pilot who is on the way to Egypt when he is stranded and then based on Malta. His humanity and plans for the future with the girl he grows to love is a backdrop that is used to highlight the sense of impending doom and sacrifice. While some may notice that his part didn't allow him to use his massive acting talents (many could have handled the role), he was pretty good in his rather limiting role.
Overall, a very tense and well-written film that is great for history teachers and airplane buffs. Others may or may not find the film as compelling, but I was struck by one reviewer who almost sounded like he thought the battle was a big waste of time and "tripe". A very odd perspective, indeed....and I'll say no more about that.